Who: MJ and Liz What: movie night Where: Mia’s/MJ’s house When: towards the end of the antag plot Warnings: low Status: closed/g-doc
MJ felt out of sorts. When she arrived and both Peter and Ned left, she hadn’t imagined things would get more complicated. But, it turned out MJ was not right. Peter had a new girlfriend. Ned didn’t remember Peter. And Peter seemed to be in a weird coma thing for a while.
When Peter originally threw out the polyamory idea, MJ wanted to smack him. What? He couldn’t choose so instead he’d make everything harder for the two people he claimed to love? But, when she saw Liz and Peter together, she realized how he felt about Liz might be different from how he felt about MJ, but it wasn’t lesser than or greater than. It scared the shit out of her, and so initially she’d said hell no. But their kiss in his room reminded her of why she loved him, so yeah, she’d give this whole thing a try. Plus, when they were at the arcade it felt like they fell back into their usual rhythm.
Of course, it also meant MJ wanted to get to know Liz. MJ couldn’t be sure what would happen with the three of them, but it wouldn’t work if MJ and LIz couldn’t at least be friends. She knew that much, and so she suggested a movie night. Mia was at work, so MJ had the house to herself. And, at least Peter had chosen another girl whom MJ could objectively think of as ‘cute’, but not a carbon copy of MJ or something more weird like that.
After checking she had some snacks ready, she ran to her room to change into a more comfy hoodie for the night.
Liz could use the distraction. Work meant maybe running into Max or Peter, the TARDIS had a lot of frantic energy with Jack missing and Missy playing ‘games’ with the residents of the Big Blue Box. Liz felt like going anywhere other than college was a sure-fire way of running into someone who might ask something and she didn’t have a lot of answers right now. So when MJ suggested a movie night, it seemed like a nice reprieve.
As she neared the house, she suddenly worried it might be awkward. They had spent some time together before, but this was different. The context was different now. This wasn’t… date, right? It didn’t sound like one.
She told herself she was over-thinking this as she reached the door and rang the doorbell.
Was this a date? Would MJ be sad if it became a date? She realized probably not, but mostly she wanted a chance to get to know Liz better.
MJ heard the doorbell and managed to tug on her hoodie while calling out “One sec.” Which is when she proceeded to get her arm stuck in the sleeve. After an additional ten seconds she groaned and opened the door.
“I promise I actually do know how to get dressed.” One sleeve was inside out, half her head stuck out of the hoodie and at this point she was trying to get it off to start over the whole getting into the hoodie process.
“Come in! Sorry.” MJ ushered Liz in and then removed her hoodie and finally got the hoodie on correctly.
Liz looked surprised at the state of MJ when MJ answered the door, then smiled and shook her head reassuringly as she entered. “It’s okay.” Liz had been in similar situations, that was for sure. It reminded her a little of Maria, actually.
She stepped inside, doing a cursory glance as she did. “Thank you for offering to do this… I realized on the way here you probably have a better idea of what kind of movie to watch.” They had agreed on comedy, but since Liz was from ‘the past’ she was missing twenty years of movies that MJ would be familiar with.
MJ grinned. She didn’t usually answer the door while struggling with a hoodie. So, the surprise made sense. After Liz entered and looked around, MJ said, “I can show you around the house a bit if you want?” Yes, she lived here, but it didn’t exactly feel like home yet.
“I wanted to hang out with you, and who doesn’t like a movie night?” She’d written down a list of movies. Unfortunately, a lot of them didn’t exactly work for her progressive mind, but still. “We have Clue, Legally Blonde, Easy A, and a few others. Do you want something to drink? Lemonade? Water? Cherry Coke?”
"Sure. If you want. I can show you around the TARDIS sometime… though it's sort of a strange place to give a tour. I think it's technically infinite inside so…" It didn't bother her though. It made things interesting.
