"Hey, loser," MJ said, leaning against the wall of lockers as Peter switched out his books. "Take me home with you after school."

Peter blinked, the textbook slipping from his fingers, sticky as they were, to thud against the linoleum floor. "Uh…"

MJ glanced at the book and rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Parker, you can climb walls. How do you drop so much stuff?"

"MJ, keep your voice down," Peter said quickly, picking up the book and shoving it in his backpack. "Um…why did you…?"

"I have a sociology report, and I want to interview some of the Avengers, if they're around. It's about how human society has evolved under different types of leadership. I figured some first-hand perspectives would be cool." She looked down in an uncharacteristic display of nervousness, and shifted, shrugging a little. "I mean…if that's something you think they'd do. Ms. Romanov seemed cool about it when I asked, but…you know."

Peter blinked, and was…suddenly and inexplicably disappointed. He quickly shoved the thought down, shaking his head as if to physically scramble his thoughts. "Uh, yeah, totally! Let me just…text my—uh, Mr. Stark. Make sure everything's okay."

MJ raised an eyebrow, looking around, then rolled her eyes. "We're literally the only people in the hallway."

Peter, after a second of hesitation, looked around. The hallway was eerily quiet. He almost expected a tumbleweed.

"…right."

She sighed, then smiled a little. "Thanks. I owe you one."

Peter felt heat flame in his cheeks and quickly looked away, shrugging on his backpack. "Uh, totally. Um…you can ride with me after school."

She nodded, smiled a little, and left. Her curls bounced as she walked away.

Peter shook his head again, closed his locker door, and tried to figure out how he was going to do his calculus homework in the next five minutes.

Definitely not about how pretty MJ's curly hair was.

He smacked himself in the face.

…

Peter's fingers tapped nervously as he waited out in front of the school for MJ.

Happy was waiting at the curb, so he texted him and informed him that he was waiting for MJ. Happy, in an odd display of paternal concern, asked him if he'd gotten his dad's permission to bring a girl home. Peter blushed crimson and typed furiously that no, he hadn't, because she was just a friend who needed help with a project. He'd decided not to, trying to delay the inevitable teasing for as long as he could.

Happy sent the flat-face emoji that looked remarkably like his own on some days, and Peter buried his face in his hands.

"What's wrong?"

MJ's voice startled him out of his embarrassed musings, and he sharply rounded on her, almost falling backwards down the steps. "Nothing! Uh…just thinking."

MJ looked unconvinced, but just adjusted the straps of her bag, glancing at the black car with the tinted windows on the curb. "Is that us?"

Peter glanced at the car. "Uh—y-yeah. Yeah."

She nodded. "Cool."

Peter led her to the car and let her get into the backseat first, then slipped in beside her, closing the door. "Hi."

"Hey." Peter saw Happy's eyes stare interestedly into the mirror, and met them. "I'm Happy."

MJ glanced at him, and Peter noticed the slightest furrowing of her eyebrows. "Um…I am too…?"

Peter choked on something between a sound of surprise and a laugh, dying for a couple seconds.

Happy just blinked, frowning. "No. My name."

MJ blushed. Peter didn't see that very often. "Oh. I'm Michelle."

"Nice to meet you."

Peter couldn't even say anything to rectify the situation.

The entire drive was made in long, awkward silence, and Happy left the divider down the entire time.

…

"Um…we can go to me and my dad's floor first," Peter said in the lobby, swiping his internship badge through security, procuring a guest pass for MJ. "I think he's in his lab, though. Then I can call the others."

MJ nodded, and though she tried to look bored, Peter could see the curiosity on her face as her eyes swept the bustling lobby. "You really live here?"

Peter nodded, pushing the button in the elevator for the penthouse. FRIDAY knew it was him, so he didn't need any extra verification. "Uh-huh. My dad and I live on the top floor, and Pepper when she's home. The Avengers live spread out on a couple floors below us, and the floor below ours if the common area and kitchen."

MJ nodded. "You think they'll…be okay talking to me?" Peter glanced over at the uncertainty in her voice, not used to her sounding so…well, timid. "I mean, I know they're…probably busy, you know."

"Yeah, I think they'll have time," Peter said, wracking his brain for any scheduling conflicts he somehow missed. "Unless New York gets attacked by aliens again, or something."

