#he did something to Peter cause Man-Spider appeared in the bugle and Peter was missing during it and so he assumed the worse

[movedtodykedvonte]

Spider-Man origin remix where Peter gets bitten but it immediately goes 100 and after a day of having his powers. He starts thinking he can get the hang of this and then he starts turning into Man-Spider and has to figure out how to get Curt to help him while keeping his identity secret.

[marvelous-writer]

Merry and Bright

Summary: Peter decides to surprise Tony by decorating his penthouse, in hopes to spread some much needed Christmas cheer.

Word Count: 2,252

Link to read on Ao3

A/N: Merry Christmas everyone!! 🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄

Thank you so much @whumphoarder for beta reading this and for being so amazing and kind!!

For: 1. “Did you break into my house?” “You refused to put up any Christmas decorations! What choice did I have?”

It’s late into the evening on December 23rd when Peter arrives at Tony’s Manhattan penthouse. Friday lets Peter in through the glass balcony doors, but the moment he enters, he notices that something’s missing.

There isn’t a single Christmas decoration in sight.

“Hey, kiddo. How was patrol?” Tony asks from his position on the couch, looking up at him from his tablet.

“Pretty good,” Peter answers, frowning as he pulls off his mask. “Where are your decorations?” he asks as he walks over to the living room area.

Tony raises an eyebrow at him questioningly.

“Your Christmas decorations,” Peter clarifies.

He sees something flash across his mentor’s eyes —maybe sadness— but it’s gone as quickly as it appeared.

Tony shrugs, then stands up from the couch. “I didn’t put any up this year,” he says simply.

Peter frowns, watching him walk across the large space towards the kitchen.

“You hungry? I’m in the mood for some mac and cheese,” Tony says without looking back at him.

“Sure,” Peter agrees.

He makes his way over to the kitchen and takes a seat on one of the barstools at the center island, watching Tony move about the kitchen.

Peter wonders why Tony is acting like such a Scrooge this year. This isn’t like him at all; just last year, he threw a massive Christmas party at the compound, which had been one of the best days of Peter’s life.

He knows Tony well enough to know that something’s bothering him.

“Uh…” Peter starts, clearing his throat. “Are you… okay?” he asks hesitantly.

Tony turns away from the stove to face him. “Yeah. Why do you ask?”

“You just seem a little… off, I guess.”

Tony breathes out a sigh as he takes a few steps over to the center island. He leans his hip against the counter, arms folded over his chest. “Is this about the lack of decorations?” he asks, meeting Peter’s gaze.

Peter starts fiddling nervously with one of his web shooters. “Well, no—or, kind of. It’s just… you just—seem so… well, sad.”

Tony’s gaze drops to the counter as he lets out another sigh, reaching a hand up to tiredly rub at his face.

Peter thinks he might have pushed Tony too far with this. He opens his mouth to apologize but his mentor beats him to it.

“I guess I have been a little ‘off’ lately,” Tony admits, then pauses for a few long seconds. “Pepper and I… we-we’re taking a break.”

Peter’s heart clenches in sympathy at the news. No wonder Tony’s Christmas spirit is non-existent this year. From what Peter could tell, Pepper meant everything to Tony; he loved her more than words could express.

“O-Oh… I’m sorry,” Peter says.

Tony lets out another sigh, giving a one-shouldered shrug. “We’ll figure it out. We always do.” He turns back around to tend to the pot of boiling water on the stove.

Peter stares at Tony’s back, noticing the droop in his shoulders. Tony was sad and nursing a broken heart, probably blaming himself for whatever made them split up.

To top it all off, with Happy visiting his mom in Florida and Rhodey visiting his sister and her family in Jersey, Tony was now going to be spending Christmas alone.

An idea suddenly springs to Peter’s mind, causing the corners of his mouth to quirk up.

What if he brought Christmas to Tony?

…….

That’s how Peter finds himself grabbing all of the leftover decorations they had from home and bringing them to Tony’s penthouse.

Peter’s been planning this all day, ever since Tony told him about the charity Christmas gala he would be attending tonight. That should give Peter about five hours to execute his plan.

The penthouse is dark when Peter slips in through the balcony doors.

“Good evening, Peter.” Friday greets him. “Mr. Stark left a few minutes ago. Shall I let him know you’re here?”

“No, that’s okay!” Peter says quickly. “I’m actually here to surprise him by decorating. Can you not tell him I’m here?”

“Of course. I will let you know when he’s on his way back.”

“Thanks,” Peter says before pulling his mask off with a relieved exhale.

He makes his way over to the living room and takes his backpack off just as the penthouse lights kick on dimly to the personalized settings Tony made for Peter’s enhanced senses.

Peter opens his backpack, which is stuffed full of decorations and strands of lights, and starts unpacking it and laying everything out on the couch.

“Hey, Friday? Can you turn on some Christmas music please?” he asks, picking up a strand of lights that needed untangling.

“Certainly, Peter,” The AI chirps back happily, and Peter gets to work.

…….

It takes him almost an hour and a half to decorate, but when he’s done, the penthouse looks pretty great, if he does say so himself. Peter stands back near the kitchen to admire his work.

The fireplace mantle is decorated with garland wrapped in a string of red and white lights, there’s a nutcracker on each end table next to the couch, and there are two stockings hanging up from the mantle — one for Tony and the other for Friday.

