chapter 2
Michelle Jones-Watson and Peter Parker had always been close. They shared a mutual love for sci-fi movies, and a mutual attraction to each other. They were best friends, and had been together (couple wise) since junior year. They were two peas in a pod. Two lovebirds sitting in a tree.
MJ was friends with Peter. She wouldn't necessarily call them best friends, but they were close. Ever since she had started to hang around Ned and Peter, she knew that they were hiding something. Specifically Peter. And Ned was in on it. It wasn’t that hard to figure out that Peter was Spider-Man. Michelle was a very observant person, after all. When you sit back, and watch people, you notice the little things. Like how during decathlon on Wednesdays, Flash would hide out in the bathroom and play Clash of Clans. Or how Betty wouldn't stop giving Ned heart eyes. Or that Peter Parker was, in fact, Spider-Man.
Michelle knew that living in New York was dangerous. But she also knew that realistically, she wouldn't get mugged. She always walked on busy streets, and never at night. And the one day she goes through some random ass alley is the day she gets mugged. There was a knife, pointed directly at her, and some low life douchebag talking to her.
“Now, I don’t really like to hurt hoes, but if you don’t give me your wallet, I may have to. And I would hate to kill such a pretty girl. So give me your wallet and I’ll give you the privilege of walking out of here alive”
Before she could even come up with something to say back, a flash of red and blue obstructed her vision of her attacker. He shot a web at the knife before the idiot even had time to react, webbing him up to the wall. Then he looked at her. Even though he always wore a mask, MJ knew Peter Parker. She could imagine his face under the mask right now. Don’t ask why, but when Peter was nervous he would scrunch up his eyebrows and get fidgety.
“Uh, hi ma’am. Are you alright?” Now, MJ may be a lot of things, but she was not as overly serious as people accused her of being. She was sarcastic in her own, serious nature. But what harm would messing with Peter Parker, AKA Spiderman, AKA the dude standing right infront of her do?
“Thanks, Spidey. I’m doing okay.”
“Why just okay?”
“Well besides for the fact that I just got threatened by some asshole with a knife, there's this idiot that I know that won’t take a hint that I want to ask him out. I’ve been interested in him since like, freshman year and he just cannot for the life of him figure out that I like him. And it’s obvious that he likes me as well. His ears get so red when I talk to him. Yesterday one of our friends said that we should get a room and I’m pretty sure he was about to combust from nervous energy. Like this dude couldn't be more obvious. And he has like two friends, including me and the dude that told us to get a room. I’m like two days away from asking him out to be honest. I didn’t want to hurt his male ego, but the more that I’ve been thinking about it, the better of an idea it seems to be. I do know someone who thinks that he’s a male escort, so I mean that’s fun. But I’m pretty sure he’s not.”
She could tell that Peter was stunned. His animatronic like eyes grew bigger as she continued. He probably figured out that it was, infact him that she was talking about. Maybe he would finally get a hint and ask her out. Not that she didn’t want to ask him out. But she wanted to see Peter do it. She wanted to see him get all fiddly and anxious, and then laugh and say that she would go out with him. Honestly, fuck her for wanting one aspect of a regular high school experience. If you call getting asked out by Spiderman, who also happened to be one of your best friends normal.
Peter, who had now resorted to fiddling with his web shooters, responded by saying “Well, uh, give him some time. I guess if it’s that obvious, he’ll come to that conclusion by himself? I don’t know ma’am, I’m not too good with my love life. The first girl that I had a crush on while I was Spiderman, her dad turned out to be a bad guy I sent to jail. Why did I just tell you that. You could probably figure out who I am. Shit. Please don’t go digging.”
Wow. Could he make it any more obvious. Everyone knew Peter had a crush on Liz, whose dad also happened to be the Vulture. Peter happened to be Spiderman. God, this couldn't get any more awkward.
“You jeep your mask on for a reason, and I respect that. I have no interest in figuring out who you are." That was a lie "Anyways, I need to go now. But I don’t think my luck is as bad as yours in that sense. I would say I hope to see you again but I really don’t want to be mugged again. I hope that you have better luck with your love life.”
“Bye ma’am! And if you want my honest advice, ask the dude out. If you’re both into each other, then there's no bad outcome. Anyways, hope to never need to save you from mugging again. And thanks for the advice for my love life!”
Michelle had a strong hate for rich people. Especially Tony Stark. The dude was an obnoxiously rich white man who thinks of himself as the savior of the universe because he possesses a big battery that he wears. In fact, the first protest that she went to alone was outside of Stark Tower. Later on, the first protest that she went to with her boyfriend Peter, was outside of Stark Tower.
MJ showed up to school the next day confident. After her words with Peter last night, she knew that asking him out would be a good decision. She walked into World History, her first class that also happened to be with Peter. She sat at her usual seat, which also happened to be right next to him. Five minutes after class started, he came bursting into class, with what looked to be a black eye that was almost healed. Nobody else would notice though. Perks of being observant and lowkey obsessed with someone. He came and sat next to her, not even attempting to pay attention.
“So,” he said, glancing at the teacher to make sure that he was focused on something else, “How are you?”
