Spiderman: Home Is Where The Heart Is
Hey all! Thank you to everyone who's left a kudos and commented on the story so far! I really appreciate it.
Sorry it's taken me so long to update, I've been sick lately, so I haven't really had the energy to write. But I'm feeling better now and I made this chapter a little longer than the others.
I hope you like this chapter, it's the beginning of a core part of the plot. There's a lot of dialogue in this chapter but hope you like it.
I'M ALSO LETTING PEOPLE KNOW THAT I WILL BE ADDING WARNINGS IN CERTAIN CHAPTER FROM THIS POINT ON. THE DIRECTION I'M TAKING THIS STORY WILL CONTAIN EXPLICIT SEX SCENES AND THE VILLAINS WILL BE VERY CRUEL AND PSYCHOPATHIC. JUST LETTING PEOPLE KNOW.
Please comment!
When being the girlfriend of a superhero, you try to be kept in the loop of the activities of said superhero. Or at least, that's what Michelle does.
Before figuring out that Peter Parker was Spiderman, Michelle didn't get involved with the hype around the web crawler. She always thought he was cool, liked that he helped people, whether it was catching cars before they hit buses, giving directions to tourists or helping old ladies cross the street. He was someone who took action to do good in the world. Michelle always appreciated that, but it wasn't her style to fangirl over him like every other kid in her school.
Of course, after what happened in Washington, it didn't take long for Michelle to put it together that Midtown's biggest nerd was the Spiderman. That changed everything and she started to follow every video and post about the web crawler on the web. He was her friend than and she'd already been secretly crushing on him for a while, so following his actions as Spiderman helped her when she worried for him, so she definitely kept up with what the web was saying about Spiderman now they were in a relationship.
Today, however, was by far the busiest day Peter's had in the city as Spiderman. Outside of the whole Alien invasion and fight for the Universe shit of course.
So now, after having her phone almost explode by the amount of Spiderman related notifications, MJ found herself sitting in her loser boyfriend's living room, on his sofa, talking to her loser boyfriend's Aunt about his busy day of heroics that he'd skipped school for.
"So how big has his head gotten?" MJ asked, smiling at the older woman.
"Oh, trust me, he's very proud of himself." May replied, rolling her eyes but MJ could see the pride in them, "When he got home this afternoon, the first thing he said to me was 'I saved a baby from a burning building this morning'. It was kind of hard to scold him for skipping school after that."
MJ groaned, "I know, it makes it so hard to be mad at him. I had to put up with Brad sitting next to me in English."
"That boy's still crushing on you?" May asked, sceptically, "Can he not see how you and Peter are together? You two are like something out of a romance novel the way you are with each other."
MJ blushed, pulling her knees up to her chest and hider her reddening face in them to the older woman's amusement.
Michelle was never one for talking sappy, emotional, feelingsstuff but May had become someone who she felt like she could really talk too. In the months after they met, when she began dating Peter, May had become like another parent to her. Well, actually, May was probably more of a parent to her than her Mother and Father had ever been. She loved being at Peter's apartment and May always made her feel so welcome there.
"Are you coming to dinner with me and Pete?" Michelle asked, looking up, hopefully. She'd be glad to have May there, extra company at the dinner she was so nervous about.
"No, I'm gonna go down and help out at F.E.A.S.T after Happy picks you up. He should be here soon." May replied, looking out the living room window, the sun almost setting. She turned to look down the hall, to the sound of a shower running. "Peter, hurry up and get dressed! Happy will be here soon!" She called out, and seconds later the sound of the shower cut off, making MJ laugh.
"So, what's Mrs stark like?" MJ asked, nervously, playing with Black Dahlia hanging around her neck.
"She's very nice, MJ, don't worry." May smiled, amused. Peter had told her all about Michelle's admiration for the successful Pepper Potts-Stark. The young girl was very quiet when May first met her but with MJ virtually living at her apartment every weekend, May was happy that the she had become comfortable around her and saw the strong personality the young girl had, so like Peter, she found it amusing seeing the young girl nervous.
Michelle was grateful for her words, but they weren't much comfort. The truth is, she wasn't even nervous because meeting the Pepper Pott's- Stark tonight, she was nervous about meeting more people who were important to Peter.
She had always been someone who didn't care about what people thought of her, which is why she was never shy when meeting knew people. Michelle Jones was a badass, she told the truth and sarcasm was second nature.
But now she was in love with the world's biggest dweeb and she cared what the people he loved thought of her. She wanted them to like her.
May looked at the young girl and saw her anxious expression as she fiddled with the necklace her nephew had given her. "Pepper and Morgan will love you MJ. You don't have to worry, seriously."
"Thanks May." MJ smiled, before looking down at herself. She was wearing just a simple pair of blue jeans, white sneakers, a white t shirt with a black zip up jacket. "I'm not underdressed though, am I? Peter said it was casual."
May rolled her eyes, "Seriously, MJ, you're gonna be fine. You're probably gonna have cheeseburgers for dinner and then watch Netflix while eating ice cream. Only difference is you'll be watching Disney movies and have a five-year-old sitting with you."
"Yeah and you don't have to worry, they won't be Star Wars movies either." MJ tuned around to see her boyfriend standing there and boy did he look good.
Peter was dressed in casual clothing too, dark blue jeans and a black t-shirt and he had a dark grey jacket folded over his arm.
