Peter Parker

I really wanted to be optimistic. I really did. Honestly, why shouldn't I? We knew someone that specialized in the same field of magic as Calypso, and we were about to go to South Florida. It was going to be the Fort Lauderdale area, to be exact (Craig made sure we understood that he was from Broward County, not Miami-Dade – apparently, people from South Florida have pride in their respective countues much in the way people in New York have pride in their respective boroughs). Still, I couldn't get out of my own head. My last two experiences with magic didn't exactly go well, so I was afraid that I was going to be without my powers for a long while, if not permanently. Even with that aside, I was afraid of what would happen if I left New York for any period of time.

Kitty ordered us to go to bed early. I was about to protest and tell her I had to patrol, but then I remembered I had no powers. Sighing, I merely complied. MJ, of course, grabbed me by the hand and led me upstairs. I thought I was going to be led to her bedroom. Instead, I was led to her bathroom. To say I was dumbfounded was an understatement.

"Uuuuuh," I uttered as MJ closed the door behind us.

"Take off all your clothes," MJ told me.

I quickly turned around, eyes wide. "Excuse me?"

"Take off, all, your clothes."

I blinked. "Why?"

She glared at me. "Obviously I'm going to make love to you until the sun rises." She grinned. I glared at her. She was being a troll. Her face then became serious. "Seriously, Loser, we're going to take a bath together." And just like that, my eyes were wide again. My heartbeat rose.

"…Uh… E-Em… should w-w-w-we be… d-doing…?" I stuttered.

"Peter," MJ interrupted. "We both had a long day, and I think a bath would do us good. And remember what I told you when we were in Brooklyn Bridge Park. You let me in, and I'll take care of you."

I swallowed. "I get that, but…" I trailed off. I looked off to the side. "I just… we never…"

"We never been naked in front of each other, I know. But right now, you're powerless and I still haven't totally gotten over you getting abducted. Plus, I'm pretty sure you're worried that you won't get your powers back."

I smiled nervously as I looked back at her. "What makes you think that?"

"Other than the fact that you only have a decent poker face when your mask is on and I could read you like a book regardless, I'm also worried about that, too." She gave me a small smile. "We can both use a distraction. So, we're bathing each other."

I looked down at the ground nervously. "…Okay, but…" I took in a breath before I looked her in the eye. "…Okay." I swallowed the lump in my throat. Slowly, I started to undress. I started with my shirt. I then dug my thumbs between my hips and the hem of my boxers. I took in a deep breath I pulled them down both my shorts and boxers all the way down. As I kicked them away, I slowly looked back MJ. She slowly looked me up and down as she bit her lip before she looked me in the eye.

"You're beautiful, Peter," she complimented. My face warmed up.

"Thank you," I whispered.

She nodded and smiled. "You're welcome." Even though she made it perfectly that we'd both be without clothes, I was still surprised to see her start taking hers off. She did so quickly. Even though I wasn't able to hear her heartbeat, I had a feeling that she was extremely nervous about exposing herself to me. She didn't need to be, though. As soon as she was done removing all of her clothing, underwear and all, she stood up straight. I looked her up and down slowly, taking in every detail. I often dreamed about what it would be like for MJ to be naked in front of me. She knew that. But dreams and reality were two different things. Right now, my mouth was watering and my blood was starting to rush downward.

She smiled at me coyly. "Like what you see?" she asked.

I smiled back. "A lot more than I could ever imagine," I whispered in earnest.

MJ smile became a bit wider. She then chuckled as she walked past me, brushing her shoulder against mine. She began drawing the bath. I waited patiently, doing my best not to look at her rear end and failing on several occasions. By the time the tub was filled with enough water, MJ turned off the water and looked at me.