Finally, she smiled a little, and Peter's heart jumped.

Ugh. He really needed to get over this.

The elevator dinged and slowed to a crawl, then settled gently as the doors opened. Peter walked in and put his backpack down on the kitchen counter, glancing back at MJ. She walked in slowly, her eyes trailing the spacious living room and kitchen, finally settling on the view.

"Wow," she said simply.

"Yeah. It's pretty awesome," Peter admitted.

"My math may be a little off, but I'm pretty sure you could end poverty in the United States with this building's net worth," she commented idly, running her hand over the back of the couch, still watching the skyline.

Peter blinked. "Um."

MJ took out her laptop, making herself at home on one of the high chairs at the bar. "I can do the introduction and stuff now if you need to find them. Sound okay?"

"Uh—totally, yeah. My dad's I think in a meeting in his lab, but I'll call him once he's done and let him know you're here. Who all do you wanna talk to?"

MJ looked at the ceiling, deep in thought. Her eyebrows always kind of scrunched together when she was thinking hard. "Maybe…Ms. Romanov to start with, then…who's here? And wouldn't mind? It's weird asking to interview the Avengers."

Peter laughed a little. "Don't worry, they don't bite. They're super awesome."

MJ still looked skeptical, but sighed. "Okay, well…Ms. Romanov for now."

Peter gave her a thumbs up, then took the stairs down to the common floor to see who all was there. He walked in on Sam and Bucky locked in a fierce battle of Mario Kart. Natasha was making a smoothie, watching with cool interest, and Steve was doing a crossword puzzle in one of the recliners.

"Oh my God, Steve, you're so old," Peter said, putting his chin on Steve's head to look past him at the puzzle.

Bucky snorted. "Hey, squirt." Peter smiled in his direction, then went back to studying the checkered box.

"They're challenging," Steve defended, reaching up to ruffle his hair. "Besides, it's a mental workout."

"Well, 22 Down is Kardashian. No amount of mental workouts is gonna help you with that one."

Sam almost choked, he laughed so hard. Then he started yelling, because the interruption made him swerve into the sand dune, where Bowser proceeded to idle at a snail's pace before coming back into contact with the cinematic asphalt.

A few seconds later, the trumpets of victory announced Bucky's win as Yoshi skidded across the checkered line.

"Screw you, Barnes. Pipsqueak over there messed me up."

"…Sam, I was a lap and a half ahead of you."

"Semantics."

Peter laughed, meandering to the kitchen, where Natasha was sipping her smoothie and watching with mirthful eyes. "Hi, Nat."

"Hey, kiddo. How was school?"

"Good. Hey, do you remember my friend MJ from the Parent Teacher Day?"

Nat cocked her head, eyes thoughtful. "Mm-hm. Curly hair? Cute?" A teasing smile played on her lips.

Peter blushed furiously, going for a casual shrug that failed miserably. "Uh…yeah. Yeah, I mean, c-curly hair."

Nat raised an eyebrow. "Mm-hm."

"Anyways, she's upstairs. She wanted to know if she could interview you for her sociology report, like you talked about at lunch."

"Oh, sure." Nat gathered up her smoothie and her bag of tortilla chips, heading for the stairs. "I'll talk you up while I'm at it."

"Oh my God, Nat, don't."

Nat snickered, and was gone.

Peter thunked his head on the counter and rued the day he ever mentioned even the thought of having a crush on MJ.

Which he totally didn't. But. Not the point.

He sighed, and resigned himself to months of teasing.

…

Half an hour later, Peter meandered upstairs to see how things were going, after utterly destroying Bucky and Sam in Mario Kart, of course.

MJ and Nat were actually…seeming to have a really good time. Peter hadn't seen Nat smile this much with a stranger (well, "stranger," since they'd already met once) in a while, and it was nice.

"Okay, but how do you feel about being the only female superhero on the original team? Does that impact your style of leadership?"

Natasha cocked her head, smiling in Peter's direction as he walked up. "Hey, Pete."

"Hey," he said, sending MJ a small smile as he passed them to the kitchen, waving a hand. "Don't mind me, sorry. I'm actually curious."

