MJ, in her mind, tries to decipher if she is in love with Peter because of his looks or because of HOW he looks— how he looked at her. She had never before seen such love, such gentleness, such compassion in this way, nor felt it like that. Sure, she had seen her parents' love before, and felt it from her friends on numerous occasions. Somehow, someway, this feels different. MJ likes it. Being loved by Peter makes her love him back. All it takes is a look or a smile, some display of pent-up passion, to prove just how much someone means to someone else, and MJ experienced that. Or so she thinks. She wonders if everything is moving too fast. "It'll be over in a second," she thinks to herself. "We're moving fast NOW, but it'll slow down. I'll make sure it does."

Peter, while jovial, is tortured. This is exactly what he has wanted for so long. This exactly what he hoped for, dreamed for, yearned for. He is finally with MJ, finally beside her. Yet something about feels wrong. He knows this is wrong. The last time they were together, it eventually brought her into mortal danger. Twice. Thrice, even. He cannot ask her to risk that again. He has to break up with her, even though there might not be anything to break up.

Peter thinks to himself, "Hang on. I'm a human. I have human needs. I want to be loved. I want someone TO love, and darn if it isn't MJ. I can keep Peter Parker and Spider-Man separate. The lesson I learned is: be careful about my identity. I know MJ and I can be together. I just have to be careful. She's so awesome.

"But with if there's another Mysterio? What if someone finds out that I'm Spider-Man, and uses MJ as leverage against me? What if I make an enemy who hurts or kills her? I can't let her take that kind of chance. It's way too risky. I have to break up with her.

"Buuut then who do I have? Kate? She's pretty cool, really she is. I like her more than anyone. She's cool, funny, and pretty. She makes me happy. I can gamble on this. I'll just be careful. Yeah. That way, I can have someone I like and keep MJ safe. Besides, Kate DID say she worked with Hawkeye. If she got into trouble because she knew me, and an enemy knew that she knew me, then she could defend herself and get out of it. Right? But she's no MJ. I don't know what to do.

"Aunt May. May would know what I should do. She could give me some advice. So could Tony. Or Happy. Or… Dr. Strange. Well, the last time I went to him for help, it ruined everything, so I could try him again. Wait, he doesn't even know me anymore.

"Wait. Yep. That's what I'll do. I'm going to call this off with MJ, keep her safe, and I can still be with Kate."

Peter is not one bit satisfied with this decision, but he thinks it is what will make him happy. Something inside him is telling him not to do this. He feels like he is cheating on MJ if he is with Kate, even if he officially breaks up with MJ (if they've been together long enough to "break up," that is). He thinks this is the best choice for everyone. MJ stays safe. Kate gets to be with him and can defend herself if need be. And he gets to keep MJ safe, yet be with someone, have a friend again. Kate can be his friend, his girlfriend, and his confidant. Even while this sounds good, he is queasy about it. He does not like the idea of leaving MJ again, especially if she will remember him. He decides that things need to be cut off immediately, so he and her don't become something later on, just for him to let her down then.

When they reach MJ's apartment building, they stop at the door.

Peter tries to be fast to keep himself from feeling bad about it. "Listen, MJ," he says, "I—"

"Yeah?" MJ reacts.

"I…" Peter stammers. He stares into MJ's face, and the stare becomes a gaze. He becomes lost in her eyes as he glimpses into her soul, just as amazing as it was when he last left it.

He cannot bring himself do it. Not now. "I… really enjoyed that," he says, almost sounding disappointed. He is disappointed with himself.

However, MJ finds Peter's tone of voice cute, just as she does every other aspect of him. "Yeah, me too," she says. "I guess I'll see you around? I have another shift tomorrow, same time, if you want to come and hang out? If you're not doing anything, I don't wanna control your life. I mean, I want to control your life, I just know that I can't."

Peter knows that he needs to escape MJ's pull for her safety. "I can't," he says. "I have stuff to do tomorrow. Studying."

"Social work?" MJ adds.

"Maybe a little," Peter responds. "It's kind of on a… volunteer basis. Whenever I'm available."