"Good to know you haven't turned the innocent child into a nerd yet, loser." MJ smiled, standing up to greet her boyfriend.
She walked over and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Nice work, today, boy hero." She told him, "My phones been blowing up all day. The city's going crazy about you."
Peter pulled away and looked at her with an irritatingly cute smirk on his face. "I know right. It was like crime took a break last night and went straight back to it this morning, but I totally owned it today."
He stepped back away from MJ and made web shooting gestures with his hands, "I webbed like a dozen different muggers to walls and even a few streetlights. Caught a carjacker over in Manhattan, stopped an ATM robbery over in Brooklyn and…."
"saved a baby from burning building early this morning." MJ cut him off, rolling her eyes at him, "Yeah, I watched the video online earlier, it's going viral. Don't let your head get too big their Parker or you won't be able to put your mask on."
"Did you see, they're not calling me the 'Friendly Neighbourhood Spiderman' anymore?" He grinned, smugly, "They're calling me the 'Amazing Spiderman' and the 'Spectacular Spiderman…."
"Oh god, here we go." May said, rolling her eyes and causing Peter to notice her for the first time since he walked into the living room. "Next thing, he'll have his own theme song." She stood up and walked down the hall towards the hall making Peter realise someone was knocking on the door
"Wow, I really don't notice anything when MJ's around" He thought, looking back to his girlfriend, who was smiling smugly back at him.
"They're calling you amazing and spectacular?" MJ asked, folding her arms across her chest, "If they only knew what a loser you really are."
"You're saying I'm not amazing?"
"I'm saying I watched you bite your hand last week, eating a sandwich."
"Hey!" Peter blushed, embarrassed, "I smelled the chicken, I got excited, ok?"
MJ laughed, again, her hands reaching his neck and she pulled him close to her, "You are amazing but you're still a you're my loser." And she kissed him, wiping every thought from his mind, other than to kiss her back, his hand rising to cup her cheek. They stood there in his living room kissing passionately, MJ running her hands through his curls and Peter running his tongue along her bottom lip but before she could grant access were interrupted by a loud clearing of the throat, causing them to pull away.
They looked to the source and saw Happy and May standing there, staring at them and Peter thought Happy looked even more awkward than he did this morning when Peter caught him this morning here in the apartment and May looked like she wanted to just bust out laughing again.
"Maybe, not do any of that later tonight, you two." May said, grinning, moving closer to Happy, to fix his tie, "Don't wanna traumatise Morgan and all.""
"Yeah, I'll be making sure your room is far away from hers tonight." Happy said, one side of his face scrunched, showing he was embarrassed by what he was saying, "Not gonna have Morgan seeing or hearing anything like that tonight."
Peter and Michelle stepped further away from each other, both blushing bright red.
"We're not going too…" Peter scrambled, trying to explain, "We don't do…. We haven't done that."
"Yeah, sure, whatever, still taking precautions."
"Now let's go." Happy said, waving them to come behind him, "It takes like an hour to get to the compound."
"You sure you don't want a ride F.E.A.S.T?"
"No, I'm okay. I like the walk there at night."
"OK, then." Happy frowned, "Be careful, though, ok."
May rolled her eyes, "I'll be fine. Now go, you don't wanna get caught in traffic."
Peter looked away, as his Aunt kissed the head of security, (that was gonna take some getting used too) and MJ smirked at him, seeing his embarrassment. He smiled at her and reached for hand, lacing his fingers with hers.
"Alright, let's go."
Peter had only been to the upstate New York Avengers Compound, that was an hour away from the city, twice before this night. The first was the day he told Tony he wanted to remain the 'Friendly Neighbourhood Spiderman' after he captured the Vulture. The second time he was at the compound, he didn't really know where he was because he had just come back from the blip, and he walked through a portal with Dr Strange to join the Avenger's and a lot of others fight Thanos. The whole compound was destroyed at that point.
Now as he sat in the back of the car, holding MJ's hand in his own as Happy drove up the driveway Peter looked out the window at the newly reconstructed building. From the outside, it looked almost exactly like it did before it was destroyed, only this time Peter was looking at it in the dark of night but it was illuminated by the lights shining in the fields they were driving past and the ones shining through the windows of the compound. There was only one thing different, Peter noticed, as they pulled up to the main entrance.
There was no giant 'A' on the side of the building. There was no symbol that declared this as the base of the Avengers.
"Happy, there's no Avengers symbol anywhere." He said, stepping out of the car, MJ following behind him.
"Uh, yeah, they're gonna get to that." Happy said, walking around the car to join them. He gestured towards the glass door in front of them, "Let's not keep Morgan from her Petey any longer ay?"
MJ laughed, "Petey ay? I like that."
"Only Morgan can call me that, because she won't not."
"Won't not? That great grammar work their loser."
Peter rolled his eyes and Happy laughed at the two as he placed his hand on the keypad next to the door. "Happy Hogan, Level 10 access granted." The A.I. voice announced, and Peter remembered the voice of F.R.I.D.A.Y.
"That's F.R.I.D.A.Y." Peter explained to MJ, "It's…. He's the A.I. for Stark Industries and the Avengers Compound."
"How many A.I.'s do you all have?"
"F.R.I.D.A.Y's the one for the company and the Avengers." Peter said, holding her hand as the walked through the door behind Happy, "I have Karen, which I programmed in with E.D.I.T.H. I don't know if there are any more.