"Um. Lemonade, maybe? And um. Something other than Clue? Not that I don't like it. I like Clue, but I've seen it. But I like seeing something I haven't seen. It kind of feels like I'm catching up on homework." She looked a little sheepish admitting it, but it was true. "It's awkward sometimes when I can tell people made a reference to something pop culture and I realize it's probably something I haven't experienced yet."
MJ recalled the little bit of the TARDIS she saw and nodded at Liz’s offer about a tour. “That sounds nice.” She showed Liz around and then went to the kitchen and poured lemonade into two glasses.
“How about we start with Legally Blonde and if we feel like it, we can watch something else?” MJ asked once they got settled in the family room area. “Oh! I’ll be right back.” She ran upstairs and grabbed her sketch pad.
“For you.” MJ had sketched Max’s expression when she called him out on stalking and after she announced she and Liz were currently dating. “I hope they give you a good sense of being around him.”
The tour helped Liz relax more and by the time they were sitting down and MJ was off getting something, she was as relaxed as she was probably going to get, at least for now.
It was probably telling when Liz looked at the drawing that despite the complicated feelings and the generally agreed upon unfavourable behaviour, that Liz still had strong feelings for Max. They had a connection that was hard to explain. Her fingers lightly traced over the lines on the pad, careful not to smudge anything. “You’re a really good artist.” Different than Alyssa, but similar in some ways. “Usually in the spring they have an art festival where they show off people’s art stuff… you should put some of your stuff on display.” It was that good, Liz meant.
She looked up from the sketch pad. Since MJ went to the same school as Ned and Peter, it meant MJ had to be smart too. Smart and artistic - more skills than she had. Liz only really had her brains. “My friends Maria and Alex were always the artistic ones. Maria sings and Alex played the guitar. I think people who can do art are really cool.”
MJ wouldn’t judge Liz for still having feelings for Max. But, she didn’t have to like the guy herself. And, she really didn’t care for someone who seemed to have borderline obsessive behaviour. Again, though, she didn’t have any past history with the dude.
She smiled almost shyly at the compliment. “Thanks Liz.” Her ears perked up at the sound of an Arts and Music Festival. “I could. But, I mean, most of my sketches are of people in uncomfortable positions, so…maybe I shouldn’t.” MJ wouldn’t sketch anyone close to her in that fashion, but she had enough awareness to know people might not like to watch it.
If Liz voiced her thoughts out loud, MJ would have told her she had a kindness about her MJ definitely lacked, and she should be proud of that.
“I’m sorry they aren’t here. I am in awe of people with musical talent. And thanks Liz. Really.”
“Alex sort of is. He’s not my Alex, but he’s Alex from the other reality? He plays guitar too. The other Maria was here too for a while and she liked to sing. It seems like even though we’re different in a lot of ways, a lot of the fundamentals stay the same.” Which made sense to her in the multiverse theory.
“Other Max was here too for a while, actually. It’s weird having a bunch of people here I kind of know, but don’t really? Easier now after two years, but sometimes I feel like me being so young is kind of a burden to them. You know, like they already did the teenage thing and now they have to deal with it again with me… it helps other Liz’s sister is here and she’s close to my age.”
MJ wondered how weird it would be to have a version of your friend, but not the same version as home. “Are you friends with the one here?” Because it would suck a lot if Liz didn’t have those friendships too. “At least the important parts stayed the same.” MJ couldn’t imagine if a version of Peter or Ned showed up but weren’t the ones from her world.
“Are they all older than us then? That must be strange. And for the record, I doubt any of them think of you as a burden.” MJ hated to hear her friend use those words.
She nodded. They were all older, but she was friends with them. “I think Kyle thinks of me as a younger sister, which is nice and I guess less awkward than it could be. I, um. I used to date my Kyle back home.” It sounded like he and his Liz had a rocky relationship too. “It was really weird when I first got here, but it’s a lot better now. Just took some time to wrap my head around, you know? I guess there’s a few other examples of people from similar, but different worlds, but not too many.” Did that make her lucky or not?
