Spideychelle one-shots

Wishes Pt. 2

MJ sighed, pulling her hot chocolate towards her and letting the steam hit her face. December had arrived with an influx of snow and ice and cheery Christmas carols and a whole lot of other things that seemed expressly designed to remind her that she was alone and single this Christmas.

Though she supposed that that was her fault; at least the whole world thought it was. Not one of her friends had actually said it out loud, but she knew they were all wondering why she had ended her seemingly perfect relationship without so much as an explanation to Peter. Ned had never judged her for it, at least not as much as she could tell from their brief phone conversations, but she knew that he wondered why she'd crushed his best friend's heart.

She hadn't really had a choice.

The day Peter had told her that he was Spiderman was the day her life changed forever. She hadn't known it at the time. That day, the sun beaming down on them as Peter clutched her hand anxiously and tried in vain to keep his voice from trembling. She'd loved him even more for it, she had, and it had honestly made perfect sense to her. Peter was the kindest, most heroic person she'd ever met. He'd always wanted to save people, and now she knew that he had been.

One glorious week later, she'd been walking home from work when she'd noticed some strange men following her. She'd ducked into a coffee shop, hoping it was just a couple of muggers who would give up when they saw she was surrounded by people. She stayed there for a while, drinking a cup of tea to calm her trembling hands, then left for home.

The last thing she remembered was rounding the corner before the apartment, by the huge intersection - it was always busy and crowded, and that day had been no exception. It was easy to lose someone there, and she assumed that that was why her captors had struck when they did.

She'd woken up bound and gagged in a darkened room, tied to a chair. There had been a man sitting across a metal table from her. He had been wearing a mask.

His voice was low, rough - she thought maybe he was using something to alter it, to protect his identity. His mask was tarnished metal, a garish reproduction of Tragedy. She couldn't see his eyes, shadowed as they were beneath the edges of his disguise. He wore a full, black cloak with silver edging. The hood was pulled over his head, and his fingers were encased in black leather gloves.

He called himself Carnival.

MJ had known what he wanted before he even opened his mouth - who else could he have been after besides Peter? Her mind flashed back to the one wonderful afternoon where they had swung through the city together, Peter showing her his favourite spots.

Neither of them had thought that perhaps her being seen with Spiderman was a bad idea.

Carnival wanted what MJ thought most of the villains in the city wanted - to know Spiderman's identity. She refused. He hit her. She refused again, blood filling her mouth from where her tooth had caught her lip.

He had subsided, settling back into his chair. MJ couldn't see through the mask, but she'd had the very definite sense that he was smiling. Very well, he'd said, I suppose my men will just have to fetch our little hero.

She'd understood, then, why she was there. Her presence was no doubt designed to make Peter more cooperative - and she couldn't let that happen.

So she'd waited until Carnival had turned his back - watching for Spiderman, no doubt - to strike. Her parents had forced her to take self-defence classes from the time she was twelve, and this was the first time she was honestly grateful. She should remember to thank them later.

If she had a later.

She used her feet to tip the metal table towards him, glad she was wearing boots and not flats or high heels. The edge of the table caught Carnival's shoulder, causing him to spin out of his chair and turn back towards her. She used the time he took to recover to slip her hands out of the ropes. She always kept a knife in her purse, and they'd taken that, but Carnival's henchmen had missed the one Peter had given her - tiny, and tucked under her belt. He made her take it with her if she knew she was going to be walking home alone.

She'd always called him paranoid before, but now she was grateful.

Carnival had talked long enough for her to saw through the thick ropes tying her wrists to the chair.

She knew she didn't have a choice - that she had to do what she did next - but she still felt a little bad as she plunged the blade into his eye. His hand came up to cover his eye, the hilt of the blade poking out between his fingers. She leaned down, pulling her phone out of the pocket she'd seen him stuff it in earlier.

She ran, her boots slapping the pavement, praying to anyone that was listening that Carnival and his goons had forgotten to lock the windows.

Luck was on her side that day, and she managed to wriggle out of the nearest window before Carnival even started screaming.

She had her phone open and her finger over Peter's name before she started breathing, but then she paused. If she called Peter... he would know she was attacked. And he would know that it was because of him.

She had become a weakness, one he couldn't afford. So she dialled her friend from school, Janie. Janie came and picked her up, drove her to her apartment and helped her clean up so Peter wouldn't see the blood on her clothes.

She was home before Peter had a chance to worry. She told him that a coworker had accidentally hit her in the face with a door.

And she started to figure out how to break up with him.

Criminals weren't stupid. They would see her and see a way to Spiderman. A weakness they could exploit.

And while MJ would never, ever, consider herself weak, she knew she didn't belong in the world of superheroes. She wasn't a fighter.

All she could do right now was get Peter hurt.

So she had left him.

Spiderman was safe again, and that was all that mattered.

Guys!!! 2k reads? Oh my gods, you guys are amazing!!! I honestly don't know how to express how much this means to me. YOU GUYS ROCK!

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(Don't worry, there will be a Wishes Pt. 3 chapter, and hopefully soon!)