"There isn't." A voice answered, which sounded like it came from above.
Peter looked up and saw Pepper Pott's Stark walking down the staircase, towards them, smiling and Peter felt a wave of happiness overcome him. Even after everything that they had been through, everything she had be been through Pepper still walked with strength and smiled brightly at something as small as him coming to have dinner with her and her daughter. She was by far one of the strongest people he had ever met.
"Happy, can you go up to Morgan's room and make sure she's getting dressed? She just got out of the bath."
"Yea sure." Happy replied and moved to walk up the stairs Pepper just walked down.
"Hey Pete." Pepper greeted him, pulling him into a hug that Peter returned. As awkward as he had felt last night when they talked on the phone, as much he'd often felt like he was intruding on their lives, seeing Pepper right now made him realise how much he'd missed them the last four months that they'd been gone. He felt like he was reuniting with family.
He pulled away and smiled at her, "Hey Mrs Stark…. ah Pepper." He corrected himself as the woman rolled her eyes.
"Nice save their kid. You'll get used to my first name soon."
Peter grinned sheepishly, "Sorry."
Pepper smiled and turned towards the girl holding Peter's hand, "And you must be Michelle. It's nice to finally meet you." She said, extending her hand out to shake the young girl's hand.
"Hi Mrs Stark." Michelle greeted, nervously, taking the hand offered to her.
Pepper waved her greeting off, "Please, call me Pepper. It's hard enough trying to get this one to use my first name." The older woman said, gesturing to Peter who just stood there, grinning sheepishly.
Pepper rolled her eyes, again, "I heard you had a big day in the city boy hero."
"Yeah, it was awesome." Peter said, suddenly excited, "I mean… I was awesome."
MJ shook her head beside him and Pepper laughed, "Well, they city's loving you, right now. Don't let it go to your head."
"It's a bit too late for that." MJ said, twisting her mouth, suggesting she was embarrassed of him, "He won't fit his head in his mask tomorrow. The city will wonder where he's gone."
"You still told me I'm amazing earlier."
"Still a loser. Why am I dating you again?"
"You tell me."
"I will when I figure it out."
Pepper laughed causing them both to look at her. "Sorry." She said, grinning, "You two are just so cute together."
They both brushed bright red and Pepper laughed at them again. "Come on, upstairs." She said, smiling, "Morgan's excited to see you."
Peter and MJ followed Pepper up the stairs towards the living quarters of the compound. As he walked, Peter once again felt a surge of happiness flow through him.
After the blip and losing Tony, Peter truly did feel that the whole universe was out to get him. He missed five years of the world spinning, came back to the worst battle the world has ever seen and lost his mentor to it. Then after months of rebuilding the life he and his Aunt had lost, he had to deal with con artist psychopath, who played him like a fool and almost took everything from him.
But in the last four months, since dealing with Mysterio in London and beginning a relationship with MJ, Peter truly felt happy. He was with the girl that he knew he loved and was introducing her to two of the most important people in the world to him. Life was really going great for him right now.
When they got to the living area, Peter once again looked around and noted that everything had rebuilt exactly the same as it was before. Simple dinner table, bright white and black kitchen and further along down the wide room, cushioned sofas and large television mounted on the adjacent wall. Peter felt that this place was cool, but it was also cold and blank. This wasn't a homey place, it was definitely a room that was made for the Avengers.
"PETEY!"
The loud shout pulled him from his thought, and he turned to look down the hallway and even with his enhanced senses only saw a flash of red before he was almost knocked off his feet.
Morgan had wrapped her arms around his waist and was cuddled into his side. He noticed she was slightly taller than she was the last time he saw her. She was wearing red and gold Iron Man pyjamas.
"Hey there rug rat!"
He reached down and picked her up and she threw her hands round his neck and she hugged him tight. He hugged her back, MJ standing to the side and watching the two of them.
Peter pulled back to look at the little girl, "You looking after your Mum?"
"Yes!" Morgan nodded, smiling excitedly at him. He smiled and kissed her on the forehead.
"I've missed you."
"I've missed you too, Petey!"
"What's for dinner?"
"Cheeseburgers!"
"Uh, no, actually!" Pepper called out from behind the kitchen counter, looking pointedly at the young girl, "I said we could order pizza!"
"But mum…."
"No, arguments Morgan. You can have a cheeseburger tomorrow, when we go into the city."
"Hmmm…" Morgan groaned, making a cute angry face at Peter. Peter laughed at how cute she was.
"Morgan, theirs someone special, I want you to meet." Peter told her, turning towards MJ who was watching him interact with the young girl with a shy smile on her face.
"This is Michelle." He introduced them.
"Hi Morgan." MJ greeted, holding her hand out for the little girl to take. Morgan looked at it shyly before taking it, replying with a simple "Hello."
Michelle couldn't blame her. She herself was as nervous and shy as she could ever remember being. She could see the love in the eyes of her boyfriend as he looked at Morgan Stark and her mother, it was the same kind of look he had when he was talking to his Aunt, or even when he was hanging out with Ned. It was obvious how important these two were to Peter Parker.
"Michelle is Peter's girlfriend, Morgan." Pepper told her daughter, who's eyes lit up, all traces of shyness gone, "Oh! So, you love Petey too!"
