Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Vol. 2

Chapter 8

The old school ding signaled the end of Peter and M.J.'s trip, the elevator doors opening and allowing them to step out. They then entered what was the busiest floor of the Bugle by normal standards and it was proving even more so today; in Peter's experience, this was pretty typical; Jonah only let them throw parties for employees near their desks, so that way they could get right back to work and especially to be ready in case some hot news suddenly dropped. He scanned the room, navigating their way around several chatting groups before he finally spotted the center of all the commotion, Ned and Betty. They turned to him as he and M.J. approached them, Betty's eyes especially lighting up with happiness.

"Peter, I'm so glad you could make it!" she exclaimed, giving him a hug, which he reciprocated with the arm that wasn't carrying the gift. Betty then turned to his girlfriend. "And you must be Mary Jane!"

"That would be me, but please, call me M.J," she said, the two women meeting in a hug as well, "and congratulations."

"Thank you," Betty said. "It's so nice to finally meet you; even though Peter left us a while back, you were just the talk of the place when we found out he was seeing someone."

"A position you two made sure to takeover!" Peter pointed out, shaking Ned's hand as well. "Congratulations, guys; I know how much you both wanted this."

"Thanks man," Ned replied. "Oh, and are we supposed to guess what's in the box?"

"Oh," Peter said, glancing down at the package that he was just now remembering he had. "No, it's for you to open and find out for yourselves."

Betty eagerly took the package, swiftly going through the wrapping and opening it, a small chuckle coming from her as she took in her hand what was inside: a scrapbook, specifically one purposed to document a child's first years.

"Aww, Peter," Betty spoke up as she looked over the gift. "This is so sweet!"

"Thanks," he replied somewhat sheepishly. "I'll be honest, I really struggled with what to get, but then I remembered my Aunt May always talked about how she wished my parents had kept better record of my first few years before they passed away. I thought it might be good to give you guys the opportunity to do that."

"Oh, trust me, I just know she's already getting some ideas for how she wants to format it," Ned reassured him.

"Well, I'm sure you've been asked this already, but are there any way-too-early gender predictions between the two of you?" Peter asked.

"Ned SWEARS it's a boy, but I'm confident it's a girl," Betty explained.

"I'm telling you, boys run first in both of our families!" Ned clarified. "There's NO WAY it's a girl!"

"And I'm telling you, sweetheart: never doubt a pregnant woman's intuition!" Betty countered.

"That's just superstition!" Ned replied. "An old wives' tale!"

Peter and M.J. shared a glance at each other, trading silent chuckles as the couple before them went back and forth.

"Sorry about that," Betty finally spoke up, the couple apparently having caught themselves in their light bickering. "Anyway, you actually look kind of familiar, M.J. You're and actress, right?"

"I am," M.J. confirmed; she tried to play it modestly, but Peter could see just a little pride beaming through his girlfriend's face. "I was in a medical drama a couple years ago, but it only lasted one season. I've been plugging away at the theater scene ever since I got back to New York, and I actually just had my Broadway debut last night."

"That's right!" Ned exclaimed, pointing at M.J. "You're the lead in that new play about the girl who wants to be the detective, right? And weren't you also the co-lead in the off-Broadway version of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream?"