When Peter arrives at the shop, MJ is already walking from the back to the counter, wearing a more casual outfit than a work uniform. Peter, for the first in a long time, finally, FINALLY, has a chance to be with her. His heart feels like it's beating out of his chest, yet not beating at the same time. His palms are sweaty and he is breathing in and out quickly and shallowly in his nervousness. A lot more quickly than his last date, however, he realizes the name thing is happening AGAIN.

"I, uh," Peter says shyly as MJ grabs them free doughnuts, "I don't even know if you remember my name."

MJ pauses, caught off guard and surprised that this is the first thing Peter says. She always remembered his name is Peter Parker, associating with his face. However, she thinks up a lie and replies to Peter, "No, I remember you. Peter Parker. No one ever gives their last name on a coffee order." She comes out from behind the counter with a doughnut each and a cup of hot chocolate for each. She hands Peter his. "So," she asks, "walk me home?"

Feeling comfortable in MJ's presence, her familiar chaotic, coy energy seemingly radiating from her heart, Peter responds, "Yeah. However long it is. I don't have anything else to do."

"Cool," MJ says. "Me, neither. It's only a few minutes away, though, it's just like fifteen minutes."

They leave the coffee shop side-by-side, Peter on the left and MJ on the right, going out into the cold New York air.

"Sooo," Peter asks hesitantly, nervous and hopeful about the whole date, "what's the coffee job like?"

"It's okay," MJ replies. "I'm just really working during the break, you know, saving up money for the future."

"I can respect that," Peter says. "What's the future like for you?"

"Well, next semester, school and work," MJ explains. "Then after that, it's off to MIT."

"Oh," Peter reacts disappointedly, "you're going to MIT?"

"I'm REALLY excited," MJ says, "and I never get excited about anything. What about you? Are you in school or anything?"

"Yeah, I go to Midtown," Peter says. "I'm actually waiting to get my application back from MIT right now."

"You go to Midtown?" MJ focuses on that part of Peter's answer. "I go there, but I haven't seen you. I'll look out for you. What about a job? Do you work? Because we could always use someone else at the shop." She sounds optimistic.

Remembering how he answered this question when Kate asked it, Peter answers, "Yeah, I do social work."

"Well, that's ambiguous," MJ responds. "What does that mean?"

"Just, uh…" Peter stalls, trying to figure out how to answer, wanting to be as honest as possible with MJ, "it's, uh… government stuff. I can't really talk about it. Confidential."

"It took you a while to get to that answer," MJ points out.

"I just lost my train of thought for a second there," Peter says, chuckling uneasily.

"Okay, Peter Parker," MJ reacts, sounding just the smallest bit offended. She takes a sip of hot chocolate, making a lull in the conversation.

Peter can tell that MJ thinks he's lying. Well, he is, but she can't know that. Peter decides that it is best to change topics. "If we weren't out right now," he asks MJ, "what would you be doing after your shift?"

"Studying, probably," MJ says. "But it's okay, it's nothing I have to do today. It's not a break that'll kill me or anything."

"Oh, come on," Peter replies, "you've gotta do something more than work and learning."

"Sometimes I go out with my friends," MJ says. "But other than that, I lead a pretty boring life, I guess."

"It's not boring," Peter says. "Not if you keep it from being boring. Just be spontaneous." He has an idea. He glances down to his right, and sees that MJ's left hand is free, because she finished her doughnut during the conversation.

"Be spontaneous?" MJ repeats. "Now, how does one go about being spontaneous?"

"Well…" Peter muses, pretending to think. He's holding his snacks in his left hand now, so his right is unoccupied. Without looking down, Peter takes MJ's hand in his. "I don't know," he says.

MJ gasps lightly when she feels Peter's fingers entwine with hers, her heart skipping a beat in ecstasy. Peter's grip is firm yet gentle. She feels herself tightening her own grip just a little. "Spontaneous?" She asks softly.

"I think so," Peter says.

Both in a state of pure bliss, they do not say anything, but nothing needs to be said; they simply are with each other, holding hands, and that is all that matters. MJ is holding hands with boy she likes but does not know. Peter is holding hands with the girl who used to be his girlfriend.

After about a minute, which feels like an hour, MJ asks seemingly out of nowhere, "Why are you holding my hand?"

Peter lets go. "Sorry."

"No, it's okay," MJ says, "it's just—"

MJ is interrupted when she reaches out for Peter's hand, only to find him reaching his hand out for her, too.

They stop where they are, MJ's left hand united with Peter's right, their fingers intertwined flawlessly, as if they were literally made for each other. They gaze into each other's eyes, both searching for answers to questions that they want to ask, yet do not.

MJ asks Peter softly, "Why do you like me so much?"

"I—" Peter responds, looking for words, his mouth slightly opened as he tries to think of something to say. He loves her for many reasons but cannot think of any safe enough to name without bringing up her past life. All he can think of in response is, "Why do YOU like ME?"

MJ lightly shrugs. "You're… kinda cute," she says.

"You're kinda cute, too," Peter says back.

"We've only been walking, like, five minutes," MJ points out.

"It feels like longer," Peter comments.

"So, do we only like each other 'cause we're cute?" MJ asks. "Or for anything else?"

"What about you?" Peter responds.

"Llleeettt'sss waaalllkkk," MJ says, all drawn-out, indirectly answering Peter's question.

If it were anyone else, Peter would be offended. But this is MJ. Hearing that response to the situation from MJ, Peter laughs as they keep walking, letting go of each other's hands.

"What?" MJ reacts to Peter's laughing, kind of embarrassed.

"Sorry," Peter says, clearing his throat. Getting the subject off of something that might be making MJ not feel good, he says, "So, if we only like each other because we're cute, I guess then we should probably talk about something deeper."

