For the better part of the next week, Peter stayed with May upon her return home, spending most of his waking hours performing work around the house. He washed laundry, he cooked meals, he cleaned the bathroom, and did anything else necessary. Naturally, as his aunt continued to improve, she had a harder and harder time with this, feeling it was her responsibility to take care of her own place. Peter was able to win out for the first half of the week pretty easily, since she still couldn't last too long after getting up before getting tired. However, as the week wore on, May grew stronger, and eventually she all but kicked him out, reminding him that he had a real job he needed to get back to.

While it had been kind of fun living back at home for a little while and spending so much time with May, Peter had to admit that it did feel good to return towards the end of the week. After all the craziness of the last month or so, it felt nice to get back into some semblance of a routine again, or at least as much of one as his crazy existence would allow. Eddie, Robbie and everyone else at the Bugle gave him a warm welcome upon his return as well. After everything they had done for him, Peter felt a little guilty that part of him still wanted to find a job as a scientist somehow.

As much as these people had done for him, how could he even think of trying to leave?

He ultimately opted not to worry about that too much for the time being, deciding to just enjoy what he had and let the dust settle for a while.

Besides, Peter had other concerns, such as Harry. After the arrest of Ock and the other villains, it was discovered that the Chameleon had murdered the true warden of the Vault and stolen his identity, though the always masked man himself had apparently slipped through law enforcement's hands again. Still, after learning at the Bugle of a hearing for Harry in the aftermath of everything, he paid a visit as Spider-Man to testify to the fact that Osborn had not only been brought out of the Vault by the impersonator but had escaped and assisted him in the capture of the other villains before surrendering himself back into their custody.

There was nothing official yet, but from the last Peter had heard, it sounded like Harry would get out of solitary confinement at the very least, if not potentially get transferred to Ravencroft instead, with the opportunity for another shot at rehabilitation. There was no guarantee that he would reenter society again even if he was granted all that, but at least Harry had something to work toward now. Above all else though, Peter felt his animosity towards his best friend slowly beginning to dissipate. He still wasn't sure if he could ever look at him in the same way he once did, but at least there was a sense of resolution now.

Then there was Mary Jane. Peter had made sure to update her early on about his success in retrieving the serum and May's subsequent improvement, which she seemed to share in his joy over as well. He also made a point to thank her again, which she didn't protest or tease him about this time, simply taking it in stride and acknowledging it. Other than that, he'd been so focused on May that he hadn't seen her all that much otherwise.

That didn't mean that she wasn't on his mind a lot though.

There would definitely be some stuff to sort through, especially now that she was in on his secret. They would have a lot to talk about, but at the same time, Peter also didn't want to just dump everything on her about both sides of his life at once. What he did want was to continue to get to know her, to learn as much as he could about her, and to just spend as much time with her as he could. He wanted to know her likes and dislikes, and he wanted to know how he could make her happy.

In short, Peter wanted to know everything there was to know about Mary Jane Watson.

As luck would have it, come the end of the week, Peter found himself exiting his apartment just in time to see Mary Jane heading towards the elevator. He hurriedly locked his door, almost dropping his keys in his rush to do so. He then stuffed them in his pocket as he jogged over to her, drawing her attention.

"What's the rush, Tiger?" she asked, a smile adorning her face. "We both know these elevators are super slow."

"Actually, I was wanting to see if you wanted to take the stairs instead?" Peter asked.

M.J. rotated herself in his direction, a curious and slightly eager expression taking over her.

"Oh really?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah," Peter replied, "someone actually told me a while back that taking the stairs is good exercise."

"Hmm," M.J. said, a pleased smile on her face. "That person sounds pretty smart."

"I certainly think so," Peter replied, gesturing his right hand towards the stairs. "Shall we?"

Of course, in that moment, the doors to the elevator opened, but M.J. didn't pay them any attention, instead walking over to accept his invitation. Peter opened the door to them, holding it for her.

"Thank you," she replied as she slipped past him. Peter then came alongside her, and at first, there was silence between the two of them. He knew what he wanted to say, but still found himself struggling to get it out there. It seemed that, even at almost thirty years old, the butterflies that came with asking a girl out didn't quite go away.

"How's your aunt?" Mary Jane asked, initiating the conversation.