Nat smirked, refocusing on MJ. "I don't know if it impacts my style of leadership so much as my role on the team in the eyes of the media and the public," she continued, and Peter got out ingredients for milkshakes, keeping half an ear towards Natasha. He'd never really heard her talk about stuff like this, and it was interesting.

"It's easy to be sexualized by the media as the only original female Avenger, and it's especially easy to be relegated to the sidelines because not only am I female, I'm human," Natasha considered, propping her chin on her hand, leaning her elbow against the counter. "The leather costume doesn't help, either," she added with a smirk, "but it's the best thing for mobility, besides spandex."

Nat shot him a look, and MJ laughed a little as Peter held up his hands. "It was all I had!"

Peter ignored the way his chest fluttered at MJ's laugh.

"Mm-hm," Natasha said, raising an eyebrow. "Anyways, I think the most important thing for young female leaders in today's society to recognize is that no matter the obstacles against you, your self-worth means more than any price tag or fame they can attach to you. That's what I like to remind myself of. I'm sexualized by the media? Well, unfortunately, so is every celebrity. I'm one of many. I'm considered weak, or inferior? They've obviously never met me. I'm confident in myself and my abilities as both an Avenger and a leader, when I need to be, so I don't really care about nor pay attention to what the media or other leaders say about me. Does that make sense?"

Peter didn't think he could love Nat anymore, but here he was.

MJ, similarly, was looking at Natasha like she might have hung the moon. "Uh—yeah, that's awesome, Ms. Romanov."

"Call me Natasha," Tasha said, waving a hand. "Peter, are you making enough milkshakes for three?"

Peter was startled by the abrupt address, glancing at Nat as MJ typed furiously. "Uh—no, sorry, I think we only have enough ice cream left for two. Maybe, like…three really small ones."

Natasha smirked, and Peter blinked.

Dammit. Of course, she already knew exactly how many milkshakes could be made with what they had left.

"Shame," she said, hopping off the barstool. "I'll get mine later, then. Why don't you make one for you and MJ, and take a break?"

Peter could clearly see, though it was phrased as a question, it wasn't a request.

"Okay," he squeaked.

Nat flashed him a thumbs-up and disappeared into the elevator.

"Um…you, uh…like chocolate ice cream, don't you?" Peter looked at MJ for confirmation.

MJ glanced up from where she was typing like the keyboard was on fire, seeming startled. "Huh? Oh, sure. I was going to start going vegan soon, since most dairy and meat processing facilities have no ethical standards to regulate animal cruelty or treatment, but I guess I can start later."

Peter blinked, taking the long-winded explanation as a yes. "Okay."

For the next few minutes, Peter was acutely aware of how loud the blender was, as it was the only sound in the room. He added a couple toppings to his and MJ's and mixed them up. He personally liked crumbled Oreo pieces and crushed peanut butter cups in his, and he knew MJ liked both of things too, so…yeah. He was pretty sure Oreos were vegan, anyways.

"Here you go," he said, setting it beside her laptop with a spoon. He made them too thick for straws to work. "Do you want me to get Steve?"

MJ stopped, glancing at him. "Like…Captain America?"

Peter blinked. "Yeah…?"

"Oh. Um…wow. I was just going to, um…talk to Natasha and maybe the Falcon or someone. I thought Captain America would be too busy, like…doing a talk show about civic responsibility or meeting with the president about the defense system or, I don't know…helping at a soup kitchen, or something."

Peter blinked again, a couple times. "He's doing a crossword puzzle."

There were a couple seconds of surprised silence. You could've heard a cricket from a mile away.

"…um…okay. Sure."

MJ, despite her perpetually cool exterior, took a couple minutes to get used to Steve, which Peter found a little cute. Wait. Um—not cute. Surprising. Pleasantly surprising, and nothing more. He remembered when he'd floundered around Steve, too, after the whole Loki thing.

Steve, though, was super nice as usual, and Peter could tell that MJ was quick to warm up to him. They talked for a little while. Steve gave a much more traditional definition of personal leadership, launching into a mini lecture on young leaders that could've come straight from one of his PSA scripts, and Peter had to try really hard not to laugh.

MJ didn't seem to mind, though. She said it would be cool to have contrasting opinions from members of the same team.