But something’s still missing.

Peter’s eyes fall on a large, empty space on the left side of the fireplace. He knows just the thing that should fill it beautifully.

“Hey, Friday? Do you know where the closest Christmas tree lot of from here?” Peter asks, picking his mask up from the coffee table.

“Tim’s Trees is located approximately one block away from your current location,” she informs.

“Great.” Peter smiles as he slips on his mask, the heads up display coming to life.

“Hello, Peter. Where are we going tonight?” Karen’s cheerful voice fills his ears.

“We’re going to get a Christmas tree, Karen,” Peter tells her as he walks out through the balcony doors, making sure they’re locked behind him.

He turns around and breaks out into a sprint before he leaps up, sailing over the balcony railing and free-falling towards the street below. Peter shoots off a web to the closest building and swings off into the cold, snowy night.

…….

“This… was a very… very bad idea,” Peter grunts out as he continues to walk up the side of the building, hauling a six-foot Christmas tree over his shoulder.

Peter is used to finding himself in odd situations when he’s out on patrol as Spider-Man, but this certainly takes the cake. The fruit cake, that is.

On the plus side, the guy at the tree lot was nice enough to give him a ‘superhero discount,’ selling Peter the tree for only thirty-five dollars as opposed to fifty. The guy had been so generous that he even threw in a free tree stand too. The only thing he wanted from Peter was a selfie because he was such a fan, and Peter was happy to oblige.

“Just a few… more… steps,” Peter tells himself, seeing the balcony railing a few feet up.

He can only imagine the headlines tomorrow if someone’s able to steal a picture of him doing this. The Daily Bugle would probably blame him for being a Grinch and stealing people’s Christmas trees.

“Hey, Karen? Ca-Can you find out if Tony’s back yet from Friday?” Peter asks, pausing just below the metal railing.

“Certainly, Peter.”

“Thanks,” Peter says as he adjusts his grip on the tree. While he waits, he looks through the window below his feet at another luxurious condo below Tony’s.

He’s met with the sight of two little twin girls, probably around six or seven, who are staring at him with wide eyes, their mouths agape.

Peter smiles under his mask at them, even though they can’t see it. He nods his head in greeting since he doesn’t have a free hand to wave at them.

“You are all clear to enter, Peter. Mr. Stark is still at the gala.”

Peter breathes out a relieved sigh, continuing his way up the building. When he reaches the balcony, he grabs onto the top railing and pulls himself up with a groan, carefully dropping the tree down on the balcony.

After hauling the tree inside the penthouse, Peter gets to work on setting up the tree on the stand, as well as filling it up with water.

He spends a few minutes untangling the extra strand of multi-colored lights, before he can wrap them around the tree. The only problem is that he doesn’t have any ornaments to hang up, but the tree still looks pretty without them.

“Hey, Friday? Can you turn off the lights for a sec?” Peter asks as he takes a few steps back from the tree to make sure the lights weren’t crooked.

The lights turn off with a soft click, engulfing the room in semi-darkness, except for the soft glow of the tree and the garland hanging over the mantle. Peter smiles to himself as he surveys the decorations and twinkling lights.

Peter is jerked out of his peaceful trance when the penthouse lights suddenly turn on and he hears a sharp inhale from behind. Peter spins around, only to see Tony standing in the entryway, decked out in a tuxedo with a shocked expression on his face.

“T-Tony! You’re home early…” Peter says, giving him a nervous smile.

“Yeah… the gala got boring towards the end so I ducked out early,” Tony says as he steps further in the room, his eyes focused on the tree. He raises an eyebrow at Peter. “Did you break into my house to… decorate?”

“N-No! Well yes, but… I was just…” Peter trails off when Tony raises his eyebrows further. “You refused to put up any Christmas decorations! What choice did I have?” he forces out, his shoulders slumping as he lets out a sigh. “I wanted to surprise you with this. You’ve been so sad lately and… I just wanted to cheer you up.”

A small smile finds its way onto Tony’s face. “You did all of this for me?” he asks.

Peter silently nods in response, and before he knows it, Tony’s crossing the rest of the distance between them and pulling Peter into a hug.

“Pete… I don’t know what to say. I absolutely love it, kid.” Tony tells him.

“Really?”

“Really. The best Christmas gift ever. Thank you,” Tony says, sounding a little choked up.

Peter’s lips spread into a small smile, hidden against the man’s shoulder as he lets himself melt into the hug, eyes closed. “You’re welcome.”

They stay like that for a few long moments before Tony pulls back, Peter swears that he sees tears in his eyes, but he doesn't say anything about it.

“How did you even get this thing in here?” Tony asks, gesturing to the Christmas tree.

“Uh, through the balcony. I kinda just… walked it up here.”

Tony turns to him, brows raised in surprise. “You walked it up the side of the building?”

Nodding, Peter gives a sheepish smile. “Yeah. I’m sorry that it’s not decorated. I didn’t have any ornaments and I wasn’t sure if you had any.”

“I think I have a few boxes around here somewhere. Wanna help me find them?” Tony asks with a smile.

“Only if that includes hot chocolate.”

Tony breathes out a laugh, grinning. “Of course. You can’t decorate a Christmas tree without hot chocolate.”