“Great. Your pal, Spiderman, saved me from getting mugged yesterday. I could’ve handled it myself with my pepper spray, but the dude looked like he was about to break from nerves so I didn’t want to burst his male savior complex.”
“Oh my god! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need to talk to someone? Aunt May says I’m really good at listening to people's problems. And giving good hugs. Wait, that sounded weird. If you want to hug someone I’m always available. But don’t feel like you have to. I should stop talking now.”
How could anybody be mad at him. Like seriously. He was so sweet. And as much as she tried to hide it, she loved the fact that he cared about her this much. And even though he had probably stayed up all night worrying about seeing her almost get mugged, he acted like he didn’t, and offered to be a shoulder to cry on. Honestly, how could anybody top Peter Parker?
“Peter, I’m fine. And thank you for caring so much about me. I know that I always put up this front that I don’t care, but I really appreciate it. Thank you for being an awesome friend.”
When she and Peter had graduated highschool together, they had planned to move in together. They had been together since the beginning of junior year, and they didn’t talk about it, but she was pretty sure that she was going to marry Peter. And Michelle was pretty sure that Peter knew that he was going to marry her. They cared for each other so much. They wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. And sure, people who meet in highschool don’t normally stay together, but as cliche as this may sound, her and Peter were different.
They saved up money all throughout senior year, and both got jobs at the same bookstore over the summer. By the time college started, Peter and MJ had moved in together. They had found a tiny apartment, which was by no means glamorous, but enough for them. They got to wake up and fall asleep in the comfort of eachothers arms. They even discussed getting a cat at one point, before finding out that their landlord did not allow pets.
“Are you sure that you’re okay?”
Peter and her were sitting under the bleachers at gym class. Normally he would participate while she read, but since she was feeling bold today, and he felt insanely bad that she almost got mugged, they skipped class.
“Peter, I’ve told you a billion times already, I’m fine”
“Sorry Em, I’m just worried. I just get really worried about small stuff like this, after what happened with Ben. I just really care about you and you’re one of my two best friends and I would hate for anything bad to happen to you. I care about you so much.”
Could this dork be even more loveable. The amount of love that she felt for him was insane. She wanted to wrap Peter Parker in bubble wrap and blankets and keep him safe forever. The amount of trauma that he had gone through, with losing his parents, his Uncle Ben and the shit that he must see on a daily basis with Spiderman was insane.
“Peter, don’t you ever apologize for caring about someone.”
“That’s what May always says”
“Well, May is correct. Now come here, let me take you up on that hug that you offered me”
Peter walked over to her, sat next to her and they hugged. She didn’t know how long they stayed there, but she knew that they both needed it. They were two human beings who struggled at times. She embraced the contact. She should really hug Peter more often.
The bell rang. Peter had math. MJ had italian. Then they had lunch with Ned. They went to pull away, and she kissed him. She knew realistically that they would probably date, and kiss many times after this. But just in case, she savored every nanosecond of it. The way that his lips felt pressed against hers. How his eyelashes brushed against hers.
Peter went on patrolls on weekends from noon to three, then again later at night from about nine to eleven. On weekdays he would go just from nine to eleven. They had a nice arrangement. She would wait up for him to get back in one piece, and then they’d go to bed. Sometimes they’d watch a movie together, or have a game night. Sometimes he’d skip patrol. Most of the time she’d clean their shared apartment while he was out on weekends, or run errands. If she was out of the house, Peter would always try to make an effort to swing by wherever she was, and wave to her. Surprisingly, nobody in Queens had picked up that he always waved to a certain Michelle Jones-Watson whenever he saw her, and barely anybody else.
“You kissed me?” Peter said, unable to figure out what was happening.
“Yea, I did. In fact, you told me too.”
“I told you to? Don’t get me wrong, I loved kissing you. I would do it a billion more times if I had the opportunity to. But when did I tell you to kiss me?”
MJ smiled to herself. Men were so oblivious.
“Well, Spiderman told me to go for it. And by go for it he meant to ask you out. But I figured kissing you would have the same effect. And since you’re Spiderman, you told me to kiss you.”
Before he had the chance to say anything, she kissed him again. They held each other as they kissed. His soft lips pressed against hers. She could get used to this. Just them together, enjoying each other's presence as a couple. Were they dating though? They have kissed twice now. Before she could finish that thought, she heard Ned behind her.
“I have a doctor's appointment for once and I come back and you two are now together?”
MJ smiled as she walked home from Delmars Deli. It was a sunny Saturday afternoon. She was talking to Peter on the phone while he patrolled, and she had an empty stomach, and the ingredients for homemade Pad Thai that the exchange student that her family had hosted when she was eleven had taught her. They were going to have a romantic, candlelit dinner and watch a movie. Peter was even going to skip patrol for the night so they could spend it enjoying eachothers company.
She walked up the stairs to their apartment building, as Peter attempted to make her laugh at his terrible jokes.
“Em, what does one call a shoe made of a banana?”
“I don’t know Peter, enlighten me.”
“A slipper. Get it?
Michelle was about to respond to his joke, before she saw Tony Stark, in his full Iron Man attire, sitting on their couch.
“Em, do you get my joke, because, you know, bananas are slippery?”
“Peter Benjamin Parker, why the hell is Tony Stark sitting on our couch?”