Chapter Text
Ned had walked into the store at that moment, looking between MJ and Peter.
“Am I interrupting something?”
A part of Peter wanted to curse Ned, but somehow he didn’t want to. Ned already knew, and perhaps having Ned there would make things easier. Instead, Ned walked up to his usual spot and sat right down. Right past Peter.
MJ eyed Peter.
And Peter couldn’t tell her. Not even with Ned there. The moment was ruined. Before he had the courage to say something else, her boss came in. The window had officially closed.
He was ready to pull his hair out of his head and had left with his usual order. Might as well spend his day doing something useful with his life, he thought as he made his way towards the shelter. He ignored the text messages from J.J Jameson’s secretary, asking him to take more photos as Peter was the only one who could take good pictures of Spider-Man.
Peter didn’t want to do it, not anymore. He wished he wasn’t an alone adult - BARELY AN ADULT - and he could lean on someone. He wished one of the Avengers still knew who he was and he could ask for advice - was Clint Barton still in the city? Could Peter just ask him what he should do?
Peter kicked the muddied snow in his path. Why did he let himself get into this stupid situation? Why did he think that it was good to help people who didn’t want to be helped?
If there was one thing that he learned at the shelter from other social workers, it was you can’t help those who didn’t want to be helped. And the only one who wanted help was Norman Osborne.
He learned his lesson in the end, but Peter paid a price. Whenever Peter would grumble about things, he allowed himself to listen in on group therapy sessions at the shelter, and though he was never pressured to say something, he allowed himself to talk with others there. No one had the same problem he had, obviously, but knowing people were going through the same problems in different forms was comforting.
A pair of feet catch up to him, and he knew from the pattern that it was Ned.
Peter turned around, watching as Ned panted from running to catch up with him.
“Dude! Do you know how fast you walk? Are you being chased?”
“By the ghosts of my past actions, maybe.”
Ned supported himself on his knees. “Listen, Parker, I know I had… an over the top reaction -”
“I’d say it was pretty normal -”
“-BUT, there is one thing I need to know,” Ned composed himself and took a deep breath. “Was I cool?”
“What?”
“Was I cool doing the portal thingy?”
Peter nearly cracked. “Yeah, you were.”
“I knew my lola was right and there was magic in the family.”
“Dr. Strange let you wear the cape and everything.”
“I wish I remembered it,” Ned whined. “Like, you’re the only one who knows about it. How cool is that?”
“Kinda sucks. No one knows who you are.”
Ned patted his back, a soft smile playing on his face. “I don’t remember who you were before, Peter, but I know you of the last few weeks. And I’ve seen you in your darkest hours the first couple of times. I think it’s safe for me to say that … I’m willing to believe.”
“You will?”
“As long as you let me be your man in the chair again,” he grinned. “If you still need one.”
“I’ll always need a man in the chair.”
They hugged and Peter felt himself melt into it. He had missed his best friend. Sure, he was going to need to explain everything at some point, but having him know what was up was a relief, even if his life was no longer as dangerous as it used to be.
“MJ is kinda on it, though,” Ned told Peter. Ned had decided to come along to the shelter with Peter. “She kept asking me these weird things the day before Rogers - how did that go, by the way?”
“Urgh,” Peter groaned. “It’s like they don’t know how to make musicals. The opening number made it seem like Avengers: The Musica l, not Rogers: The Musical .”
“It’s a banger though.”
“No, it is not.”
“A lot better than Billy Elliot’s Angry Dance ,” he said in a singsongy voice. They were setting up the chairs for the next counseling session, the one for those who were having a hard time adjusting to their new life post-Blip.
After a short silence, Ned asked, “how come you weren’t at the scene last night?”
“It wasn’t my fight,” Peter said simply.”
“How do you even know what's your fight or not?” Ned seemed genuinely interested.
Peter pursed his lips. “When Tony took me under his wings, he told me not to do anything he would do but also wouldn’t do. Every time, I would go against what he said. And every time an adult scolded me, I would say it’s their fault I was there. I told Tony it was his fault I was in space, and it was Stephen’s - Dr. Strange - fault that I had messed up his spell. I’m no longer an Avenger, I don’t have a family, and while I think I finally found that ground and all it took was losing everything.