…….

After Peter changes out of his suit and into a pair of comfy pajamas, he heads back out to the living room to find that Tony is also wearing pajamas, along with his MIT hoodie.

There’s a large cardboard box on the coffee table, as well as two steaming mugs of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and what looks to be drizzled chocolate sauce.

“Ready to get started?” Tony asks. He opens the box to reveal a bunch of ornaments of all shapes and colors.

Peter nods, smiling as Tony hands him an ornament, a shiny red and gold striped bulb.

It takes them over an hour to decorate, but by the time they’re through, the Christmas tree might as well be straight out of a Balsam Hill commercial.

At the top is a beautiful golden star that shines peacefully, pairing perfectly with all of the twinkling lights and red tinsel that’s wrapped evenly around the tree. The ornaments glow in the light, illuminating all of the greens, reds, blues, and golds. There’s even a red and gold tree skirt on the floor below it all.

Peter and Tony are now sitting on the couch with the lights dimmed to their lowest setting, taking it all in. They’ve been quiet for some time now, allowing them to hear the sounds of the busy New York traffic in the streets below. Yet, it’s peaceful in a sense.

Tony speaks softly, breaking the silence, “Thank you for this, Pete.”

Peter turns his head towards him as their eyes meet, Tony’s smile finally reaching his eyes.

“What would I do without you, kid?” Tony says.

The corners or Peter’s mouth quirk up. “Well, I don’t know…” He exhales dramatically. “You’d probably be sitting here in the dark watching reruns of FRIENDS without me.”

Tony breathes out a laugh, grinning. “Probably true,” he agrees. Then after a few moments, he sobers, his eyes going back to the Christmas tree. “Thank you for this, Pete.”

Peter feels a warmth flow through him at his words. “You’re welcome, Mr. Stark,” he says softly.

[softboyholland]

So.... You're doing a second part to that catgirl/Spiderman hc right? Cause I'm gonna need to know how that plays out.

of course, i am! here it is!!

none of this was peter’s fault

this was unplanned, unscripted, it wasn’t. supposed. to. happen.

peter didn’t expect for a new superhero to show up and start getting to the bad guys before him

peter didn’t expect for the daily bugle to LOVE her

and most of all, peter did not expect to have a big, fat crush on her

her physical appearance played a huge role in it, of course

it wasn’t his fault that she snuck around new york in a really, really tight black costume and wore that red lipstick. 

the red lipstick that made his heart rate increase everytime she smirked

the red lipstick that was the same exact shade of his suit

but that wasn’t it

it was how badass she was

she was way cooler than he was, she was smarter and funnier and wittier and knew how to throw a solid punch

and it was really funny to see her get irritated

but it was never going to work out, was it?

he had a secret identity and she had a secret identity-

and it wasn’t even like she liked him romantically!!

the jury was still out on whether or not they were even friends

and one night, in a really boring game of truth or dare, he tells ned

and ned doesn’t freak out or gush like he expects him to

actually, ned looks disappointed

he doesn’t get to ask him about it because ned’s already changing the subject to star wars

that night though, when he goes out to patrol and he finds himself looking for her as usual, he doesn’t see her

she’s not there

huh.

he brushes it off when he hears something going on in an alley a few metres away from him

he swings there as quickly as he can, hoping that maybe she’s already kicking ass over there but he’s met with something he never thought he’d encounter

he sees mj. michelle. his best friend.

her bag is forgotten on the ground and she’s pinned against the brick wall of the alley and a man dressed in black is going through her wallet and another men has a knife dangerously close to her throat

she doesn’t have any room to escape, the man is pressed up against her, laughing about something that definitely isn’t funny

and he sees the tiniest hint of fear in her face, even though she holds her head up high and tries not to look scared

she meets his eye and for a moment,

for just a moment, it feels like she’s looking at peter and not spider-man

he shoots a web at the man, and michelle slips away from his grip and peter has him webbed to the wall in no time

the other guy was looking through her purse, goes for her though but before he even touches her, peter shoots a web at the wall above him and jumps in, kicking him in the process

when he has them webbed up, he speaks, “are you okay, uh, miss?”

she nods, and grabs her things hurriedly

he sees some black fabric that looks oddly familiar sticking out of her bag but before he can get a closer look, she’s already stuffing it down and zipping her bag

she nods at him, at spider-man and she’s running down the street

he sighs and something catches his eye

it must be hers

he picks up the black tube and opens it

it’s lipstick, red lipstick.

who knew mj wore makeup?

he brings it back and decides to just stick it in her locker tomorrow at school or something

he has it in front of him when he’s doing his homework and he’s fiddling with it absentmindedly and that’s when it hit him

that’s when it hits him.

mj is catgirl.

he doesn’t know what to do, so he calls ned.

and he tells ned everything and ned gasps dramatically and ned’s all giddy and doesn’t want to tell him why and after lots of bribing, ned gives in

“remember when you told me you had a crush on catgirl?”

“yeah…”

“well, i told mj about it the next-”

“NED!”

“wait, hear me out! i told mj about it because she’s had a huge crush on you for the longest time. and i expected her to be really sad about it but she looked super spooked and freaked about it and now i know why!”

there’s silence.

“mj…likes me?”

