First of all, I want to get some things clear, because I don't want to disrupt the pacing of my story by explaining stuff in the middle. Feel free to ask questions, if you want. I'm estimating that this could be maybe 3 chapters long.

-Peter and MJ are dating, for almost a year now and are going to prom together. They got together when MJ moved to live with her aunt Anna, she and May set them up, they also go to the same high school;

- They are next-door neighbors, both living in Queens, like in the comics;

-MJ knows that Peter is Spider-man, but Pete doesn't know that she knows;

-Peter knows Wilson Fisk is a crime lord, but they haven't encountered each other yet, Spider-man has just been investigating him and taking out Fisk's operations and Fisk is pissed about it;

- Also I'm European, I have no idea how proms work so just bear with me

"Peter! Isn't it time for you to go already?" May Parker called from the bottom of the stairs to her nephew who, unsurprisingly, seemed to be sticking to his bad habit of always being late. Peter Parker, who was crawling in through his window that very second, shot his head up and looked at the alarm clock next to his bed. Shit, it's this late already?! A wave of panic washed over him as all the things he now didn't have time to do rushed through his mind, like taking a shower, ironing his suit, or ... cooking dinner for his date with MJ. They had agreed on not going to a restaurant because both of them were saving money for college, and decided on having a picnic in Pete's backyard instead. At least he had decorated beforehand, he thought to himself. Well, he had thrown some Christmas lights in a tree and the candles he bought were still in the bag by the door, but close enough.

"Mary Jane will be here any minute and you still haven't changed into your suit," Shit, shit, shit, shit... wait, where is my suit? Peter grabbed the nearest sweater and pulled it over his Spider-man costume before sticking his head out the door.

"May, where is my suit?" he called to his aunt, hoping he had actually rented one and hadn't just dreamed of doing it.

"It's on your doorknob, I ironed it for you and put it there half an hour ago. I knocked on your door, didn't you hear me? And what have you been doing all this time?" Peter looked down, and there it was.

"Umm. homework. Lots of homework. Thank you!" he grabbed the suit and retreated back into his room to change. He pulled off the sweater and then paused for a moment. Should he leave the costume on or leave it at home? Since he couldn't remember the last time he had washed the thing, he decided that Spidey can stay at home for one evening. It took Peter exactly 50 seconds to change and after making sure his costume was safely hidden in a box under his bed, Peter basically flew down the stairs, almost knocking his aunt off her feet. He caught her easily and steadied her while she was mumbling something about him needing to join a sports team to get out all his energy.

"Sorry! Do we have any food in the kitchen?" Peter asked already moving through the living room as fast as the small space allowed without crashing into the furniture.

"I went grocery shopping earlier but I haven't cooked anything yet, except an apple pie," May told him, following Peter to the kitchen but at a much more civilized pace. Once she got there, she saw Peter frantically going through the fridge, his arms already full with all kinds of foods.

"What are you doing?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh, well, you see, MJ and I decided to not go out tonight and instead have a picnic in our backyard. And I was supposed to cook something for that picnic," at that moment the doorbell rang and Peter's eyes went wide, " And oh god, she's here!"

Aunt May let out an amused sigh as she left Peter in the kitchen to continue with creating chaos she was sure she will have to clean up and went to let Mary Jane in.

Peter was now looking at all the products in front of him and panicking because with all his renowned genius he couldn't come up with a single thing he could make in the next 20 seconds. He listened as May opened the door and greeted his girlfriend. He heard May telling MJ that he is in the kitchen and when Mary Jane said that she is excited to see what he has cooked, Peter groaned.

He was standing still, listening to footsteps coming closer and closer. He was holding out hope that aunt May will let him have the apple pie and that MJ will accept it as a full meal.

"Hey, Tiger!" MJ greeted him as she stepped into the kitchen.

"Hey, MJ," he answered with a weak smile, his voice quiet but a little higher than usual.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to cook in your suit?" She stepped closer to him to give Peter a kiss and then looked behind his shoulder at the mess on the counter and the table, noticing that everything was still in packaging and there were no signs of actual cooking happening. Peter was staying still as he waited for her to piece the situation together.

"You are cooking, right? For our dinner, like we agreed?" She looked up into his guilty puppy eyes. He didn't answer and she let out a sigh, similar to the one May had just let out. She gave him a quick peck on the lips and then turned to leave.

"I know you too well," she said on her way out. Peter's brows furrowed and he opened his mouth as to say something. It took him two seconds before he followed her to the living room.

"Wait, you're not mad at me?"

