By Moonlight (P.P + M.J)

44. Promises

Peter swung MJ up to a nonspecific building, landing them both on the roof. She tore away from him the second her feet touched the ground, and he took off his mask. She crossed her arms, glaring at him through her bangs.

"Give me some warning before you do that," MJ said, and Peter couldn't help but smile at her annoyance.

"Deal," Peter agreed with an affirmative nod.

"So, what do you want, Parker?" MJ asked, quirking her mouth. Peter looked down at his feet, nervousness seeping into his heart. He knew now what he wanted to say, but he didn't know how to start without giving her the wrong idea. Maybe getting the explanation out of the way will ease him into it.

"I've got to, uh, talk to you about something," Peter said simply, and MJ raised an eyebrow as he went on, "look, Mr.Stark told me that being with anyone might put them in danger but-."

"Holy shit, stop right there," she interrupted him, holding up a hand. Her brown eyes were alight with a strange emotion, and Peter started to feel rather afraid as she started to rant heatedly.

"You're not gonna give me the whole I'm-a-superhero-so-I-have-to-stay-away-from-you-in-order-to-keep-you-safe bullshit, are you?" MJ asked him, and Peter grew red in the face.

"I mean, I was gonna lead off with that," Peter mumbled, and MJ scoffed.

"Wow okay. You know, I get that you're Spiderman and all but you could have realized this sooner, before either of us got too... invested," she pointed out, looking down and shuffling her feet.

"MJ, you're not letting me finish," Peter said as he took a step closer, and he forced her to meet his gaze.

"Damn it Parker, what's there left to say?" She asked him, and Peter saw that her eyes were slightly watery, "I'm just a liability, right? A risk? That's what this comes down to, isn't it?"

Get a move on, Peter, he thought to himself.

"Yeah, but you're my risk," Peter countered, and he dropped his mask, letting it fall to the ground.

Peter wasn't used to seeing her in such a vulnerable state. Hating the fact that he might be hurting her, he reached up to caress her cheek, and MJ subtly shied away from his touch. But after another small effort, she finally allowed him to cup her face gently. He wiped a tiny stray tear away that had fallen down her cheek with his thumb, using his other hand to push her bangs behind her ear.

"And I will protect you with everything I've got."

MJ looked up at him, but didn't reply. When she was silent, the words started to tumble out of him, "I promise you MJ, you will never be in harm's way as long there's breath in my body. I promise to-to never leave your side. I want to stay with you, and I hope you want to say too, because my heart really likes you."

She stared at him, expressionless, and he went on, "you read too much. You curse too much. You're not afraid to say what you think. You're everything I've ever wanted in a girlfriend."

The corner's of her mouth twitched slightly upward, "what are you trying to say?"

If he was being perfectly honest, Peter was trying to say a lot of things, but everything was coming to him at once. All he had to do now was ask a simple question, which shouldn't be that hard. God, he had already talked so much, so why did he feel like his heart was going to explode at this particular moment?

"MJ, would you be my girlfriend?" He asked, letting instinct take over as he dropped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer to him.