Peter stood in line waiting to place an order for a nice hot cup of coffee. It was a perfect fall day, the New York streets were bustling as everyone was making their morning commute. Peter finally reached the counter and started giving his order, when he was done he paid and thanked the barista. Walking out of line he went to a small corner table and took a book out of his satchel.

At twenty four years old, life was going swell for the young man. He loved being able to head to his favorite café and order a drink while relaxing and reading a good book. Most would say he was the "boring type", (mostly any girl he'd gone on a date with) sure he was attractive, but when it came to his personality, in other words it was a big turn off. Cause apparently women were wanting adventure and the bad boy type nowadays.

Peter heard his name being called, he put his bookmark in the page he was reading, and walked up to the counter and grabbed his drink, once again thanking the barista. He sat back down at his table and let his drink cool down before tapping a small sip. Getting back into his book, in his peripheral vision he could see someone's shadow. "Hey, sorry I'm late." A voice said.

He looked up and just about choked on his coffee, seeing (in his opinion) the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, with her caramel skin tone, chocolate brown eyes, and luscious dark hair. Peter snapped out of his trance, "I- I'm sorry, you must have me confused with someone else." He replied.

The woman ignored him and sat across from him, "A guy was trying to hit on me, I'm sorry for bothering you, I'll leave once I stop feeling him stare at me." She admitted.

Peter nodded, "What's your name?" He set his book aside, and started trying to make conversation.

"I'm MJ, and you are?" The woman introduced herself, while smiling at Peter.

Peter smiled, "I'm Peter, nice to meet you MJ." The two began talking more, when MJ looked back, sighing in relief.

"He's gone. Again, I'm sorry for bothering you, I should probably go as well." As she started getting up Peter did the same. There was something about her that amazed him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"I'm having fun talking to you, why don't we do something? I don't want that guy finding you and trying to pull another stunt." MJ smiled in response.

"Are you sure? I don't want to bother you anymore than I already have." She said, Peter brushed her off, having enjoyed her company and thought she was a breath of fresh air. They exited the coffee shop and started heading towards Central Park.

They talked, laughed, and genuinely had a good time, when Peter's phone buzzed in his pocket. He opened his phone and read a text message that popped up. He replied and then looked back at MJ, "I'm sorry, my boss is wanting me to come in."  Peter apologized profusely after that, but MJ waved him off.

"Don't worry Peter, it's fine go to your boss." She told him.

"Would you want to hang out again? Like maybe this weekend?" Peter asked.

"Are you asking me out Peter?"

"N- No, I just met you. It's impolite to ask a woman out when first meeting her." Peter replied.

MJ smiled, she knew Peter was charming, but she didn't expect him to be as kind as he was. That's something she rarely sees. "Wow, you have good manners sir."

"Of course m'lady." Peter joked as he bowed.

MJ laughed, "Shouldn't you be heading to work right now?"

"O- Oh right, meet me at the café on Saturday, 9:30 on the dot. Don't be late!" Peter shouted before running off, MJ just smiled as he ran off. About forty five minutes later Peter finally got to his boss's office. The man turned, and Peter was staring at his infamous black eye patch. "You called Director Fury?" Peter said.

"Was she there Agent Parker?" He asked, Fury was probably the most intimidating person Peter's ever known in his entire career. Not probably, he definitely was.

"Yes, she arrived approximately ten minutes after I was at the café." Peter answered.

Fury nodded, "Then our suspicions are confirmed, you're her target. You need to be careful Agent Parker, you and I both know what kind of person Michelle Jones is. And do not and I mean do not-"

Peter cut him off, "Get attached to her, I understand sir."

"Good. You can leave Agent Parker." Peter listened and left Director Fury's office, his words kept repeating in his mind: "Don't get attached." It was his job to bring MJ in for the crimes she's committed. All he had to do was get closer to her and then slowly reveal his true intentions.
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"Does he know who you are?" MJ stood in front of her boss, Mr. Von Strucker. She felt bad for Peter in a way, he'd end up being found dead in his apartment in a few days' time. It almost made her smirk, he played himself right in the palm of her hands. "No, he has no clue who I am sir." She told him.

"Good, get close to him, and when he takes you to his apartment execute him. And remember-"

MJ rolled her eyes, she was tired of him repeating that line over and over again. "Don't get attached, I know sir. You don't have to keep telling me."

"Then you can leave." MJ understood and left, every time Mr. Strucker told her to not get attached; she got a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach. She shook her head, but the feeling still lingered, and over the next few months Peter and MJ were getting closer, then reporting everything back to their bosses.

And on one Thursday afternoon, Peter invited MJ to his apartment, tonight was the night Peter had been waiting for. He meticulously planned the entire ordeal out in his mind, he just had to pretend for a few mere hours. He cooked some pasta, made a fresh salad, nothing too fancy. And he waited, he then heard a knock at the door and he went open it, greeting MJ.