"Get in, Peter," she said. I nodded before I walked up to the tub. I carefully stepped inside of the, feeling the warm liquid inside before I sat down. MJ got into the tub and sat down right behind me. I heard the sound of something being snapped open, followed by the sound of spurting out. After hearing a small splash, I felt something rub up and down my back. It must've been a loofah. "I know you don't have your powers, so I'm going to be as gentle as possible. Still, if I rub too hard, just let me know, okay?"

I nodded. "Okay," I replied. I closed my eyes, enjoying the sensation. As MJ scrubbed away at my back, she spoke.

"So, what do you think Craig's parents are like?" MJ asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know to be honest. But if they've been cool with him being a mutant since his powers emerged, then they must be okay, I think."

"What about Aunt May? Was she okay with you being Spider-Man?"

I shook my head, lifting up my arm when MJ tapped it twice. "Not at first." I smiled slightly. "She was almost hysterical when she found out."

"You didn't try to break it to her nicely?" As she asked that, MJ scrubbed the loofah up and down my side.

I scoffed. "There was no breaking it to her. See, I didn't tell her. She found out. I slipped into my room and removed my mask. I turned around, and there she was."

"…You know, I'm going to be quite honest with you. I'm surprised the whole world didn't know your identity before the Beck video."

I laughed. "You know what? That's fair." I stopped laughing, but I still smiled. "Needless to say, she was worried… and extremely mad at Tony. I wouldn't say Aunt May ever had the cleanest of mouths, but never have I heard her curse out somebody so bad. But after that, a couple of days later, we had a long talk. She wanted me to be careful. I promised her I would. So, every day, when I get back home, she'd check up on me to see if I was okay." MJ made a noncommittal sound as she started to wash my arm. I took in a breath when I felt her bare body against my back.

"Relax Peter," MJ whispered. "It's just me."

"Yeah, just you," I deadpanned. "Just my beautiful girlfriend, the one I want to spend the rest of my life with."

"Peter, I love you, but if you pull out a ring, I'll be mad."

I chuckled as I leaned my head back until it was resting against her shoulder. I turned my head to the side just enough so I could see a bit of her face. "Why?" I wasn't being serious in asking that question. So, I was caught off guard when I was given a serious answer.

"Well, because I would probably say yes. Or, at least, I'd tell you to ask me again when we're done with college."

I was given pause. I felt my face warm up. "Have you thought about us being married?"

"I have. I've put more thought into marriage than I care to admit. And it's all your fault."

"Wait." With some difficulty, I slowly turned around until I was sitting on my knees and facing MJ. Our faces were only inches apart. And I was glad for it, because it made it easier for me to look into her eyes while fighting the urge to look downward. "Did you not want to get married before?"

MJ frowned. "I wouldn't say I never wanted to get married. But I wouldn't say I wanted to get married, either." She paused for a moment. "Despite what some people believe, I don't have anything against marriage itself. I just don't think it should be an end goal or expectation or a societal symbol of a good life." She frowned. "And, honestly, I was a little afraid of getting married after seeing what my parents went through. I was scared that, if I do get married, my spouse and I would end up like my folks and I don't want to put myself or, if I ever get to that point, my kid through that." She smiled. "But of course, you had to come along and make me gush over you like the stereotypical high school girl I try not to be, so fuck you and the web swung in on."

I chuckled. "I'm sorry." I shook my head. "No, I'm not." MJ leaned back and stuck her tongue out at me. I chuckled again before my expression became serious. "So you would want to marry me, through thick and thin?"

MJ glared at me. "Peter, even if we didn't count everything before The Spell, we've been through The Spell, a two hostage situations, a whole rescue operation, and an attempt to split us up. It doesn't get much thicker than that, I don't think. And we're not even adults yet. So, yeah, I would, to be real with you."

I frowned. "Even if I lose my powers permanently?"

"Peter, I didn't fall in love with your powers. I fell in love with you. Don't get me wrong, I hope you don't lose your powers permanently, because I know you wouldn't enjoy being unable to help people the way you do. And, I'll admit, your powers are pretty cool. But being powerless was never even close to being a deal breaker." She then smirked. "Though, I have to say, it's kind of nice being the strongest out of the two of us for a change."

