Who: Adam and MK Where: Wren's Turnberry apartment When: Recently! What: Reading comic books and being cute Warnings: A lot of cute. A lot of it.
“I just don’t get it. Fifty plus years of this stuff? How do people read all this? I guess this has to be what they’re doing when they aren’t getting laid.”
MK looked over at Adam with a slightly defeated look and pulled a dramatic face. They sat together on the wide bed of her bedroom in Wren’s Turnberry apartment, her bare legs propped up on a pile of pillows, her bright red hair pulled into a messy bun, and one of Adam’s shirts hanging loosely on her tiny frame. Stacks upon stacks of comic books surrounded them, both trade issues and collections of various titles, and take-out containers were scattered across the floor. The TV mounted on the wall in front of them was muted and paused on some movie MK hadn’t been paying attention to, one that Adam ended up distracting her from. The room, in other words, looked thoroughly lived in. After spending a few days at Adam’s apartment to readjust and make sure she felt well enough, a key waited for the two of them in the lobby of Turnberry Place, and they settled into the apartment. MK had stayed there before Simon’s party, before Alexander took her, but it never particularly felt like home, not yet. More like she was imposing on Wren’s space.
Over the past few days, Adam and MK quietly spent time together without the world pressing its influence on them. The doctors weren’t particularly happy with letting her go, but Adam was right -- the fact that he was a doctor and that she flashed some more money at them made them sign the paperwork more readily. She did certainly looked more relaxed away from the sterile white walls of her hospital room at least. More at home, even if the space was far from home. The bruises were still ugly and black on her face and body, and gauze still pressed against the healing wounds on her stomach and side. A litany of prescriptions, painkillers and antibiotics and anti-anxiety medication, filled the bedstand. None of it quelled the mental struggle, though. Nightmares punctured almost every moment of sleep, and every now and then her panic attacks bubbled back up, and she had been wary to let Adam touch her the way she usually did.
She lifted one of the issues gingerly, fingering the plastic sleeve it was in. “I mean, c’mon,” she said as she waved it slightly. It was one of the earlier Amazing Spider-Man issues; Marvel was the first company they decided to tackle. “How can one guy go through all this shit and not just explode? This is ridiculous. How do they come up with all this?”
Adam found that being patient didn’t have the same sort of negative implications that other people would put on the word. This was a test in waiting for her to get better, for getting back to his clinic and to let Pym back in the jungles to find his particles. But, it felt more like a sabbatical, a break from the lives he had to pull together so that he could just go back to being that suburban lonely child who loved superheroes and the women they tended to save. In his heart, Maddie K was that kind of woman even if he’d never be a superhero.
MK had always felt like an unearned treasure. He was no vigilante; not even strong enough to save her from danger. But, here she was, flipping through his comic books and treating them carefully like a nerd boy fantasy come alive. “Watch it.” Adam warned with a smile. “Some people need a more convincing escape from reality. Especially when they don’t have someone like you around.” It was a small hint to his past. Adam was known for being the lonely doctor, but he never seemed to complain. His work came first, far ahead of love, even when it tried so hard to worm its way into him. “Think of it as a folk tale. You can take the parts you like best and make it your own smaller continuity. That’s what Batman fans have been doing for years.” A roll of the eyes. Adam was a Marvel fan through and through.
She smirked and looked down at the issue in her lap. That he implied she was an escape, something good in his life, it made her heart ache in the most wonderful way. “Well, I feel bad for anyone who doesn’t have someone like me in their life,” she teased, looking back up at him with an arch of her eyebrow, a tease even if she didn’t quite agree with it. Lately, MK felt like she was more a burden then a gift to the people in her life, especially to the people she cared for most. And Adam was rapidly becoming one of those people, whether he believed it himself or not.
She laughed at his obvious disdain for Batman fans. “I liked Batman,” she said innocently, a little too innocently, and with a shrug. “Christian Bale and his dreamy, gravelly voice. How could you not totally love that?”
