Mixed POV
MJ's POV
To say Michelle was impressed would be an understatement.
Peter Parker, the nerdy dork and friendly superhero who helped old ladies across the street, surprisingly has a confidence streak in him.
She wasn't an idiot. She knew that she was intimidating which is how she likes it to be. Ned Leeds and Peter in particular had been on the end of her intimidation tactics more than a number of times in an effort to scare them off. It obviously didn't work which was a fact she was only just beginning to be grateful for.
Her already fast heart rate felt like it tripled in speed as she watched Parker push off from the fridge and make his way towards her, a look of determination etched into his brow. Michelle wasn't used to such an expression on Peter. Usually, he was full of awkward smiles and nervous chuckles which she had found herself to grow quite fond of, but this made something awaken in her chest that felt almost primal.
She somehow processed this all in a few moments but by the time she could inhale and prepare to speak, he was there. She shut her eyes as his hand curved around the back of her neck and her hand unconsciously reached to press his chest. The brush of his lips against hers was barely there, barely tangible. But she knew it was going to change everything.
Michelle hadn't been kissed before. Unless you counted a chaste kiss with her 2nd Grade crush behind the school hall or David but she didn't count them.
This was the first proper kiss she had experienced. And it was with Spider freaking man.
Peter goddamn Parker.
It was perfect.
Without meaning to, Michelle found herself breathing out a sigh against his lips and even with eyes closed, she felt his curving into a smile.
"This okay?" his voice was barely a whisper and she blinked her eyes open to see him right before her, face bright red and a nervous smile on his lips.
In response, she reached up hesitantly to brush one of his curls from his face before pulling on his shirt to pull him back to her.
With her confirmation, an already bold Peter appeared to be even bolder. Instead of chaste, this kiss was searing as he pressed eagerly against her, prompting her to open her knees so he could press closer. She felt herself humming against his lips as his hands began to comb through her hair.
This surprising change in events was like a balm to her very wounded heart, as cliché as it felt to say.
The thought made her pull back sharply, her eyes desperately searching his. Was she using him? Was this just a distraction?
"You okay?" he asked, tracing the back of his hand down her cheek. It felt soft and made her tingly. She wanted more than anything to pull him back and to beg him to help her forget, but she wouldn't do that to him.
"I don't think this is the case," she began, words sounding as cautious as she felt. "But because of everything... I'm worried that I'm not in the right headspace to do this properly."
Peter looked away, biting his lip.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed this on you."
"That's not what I meant," she instinctively reached to cup his cheek, daring him to meet her eyes which he eventually did. Her heart dropped at the wound-ness in them.
This feeling thing sucks but hurting Peter felt even worse. She took a deep breath.
"I want to. I want to... explore this," she said all this looking at the ground. "But I want to do it when I'm not so... confused and full of so many different things I can't comprehend. I don't want to hurt you."
There was a long silence, and she was determined not to be the one to break it. She kept her eyes fixed on the floor despite the proximity to Peter. She didn't know what she was expecting. Maybe for him to push her away and then make the rest of the day awkward. She was worried he was going to hate her.
In typical Peter fashion, he didn't do what was expected of him. Instead, she felt him brush a soft kiss on her cheek before pulling her into a hug that she willingly accepted.
"MJ," he breathed against her ear. "I'm not hurt. It makes complete sense. I'm... I'm glad you want to give this a go."
She pulled back to find a warm smile and warm eyes appraising her. The sight brought a lump to her throat.
"Thank you."
"You don't have to thank me although I'm surprised it's in your vocabulary," he pushed her shoulder jokingly.
"Well fuck you," she laughed as she shoved him back and it felt like the pressure in the room dissipated. This is good. It'll work out. And she hadn't lost him.
They decided to set some ground rules. They both confessed a level of attraction to each other and desire to give things a go, but it was agreed that MJ would need to initiate it at least until things had settled down. Peter listened to her concerns in the way that only Peter could do and it frankly made her want to make her throw herself at him even more though she'd never admit it. For a feminist, her bar was surprisingly low when it came to men but this was Parker. He high jumped every bar in existence and no, that's not just a superhero reference.
Afterwards having moved back to the table, they began to plan out their day and decided the first step would be to shower and get ready. Michelle was going to go first but as she made to move the bathroom, she turned back.
"Hey, Peter?" He looked up from his phone and gave her a very Peter smile. The sight was distracting and she had to shake her head. "Maybe.." fuck had she swapped places with Peter? Maybe he was her and she was him with the way words were becoming difficult. "Could I have one more?"
She mentally slapped herself at the request. So much for being eloquent. Peter seemed confused about what she meant for a moment and she was fully prepared to jump ship and make a run for it before he was suddenly before her.
