On the ferry back to the mainland, Peter and Kate are on the upper deck, looking out at the sea and leaning forward on the railing a little. The wind of the air and the salt of the ocean stings them in the cold, but neither cares, because they are with each other.

With Peter saying she is the only girl for him, Kate is willing to let this date play out how it does. At the end, she wants to make sure Peter knows that he needs to end things with MJ. He sounds done with her, though, and has basically said so. In the whirlwind of love, that is enough for her.

Peter is conflicted between what is good and what is right. The good thing for him would be to have someone, anyone, in his life, that person being a potential girlfriend in Kate. She is likely to be safe from harm if she knows him, because he can keep his identity a secret, and if she were caught, she could fight her way out of the situation and defend herself. This was made clear to Peter when she helped him the previous night with some assailants. Again, Spider-Man has no major enemies who could threaten Kate, so she is safe for now.

Having a person in his life is all Peter has wanted for weeks of desperate loneliness. He feels he deserves it after a long time of waiting. But while he wants things to work with Kate, he feels like maybe being with her is not the right thing for two reasons. One, if his identity is found out again, then Kate might be harassed because of him being famous or infamous. Second, at the moment, he still loves MJ. He had accepted the fact that they might never be together again, but after he kissed her, he thought that there might be a chance, reigniting his love for her. He loves MJ more, but out of the utmost extreme caution, wanting to keep her safe from death and from him ruining her life, he keeps his distance from her out of hopes that he will grow to love Kate. But because of how he feels about MJ, he feels like he is cheating on her, even if he is going to end things with her. Until things are finalized with MJ, he knows he will always feel like he is cheating on the girl he really loves.

He wants to love someone. He wants someone to love him. He hopes that person is Kate. He just wants to grow to love her like he does MJ, and for his love for MJ to fade. Simply put, he loves MJ but likes Kate, hoping he will eventually love Kate.

All thoughts are interrupted when Kate tells Peter, "Okay, I looked it up, and it's nine freaking degrees here. NINE." (Being an American, she uses Fahrenheit.)

Peter comments, "Feels colder than that."

"I'm going to go below deck," Kate says. "It's too cold out here. Do you wanna come?"

"Yeah, I'll come," Peter says, following Kate to the seating inside the ferry's walls.

It is still cold inside, but not as cold as it is outside. They sit in the middle of the ferry's rows but on the far right, by a window in the sun.

"Here," Peter offers, "you sit by the window. The sun is warm and it's coming in through the window."

"Thanks," Kate says, sitting by the window. "It's still cold in here."

"Yeah, it kind of is," Peter agrees. "Do you want my jacket?"

"No, thanks," Kate denies humbly. She shivers.

Peter, out of genuine kindness as a person and sentimental adoration as a lover, puts his right arm around Kate, holding onto her firmly yet gently. He rubs his hand up and down her upper arm, trying to warm her up.

Kate turns her head and makes eye contact with Peter. His eyes are softly looking back at hers, looking upset yet happy at the same time. While she looks at him, he seems to look through her.

Something about all this does not feel right to Peter. He still would rather be with MJ. In an effort to try to force himself to like Kate, hoping that what is now forced will later feel natural, he says to Kate, "I—"

Kate interrupts, asking rather bluntly, "Do you still want to kiss?" She is trapped in time, well aware that she is, yet ignoring any chances to leave it.

Peter is surprised by the suddenness of Kate's question. He stammers, "I… uh…"

"Sorry," Kate apologizes. "Just got caught up in the moment, I guess."

"It's okay," Peter says. After a second, he nods subtly, just a little, mumbling, "Yeah."

"Yeah, what?" Kate reacts.

Without responding, Peter goes for it, seizing his chance, seizing the moment. He kisses Kate, putting his right hand on her cheek and holding her right wrist with his left hand. He feels her right hand grip his own wrist and her left hand against the back of his head as if he told Kate to hold onto him forever, and she obeyed.

Kate really does not know what she is doing. She is going simply by instinct, doing whatever feels right, not caring if it actually is. When she feels Peter's kiss, and his hand on her cheek, and his fingers delicately holding her wrist, her heart leaps to the highest height known by romantic love. She holds Peter's wrist back and puts her hand on the back of his head, his hair almost trapping her fingers, telling them to stay there forever.

