This story is loosely inspired by Aragorn II Elessar's "A first date" and "You are good woman, I am good man" stories. To be clear, while I do like Kirsten Dunst's MJ and I'm sympathetic towards her, the melodrama between Peter and MJ was tiresome and it didn't help that she gave a cold shoulder in the second film. Besides, while she did appear in the second movie tie-in game, I still find the idea of Spider-Man/Black Cat in the Raimiverse intriguing and it's a shame she never appeared in any live-action film, aside from TASM2.
For this story, I'm pairing him with Black Cat and it will be set after Spider-Man 3. Just like my "Home Sweet Home", she'll be portrayed by Ali Larter again, though it's not related to that story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Spider-Man. They belong to Sony Pictures, Marvel Studios and Sam Raimi.
Chrysler Building, Night
Peter Parker, in his Spider-Man suit, was sitting on the top of the Chrysler Building. He had been busy patrolling the city, having fought against a criminal called Quentin Beck, who went by the name of Mysterio, the other night. Beck was a special effects wizard and a former stuntman who failed to find a career in cinema, but utilized his illusions to commit crimes all over the city. Mysterio attempted to frame Spider-Man into robbing the bank, but his plans were foiled by Parker, who had him jailed.
In the last two months since the fight against Venom and Sandman, Peter had made sure that he would honor the people he cared about was to keep going on as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and protect New York City. Sometimes he dealt against small crooks, sometimes he dealt with bigger problems.
Peter and MJ did not come back together by the end of the day and decided to just remain friends. Both of them still cherished the moments they had together, but too much toxicity had entered the relationship to really go back to normal now.
That dance they had was a sort of a farewell dance, and once that was over, they'd talked things out, apologized to one another and decided to remain as friends from now on.
It had been two months since Peter and MJ's permanent split and while he was always shy towards women, Peter still felt the need to try it out with someone else, since he couldn't outside MJ. He wasn't sure if he would try it with Gwen, as she hasn't forgiven him for the incident at the jazz bar where MJ worked, and while he liked Ursula, he feared that her father might be enraged about their relationship.
As he continued looking through the city's view on the top of the building, a white haired woman wearing a black leather catsuit that exposed her cleavage with white fur on the forearms and legs and a domino mask that exposed her blue eyes approached Peter. Peter stood up and recognized the person standing in front of him.
"Hello, lover. You know, the last time we saw each other, I told you we'd meet again, but didn't know it was this fast."
The woman who spoke to him was Felicia Hardy, also known as Black Cat. Peter first met her while stopping a robbery at Midtown Museum. Both of them became close allies and she developed feelings for him, even persuading him to abandon his civilian self, but Peter chose to balance his life as Spider-Man and Peter and refused her offer.
"Hey, Cat. Long time no see." Spider-Man told Black Cat.
Black Cat then joined Spider-Man and sat on the top of the building. "So, you often come here?"
"I usually come around here to get things out of my mind." Peter said.
"I see." Felicia remarked. "So, have you changed your mind?"
"Sort of." Peter told her. "I still need to balance life as myself and Spider-Man, but maybe it's time I needed someone new in my life."
"But I thought you were hung up on that redhead." Felicia said.
"Well, I will always love Mary Jane, but I realize now that I was chasing a dream that never existed." Peter added. "Those last couple of months just made me come to the conclusion that maybe MJ and I just weren't meant to be. Sure, we're still friends, but we decided to leave our relationship in the past. Besides, I haven't stopped thinking about you the last few months."
"Really?" Felicia asked.
"Yeah, but I'm not sure if you'd like to find out who I am underneath the mask." Peter added before both of them stood up.
"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to find out." Felicia teased.
Felicia then leaned in closer and wrapped her arms around Peter's neck, reaching for a kiss and grabbing his mask, before Peter caught her hand.
"Wait. If we're gonna do this, you may not like what you see."
"Why not?" Felicia inquired.
