IT WASN'T A DATE. IT WAS JUST TWO PEOPLE GETTING LUNCH AND SOME OTHER THINGS. At least, that's what Diana told herself as she put on the makeup that Jesse had bought for her. She had watched about twenty different YouTube videos and did way too much research all for some hang out with some dork from Queens.

from: Peter (12:13 pm)
Hey, Doc, should I knock? I'm
walking into the building now

She scoffed and stepped out of the bathroom, heading towards the door. She stopped just before she opened it at the sound of a whistle.

She turned, raising an unamused eyebrow at Flash who had a piece of his birthday cake from the two nights before in his hands, still in his night clothes.

"What?" he asked, "You look hot."

She blinked. "That's inappropriate."

"Wha–No, it's—" he stepped around the counter, explaining, "I hear Gwen calling you and Harry hot all the time, she said it's in a friend way, I figure I can do the same thing."

"Huh," she said, unlocking the front door, "Well, thanks, Flash, I appreciate that."

He nodded, making his way back to his room. "Yeah, well, tell whatever nerd you're seeing that you're too good for him. I don't care how great he is, you're always better."

She sighed, hiding her smile. "Thank you, Flash, please leave now, he's almost here." She had a feeling that he knew it was Peter and was grateful for him pretending not to know.

"M'kay, bye," he called, already in his room, "Have fun."

She scoffed and opened the door at the sound of footsteps down the hall. On the other side was Peter, dressed in another fairly nice shirt, albeit one a little too big, and a beanie.

He smiled. "He is right, you are a too good for me."

Her eyebrows raised as she grabbed her keys and locked the door behind her. "You heard?"

He tapped his ears. "All my senses were heightened after the bite." He pressed the button for the elevator, adjusting his beanie. "You look nice," he added, blushing.

She smiled softly. "Well, that's neat. And thanks, Peter, you too." She reached out and flattened down his collar, fixing his rolled up sleeve.

He sighed. "I'll just tell you now, I borrowed it from Harry." He stepped into the elevator, not looking at her, his ears red. She knew that he was blushing all over and she grinned.

"That's adorable," she cooed, nudging him with her shoulder.

He scoffed, blushing deeper. He raised his eyes to the ceiling, sighing. "How are you?"

She raised an eyebrow; small talk. "I'm fine, how are you?"

He made a noise in the back of his throat. "Why did I ask that, that's such a lame question. Um..."

"Peter," she laughed, "I've seen you stripped down to your boxers, don't act all weird on me now."

He groaned, leaning against the wall of the elevator. "Why'd you have to mention that?"

She giggled and glanced down as the elevator doors opened. She bit her lip as they let some people inside before stepping out. Peter's hands weren't in his pockets like the usually were, at least not the one that was closer to her.

As they walked out, she reached out and grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers. He jolted slightly before relaxing, moving to stand closer to her. He glanced at her in silent question and she shrugged.

"Your hands looked cold."

That shocked out a laugh from the tense boy and he shook his head, opening the door and letting her step out, never letting go of her hand. They made their way down the street in companionable silence, their shoulder pressed together.

"Where are we headed?" she asked after walking for a few minutes.

"Well," he drawled, "I was thinking that we can go somewhere you wanted to go. Or we can just wander. Whatever you want, really."

She frowned. "Peter, you took me to the Empire State Building already, why don't we go somewhere you want to go?"

He shrugged. "Because I don't really know where I want to go."

"Well, neither do I!"

"Well, damn, doc, what're we gonna do then?"

She laughed, leaning against him. "Well...we could always get some coffee, for starters, then think of something from there."

"Cool," he mumbled and they made their way to the nearest Starbucks, Diana pulling up the GPS on her phone.

"So..." he drawled as they neared the familiar building, "What's your favorite drink?"

Diana could tell he was struggling and decided to help him out. "I like the gingerbread latte when it's in season. Pumpkin spice, too. I like the seasonal drinks, it's like a race to get them before they're gone. You?"

He scoffed, mumbling something that sounded like "white girl" before replying with, "Vanilla latte."

She scoffed at him comment, ignoring him as he held the door open for her, opening the other and walking in herself. He sighed and followed her, shaking his head at her back. Another customer gave him a look and he ducked his head, blushing.

They waited in line, Peter finding Diana's hand again. She pulled away, jokingly, and he pouted, whining softly until she rolled her eyes, laughing. He reached for her hand eagerly, eliciting a soft laugh from the man behind them.

"I remember when I was young," he said with a smile when the two teens turned to look at him.

The two ordered easily enough, Diana ordering a frappuccino while Peter ordered his usual vanilla latte, Diana mumbling "white girl" as he did. The barista snickered at her comment before handing off the two cups, handing Peter the change.

"I have an idea," he said, pocketing the change, holding onto a penny, "I saw it online a few days ago."

"On 'Top Ten Best Date Ideas'?" she teased, moving to stand by the table pushed towards one side of the room.

"Shut up," he huffed, "You wanna hear it or not, doc?"

"Yeah, lay it on me."

