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It had happened too fast.
MJ had followed when she shouldn’t have.
And she didn’t know why.
Something in her chest had simply been pulled to get to Spiderman as fast as she could.
She had stolen Ned’s Spiderman tracker and had raced through the city to the DOJ facility, arriving just as a force exploded from within.
One minute she was frozen, unable to move, with memories pouring into her mind, and the next she was running through the DOJ headquarters, following the sound of a gun shot.
She remembered.
She didn’t know why, but she did.
And she remembered everything.
The high school cafeteria.
Detention.
Chemistry Class.
His laughter after one of her dry jokes.
Prague.
London.
The bridge.
The rooftop.
His lips.
His hands.
His voice.
Everything was flooding back at once.
Every conversation.
Every laugh.
Every awkward glance
I love you.
Tell me when you see me again.
Oh Peter.
She ran down the hallway into what was left of the destroyed lab, and stared in horror at the scene in front of her.
“Oh God.”
The girl - Jean, was on her knees over Peter trying to keep him awake.
The floor was a mess of destruction and blood.
Too much blood.
It had spread beneath him in a dark crimson pool.
“Peter.” MJ ran to him and dropped to his knees. “Peter. Hey, hey, hey. Look at me.” She cupped his cheeks. “Look at me.”
Peter’s eyes shifted to her, and he stared at her like he was seeing a dream.
The eyes that she had come to know through years of young love.
The eyes she had tried to memorize before Doctor Strange’s spell ripped them from her mind like pages of an unfinished book.
“MJ...” His eyes drifted close.
Her heart skipped a beat. “No, no, no. No. Stay with me. Peter. Hey. You’re okay. You’re okay. Look at me.” Tears burned her eyes. “I remember, Peter. I remember. I’m here, and I love you. So you can’t die.”
His mouth twitched slightly, before a coughing fit overcame him, causing blood to cover his lips.
MJ was half aware of Jean doing something.
Calling an ambulance, or possessing someone.
She didn’t know.
And she didn’t care.
All she could care about was Peter.
She stroked her hand through his hair. "I remember Midtown. I remember Europe. I remember the Black Dahlia. I still have it. I never stopped wearing it.” A sob pushed past her lips before she could stop it. “I remember you kissing me. I remember you. I remember. You’re Peter Parker. My Peter.”
His chests heaved with breaths, which seemed harder and harder to bring in. “My...MJ...” His eyes slipped close again, and didn’t open again fast enough.
He was fading.
“No.” MJ shook his shoulder gently. “No. Peter. Come on. Stay awake. You have to stay awake.”
His eyes fluttered open slightly. “Trying...” he mumbled.
“Don’t try.” She moved her hands back to his cheek. “Do. Stay with me.”
His lips trembled. “...missed you.”
The words hit her like a bullet.
You mean everything to me. And I’ve been trying to live my life without you, but I...I can’t. I love you.
Her throat tightened. “I missed you too.”
His eyes closed.
“Peter. No. Stay with me.”
He tried.
She could see him trying.
But it wasn’t enough.
His breaths were getting further and further apart.
“I remember drawing you in detention.”
His lips twitched.
He could hear her.
“I remember being nervous to hold your hand.”
Tears streaked down Peter’s cheeks.
MJ thumbed them away. “I remember our last night in Europe and kissing you on the Tower Bridge. I remember everything. So you don’t get to leave me now.”
His eyes stayed closed.
“Peter?” She shook his shoulder again. “Peter?”
He inhaled once, weakly.
“I’m here.” She took his hands in hers. “I’m here.”
I'm here. I'm not going anywhere.
His fingers twitched.
“I remember.”
We're going to get through this, and we're going to get through it together.
He inhaled again, his breath rattling in his chest.
She leaned down and pressed her forehead lightly against his. “I remember, and I love you.”
His chest stilled.
“So please...stay.”
Nothing.
MJ lifted her head from leaning against his. “No...”
This couldn't be happening.
He always got up.
Always.
No matter the beating or fight...Peter Parker always got up.
She waited a few seconds, hoping and praying that she wasn't seeing what she was actually seeing.
“Peter?”
Nothing.
She touched his cheek.
It was still warm.
She moved her fingers to his neck, desperate to feel a pulse.
Nothing.
He was gone.
She wrapped her arms around him, and pulled him against her chest. “No, no, no.” She buried her face into his hair. “I remember.” Her voice broke. “I remember.”
“Kid!”
MJ looked up at Frank, who ran in and froze in the doorway.
She shook her head.
He stumbled back. “Oh...God...”
MJ looked back down at Peter, and held him tighter.
I really like you.
I really like you too.
“I remember you,” she murmured.
I'm really excited to see you tomorrow.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
“I remember.”
Wait to tell me when you see me again.
I don’t love you. I don’t know you.
“I know you,” she murmured. “I know you. And I love you. I love you.”
She lost track of the number of times she said it.
It had been 4 years since she had said it last.
And she had to make up for lost time.
Why couldn't they be kids again, laying on the roof of the school, dreaming about the future.
This hadn't been what she imagined.
Not even close.
You mean everything to me. And I’ve been trying to live my life without you, but I...I can’t. I love you.
The cruelty of the situation sank in.
It was her turn now, to live without him.
And she didn't want to.