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The smoke detector goes off with a piercing wail that almost bursts Peter’s eardrums and he nearly drops the knife he is using to chop carrots for the salad.
“Oh no!”
He whirls around to where the pumpkin seeds are roasting on the stove – or well, burning. The pan is smoking and an acrid smell starts to fill the kitchen. Not again. He can already hear MJ bringing up the dumplings incident…
“Are you trying to burn the house down again?”
And there she is.
Peter grabs the pan and drops it into the sink. The only thing that is left of the pumpkin seeds are tiny pieces of charcoal. So much for the fancy garnish they planned to serve the salad with.
When the smoking subsides, he finally turns around to face MJ. She managed to turn off the smoke detector and watches him with an amused smile. “One would think that you learned to keep an eye on what you are cooking by now” she teases while she crosses her arms.
Her hair is up in a ponytail and she wears a blue sweater the same shade as his suit. He knows that she has been busy all day, getting the house ready before their guests arrive, but she doesn’t look stressed. Instead, she looks happy. Content. There is a gleam in her eyes and she isn’t as tense as she used to be when she was still working for the Daily Bugle. She is incredible beautiful.
Peter thinks that he has been fascinated with MJ from the moment they met. They had been twelve years old and she had been slightly taller than him but just as scrawny. She had worn her hair in long braids and just moved to New York from Pennsylvania.
And she had been smart and incredibly studious. Peter can still remember her handing in an essay about whether schools should or should not have school uniforms complete with citations and references to studies while the rest of them had simply expressed their own thoughts and feelings on the subject.
But that had not been the reason for his fascination. Or at least not the main reason. No, that had been her constant readiness to stand up for others. MJ had been polite and kind but she would become furious and relentless when someone was being treated unfairly. One time, she had even confronted one of their teachers because of unfair dress codes.
And she had stood up for him and Harry before they even were friends. Hadn’t hesitated for a second before fending off their bullies, regardless of becoming a target herself.
He thinks that’s what made him fall in love with her first. Her courage. And selflessness.
MJ has made it her mission to help people. Not only during their schooldays, but later too. Has chosen a job that allowed her to inform and protect the people. She is as much a hero as he is. And just as willing to throw herself head-first into danger.
It has been hard to accept at first. Peter would never think of MJ as weak. Not when she is one of the strongest people he knows. But she doesn’t have the same abilities he has. She can’t simply walk away from a bullet wound or being stabbed. Doesn’t have healing abilities. She is much more vulnerable than him and it scares him. The thought of her being hurt. Or worse. He can’t lose her.
But MJ doesn’t stop him from doing everything in his power to save people. So he doesn’t stop her either. Not anymore at least. He has lost her over his overprotectiveness once. He is not going to make that mistake ever again.
And he still hasn’t answered her. Whoops.
“Sorry” he says sheepishly. “I totally forgot that those were cooking. If we’ve got more, I could try again-“
MJ waves him off. “I think we’ll manage without them. They probably won’t even notice that they are missing.” She leaves her place next to the kitchen entrance and saunters over to him. Her hands grab his collar and Peter’s heartbeat spikes in excitement. Not that they have time for that. Their guests will arrive any minute now and they won’t be happy if even more food gets burned because Peter and MJ go at it in the middle of the kitchen.
But MJ doesn’t pull him in for a kiss. Instead, her eyes lock on a spot at the centre of his chest. “But they definitely will notice that.”
Peter tears his eyes away from her face and follows her gaze. Right to the big stain on his shirt. Where did that come from? He just put that shirt on.
MJ laughs as if she can read his thoughts and releases him. “Go change. I’ll take care of the salad.”
“You are the best.” He gives her a quick peck on the lips and makes his way to the stairs. The dining room table is set with straw place mats and nice china. There are only four plates – one each for Miles, Mrs Morales, MJ and Peter. It’s a small party especially given that they are celebrating Thanksgiving.
Peter’s chest tightens. There should have been at least four more plates.