"How could I be? I know how engrossed you can get with your ... homework. I honestly didn't even expect for you to be dressed already," Peter didn't notice how she hesitated for a moment before saying homework, but he did notice a big basket she was now holding. He also just now noticed how nice she looked. Her hair was up in a messy bun that somehow looked elegant and a few strands were framing her face rather beautifully. She was wearing a long blood-red dress, with her shoulders exposed. Her cleavage was also showing more than what she usually wears. The dress fit her figure very nicely and for a moment Peters' mind blanked out at the sight before him.

"Wha-what?" He said as he regained his ability to speak and looked back up to her face.

"I said I expected something like this so I cooked for us," Mary Jane answered, holding the basket up a little higher.

"You did?" Peter asked, still stunned.

"I did," MJ answered.

"Peter, if you failed at making dinner for your date, then at least have the decency to be a gentleman and take that heavy basket from her hands," aunt May scolded him.

"Oh right, of course," he hadn't even noticed May was still in the room, but he reached out to MJ and relieved her of the basket.

"Thanks. Should we go outside now or do you still have to finish up in the kitchen?" MJ asked him in all seriousness as she moved back into the house to go outside through the back door.

"Haha, that's funny," Peter followed her, grabbing a couple of blankets on his way outside.

The weather outside was unusually warm, even for the end of May. The sky was just starting to turn pinkishly orange as the sun was getting lower and a light wind was rustling the new leaves in the trees. It was a nice, quiet evening, the kind that makes it easy to forget that there is a world beyond what is right in front of you. There were a couple of apple trees in Peter's backyard that were blossoming, and while the trees didn't have a strong scent, they looked gorgeous. Especially with MJ standing between them with the orange sky in the background. Peter thought about going up to his room to get his camera but then again he knew MJ wouldn't appreciate that. He will have a lot of chances to get pictures of her later in the evening.

"Come here, give me one of those blankets," MJ pulled him out of his thoughts and he noticed that he had been staring at her.

"Uh, yeah, here you go," he set the basket on the ground next to them as he helped her lay out a space for them.

"You look beautiful, by the way," Peter said and noticed how her cheeks reddened just a little bit.

"Is that the reason you are acting as if someone has dropped you on your head? " She meant to tease him, and while he had been dropped on his head several times while fighting the Shocker earlier that day, she wasn't that far off.

"Actually yes," Peter replied with a smile and as she looked him in the eyes, she smiled too.

"Thanks, you look pretty handsome yourself," Peter's smile got brighter and he crawled over to her, saying thanks before catching her lips with his own. He put his hand on her cheek to draw her in closer.

"So, what are we eating tonight?" Peter asked once he pulled away and passed her the basket. He then remembered that he had candles and got up to go get them and turn on the lights in the tree.

"Ceasar salad with chicken and I also baked some brownies," MJ answered while unpacking the basket. The salad was already in plates, covered with plastic wrap. "And I also made some raspberry-peach lemonade. Could you bring out some glasses? I didn't pack those,"

"Yeah, sure, be right back," Peter said. He dropped the bag of candles next to MJ, jumped over the blanket, and with a light bounce in his step made his way to the house.

"Oh, and bring some forks too! And a knife!" MJ called after him.

"Okay!" he shouted back before disappearing through the door.

Once inside, Peter found May in the kitchen, putting away all the stuff he had wanted to use earlier.

"Hey," he greeted her. "Hey," May answered, "what did MJ cook?"

"Uhhh, some Caesar salad and brownies," Peter answered while grabbing two glasses from a cupboard.

"Sounds nice. And she looks very beautiful too," May commented.

"Yeah, she does," Peter paused a little and looked outside the window at MJ waiting for him. "I can't believe how lucky I am for her to like me," Peter said more to himself. He found himself staring at her again and smiled. He turned to get some forks and the knife from a drawer when May spoke again.

"I think I'll visit Anna tonight, we haven't had a proper catch-up in a while now," she told him.

"Okay," Peter answered.

"I'll probably be home pretty late," she continued.

"Ookayyy...?" Peter was now slowly moving back outside, but still waiting for May to finish.

"The house will be empty all night," May said looking at Peter with her eyebrows a little bit raised and a weird expression on her face. Some thoughts started to form at the back of Peter's mind but he refused to let them sneak any further than that. He really didn't want to go where May's implications were taking him, because it was MAY, his aunt, the woman who raised him, making them.

"Umm, I don't want to know what you are hinting at, but-"

"I'm not hinting at anything, I'm just informing my nephew of my plans so he wouldn't worry when he gets home late at night and I'm not here," May said with complete innocence.

