Preview to Chapter 44

(Unnamed Club)

Mary Jane spent most of her young life in clubs. Dancing her nights away, letting go of her problems, and losing herself in those moments. Standing in the middle of the dance floor and looking at her finished club, it brings her back to those days. The days where her biggest worries were getting a gig and keeping the party alive. 

Now she owns a place where the party is every night. It seems appropriate for her. The right next step for her life. Sure, there are other avenues she could go down, but she felt a nightclub is the next thing for her. 

Best part, she isn’t doing it alone. 

Mary Jane glances at her business/romantic partner, Felicia, who is standing behind the bar, stocking the shelves for their grand opening. Which will happen as soon as they come up with a name. Which has been a bit of a task. MJ wants a name that incorporates both her and Felicia in some fashion. She wants Felicia to know she is an equal. 

Yes MJ invited her practically at the last minute, but the thief has been a boon for the supermodel. Both in business and personal. In business, Felicia pulled her weight. She didn’t just sit idly by in their shared office, she actually had input in club design, negotiations, and even hired contractors that were known to be discreet to build the basement underneath. For Sonja to train and learn magic. 

And in personal, well with recent events, Felicia surprised the supermodel. She expected the thief to lack the skills or desire to be supportive, or worse just straight out bail on this thing because it got too complicated. But Felicia surprised MJ. She listens, offers a shoulder for her and Peter, and most of all, is just there. 

Felicia has been a rock that Mary Jane did not ever think the platinum blonde woman could be. It wasn’t that she thought badly of her, at least in recent years, but she did not think the thief would be this great of a partner. If anything, she thought that Hardy was going to be a project for her. Turning this bad girl into a law abiding citizen. 

But that doesn’t seem to be the case. 

Mary Jane feels incredibly lucky but also very guilty. Lucky to be with an amazing woman like Felicia and guilty for thinking the thief was going to be more of a project. 

“Well she is going to use this legitimate business to launder ill gotten wealth,” Sonja points out. 

Mary Jane rolls her eyes. Alright, so the platinum blonde woman is still somewhat a project, but name one person who isn’t. 

“Hey, Red!” Felicia’s voice echoes through their empty club and Mary Jane looks back to her lover, who is holding a bottle of wine, “We’re opening up this place on a Friday, right?”

“As soon as we come up with a name, yes.” Mary Jane responds as she walks over to her partner, “It’s the best time for a new club to open.”

Felicia cedes with a nod. “You’ve explained. Said that Saturday was the busiest night for any club, but not the best for any new joints to open. So Friday would be great to get the word out.”

Perks of being a former party girl, you know when it’s the best time to party. 

Taking another glance around the place, MJ reminisces over her old party days. She still goes out dancing, but not like she used to, where she would pretend that nothing is wrong. Instead, it’s a temporary escape from all her problems. 

She hears the doors of the place open, thinking it’s another suit she doesn’t bother to look up when she announces, “We’re closed.”

“Mary Jane?”

That familiar aged voice makes the supermodel whip her head around to see May Parker standing at the door. 

“Aunt May?” She says, surprised by the woman’s presence.

A nightclub isn’t exactly an establishment one would expect someone like May Parker to be in. 

The older woman glances around the area, “Your Aunt Anna said you were opening up your own place of business.”

May steps further into the club, her sensible shoes clicking against the polished floor. The overhead lights catch the gray in her neatly styled hair, and she surveys the space with the kind of measured approval that MJ recognizes from years of being with Peter. The look May gives to when someone is doing something right in their life.

"It's lovely, dear," May says, her hands clasped in front of her. "Very lively. Very you."

The compliment means the world to MJ and she smiles happily at the elder woman. “Thank you. That means a lot."

"What's going on between you and Peter?"

The question hangs in the air between them. MJ opens her mouth, closes it. Every possible answer feels like a trap. The truth is too complicated, too strange. A lie would be worse—May has always had an uncanny ability to spot them.

"What do you know?" MJ counters, buying time.

May's expression doesn't change, but something in her eyes sharpens. "Peter came by to see me. Finally. After avoiding my calls for over a week." She pauses, lets that sink in. "He said things between you two were complicated."

Of course he did. MJ feels the urge to slap that man. That's such a Peter answer. Vague enough to not be a lie, specific enough to sound honest, and utterly useless for anyone trying to understand what's actually happening.

She keeps her face neutral, but inside she's mentally glaring at him. Complicated. As if that explains anything. As if that gives May any real information about what's going on. She loves him—god, she loves him—but sometimes his inability to just say things makes her want to shake him.

"He said that, did he?" MJ's voice comes out more controlled than she feels.

"He did." May tilts her head slightly. "Which tells me very little, except that something is going on, and he's either protecting you or protecting himself. Maybe both."

“Hey, Red. Did you order forty cases of this Irish stuff?” Felicia’s voice rings out. Both women turn to see the platinum blonde emerge from the back, a clipboard in hand.

May's face lights up. "Felicia Hardy?"

Felicia stops in her tracks as she stares at the Parker matriarch in surprise.

“It’s so good to see you dear. How’ve you been?”

Felicia stands somewhat awkwardly, as she clumsily returns the hug. “I’ve… been good Mrs. Parker. It’s been a while.”

May steps back, her gaze moving between the two women. "Are you here visiting Mary Jane, or...?"

"Actually," Mary Jane cuts in, and she can feel the weight of what she's about to say, "Felicia and I are running this place together. We're co-owners."

"That's right." Felicia glances at Mary Jane, then back to May. "We're running this place together."

May's eyes widen. "Together? The two of you?"

Mary Jane can see the wheels turning in May's head. The history between her and Felicia isn't exactly secret—the rivalry, the competition over Peter, the years of tension that marked their early twenties. It would surprise anyone who knew them back then to see them working together now.

"I see," May says slowly. "That's... unexpected. Given your history."

"So it's true, then? You two are trying again?"

MJ opens her mouth, then closes it. She glances at Felicia, hoping for her help, but the girl offers a helpless shrug. What could either one say, really? How does they even begin to explain this? That yes, she and Peter are together, but so is Felicia, and so is Sonja, and they're trying to figure out if Silver and Natasha might join them too? That the love of her life is Spider-Man and she's been keeping that secret for years? That she died and came back and now shares her body with a warrior woman from another world?

"It's complicated" suddenly seems like the best way to explain things without outing anyone.