Michelle's eyes widen and she had to clamp her mouth shut, because she knew she'd catch flies if she didn't. Pepper calling her Peter's girlfriend was like flipping a switch in that turned the adorable girl in Peter's arms from nervous and shy, to looking at her like she was her best friend in the world. It definitely made her speak her mind to Michelle.
"Answer her, Michelle, damn it." Michelle thought, "Just say yes."
The little girl really had put her on the spot. It was just blast night, when Peter came over to her apartment and crawled through her window, like he did every night now, that Michelle realised she loved him. She'd been freaking out over how much their relationship had affected her in the months they'd been together, how happy Peter made her. Last night, she'd realised it was love but she thought he wasn't ready to hear it yet.
But this morning at school, she was panicking all morning, when he failed to show up to Decathlon practice because he was out being a hero, that something could happen to him and she wouldn't get the chance to tell him. After finding out he was okay, the panic died away but all day she was thinking that she wanted to tell him but didn't know how. How do you tell someone you love them?
"I'm his girlfriend."
It was a stupid reply, even when talking to a five-year-old but it was all Michelle could come with. It seemed to be enough for Morgan smiled just cuddled back into Peter. Michelle looked at Peter who was smiling softly at her, but Michelle could notice something else in his eyes, disappointment that she didn't say it.
Peter had to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing out loud. He loved how MJ being his girlfriend made Morgan instantly love her, it was so cute. Her words definitely created some awkwardness and he could definitely tell MJ felt it.
Peter knew that he was in love with MJ. He'd known he loved her since the day their relationship began, on the bridge in London. Until she came to him on that bridge, he wouldn't have defined his feelings as love, he was sixteen and he knew it would be stupid to call it love when they weren't even going out. But he knew before the trip Europe, before the blip, that he really liked MJ and the feelings he had for her were strong.
It wasn't just a crush, like he had on Liz before Homecoming. Liz was the pretty popular girl, who was kind to him and almost every guy in school had a crush on her. Peter felt about leaving her at the dance and sending her father to prison but truthfully it didn't take long for him to get over Liz moving away from New York. It'd been a school crush nothing more.
Peter's feelings for MJ developed over time, after Homecoming as they finished sophomore year and moved into their junior year of High School. She started hanging out with him and Ned, sitting at their end of the lunch table, they'd become a trio. She always made fun of them, calling them losers and dorks but whenever Flash was being his usual bullying self, she always stood up for them, saying, "Yeah, they're losers but they're my losers."
He liked more and more every time she leaned into his side during their movie nights, every time she made fun of his Star Wars figurines, when she talked about her favourite murder and told him she loved the word 'BOH', how the Italians created it and that she was born to say the word. All these things made his feelings for her grow stronger and stronger every day.
But when he saw how worried she was about him when she found him on that bridge and told him that she liked the Black Dahlia necklace better broken, he knew what he felt was love. And he wanted to tell her right then and there, but he knew he couldn't do that.
It would've been stupid but as the days have gone by, as they grew closer and spent every night intimately holding each other as they slept, Peter knew he had to tell her, he couldn't keep it in much longer.
It was funny to watch MJ think about what Morgan had said to her he honestly didn't expect her to agree with the little girl and say, 'Yes I love him.' But with MJ's simple reply 'I'm his girlfriend.' Though hilarious, he couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed.
He had to shake these thoughts away as Morgan pulled on his ear. "Hey Petey! Mum's talking to you!"
Peter turned to look at Pepper, who was standing behind the kitchen counter. She had a sort of smug, knowing smile on her face, like she knew what kind of thoughts her daughters' words had triggered in him.
"What kind of Pizza do you want Pete?" Pepper asked.
"Um…. Meatlovers?"
"Michelle, do you like Pizza? I'm sorry I didn't think to check. If you want, we can order something else…."
"No, Pepper, pizzas fine." Michelle replied, smiling awkwardly. Being asked by one of the women she admired most in the world whether she liked pizza was not something Michell ever thought would happen to her.
"Thanks for remembering to use my first name." Pepper replied, grinning walking around the counter, "Hopefully you can help Pete remember to do the same."
"Hey baby…" Pepper said, to Morgan, "Why don't you take Michelle to the theatre room and pick out a movie for us to watch. Me and Pete will be there in a minute."
Peter frowned in confusion but understood the look that Pepper was shooting at him. She had something important she wanted to talk to him about. He looked to MJ and could see that she understood he had to talk privately with Pepper, but the nervous look was back on her face. She obviously didn't expect to be alone with Morgan so soon.
Peter put Morgan down and the little girl snatched MJ's hand from her side, "Come in here Michelle, the theatre room so cool." Morgan said and proceeded to drag his girlfriend down the hall, his girlfriend smiling at the little girls' cheerfulness.
"Just take a seat Peter, I'll be with you in a minute." Pepper told him.
Peter moved and sat down at the living room table and waited for Pepper, taking in the living area the building again. Honestly, he thought he would struggle being back here, the land this building was built on was where they lost Tony. But being back here actually made Peter smile at the thought of Tony, this was where he worked, where he designed Peter's suits, where he, Captain America and the others all trained and lived before they split apart. It was also where all the original Avengers worked tirelessly to bring them all back to life.
This building was a beacon of hope to the world, a sign that said that the Avengers were still here to protect it. Which is why Peter couldn't stop thinking about the missing 'A' that was supposed to be showing outside.
