Sont des mots qui vont tres bien ensemble [Closed to MJ]

[st_arkintern]

Peter's hands are sweating.

They tend to sweat when he's nervous, like right before an Academic Decathlon competition or when May dropped him off at Liz's and he discovered her father was the Vulture. Given all he has been through, it doesn't make any sense for him to feel nervous about seeing MJ again.

But here is, standing outside of the door to MJ's room, trying to will the courage to knock.

Peter takes a breath and then raps and for one single moment, irrationally hopes that she doesn't answer the door.

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[st_mj]

Peter wasn't the only one that was surprisingly nervous about this upcoming conversation. The problem was, she didn't know what happened after the reveal, why it happened or how Peter reacted. That was stuff he needed to know and...

Okay. It was really about the fact that she was pretty sure he came from before they got together and that was going to be awkward but she was determined to convince herself that it was to do with the whole reveal.

It was easier than facing the truth.

Hearing the knock on the door she calls out for him to enter, as she sits on her bed with a book open beside her.

[st_arkintern]

Peter tentatively opens the door, then steps inside and shuts it behind him. "Hey," he says. "It's been awhile. I mean, it's been awhile since I've seen you. Hopefully it hasn't been awhile since you've seen me."

[st_mj]

"No, we just went..." she trails off and before amending it to. "I just saw you. From what Ned said when I arrived I think I come from after you," she adds just in case he wasn't aware of that fact.

[st_arkintern]

"Yeah, he said that to me." Peter takes a few steps forward, each one progressively easier to take than the last. He sits down on the edge of the bed next to her and settles his hands in his lap.

"I was still in Berlin."

[st_mj]

"That's good to know. So you at least know that Beck wasn't the good guy," she says with a shrug, scooting back slightly so Peter has space to sit comfortably on the bed. "Do you know anything that happens after that?" she asked curiously.

[st_arkintern]

"No," he says, mirroring Michelle and pushing back further onto the bed. "Everyone who's here from our reality came from sometime before the blip. Even Ned."

[st_mj]

MJ nods. "Do you want to know what happens?" she asked giving him the choice.

[st_arkintern]

"With Mysterio?" Peter takes a breath and looks over at MJ. "How bad is it?"

[st_mj]

"Bad, very bad," she said thinking of the broadcast that had happened before she arrived here. "Get comfy, it's going to be a long story."

[st_arkintern]

"Oh god," he says in one, higher-than-usual pitched breath. Things couldn't get worse than the blip, right? Peter wishes he could find comfort in that thought, but there's none.

[st_mj]

"Sorry I'll try and keep it quick," MJ says with a shrug. "So basically you end up getting arrested in a tiny town in Netherlands and you called Happy Hogan to come collect you. Did you know he's dating your Aunt?" she adds for a moment. "Anyway we're rerouted to London for some reason and you find us there. Mysterio attacks London in an event bigger than any of the others, we hide out in the Royal Vault - Ned, Happy Hogan and a few others and I - you defeat Mysterio and appear to kill him. Happy gives me the black Delilah and we all go home. Except just as I arrived here a video of Mysterio is aired where he somehow makes it look like it's all your fault and he outs you as Spiderman," she says in a rush.

[st_arkintern]

Peter's head is spinning; even sitting down, he suddenly feels like he is liable to keel over.

"Wow," he manages after a moment.

[st_mj]

"Yeah there's a lot to take in but that's the basic of it," she tells him before silently waiting for him to come to terms with everything she tells him.

[st_arkintern]

"Do you know --" Peter starts, but he stops, wets his lips and tries again. "Did I tell you what happened with Quentin? Did I actually kill him?"

[st_mj]

"No, you didn't kill him on purpose. You dismantled the drones, and inadvertently sent the last active drone spiraling towards Beck, which shot him in the abdomen," she explains to him.

[st_arkintern]

Peter breathes out a sigh of relief.

"Wow," he says again. "I just -- I have no idea what I'm going to do when I get home." He's not even convinced he's going to remember anything when he does go home. The last time he did, he didn't remember anything; there wasn't any reason to assume this time would be any different.

[st_mj]

"Do what you have to do. You'll do the right thing. That's what you do," MJ says reassuringly.

[st_arkintern]

"Yeah," Peter agrees. He has found himself doubting more and more his ability to do the right thing, especially after giving Beck EDITH. How could anyone trust him to do the right thing after that, especially himself?

But before he can brood on it for too long, a realization suddenly dawns on him and all his anxieties are abruptly forgotten. Peter's head spins to face MJ, his eyes wide.

"How did Flash react?"

[st_mj]

"I don't know how he reacted. I came here before I could discover anyone's reaction. His incessant filming though was how you guys found us in London though so..." she trails off with a shrug.

[st_arkintern]

"Huh."

