Work Text:
“Well, if it isn’t Spider-Man!”
Underneath the mask, Spider-Man closed his eyes and took in a breath. He then slowly turned and stared at some guy in a ski mask.
“Long time, no see,” the man taunted. Spider-Man didn’t say anything. He didn’t even recognize the man. If he had a dollar for every mook or criminal in a mask he put away, he could probably cover his rent for a year or two. However, Spider-Man was not in the mood to deal with this guy. As such, he was a bit agitated. “You don’t remember me, do you? Well, I remember you. I didn’t forget how you did me and my boys in Harlem last week. But it looks like I caught you slippin’. I’m ready for you now! I’m here to even the score and –”
“Listen, I have somewhere to be and I have no time for this,” Spider-Man interjected. “So, here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to step inside of this grocery store to find what I’m looking for. During that time, I highly recommend you go home or anywhere else that is not here. If you try to interfere with my shopping or if you’re stupid enough to be here when I get out, I’ll embarrass you in front of every person in the vicinity, then drop you off to The Punisher personally just for wasting my time. Word of advice? Please make a business decision.” Even with the ski mask on the guy’s head, the Wall Crawler could see the confidence leaving his face.
Hoping the man got the message, Spider-Man turned around and entered the grocery store. After picking up a basket, he walked through the store. He swung by the candy section first and searched the chocolates until his eyes landed on the 70% dark chocolate. He picked it up a few bars and made his way to juice section. He looked through the merchandisers before he saw the juice blends. He grabbed the ginger and turmeric blend, made sure it was organic, and put it in his basket. He finished his shopping by grabbing some Cookies N’ Cream frozen Greek yogurt. All the while, he ignored some of the shoppers that stopped and stared at him. Emphasis on some – for quite a bit of New York, seeing Spider-Man do normal people things was far from unusual.
After paying for the groceries with the cash he brought with him, he made his way out. Much to his relief, the would-be assailant was no longer there.
He made a mental note to get Frank a gift basket, probably something coffee related.
***
Michelle wasn’t having the best of days.
She was supposed to take this day to catch up on things. She had auditions to prepare for. She had scripts to read. She had mail and bills to sort through and discuss. And she had return calls from her agency.
Unfortunately, for her, she had to deal with that most wonderful time of the month.
She tried to power through, but the pain was too much to bear this time around. She was irritable to the point where Peter was doing things that really shouldn’t annoy her but did. Peter picked up on it. In a moment of role reversal, it was Peter who had to talk her into taking it easy and getting some rest while she protested. She eventually came to her senses. Or rather, she gave up when Peter swept her off of her feet and carried her bridal style into their bedroom. After laying her down and getting her a cup of lemon water, he gave her a kiss on her forehead and told her he’d be right back.
After a while, MJ heard a knock on the door.
“Hey Sweetie,” she heard Peter say. A moment later, the door opened. Peter was carrying a tray while his suit hung over his shoulder. “I got something for you.” Michelle gowned as she slowly sat up and turned her body until her feet were on the carpet. Peter walked over to her and gently laid the tray on her lap. She looked down to see a bowl of ice cream, a plate with dark chocolate squares, and a bottle. Even without reading label, she knew it was a blend of ginger and turmeric inside of said bottle. She smiled.
“For me?” Michelle asked as she looked up at Peter.
“Of course,” Peter replied.
Her smile became a bit wider. “Thank you.” Peter nodded back at her before he took his suit off his shoulder. He folded it before he left it next to her. He then pulled his mask out of his pocket and placed it on top of the suit. She raised an eyebrow. “Wait, you’re leaving that here?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“So you can wear it.”
Michelle narrowed her eyes. “I’m not in the mood for that tonight.”
Peter glared at her halfheartedly. “Ha-ha. But seriously, you remember I have temperature control on my suit? You can use it as a heating pad if you want to. E.V. is ready to help you with that.”
Michelle looked at the suit. “Oh…”
She looked back at Peter as he placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’ll be on the sofa if you need me.” He leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. “I love you, Em.”
“I love you, too, Tiger.”
She watched Peter as he left the room. She then turned her attention back to the sweets on the tray and started to dig in.
***
Peter was watching TV for a bit. He didn’t even know what show he was watching, and he didn’t care. Probably because of that, it was easy for him to doze off and start napping.
He stirred awake when he felt someone’s presence. He looked up to see MJ looking down at him from behind the sofa, wearing his suit. The two of them stared at each other for some moments. Peter brought his hand up and beckoned to MJ.
“Come here,” he whispered.
MJ smiled before leaning forward, rolling over the back of the couch before she landed back first on Peter. Peter waited for MJ to get into a comfortable position before wrapping his arms around her. The two of them laid there in silence before they quietly went to sleep.