“and you like mj! all you have to do now is work your shit out and you can be a supercouple!”

did he like mj though?

did he like michelle?

and then he thinks about her handing him his notes and firing quips at flash and making fun of the jocks with him and ned and her pretending not to like star wars when they first made her watch it and then him walking in on her having a full blown debate with a sorry freshman about star wars and her helping him with english lit and how mindblowing and awesome she is and he gets his answer there

 after a whole half an hour of ned gushing and teasing him, peter decides that he needs to talk to her.

and the next day, he doesn’t return her lipstick, but he does bump into catgirl during patrol

she’s wearing black lipstick now and peter smiles

“what’s with the lipstick, cat?”

“my name is the patriarchy punisher.”

“where were you yesterday?” he tries. “i saved this girl from possibly getting killed.”

she doesn’t look him in the eye like she usually does, she looks at anywhere but him and mumbles, “i uh, i had, i was sick.”

and he thinks he liked it better when he was the one who was tongue-tied

“you’re better now?”

she hums in response.

peter holds the lipstick in his hand and hides it behind his back.

she likes you, peter. she likes you.

she tries to move away but he grabs her elbow, and pulls her to him gently.

they’re not as close as they usually are whenever she flirts with him, or teases him but he’s alright with that.

he goes in for the kill.

“cat, i like you. i like you, a lot. as in, i want to be with you, and kick butt with you, but as a coup-”

“no, you don’t.”

what? 

she senses his confusion and speaks, “you don’t know who i am. trust me, you don’t like me.”

for a minute, peter wonders if mj isn’t really catgirl but he also knows that mj is stubborn so he doesn’t give up.

he follows her to the edge of the roof, “m-”

but she cuts him off before he can say her real name, “you don’t like me. you don’t.”

and it’s more like she’s convincing herself that he doesn’t like her 

“just give me a chance to-”

but she’s already walking away from him and peter does the one thing he knows

he shoots a web at her waist and then shes stumbling into his arms and he decides that he needs to show her that he wants this.

that he wants her.

so, he takes off his mask

her breath hitches and he hears it because hes still holding her and she’s

well, she’s holding onto him

then she shakes her head, “no, i can’t. i can’t do this.”

and he’s already let her go in defeat but she’s still holding onto him tightly

“why won’t you just give me a chance?”

and she snaps.

and oh boy.

“because, you’re not going to like who i am under the mask! you like catgirl. you like the badass, superhero, who wears makeup and knows how to flirt with boys. i’m-i’m not her! you’re going to be disappointed! you don’t want me.”

but she’s still holding onto him

he sees the tears forming in her eyes and he gives it one last try. 

he pulls away from her and he’s never seen her so upset and it breaks his heart but she steps away too. 

she starts to walk away and then he shoves the tube of lipstick into her open palm, “i think you forgot this.”

she stares down at it for a while and peter prays and hopes and hopes that she understands

and then after what feels like an eternity, she looks up at him blankly

“i like you. all of you. catgirl just made me realise it.”

she doesn’t say anything and peter swears he hears his heart pounding against his chest.

she looks down at her shoes, “you sure you’re not just settling for me?”

“i would never.”

and he gulps. 

then she looks up at him and takes of her mask and he sees that she wears a full face of makeup

but it’s mj. she’s mj. his mj,

then he finds himself stuttering, “you probably don’t like it when i’m spider-man i’m sorry, i didn’t think about that part, i’ll just-”

and then she’s pulling him to her and she’s telling him to shut up in that really intimidating way

“right sorry i’ll just-”

but this time, she’s kissing him

and he’s suddenly SO AWARE of the situation that he’s in and it’s like there’s a huge red banner in his mind that’s telling him that this is happening and this is real and-

and OH MY GOD. 

OH MY GOD MJ’S KISSING HIM.

and he forces himself to move his lips against hers even if he’s too frozen to move right now

and then just when he’s getting into it,

just when he’s snaking his arms around her waist

just when he’s about to pull her closer,

someone calls for help.

she pulls away and puts on her mask and then tip-toeing a little to put his mask on him because the suit makes him have a few inches on her and she hates it 

then she exhales

“race you there?”

and peter can’t help the huge grin that appears on his face as he shoots a web at the nearest building

[willowelijah]

Like Two Drops of Water: Ch 5

A spideychelle fanfic.

Read on fanfiction.net

On tumblr: (Ch 1) (Ch 2) (Ch 3) (Ch 4)

Summary: Michelle and Peter are just best friends. When Michelle gets asked to the homecoming dance, Peter gets jealous. When she falls for Spider-Man, Peter gets jealous (of himself). Suddenly it seems maybe they weren’t “just best friends”, after all.

A/N: This is the last chapter!

Chapter 5

As the days passed the talk got less about Spider-Man and more about the approaching homecoming dance and I found myself walking the hallways with less anxiety. Although every time Ned and I walked past the set of giggling M.J. and Liz, I wished she would say something about the guy, something to indicate the encounter we had had. But my wishes were punctured by her obscurity. Now, the only notion that served as proof I had in fact been in her apartment that day, was that I wore less science t-shirts, to no one's comfort but hers.

She seemed happy. She hadn't been that upset by the fact that I'd left her in the alley. It just didn't seem to bother her, which was an even worse fact than if she would have been mad obviously. She didn't care whether I had been there or not, she might have once, but not anymore.

