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Anyone who knew Peter Parker; whether they be friends, Avengers, classmates, bodega owners, or villains who he had locked away as Spider-Man, knew that he was a very kind-hearted boy with a wonderful heart. Yes, he could get angry at times - usually if someone he cares about is threatened or hurt by another, or if a certain duo consisting of a bird-man with a shield and a metal armed man keep prodding into embarrassing moments. But, he's known for being smart, sweet and caring, willing to help a stranger in a moments notice. Hell, some people would believe that he could find something to love about anyone. However, there are a few things that Peter loves and cares for above all else.
One of those is his Aunt May, who had taken him in with his Uncle Ben. He owed so much to her as she and Ben raised him with love and care, doing everything they could, despite their dwindling financial situation – especially after Ben's death – to make his childhood life a happy one. And when she found out about his superhero life, instead of freaking out and stressing herself to death like he feared – though she did initially – she was willing to support and encourage him no matter the outcome. Sure, she still would worry for her nephew's safety, as would anyone. But, she was willing to back him up through thick and thin, so long as he believed what he was doing was right.
Another is his beautiful girlfriend, Michelle Jones. Former decathlon captain, protest organiser for several environmental and feminist issues, casual journalist, keen-eyed observer, and enthusiast of the morbid and macabre. He'd fallen for her shortly before Thanos' armies attacked Earth and had tried a few plans before the ill-fated trip to MoMA to try and tell her how he felt. However, after the utter calamity that was their S.H.I.E.L.D. interrupted European trip, courtesy of the legendary Nick Fury and Maria Hill, they did finally get together as they confessed their knowledge of his identity and their lives where threatened by a charismatic fish-bowl wearing director of special effects.
What few people knew was that Peter loves carnivals. Ever since he was a young boy, he's believed that they are a truly magical place. Sometimes they bring you joy. Sometimes they bring you sadness. Sometimes you can win a prize at every stall you can find. Sometimes you lose every chunk of food you've eaten that day.
And sometimes you'll see something you'll never see again.
As Peter wandered through the carnival, he couldn't help but feel lonely as he travelled through the stands all alone. Since he heard that a circus would be in the district roughly a month prior to their arrival, he had desperately wanted to bring MJ along to the festivities. However, he didn't know if it was possible, as MJ was oversees in Berlin for an exchange student program for her journalism course at NYU, and they weren't too sure when she would be coming back. Only a week ago did they know that she was meant to be coming back today, which sent Peter into a giddy fit trying to plan this wonderful surprise date out. As much as they would need to study for exams; Peter needing to nail the theory for his Advanced Nanotechnology unit and MJ needing to piece together her evaluations for her Journalism assignment based on the events going on in Berlin while she was there – a specialised exercise determined for those in the exchange program – he believed that a nice date night surrounded by the joyous energy, flashing lights and pulsing music would be a great way to relax and reconnect with one another. The fact that they had been video calling one another every single day meant nothing when it came to truly standing in each other's presence, holding onto each other.
When Michelle had first told Peter that she would be coming back today, the glorious information acquired as his Spider-Man persona about the circus and carnival was perfect. He was so excited to surprise her homecoming by bringing her out for a night of joyous adventure the likes of which only children could ever truly know. However, that plan went down the drain as they found out that her flight back had been cancelled, and the next flight was the following day. Seeing as there was nothing they could do, and that tonight was the last night of the carnival, Peter decided to go anyway. Who knows? Maybe he could find something to give to her there instead.
One by one Peter had made his way through the rides and prize stands; more the former than the latter. He had even won a reasonably (see oversized) rabbit that was cradling, beyond all luck, a bouquet of plastic black dahlias, from a hoop toss stand that had been rigged by the owner – though not expecting someone of his talents (see superpowers) to show him up – that he would bring to Michelle when she touched down. He had made his way though each of the rides, and finally all that remained was the Ferris Wheel.