Adam smiled, his eyes dropping to the Avengers comic in his lap with Yellowjacket on the cover. He wanted to believe that finding the Pym particles would be good for his alter, but he knew deep down he was one meeting with Janet away from turning back into this insane masked “crime fighter.” Hank wanted to be better, though, like Maddie K did. He had to trust the both of them. “Are you kidding me? Bale’s Batman voice makes me laugh every time.” Adam laid back on the bed, dropping the Avengers comic gently on top of his face. “We’re lucky to be Marvel. Real life problems wrapped up in super science, but no impossible standards. Less loneliness. Especially for Mary Jane.”
He lifted the comic book up a little to look at her. “When they get older, Peter still gets into a lot of trouble, but he always comes back home. Batman could never show that kind of dedication to a woman.”
She scoffed as he fell against the bed, the mattress shaking a little under the shift in weight. “As an actress, I am totally more of an expert on this than you,” MK said with an exaggerated air, waving her hands to emphasize her ‘importance.’ “He makes incredible acting choices, okay. Completely believable with the low voice.” It was clear she was being sarcastic by that point, her voice edged with laughter. “Yeah, that other one seems a lot more intense.” Darker, more violence. Not just from the movies, of course, but from what she had learned from Wren’s time through the door. Selina seemed different than the people through her own door. Deeper, darker, more broken.
“They’re good kids,” MK said of Peter and MJ, because she believed they were. “They deserve happiness.” The idea that Batman couldn’t show dedication like that, however, brought a little frown. “You think so? Not even Catwoman?” Selina, when she had spoken to her and when MJ did as well, had wanted Batman, was in love with him in an intense way that MK identified with a little too well. The idea that he couldn’t commit to the Cat like that made her a little sad for the kitty.
Adam turned his head to look at her and laughed. “Catwoman? Can’t count the number of times she has backstabbed the dark knight. He was in love with her and Talia at the same time, anyway. Spider-Man might be guilty of the same thing, but he didn’t like showing it. Batman didn’t care.” It was strange to talk about Mary Jane’s true love while she could hear the both of them just fine, but that was what all this comic book reading was about, right? Maddie K would be better off making nice with the sunshine red head and the best way to go about it was to know what she went through.
His hand reached over to play with her hair gently. His finger wrapped around a stray strand of red hair so that it made a loose but even curl. His hands were incredibly soft, but with tiny little callouses where he held medical instruments tightly and experimented with dangerous chemicals. Adam was harmless, gentle, but there were always hints to being someone more than a healer. “Batman will always be too messed up to really love anyone for very long.” He said, without even realizing the possible implications and lines that could be drawn between a fictional character and anyone from Seattle.
Mary Jane had been fairly quiet in the back of MK’s mind for some time, only resurfacing to chirp up every now and then. The two redheads had been at odds lately, not sharing information with the other, and MJ only briefly emerging during the older redhead’s time with Alexander. She couldn’t deal with the horrors, they had only brought up memories of things she had gone through and paled them considerably, but Adam’s talk of Spider-Man did pique her interest. “I guess it’s hard to love just one woman in a world where they all walk around looking like that,” MK said, waving a hand to one of the open issues on the bed where a scantily clad Black Cat bounded through the New York skyline. “MJ’s still a kid. My MJ, I mean. I don’t think she’s gotten up to that love triangle shit yet?” She paused, looking for confirmation, and when she practically felt the younger redhead pout at the idea, she laughed. “Or maybe not.”
She leaned in as much as she could, an easy smile crawling up her lips as she watched his fingers tangle in her bright hair, until he continued. She frowned then, not liking those implications at all. “Really?” she said, huffing a little. “I’ve talked to her. Selina. Which is weird as fuck to say, but yeah. She really loves him, I think.” She pursed her lips then, catching his free hand and brushing her thumb mindlessly on the back. “Think it could rub off on his person here? Not being able to love someone for forever?”
Adam didn’t realize what he said until she turned it back on him. He sat up in the bed, face flushed before turning sheet white. The first thing out of his mouth wasn’t all that comforting, either. “Of course not. Pym hasn’t made me insane or violent, nor will he ever. Besides I- Batman has this unbreakable code that never changes. Rarely wavers. No one else is like that and we’re lucky that we don’t have to worry about someone like that in our heads.” He wouldn’t trade Pym for Batman any day. Adam knew vigilantes that wanted to be Batman. Had the same codes of honor and personal rules that no one could ever live up to. Pym was just a genius who thought he could do good, but couldn’t live up to expectations.
