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There’s a tear that runs down MJ’s cheek.
The memories flood back in waves.
She stands in the kitchen, wide-eyed and heaving, catching a glance at Ned from where he’d been knocked to the floor. The energy has shifted in the room, and both stare at each other trying to comprehend anything.
MJ uses her sleeve to wipe the tears that continue to fall long after the spell seems to have lifted, stumbling backwards to lean against the counter. “Holy shit,” she breathes, watching as Ned stands, gathering the legos that fell and placing them on the coffee table.
“Peter,” MJ breathes, her hand shaking as she reaches for her phone. “Ned, we know Peter,” she repeats, scrolling breathlessly through to find photos, hoping it would magically give her the answer.
“MJ, are you okay?” Ned asks, ignoring her statement as he watches her frantically scroll, mumbling under her breath so that he can’t make out the words. “You didn’t hit your head or anything, did you?”
MJ shakes her head. She groans, tossing her phone down on the counter, and tugs lightly at her hair while she paces. “No, no I’m fine,” she says, attempting to reassure him but understanding she came up short. “I just - I don’t know what is going on, but I think I remember who Peter is.”
Ned stares at her, narrowing his eyes. “What do you mean you remember who Peter is?” he asks. “We just met him, MJ. How would you have forgotten him already?”
She ignores him, walking to sit down on the sofa, placing her head in her hands. “This is Peter’s story to tell, and I don’t want to take that away from him,” she prefaces, her voice strained. “But we knew Peter. Years ago. And there was some spell that made us forget who he was.”
The couch dips beside her. “How do you know that?” Ned asks quietly. “Did he tell you this?”
“Not really?” MJ says, lifting her head to look at him. “Peter is Spider-Man. He hid me at this guy’s house and while he was away fighting some sort of crime he left the letter he’d written to me on the table. It wasn’t hard to put it together from there.”
Ned, understandably, looks horrified and as if he’s trying to process what she just said, both finding out that not only is Peter Spider-Man, but he’s also someone they knew years ago. He leans back on the sofa, staring out the window while the sirens blare, and stirs.
“I don’t have time to explain, and it should really come from Peter,” she continues, looking at him, “but I remember who Peter is. I remember hanging out with him in high school and being with him while he was Spider-Man. I remember him, Ned.”
Ned nods numbly, looking at her. “So what do you want to do now?”
–
MJ’s been pacing the apartment for nearly an hour when Peter raps on the window, watching as she walks to open the window, letting him in.
“Are you guys okay? Where’s Ned?” he asks, looking around the apartment. MJ steps aside, letting him pass.
“Ned’s in his room. We’re both fine,” she says, shoving her hands in her pockets. “I remember who you are, Peter.”
Peter stops in his tracks, turning back to look at her.
“Ned also knows you’re Spider-Man now, so the mask can come off if you want,” she adds on. “Sorry, it kind of just came out.”
Peter nods, reaching up to pull his mask off. “What do you mean you remember who I am, MJ?” he asks.
“I don’t know,” she groans. “It felt like Jean was back in my brain again, and then we snapped out of it and I just had these memories of high school and Spider-Man and you being there. I don’t really know how to explain it, Peter.”
“Okay, okay,” Peter nods. He paces again before stopping in front of her. “It’s not a bad thing though, right? This is what you were hoping for?”
The silence between them stretches for an uncomfortable amount of time. Peter tries not to worry, eyes darting around the apartment in search of Ned, needing to see him for himself to talk it through.
“It’s what I wanted, yeah,” MJ finally says, watching as Peter’s eyes snap back to look at her. “I just wish it happened in any way besides this.”
“I get that,” Peter nods. “Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it.”
MJ shakes her head. “It’s not about me right now,” she says. “What about you, are you okay? Where is she?”
“I’m fine, don’t worry about it,” he brushes her off, shaking his head. “She’s safe. Frank stayed with her, he’s getting her help without them hurting her,” he says quickly. “I’m sorry for how she’s come after you the way she has. She’s… it’s complicated, what she’s going through. I can’t really talk about it too much.”
MJ walks over to the sofa, sitting down. “No, of course you can’t,” she nods, understanding. “Sorry, my head feels like it’s spinning,” she says softly. “You can go check on Ned, if you want. Maybe talk him off a ledge because he hasn’t gotten his memories back. I think maybe I just need a minute to sort through everything.”
Peter tosses his mask onto the coffee table, nodding. “Yeah, I’ll do that,” he nods. “I’ll be right back, Em. Just know you’re safe here.”
MJ nods, listening to his footsteps walk down the hall to Ned’s room. She stares at his mask until it blurs beneath her eyeline, the memories coming back causing her head to ache and her vision to spin the more she thinks about it.
She’d always held out hope that the memories would come back. When Jean started infiltrating her mind a few days prior, she wondered if this is how it would all be unlocked. But to have it happen in the way it did, leaving her feeling sick and woozy in a way she hasn’t felt since she was hungover in college, has left her more disoriented than she could ever believe.
She loved Peter. She lost him in a way that makes her not want to forgive him. But as she listens to the hushed conversation down the hall, the way he keeps checking to make sure they’re okay and reassure them that they’re safe and there’s no more threat, she realizes that she doesn’t want to live in a world without him in her life, even if how they interact will shift as they continue to reconnect.
Peter returns a few minutes later, sitting on the opposite side of the couch, tapping his fingers. “I know you probably have a million questions right now,” he says softly, and relaxes when MJ huffs out a laugh.
“That feels like the understatement of the century,” she murmurs, lifting her gaze to stare at him. “I kind of don’t know where to begin.”
“That’s okay,” Peter nods. “There’s no threat right now. Things are okay, and for you, I have all the time in the world. Just start where it feels right.”
MJ looks at the boy across from her and feels a sense of peace. Knowing who he is and why he was so important to her is a relief she hadn’t been expecting, even if the way it came to be was terrifying and not at all desirable.
She knows this isn’t enough to make it all go away. There’s still rebuilding to do between them, and being associated with Peter will always come with risks. But having that familiarity now, feeling safe enough to have the tough conversations and ask him questions without needing to hope that he’s telling her the truth is enough for her to believe that they can find a way through this, too.
Curling her feet beneath her, MJ takes a breath, and begins asking questions.