[Third Person Pov]
"What are you doing?" MJ asked as she stepped into the base and spotted Peter lounging on the couch. He had a large bowl of popcorn resting comfortably in his lap while he watched television.
"I’m watching one of my favorite movies," Peter replied, turning his head to look over his shoulder with a warm smile. He beckoned her over with a tilt of his head. "Co on, join ."
MJ’s face lit up instantly. She skipped over without hesitation, her voice full of excitent. "Yay, a movie date!"
Peter set the popcorn bowl aside for a mont, reached out, and gently pulled her onto his lap. They got comfortable cuddling together as MJ grabbed the bowl and settled it in her own lap instead. She leaned back against his chest, perfectly content.
She blinked in confusion as she focused on the screen. The shot showed an aerial view of a sleek, modern mansion. A mont later, a red and gold suit of armor burst out from it, blurring through the skies at incredible speed.
"What movie is this?" MJ asked, tilting her head. "I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before."
"It’s a story about redemption and transformation," Peter explained, his lips twitching with barely suppressed amusent. "A spoiled rich kid goes through a traumatic experience that completely changes him. It leads him to use his intelligence and money for sothing bigger than just himself."
"Hmm, that actually sounds pretty interesting," MJ said, already becoming more imrsed in the film. She popped a handful of popcorn into her mouth. "I like the premise. Can you tell more about it?"
Peter smirked, a soft chuckle escaping him. "Yeah, sure. I don’t mind at all." He launched into an in-depth explanation of the beginning of Iron Man 1, carefully keeping every detail vague so he wouldn’t accidentally give away who the story was really about.
"Wha—?" Peter started to say as MJ suddenly began feeding him popcorn as well, placing pieces gently into his mouth.
"I don’t know," she replied, her brows furrowing slightly in confusion. "It just sounds really familiar, but I can’t quite put my finger on why."
"Well, you know what they say — Art mirrors life," Peter said with a calm shrug of his shoulders. "So it probably isn’t the first ti you’ve heard sothing remotely similar."
"Hmm, that’s very true," MJ nodded, though she still looked a little pensive as she continued watching.
"Not to ntion, it isn’t the first movie that’s tackled this type of premise before, so it’s not exactly revolutionary," Peter added, finally managing to steer her away from her suspicions.
"Hmm, this scene has been going on for a while," MJ wondered aloud. "How long is this movie anyways?"
"Not that long," Peter replied. "Oh look — it seems like sothing interesting is about to happen." He caught himself midway through the sentence. He had almost said this part was his favorite, which would have been hard to explain once the truth ca out.
On screen, Iron Man landed in Afghanistan where the terrorist organization known as the Ten Rings was roughly manhandling a group of refugees. Almost imdiately, he began aiming his repulsors at them, sending the ard n flying with powerful punches. Their bodies crashed against stone houses and walls with heavy impacts.
"Woah, what’s the budget for this movie?" MJ asked, clearly becoming more invested. "It looks so realistic."
Peter almost broke character. A loud snicker nearly escaped him, so he quickly covered his mouth and turned it into a cough when he noticed her confused expression. "Sorry, popcorn kernel. You know how they get stuck sotis."
MJ raised an eyebrow and leaned over toward him with a flat, knowing look. "You do realize I’m a spider empath, right? I know when a spider is lying."
"Uhhh..." Peter looked away, his lips curling into a reluctant, guilty smile.
"What are you hiding from , Spider-Man?" MJ asked, her tone carrying a clear hint of teasing.
"How much I love you?" Peter answered smoothly. He gave her a quick, affectionate peck on the lips. "Now shhh, you shouldn’t talk during movies."
MJ huffed playfully but settled back against him once more. "You’re lucky you were telling the truth that ti," she said, getting comfortable again as she leaned into his chest.
She watched intently as the terrorists took several hostages, forcing Iron Man to lower his hands. His repulsors slowly dimd as he seed to hesitate. Then, from his shoulders, small turrets erged and took precise aim. Each terrorist was dropped with a single, clean shot.
After dealing with the commander of the group and handing him over to the refugees to decide his fate, Iron Man blasted off into the skies once more.
MJ was fully invested in the "movie" now. She leaned forward slightly as she watched Iron Man soaring high above the desert landscape.
Suddenly, a tank fired at him from below. The impact sent him crashing hard into the ground, creating a massive crater on impact. When Iron Man climbed back to his feet, he calmly aid a miniature rocket at the tank and fired. He started walking away without even looking back as the tank exploded dramatically behind him in a ball of fire and smoke.
"Okay... that was cool," MJ said with a light chuckle, clearly impressed.
Peter smiled and nodded in agreent, enjoying her reaction.
"Now, are you going to tell what we’re really watching?" MJ asked, turning to him with a scoff. "I hope you don’t think I’m gullible or stupid enough to believe this is just so random movie."
"Okay, okay, fine. You got ," Peter admitted with a sheepish grin. He started explaining what they were actually watching — real footage from Tony’s first mission as Iron Man.
"What?! That’s Tony? No way!" MJ exclaid, her eyes widening in genuine surprise. She stared at the screen for a second before bursting into laughter, almost in disbelief. "You’ve got to be kidding ."
She watched a bit longer, but her expression soon shifted. She stood up from his lap, looking more serious. "Wait a minute... so of those refugees were gunned down. That was happening in real life. Were we seriously sitting here watching that as entertainnt?"
"You really think I would be that heartless?" Peter asked, shaking his head. "How do you think I got those cool, cinematic shots? My spider-bots were already on the scene handling the situation when I found out about it. They made it look like so of the refugees were shot down, I made sure they were protected. Tony handled the terrorists while I focused on keeping the civilians safe. It was a team effort."
Even though Peter tried to sound nonchalant about the whole thing, MJ could tell sothing was bothering him. As a spider empath, she could easily sense the tension and conflict he was trying to hide.
MJ set the popcorn bowl aside and wrapped her arms gently around his neck, pulling him closer. "Co on, Tiger. Talk to . You know you can tell anything."
Peter looked at her for a long mont without saying anything, his expression complicated and conflicted. Finally, he let out a heavy sigh. "Sorry... It’s just that a lot of things are going through my head right now. Mainly my conversation with The One Above All. This entire situation feels way more ssed up than it seed at first. I’m a busybody, I can’t help it. I knew people were going to die, and I couldn’t just sit back and let that happen just so Tony could have his neat little origin story."
Peter groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Ughhh, I’m sorry. This is much more complicated for than it probably seems."
MJ could see how difficult this was weighing on him. She gently brought his head closer, resting it against her chest while she laid her own head on top of his. She held him there comfortingly, her fingers lightly stroking through his hair. "It’s alright. Don’t think too much about it. Just know that you did the right thing by making sure those refugees didn’t die. Focus on that. Nothing else really matters."
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5 advance Chapters on: patreon/Shadow_D_Monarch3
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