While he stood at the end of the severely dwindling line, a slight chill tore through his body before he threw a hand out and caught a little stuffed Spider-Man toy that that been thrown at his head. Having caught the toy aimed at the back of his head, Peter turned around to see a somewhat solemn MJ smiling back at him with a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes, nowhere near the genuine grin that he had realised over the last few months she reserved just for him. His eyes glance slightly to the cane by her side, along with the slight reddish stain to her upper leg, before returning to her own eyes.
“MJ!” he cries out, running over to her – not completely registering her demeanour – and pulling her up into a tight hug, easily lifting her off the ground and spinning her round in his arms. “You said you weren't coming back today!”
“Well, I thought I'd surprise you,” she replies tersely, glancing around before he sets her back down. “Can't say I'm shocked to see you here.”
“I'm certainly surprised to see you!” he grins, turning towards the Ferris wheel. “Do you want to join me?”
When he turns back and holds out a hand to her, he observes as she glumly looks towards his hand before grabbing it with his. He does remember how she was never one for excessive PDA – no matter the situation – maybe she's still a little uncomfortable. However, as soon as her now unusually pale bronze skin touches his, a frosty chill crawls across his skin, sending him into a tense shudder.
“MJ, are you feeling well?” he asks, putting out the first thing that comes to mind. “Do you need to head home?”
Michelle replies with a simply shake of her head as her chilly grip tightens around his hand.
“I'm fine,” she answers, the grip growing more intimate as she wraps herself around his arm and rests her head against his shoulder. “I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be with you.”
Peter nods and they silently saunter to the front, MJ hobbling along with her cane as she leans more on her boyfriend, until finally they get to a carriage. When Peter hands the pimply teenage operator two tickets, he takes them with an odd glance back at the young adult, but lets the two on and they pile into a cart, the stuffed bunny sitting next to Peter and the Spider-Man plushie leaning against the back of the chair next to MJ.
“I used to love being on these things,” MJ confesses as the ride jerks to life, lurching round from its resting place as the wheel starts to spin. “My mother used to take me up all the time.”
She folds her arms on the edge of the open window and leans her chin on it, glancing down at the people below.
“We used to play a game,” she explained. “We'd pick out people in the crowd and pretend we were them, talking about anything stupid that we thought we could imagine happening in their lives.”
“Would you like to do that?” he asks, waiting tills she spins around to look at him. Unusually, he finds her looking back with a couple of tears trickling down her face.
“Are you okay?” he asks, getting a nod from her, even though it seems to manage to send a few more tears trickling down her cheeks. “MJ, you're crying.”
“A-Am I?” she stammers, her arms quickly reaching up and wiping away at her face. However, that fails to stop the tears from falling more and more.
“MJ?”
“I'm fine,” she whispers, a small sad smile gracing her face. “I just missed you … so much.”
“I missed you too,” he replies, grabbing her weirdly cold hands and cradling them in his own. While holding her hands, he tries to discreetly glance at the obviously wounded leg, the injury bleeding through her clothes. Nevertheless, MJ's ever keen eyes manage to pick up on his curious peek.
“I was shot.”
“What?!”
“Just before I flew out, a madman attacked the hotel I was staying at,” MJ explains, gripping onto the cane and shuffling over to Peter's side of the carriage. She winces as she steps down on her injured leg, managing to hold herself on the first before collapsing onto him on the second. With his help, she manages to make her way onto the seat next to him, slightly moving the rabbit across to make room.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“There wasn't anything you could do.”
“But MJ-”
“Peter!” she shouts back, getting him to wince and back up a little. Michelle takes a short breath before dropping her voice.
“There wasn't anything you could do,” she softly repeats. “We were on a completely different continent. Even if you got there, it would've still been too late.”
“But I could've helped-”
“You can't save everyone, Peter!” she says, looking away as her voice starts to break into a whisper. “You can't save everyone ...”
