InsaneJournal

Who: Peter P & MJ
What: A date that isn't a disaster!
When: Backdated sometime after the Iron Fam dinner
Where: Queens

Even if Peter and MJ hadn’t exactly called hanging out a date, he was still accidentally treating it like one.

Like the universe that paralleled their own, Peter had a plan - and it might not have involved the Eiffel Tower or the burning London Bridge after a killer drone attack, but there was plenty to do in the city, especially when the world wasn’t (not yet, at least) on the brink of ending. And after everything he’d remembered, after everything MJ had actually lived through, they really needed a night where they could just be normal teenagers. Or as close to normal as they could get, anyway.

After a quick stop, Peter ran into Forest Park in Queens a few minutes past the time they agreed to meet up, slowing down only when he spotted MJ sitting at a nearby bench. “Hey! Sorry I’m late, um-” He pulled out a Black Dahlia flower from where it’d been half-hidden behind his back and handed her the stem. While it wasn’t anything like the necklace other-him had gotten in Italy, he thought MJ would appreciate the gesture way more than anything as conventional as a rose.

“The guy at the flower shop couldn’t believe I wanted to get one of these for you. He said giving someone one of these is like giving a warning message. Which...I should probably come with anyway.”

*

It didn’t surprise MJ one bit that she got to the designated meeting spot before Peter, and she settled down on a bench, pulling out her book to read while she waited for him. She heard him before she saw him and slid the book back in her bag before he reached the bench. She stood to greet him, a bemused smirk on her face when he apologized and then presented a flower.

Her favorite flower. Clearly she wasn’t the only one who paid attention.

“At least you weren’t off saving the city,” MJ said, tucking the flower behind her left ear and favoring him with a genuine smile. She was mostly glad he wasn’t off putting himself in danger, though she wouldn’t actually use those words.

MJ knew that she could take the lead on this whole dating thing and make it less awkward. That wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining though, so she didn’t. “So. What are we going to do?”

*

“Yeah, yeah, not today.” There was no telling about tomorrow, though, but Peter wasn’t thinking about city-saving responsibilities when MJ smiled at him like that - and he grinned right back. “You look really nice.” He couldn’t let that go unsaid.

“I’ve kinda got this…plan-ish thing?” He fidgeted somewhat, definitely feeling some awkwardness. It wasn’t in a bad way, though. He had the fluttery kind of giddiness in him and that was a good thing. “I mean, as long as you trust me.” Seeing as Peter had a way of getting into a lot of trouble.

“I was thinking we could walk or take the train or...” He paused, remembering how MJ had felt about web-slinging in the other universe. The offer would be on the table, anyway, as he offered it with a hopeful note. “...the spidey express?”

*

MJ glanced down at her jeans and t-shirt, giving him a wry smirk. “Thanks,” she said. It was nice of him to try, at least.

“Of course I trust you,” she said. Maybe she shouldn’t, given the way trouble seemed to find him, but she did. They could handle anything that came up and it wasn’t like MJ was some kind of delicate flower who couldn’t take care of herself. “Spidey express sounds good.”

Flying through the city on a web was fun. Right up until that damn video played at least. Hopefully that would never be a problem here.

*

“Awesome!” Peter was already pulling his mask out of his backpack, giving a quick look around before tugging it over his head. There weren’t many people around aside from a man focused on feeding pigeons by the fountain, and the coast seemed relatively clear. He didn’t bother with the rest of the suit, not tonight at least - he was really hoping he wouldn’t need it.

“Okay.” Peter adjusted his backpack at his shoulders, offering his hands out to MJ. He was excited. He didn’t get to share this part of his life with many people - and after so much hiding, it was a relief to be open. Especially with someone as important as MJ was to him. “You ready?”

*

Wearing the mask seemed a little ridiculous when she wasn’t and it wouldn’t be that hard for people to connect the two of them, but she wasn’t going to argue if it made him feel more comfortable. “I’m ready,” MJ said, taking his hands and moving closer to him.

She couldn’t resist pressing a quick kiss to his cheek as she did, knowing that it would probably make him uncomfortable. Sadly for Peter, MJ thought he was really cute when he blushed.