After a minute came out of the kitchen area and sat down with him, bringing two bottles of water with her. She looked happy but Peter had spent enough time around MJ to learn to read people. They had important things to talk about.
"How are you doing, Pete?" Pepper asked softly.
"I'm good, Mrs Stark." He answered, smiling softly, "I'm really good actually. These last four months have been awesome. Finally getting back to normal."
"That's good to hear." Pepper replied, "You've been doing really well out in the city. You're patrolling everywhere and New York is really loving Spidey now, especially after today."
Peter laughed, running a hand through his hair, "Yeah, it's been good lately. The police seem to like me now and love having me around to help. And today, well last night was a really quiet night, it was like everything waited to come out today. I was on my way to school when the Fire Trucks drove by and I went to help. After that, I was busy all day and I didn't make it to school."
"Yea I figured that." Pepper said. She was proud of the kid for helping so many people, but he couldn't lose himself in being a hero. He couldn't skip school too much to go be Spiderman, he had to have a life of his own. "Don't make a habit of that Pete. You have a life that you need to live too."
"Yeah I know." And he did know. He knew he was late a lot, to school, to Decathlon, to movie nights, even to dates with MJ. It was his most unfavourite thing about being Spiderman, the difficulty of managing time.
But he'd gotten better at it, another thing he'd improved on since being with MJ. He found early on in their relationship, that he couldn't keep letting her down. A few times after they'd gotten back from London, he'd missed dinner with MJ or a Decathlon practice that she was relying on him to be there. She was always supportive, saying, "You're a loser with her-complex. I knew that before I started going out with you." He was glad she understood but he couldn't bear the look of disappointment on her face, the one she tried so hard to hide whenever he missed something for Spiderman. So, he stopped scanning for small crime during the day, only allowing KAREN to alert him to urgent emergencies. He couldn't let Spiderman come between them.
"Today was just a one-time thing. Or at least, something I'm not gonna repeat soon. It was just that fire and saving that baby…. It just felt like a day for Spiderman."
Pepper smiled proudly, reach over to take his hand in her own, "I'm proud of you Pete and I know Tony would be too."
Peter beamed at her, "Thanks Pepper."
"How are you and Morgan doing?"
Peppers eyes flashed with something Peter could only describe as sadness and he regretted asking but how could he not? He need to know how they were doing, he had to be there for them like they were for him.
"It's still hard." Pepper said, smiling sadly, "It's always going to be hard. But we're definitely doing better now. Morgan likes to talk about him a lot, it's her way of dealing with how much she misses him.
"Last month was hard, it's so hard to believe it's been over a year now. But we are okay, I promised Tony we would be." And she smiled at him, a sad one, but genuine. He smiled back at her.
"I saw the way you look at that girl in there." Pepper told him, wiping a tear from her eye, "Have you told her yet?"
"Told her what?"
"That you're in love with her."
Peter coughed and had to clear his throat at Peppers blunt words. "Am I really that obvious?"
"is it really that easy to tell?"
"I saw the way you too look at each other." Pepper smirked at him, "I'm guessing you haven't told her yet. You should, she loves you too."
"You don't know that." Peter said, nervously. He'd just seen a minute ago, MJ couldn't say she loved him when Morgan put her on the spot. MJ was the most honest, confident person he'd ever met (and that was saying a lot since he'd known Tony Stark) if she loved him, he reckoned she would tell him.
"She wanted to tell you, earlier." Pepper said, knowing what his thoughts were, "I guess she didn't want to tell you at the say so of a five-year-old."
Peter thought over it for a moment, "Yea I guess that make sense."
Pepper beamed at him, "You really do love her don't you."
Peter smiled, shyly, "She just…. She makes everything okay, you know. She makes me so happy whenever she's around, even with all the bad stuff going on."
"You two are lucky. It's not often you find real love at your age."
Peter knew this was true. He knew most adults would call him crazy if he told them that he was in love with MJ. But he knew what they had, and it made him happy that Pepper Pott's Stark, one of the smartest people he knew, one he loved and trusted, could see it too.
Pepper rubbed his hand softly, looking down at them. This boy had been like a son to Tony and though she didn't get to know Peter well until after they lost Tony, he'd become almost like a son to her. She was glad to see him happy, moving forward with his life and had found someone who meant the world to him, like Tony had meant to her.
But seeing him this happy, made it all the more difficult to tell him what they really needed to talk about.
Peter
"Listen, Pete…." Pepper began, softly, "We need to talk about something important."
"I kind of figured that." Peter said, smiling. It was really good to see Pepper and talk to her about MJ and Tony and how their lives were going right now. But there was more to it, from Pepper.
Pepper smiled, "It's really good to see you. I was always going to invite you over for dinner anyway, whenever I came back to the city. But we need to talk about something."
"Okay."
Pepper sighed, "Do you remember after the blip? A few weeks after everyone was brought back, and we were able to start getting the message out about what happened?"
"Yeah, I remember."
After everyone was brought back, himself included, the world was in total disarray. People didn't have homes, they didn't know where their kids, their parents, their friends were, and they had no idea about anything that happened. It took weeks before they were able to get the message around the world about how everyone was brought back, who did it and what it cost.
