~Love, Voices & Chocolate~

Venoma

Peter pondered why he had left that dance with Liz over and over again. Or, to be more specific, why he hadn't just gone back. MJ said straight to his face that she would come so why was he so terrified to see her again that he ran home and watched cheesy Hallmark romcoms with Aunt May? So what if he had ended up drooling at the sight of her? So what if he lost all his marbles and told her the truth; that he was tired of their act and he wanted her to be his for as long as they could get, all risk be damned? Why hadn't he just waited?

Will called him after she left the dance without Ned and saw her father's car parked outside. She had smiled to herself, glad to have someone to comfort her but found him unconscious, instead. After a lot of shaking, he woke up and told Will about the so-called security detail who knocked him out. Will was relieved he was okay but then he told her about MJ and she cried into his arms for all she had lost that night before they both patrolled the streets together.

She called Peter immediately their search began while Happy called Tony and soon, all the Avengers and some of Nick's best S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were surveying the streets for her. Usually, they would have assumed she had gone off to hide somewhere but Happy's story and the lack of contact spoke for itself.

Liz talked about how selfless Peter was but he knew deep down that he gave more into their friendship than she did. He checked up on her, he was her shoulder to cry on, he dragged her to bed whenever he found her passed out or drunk on the floor after a night of partying. He felt guilty about her father every time and the fact that he could never tell her that he was the reason for so much of her pain, so much of her sadness.

But with MJ? He gave his all and so did she, both in their own different ways. In fact, she cared for him so much that she genuinely hated how selfless he was. He could remember her now, complaining that he never took care of himself while he had the flu. She said that to him at least once a week, unconsciously and it was usually when he begged for snuggles after long, hard day that included being Spiderman.

No matter what he did for her, though, he couldn't help it. It never felt like it was enough. MJ meant everything to him and he was the undeserving simp that somehow got his dream girl and somehow became her dream guy, yet, he messed up so many times in their relationship. He couldn't help but blame himself, as he always did, crushing his heart and soul under the weight of being the reason she was missing. He cooked up scenario after scenario to prove what felt like fact. Maybe she was distracted. That was the only way anyone could have possibly grabbed her while Venom was looking out for her.

What was it that blinded her? What horrible part of their history could she have remembered? Their break-up? The words that preceeded it? Was it thoughts of him cheating with Liz? Was it his complete and utter rejection when she told him for the first time that she loved him, words he had never known he needed that badly until they actually came? He imagined her eyes blurred with tears as they filled his own and finally looked away from the ceiling when he heard a deep cough that didn't sound at all like his aunt's.

Before he could ask himself what was going on, he jumped to his feet in a fighting stance but was met with tiny, invisible fists slamming into his temples over and over. He glanced around and took another step forward, holding his chest as Tony rushed over to him. "Pete? Jesus, Pete..."

"M-Mr Stark, I don't feel so goo-" Peter stumbled towards the billionaire blindly, crashing into him and Tony instinctively gripped his torso, wincing at the unmistakable sound Peter vomiting all over his back. It took Peter some seconds to realise what he had done, clinging onto his idol like his life depended on it before this.Tony had flinched at the contact at first but he slowly eased into it, anxious about how the brunette would react next. Peter stepped back suddenly, his eyes wide as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "I'm... I'm so sorry."