"Hey, come on in." He told her, standing to the side and letting her in.

MJ looked around, his apartment was quant but nice. "Sorry, my place is pretty small." MJ waved him off in response.

She smiled, "No, it's actually nice in here. I'm glad I finally got to come over."

"I'm glad you're here too. I apologize for it taking so long, between work and being busy with my family, it's been difficult to hang out with my friends." There was that fluttering feeling again! Why was he getting it? It shouldn't be happening, he didn't know why he was getting that feeling for the past few months.

What Peter didn't know was MJ had been having that same thing happen to whenever they were together and doing things. Peter tried to bury the feeling down, and spoke to the young woman standing across from him. "So I was thinking, after we eat dinner would you wanna watch a movie?" He asked.

"Sure, as long as it's not Star Wars." Peter clasped his hand over his heart in a dramatic fashion.

"How dare you disrespect one of the greatest film series of all time! Without Star Wars, Harry Potter wouldn't even exist!" Peter stated.

"Sir, you are crossing the line." MJ said.

A few minutes later they ate dinner, laughed, and talked. The thought of outing the other crossed their minds. But a voice in the back of their heads told them to keep pretending for a little while longer. Why? Probably because they didn't want to stop, they didn't want to end whatever was happening between them.

"Alright, since you're the guest of honor, you get to pick the movie. Harry Potter is out of the question because of that comment on Star Wars."

MJ laughed, "Being petty are we Mr. Parker?"

Peter rolled his eyes and handed her the remote, "I can be petty when I want to... and right now, I'm being petty."

"No kidding Sherlock. And because of your pettiness, we're watching the sappiest chick flick on Netflix." MJ gladly took the remote and started scrolling through the romance column on the streaming service.

Once the movie was over MJ looked over at Peter, and he had a single tear streaming down his face. "You okay?" She asked. Peter wiped his face and looked at the young woman and nodded. "Yeah, I knew she was going to die. It was very evident, it reminded me of something." He knew he wasn't supposed to get emotional around her, but he couldn't help it.

"W- What did it remind you of? If you don't mind me asking." MJ realized she stuttered, she'd never done that before, never in her life.

"My best friend, Ned, used to work with me. We've known each other for our entire lives, since we were kids. He uh, he died a few years ago, in a really terrible accident. I was there, but I couldn't get to him, it was too late." Peter explained.

MJ's expression fell, "I'm sorry Peter." The two of them were sitting pretty close, MJ sighed softly and hugged him. Peter leaned into her warmth, this was wrong, but for some strange reason it felt so right. They pulled away staring into each other's eyes, but in a swift movement Peter kissed MJ and she cupped his face. He realized what he was doing and quickly stopped, getting up and started pacing back and forth.

MJ stared up at him confusedly, "Peter are you okay?" She asked.

"You can stop pretending now, I know who you are Michelle Jones, you work for HYDRA. I know why you're here, I'm your mission." Peter confronted her.

MJ smirked, the gig was up. "Yeah, you are. You kissed me, which means you failed and got attached to me. I assume that story about your friend was fake?"

Peter scoffed, "If you're gonna kill me do it!" He shouted.

MJ went to her purse and took out her gun, cocking it back and aiming at Peter. He didn't want to die, he screwed up, he did exactly what Fury told him not to. He fell for the enemy, but it got him thinking, MJ didn't pull away from the kiss, she even hugged him. "Was she really acting in that moment?" Peter thought.

"You didn't pull away, when I kissed you, you even cupped my face. You weren't pretending! A- And neither was I! Some part of you felt whatever this is was real! And if you really were faking you'd pull that trigger, and you wouldn't be hesitating." MJ stumbled back, Peter was attentive enough to pick up on it.

"Am I wrong? Or are you going to shoot me and finish your mission?" MJ grunted in frustration, her hands shook, but eventually she unloaded her weapon. "My boss is going to murder me! If he finds out about me failing he'll kill me!" She shouted.

Peter walked closer to her, "Hey, we can figure this out. I'll talk to my boss and work something out, he'll most likely fire me but at least you won't die. You'll be put under witness protection, and you'll be safe."

"How do you know that Peter?" MJ asked, she was scared, that emotion rarely etched onto her face and in her heart.

"Because I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe. That's my mission now." Peter then held her close, MJ was really falling hard for him now. And in the end she was glad that he didn't hate her, she never thought in her wildest dreams she'd fall in love, especially with her target of all people. The same went for Peter, their romance reminded him of Romeo and Juliet, without the dying part of course.

But no matter what, Peter was willing to risk it all just to keep the woman he loves safe. Even if it means he eventually dies at the hand of the head of HYDRA himself. But that meant the game was in play and it was now Strucker's turn to make a move. "Game on." He pondered.
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The End of Chapter 131