"Peter." M.J. said, like it was the third time she'd said it. "Maybe you could get Spider-Man to be the photographer?" She joked. Ned was sitting by her side. They were discussing the dance, while I lay still with my head on the table and paid so much as zero attention to them.

"Why?" I muttered.

M.J. leaned down to my level, her closeness enthralled me, and my eyes flickered away in an effort to keep my head straight. "Didn't you mention once that he's a photographer? And that he takes photography of himself for the Daily Bugle?"

I sat up straight again, causing her to follow. "Yeah, but he's not any good, and he wouldn't come to the dance." I quickly replied.

M.J. rolled her eyes. "Take a fucken joke." She said and shoved my head lightly, something, which did put a small smile on my face. "It's not like it's beyond my understanding that a superhero's not going to be the photographer at a high school dance." She looked Ned and I in the eyes to make sure we were getting it and took a bite of her apple. "It's just fun to imagine." She added while chewing mindlessly.

Ned, catching the beat I had missed, commented humorously, "Do you imagine Spider-Man for 'fun' a lot, M.J?" He smiled smugly.

Without so much as a blush, M.J. said, "Actually, I don't really worry much about him, seeing as I already have a date, she's called Liz. Do you know her?"

Unfortunately, I thought in an instance of self-pity. But in front of my own private thoughts, where M.J. could actually see, the corners of my mouth twitched into a small smile. She smiled back at me with enigmatically shy eyes, reminding me of my devotion for her like a blow at my gut. Michelle and I had an unspoken contest continuously going on of who could reply sarcastically to any given utterance, most often. One she was inaudibly winning and her private smile toward me was her victory dance, her inviting me to challenge her. Though instead of minding neither the challenge nor the source of the shy eyes, I smiled back at her. I held her gaze, I soaked in her shy eyes, and I took it to keep for myself, saving it for later. It was something Liz couldn't have, this moment.

"So M.J." I began, throat hoarse and eyes focused on fiddly hands. "What kind of scenarios usually pop up in your head when you have these visions of said Spider-person?" I asked, hoping for heart-quickening details and trying not to lock eyes solely with my own hands. Ned raised his eyes from his history book to give me a once over, seemingly checking for clues of my mental state.

Michelle put her elbow firmly on the table and bored her eyes into my skull. "Again, I don't really worry much about him, and if I ever do let my imagination wander it's usually of him realizing I don't need him to walk me home from a party, and him instead being occupied with fighting actual threats on the central streets of New York." She leaned back in her chair with her book, outwardly proud of having fit all those words into one breath of air.

"Why are you friends with that guy, anyway?" M.J. mumbled from her book, like she was wary of her own question, not quite daring to commit to it.

I exchanged a glance with Ned, who urgently returned to his book once again. This had M.J. even more intrigued. "What?" She kept asking. "Does it have something to do with your secret project?" She was now intrigued in her own low-key way, book hanging loosely from her grip.

I shook my head with furrowed brows. "Why can't he just be my friend, without a particular reason for it? He's a good guy."

M.J. huffed and ran her eyes along a page in her book. "I know better guys."

I looked at M.J. with disbelief. I knew I had been kind of hot and cold lately when it came to how I displayed my affinity for Spider-Man, but I just couldn't let this one slip away without a discussion. The guy had after all saved her from a bullet to the head. "You know better guys than one who spends his time selflessly preventing crime without getting paid or any of the real credit, hence him being masked?"

She tilted her head slightly upwards and looked me straight in the eyes. "Yes." She said, surprisingly confidently. "I know a guy who shows his face in school every day, despite having other things to worry about and he gives his all. He goes to his classes, studies hard, answers every god damn decathlon question correctly without so much as a hesitation and is all the while kind and funny and brilliant and while doing all those things, still at the end of the day goes home to have dinner with his mother and doesn't bat an eyelash when he's served larb at a less than fancy restaurant again. And all of this, he does with his own face." M.J. was livid as I stared at her. I felt like a little kid under her stare while simultaneously prouder than I'd ever felt before. I just couldn't believe she still thought those things about me despite our recent interactions.

"Me?" I asked.

M.J. shrugged. Shrugging was like her own special ingredient she added to any dish she served. "And Ned too." She added.

"Wow, thanks M.J. I do like larb." Ned said sarcastically, not really taking the feedback to his heart.

After a moment's silence I sheepishly added, "That's still not better than what Spider-Man does." mostly to my lap than anyone else. However, I couldn't quite fight the oncoming smile on my face, the gradually evolving type that lasted me the whole day, and the also gradually evolving elated feeling in my gut that lasted me all the way to the homecoming dance.

Until is probably a better word here: it lasted me until the homecoming dance.

Certain cemented conventions are bound to be followed at dances, conventions, which I didn't usually mind. But this night, everything seemed to be wrong in some way or another.

"Isn't it odd how so many girls wear dresses to these things? Like why? And why do they bring dates? It's such a weird custom if you think about it." I said to Ned, who was leaning against the same wall as I. We were wall leaning buddies just as we were also science buddies, locker buddies, school project buddies and other forms of buddies. We were partners in crime, you could say, but currently missing a third of the company.

