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Chapter Ten

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"Are you sure this is going to work?" Peter looked up at the school nervously, squeezing your hand, "I'm really okay with just going back home and figuring things out-"

Peter really didn't mean that, you know he didn't. He tried to pretend like he was fine with staying forgotten, but yesterday you informed him that May had been discharged from the hospital and he wanted nothing more than to see him. When he realized that he could only watch her from a distance because she no longer knew who he was, he was devastated and you then called Jean and asked her if you could expedite your plans.

So here you were, with Peter trying not to be a problem and you insisting that for once in his life he does something for himself. Even when the multiverse broke apart, it was because he was trying to help other people.

"(Y/n), how lovely for you to visit," Professor Xavier greeted happily, then he turned his gaze to Peter, "You must be Mr. parker. I am happy to meet you for the first time again."

"Hello, Professor," Peter smiled, reaching out to shake his hand, "Thank you for this."

"Well, if (Y/n) is correct, and I know they are, then you are very deserving of our help. Jean is setting up Cerebro now. Normally she doesn't need it, however, I believe that it will be advantageous in this scenario."

Professor Xavier led the two of you down to the lower levels of the school where the X-Men were waiting for you. Just as the professor said, Jean was already hooked up to Cerebro. She greeted the two of you with a smile.

"Hello there. Peter, I'm going to be searching for the minds of those you want to remember you. Please understand the number of minds I can touch is limited because if what (Y/n) explained is right then reversing the spell completely would tear the multiverse apart again. I assume you have a list. The X-Men will automatically be included."

"Oh, yeah," Peter pulled the list out of his pocket.

May Parker, Ned Leeds, Michelle Jones, Happy Hogan, Harley Keener, Pepper Potts, Morgan Stark, Shuri of Wakanda, Nick Fury, James Rhodes, Clara, and Lucas (L/n)

The list consisted of those that Peter deemed most important to him. Anyone else he could be reintroduced to over time. Jean looked it over and nodded once, closing her eyes and reaching out to the minds of those Peter held most dear.

There was no great energy surge or meeting with a deity you still didn't understand this time. There was simply silence that was only broken when Jean finally opened her eyes.

You wondered if the others felt it though, if they suddenly had headaches or if the fog around their brains cleared - fog they didn't even know was there. You hoped it was completely painless because all of them were so empathetic and selfless that you had no doubt the pain of knowing Peter had been forgotten - no matter how temporary it was - would be worse than anything physical.

There was no pain on Jean's face as her own memories returned, though you also knew that she had long since mastered setting aside the effects of her powers on her body, just as you had long since grown used to the aches and scratches that came from healing others.

"Hello again, Peter," she carefully removed Cerebro and handed it over to Frank, "It's been a long couple of days for the two of you, but I'm glad that I helped you."

Immediately the two of you began receiving texts and calls, some confused and some knowing. Everyone wanted to meet up with Peter - and by extension you - to figure out why they had forgotten he existed for a week. But the two of you had to postpone any of those meetings, as you already had one planned.

After bidding your goodbyes to the X-Men, and promising to visit soon, you and Peter immediately drove to the apartment May was temporarily staying in. Pepper had put her up in it. Originally, she wanted May to come stay with her and Morgan so they could take care of her but May, as independent as she was, vehemently denied and insisted that she would be fine on her own. You were sure that Happy would be helping her out, too.

"What if it didn't work?" Peter asked nervously, tugging on his jacket sleeves, "I mean, she almost died because of me. Maybe this was a mistake. It would be best if I stayed out of their lives-"

"Oh my god, Peter," May swung open the door and pulled Peter into a tight hug. In his panic, Peter had completely missed you knocking. It was impossible for him to ignore May's affection, though, "What happened? One minute I was in the hospital the next I didn't have a nephew! And here you are, I've been calling you. Did you see my calls?"

"We were driving when you were calling," Peter mumbled into her shoulder, absorbing every ounce of comfort she was offering, "And I wanted to see you in person. I'm so sorry, May."

"No, Peter. You have nothing to apologize for. You did it. You saved their lives, and you didn't lose yourself in the process. You've been so selfless."

Sniffles sounded from Peter's place on May's shoulder. Shifting forward, you wrapped your arm around his back and joined in on the hug, with May happily wrapping her arms around you too. The two of you held Peter while he cried in the doorway, knowing full well that the best thing for him was to finally let it all out with people that he trusted.

When Peter's cries quieted down, May ushered the two of you inside. Happy was in the kitchen, mixing what looked to be soup with a "Kiss The Cook" apron on. He waved when all of you walked inside before turning back to dinner.

You and Peter spoke with May until dinner was served, catching her up on everything that had happened - with a few adjustments here and there. Peter didn't want May to know that he almost killed Norman, and you were more than happy to bend the truth for him.

Your parents were well aware of what you did under Thanos' control, and sometimes you caught them looking at you strangely. With a strange mix of pity and concern, as if it was post-snap and you were an addict again. You didn't like it, and you wanted to spare Peter from that.

Dinner was nice, as the topics moved away from the mission to your and Peter's plans for school. Pepper was already working on establishing Peter's record so he could get into college once again. He'd have no problem making it into college once all of that was done with. There had been a small - a giant actually, huge - hitch in your original plans, but things were getting back on track.

When May offered Peter the spare room he happily accepted. It had been nice having him at your apartment, but he needed the time with May - the sense of normalcy that she provided him. It wasn't like the two of you wouldn't be seeing each other, anyway.

The next day you and Peter made plans with MJ and Ned to meet up and discuss college. They had already received acceptance letters from MIT since their involvement with Spider-Man no longer existed. You were expecting yours within the next couple of days, and Peter would get his within the next couple of weeks.

So it was time for apartment surfing. It was a lot of fun looking at different availability and imagining what you could make of the blank spaces. There were some frankly ridiculous suggestions from Ned and MJ about secret rooms and booby traps, but all in all the four of you had plenty of similar ideas concerning what you wanted the layout and interior design to be.

The day was nice, and you were happy to see Peter smiling and laughing with everyone else. It would be a while before he truly healed from everything that had happened. You had your own struggles with it, nightmares where you weren't able to save May or where you had forgotten Peter and he was left alone, but Peter had it much worse.

There were times you caught him looking up at the sky, a wistful smile on his face. When you were staying together you heard him whispering at night, just about his day. At first, you were scared he was losing it, but your fears were quickly assuaged.

"It's nice, knowing there are people who understand," Peter said into the darkness.

It was the other Peters he was searching for in the sky, and speaking to at night. Because even when Peter struggled to speak to you, or struggled to understand what he was feeling, he was no longer alone.

~*~

"I'm not sure this is the smartest idea," Peter looked up at the city sign, free hand going to the back of his neck, "Something feels... off about this."

"We need to check up on her. I can't say who, but someone told me she wasn't doing well. She needs people who care about her."

"I mean, I didn't know her super well before or after the snap, and I don't really want to intrude on her mourning process-"

"Peter, she's all alone mourning the love of her life. I know no one else has checked in with her. Whether or not we know her, she needs help."

Taking in a deep breath, Peter rubbed the back of his neck one last time, "Yeah, okay. I'm sure my Peter Tingle is just acting up. I mean, it looks like a super chill, sleepy town."

"Who knows," you shrugged, knowing that the Peter Tingle was almost always right one way or another. Looking up at Peter, you grinned, "Either way, are you ready for another adventure, Bug-Boy?"

"Ready as ever."

The two of you exchanged a short kiss before stepping past the Welcome to Westview sign, ready to begin a nice easy mission to comfort a friend.