"Like, how deep?" MJ sounds eager to have a conversation about something serious. "We talking opinions of government spending, morality of killing a killer, or how to raise a family, or—"

"Raise a family?" Peter interrupts.

"Sorry, it's just, I think that it's a good thing to talk about on a first or second date," MJ explains. "Like, I don't want to scare you off or anything, but like, let's just say, hypothetically, you and I get married someday, right? How would we raise a family, if we have one at all? It's better to talk about it now and disagree, instead of disagree when we're already engaged. I don't know, it's just, I think that's good."

"No, no, that's actually really mature," Peter is actually impressed. He and MJ had never seriously discussed this in the past; they just bounced ideas off of each other. Peter suddenly feels self-conscious about saying something is mature, so he apologizes, "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that you're IMmature or anything."

"No, no, I didn't take it that way," MJ says. "It's okay. I'm a chill person. You can say whatever, I don't care, just don't threaten me or my family; I will kill you."

"Your family now, as in parents and aunts and uncles, or your future family, as in your kids and… husband?" Peter responds.

"Yes," MJ states, her voice having a weird but comforting tone of snootiness and pride.

"So, no threats, then?" Peter asks teasingly.

"Oh, no, you can threaten me," MJ replies, "just be ready to die if you do."

"Oh, okay then," Peter laughs. He looks at MJ to see if she is any bit as amused as he is.

She is not. Her face is dead serious. But when Peter looks at her, MJ cannot hold the joke, and giggles a little herself. "I can't kill people, I'm not Thanos," she jokes.

Peter sees a chance to brag, but knows he must not give anything away about his identity. Instead, he sees a chance to get philosophical and deep. He asks MJ, "Seriously, though, do you think Thanos was right?"

"Hell, no," MJ says. "He was a mass murderer. That can't be right, unless he was killing politicians or something. Then maybe it might have been acceptable, but it was just so random, you know?"

"Yeah, it was," Peter reacts.

"I've scoured through Internet message boards," MJ says. "Conspiracy theorists say he was trying to eliminate half of life so quality-of-life would be better for the half left over. I don't believe it, though. Why not just double the resources, if that's what was in your heart?"

"Well, there wouldn't be enough space for it all," Peter says pragmatically.

"Are you defending Thanos?" MJ pretends to sound offended.

"No, never," Peter replies simply. "I was blipped, so I have no reason to defend him. If I could take him on, I would have."

"I was blipped, too," MJ says. "It was weird. Coming back to such a changed world. But I'm on my feet, I'm doing okay. You're doing okay, I trust."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Peter says, "it took a little while, but we— I got back where I need to be."

"So, you were only like 16ish? When you came back," MJ asks.

"I was 17," Peter says. "So I'm 18 now."

"Same, MJ reacts.

"Your birthday's not on August 10, is it?" Peter responds almost automatically.

"June 10," MJ says. "So I'm older, haha." She deepens her voice and says, "Peter, go clean your room!"

Peter laughs lightly. "I'm 18, you can't tell me what to do."

Without realizing it, they both reach out and grab the other's hand, magnetized towards each other, gravitating as if they were designed to live an interwoven life, together, just them and no one else.
Peter and MJ Parker vs the world.

At the same time, they look down and realize that they are holding hands. Again, as earlier, they stop and look into each other's eyes.

With a quivering voice, MJ says, "Peter, why do you look at me like that? You look at me like you know me. It's been only a few minutes."

"Yeah, but…" Peter responds. He stammers for a second then gets out, "I feel like I DO know you. I don't know, you're just… I feel calm when I'm with you. And that's a good thing."

There is something in the way Peter is looking at MJ that makes her feel like the only person in the world. He looks at her as if she is the most beautiful girl to ever live, as if she radiated with the sparkle of the rarest diamond, the kind only fit for a wedding ring.

Under the spell of Peter's apparent love, MJ, almost instinctually, puts her hands on Peter's cheek and brings his head to hers, kissing him. Immediately regretting it so early in the romance, she lets go and takes a quick step back. Feeling embarrassed and awkward, she just stands there, looking down at the ground, not wanting or caring to make eye contact. She would run for home right now, but there was something in that kiss. Her voice week, weighed down by the significance of the kiss, she asks Peter, "Do you kiss all girls like that?"

"I don't kiss anyone," Peter says.

"I felt it," MJ says. "I felt something, like you loved me. You looked at me like you love me. You're doing it right now. There's something in those big, beautiful eyes that makes me believe that no matter what you're looking it, I'm the reflection in them. Sorry, that was…"

"Incredibly poetic," Peter finishes off the sentence. Self-conscious, he asks, "Am I moving too quickly?"

"No, not at all," MJ says. "Just don't propose to me before I get home."

"How far till you're home?" Peter asks.

"Just a couple more blocks," MJ answers. "You can still come with me if you want. I'm sorry, Peter, I should've asked before I kissed you, it was stupid, it was immature it was—"

Peter interrupts, saying "Shut up." He kisses her, cradling her cheeks in his hands. After the most blissful second of either of their lives, Peter lets go.

"Whoa," MJ reacts. "It's a lot more fun when you're on the side where you're the one whose head is being held."

"I don't know," Peter responds, "I kind of liked being on this side of it."

Neither wants to move; they want to prolong the moment for as long as possible, dragging it out so neither has to leave.

MJ knows, though, that her parents are waiting for her. "I'm going to keep going," she says. "Are you gonna come the rest of the way, or…"

"Yeah, I'll come," Peter says, "if it's okay with you."

MJ nods.

Peter holds his hand out. MJ takes it, and they walk side-by-side, hand in hand the rest of the way to MJ's apartment building, neither saying anything the rest of the way.