"Uh-huh," he nodded slowly, still full with suspicion, "I'm gonna go now,"

"Okay, have fun," May called after him.

Peter was almost out the door when he remembered something and ran back inside and up to his room. His room was the first door right in front of the stairs. He quickly went inside and grabbed his camera from his desk that was crowded with papers, books and pulled-apart devices with wires everywhere. There was an old computer taking up a lot of space in the middle of the mess. The rest of his equipment was in boxes under his bed or his desk safely hidden away.

Peter ran back downstairs and outside to MJ, who was sitting on the blanket, with the plates next to her and lit candles all around her. She was resting her chin on her knees and hugging her legs.

"Took you long enough," she lifted her head up when she heard him coming out.

"Sorry about that. I just got something from my room," Peter lifted the camera up for MJ to see and she groaned.

"Is that necessary?"

"I'm not doing anything with it, I just have to have it around as the Bugles photographer. I have to be ready at any moment," Peter lifted both his hands up in defense, still holding the glasses with the utensils in them in one hand and the camera in the other, a picture of complete innocence.

"Uh-huh. Well, I'm glad to know you're ready for Spider-man and Rhino to crash our dinner," MJ said sarcastically and pouted. Peter just chuckled and sat down across his girlfriend. He offered MJ one of the forks and a glass.

"What's the knife for?"

"I also want to be ready just in case Rhino and Spider-man crash our dinner,"

Peter laughed and said, "If you tried to stab Rhino with that, you have a bigger chance of injuring yourself with it, a saw couldn't cut through his thick hide."

"And how would you know that?" MJ lifted an eyebrow. They had both started eating by now.

"Oh, um, you know. I know ... stuff, because I took pictures of him that one time," when MJ didn't buy this, he continued, "Spider-man told me after their fight that no one even knows if it is possible to get that guy out of his armor,"

"Spider-man told you? You guys chat often?"

"Uh, no, just, you know, one time I got too close while taking pictures and he ... saved me and we talked a little afterward. He's a friendly dude. I think that's why they call him the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man. Cause he's friendly,"

"I got it. Spider-man is friendly," MJ said, clearly amused.

"Yup, he is. You should meet him sometime, to see for yourself, how friendly he is,"

"Okay, fan-boy. The knife's for the brownie, it's still in the baking tray,"

"Ah," Peter said as he took a sip of the lemonade. After a moment of quiet, he spoke again.

"Thank you for doing this. It really ... well, you basically saved our date single-handedly. I promise I won't need saving next time though,"

"Aww, don't worry about it, Tiger," MJ laughed, "you did make a nest out of the lights in the tree. Interesting choice by the way. And you also got the candles. I'm sure we wouldn't have starved even if I didn't come prepared. I think I saw an apple pie in the kitchen, I bet May would have spared us some,"

"How do you know I didn't make that?" Peter asked looking offended.

"Did you?" MJ asked in return looking him straight in the eyes with a raised eyebrow.

"Fair enough," he said with a sigh and looked down at his food in defeat, "Really, next time I'll make it up to you,"

"It's really no problem, I don't mind. Everything else is just as we planned. This is the perfect date in my eyes. Just getting to look at you in a suit is great enough on its own to tell you the truth,"

"Huh, I'll have to keep that in mind."

"Hmmm, I would appreciate it. For someone who doesn't work out you fill it out veery well." Peter just laughed in response.

"Whose car is it in your driveway, by the way? Is someone visiting?" Peter asked and saw that MJ's face fell a little at the question.

"My dad came to visit with my sister. I'm happy to see Gayle, but ... I've told you about my dad and he hasn't changed since I moved out so..." MJ said while poking a piece of chicken with her fork.

"Oh... that-that must have been awkward,"

"Ahh, it's not that bad, I lived with him for 16 years, I've learned to deal with him. It was just a surprise, Anna didn't tell me they were coming so I couldn't prepare myself," Peter still looked a little worried. MJ had told him about her relationship with her dad and to sum it up - all of their conversations had ended with screaming in the past year before MJ had moved to New York. Seeing Peter's expression, MJ quickly added, "Really, it's fine. He's actually been keeping his mouth in check, although I think it was because Anna was always present,"

"Why didn't no one tell you they were coming?"

"Honestly, I don't know. Maybe one of them, probably Anna, thought it's going to be a great surprise for me,"

"Hmmm . . . How long are they staying?" Peter asked.

"Only three days," MJ answered.

"Well, if you need to get away, you can always come over," Peter offered.

