By Sunlight (P.P + M.J)

39. Lost Dog

*MJ's pov*

"He hasn't called. He hasn't texted. I'm really scared for him, guys," Peter was rambling, his hands slightly shaking as he clutched the mug of hot chocolate in his hands. A huge comforter was draped over his shoulders, and Aunt May had put him in the comfiest clothes she could find. His brown, slightly tousled hair was still partially damp, but that was the least of his worries.

MJ had spent the better part of her afternoon at the Parkers with Peter's head between her hands as she sat on the sturdy coffee table. She had watched the news footage of the bus wreck the whole ride to his apartment, and had watched in horror as it went down into the river, dragging Spider-Man down with it. Shaky camera angles showed that Werewolf had taken off down the road in pursuit of something, and MJ had never been more thankful for Jack Russell in her life. How many times had that redhead saved Peter's life? It was too bad he wasn't here for her to thank.

But in the meantime, as if to convince herself that Peter was, in fact, here in front of her and not at the bottom of the Hudson, MJ had kept her forehead pressed to his, face between her hands. He seemed okay with it, breathing in deeply like he was memorizing her scent, until Ned was too grossed out for them to carry on.

"How dare you almost drown on me," MJ said as she pulled away, but keeping close enough to feel his breath on her face.

"Please, like I'd really let the Hudson get the best of me," Peter scoffed, "No, no, the Hudson will most certainly not having the privilege of claiming this guy."

"Just don't die before you get to go to space, right?" MJ joked, remembering the time when May had told her a story about how much a six-year-old Peter wanted to be an astronaut, and how he said he still kind of wanted to go to space despite outgrowing the dream.

"Yeah, you're right, I'll make sure to preserve myself until then," he said, nodding fervently.

"You're such a dork," she sighed, leaning in to give him a grinning kiss.

She was so relieved he was okay.

After that, Peter had explained everything to her and Ned, that is, everything that Jack had told him at the start of the day. About how the werewolf and this "Moon Knight" have been having a sort of cat-and-mouse chase for the past few years. Apparently, Moon Knight had murdered his father as part of his goal of killing all werewolves in the world.

"Does that make him... the last one?" Ned asked from his spot on the coach beside Peter, who also had a mug of hot cocoa in his hand, "Like, is he the last werewolf on Earth?"

"I don't know, he might be. He never really talked about it after that," Peter replied with a shrug, "But seriously, what if that knight guy got him? Mr.Stark said he'd take a look around in case Jack stuck around the crime scene. But he's super busy, said he's been dealing with this whole thing about an accident with a space shuttle and a CEO and something else-."

"I'm sure he's fine," MJ soothed from her new seat on the other side of the coffee table. He looked up at her, eyes full of worry and concern, and she could only offer a weak smile in return. "You said yourself that Jack told you before school that he wanted to lay low for a while. He's probably just hiding somewhere."

"Yeah, but I wish he'd just tell me. Let me know somehow," Peter grumbled, staring longingly at the Stark Watch on the table. Apparently, it was some device that signaled Jack somehow. Ned had explained it to her, but she had been too distracted to try and understand any of it.

She took a sip of the tea May had made for her. She cast a worried look at Ned. "This Moon Knight guy, do you have any idea who he is?"

Peter shook his head. "None. He just came out of nowhere."