Title: Memento

By: Satine16

Disclaimer: None of the characters in this belong to me, they are all property of Marvel Comics. Please do not sue me I am not doing this for money.

Chapter 11: Happy Endings

It had been three weeks since Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson ended their brief love affair. To both it had seemed as if it had ended before the chance for anything truly amazing was fully realized.

Peter mourned his loss of Mary because he was afraid for her. That and he missed her. She had completely abandoned contact with him since the day that he dropped his terrible shell.

Mary on the other hand was more in a state of anger. She was mad at Peter for abandoning what he had always wanted, and what she had recently discovered. She was mad at herself for letting herself be this upset over little Peter Parker. Except he wasn't little Peter Parker anymore. He had grown into a kind, intelligent, loving man, and MJ knew that he was the best thing that would ever happen to her. He had always been good to her. As a little girl she was just too blind to notice: Peter Parker was always there when you needed him. God, it made her angry. Then again there are worse things than being in love with Spider-Man, she told herself.

It had been three weeks since that day in his apartment. It had been three weeks since they had spoken. (Not for Peter's lack of trying.)

Mary Jane slowly got ready for work. Taking her black wig off of the shelf, she tidied it up, and put it on over her flattened red hair. Once again she was a brunette. Meticulously doing her makeup, as always, MJ stepped into her role. Today it was metallic blue eye shadow and bare lip-gloss. Her outfit was already laid out on her bed: a pair of white short shorts, a black halter and thigh high, black boots. Tenderly MJ began to change and pack her purse.

Peter Parker just entered his apartment and closed the window. The rain clouds were steely black in the sky, and ominously hovered above the city of New York. A night in the rain as Spider-Man always reminded Peter that the absolute worst feeling was not broken bones, or bleeding flesh. It was, in fact, wet spandex. Throwing on a white Hanes t-shirt and old jeans, Peter gave thanks that the drops had held out.

The thunder clapped as the sky grew darker. Grabbing her trench coat off the chair and her umbrella from the floor MJ headed out of her apartment. Closing the door quietly behind her, she began to descend the stairs as quickly as possible. She didn't want him to catch her. She was too late.

"MJ! MJ!" Peter called to her as she dashed away without turning her head. It killed him that she couldn't even look at him anymore. With one last burst of resolve, Peter dived into his apartment, grabbed his jacket, and forgetting to lock his door, ran after her.

In the crowd he could see her red umbrella and beige coat. She moved quickly, and Peter was almost struggling to keep up with her amongst the people. The problem being that New York City foot traffic operates like a river current, pushing people this way and that, forcing them to move along with everyone else, no matter the pace.

Peter finally caught up to her outside the club, "MJ, please?"

Her footsteps came to a halt before she entered, although she left her back to him.

"I just want to talk to you. I miss you."

"If I recall, you were the one that didn't think we were a good idea. What is it about me, Peter? What do I do to you that scares you?"

"It had nothing to do with you…well I mean, it did. I'm scared for your safety, Mary Jane. As long as I do what I'm doing, you're at risk. Remember what happened with Harry? What if there comes a time when I can't save you? I would never be able to forgive myself. I don't want to hurt you."

"So you break my heart instead," she finally turned to face him.

"Fine. You can hate me. I would rather have you be alive and hate me, than dead," he turned to leave.

"And, Peter, something I learned from having a ridiculously unhappy family was the fact that I would rather die happy, than live in misery. I'm a big girl Pete and I'm not scared of the big bad city anymore. What I'm scared of is having to greet each day without you." The rain began to trickle down from the sky and relieve the pressure of the city. "Peter…I'm in love with you."

Slowly, he turned back to her, the rain now pouring down and drenching him to the core. Softly his voice crept from him, "I've always loved you."

She stood underneath her large red umbrella, surrounded by the glow of the warm toned halo against the grey blue rain and alley. She was his angel blurred by the rain. Highlighted by the circular aura of the umbrella. In that moment, Peter was reminded that Mary Jane Watson had always been the radiance in his life.

In a flash, he had taken her into his arms. Leaning in slowly, he kissed her and she shifted her umbrella to house them both. A few raindrops trickled off his nose as they kissed.

"I missed you."

"I missed you, too."

"What now?"

"I think I want you to kiss me again."