"I think what you mean to say is: isn't it odd how girl wear dresses and why girl bring dates." My buddy replied absentmindedly. He was currently doing better at the whole leaning-casually-against-a-wall thing than my restless self. Although I do believe I had mastered our customary poking-fun-at-this-dumb-event thing, I was unbeatable tonight.

"And no it's not weird, it actually kind of makes a hell lotta' sense if you think about it." Ned added; making me even restless-er than before, if that's a word.

So far, M.J. had danced with Liz to Locket Love by Ramones, suggested to someone who was not Flash, seeing as he was blacklisted from being the DJ for life. She came up to us several times to implore us to take part in the festivities, an uncharacteristic action of hers and one neither of us condoned, some less than others, me being some and Ned being others. Thankfully, Flash only came up to us once for one of his scheduled taunts, but I was not looking forward to the rest, given how the first one had been enough to send me coiling down a spiral of self-hatred at not having told him off. I believe M.J. had seen the whole thing, seen the lack of avenging extravaganza. The good old restlessness I had felt before had now been exchanged with sheer moping as a result.

Michelle had also had a lot of punch, a suspicious amount of punch if you ask me, and it caused me to wonder if the punch had been spiked. I needed to know if she had abandoned yet another of her routines — her sober ego, to replace it with an alcohol drinking alter ego. Which lead me to not only wonder, but wander down to the actual punch-table, in the flesh, alive and well. I guess M.J. wasn't the only one roaming around uncharted territory tonight.

"Have we ever been to the punch-table at one of these things before in our entire lives?" Ned asked with his eyes squinted in reminiscence.

In an effort to look natural in this, to me, unnatural environment I awkwardly swirled around one of the ladles in one of the violet liquids, causing some bubbles to appear. "Honestly, it's a riddle to me why we even attend in the first place, we don't deserve to be here."

Ned was leaned over one of the fruit punch bowls, examining it meticulously for any sign of unholy water. "Are you saying that our lack of appreciation for it has rendered us undeserving of it now?" He requested skeptically.

M.J.'s voice from behind interrupted us then, "Have you guys ever been to the punch-table at one of these things before in your entire lives?"

No matter how sad I felt about the whole M.J. thing, I couldn't help but be ripped back to our usual repartee then. My playful side had been called upon, and it was an unstoppable force. "Careful there, M.J., you don't want to go and build yourself a superiority complex, do you? Especially seeing as earlier today, you hadn't made it beyond the corner wall either. You were nothing more than a simple farm boy, just like us."

Michelle looked relieved that our dynamic was on its common ground. She lit up, while still keeping in character. She pressed her lips together in an effort of faking a thought process. "I think I do recollect having been closer to this part of the realm than any of you two have, even before tonight." Her argument was seamless, and yet I endured.

"I don't believe it." I said back and began pouring a cup of the sweet liquid. I hadn't forgotten mine and Ned's ultimate quest, no matter how successful M.J. typically was in the distraction division. I brought the cup to my nose under both Ned and Michelle's eyes. But with my lack of knowledge of alcohol, I couldn't make out if there was any in it or not. Without minding how odd I was making myself appear, I decided that someone would have to taste it, and that that someone was not going to be me, so I handed the cup to my right.

"There you go Ned, your first drink at a high school dance." I said and sent a fake grin his way.

I did not receive one back however. "I don't want any punch, Peter." He said resolutely. "You taste it."

I feigned offence, "Ned, you know I only drink tap water; sourced from sustainable materials; preferably lukewarm." I half-joked.

"We do know you like your tap water, Peter." Michelle agreed sardonically. "But seriously guys, what's the big deal? It's only punch." She queried, looking genuinely puzzled now.

"We think it's might be spiked." Ned confessed and handed her the drink for her to examine.

M.J. didn't look convinced though. "Boys, I've been drinking this all night, believe me when I say—" She stopped, eyes focusing not on us anymore, but somewhere behind us. We turned to see what had caused her speech to fail, seeing that right behind us was Flash, sneakily and successfully actually spiking the punch with a small bottle at hand. Well, I thought, at least there hadn't been alcohol in the punch, M.J. walked free.

Key word: Hadn't.

Flash looked up at us then, concentration on his task interrupted. He fell smoothly into a sneer and said, "I hope your friend isn't going to tape me to the floor this time?"

My face remained cold. "That depends, are you going to harass anyone? Because I've got him on speed dial." I replied.

Flash laughed. "That would have been threatening Peter, had I not had such a hard time believing anything you're saying, since speed dial hasn't really been used since about 1996."

I looked at Flash's smile. I refused to look anywhere else since I knew M.J. was right behind me, taking in the whole conversation and my pathetic self, the victim of some random kid's vendetta. She was probably just waiting for this interaction to be over so that she could safely return to Liz, to continue dancing and not bother with my wretched self. I was the one who fought of two gun holding guys last week! I wanted to tell her. The sad fact, being that I couldn't, dawned on me like never before. She would never know any more of me than this. A geeky kid, looking doe-eyed up at his bully and I had ricocheted back to my mopey self, this time with a pinch of anger attached.