“Actually when I first arrived, I met someone who had been married to me here, but older, obviously. It was… really weird. I made him uncomfortable even if he tried to hide it. But it’s how I met Rowan.”
Personally, MJ hoped Kyle was less of an ass than Max, but knew better than to speak this particular thought, especially based on how Liz spoke of it. “I am glad you have that kind of relationship with the Kyle here.” Because it probably made life a little easier for Liz.
“Wow. That must have been…fucking awkward?” Different from the awkward in which they found themselves. “I don’t think I have met Rowan, but it sounds like at least your meeting her was a good thing?”
Liz found herself laughing. It was awkward, but she thought it was more awkward for Shawn. She nodded, smiling. “Rowan is one of the first friends I made here. I bet you’d like her too. She’s having a tough week like most of the town, but when everything settles down I’m sure she’d be happy to meet up. If you want, that is.” MJ might not want to go about meeting a bunch of people, after all. Liz still wasn’t really sure where MJ fell on the whole socializing spectrum.
“It’s been okay for you, right? This week, I mean? I don’t think you or Peter or Ned have had anyone show up yet?”
MJ wanted to make a few friends in town, especially if things epically failed with her, Peter, and Liz. She, of course, hoped that they didn’t fail, because she really cared about Liz and loved Peter. “I look forward to meeting Rowan. Maybe the three of us can grab milkshakes or visit the arcade or something.” You know, low key teenager hangout stuff.
“At the question, MJ bit her lip for a moment. “Nobody from my world showed up, but my guardian’s boyfriend got stabbed. So obviously she’s been a ball of stress and anxiety.” Rightfully so, because MJ knew how she’d react if Peter got stabbed.
She frowned. “I’m sorry. Chaos like this happens from time to time… just usually it’s not as dangerous?” She paused, seemingly re-evaluating her statement, then waffling before shaking her head. “Well… sometimes it’s dangerous.” Liz sent MJ a ‘sorry’ face. “Usually it happens inside portals, though. Like this one time -” She hesitated. Her instinct was not to talk about her and Peter, but then she realized that it wasn’t like MJ didn’t know about them dating. That and they were all supposed to be sort of dating so talking about this stuff was supposed to be normal, right? She took a breath and tried again.
“This one time there was a portal to an amusement park with dinosaurs. Things got out of control and if Peter wasn’t around when my travel pod thing stopped working, I would probably be dead right now.” It had actually been when she started to fall for him.
She definitely raised an eyebrow at Liz’s description of ‘not as dangerous’. But, it seemed she was trying to help MJ feel better. “Hopefully chaos with fewer people getting stabbed where you work.” MJ thought it odd that Liz didn’t know about it, but they had been going through a lot the last few weeks, Liz included.
For MJ she didn’t want Peter or Liz to hide things from her to spare her feelings. That was how everything would go wrong. So, she took in what Liz said and while a small part of her felt jealous, she breathed through it because it wasn’t Liz’s fault. “Back up. I’m sorry. You…what? Went to fucking Jurassic Park? DID NO ONE WATCH THE MOVIES?? OF COURSE THE DINOSAURS GOT OUT OF CONTROL.”
But then she got control and said, “Sorry. I’m glad he was there for you though. That’s Peter, your friendly neighbourhood Spiderman.” She smiled at Liz. “Did you at least get to hang with dinosaurs before they tried to destroy the world?”
She winced a little when MJ scolded her. “Well, I guess this was something called Jurassic World? Which I guess isn’t much better, but it looked a lot better than the original movie.” But MJ was right. “I think we all went in knowing it could be dangerous… but we also knew we could see real dinosaurs too.” Still, Liz looked sheepish.