"Huh?" Peter asked; his mind took an extra moment to process her question after its sudden snap back to reality. "Oh, she'd doing much better. I'll be checking on her later just to make sure she doesn't need anything, since she wouldn't tell me if she did, but she's doing just about everything on her own now. She just gets a little tired if she works herself too hard."

"Makes sense," M.J. acknowledged. "She seems really tough though."

"Oh yeah," Peter confirmed, "I mean, she put up with my uncle and I for all those years, so she had to be."

Man, they were already three of their nine floors down. He really needed to pick up the pace.

"M.J, I wanted to talk to you about something," he said, stopping abruptly.

"Oh, okay," M.J. said, a curious expression on her face. Her eyes peered into his; it felt like she was searching down to his soul for what he might say next.

Peter swallowed, hoping his nervousness wasn't coming across too obviously.

"There's something I've wanted to say for a little while actually," he said, "but I just...I had some things holding me back. After everything that I've been through recently though, I've realized something: I need to stop living in the past, and, I don't know, think my future a little bit."

Peter was nervous that his rambling might be losing M.J, but her focused expression remained unchanged. If anything, he swore he could see the beginnings of a smile threatening to extend across her cheeks at any moment.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he let out a small breath before opening them, meeting her gaze.

"M.J," he said,

"Yes?" she asked.

"What would you say if I was to ask you out on a date?" he said. "Like, a real, go out to eat, go to the park or something kind of date?"

That smile that had been threatening to form a second ago now stretched seemingly endlessly across her cheeks, and it was enough to make Peter's heart skip a beat.

"I'd say that I think you just hit the jackpot, Tiger," Mary Jane replied.

Peter couldn't even put to words how ecstatic her answer made him.

"Well, that's good," Peter said. "Since, you know, we have like another six floors to go, and it would've been a really awkward walk the rest of the way if you had said no."

Mary Jane laughed at his response, and the two continued on their way, talking through potential ideas for the evening.

M.J. walked into the shop, having gotten caught up in a little more traffic than normal on the way in. Some customers had already shown up, but thankfully Liz and a few other employees were handling things just fine.

"Oh good, you're here," Liz said upon seeing her. "Listen, I need your opinion on..."

Liz just suddenly stopped, giving M.J. a funny look.

"What?" she asked.

"Why are you smiling so much?" Liz asked.

"Oh, I have my reasons," M.J. replied.

Liz's eyes grew wide.

"It's about Peter, isn't it?"

M.J. could already feel her lips stretching into a wide smile again, but she kept it subdued so she it at least looked normal sized.

"I'll tell you about it later," she said in a more hushed tone, noticing more customers coming into the store.

"Oh, come on!" Liz protested.

"I'll tell you about it at lunch, okay?" M.J. reiterated. "I have customers to attend to."

Mary Jane couldn't wait to share about Peter asking her out, but at the same time, the crueler side of her relished in toying with her best friend's curiosity and eagerness. Fortunately, there was a steady stream of customers throughout the morning, so it made it easier to hold onto it just a bit longer, even though M.J. found herself having a hard time focusing on the job at points.

Finally, lunchtime eventually arrived, and it was no sooner than the two ladies had gotten out the door that Liz was at Mary Jane's side, eagerly awaiting the promised story.

"Well?" Liz asked.

"I said at lunch," M.J. teased, "and last I checked, there isn't any food in front of us at the moment."

"M.J," Liz said, giving her an annoyed look. "You know I've been your biggest supporter in this; I mean, I literally went to lunch by myself on a whim just to let you two have some time together. I think I deserve at least a little something for my efforts, don't you?"

M.J. rolled her eyes; as much fun as keeping Liz on the edge of her seat was, she was starting to find it hard to contain herself as well.

"Well," she began, "he actually asked me out on a real date this morning."

"I knew it!" Liz replied enthusiastically. "Don't tell me that you kept him waiting for a response like you did me though?"

M.J. laughed.

"No," she replied, "I mean I hesitated a little, but I think that was because part of me almost couldn't believe that it was happening, like it didn't fully register that it was real at first."

"This is so cool!" Liz said, her tone much giddier than M.J. was used to. "When are you guys going out?"

"Tonight," Mary Jane answered as they continued walking. "We're not going to do anything too crazy. We're going to a pizza place near our apartment, then we're going to head to Central Park and just kind of walk around, give ourselves a chance to get each other a bit more."