“You haven’t lost everything. You have me again. And Lola , we can make you an honorary Leeds.”
Peter laughed, “I think I’ll stand out among your family.”
“Pfft, who cares?” Ned finished setting up the chairs. “So, what are you going to do for MJ?”
“Well, I don’t plan on her finding out in the face of danger.”
“Now would be a time of one of your dumb plans and for me to say that you are absolutely dumb and should just be yourself.”
“I freeze every time I want to.”
“Well, how did MJ find out last time?”
“She told me. I was going to confess, and she told me.”
Ned laughed.
“Well, you can’t beat that!”
MJ: Can you walk home with me tonight?
Peter: I’ll be there!
When he told Ned, Ned reminded him that today was better than never and had done his best to hype Peter up before he went to pick MJ up. She waited for him at the now-closed door, waving him over as Peter jogged over.
“It’s cold!” he complained.
“You’re a New Yorker and complaining about the cold?” she raised her eyebrow. “I like the cold.”
“I know.”
As they walked, MJ talked about all of the annoying patrons she had that day, and before Peter could tell her about his day, they had arrived at her down once more. This time, he didn’t feel agitated. This time, it felt right. She could run into her house and curse him if she had to, and Peter could swing away.
“No one can interrupt us now,” Peter began. “MJ, I…like you. And I love hanging out with you.”
“I like you, too, “ MJ said softly.
“But that’s not the only thing I want to tell you,” he swallowed the lump that was forming in this throat. “But -”
“Before you say what you want to say,” MJ cut him off. “I need to do something.”
She closed the gap between them, and their lips touched. Peter remembered the last kiss they had, the one at statue liberty. He thought it would be the last time they saw each other, even though he knew they would see each other again. That had been nearly a month ago, but it felt like a lifetime. It was like his skin was being set on fire.
She let go of him and looked him in the eye.
“You’re Spider-Man,” MJ was nonchalant, but her voice seemed unsure. “Is that right? Is that what you wanted to tell me?”
“Yes,” Peter didn’t ask her how she figured it out. She had always been observant - he saw Clint Barton’s hearing aid even though they were a few feet away.
“I had a dream and I felt something was missing, and when the building exploded last night I thought about this necklace,” she held up the Black Dahlia. “I don’t remember when I got it and… I had the same feeling. As when I dreamt about you. I kept seeing Spider-Man but all I saw was you.”
Peter felt his nose running and he sniffed. If it was the cold or his feelings, he didn’t know.
“I gave that to you in London. It wasn’t supposed to break.”
“Whatever the reason is, Peter,” MJ said. “that I don't remember anything... and I don’t think I will remember it again - it makes me sick remembering it myself - I think a part of me can feel the memories.”
Peter had a lot of questions if he ever saw Dr. Strange again. He needed to know how the spell actually worked.
“There’s a lot to explain, and I had to explain it to Ned, too.”
“We have time,” she cupped his face.
“I don’t want to put any of you in danger again,” Peter stated. “Not like last time.”
“We’ll talk about it.”
It hurt to let her go, but he knew at least he would see her again tomorrow. As always, she would give him a small wave before the door closed behind her, and he had a spring to his step on his way home.
Having MJ and Ned by his side made him feel normal again. Peter made sure that none of his vigilante life made its way into their lives again. He would make good sure of that. He knew he couldn’t be Spider-Man forever, especially when they’re going to MIT. If Spider-Man was in Boston, someone was going to find out. Maybe he’ll give himself a new alter ego, maybe it wasn’t needed. Perhaps one day he could pass on the title - after all, Spider-Man was anonymous. Anyone can be Spider-Man, and if anyone needed him, he would be there.
But before he was Spider-Man, he was Peter Parker. He was nearly 18 and lived alone in an apartment with walls that were too thin. He was going to start college and make those who knew him proud. He didn’t have any living relations, but if you ask Ned, Peter was jokingly a Leeds and they spent too much time annoying MJ because they didn’t know what to do with the time they had left in New York. He loved MJ, but they were taking it slow. He would allow them to have the privacy they didn’t have the first time around.
And life, as terrifying as it was, was pretty great.