“I got to see some really cool ones, yeah. I always used to wonder why they were never just happy with the herbivores… though Peter explained to me the thing that attacked us was made in a lab and not a real dinosaur, but a hybrid.” Suddenly she thought about Michael and the conversation he had with Peter. “...sometimes we need to think more on how we use science…”
MJ saw the wince and felt bad right away. She leaned over and gave Liz a quick hug, which was rather uncharacteristic of her. “I didn’t mean just you. But really anyone in this town.” Obviously she’d need to remember how Liz handled things and well, sometimes MJ could be blunt as fuck.
“I don’t know if I could pass up a chance to see real dinosaurs, but I also don’t know if I’d want to risk it knowing the Dome,” she admitted to the other girl.
What was the line in the movie? ‘Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should’? “I think herbivores would be fun to visit, but I don’t trust any dinosaur a scientist makes after the movie. I think Ian said it best in the movie, ‘Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.’” She stared thoughtfully for a moment. “I think it’s cool you still got to see them.”
“I’m sure you’ll be able to see some cool portals too. I mean, not that Japan wasn’t cool.” It was, at least in Liz’s opinion. Of course everything that month was a little tainted so maybe they hadn’t been able to enjoy things as much as possible. Or maybe that was just her.
Liz fell silent for a moment, looking down at her fingers. “Have you talked to Peter yet? I mean, about everything?” She looked back up. “I’ve been… kind of avoiding him. Which I know is childish, but I - Well, I have been.” She gave a small shrug. She couldn’t deny that she was so she’d have to own it, childish reaction or not.
MJ hadn’t visited the Japanese portal. She’d been too busy trying to get adjusted to this world and her new home. And also she’d been coming to terms about Peter and Liz…and Ned…and Peter. Really, she thought it pretty fantastic she hadn’t developed a drinking problem. “I don’t think March was a good month for me or you…or May or Alyssa…I’ll stop now.” Honestly the whole month could best be described as ‘shitty’.
She looked at Liz for a moment, her face holding notes of concern. “I mean, with Max showing up I don’t blame you.” MJ reached for her glass of lemonade and took a sip, glad the glass cooled her hands a bit. “I have. I realized what I needed if we were all going to try and make this work, so we talked about it.” Honestly, the conversation had gone pretty well, although given the conversation previously MJ didn’t think the bar could get much lower.
“Do you want to talk about it?” MJ wanted to be open with Liz, but only if Liz felt ready for it. “I don’t mind, but only if you’re okay.”
Liz envied MJ. MJ had way more confidence, it seemed to her, and so because of that the girl could speak her mind so easily. Liz could only seem to muster that when she got overly angry and even then she regretted what she said shortly after.
“I guess I’m just wondering what - or how maybe - to talk to Peter. I’m… scared.” Why this seemed easier to talk to the other girl who was sharing Peter’s heart was beyond her. “Rosa, my… sister. She -” Liz paused, pulling up her feet and folding them under her as she sat, needing the moment to gather her thoughts. “She said she was in a polyamory relationship and it didn’t work out because she felt ignored and not a priority. She thinks Peter suggested this because he just doesn’t want to make a decision and hurt one of us.” Liz had no idea where she was going, but the words kept coming out of her mouth. She hoped MJ could follow along somehow. “Max told me he loved me, then went off and slept with another girl and got her pregnant. I’ve never – … I know this is probably going to sound really stupid, especially since it’s not like I’m ready for it right now anyway, but there are things that happen in relationships - firsts - that… how can they be firsts for all three of us? How do we know that it’s just as special for him the second kiss or the second date or the second…” Well, sex. Liz hugged herself lightly.
MJ worked hard to have confidence in a world that said as a Black female she was less than. And sometimes she had trouble, but these days it felt important to fake it until you make it.
For MJ it made weird sense. She and Liz were in similar situations that Peter, for better or worse, caused. But she moved to Liz and put a comforting arm around her friend’s shoulders. “I’m scared too, but I don’t think it’s the same kind of scared.”