"That's awesome," Liz replied. "I'm so happy for you, M.J. I know how much you've wanted this."

"Thanks," M.J. responded.

After walking a few more blocks, the talk mostly centered around Peter Parker, of course, the two ladies eventually made it to a build your own Italian style place that they had wanted to try for a while. M.J. was still so wrapped up in conversation that it took her an extra second to realize that she recognized the person that was taking their order.

It was her dad.

M.J. froze when she saw him, her mind scrambling to process what was happening, as if what she was seeing was a physical impossibility.

"Dad?" she asked.

"Hey Mary," he said. Fortunately, he remained professional for the moment, insisting on taking their order. Liz did most of the talking as M.J. struggled to regain her headspace. She hadn't seen her father since their blowout after she'd discovered he'd gone drinking despite his attempt at sobriety. She'd been so busy in that time that she'd not given too much thought to his present whereabouts.

Maybe she hadn't wanted to know.

With nobody behind in line behind them, M.J. told Liz she could find the two of them a seat, and she would join her shortly. Her friend complied, grabbing their food and heading off to pick a spot to eat. Mary Jane then turned to her father.

"I swear, if you picked this spot because it's just a few blocks from my shop, I'll..."

"That's not why I chose this," he said, raising his hand to stop her. "Really, it was the first place that offered to hire me, so I just jumped at it."

"I see," M.J. replied.

There was a moment of awkward silence between them.

"Mary," her father suddenly spoke up, "I actually wanted to thank you."

"For what?" she asked, her eyebrows narrowing at him.

Her father let out a sigh.

"For being right," he answered. "I haven't taken enough responsibility or been accountable enough for my own actions. I guess part of me was always just waiting for you, someone or something to come in and make it all better, but it took you saying what you did the way you did for me to wake up."

M.J. just stared at her father, her brain seeming a little foggy suddenly. The encounter was feeling like a strange dream.

"Okay," she finally said, "so, how'd you end up here?"

"Well," her father began, "after my time at the hotel ran out, I went to a nearby shelter place. I explained my situation, and luckily, they took me in. I've been getting some training and a little more rehab there, and I got this job until I finish with their program there, which will hopefully set me up a little better than before."

Mary Jane only nodded, unable to offer a verbal response.

"Mary," her father said, "I know that I haven't done anything to claim a proper place in your life as your father. I broke your trust; I hurt you and your sister on a deeper level than I deserve to be forgiven for. I guess...I guess I'm just hoping it's not too late to have a chance to earn it the right way this time."

M.J. swallowed. There was still so much pain all the way down in her soul that was only there because of him. He had tried to earn her trust again, then broke that trust just as fast. She had no reason to believe anything would be different this time, even if her father seemed more humbled and genuine than before.

Still, there was a tiny, tiny part of her that wanted a second chance for them both as well.

With all these mixed feelings still stewing around her gut, M.J. finally offered the only response she could manage.

"We'll see."

As the day neared its end, Peter walked into Robbie's office, finding Eddie there as well.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" he said.

"Yes, thanks for coming Peter," Robbie said. "I just wanted to say that you two both did outstanding work on that article about Doctor Octopus and all the tech thefts. You two put a lot of long hours into this story, so I felt your work should be commended."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Robertson," Eddie replied.

"Yes, thank you sir," Peter added, "though I would say that Eddie here had the much harder job."

"Don't be ridiculous," Eddie protested, "a good article is just a bunch of words without the visual images to back them up."

"Okay boys, we all get it," Robbie replied with a chuckle. "Seriously, nice work. You keep it up, you might not only find Pulitzer Prizes in your futures, but maybe some raises as well."

"Just doing the best we can sir," Peter replied.

"Well, I for one would love a raise," Eddie said, obviously poking at Peter's humility. Sometimes the man was just too much.

"Alright you two, it's about the end of the day," Robbie remarked. "Get out of here and go enjoy yourselves, especially you Peter. If anyone's earned it around here, it's you."

"I second that," Eddie remarked.

"Thanks, Mr. Robertson," Peter replied. "I just might."

He and Eddie then turned and walked out of the office.

"What does that mean?" Eddie asked.

"What does what mean?" Peter questioned in return.