Just as Peter was about to start explaining, Diana felt herself get shoved, nearly falling to the ground if not for the arm that wrapped around her waist pulling her back up. She at first thought it was Peter, but turned her head to find him standing next to her, a coffee cup in his hands, eyes wide.

She turned and came face to face with a very attractive boy. "Hey," he breathed, "Sorry about that, are you okay? Nice save, man." He addressed the second part to Peter who was still holding the coffee.

Diana blinked and took a step back when the boy pulled his arm away, taking the coffee from Peter who was still a little shellshocked.

"I-I'm fine," Diana replied, realizing she was just standing there, gawking, "Thank you."

"Of course," he said, giving her a smile that rivaled Harry's, "Anything for a pretty girl." He glanced over at Peter briefly before whispering, "Hold on to this one. He's cute."

With a wink to Diana and a pat on the back for Peter, the boy left without another word, calmly sipping his coffee like nothing had happened.

"That coffee burned my hand through the cup," Peter mumbled, watching the boy disappear from view.

Diana took a deep breath, still trying to process what had happened. "Was–was that?"

"Johnny Storm, member of the Fantastic Four, car enthusiast and student at Glenville High in Long Island? Yeah."

Diana blinked and looked over at Peter who shrugged. "He's the Human Torch, I had to look him up. He's also really attractive, you can't deny it."

She nodded. "Yeah, you have a point. He should meet Harry, the two could rule the world with their smiles and bank accounts."

º º º º º

Diana watched as Peter flipped the coin again, landing on tails.

"Left," he said, pocketing the coin again and taking Diana's hand.

The two were going on a Penny Date, something Peter claimed to have just accidentally stumbled upon during his usual internet surfing. He had asked Diana to pick a number and she, being herself, said sixty-nine.

"Sixty nine," he had repeated, "Are you sure?"

She nodded, grinning. "Positive. Why?"

He then went on to explain the object of the date with tired, fearful eyes and she had laughed for a good two minutes, doubled over and shaking her head.

"Well, see, this'll be fun," she had said, linking their arms, "Yeah, it's New York, but it'll still take some time for us to reach sixty-nine, this could be really interesting."

He had sighed, shaking his head, flipping the coin. "It's all fun and games until we end up in front of a sex shop."

The two were currently on number forty-seven and Diana's feet were starting to drag. She now understood why he had looked so afraid when she had said such a high number, this was getting to be a little ridiculous.

"I swear, if we end up in front of a sex shop, I'm going to..." he started to threaten, petering out before he actually reached his threat.

"Whatever you say can and will be used against you in the context of kinks, don't even," she warned, taking the penny and flipping it.

He blushed a bright red and she giggled, poking his cheek. He swatted her away, shaking his head. "You wanna play favorites?"

"Nice subject change. What's favorites?" She flipped the coin again, turning right, tugging him along across the crosswalk.

"Exactly what it sounds like," he said, ignoring her jibe, "What's your favorite color?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Blue. Let's not be kindergartners and ask something cool. Who was your favorite guy to fight?"

He laughed softly, taking the penny and flipping it, turning right again. "You know, I actually have one of those. There was this guy and he tried fighting me with this anchor he stole. Like, a ship anchor."

"Wait, seriously?" she gasped, eyes wide, "Were you hurt, did you come to me one of those times, did you not?"

"Hey, don't worry, I wasn't hurt," he said softly, letting go of her hand to wrap his arm around her waist, "I was fine, the anchor didn't do any damage. Well, it broke a wall, but no harm to me or that other guy. He was really good at swinging it, though, I was impressed."

She snorted, shaking her head. "Your turn, ask something cool."

The two continued to play their little game for the remainder of their journey, taking turns flipping the penny.

"Sixty-eight," Diana whispered softly, looking around. She didn't actually know where they were, she was so engrossed in their conversation that she stopped paying attention.

"I'm getting goosebumps," he laughed, rubbing at his jacket sleeves. He flipped the coin, catching it easily. "Left."

They turned left, walking to the end of the sidewalk. To their left was another crosswalk and to their right was a store.

"I'll flip it and you catch it," she said, taking the coin and tossing it into the air, watching as Peter moved back, catching it and hitting his head on a pole.

"Ow," he whined, rubbing the back of his head. He lifted his hand before pointing to the store. "Right. C'mon, let's see what we can do in here."

The two walked inside the store, barely able to catch sight of the name. It was small and cluttered, something akin to a pawn shop.

"Is this a vintage store or something?" she asked, noticing the dated clothing and items.

"I think?" Peter replied, taking her hand and leading her towards the back of the store.

"Ooh, these are nice," she whispered, picking up one of the necklaces from the faux velvet jewelry holders.

Peter hummed, hovering behind her, resting his chin on her shoulder. He reached out to touch the crystal dangling from the chain before moving to wrap his arms around her waist.

She scoffed. "You see this in a movie?"

He groaned. "Why are you like this, I'm trying to be romantic."

She laughed softly, picking up another necklace. "I'm sorry, Bugs, I'm just joking. I swear, though, one kiss and you go all soft."

