Air I Breathe

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Saturday, January 4

MJ is rethinking her dress, leggings, and boots, mostly because of the windchill, but also because dates are not her thing. It's not that she hasn't been on one before.

Okay, so she hasn't been on one. Ever.

But Peter doesn't need to know that, right?

She fixes her knitted scarf and tucks a loose strand of hair beneath her matching knitted headband before she opens the door.

Peter's in a dark pea coat and red gloves that nearly match his cheeks in the cold. There's a hoodie beneath his coat and the hood is up to cover his head and ears, a scarf sealing the gap between the two, but MJ thinks that despite the layers, he still looks seconds away from becoming an icicle. He smiles when he sees her, his eyes lighting up as he grins, and MJ blushes, steps out onto the stoop and closes the door behind her.

"Are you a carbon sample?" Peter asks, his voice shaking. He tightens his grip on the straps of his backpack. "Because I wanna date you."

"Oh, God, that was so corny," MJ says, laughing in that way where she scrunches her nose, and Peter smiles back at her, which makes her stomach flip. "Please tell me you didn't practice that the entire way here."

"Maybe?" he jokes back, shrugging.

"Anyway, we're already dating, loser," she says.

"We are," he says with a nod and it's sweet, innocent almost, and he can't stop grinning like an idiot.

"So, where to?" she asks, bouncing on her heels.

"Well, I had originally planned for us to go ice skating, but it's too cold and my lungs still suck, so I figured we'd start with a short walk to the N and go a couple of stops downtown."

"Oh, a mystery! I like this already. As long as it doesn't become a murder mystery, you know?" she laughs nervously as they head toward the subway station.

"I'm...not a murderer?" Peter's giving her the look she gets a lot, the one where she knows that what she's said is not socially acceptable and she's freaking them out. He realizes she was joking and recovers. "B-but I mean, if you're into mysteries and stuff there's this thing where you pay to be part of an escape room, only it takes place all over the city and there are these actors who you meet along the way and further the plot-"

"Peter."

"What?"

"I was joking about the murder mystery. I know you're not a murderer."

He shrugs. "Yeah. Yeah, I knew that."

"Did you?"

"Look, I'm really nervous, MJ," he explains, hoping he doesn't sound like he's whining. "I just want you to have a good time tonight. I'm sorry if I'm being super awkward."

"A good time, eh?" She raises an eyebrow.

"Not like that! Ugh!" He closes his eyes and exhales, deflating. "I really really like you and you spent most of your break sitting with me while I did treatments and coughed up gunk. Not exactly fun. I wanted to do something nice for you. Something thoughtful."

"I've liked sitting with you while you did treatments. I'd call that a great winter break. Plus, we didn't get through the Star Wars saga yet and we haven't made cookies, so I have no issue with more days spent on the couch."

"We'd burn cookies, MJ."

"We'd still eat them! That's what counts."

And Peter feels himself swoon as they descend below the streets of New York City, because MJ always has a different perspective than anyone he's ever met and it always makes Peter laugh, makes him feel like he shouldn't take himself and this crazy world so seriously. He needs this night out with her, has been craving the freedom to just be with her without Tony and Pepper popping in to make sure he's still breathing.