“MJ …”
The carriage falls into a small moment of silence as they rotate round past the apex, rounding into a decent.
“... Why were you here?” she asks gently, her eyes fixating itself onto a certain point on the floor she's noted to be extremely important to look at.
“Well, I was wanting to bring you here on a date,” Peter explains, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. “But, someone said they weren't coming tonight.”
“Says the guy who would drop into my room unannounced and leave a pool of blood on my carpet.”
“I mean, I could have died,” Peter said lively, trying to turn it into a joke. However, the smile on his face quickly fell as he saw that it didn't spread onto her beautiful face.
“Yeah … you could've ...”
“MJ ...”
“So ..” she perks up, clearing her throat, “why did you still come here?”
“Well, I figured I'd get you something,” he replies, gesturing to the stuffed rabbit. Her eyes roam across it in the usual disinterest that he's used to seeing her act with, until they come to the bouquet of her favourite murderous flowers. The straight poker face gives way to a simpering smile as she wraps her hands around the stuffed animal, burying her head into the flowers.
“You didn't have to,” she whispers, her voice starting to break again.
“I know,” Peter replies as he turns away, closing his eyes. “But I wante-”
The words die in his mouth as his lips are met by hers in a soft, gentle, yet desperate kiss, her lips wet and cold as he opens his eyes in surprise. The slight image of the tears once more trickling down her face, through her own closed eyes, sticks into his mind before he closes his eyes as well and leans into the kiss, pushing back into her for what feels like a life time before he feels her pull away.
“I love you, Peter,” he hears her whisper against his skin, sending it crawling from her tantalising breathe.
“Wait for me ...”
With the final whispering of MJs voice haunting his ears, Peter's eyes jerk open as the carriage sways to a stop at the bottom. Glancing around, there is no sign of anyone else in the cart with him; no MJ, no cane, and no stuffed rabbit. All that remains of any sign that MJ was ever in there with him is the Spider-Man plushie that she had thrown at his head, along with the damp speckles where her tears had fallen. Grabbing the plushie, Peter dashes out of the carriage and looks around, but cannot see a single small sign of Michelle anywhere that he looks. Glancing back, he approaches the glum teenager operating the Ferris wheel.
“Hey, did you see where the girl I was with went?”
“Girl?” he drones, taking the tickets for another couple clutching lovingly onto each others arms. “What girl, man?”
With a frustrated sigh, Peter turns away and takes off into the swarming crowd, trying to find his girlfriend. However, with the large bustling crowd, he cannot find even a single luscious hair from her head. When he tries to ring her phone, there's no response – the call going straight to voicemail. Leaving a message for her, he tries searching for her for several minutes before, tiredly, deciding to head home, still trying to ring her all the way back.
Ned groggily wakes up to the sound of the TV running in the living room of his and Peter's shared apartment. Wrapping a fluffy dressing gown round his rotund body, he wearily staggers into the room to find the news sounding on the screen.
“Interpol have released details of the suspected terror attack in Berlin last night,” the news reporter relays. “The gunman, suspected to be linked with numerous terrorist organisations, attacked the Radisson Blu Hotel in the late hours of last night. Interpol have declared there were fifteen civilian casualties, along with seven individuals injured. Of those seven, three are in a critical condition.”
“Radisson Blu … Wasn't that where MJ was staying?” Ned mutters, before stopping as he hears a sobbing sound coming from the couch. Walking over, he finds Peter lying cross the couch, cradling a bloody Spider-Man plushie who's head has been shredded in a hole with something metallic shimmering deep within. Tears are flowing from his eyes as the superhero tightens his grip on the stuffed toy, holding it hard to his chest.
“Amongst the casualties is 21 year old Michelle Jones, a New York resident in Berlin as part of a transfer student program. Police explain she had been shot through the leg before being killed, and that they found her holding onto a large stuffed rabbit. For reasons they cannot explain, there was no blood on the rabbit. Her body will be flown back to be buried by her family.”