Peter's eyes shot opened, his mouth opening as he gasped for air. He quickly sat up, taking stock of his surroundings and realizing he was at home in his bedroom. He reached to his nightstand and grabbed his phone to look at the time, discovering that it was 3:52 A.M. Great, just great.

He slowly shifted his legs out from the covers and sat them down on the floor. He ran his right hands through his face and hair as he struggled to shake off the nightmare he had just come out of. He could still picture Tony sitting there, his back supported by some wreckage from the chaotic battle. He could still picture the exact moment where the light went out behind his eyes after Pepper had told him that they'd won, and he could rest. It had been 6 months, but all of these scenes still plagued his dreams, their memory etched in his brain forever.

For a brief moment, Peter contemplated going to talk to May, but he quickly squashed the idea. She had been there for him so much, first after Ben, now Tony. He was beginning to feel guilty over everything she did for him, even though he knew she didn't view caring for him in any way as a sacrifice. Already she had comforted him, made him a snack, or just sat and talked with him many days over these last several months, so Peter felt she deserved a good night of sleep.

He thought about contacting Ned, but the same thought came to mind. His best friend had been very supportive, and had particularly been good about when to give Peter his space versus when to talk about it. He too deserved a good night's sleep. Plus, Peter had found out from many a sleepover that Ned did NOT do well with conversation after midnight, so it likely wouldn't do much for him anyway.

There was one more name that he thought of, but he dismissed this idea faster than the others. Sure, they had been getting closer since they all came back, and she would undoubtedly still be up, most likely reading a crime novel or historical trivia. Even so, she wasn't one to...

The vibrating of his phone almost made Peter jump as he was pulled from his thoughts. He reached over and grabbed his phone to see that it was none other than exactly the person he was thinking about: M.J.

"Hello?" he said kind of slowly as he answered, his mind wondering why she would be calling him at this hour.

"Hey," M.J. replied on the other end, her voice rather tentative, like she was nervous about something. There was an awkward silence before she continued.

"Are you...I don't know, doing okay?"

Alright, this was just scary.

"Yeah, I guess," he muttered, uncertain of what exactly to say. "Why do you ask?"

"You...you've just seemed off since we got back," she replied. "I mean, I guess everybody has, but you just seem particularly so."

"Oh," Peter said. Why was he making this so weird? "Yeah, I'm...fine."

"Oh, okay," M.J. said awkwardly. There was an extended moment of silence. "Okay, well, night."

"M.J, wait," Peter said, really hoping he caught her before she hung up. He didn't hear a beep, so that was a good sign. "I'm sorry, I just...I had a nightmare just a little bit ago."

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry," M.J. replied. "What was it about?"

"It..." Peter paused as he contemplated his answer. How much could he tell her without giving away his secret?

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked," M.J. quickly corrected.

"No no," Peter said, chastising herself for now twice making the situation awkward with long pauses. "I'm sorry, M.J, I just...it involved losing someone I was close to."

"I see," M.J. said.

"Yeah," Peter said, still making this up as he went along. "I always wake up feeling like I should've done more somehow, if that makes sense."

"You do always seem like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders," M.J. stated. Peter let out a huff; if only she really knew just how much so.

"I guess I do," he replied.

"Well, I guess...you seem to be good at helping people, so just, you know, keep doing the best you can," M.J. said. She still sounded a little nervous, which was uncharacteristic of her. It was also uncharacteristic of her to call him randomly like this in general, but he wasn't about to try and explore the implications of that at nearly four in the morning.

"Got it," Peter replied. "Will do."

"Good," M.J. stated. "Well, I guess I should probably let you try and get some sleep."

"Sleep is good," Peter said. "Oh, and M.J?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for this," Peter said warmly. "I...it means a lot to me."

There was a moment of silence before her response.

"Yeah, sure thing," she finally said. "If you ever, I don't know, just need someone to talk to when everyone else is asleep..."

"You're at the top of the list," Peter said, immediately hoping that wasn't too bold. "Thanks again M.J. I owe you one for this."

"I'll hold you to that," she replied before hanging up.

Hope you enjoyed it!

Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!

"You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot, and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea." Micah 7:19