True Love

Let Me...

Peter's POV

My blood began to boil hotter than liquid iron. Anger welled up inside of me, and I clenched my fist just to keep myself from destroying half of the city. I swallowed hard, keeping my voice calm. 

She looked ashamed, her eyes red and tired. A black curl dropped across her face, and she pulled it away, only to have it drop back. I stayed there silently for a few seconds, then walked to her, stroking her cheek subconsciously. 

"What happened?" 

She looked at the ground. 

I waited for an answer while I studied her cheek. It didn't seem as bad as I had thought at first, but it's shape worried me. I could almost see the outline of a hand, but I wasn't sure if it was real or if I was just imagining things. 

"I walked into a pole."

I wondered if my lies were that obvious. Probably.

One part of me wanted to hug her and tell her that everything would be okay. Another part of me wanted to watch every security video and find and strangle whoever did this to her, because no one touches my girl. Not even Tony. 

"Uh-huh. MJ-" My voice cracked.

She looked so lost, so desperate. 

I wanted to make her pain go away, but I couldn't think of anything. "I could punch you really hard, and then running into the pole would hurt less."

She looked at me strangely and backed away.

"No! I didn't mean it like that. I just-" I paused as she searched my face. "I just want to make the pain go away. I guess that wasn't a very good solution." My heart was tight, but I felt slightly relieved when the the edge of her lip just tipped up slightly, suggesting a smile. "Can I walk you home?" I realized I had never seen where she lived. 

She shook her head.

I felt my heart sag. I had messed up. I had said something wrong, and now she couldn't trust me. Why am I such an idiot sometimes?! 

A piece of my being dropped onto the ground.

"Yeah, that's-that's fine. But you need to get out of the rain."

She nodded her head to signal she heard me. I wondered whether to take her to the tower and fix it, but then the others would see her and there would be people and questions. It was only a bruise.

But then why did she lie? Maybe I was being overprotective. I hated it when May was protective of me. Maybe that was why she didn't want me to walk her home. Inside I cringed. Why did that hurt so much?

I pulled her hair back from her face, staring deep into her eyes. There was no clue. Just shame, guilt, regret, pain, embarrassment. I had never seen this side of her before.

Or maybe I was too busy to notice.

Everything in my heart broke. Had I really messed up that badly? I swore silently I would never let that happen again. Never. If someone was out to hurt MJ, they would have to go through me first. 

I couldn't think of anything to say, so I did the only thing I could think of.

I kissed her.

MJ's POV

He stared at me, his eyes wide with worry, his lips inches from mine. It made me nervous, yet relieved at the same time. I could feel his breath, the sensation making my hair tingle. His arms gripped mine, pulling me into his embrace. I wanted to hold on tight, to never let go.

But I didn't. 

Perhaps this was the fire I had longed for so deeply, what I had searched for ever so much. The feeling of warmth when I had always been cold, the comfort of sleep after a hard, long night. Indeed, it had been a very long night.

Suddenly, I was pulled into the flames even farther and deeper. Every hair on my body stood up, and my skin shivered from the heat. His lips touched mine ever so softly, and I could hear my heart beat in my chest. Reason screamed at me to leave, but my muscles wouldn't budge. I felt paralyzed, fear and joy gripping me at the same time.

He stayed there, his lips slowly retreating. My mind flashed dancing lights and vivid colors as he slid his hand down my arm and dropped it.

"Get back home safe." It was only a whisper as he swung off, my finger subconsciously touching my lips.

I walked through the door, creeping silently along the wall, checking behind every broken door before I went in. Finally, I reached my bed, two burnt and torn covers on top. 

As I drifted off to sleep that night, I dreamed of the sweet taste of his lips, his eyes looking deep into mine, and a spark of hope reignited in my heart.