He fell silent, chin dropping to his chest as he tried to think of a graceful way to stop talking about Batman. Nothing came to him for a couple moments, so he simply changed the subject. “Doesn’t your Mary Jane know Gwen? Gwen Stacy.”
MK noticed his panic immediately, having learned to pick up things like that over the past few months. She could read him more easily, know when he was upset or scared or when Pym was pushing her influence. Whether it was a perk or something else, she wasn’t quite sure. Still, she leaned forward. “I didn’t mean--I know he wouldn’t. I wouldn’t let that happen, remember? It’s just...Luke has Batman. And Wren has Selina. And I don’t want things to get more complicated for them than they already are just because their alters are off again or whatever.”
She scooted over, gingerly moving her body to avoid any sharp pains, and ran her fingers gently over his arm. “Gwen’s the blonde, right? From the new movie that just came out?” She recalled seeing commercials over the preceding months, and there was no redhead to be seen. No Mary Jane. “MJ knows her, yeah, but it’s different for her, I think. Gwen’s dead in her world. Killed by some monster.”
Adam titled his head, part of him a bit shocked she both recognized the panic and wanted to soothe it. That part of her that moved past the temptation of being malicious just to sting him was a big reason why he cared for her so much. It was a rare trait in anyone, especially someone who lived in the limelight. He was so focused on it that he nearly missed the confession about Luke and Wren. “Of course he’d be Batman.” Adam said quietly, as if he felt sorry for the boy. Luke was never a close friend of Adam’s because they were too similar. Adam wouldn’t think twice about killing a threat and Luke would be more than willing to do it himself. They weren’t anything like him. The one mask that saw the good in Adam and tried to do the right thing. No matter what.
He leaned towards Maddie K, laying back down to roll on his side. “Gwen, yes. She did die, in a terrible way, but Peter loved her. Probably would have picked her if she stayed alive. But, he didn’t like to acknowledge that. Not when Mary Jane was- well.” He smiled. “Mary Jane Watson. The best girlfriend a superhero could ask for.”
MK still sat up, not so readily able to move around like Adam was, but she did reach down to brush her fingers through his hair, a small smile tugging on her lips. “And of course she’d be Catwoman,” she countered, with slight defeat. None of it sounded good, what she knew of Catwoman and Batman, and the way Adam reacted didn’t sound much better. “I wish they could just be normal, y’know. With some quiet and a nice home and their son and no fictional characters.” But she knew it was a wasteful hope. None of them would catch a break. Not Luke and Wren, and not she and Adam.
His comment about Mary Jane surprised her, made her grin and laugh a little. “Oh, yeah? She agrees by the way,” MK said with a slight beam. “I don’t think her Gwen dated Peter, though? They did live together with his aunt, but I can’t get it all straight.” She laughed again, rolling her eyes before shrugging slightly. “Doesn’t matter. They’re together now.” But the idea that Peter would have chosen Gwen tugged at the back of her mind for a bit until she couldn’t help it anymore. “But you’re saying he would’ve chosen Gwen. That sucks.” And it did, and it made MJ feel a little terrible, even if they both suspected it wasn’t this Mary Jane’s Gwen Stacy.
“Unrequited love is a dangerous thing. Maybe Peter and Gwen wouldn’t have worked as a couple. Don’t know. Pointless to speculate. Mary Jane was always my favorite, but I have a soft spot for redheads.” That much was true. Adam was a timid, quiet man, but he liked women who were a little too bold for their own good. “You and MJ have that in common. Told you before, but I think you should spend some time getting to know her. Teenagers are...less than insightful most of the time, but she’s a good person to have on your side.” Adam gently touched Maddie K’s face and kissed the side of her mouth. “You are, too.”
