Title: Memento

by: Satine16

Disclaimer: None of the characters in this story belong to me, they are all property of MARVEL comics. I'm not doing this to make any money so please don't sue me. 

Chapter 10: Attempted

The night had finally calmed down to a bittersweet silence. Peter Parker lay in his bed watching the pale moonlight outside his window. The only sounds escaping from the blackness around him were the whispers of a restless wind.

Peter sat in bed, propped up on a few pillows. His chest and abdomen was bruised, and the many cuts from the evening's business had begun to take true form and swell. He was exhausted. The fight had, of course, been physically taxing, but the degree in which it had drained him both emotionally and mentally was completely unexpected.

In the darkness Peter heard a rustling. Someone was moving in his apartment. He would wait. Something about his sense told him that he was not in immediate danger, and that even if that were the case, he would be unable to put up a true fight anyway.

From within the shadows Mary Jane emerged. She was carrying a dripping towel that had been filled with ice.

"How are you?" her voice was soft and sugary.

"Holding up," using his forearms he propped himself to a sitting position, exhaling quickly as the pain in his leg became sharp. The minor embarrassment he felt he attempted to hide. It was obvious that she was looking at him with different eyes.

Mary rushed to the bed and handed him the poorly constructed ice pack.

"It was the best I could do."

"You shouldn't be here. Go home. Rest."

"Shut up, Peter. Now, where does it hurt?"

"You only brought one ice pack."

"Does it hurt…here?" gently she brushed her lips against the blacked flesh on his rib cage. The feeling of her tender touch to his raw skin sent shivers up Peter's spine.

Mary Jane decided long before tonight that she wanted Peter Parker. He was the only person in her life who consistently managed to give a shit. Peter genuinely cared and that was the one thing she was so unable to find in others. On top of which, she had just found that he was Spider-man. The sexual desire that she had solely for Peter Parker was now tripled. It was Peter who had saved her all those times. It was Peter's amazing body in that costume. It was Peter that had been the subject of every sexual fantasy she had for the last year and a half.

"A little bit."

She kissed the small series of bruises that ran up his bicep and over to the cut on his chest. Slowly she trailed her lips over every inch of skin on his chest, lingering on the parts which were most battered.

"There?" she pointed to a cut just above his jaw.

He nodded and she kissed it softly.

Leisurely she placed her right index finger over the split in his bottom lip, "And here?"

He nodded slowly as she leaned in and kissed it gently. The touch of her lips to his sent Peter into a new world. A much better one than the one he had just exited. Pulling her in tightly to him, and deepening the kiss she wrapped her arms around his neck. Slowly she traveled to his neck, lavishing him with soft, kind kisses.

Peter pulled her onto his lap, careful to avoid his leg wound, and running his strong hands over her back, feeling the satiny fabric of her nightdress in-between his fingers, he kissed her chest and abdomen. Her head fell back and she let her fingers dance playfully over his back and shoulders, up his neck and through his hair.

Once again their lips found each other in the moonlight and slowly he began to explore her smooth legs with his hands. Removing her dress, she was revealed, glowing in the moonlight in front of him. He enjoyed every moment, relishing the feeling of her skin, her touch, and her taste.

Peter's injuries seemed to provide little problem, and he pulled her closer to him and underneath the sheets.

His mind was a whirl. He couldn't think straight. Every part of his essence only was able to concentrate on Mary. She was more beautiful than he had ever hoped. And she was with him. And they had both survived the evening's events. He had wanted her for so long. Now she was with him, and he would never let her go.

Into the morning hours Peter held her delicate frame tightly to his battered form. The deep patterns of her breath pushed against him, in perfect rhythm with is own. They had finally gotten there. They were together.

The two had managed to find refuge within each other. Harry's death had forged within them a new bond. One which allowed for this union. They wanted each other terribly. Had for ages. The vulnerability in the room was tangible. Peter for the fresh discarding of his one secret. Mary for her attempt to compete with the dead.

The next morning Peter awoke early and dressed for work. He left Mary Jane sleeping, with her eyes shut tight and a smile on her face while she floated in the midst of some fantastic dream.

The day at the Bugle was normal. Sold a few photos. Was labeled a menace. Helped Ms. Brandt with the web page for the paper. Yet something was pressing at the back of Peter's brain. An insane, unrelenting pressure that made his eyes hurt, and his conscience ache.

After work he visited Aunt May at the hospital. She was making a speedy recovery, but she still needed to be kept under constant surveillance by the doctors and was sleeping most of the day. Peter sat and watched her limp form as it took deep, strenuous breaths. He sat there for hours, simply watching his Aunt, now laboriously, breathing.

He arrived home at around eight o 'clock. There was a bustling in the kitchen that was audible as he entered the apartment.

"I made your favorite," Mary Jane came hurrying out of the kitchen, a smile on her face.

"Hmm?" Peter's expression was blank.

"Baked macaroni and cheese."

"I need you to leave now," he was stoic, and unable to meet her eyes.

"You don't like macaroni anymore?"

"MJ, you need to go."

"Peter..." she took a step towards him, and he retreated.

"Let's not make a mess of things. We both know this will never work."

"What?" she was astounded and took two wide steps back.

"MJ, you know my secret, and I hope you'll respect it, but, I need you to leave."

"Peter…please?"

"No. You don't get it, so go."

"But what about last night? I thought it meant…"

"Let's not ruin our friendship."

"Peter!" she stomped her right foot on the carpeting, the tears beginning to form in her eyes. "Don't do this Peter. I know you wouldn't hurt me like this."

"I'm trying to save you."