"Your answer to the boss," Eddie clarified, "what did it mean? Does the all-work-and-no-play Peter Parker have something going on tonight?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Peter responded proudly as he grabbed his bag from his desk. "Mary Jane and I are going on a date."

"Dude!" Eddie replied, shaking Peter's shoulder in excitement, "that's awesome man!" He then held up his hand, and Peter almost rolled his eyes as he took it in his own and Eddie reeled him in for a one-armed hug.

"Seriously though, good for you," Eddie added. "I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks man," Peter replied, "and thank you. You were right in what you said about being open to something."

"See, I actually do know what I'm talking about from time to time," Eddie replied. "Next time I need to remind Anne of that, I'll have to call you up."

There was no stopping Peter's eyes from rolling this time.

"Goodnight, Eddie," replied, waving goodbye to his coworker as he headed for the elevator. "See you tomorrow."

As was almost always the case, Spider-Man interfered with plans to some degree. He was nearly home to change and head to May's quickly before meeting up with M.J, when suddenly the police scanner in Peter's phone alerted him to a hostage situation. This instance was especially tricky, since he didn't end up having a lot of places to utilize stealth, but he eventually handled the situation without so much as an injury to one of the hostages.

However, it did set Peter's schedule back a little. Having finally gotten Mary Jane's number that morning, he contacted her first, saying he was going to be running a little later than he'd anticipated. He tried to say he could just check on May tomorrow, but M.J. insisted she could just come with him instead, saying she'd love to meet his aunt. After she repeatedly assured him it wasn't an inconvenience towards their time together, Peter finally relented, getting home and changing as quickly as he could before going over to pick her up from her place.

When he picked her up, Peter observed that Mary Jane wasn't wearing anything too fancy: a newer shirt, a nice pair of jeans and a brown jacket, her hair long and flowing.

In short, she looked absolutely stunning.

The two of them chatted as they took the bus from Manhattan to Queens, talking about all manner of things from how things were going at the shop, to how M.J. and Liz had met, to her seeing her father again, to how Uncle Ben had taught Peter the value of working at things with his hands. Naturally, the topic did end up at Spider-Man, with Peter reassuring M.J. that could ask whatever she wanted to, and he would tell her if he wasn't ready to talk about something.

"So, what's like, the craziest adventure you've had?" she asked him as they were walking the last couple blocks to May's house.

"Well, less than a day before we met actually, I went to another dimension and met alternate versions of myself from other earths."

Mary Jane stopped dead in her tracks, looking at him as if he had three heads.

"Wait, what?"

"I know, it sounds insane," Peter said, "I'm still trying to wrap my head around it."

"Wow," M.J. replied as they resumed walking. "What was that like?"

"Uhmm..." Peter said, struggling to find the words to some up such a bizarre circumstance, "it was really cool, actually. One of the versions of me that I met was still a teenager. He was going through a lot, so me and an older version of me got to share our experiences a little bit and help him out."

"Sounds nice," M.J. responded.

"I guess I also met your doppelganger, or at least someone with your name initials," Peter added.

"Oh?" M.J. asked, her curiosity peaked, "what was she like?"

"She's...kind of like you, but also not really," Peter answered. "She threw bread at me while trying to prove I was who I said I was. That world's Peter Parker was her boyfriend, so I guess I understand the need, but I still say me sticking to the ceiling was more than enough."

"Okay, back up," M.J. said, "you said that world's M.J. was also dating Peter Parker?"

"Yep, and the older me said he ended up with someone named M.J. as well," Peter replied.

M.J. eyes grew wide.

"So, when you learned my name..."

"It's safe to say I definitely noticed," Peter replied. "Even then, I tried not to let it play into my mentality too much. All three of us were the same in name but all had much different experiences, so I didn't want to just go for it because it was some multiversal constant or something. For all I knew at the time, you could've ended up actually being really terrible."

"Well, I'm sure glad I'm at least not terrible," M.J. teased.

"I mean, you only spent all night throwing together a campaign to help save my aunt's life and stayed with me after I Iiterally yelled at you to leave, so you at least have a couple things going for you," Peter joked, prompting a chuckle from Mary Jane.

After a moment, the two of them had arrived and were no standing at the base of the steps to May's house.

"I'm so nervous," M.J. suddenly said, burying her face into Peter's shoulder and clutching at his shirt.