"Because you tried to convince me to leave my normal life behind the last time we met." Peter told her ."Besides, you always thought that Spider-Man was much more interesting."
"I did, but that doesn't mean I'm not interested in seeing the man behind the mask."
Then, Felicia pulled his mask up to his nose and started kissing Peter. Peter felt his heart racing as he kissed Felicia back before she pulled off his mask and revealed a young, handsome man. She was shocked to see Peter's face, but nonetheless, everything began making sense to her; why Peter refused her offer to leave his civilian life behind, why he was trying to balance both lifestyles.
"So, the vigilante protecting the city just happens to be the same guy taking photos of him for the Daily Bugle." Felicia told Peter, having come to the conclusion by herself. "Didn't know you had a bad side yourself, Peter Parker. I like it."
"Look, the reason why I'm doing this is because I made a promise to use these powers to protect the city and live up to Uncle Ben's words: With great power comes great responsibility." Peter explained. "Now you see why I refused your offer, I still needed to find a balance between being Spider-Man and being Peter Parker. You probably wouldn't understand."
"No. I understand. I can get used to living with both of your sides." Felicia said as she took off her mask. "Besides, these masks don't have to define us. Sure, the stuff we do is cool, but it's not what makes us who we are. I guess I was so used to wearing this mask and committing thefts that I couldn't find time to be myself."
"Well, that makes two of us." Peter said as he understood Felicia's story. He then saw Felicia putting on her mask back and starting to leave the building. Peter knew this was his chance to know the woman behind the Black Cat mask. It was now or never.
"Wait!" Peter called out as Felicia turned around. "What's your name? You've never told me your real name when we..."
"Felicia Hardy."
"Nice to meet you, Felicia." Peter said.
"Me too, Peter."
"So, uhhh..." Peter swallowed as he was trying to as say something. "Would like to go out with me sometime?"
Felicia seemed to think about it for a few seconds before she said. "I would love to. I was actually about to ask you myself."
"Really?"
"Yeah. How about we meet at the café, Saturday, at 10 AM?" Felicia asked.
"That sounds great." Peter nodded in agreement as he and Felicia smiled one last time before she shot her grappling hook and he shot his web and left in their separate ways.
Coffee Shop, Downtown Manhattan, Saturday
Saturday had arrived and Peter had arrived at the coffee shop, having dressed up nicely for the date. He was a bit late due to stopping crime as Spider-Man and picked himself a seat, waiting for Felicia. Felicia then arrived, clad in some casuals too. She showcased her beautiful blonde hair on full display now that she wasn't wearing her white wig. Peter saw Felicia and picked a seat for her as she sat down and both of them smiled at each other. Peter hoped that this date wouldn't ruin the friendship that they had.
"Hi"
"Hi"
"I guess we should order some coffee." Peter said, picking up the menu and giving it to her.
"I think this is good." Felicia said, pointing out a type of Latte on the menu. "You want it too?"
"Yeah, that'll be great." Peter agreed as he noticed a waiter and gestured to him. The waiter arrived and he had a notebook and a pen in his hands. The waiter looked familiar as he resembled the one from the French restaurant where Peter tried to propose to Mary Jane two months ago. "Excuse me. We would like to take this Chai Latte."
"Of course." The waiter said as he noted down the order on the notebook before going off to get it.
"Thanks." Peter told the waiter.
"So, I want to ask you." Felicia started the conversation on the date. "What was it like your relationship with Mary Jane? How did you end up breaking up with her?"
"Well, I first met her when her family moved in with my family when we were younger and I had a major crush on her during high school. She was one of the few people who understood me, as she had a rough upbringing herself, but..." Peter began telling the story before he stopped and took a breath.
"What?" Felicia asked curiously.
"I don't know, I just didn't feel like I could be honest with her about my life." Peter admitted.
"Like how you're honest with me?" Felicia asked as Peter smiled and nodded.
"Well, um, MJ and I tried to make it work, but after my friend Harry died, we realized that maybe this wasn't going anywhere and we decided to remain friends." Peter continued and Felicia held his hand, understanding his guilt over losing his friend, Harry.