For a second, they separate, as if they were coming up for air after diving to depths unknown in search of the rarest of jewels, those only found in this kind of love. Again, more passionately, more intensely, more meaningly, they kiss, both holding onto the other tightly, almost to the point of pain, but a good pain, a welcoming one, tempting them to stay for more.

However, as the old adage goes, "Leave while you're still having fun." At the same time, knowingly, they push away forcefully yet tenderly, fracturing the moment into a million pieces, left for history to pick up.

To Peter, the kiss felt both right and wrong. Because his heart is still MJ's, though he hopes it will become Kate's, he still feels as if he was cheating. He knows he might technically be cheating, but that's not what this is. To him, it is betrayal, betrayal of a love that once was strong until forgotten. On the other hand, he could feel the love from Kate. He feels liked and loved with her. He can only hope that he is giving Kate that same feeling.

He is.

For Kate, the kiss was nothing but pure bliss mixed with surprise. The move was spontaneous, yet it felt planned. There is something about Peter's presence, the way he talks to her, that makes her feel like more. More than just a girl. More than just a friend. She feels a connection with him, a different kind than she has experienced, coming to the surface in the form of a kiss that she did not know she wanted, but now feels like she could not live without it. To her, the kiss was validating of how she hoped Peter felt about her.

After they break away, for a long second, they gaze into each other's eyes, both of their mouths slightly open, not wanting to close them because if they do, they feel the moment will be lost forever.

Suddenly, Peter feels embarrassed. He feels like he should not have done that, not like that without Kate's consent. He faces forward and slumps in the bench a little. "Sorry," he says. "I should've asked."

Kate is still in shock. She, too, faces forward, slumping beside Peter. She inhales as if about to say something, but ultimately does not, shutting her mouth.

Not hearing a response, Peter looks at Kate and asks, "Kate? Yooou hear me?"

Kate looks at Peter and nods. "It's okay," she says. "I liked it. Did you?"

"Of course I did," Peter replies.

"Okay," Kate sighs, relieved. "To tell you the truth, I've never kissed anyone before. Not like that."

"What do you mean, 'not like that?'" Peter responds.

"Well, you know," Kate says. "Like kissing your parents and stuff when you're three."

With the mention of parents, Peter feels all alone. His heart sinks, and everything turns to black. Then, seeing Kate by him, the blackness fades back to reality, and everything is okay. He asks Kate, "So, you've never kissed romantically?"

"Nope," Kate says. "Not till then. Besides MJ, did you ever kiss anyone?"

"No," Peter says. "I haven't. Well, besides you, obviously."

"Is it obvious, though?" Kate responds jokingly. "How do you know I'm me?"

"I'm reasonably sure," Peter says. "I mean, you did show up where we planned to show up for today through texts, so it's you."

"And how do I know you're you?" Kate says back. "How do I know you're not an imposter? Or Spider-Man?"

After the kiss, Peter feels immense pressure to not lie. He avoids answering, responding playfully, "What is it with you and me being Spider-Man?"

"The stars line up, I guess," Kate says with a shrug. "I mean, yeah, there's millions of people in the city, but I don't know. It kind of feels right. Peter Parker, the Spider-Man."

"It DOES have a nice ring to it," Peter comments nervously.

"But you already said you're not," Kate remarks.

"If I WERE a superhero," Peter muses, "it would be Captain America, not Spider-Man."

"Oh, come on!" Kate responds. "Cap's a good guy and all, but I mean, he's not who I'd be."

"Who WOULD you be?" Peter asks.

"Hawkeye, duh," Kate says. "I mean, the bows and arrows for later? And I've already told you I worked with him."

"Yeah, you did say that," Peter says. "Maybe you ARE Hawkeye. Or at least as good as him."

"Oh, I am," Kate gasconades confidently. "I am."

"We'll see," Peter responds.

Neither knows what to say next to keep the conversation going. It stays that way for the next few minutes to the mainland, Peter and Kate slumped on a bench in a cold ferry.