Superhuman speed and all that.
The force of his kiss pushed her back against the wall and when they pulled away from each other, both panting from the intensity, he gave her a shorter almost apologetic kiss to the corner of her mouth.
"Sorry," he mumbled and she pushed him away fondly.
"Dork."
Peter's POV
They were browsing the Bookhouse Café which was frankly more than amazing. He wasn't as avid of a reader as MJ but bookshops were comforting and sometimes in those rare moments he did have the time, he would give one a go.
Now he sat on one of the lounges as he watched Michelle walk up and down the rows, fully immersed in the art of book shopping. As he watched her fondly, he thought about the strange yet dream fulfilling morning they had. Honestly, he was confused at this Michelle before him. The usually snarky girl who would rather kill someone than discuss her feelings told him she liked him, that she wanted to kiss him. He knew she was confused. He knew she was hurting from everything and it felt like a privilege to know that, even though it broke his heart to know she was feeling that way. From an outsider's perspective, watching Michelle now, you wouldn't know the mess that was going on in her life. He was beginning to realise that on top of being a book reading genius, she was also a pretty good actor.
After locating a book, MJ came back to the couch and sat down beside him.
"The wonderful thing about this place is you don't have to buy the books to read them. It's kind of like a library. You can come here to read them and the coffees a bonus."
"I think if Heaven is real, this will probably be yours," he told her and she smirked at him before opening the pages and falling into her fictional world.
They had agreed to spend a few hours here which Peter was more than happy to do. He had a comic book balanced on his lap which he now opened to read alongside her. Honestly, he'd be happy to just sit and watch her read but she'd probably get annoyed.
Even with the crazy events, he found that the environment and company made it easy for him to focus on the comic before him. He flew through it with a rapid pace and he was reminded of the times before he was bitten by the spider when he had more time to read like this. He was surprised to find he kind of missed it.
When he closed the comic book, Michelle closed her own and yawned.
"Did you finish the whole thing?" she asked with a smile. "I didn't know you liked to read."
"I only read sometimes," he shrugged. "I don't have the time to really commit anymore."
"Makes sense with the whole saving the world thing."
He rolled his eyes at the teasing in her voice.
"What can I say, I'm a man of man of many talents."
He helped her return the books after making the collective agreement that it was time to return to the apartment.
"What do you usually do on a Saturday?" MJ asked him as they began the trek back to his apartment.
"Sometimes I go to the training facilities to work with Dr Banner but I also hang out with Ned. He's seeing family at the moment."
She seemed to think about this for a few moments.
"Your life is actually super crazy, did you know?"
"No shit," he muttered sarcastically.
Michelle came to standstill and grabbed his arm.
"No, what I mean is your talking casually about working alongside some of the worlds most famous people; some of the worlds smartest people and you're super casual about it."
"I mean, I guess?" he didn't know what to say. He supposed he was just used to it now. After Mr Stark came into his life everything kind of changed. Out of everyone he had met in his crazy life, Mr Stark was the main one he got star eyes for, not that the others weren't awesome. But it was Mr Freaking Stark.
God he missed that guy.
"You know," he told her, thinking out loud. "Maybe you could come with me to the Avengers Tower at some point. I know you're a nerd even though you pretend you're not."
"I don't pretend," she argued. "I'm fully aware of what I am. I just mean you guys are on another level." She gave pause as she thought about his offer and then smiled at him as they pushed through the crowd. She looked so pretty when she smiled. He hoped he could make her do it every chance they get. "That's actually an amazing offer. I'd love that. I'd love to meet Dr Banner, especially. I've read every one of his research papers."
"Of course," he groaned before thinking back to their old banter when she joked about having explicit sketches of Hulk. He smirked at her. "You have a crush."
"I do not," she argued. "I just admire genius when I see it."
"So I guess that means you admire me?" he chuckled as he held the door open to his apartment for her. She paused in the doorway and he prepared himself for a snarky, perhaps too brutal comeback.
When she looked at him, her eyes were sort of sad and he felt his stomach drop and it plummeted further as she watched him silently. He was just about to apologise before she looked away.
"I do admire you," she admitted softly. "But not for the reasons you think."
And then she was moving, making her way for the stairs.
"Really?" he asked enthusiastically. Gosh, this girl had him flipping through every emotion at a rapid pace that he could barely keep up with.
MJ admires me.
"What do you mean? What are your reasons?" He bounded up the stairs after her.
"Maybe I'll tell you one day," she eventually said as they reached the apartment. "I can't tell you now or your gigantic head will probably get bigger."
He threw an arm over her shoulder as they pushed into the apartment.
"Whatever you say, MJ. Whatever you say."