Warmth | Peter x Mj

Something Else

     On one hand, Peter knows he has more important things to be thinking about than his non-date with Michelle while he's out canvassing the neighborhood but on the other, he can't stop. It's been days since he took her to Ren's Books and she's been the same old MJ. In school, she's reading during classes or sketching people. At decathlon meetings, she's been strictly focused on the task at hand.

     She's a kickass captain but it's different now. He knows what she's like when she gets excited about something, how her eyes fill with childlike wonder. He's seen her smile and heard her laugh. She laughed at him when he'd stumbled over some books and then helped him stack them again when she noticed his embarrassment. He can't stop thinking about it. He can't stop thinking about her.

     He's not himself, not as clear headed as he should be. Ned thinks MJ likes him back but what if she doesn't? He can't just tell her. He probably shouldn't have told Karen but he can't stop rambling and it helped to get it off his chest. Although, an AI might not be a rational choice for talking about feelings since now she's listing romantic ways to tell someone you like them and he's just out here trying to stop thinking about it.

     Most of the night has been pretty quiet so far. An attempted carjacking kept him busy for a minute but nothing is distracting him from thoughts of MJ. Even when he stumbles upon a mugging and drops down in the middle of it, he's still stuck in his head. Replaying things over and over, like when he blurted out that she smelled amazing and how awkward he felt.

     "Hey man, you ever told a girl she smells good in a not creepy way?" There's a beat of confused silence from the masked mugger, a moment he looks around to see who Spider-Man is talking to. "Probably not since you're out here trying to steal a lady's purse."

     He was honestly just curious, but it seems to anger the man in front of him. His mind is still on Michelle Jones, how to come back from his colossal screw up. He doesn't get why she's acting the same in school, when he's a damn mess. It's why he doesn't notice the blade. It's why his movements are slower than they should be, and probably the cause for his lack of disarming the man.

     His senses are all over the place with MJ's smile, her scent, the look on her face. The light pounding of her heart that he tried to block out but sometimes he couldn't. He dodges left when he should dodge right and the sharp sting of the knife slices through his shoulder, up to the hilt. The man starts to run before Peter can even tell him how rude it is to stab a person.

     "Come on, man! Rude!" Even wounded, he has the mugger incapacitated and strung up in the next three minutes. The woman he saved is no where to be seen and he sighs.

     The knife buried in his shoulder burns but he doesn't pull it out. He needs to get home first. It hurts less than he expected or that's just the adrenaline kicking and he's not feeling it yet. Or maybe his pain tolerance is a bit high after having parts of a parking garage fall on him. He's been almost crushed before, maybe this little knife wound is nothing.

     By the time he makes it home, the pain is worse and Karen won't shut up. Swinging home one armed and climbing through a window made it throb. He's unmasked and sweating when he grips the handle and pulls the blade from his left shoulder, he wishes he didn't feel pain. Is there a superpower for that? It hits the floor and Peter groans at the mess he's definitely making.

     Aunt May is going to kill him. The suit drops next and has him breathless, skin slick with perspiration and blood. His vision goes a little blurry when he sees the wound but he presses his palm against it and a muffled groan tears through his lips. This is not his night.