"Well, as you know, it took weeks before we could actually get the message out to the world., because of all the chaos after bringing everyone back. We told everyone about the fight here on the ruins of the compound and we told them that Tony, Steve and all the Avengers were able to steal the stones from Thanos and they were used to bring everyone back, who was lost in the Decimation."
Pepper paused for a moment, looking away and Peter knew how hard it was for her to talk about, Tony's life was the cost of saving the world from Thanos and it happened right here, on the land they were standing on.
"We didn't tell anyone about the whole time-travel part of it." Pepper continued, "Me, Steve and Bruce we all agreed that was just too much to dive into."
"Yea I remember." Peter said.
"Well, you'd remember, when the world started to settle and accept what happened, everyone was overwhelmed, by what we all did. What the Avengers done. People got their families, their friends back and all because the Avengers didn't give up. And then they saved them again, by killing Thanos and his army."
"The world was so grateful and wanted the Avengers to keep protecting them." Peter said, following what she was saying.
"Yes exactly!" Pepper exclaimed, leaning back in her chair, "Everyone loved you all…."
"Us…." Peter interrupted, "They loved us Pepper. "you were there fighting too."
Pepper rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I know Pete. But, as a collective, the world was grateful to the Avengers, the name, the team. They were the saviours."
"So, during that time, as you know, almost every signature of the Sokovia accords, pulled themselves out of it. The world wanted the Avengers to keep protecting them by any means necessary. King T'Challa was the first to pull out and then President Clark pulled U.S. out. After that, every country pulled out from the Accords."
"Yeah, I know." Peter said, softly, "It was great that the Sokovia Accords were repealed. If they weren't there's no way I could still be Spiderman. Not with Tony gone."
Before the Decimation, the blip, Peter was friendly neighbourhood Spiderman. He wasn't technically an Avenger yet, he'd turned down Tony's offer, after the situation with Vulture, he knew he wasn't ready to be an Avenger yet and because he wasn't an Avenger, he hadn't signed the Sokovia Accords, which was another big reason why Peter turned down joining the Avengers.
He was hesitant to sign the Accords, because that would mean he'd have to reveal his identity to the world. The Avengers were public figures and the Accords clearly stated their identities couldn't be kept secret. He was able to keep his identity a secret before the Decimation, because Tony kept the law off his back, as he was considered, not an Avenger but a 'potential recruit.'
Peter wouldn't reveal his identity now, not even if it meant he couldn't keep being Spiderman.
He had too much to lose. When enemies know a superheroes identity, it puts the people they care about in danger.
He wouldn't endanger MJ like that.
Or May.
Or Ned.
"I know, Pete." Pepper said, smiling at the kid in front of her. Being Spiderman meant the world to him, he truly was a lot like Tony.
"Over the last few months, with the world finally recovering from the blip, and not actually seeing Cap or Hulk or any of the Avengers anywhere…. Except you." Pepper added, seeing he was about to interrupt.
"But they haven't seen the Avengers as a collective, doing anything at all around the world. And you weren't technically an Avenger before." Pepper continued, "The gratitude, the feeling of safety has started to wear off for some people. In the political sector, a lot of conservatives want to reinstate the Sokovia Accords, to try to establish some sort of protection for the world, some kind of control over the Avengers."
"Thaddeus Ross, is making a lot of noise about this."
Peter had heard about what she was talking about. It showed up a lot on the news, some countries wanted to reinstate the Accords, to show the world they ere doing something about any other potential threats to the world.
Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross was the most vocal politician on this subject. He was the only one who fought against the U.N. repealing the Accords in the first place. He never wanted them to give up their 'legal' control over the Avengers.
"Ross blipped and he still doesn't want us to do our jobs." Peter said, incredulous.
"Ross doesn't believe in gratitude and trust Pete." Pepper said, contempt for the man showing, "He believes in leverage and control."
"I've been in the media a lot, arguing with him on the point of the Accords. So far, he hasn't made any headway but that might change soon."
Peter watched her sigh and she actually looked frustrated right now. He let her think before she continued.
"I found out today, Ross is going to announce he's running for President."
Peter gasped, surprised. He wasn't expecting that.
One of the things that Peter found out when was brought back from the blip, was the President at the time of the Snap, didn't blip. He continued to run the U.S. as the country collapsed and even after half the country was lost, they still held the scheduled Presidential election in 2020 and he was re-elected in that year, by a landslide. People didn't want any more change in the world two years after the Snap, they wanted to keep him because they were the President they already had.
It was also strange that right now, in 2024, they hadn't held a presidential election yet, because no-one wanted to run. No-one wanted to inherit the continuing headaches of leading the U.S. a year after the world got half its population back. Peter wasn't one to get involved with politics, but he knew Thaddeus Ross as President wouldn't be good for the world.
"He can't…. Peter began, stuttering, not knowing what to say, "Ross can't become President, Pepper. He would destroy the Avengers. Captain America would still be a fugitive! He'd lock them all up like he did before the Snap! I wouldn't be able to be Spiderman anymore!"
Peter stood up and began pacing back and forth, trying to calm himself before he had a full panic attack. He hadn't had one in a long time, he didn't want to have one now.
"Pete…" Pepper said, softly and looked back to her, "He hasn't announced he's running yet and the election not going to happen until February. We've got three months to work something out."
"Work what out? What can we do about this?"
"Well, for starters, we can calm down." Pepper said firmly and glancing back to the seat he just left. He sighed, deeply and sat back down.