A couple hours later, after Peter had meandered around doing menial things and hanging around MJ, it started getting dark. MJ finally closed her laptop, stretching her arms above her head. "That was really cool. Thanks, Peter."

Peter started at being addressed. He'd almost lost himself in his own homework. "Oh, uh, of course! I'm glad it was good. Did you get everything you needed?"

"Oh, for sure," MJ confirmed, packing her bag. "And the Avengers were pretty cool. Especially Natasha."

Peter smiled. That sounded about right. "I'm glad. They're awesome."

"Yeah. Natasha said she'd teach me some self-defense stuff, next time."

Peter blinked, his brain frantically recalibrating, and stammered, "N…next? Uh, time?"

MJ glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, next time. This is paper one of three."

Peter's racing heart shuddered to a sad little stop. "Oh."

"And to hang out, loser. Duh."

Peter blinked, glancing up, surprised. "O-oh. Um. Yeah, that would be really cool."

MJ nodded, seeming uncharacteristically lost for words, and fidgeted with the straps of her bookbag. "So…you gonna walk me down?"

"Oh, uh, for sure!" Peter said, springing into action. It was a wonder he didn't launch himself to the ceiling in his haste. "Yeah. I can ask Happy to drive you."

"No, that's okay—"

"It's really fine. I don't really want you walking home by yourself this late," he said without thinking. Once he realized what he'd said, he felt himself blush furiously, stammering, "U-um…I just—I-I just mean, as—as Spiderman, you know, a lot of—mugged—um—"

"Dude, I get it," MJ said, patting his shoulder, rescuing him. His shoulder buzzed, and he shifted, still blushing. "If he's available, sure, just to make sure you don't stroke out on me."

Peter gave her a nervous laugh, feeling so embarrassed it was a wonder he didn't melt right there.

Happy was, in fact, available, and drove MJ home without incident. Later that night, he ate dinner with his dad on their floor.

"So how was your date?"

Peter choked, inhaling an entire mouthful of spaghetti. He coughed, and hacked, and had to drink two glasses of water provided by his smugly smiling dad until he could speak like a rational human being.

"Um…huh…? Wh-what?"

Well, almost like a rational human being.

"Nat said you had MK over," his dad said, sitting there with a knowing smile and eating his spaghetti without a care in the world, like Peter hadn't almost asphyxiated at his words.

"It's MJ," he corrected automatically. "And—yeah. Because she needed help with a paper. From the Avengers. So…totally not a date. Not even close."

"Mm-hm," his dad said, raising an eyebrow. "When should we start booking wedding venues? There's this awesome little garden in Venice—"

"Dad, stop," Peter pleaded even over his dad's laughter. "No. Stop it. We're not talking about this."

"So are you going to name your first born after your old man?"

"DAD."

His dad snickered unapologetically.

Peter let his head thunk on the table as he had earlier last night.

Note to self—never, ever tell his dad or the Avengers about any of his future crushes.

Though…with how he felt about MJ…he wasn't sure there would be any future crushes besides her.

Ah, man. He was head over heels. Too bad nothing would ever happen.

A/N:…or will it?" ;)

Hey! Long time no see! Hope you liked this cute little thing, featuring human MJ and adorably awkward Peter.

As always, thank you so so so much for your continued support and love! Especially to my AMAZING reviewers: AmazingViola, theriku260, WALU1G1, alltheSinnersandalltheSaints, XphiaDP, BabyPinkPuppy, Belbelanne, SapphireRuby24, monkeybaby, Blondie 24-7, NinjaGirl1117, Guest, Guest, Allthesinnersand., NinjaGirl1117, AstralWolf, Belbelanne, VINAI, ImagineFiction27, elyssalyn, AliciaParker, Cortanacordeliac, LunaBianca, Melancholy's Sunshine, and SapphireKidTaeyeon!

Guest (I'm gunna read this but…): Lol hahaha hope you liked it!

Guest (Hi! I hope you get your computer…): Omg thanks! Everything was saved! Thank God!

AliciaParker: Aw thanks! And for sure, I'll put it on my list!

Cortanacordeliac: Thanks so much! I know right XD

As always, feel free to drop a request, but I'd love it if you'd review! Thanks so much! :D