Warmth | Peter x Mj

The Answer

A/N: Just want to say there are obviously bookstores like this but this one is fictional and a shop I would love to one day open myself ;)
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Michelle isn't the type to be easily impressed. She doesn't often find herself staring in awe of something as simple as a store but when Peter gestures to a double door next to an alley with a single window displaying books, she gives him a look. Brow furrowing with disbelief that this is the bookstore he's hyped up.

"Trust me. It's like the TARDIS, bigger on the inside."

"You are such a geek." She shakes her head as he opens the door. For some reason, she does trust him.

A moment passes, Peter holding the door and she takes a second to study him. MJ doesn't even know why they're here or why he wants to be here with her. Or why he insists on wearing those shirts with the lame jokes. Okay, maybe she smirks at those but he's a dork. So why does her heart rate jump at the thought of going inside with him? Why is her brain telling her this is something friends do while her heart screams from inside her chest that this feels more like a date? Wait. Are they friends? After an eye roll and mock annoyance, she walks into what is possibly the most magical place she's ever seen.

"Whoa." There's a beat of silence, complete silence but she can feel Peter squeeze in behind her. The heat of him is too close but she can't move. There's a magical world of adventures right in front of her and a boy right behind her.

It is bigger on the inside. Tall ceilings with shelves reaching all the way up, stacks of books piled along the walkways between. She's barely inside the door and already wants to stay forever. The scent of old pages, yellowed by the sun, fills her nose and MJ smiles over her shoulder at Peter.

The narrow space between shelves leads away from the door and into a labyrinth of wonder and magic. She can't wait to explore, to find books buried and untouched for ages just waiting for her. Her legs finally get the memo to start moving and she takes a step, then two. There are too many directions to go, so many aisles to get lost in.

After careful consideration, Michelle walks toward the aisle marked Young Adult/Kids but she's definitely hitting up the philosophy section after. She expected Peter to wander off to his own corners of the maze but he follows a couple beats behind her, looking at the shelves every time she lets her gaze land on him.

"Oh, there's a room three aisles over that has new books too. It's not all used but the majority is old and some out of print."

"You can go look around, you don't have to babysit me." Although, a part of her likes that he hasn't left her side just yet. She has to admit, it's kinda nice to not be alone. He stumbles through an okay and she catches the way he turns and looks every direction.

It hits her as she grabs a book from the shelf and flips it open, he doesn't know where to go. He hasn't planned any of this out.

"I'll be-"

"Wait, you don't have to. I'm just used to being on my own." Inside the cover of the book, there's an inscription dated Christmas of 1985 and MJ immediately clutches the copy of Black Beauty by Anna Sewell to her chest. She's getting this one.

"Doesn't that get lonely?" The topic weighs heavy for a moment, but he isn't backing down and he seems more comfortable than he was a second ago. She's not used to this side of him. For some reason, this boy makes her want to say things she keeps hidden from everyone else and it really frustrates her.

"Sometimes." Peter steps a little closer, hands clenching in fists as if he's stopping himself from something. Michelle could point it out but she doesn't.