She made a noise of pure agreement at the idea of unrequited love. She knew exactly about the fight to make someone love you; she’d seen it happen time and time again. “I figured you did,” she said with a knowing smirk. “Who could blame you honestly? It’s practically law that we’re all hot as hell.” MK couldn’t help but roll her eyes, even as she leaned into his touch and return the kiss. “I hate teenagers. I was a retarded teenager, Adam. Everyone is when they’re sixteen. But, if you insist...” She could try to talk to MJ more. Mend bridges and try to help the younger girl out more. Grinning, she felt her heart lurch again, placated whenever he said he wanted her or needed her. It was wonderful, that feeling, something she hadn’t allowed in quite a long time. She leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to the tip of his nose.“You are, too, I guess.” While her lip curled up from the pain shooting from her side, she tried to settle closer to him.
His hand went to her waist to help her find a comfortable snuggling position, eyes sweeping over her features to make sure she wasn’t in too much pain. He believed in painkillers as all doctors who understood injuries like the ones inflicted on her, but Adam didn’t give her enough to completely dope out her entire nervous system. The reports he was given about what Alex did to her were gruesome, but it was the sedatives that worried him the most. She couldn’t feel like she could fall back on the sensation of nothing. “Look at this.” He held the Yellowjacket Avengers comic up above them. “That’s Pym trying his hardest to act tough, but there wasn’t a person more afraid than he was. This right here. This outfit. I never want to see my Pym put that thing on again. It means he thinks Iron Man is a bigger threat than Doom or Loki.”
It took her a moment or two and a lot of shuffling before she found a spot comfortable enough for her. The pain still lingered, but not as much as before, and she didn’t want to worry Adam by taking more pain medication. Even if, more than anything, she wanted to fall into the numbness again. Make it easier for her to sleep, to lay there, to breathe. Instead, she settled into his arm, head leaning against his chest and bare legs brushing against his body. She looked up at the comics, taking in each panel slowly, before green eyes turned down to look at Adam. “That’s the most ridiculous fucking outfit I’ve ever seen,” she said with great amusement, with green eyes alit in laughter. “This isn’t what he’s doing now? But you said he’s still pissed at them?” It showed how little she really knew about the complexity of comic books. All she knew was what everyone knew from popular culture or movies. She didn’t even know about Hank Pym until Adam mentioned him.
Adam’s thumb lightly rubbed the huge edged shoulderpads of Pym’s outfit before smirking. “Reminds me of high school when one of my nerd friends would try to fit in with the cool kids, but they ended up buying some ridiculously loud outfit that made them look like a banana.” The poor ex-Avenger wouldn’t know the first thing about being cool even if that’s what he desperately wanted more than anything else. Was that what it really boiled down to? He gave up so much because he was feeling insecure?
“He was. But, the Hulk talked him down if you can believe that.” Adam sighed, dropping the comic book to his side and laying his head next to hers. “He’s still mad at them, but this Hulk remembers him. Wants him to get better. Pym can’t say no to someone who wants to be his friend. Someone who’s known him all these years.”
MK giggled at the thought of a teenage Adam and his friends mucking about in outfits like the one Pym wore in the panels of the comic book. “Oh, god. The 90s was not a good decade for fashion. Or was it the 80s? Or 70s? I can’t remember, old man,” she said with a teasing smile, turning her head over to brush a gentle kiss on his ear. She never really thought of the age gap between the two of them, unless he was being too serious or she wanted something to tease him about. “Luckily, I’m here to save you from a lifetime of terrible fashion choices.”
As he settled down, she leaned her head against his shoulder, one hand resting with splayed fingers across his chest. “That’s good,” she said, letting her eyes drift close. “I’m glad he has someone. Everyone needs someone to help them realize they can be better.” Eyes still closed, she shifted and trailed kisses across his jaw and down his neck. “I like him. He’s not like, the worst person in the world.” She rested her chin on his collarbone and looked up at Adam with earnest eyes. “He just needs a chance. We need him to get better.”
Something about having her hand on his chest made him relax. Eyes closed he smiled at her small kisses and sighed. There was a lot for him to worry about. A lot of things that could go wrong. But, they could have little moments like this, couldn’t they? “We all need to get better.” He whispered into her hair. There was no worry in his voice, no suggestion that this was a struggle or they were still in hot water. They certainly were, but for now it was easier to just forget. Easier to just relax and let go.