I took a long and hard look at Flash, his annoying smile was going to follow me to my grave, I might as well get used to it. "Flash," I began. "I'm having a hard time with your general presence right now. Maybe you should back off to somewhere that's not here, because if you say another mean word to me, I will release my wrath on you and I think you know better than most people in here that I have an extensive knowledge of the chemical substances needed in the creation of explosives. So could you please leave us alone for the rest of your short but sweet time on this earth?"

I felt quite proud of having been able to speak that many words in the company of Flash. He was one whom I didn't usually confront in this direct manner, or any manner at all. Flash himself however, didn't look all that faced, except for a small crease between his eyebrows that had not been there before.

Flash sighed loudly, "If there's one thing I can say about you Peter, it's that you sure know how to talk. For a looong, extended amount of time, leaving me not quite sure about anything you just said."

I knew he had heard every word I had said, he just couldn't walk away now that I had told him to do so, it would ruin his reputation of being a complete idiot no one really liked.

"I told you to leave." I demanded, and when he didn't cooperate I knew I would have to get away from the conversation before I would inevitably flip out on him. This night so far was confirmation enough that it would happen if I didn't leave right now. Without a word I walked by him, shoving his shoulder with mine as I passed. I'd had enough. I was just never going to get redeemed in M.J.'s eyes, Flash was never going to accept me and I would always remain the same kid I hated.

As a last gag, mostly to comfort myself and wield some revenge on Flash, I turned and said loudly, "What the fuck is that?" looking to the left of them. When everyone turned to see what I was referring to I shot my web at his shoes, and like a Frisbee I whipped it back, causing him to fall to the floor once again. "Looks like we don't need Spider-Man to tape you to the floor, after all!" I called. Once the deed was done, I exited the room as quick as I could, heading for the bathroom.

You'd think the bathroom would be crowded, seeing as a lot of people were drinking a lot of beverages at once, but true to social structures, only the girl's lavatory was occupied, allowing me to slip into the men's bathroom, unbothered, to mope all by myself. I sat down on a toilet seat in one of the stalls and hoped Ned wouldn't come and find me. I wanted to be by myself for a while.

Yet still, only a couple of moments passed before the door opened, briefly letting a rumble of music into the room. A shot of further annoyance ran through me. Why couldn't he understand?

"Peter?"

Nope. That was not Ned. That was the beautiful sound of another favorite human being of mine.

"This is the men's bathroom, M.J." I said dully. Why hadn't I closed the stall door? I thought while mentally slapping myself.

I heard her walking toward me until she was stood right in front of the stall I was occupying with her eyebrows raised. "Bathrooms have neither genders nor genitals, Peter."

I looked up at her, it felt like she was towering above me from my position on the toilet seat. How did she manage to look and sound this confident all the time? I wondered. "You're probably pissed of that I just ruined all the fun." I moaned while leaning my head against the stall door.

M.J. smiled then and squatted down to end up on what was almost my level. "I'm actually quite proud." She said like she couldn't really believe it, and to be fair, I didn't either.

"How come?" I asked in my most sardonic voice, head never leaving wall.

"Peter, you stood up to Flash. For once, you actually did. Not Spider-Man or anyone else." She said encouragingly. She leaned her elbow against the door so as not to loose her balance.

I locked eyes with her. She didn't know, did she? I pushed the thought away.

"You mean I didn't call Spider-Man to pick my battles for me?" I asked hesitantly. I hadn't thought of that until now. Neither Ned or Michelle had said anything during our whole interaction with Flash, and to her knowledge, I didn't even use my web shooter.

Of course M.J. had to go and understand my inner battle better than I ever could.

"I mean…" For once, she was the one to look at the floor and have troubles with the word thing. "I mean that you didn't… appear as …him." She said, looking apologetically up at me in a confessionary style. My head fell, defeated.

"You know." I groaned. Oddly, I was feeling quite ashamed, like it was some embarrassing thing I'd done, creating an alter ego and dressing up as him on a regular basis. Actually, now that I think about it, it is quite embarrassing.

Michelle shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah…" She replied with that same old apologetic expression she didn't need to use.

"I still used my web." I argued and showed of the web shooter on my wrist to her, figuring we could at least talk about it now that it was out in the air.

"Yeah, but what you don't seem to be seeing is that you didn't use Spider-Man as a confidence boost. You were Peter, and you were awesome, as Peter." She smiled. "Peter! Peter! Peter!" She repeated and out of nowhere and then moved on to hug me, quickly but tightly. She seemed really happy for me.

I looked at her shyly through my eyebrows, feeling quite flabbergasted from the sudden hug. "You know I'm Spider-Man." I declared.

"I know you're the Spidery-guy who does the webby things." She said, this time with more confidence.

"How?"

Her eyes trailed upwards, searching the room for an answer. "Because you're like mother and son." She sighed.

"So basically you've known all along?" I said flatly.

"No." She sighed at my slow uptake. "The party, remember? 'We're like mother and son.' — You weren't even there, so how he had said that the day after in the cafeteria when you made the same joke?" She said, like the explanation was clear as day.

It wasn't. I looked uncertainly at her. I think she was expecting me to fill in details I didn't have. Especially given how I didn't even recall the conversation she was referring to. But anyhow, it was M.J. She probably knew what she was talking about.

"But if you knew all along, why did you keep tearing Spider-Man down all the time right in front of me!" I squinted at her in an accusatory way.