*

Peter was glad he was putting on the mask - his cheeks and all the way up to his ears were probably beet red by this point. What he really wanted was to be brave enough to return the gesture, but they had the rest of the night ahead of them. He’d push past the nerves to tell MJ how he felt before the evening ended.

For now, Peter kept a safely tight grip on MJ as he propelled them upwards, latching a web onto a sturdy branch of one of the park’s trees before swinging away towards the buildings of the city. No matter how many times he did this, it was just as exhilarating as the first time. The blocks sped away beneath them, and the pedestrians and cars below looked small.

As enjoyable as it was for him, his first priority was making sure MJ felt okay. “You good?”

*

“I’m good,” MJ assured him, smiling broadly as they swung through the city. She’d never really considered herself a thrill seeker or adrenaline junkie, but there was something about traveling this way that she really enjoyed.

It didn’t even matter that she didn’t know their destination because this part was fun. Plus, Peter was a little more confident when he was doing the Spiderman thing. MJ didn’t understand why that didn’t translate into his every day persona.

*

Peter didn’t get to share the fun side of his spidey powers enough with others enough, so this - seeing MJ smile like that - had to be closest to one of the best feelings in the world. He swung them up to a rooftop that looked like it would be more fitting in Paris than here in New York; it had had a garden with lights strung up around it, a table with two chairs nearby.

“So you know Mr. Delmar? The sandwich guy? I’ve been cat-sitting for his sister this week while she’s away, and she said I could use her roof for whatever - I mean, as long as it wasn’t for anything crazy-“ Not like Peter Parker was the kind of kid to throw a wild party. “So I thought we could…”

He trailed off as one of his tiny spider drones crawled over the edge of the building carrying a bag of takeout, the other following not far behind with a pair of drinks. The robots skittered over to the table to drop the items off, and Peter tugged off his mask.

“-We’ve got food and...and there’s a used book festival going on a few blocks down we could maybe check out after?” While MJ was known for being observant, Peter was trying to be too - but still there was an air of that nervousness that was purely Peter and not so much Spider-man. Swinging through the streets was easy; but trying to impress a girl he liked more than anything was a little harder.

*

The roof was great and MJ was definitely impressed with Peter’s plan, even if his tiny spider drones freaked her out a little bit. It looked like he’d gotten takeout from her favorite burger place so she could handle that.

“How many books do you think you can carry?” she asked, her eyes lighting up at the possibilities of building a huge library for herself. Maybe other girls would use their boyfriend’s super strength for other things, but carrying hundreds of pounds of books was more MJ’s speed. Assuming she could call Peter her boyfriend. They hadn’t exactly had that conversation yet.

*

“A ton, probably. We could definitely find out.” Peter grinned, relieved that the whole date plan had gone over well. Not like he had called it a date - which was something he still needed to bring up.

“MJ, I-” He hesitated and remembered what May told him just earlier: to trust his instincts. As nervous as he’d been leading up to this, he strangely felt less of those jitters now. He was certain about what MJ meant to him, and that made being honest all the easier.

“I know the whole alternate dimension thing is weird. Super weird. But all those memories I had? It wasn’t anything I didn’t already feel. I really, really like you.” What happened between the universes didn’t always line up, but his crush on MJ hadn’t changed. This time - thankfully - he hadn’t just fought off an army of Beck’s drones before admitting it. “I guess what I’m trying to say is - do - do you want to date? You and me?”

*

“I thought that’s what we were doing, Parker,” she teased. Maybe it was mean to poke fun when MJ knew that it probably took a lot of courage for him to actually ask her the question. She couldn’t resist though.

She leaned over and pressed a quick kiss against his lips. “That’s a yes, by the way.” Somehow, she thought that Peter might need that spelled out.

“Now, you promised me books so let’s eat and head down there.”

*

“Oh. Right, I knew that,” Peter said like it was the most obvious thing in the world before he smiled sheepishly, more than aware that he’d be seen through. That was okay, though - everything felt okay right now in a way it hadn’t in a while, not since the first memories of the upstate battle had flooded in.

He followed her kiss with one of his own and squeezed her hand. They had the whole night ahead of them, and he was going to make sure it was a good one.