"Nervous?" Peter questioned, "what are you nervous about? This was your idea."

"I know," M.J. replied, "but now that we're here, I'm thinking of all the reasons that she may not like me."

"Oh, come on," Peter protested, "what's not to like?"

"That's easy for you to say," M.J. countered, "getting a guy to like me is one thing, but the woman whose basically his mother..."

The door to the place suddenly opened and May came walking out to greet them.

"May," Peter said in an annoyed tone, "we talked about this; you need to take it easy."

"Oh Peter, it's been over a week," May protested as she came down the stairs. "Besides, I couldn't wait to meet who you were bringing."

"Hi!" M.J. said, her enthusiasm having suddenly returned.

"It's good to finally meet you," May said, giving Mary Jane a hug. "I understand I have you to thank in part for my being here today."

"Well, I was just happy that I could find a way to help," M.J. said, wrapping her right arm around Peter. May seemed to think it looked cute, but Peter got the distinct sense that he was M.J.'s lifeline.

"You two want to come in for a moment?" May asked. "I promise I won't hold you up too long."

"Yeah, that'd be nice," M.J. replied, looking up at Peter, who nodded in agreement.

True to her word, May only kept them for about a half hour. The conversation amongst the three was actually very smooth, and it didn't take long for M.J. to genuinely relax. The two women seemed to get along quite nicely, which pleased Peter greatly.

"I know you two are just now really getting into things, but she seems lovely," May said at one point while M.J. was in the bathroom."

"Yeah, she is," Peter agreed.

After their visit, the two of them were soon on their way. The sun was already setting, and it felt like it was going to be a cool, pleasant evening.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry," Peter replied. "Then again, my metabolism is nuts, so if you're not there yet, I definitely get it."

"No, I'm definitely getting there too," M.J. replied, "but..."

She moaned, an obvious hesitancy keeping her from saying what she wanted to say.

"What?" Peter asked.

"Nothing," M.J. responded, though something about her smile betrayed her words.

"Come on, what is it?" Peter asked, getting in front of her to stop her.

M.J. let out a sigh.

"It's just that there was something I was hoping we could do tonight," she explained, "something that only Spider-Man can do that I've always wanted to experience without the usual reasons for doing it."

Peter gave her a funny look; it didn't take long for what she was referring to to click in his mind.

"You want to go web swinging, don't you?"

M.J. just smiled back at him.

Next thing Peter knew, he was suited up sans mask, standing at the top of their apartment building, with Mary Jane rubbing her hands together.

"Oh my goodness, this is going to be so cool!" she explained.

Peter smiled, shaking his head. Her enthusiasm was humorous, but it was also reassuring, because here stood a woman who embraced both the man and the spider, seemingly without fear.

Mary Jane Watson really was something else.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready," she affirmed.

Peter was about ready to slip on his mask, when she stopped him.

"Wait," she said suddenly before coming up to him, cupping his cheeks in her hands and pulling him into a kiss.

"Sorry," she said, "I tried to wait, but it just felt like the right moment, so I..."

Peter silenced her, pulling her close and planting a deep kiss of his own on her. The world around them seemed to fade away as they just held each other for a moment, taking it all in. When they finally separated, it still took a moment to pull out of each other's gaze.

"Ready?" Peter asked.

"Always," M.J. responded.

Slipping on his mask, Peter then leapt off the building, clutching M.J. by his side. He fired a web, and soon, the two of them were off and swinging together into the night.

Wow.

When I started this thing, I had no idea that it would end up becoming my most viewed and overall most successful story my most metrics. I wasn't surprised that it got a boost in views after No Way Home, but still, I was completely blown away. I want to thank everyone who has followed this story and shown their support in any of the way possible. You all are what made this story one of my most rewarding experiences since I first started writing two years ago.

As for how it finished, what are your thoughts? Whether you have or haven't commented before, please, feel free to leave your thoughts on this chapter and the story overall, be they good or bad (though please be nice in the case of the latter).

Also, what do you guys think: should I do a sequel? Off the top of my head, I have baseline ideas for maybe 3-4 more stories following this, but I'm curious what your thoughts are?

Again, thank you all so very much!

Know that I am continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!

"'Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.' When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?'
Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'" Acts 2:36-38