"Peter, I'm so sorry." Felicia comforted Peter.
"Thanks." Peter appreciated Felicia's concern before he asked her something. "So, are you seeing someone now?"
"No." Felicia admitted. "I did have a lover once, but he turned out to be a remorseless murder. I didn't end well."
"Oh, sorry to hear that, Felicia."
"Don't worry about it, Pete. I got over it pretty quick."
"Well, I think you deserve better than this. You're really beautiful." Peter said to her.
"Awww. Do you really think that about me?"
"Yeah. I think for someone running around wearing a catsuit and a mask, you're pretty wonderful." Peter admitted, though he wasn't used to talking to other girls aside from MJ, but with Felicia, he hoped that would change.
"Thanks." Felicia smiled. "And for a dork in tights, you're pretty sweet."
"No problem." Peter smiled back at her.
The waiter then arrived holding a plate with two Chai Lattes and approached Peter and Felicia. "Here's your Chai Lattes."
"Thanks." Peter told the waiter as he put the Lattes on the table that Peter and Felicia were sitting on. Both Peter and Felicia began drinking their coffees and Peter noted that Felicia surprisingly enjoyed it. This was the first date that Peter and Felicia had, but it was a good one.
Felicia's Apartment
Later that evening, Peter and Felicia were in bed making out. Both of their civilian clothes were scattered across the floor and they had their bodies covered in the bedsheets. They were both kissing and holding each other closer before Felicia stopped and carried away. She was barely able to hold her breath while Peter laid down.
"Wow... that was... um.." Felicia said as she was trying to talk while holding her breath.
"What? A bit rough?" Peter asked, panting out.
"No. It was great. I mean, I've never slept with anyone on the first date, but..." Felicia trailed off before she swallowed and Peter understood.
"Right. Me neither." Peter nodded as Felicia turned around and looked at Peter.
"Well, thank you for the date." Felicia said as she smiled and wrapped her left arm around Peter's neck and entangled her leg to his knees on the sheet. "That Latte was delicious."
"Don't mention it." Peter told her as he caressed her bare back. "Good thing Mr. Ditkovich isn't here or else he would've had a heart attack."
"Who?" Felicia asked curiously.
"He's my landlord. I've been living in a rented apartment for over a year and he keeps asking me about paying his rent. I thought he would have been a bit generous."
"Why do you put up with him? I mean, that landlord. You could've had Spider-Man web him upside down somewhere. That would've taken the snark out of him." Felicia teased as Peter chuckled.
"I wished that was easy, but if I don't pay that rent, he's gonna kick me out of the building." Peter admitted.
"Ouch. That's too bad."
"Yeah." Peter nodded. "So, is there gonna be a second..."
"I would love to go on a second date with you, Peter." Felicia assured.
"Ok." Peter said as he and Felicia shared another kiss before she pulled back.
"So, how about we order some pizza and we'll talk about the next date?" Felicia asked.
"Sounds great." Peter said as Felicia smiled and got up and dropped the blanket, showcasing her features in the afterglow and not bothering to cover herself. Felicia then headed to the bathroom and turned around to give Peter a smile before entering the shower.
Peter let out a sigh of satisfaction and smiled as he put his head on the pillow and placed his head on his hands. He then heard the shower running and saw steam coming from the door. This was going to go somewhere great. Peter now felt that he could have a chance to gain happiness in a way he couldn't with MJ.
And that's the end of the story. I hope I did my best with the story. Also, happy 20th anniversary to Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film, the film that changed the superhero genre.
Spider-Man fighting Mysterio was a reference to the opening scene from the scrapped Spider-Man 4 and Mysterio appeared in the Spider-Man 2 tie-in game. The waiter from the coffee shop where Peter and Felicia are having their first date is played by Bruce Campbell.
Let me know your thoughts on this story and I hope you enjoyed it. Stay safe everyone and take care.