"Because! I was trying to build Peter Parker up!" She flailed her arm at me, as if it would somehow make me understand her idiotic reasoning better. "I wanted you to know I think you're better than him." She said like she was a passionate lecturer explaining quantum theory to me.

"You do know we're the same person, right?" I asked, like I was explaining basic addition to her.

"Do you?" She retorted. Again with the understanding things I hadn't even talked to her about!

I ignored the question, feeling that we shouldn't diverge too far from the subject of her tearing me down for the past week or two. "Well, it didn't work." I crossed my arms. "Your plan of tearing one of me down to build the other up, very much didn't work."

"Of course it didn't," She rolled her eyes and dislodged my crossed arms. "Because you're Peter and you can't fucking see when I'm trying to tell you things, and much less what I'm trying to tell you. Especially if it's something positive, and concerning you."

I leaned back on the seat and we shared a knowing smile. I wanted to move away from this subject, so I asked the next question that was troubling me. We had a lot of those to burn through. "Why didn't you tell me you knew though?"

"Why didn't you tell me who you were?" M.J. had clearly expected this question and had come prepared with a quip in return. I guessed it was time for me to give some answers back.

"You know who I am. This is just a…" I wasn't sure how to phrase it. "…hobby of some sort."

But Michelle wouldn't have my explanation. "It's not a hobby, nor is it an alter ego, it's you. It's half of you and you hid it from your best friend. And I was annoyed. So I didn't tell you and I'm not going to apologize for it, because you deserved it." M.J. was sounding more remorseful than what she was intentionally communicating. "And I also did a couple of experiments to make sure." She trepedatiously added. I urged her to go on and she reluctantly did. "I had to make sure you genuinely were the person who was in the mask, so I conducted experiments, seeing if I could say things to Spider-Man that would stimulate a response in your normal self…"

"Hold on." I interrupted, with a forlorn looking M.J. before me. "That's how you got me to stop wearing sciency t-shirts?" I gawked.

"That's right." M.J. confirmed, and to my surprise she actually broke into an amused smile on top of her previous forlorn expression. I guess the humor of it all got to her. "I actually don't mind the t-shirts, just wanted to see what would happen." She looked like a child who had just stolen a cookie from the cookie jar, pleased, but still bearing the appurtenant guilt. "And boy was I pleased with the results, as you haven't worn one since!" She laughed and clapped her hands in delight, but all I could do was look amazed at the influence she could have on me if she only wanted.

"But Spidey could have told me about the interaction!" I contended.

She seemed to calm down significantly at this. "Peter…" I received a fond smile. "You're him, he's you. Don't you understand that I see that?" She stood up then. "Anyway. There are more pressing matters at hand."

I stood up with her, painfully aware that we were actually in a lavatory stall, but I did my best to ignore that notion for the moment. I was nervous but intrigued at what the next part of this night would offer. M.J. apparently seemed to have something in mind for it.

What exactly that was became gradually more deluded in my mind however, when she moved closer to me by the second in an utmost peculiar manner. I took a few steps back in an attempt to regain my balance. It was hard fitting two people into a stall as small as this one. Especially seeing as we were both using the most of our height at this point. "What are you doing?" I asked breathlessly. I didn't feel confident enough to make any predisposed assumptions.

Michelle didn't answer my question, a tedious fact. Instead, she put both her hands on the wall, one on either side of me. I was caged. There were very few places I could look that weren't M.J. with her being super close to me an all. For a moment, a very brief one of those, I could do nothing but stare at her lips. Sure, I could have probably found another place to look if I had had more time. But in the moment, it seemed that it was the place my eyes had decided to adventure to.

M.J. faked what looked like some very calculated shock then. "You're thinking about kissing me." She smiled smugly.

"No — What! Why would you think that?!" I lied.

M.J. smiled sweetly. "Why would I think that?" She whispered.

Facts faced: she had probably noticed that time when I looked at her lips for a fraction of a second. "I don't know why you would think that …kiddo." I replied nervously.

She rolled her eyes and stepped away from me, allowing me to breathe. Thank god. But also: Damn it.

"Really? I'm kiddo now?" She exasperated, but to my relief, she seemed to forget about me calling her kiddo pretty much immediately, closing in on me again. She looked nervous now. "Now that you finally know that I know that you're Spider-Man, you can finally kiss me." She trembled, looking at me expectantly.

I considered if I should in fact kiss her or not. On one hand, I really wanted to, and on the other — yeah I should probably do it. I leaned in…

"What about Liz?"

"Liz knows I'm in love with you."

Satisfied with the answer I had got, I leaned in further, slowly. And then I kissed her, really slowly. She breathed in heavily once I did, and kissed me back, slowly. I raised my hand to touch her hair, slowly.

We went on like that for a while before M.J. suddenly stopped. She looked at me with her eyes wide. It took me a while to recognize the familiar tones of Sheena Is A Punk Rocker in the background.

"I didn't even request this!" She chimed excitedly.

"I think it might be Ned telling us he needs us back." I said. She took my hand and led me back to the gym. A night of waving our arms around while jumping ensued.

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A/N: Thanks to everyone who read or/and reviewed! Please let me know of things you liked/disliked.

Also, happy autumn! And if you're returning to Hogwarts today, I hope you have a good school year.

1 September 2017