Peter could easily imagine how May and Happy would react to the news -- even his other classmates, but it seemed impossible to predict Flash's reaction. Flash seemed to dislike him just as much as he liked Spider-Man. Peter wasn't sure if that would somehow all even out.

"I don't know how much Ned told you about this place, but I've been here for over two years now." He'd been here longer than most. "I briefly went home about two months ago, but when I finally did, I didn't remember anything."

Peter thinks about Beck and about everything he is going home to. "So even if I try to figure out what I'm going to do when I go back home, it might be for nothing."

[st_mj]

"That's crazy," MJ says with a shake of her head. "Ned didn't mention that. He said we couldn't return home and we could travel to other worlds but the worlds aren't our worlds even if they might be similar," she replies.

"This place is just whacky."

[st_arkintern]

"Yeah, I went to this Earth that was like our own, but didn't have the Avengers at all. I tried calling May and Happy, but I just got a disconnected message."

Peter looks up at the ceiling.

"I'm really glad that you're here," he says. "When I was here before for those two years, I really -- uh." He hesitates. "Missed you."

[st_mj]

"That wouldn't be fun turning up somewhere to think you could contact them and not be able too," she replies not quite sure what she thinks of it.

"I'm glad you're here too," she says her heart beating faster as he speaks. "Did I mention that Happy gave me your present?" she asks scooting closer to him.

[st_arkintern]

"You didn't." Peter can feel his heart racing fast enough to beat straight out of his chest. "I -- you -- I mean, did he say anything about it?"

[st_mj]

MJ blushes slightly and shook her head. "It was a lovely gift though I really do love the fact that you know me so well."

[st_arkintern]

Peter chuckles lightly to himself. "Yeah, you have no idea how much I freaked out over it."

[st_mj]

"It was lovely," she smiles brightly before leaning in to kiss him.

[st_arkintern]

Lovely.

Peter does not pull away when MJ presses her lips against him. He has been crushing on MJ for over a year now and with Brad around, until now, he couldn't imagine her having more than a platonic interest in him.

But now, now it was absolutely clear how she felt about him. And Peter feels the same way.

Except...

"MJ, there's something I need to tell you."

[st_mj]

"I misread the situation didn't I?" she says as they pull away, a pit of despair settling in her stomach.

[st_arkintern]

"No, no, no, no, no," Peter insists, shaking his head. "It's not like that. I like kissing you. I --" Peter takes a breath. "I like you."

[st_mj]

MJ sighs in relief at Peter's words. "I like you too too," she says with a bright smile.

[st_arkintern]

"When I was here before, I had a girlfriend," he says slowly. He's trying to pick his words carefully; he feels like he's walking through a minefield. "And I didn't remember her when I went home, but she's here now and."

Peter sighs and looks down at his hands. "I really like both of you."

[st_mj]

Oh. MJ doesn't know how to react to that. She had never thought of the possibility but she knew that she wasn't Peter's first. Even if his first 'relationship' ended so badly. "What do you want to do?" she asks not sure she wants to know the answer.

[st_arkintern]

"I don't know," Peter says honestly. "I guess I need to figure that out."

[st_mj]

MJ nods. That makes sense. Reaching out she goes to squeeze Peter's hand. "I understand and I'm sure we'll be friends regardless." That wasn't to say a part of her hopes that he chose her though.

[st_arkintern]

Peter gives her hand a squeeze back. "I know we will be," he says. MJ's friendship was important to him. "I mean, we've known each other since elementary school."

[st_mj]

"Good, that's all that matters," she says with a smile.

[st_arkintern]

Peter takes another breath and looks over at MJ. "You okay?" he asks. He just wants to be sure.

[st_mj]

"Yeah I'm good," she says with a smile and a nod. "Promise."

[st_arkintern]

"You want me to show you around sometime?" he asks. "I basically know this place backwards and forwards. Not just the hotel, but the places around it, too."

[st_mj]

"Sure that would be cool. I saw some of it earlier with Ned but I won't say no to another tour."

[st_arkintern]

"Then just let me know when and I'll take you wherever you want to go." Peter quirks his lips up into a tight-lipped smile. "I should, uh -- I should get back to my room, though."

[st_mj]

"Alright and I'll let you know. Thanks for coming by," she says with a smile.

[st_arkintern]

Peter attempts a smile back and he stands up. For a second, he turns to look at the door, as if he's about to go, but then turns to look back at MJ.

"I really feel like, I should hug you goodbye or something."

[st_mj]

"I mean if you want to," she grins at him.

[st_arkintern]

Peter does. "It's really great to see you," he says, still hugging her. "I really missed you."

[st_mj]

"I'd say I missed you but I didn't," she joked given she had very recently seen him.

[st_arkintern]

"Hopefully you don't have to."

Peter heads for the door again, turns and looks at MJ and gives her one final smile before heading back to his room.