He hummed again. "I'd say it was more than one..."

She rolled her eyes, but didn't make a move to push him away. Instead, she just continued to look at the jewelry, pretending not notice the light kisses Peter was peppering on her neck. She nudged him lightly and he smiled against her skin.

"Harry gave you lessons, didn't he?" she said, moving away from the jewelry, pulling him over to another section of the store.

"I'm not saying." He looked over at the white bins on top of the clothing racks, reaching up and taking one down. "I want you to think that I'm a suave sort of guy, you know?"

She blinked. "Peter Parker, I know you too well to think you're anything other than a stumbling twelve year old."

He scoffed, a hand over his heart. "Why do I like you, you're awful to me. I see how it is, you charm a guy with your bandages and fire escape and when they get comfortable you attack. Well jokes on you, you just admitted to kissing a twelve year old."

She laughed and stood on her tiptoes, grabbing another basket. "Hey, look, it's a camera."

"Oh, no way!" he gasped, reaching for the basket.

She held it out of his grasp, shaking her head. "Nuh-uh, finders keepers."

He sighed. "Seriously?"

She nodded. "Yes. Unless you have something to offer or trade in exchange."

He blinked. Then suddenly Diana was being pulled forward, Peter slipped an arm around her waist, his hand coming to rest on her cheek. She closed her eyes, leaning into the kiss, barely registering him taking the basket from her hands.

She pulled away quickly, trying to reach for the basket he held just out of reach. "That's cheating."

He stuck his tongue out, grabbing the camera from the basket, placing the rest of the items back up on the shelf.

It was an old camera, an instant film. It seemed to still be in working condition and he had caught sight of some film in the basket when he took it out. He glanced up at Diana who was watching him intently, a small smile on her face.

"I'd say take a picture, but I'm the one with the camera," he joked, raising it up to his eye, peering through the lens.

She made a face, still smiling. "You should get it."

He shook his head, lowering it. "Nah, it's fine."

"No, seriously, Bugs, you should. C'mon, you took me to the Empire State Building, this time around, this is for you, you know?" She reached up and grabbed the pack of film, handing it to him.

He pursed his lips. "I-I don't have enough money, I don't think. I, um," he sighed softly, "I've been digging through the trash most days to salvage computers and stuff, you know? We've had to sell my old stuff. It's fine, you know, helps me work on my programming and stuff."

"Peter," she whispered, pushing the items into his hands, "Seriously. I will pay for them." He opened his mouth to argue, but she cut him off. "Empire. State. Building."

He sighed softly and quickly stole a kiss before pulling away and motioning towards the necklace she had been admiring. "I'm sure I have enough to get you this."

She shook her head, reaching up to show him the chain she had around her neck. "I'm already set."

He laughed and pulled out the necklace, running a hand over the Pluto charm. "He doesn't belong on here."

"Don't gender the rock."

He laughed, shaking his head. Diana grinned and hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Thanks, Peter."

"What for?" he asked, glancing down at her.

She shrugged. "I dunno. C'mon, let's go buy this camera, I wanna see if you can still make me look pretty on an polaroid."

She took the items from his hands, making her way towards the counter.

He watched her go, a soft smile on his face. "I'm not the one that makes you pretty."

º º º º º

"Bugs, seriously, Flash is probably watching us from the peephole."

"Aw, c'mon, doc..."

She giggled as Peter pressed feather light kisses along her neck, his arms on either side of her head, keeping her against the door. She laughed loudly as he kissed her face and he smiled.

"There it is," he whispered against her mouth.

She sighed and shook her head. "One kiss and you go all soft."

He hummed and tilted his head, closing his eyes. "I think it was more than one..."

The door opened abruptly and Diana fell back with a yelp, Peter hand shooting out and pulling her close.

"Sorry," he whispered, "I wasn't paying attention, I didn't catch that. Some Spidey senses."

"Hey, you're the boy from the football game," Jesse said, looking up at the two of them. "Diana, you better get inside, Flash heard you laughing and is, like, a second away from coming out here." She looked over at Peter. "I guess you chose to text Diana, but for very different reasons."

He snorted softly, already starting down the hall. "See you later, doc. Thanks again." He motioned to the camera hanging around his neck, pressing the button for the elevator.

"See you!" she called out, stepping into the apartment and closing the door.

Jesse smirked. "You seem happy."

Diana scoffed. "Shut up."

"Doc?" she called after her, "What's with that?"

The older girl shook her head, disappearing into her room. "It's a very, very long story."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

( 06.27.17 )

I actually already finished writing the entirety of part one, but I decided to throw in one extra chapter, just to kind of show more of their relationship? I don't think I showed anything more than them being awkward, but you know? I don't know the way I wrote most of this and I kind of hate it, but I mean...?

Foreshadowing for Harry/Johnny (as people who have read before the rewrite know) and I'm excited! There was also some mention of Peter's dumpster diving as shown in Civil War. Johnny does go to Glenville High in Long Island and was a member of the Four during high school.

Yeah, that's all I have to say so...sorry for this gross filler, but maybe you enjoyed?