"Okay, look…" Pepper began, "After he announces, other will begin to come out and challenge his campaign but we will cross that road when we get to it."
"The real reason I'm here is because when he announces, the fight against the Accords is going to get a lot bigger and I need to actually know what's going on with you all."
Peter was confused, "What do you mean what's going on with us all? Who?"
Pepper rolled her eyes, reaching out and taking a sip of her water, "Before I say anything more in the media, I need to know if the Avengers are even a thing anymore. I've been saying it's for the best that the Accords were repealed, to give the Avengers freedom but the world hasn't heard from the Avengers at all. Some people are starting to believe that Avengers aren't even here anymore."
Peter thought about it for a moment and he could now see her point. It had been just over a year since the blip and the Avengers had made no appearances publicly at all, except for himself. He was always seen on patrol in New York and the world saw him deal with Mysterion in London. They knew that Spiderman was here but the others, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye…. The world hadn't seen or heard anything about them at all.
"I've spoken to Steve…." Pepper continued, seriously, "He says he's still Captain America and wants to keep fighting. The others, I don't know about it. Clint is with his family and doesn't even want to talk about being an Avenger. Thor is off world. Rhodey is done because he still believes in the Accords and doesn't want to keep going without oversight. Sam, Wanda and Bruce are undecided, but Steve said he'd talk to them to try to find out where they stand."
Peter took all of what Pepper was saying in.
The truth was he hadn't spoken to any of the other Avengers since Tony's funeral. That was pretty much where he'd properly met all of them, but they didn't talk much, they were all grieving after the loss of Tony, of Iron man. Cap did tell him that he was going away for a while, something about 'finding some of that life Tony was telling me to get'. Hawkeye was going back to be with his family after he had gotten them back. Thor left with the Guardians of the Galaxy and he didn't know what any of the others were planning on doing, at the time he didn't really care.
Peter had just wanted to get back to Queens, to see MJ, see Ned and try to get past losing his mentor. Over the past year, Peter honestly hadn't given much thought to what the other Avengers were up to. They didn't know him, and he didn't know them, he didn't even know how to contact them, he'd always just assumed that they were all still in it together, ready to fight anything big that came their way.
"I never really thought about it like that." Peter says, eventually, "I just kind of…. Thought we were still here, you know?"
"It's ok, Pete, I get it." Pepper told him, softly, "No-one really wanted to talk about it. Everyone needed to go their own way for a while, it was a big thing we all went through. Steve, Rhodey and Bruce are the only ones who I've spoken much too. The others they've called a few times to check In…. on me and Morgan. But no-one wanted to talk about the future, about whether the Avengers were still together."
Peter realised just now, everything Pepper was saying to him, was an answer to what he was wondering about earlier. The reason why the giant 'A' symbolising this building as the base of Earth's mightiest heroes, wasn't there because no-one knew if the heroes were still here.
It hurt Peter to think that the Avengers could be over.
"Steve wants to talk to you." Pepper said, seeing his sad expression, "I invited him here tonight, but he didn't want to intrude on us, though he wouldn't have been. But he wants to talk to you, to see where you stand on all of this. He is the leader after all."
Peter smiled at these words. Pepper saying that Captain America was the leader of the Avengers was proof that even though, some people were lost, and some didn't want to continue, the Avengers are still here.
And he knew that he was one of them.
"When does he want to talk?" Peter asked.
"He said whenever is good for you." Pepper answered, loving the small smile on the young boys face, "He's back in the city. We're going into the city tomorrow, I want to take Morgan out and have some fun. You and MJ can join us if you want and I'll call, Steve and see if we can meet up with him somewhere?"
Peter thought about it for a moment. It was a weekend, he and MJ spent every weekend together, hanging out at his apartment or in the city, sometimes with Ned and Betty. They didn't have any plans tomorrow, so it would be good to spend the day with Pepper and Morgan, out and having fun with his girlfriend and a girl was like his little sister.
He would be able to talk with Captain America, to settle what place they had in the world now as Avengers.
"That sounds great, Mrs Stark…." Peter answered, smiling, before correcting himself, "I mean, Pepper."
"You were doing so well." Pepper said, rolling her eyes and Peter laughed.
Pepper stood up, and Peter did the same "Come on and let's go see how your girlfriend and my munchkin are getting along. They'd be half hour into a movie right now and they're probably wondering where we are."
Peter stared at into the night sky as he stood on the balcony of the bedroom, the bedroom Pepper had told him was now his room at the Avengers Compound.
It was almost midnight right now and he'd just got back from carrying Morgan Stark to her bed after she had fallen asleep, watching the Lion King, while cuddling into his girlfriend's side. After his conversation with Pepper, she and himself joined the two in the theatre room and it was obvious as soon as he saw them together, the little girl had broken into MJ's heart as they were enthusiastically talking about what was the best Toy Story movie and who their favourite characters were.
He found it adorable and was slightly jealous when after they had finished their Pizza and began watching Lion King, Morgan sat up on the sofa and cuddled into MJ. He called the little girl out, saying 'What about me?' Morgan shrugged and replied cheekily, "I like MJ better than you now." Pepper and MJ got a great laugh out of that.
Peter stared out to the starry night, waiting for his girlfriend to get out of the shower. He was thinking about how great a night he had with Tony's family, with his family and the girl he was in love with.