I smiled slightly. "You've always been stronger than me, Em," I pointed out.

"Then, until you get your powers back, let me be strong for the both of us," she replied, giving me that lopsided smile of hers.

My smile became wider. I then leaned forward and placed my lips against hers. I heard the sound of something being dropped in the water. I figured it was the loofah when MJ brought arms around me. She moved closer to me and straddled my lap. My face heated up. I realized we were in full skin-to-skin contact with each other. I didn't pull away, though. As self-conscious I was feeling, that was overshadowed by my desire to touch her. Even if I did want to pull away, it would've been impossible. MJ had one hand on the back of my head, grabbing a hand full of my hair in her grasp as she held me in place. Her other hand was moving up and down my back, her fingers running up and down my spine. With all that happening, I let myself get lost in the kiss and her touches.

As we continued to make out, our hands started to roam. I ran my hand up and down her leg until she grabbed hold of it… and placed it on her butt. Of course, MJ, being MJ, grabbed my rear end. I chuckled into her lips as we continued to kiss, touching each other in ways we never did before. I felt myself getting wound up. I got wound up even more when MJ broke the kiss and placed her lips against my neck as she grabbed my hair once more and gently pulled my head back. I closed my eyes, enjoying the sensation of her kissing and sucking the skin in that area. After a few minutes, she pulled away. I opened eyes, seeing her looking straight at me. She then wrapped her arms around my head and pulled my face into her chest. I sighed in content as I relaxed into her.

iI need to do something special for her,/i I thought to myself. Ever since Europe, MJ was always there to keep me calm when I felt like things were going off of the rails. Even during those weeks between The Spell and the day I started to fully reconnect with MJ and Ned, the days MJ and I would interact at Peter Pan were enough to calm me down after a hard night or a very long day.

"I love you so much," I whispered.

"I love you just as much," she replied. She removed her arms from around me and grabbed my shoulders before she gently pushed me away. "Come on. Let's get cleaned up for real before we find ourselves heading straight to third base."

I raised an eyebrow. "Would that be a bad thing?"

"It is when the others are in the house and I'm far from confident that I can keep quiet."

I tilted my head as I chuckled. "Fair point."

We got done with our bath. After we dried off, we got dressed and made our way to her room. Once there, she gave me a one of the pairs of boxers she took from me after the trip to Palm Springs. MJ got changed into a pair of black boy shorts and a simple grey bra. After that, we got into bed. I laid my head on her shoulder and closed my eyes.

"Hey Peter?" MJ whispered.

"Yes Em?" I whispered back.

"How do you feel about Kaine's existence?"

I sighed. "I don't know." I opened my eyes. "It's… weird, really. I never had a blood sibling before. Until very recently, Ned has been the only person I ever considered as a sibling. Then Kitty and Craig came along and accepted me as one of their own, and I got closer to Betty, and Carmella bonded after we rescued her… but… for the first time, I met someone who is my clone, which basically makes him my twin, I guess?" I shook my head slightly. "It's a lot to take in. I just have so many questions."

"I'm sure you two will talk about it."

I made a noncommittal sound with my throat. "How do you feel about him?"

I felt her shoulder move underneath my head briefly as she shrugged. "I'm probably not the best person to ask. You know my default setting – distrusting on first meet." She sighed. "However, if we're being honest, there's a small part of me that hopes that you and him do get close, but that's because I worry about how you're taking being the last Parker alive."

"A lot better than before, that's for sure." That is, before I went to therapy, before I befriended and joined the X-Men, and before St. James. "I got you all to thank for that."

She squeezed the arm she had around. I snuggled up closer. I smiled when I felt her lips on my forehead as she kissed me.

"Let's get some sleep," MJ whispered. "Goodnight, Loser."

"Goodnight, Em," I whispered back. I closed my eyes. For the first time in days, I went to bed with my mind at ease.