"Maybe someday you can tell me more," MJ says. She remembers that Kate is not in contact with Peter, so she tries to one-up her rival. "Do you want to exchange phone numbers?" She asks Peter.
Peter becomes more nervous. If he and MJ get too close, he knows all too well he cannot let her go. He did once, but he cannot bring himself to do it again, even if the multiverse comes into balance. "No, that's okay," Peter says. "I'll just see you at the coffee place again sometime."

"Oh, okay," MJ says, sounding a little disappointed. "That's cool. What about Instagram? Or Tumblr? Twitter, even?"

Peter shakes his head. "I mean, I have them, I just don't use them for communicating."

"You can start now," MJ suggests. Becoming aware of how fast the relationship was moving earlier, she realizes that is might be best if she dials things back. "If you want to try to find me, my handle is 'BlackDahlia610,' all one word, just the B and the D capitalized."

"Why's that your name?" Peter asks, hoping to prolong the conversation as long as possible, even though he wants to spare his own feelings. He is deeply conflicted.

"It's a pretty flower MJ says. "Besides, there was a… murder."

For a couple seconds, they just stand there, comfortably yet awkwardly.

Peter ends the date, saying, "I should get going now. I gotta study."

"Yeah, me too," MJ says. "I guess I'll see you around sometime."

"Sometime," Peter echoes.

MJ half-smiles at Peter, internally upset that she could not get any contact info from him, but knowing that it is the better thing to do for the relationship. She goes inside and heads up to her apartment. She is excited for the future, excited at the prospect of being with Peter. He just seems to GET her.

In her ecstasy, she remembers Kate and suddenly feels bad for arguing with her. She opens her phone to call Kate, then decides to put it away and study. If she calls Kate, then they will just argue again, because she just went out with Peter. She knows she can lie, but she does not see that as a good thing to do in this case.

Peter walks home, conflicted. He and MJ are still a thing. He and Kate might be a thing. Somehow, someway, after going weeks without one, he has two girls who want him. "How did this happen?" He asks himself. He is not confident in his plan to break up with MJ and be with Kate instead, but he still thinks it is the thing to do. It is not the best thing to do; he just considers it the least bad. If he is with Kate, then he and Kate are happy, but MJ is not, but MJ is safe. If he is with MJ, then he is risking MJ's wellbeing, while he is confident that Kate could avoid being hurt more easily. Kate is simply more skilled in fighting and hero work, or so she has implied. Another option would be to date both of them, but clearly, that would just make everyone miserable. The fourth and final option would be to date neither of them, but Peter cannot do that to himself. He knows, deep down, that this is what should happen. This is what would really be best. Harm would not come to either, and he could keep being Spider-Man. But again, after weeks of being without anyone, he cannot do that to himself. He wants someone. He feels he DESERVES someone. "I DO deserve someone," he thinks. "I can keep Peter and Spidey separate." This is what he wants to do. This is what he decides to do. Be with Kate, knowing Kate could defend herself Because MJ cannot defend herself as well as Kate can, Peter cannot be with her. This is assuming that either of them discovers he is Spider-Man and then is captured by an enemy, which is still an outlandish possibility, as currently, Spider-Man has no powerful enemies.

As this last concept crosses Peter's mind, to be with Kate and break up with MJ, his confidence in his plan shoots straight up. Spider-Man has no major enemies. All he has to do is keep it that way. Just in case, though, he needs to keep MJ away, keeping her safe at all costs. He finds himself almost skipping down the street, strutting almost Bully Maguire-style, as he becomes happy about everything. As much as he loves MJ, the ultimate act of love he can perform right now is keeping her away. As much as he likes Kate, he hopes she will be able to reciprocate any feelings he has for her. Maybe he will grow to love her the way he loves MJ. He likes Kate, but he loves MJ. First, though, he needs to get back with Kate. But how does he do that? The first step is finding her online. He has already found her Instagram, which is a private account (it was public until the Tracksuit Mafia incidents, but of course Peter doesn't know that), so first Kate would need to accept his follow. Even though he knows where she lives, he found out as Spider-Man. Either way, whether Peter or Spidey knows, he cannot stalk her, because that is just wrong. Instead, he will start with the Internet.