He thought about how great everything in his life had been going in the last four months.
He didn't get panic attacks anymore.
He was doing better in school.
May was doing great, with Happy.
Pepper and Morgan were happy and doing well.
He was doing great as Spiderman and New York loved him for it.
Making most him most happy of all, he was with MJ, they were happy together and had been for the last four months.
But now, sadly, Peter knew after the conversation with Pepper tonight, after all she had told him, there were challenges coming towards them. He knew, going forward, hard days were ahead of him as Spiderman and he knew, MJ would be with him for all of them. That made him feel better, he felt he could always be happy as long as she was with him. But not all days were going to be as blissful as they had been for the last for months. It was a bitter fact to accept.
Peter was so lost in his head, he didn't notice his girlfriend join him on the balcony, now dressed in grey sweatpants and grey t-shirt, that were found in the rooms closet, until she came up beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"What's up dork?" MJ asked, kissing him on the cheek, "You were a little lost in your own head there."
He turned to her and smiled, "I'm just been thinking about us."
"You gonna get sappy again on me now?"
"Yeah, I think I am."
He smiled at his girlfriend, who scrunched up her face, in embarrassment.
"Get it over with than loser. The sooner you get your sappy display over, the sooner I can take you over to that bed, for a makeout session, since I haven't had you to myself all day."
Peter laughed, moving forward, touching his lips to MJ's. The kiss was passionate but over too quickly for MJ who reached up to cup his cheek before he pulled away.
"No wat, I do have something I need to tell you."
MJ groaned impatiently, folding her arms across her chest. "Hurry up than, dork."
Peter smiled, God, he loved this girl.
"MJ…." He began, slowly, "The last four months have been amazing. Ever since that flight back home, when we basically slept the whole flight home, not even talking to each other till we got off the plane. Taking you swinging around the city that afternoon. Hanging out at my apartment, finally getting you to watch Star Wars. Holding your hand as we walk through the school, seeing Brads face as he sees us every day. Sleeping in your bed every night, hell even when you look after me after a bad night on patrol."
Peter closed his eyes, sighing, and seeing MJ's, now patient, face before continuing, "All of that has been awesome for the last four months."
"OK…." MJ says, dragging out the word in question.
Peter looked away, over the balcony, before turning back to her.
"It's not going to be like that all the time, you know."
MJ looked at him like he's got two heads. "What do you mean, Peter?"
"I mean…." Peter groaned, frustrated, "Being Spiderman makes things complicated you know? Everything's been so easy for the last for months, but I realised tonight, it's not gonna stay that way. It's not always going to be easy."
"Is this about whatever you were talking to Pepper about?"
"Yes, sort of," Peter answered, softly, "My point is, not everyday is gonna be as great as the last four months. Not between you and me, I mean, just in general."
MJ stared at him with her classic deadpan expression. She didn't move or speak at all for a while, making him uncomfortable, before she raised a hand up to brush a lock off hair out of her face and saying, "Peter, you're an idiot."
Peter raised his eyebrows, in surprise. "MJ, I'm serious…."
"You're an idiot Peter." She exclaimed, cutting him off.
She grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together. "Peter, do you honestly think I'm that deluded? That I just thought every day was gonna be ice cream Sunday just because every day has been perfect since we got together?"
Peter didn't have time to reply, before she continued, "The first time I kissed you, we were surrounded by burning cars and standing in the middled of a bridge Peter."
"I've told you this before dweeb, I knew what I was getting into when I started going out with you. I'm here for the bad days too dweeb. I know what I signed on for."
Peter looked down at their interlaced hands and back at his girlfriend, who was staring at him with a look of determination.
"I know, you know…." He said, softly, "I just didn't want this all to end. Everything's been so great, I didn't want any trouble pop up now."
"Life's not perfect Peter." MJ told him, "But nothings ending. We're here together now and whatever bad days come, we'll deal with them together too."
Peter smiled, "I know we will."
MJ rolled her eyes, before looking at him like was the worlds biggest loser, "Great. Well that display was more depressing than it was sappy, so can we please just go make out on the bed now?"
"Sure…" He said, reaching up to cup her cheek and kissing her. It started off softly before hand began to wander, MJ's finding their way into Peter's hair and his sliding up her bare back, beneath the material of her shirt. This caused her to moan and Peters tongue took the opportunity, sliding into MJ's mouth and gently massaged her own.
Peter moved them back, through the open door and with his enhanced agility and senses, closed the door behind them without breaking the kiss at all.
He slid his hands out from under MJ's shirt, as they approached the perfectly made bed, they'd never slept in before. She pulled away from him, as they reached it and fell back on it.
She looked up at him smugly, as he stood there looking down at her, "Gonna join me on here Spiderman or what?"
"Absolutely."
He kicked off his shoes and kneeled down on the bed, moving to hover over her. Her arms wrapped around his waist and she bent her knee up to curl him against her.
He looked down at her bright brown eyes looking up at him, a seductive smile on her face.
This right here was where he wanted to be right now. It's where he always wanted to be.
"One more thing…." He said, slowly, leaning down and pecking her lips. She rolled her eyes, "What?"
"I love you."
Hope you liked this chapter! The next chapter you'll see MJ interact with Pepper and Morgan more, it didn't feel write in this chapter so I cut most of their interactions from it!
PLEASE REVIEW!