"Thanks, Tiger but I'll be fine. I'll spend time with Gayle anyway, show her around New York and stuff," she smiled at him.

"Okay," he smiled back.

They continued to talk about Peter's work, their friends, and the history essay neither of them had yet finished. When they had finished eating, they brought all the dishes inside and then went back out again. MJ even allowed Peter to take some pictures of her on the condition that she gets to take pics of him too. Afterwards, they ended up just lying on the blanket on their backs. Peter had one of his arms around MJ's shoulders and the other under his head. They still had about half an hour before they needed to go to the dance, and they both were very happy to just lay there with nothing to do. Peaceful moments like these were rare in their lives, with Peter working as a photographer for the Bugle and being in the science club ( and being the Spider-man) and MJ was putting in a lot of time in the school's newspaper. Although they got to meet often enough since they were neighbors and went to the same high school.

When it was time to leave, MJ nudged Peter to get up with an elbow in his side. "Mmmm?" he mumbled, clearly having fallen asleep.

"C'mon, get up. We need to go, " MJ sat up and poked his side harder. Peter opened his eyes and groaned.

"Aaaargh, do we have to? I'm having a pretty good time right here," he sat up and watched as she got to her feet.

"Of course we do. I promised everyone we'll be there. And I didn't get dressed up for nothing. You see this," she gestured to herself, "I put way too much effort and money into this for no one to see it,"

"Mmmh, I definitely see it. Come, help me up," he reached his hands out to her. MJ rolled her eyes but took his hands anyway to pull him up, but instead, Peter pulled her back down on top of him.

"Peter!" MJ squealed, "C'mon, we'll be lat-mph" Peter cut her off with crushing his lips onto hers. She tried to pull away, but Peter felt her smile against his lips and so pressed her closer with one of his hands on the back of her neck and the other on the small of her back. MJ's cheeks were starting to redden and with each brush of his tongue, her mind got foggier and foggier. She could enjoy this for a couple of seconds . . . The warmth of his body underneath her, his strong arms holding her close. She never felt safer or more comfortable than when he was holding her. It took her all her willpower to push against his chest and pull away from his insistent lips.

"Peter," she said sternly, looking him in the eyes and trying not to show that she was just a little bit out of breath. She could feel his muscles through his shirt under her hands and she would be lying if she said it wasn't distracting and staggering her resolve to get to the dance on time.

"Yeah?" he asked innocently, looking up at her with glowing eyes and a smile.

"We need to go. Now,"

"Okay, okay," he sighed and got to his feet, helping her up too, "I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself," he was still smiling from ear to ear.

"If we are late and miss something, I'm blaming you,"

"I'm ready to take full responsibility if that happens," he said as he bent down to pick up the blanket before heading inside.

"May, we're leaving!" Peter shouted from the corridor.

"Wait, wait, I want to see you both one last time," she said while rushing downstairs, "aww, you both look so nice," May exclaimed, smiling, "Peter, give me your camera,"

"May, we don't have time for that," he tried to protest.

"It will only take a minute," she said reaching to grab the thing from his arms, "there, smile now both of you, and don't look like someone is torturing you," she said to them. Peter snaked an arm around MJs waist and pulled her close to his side as they both smiled awkwardly.

"You both are too good-looking to be this afraid of being in front of a camera," May said as she was taking the pictures.

"Mayyy, can we go now, please?" Peter asked, already reaching for the door handle.

"Okay, okay, here, take the camera - Oh, wait, Peter, your boutonniere!" May said before disappearing into the living room.

"My what?"

"It's the flower thing you put on your suit, it's matching the one on my arm," MJ explained and lifted her hand up to show him the small arrangement with a yellow flower in the center decorating her wrist, "May asked me yesterday what color mine will be so she can get a matching one for you,"

"I didn't even know I needed one..." Peter scratched the back of his head.

"We figured that much," MJ said just as May returned holding a yellow rose.

"Here," May said and reached out to pin the flower on his chest.

"Thanks," Peter replied looking down at it. May smoothed the fabric of his suit over his shoulders and then hugged him. Then she sniffed him, "Did you take a shower?" she asked, leaning back to look at Peter.

MJ started laughing as she went outside.

"Umm, I didn't have time," he said, his cheeks reddening in embarrassment. May sighed again at this and shook her head, "Okay, just go then."

"Bye Mrs. Parker," MJ called from the front porch as Peter gave his aunt a quick peck on the cheek before saying goodbye to her and going outside after MJ.

"Bye!" May called after them and watched as they went down the street for a moment, then closed the door and got ready to go over to Annas' house.