As Liz spoke, MJ felt really terrible with how many thoughts Liz had about their situation. “I don’t…” she paused to collect her thoughts. “I did mention to Peter he should take you out on a date, because I don’t want either of us to feel like we aren’t important. But I think for Peter his two worlds collided and maybe he doesn’t want to make a choice? But I think he loves us both.”
Oh. Liz really had gone down the rabbit hole. Shit. “Did it feel any less special to kiss Peter the first time than it did Max? Or Kyle? Or a date?” And then she looked at Liz. “I think these are things we talk out with each other and Peter when and if we get to a point of feeling comfortable, or want sex.” And it occurred to MJ she might date other people, but she didn’t think Liz would except maybe MJ. For MJ the thought of sex seemed very far away. Truthfully, until she showed up in this town, she hadn’t even told Peter she loved him.
Liz thought that too - she didn’t think Peter was lying or withholding the truth. She thought he loved them both. A date sounded nice, though. Maybe it would help her feel normal. Right now she felt like she was just sort of free falling through space.
She looked a little embarrassed, but nodded. MJ made a lot of sense, naturally. “Sorry. You’re right.” She nodded again and looked down at her lap. There was an unsaid other worry which was something that was Liz’s problem and she knew it - one she promised Rosa she’d work on.
Looking back up, she gave a smile that said ‘sorry, let’s move on’. “Summer’s coming. That means you and Peter graduate, right?”
MJ wanted Liz to feel more normal about everything and she’d do what she could to help short of breaking up with Peter at this point.
“Don’t apologize. Your feelings are yours and valid.” MJ touched her head to Liz’s for a few seconds before she gave the other girl space. She really hoped Liz would feel more confident in the future.
“Yeah. I don’t…” Now MJ looked worried. “With everything happening, I haven’t had time to look into how the hell I apply for college here. And I’m worried it’s too late. Peter has been here long enough, but me? I haven’t even made it two months, so it’s not like they have records at all. Ned is excited and from what Alyssa said, she’s not continuing to college at this point.” Back home it wasn’t like MJ had a bigger plan, but apparently she did make it into MIT. And a worry line definitely appeared on her face.
This was an easier topic for Liz, especially since she was in college this year. “There’s a law firm here who will help you if you need it… but the colleges here, they’re pretty good at adapting to us? There’s this girl I met. She skipped her whole first year because she had enough credit back home and she proved it to them by testing out or something like that.” She didn’t think MJ would have a problem getting in. “I think with the way people show up all through the year, they might have something in place for that? I think it’s worth looking into…. Do you know what you what to go into?”
MJ thought about it. “Chemistry with a minor in art? I would love to go into sciences and learn a little bit more art.” She nodded. “I should visit the law firm this week.” She would, because she obviously wanted to go to college.
“Maybe I can test out, but I will visit the law firm this week. Thanks Liz.” It made her feel a little less anxious.
“That sounds like it’d be fun to take.” She smiled back, meaning it. “You’re welcome.” It felt good to at least help with something. Things might be a little awkward, but MJ was nice and Liz did want to be her friend. She felt a little lighter now.
“At least this part seems easier than I thought it’d be.”
MJ assumed Liz meant the two of them hanging out together. She thought of Liz as a friend at this point. And really, they should definitely hang out one-on-one without Peter. Not that the three of them shouldn’t spend time together, but MJ would feel better if she and Liz could just hang.
“It does.” She smiled at Liz. “We definitely need to make hanging out together a priority sometimes.” MJ thought for a moment. “I mean, occasionally I’ll have to claim you from Peter.” She winked, but said it lightly before she grabbed a chip from the bowl she’d set out earlier.
She blushed. The idea that she’d have to be claimed from Peter somehow made her feel sheepish. Would that be true? It was impressive how easy MJ said it too. Liz wanted to be more like MJ, that was for sure. She nodded, smiling. “I’d like that.”