Dirty Little Secret

Too Easy - Peter

A/N: Huge apology for taking so long in finally updating. I really don't have any excuse other than holidays and me having writer's block. But I finally managed to push through it and so now here it is!

DISCLAIMER: This is not the end of the fanfic... at least not yet!  

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Peter hadn't slept one second during the night. Even as he tried to close his eyes and wait for his mind to drift off into a sleepless dream, his thoughts came pounding hard into his vision. MJ's warm body next to him was the only tangible thing that kept him from screaming with exhaustion.

He was overwhelmed, tired. A million things came at him about what he could do about Eddie. Peter's methods never included having someone killed, even if that someone had done such horrible things, he never believed in taking someone's life. He couldn't kill Eddie. He had to remove the symbiote off him, find him help.

MJ stirred next to him and snuggled subconsciously closer to him, her head lying comfortably on his chest. He placed the arm that had fallen asleep underneath her along the curve of her waist over the sheet that covered them. Her curls tickled his jaw but it was a welcoming feeling. He had grown used to sleeping alone after all these years but having MJ in his arms like right now, made him feel like he never wanted to go back.

Peter stared up at the blank ceiling and sighed heavily. He didn't know why he was so sure she would run away after finding out the truth. Last night, he didn't want to look at her and see that her face showed nothing but disgust or betrayal for keeping something so huge from her. But she stayed. She had asked to come home with him. She had sneaked into the shower with him and stood there in front of him, both of them completely bare and vulnerable. She was understanding. He remembered feeling so many emotions at once; surprise, relief, but mostly just pure and real love for the woman who looked at him with worry and utter amazement despite what she had seen and been through not many hours before.

Admitting his love for her was harder than throwing off a five hundred pound monster off him. Their relationship - if he could even call what they had a relationship yet - was short and quick even when they had both agreed to take things slow. But the words he had said the night before rang true. Looking back during their high school days, he remembered MJ as the person he was now, and not as teenage Peter. MJ had always been a big part of his life and he was too blind to realize what had been in front of him all this time.

He was still terrified. He felt nervously excited for whatever came next between him and MJ but that small part of him still thought he was being selfish. So far, he had been good with keeping his identity hidden but the last few days had proven that even the slimiest of things could find out the truth and that put MJ in danger. He thought about Ned and Aunt May and how they could be in danger too but they still stuck by him and Peter had to admit that they could hold their own and MJ wasn't any different.

Apparently, the sun had risen up and the first rays made their way through his window, gliding over the bed until it covered both of them with sunlight. Peter started to feel just a tiny bit of drowsiness come over him and he closed his eyes, willing the rest of the world to pause and wait to resume once he woke up.

***

Peter paid for the four cups of coffee and four egg sandwiches he now carried in one hand. The cups were secured in a cup tray while the sandwiches all laid on top of its paired cup. He walked away from the cart and turned the corner to his street, walking into his building and taking two steps at a time to get back into his apartment.

Ned and Linda stayed huddled by the kitchen island as Peter walked in. MJ was the only one who acknowledged his presence. She walked over and took the tray from him as he closed the door. He followed her back to the kitchen when Linda finally looked up, looking as giddy as ever.