He can barely remember his parents. He knows what they look like, thanks to some photos, but he doesn’t remember what their voices sounded like or how their hands felt in his. But he remembers Thanksgiving dinners with Ben and May. The smell of roasted turkey and pumpkin pie. Them snuggling up on the couch in front of the TV afterwards.
And he remembers May’s hand in his. Their last moment together.
It’s been incredibly hard to lose them. But MJ had been there for him. Had reached out to him even when he had shut her and Harry out after Ben’s death. Had taken notes for him when he started missing more and more classes. Had shown up at the funeral and taken his hand even if he hadn’t asked her to. And she had been what kept him going after that horrible day at F.E.A.S.T.
It still hurts. To think about them. About what they are missing. But it doesn’t feel as overwhelming as it did before. Because whenever he feels like he is drowning, MJ is there to pull him out of it.
Peter reaches their bedroom. They no longer use his old room to sleep in. Instead, they have moved into May’s room. Have thrown out the bed and the ancient curtains and bought new ones. The floral wallpaper is gone as well, same for most pictures on the walls.
A lot of things have changed since they defeated Venom. There are no longer boxes stacked in every room of the house and take out containers and dirty dishes littering the kitchen. They have thrown away piles of old magazines only May wanted to read and donated most of her books and clothes.
Still, parts of his aunt remain. Little keepsakes to remind them of her. Of their time together. The family photos on top of his desk. Her ficus that takes up a whole corner of the dining room. Her wheat cake recipe. The newspaper clippings of articles about her work for F.E.A.S.T.
It hurts to see the house changed. May has been gone for a while now but to throw away things that once belonged to her – even if it’s only her old socks – feels wrong. Like that’s what makes her death final. But at the same time, it feels good. To not think about her lasts moments every time he sees her favourite snacks on the shelf next to the fridge. Peter thinks that May would have liked them to go on with their lives. And he will never forget her. Nor will he forget Ben and his parents.
But the house is not the only thing that has changed. They have changed as well. Have found their place in a world where normal no longer exists.
It’s still strange to hear the crime alert go off and not rush into the city to stop robbers, burglars or the occasional supervillain. Peter still waits for a call from Miles and he still wears his web shooters just in case, but the other Spider-Man seems to do well on his own. Not that Peter doubted that.
Taking some time off spider-duty has allowed Peter a normalcy he hasn’t experienced in a long time. He got a teaching job at Washington High in Brooklyn that allows him to pay the taxes while he works on rebuilding the Emily-May foundation and he manages to eat dinner with MJ almost every evening.
And while Peter knows that it is not going to last forever, he thinks he needed this.
Because he can still remember the terror he had felt when MJ had been used as a host by the symbiote. The fear that he had lost her. And while Peter cannot remember what had happened that night after his fight with the Lizard, he has heard enough to know that he has hurt her. Has seen the giant bruise marring the soft skin on her shoulder.
It still makes him sick to think about it. About him harming her. And about what could have happened. He could have lost her. He could have been the one to kill her.
To overcome that has been their biggest challenge yet. But they have faced it together. As a couple. As a team. And they emerged stronger than ever.
Peter opens the wardrobe and grabs a new shirt. While he shrugs out of the dirty one and changes, his gaze lands on his suit that hangs limply off a hanger. He thinks about the small velvet box he keeps hidden inside of it because it’s a place where MJ will never accidentally find it. Thinks about the simple ring he has found at a small jewelry store in Harlem.
He doesn’t know when he is going to give it to her. Hasn’t thought about how to give it to her. But… soon. Because with everything that has happened, he knows that there is no one else he wants to spend the rest of his life with than MJ. No one else he is going to love more than her.
It’s not going to be easy. There will be other challenges to face. Other problems to solve. More pain to endure.
Harry’s future is still uncertain. Cletus Kasady is still on the run. And sooner or later, Peter is going to put on his suit again.
But they are going to face it together. And that is enough to keep him going.