MJ called up Kitty. I was going to do that, but she pointed out that I tend to ramble a bit whenever I'm panicked and… she's not wrong. So, I sat on Michelle's bed and watched her as she explained everything. During this, I was mentally kicking myself. I didn't mean to forget about my suit and gadgets there. I kept those there in case of an emergency, but since I've had better suits and gadgets, I never had to resort to the old stuff. So, I forgot about them.

"Uh-huh… Uh-huh… Okay, I'll let him know… Alright, thanks. See you around." MJ ended the call, then looked straight at me with a slight scowl. "Okay, I'm going to need you to stop kicking yourself."

I tried to smile. And I did. But I felt the fakeness of it. "I'm not," I said. "I'm grand. I'm…" I sighed. "Yes, I'm kicking myself." I shook my head. "I'm sorry Em. It's just that – "

"Peter," she interjected. "You have nothing to be sorry about." She walked over and took a seat next to me. "Things beyond our control happen every day."

"I know." I took in a breath. "…Another thing I need to work on, huh?"

"We all have things we need to work on." MJ leaned over, placing her head on my shoulder. "Recognizing that is usually a good first step."

I nodded. "What did Kitty say?"

"She said go about your day as normal – she'll bring you your old suit and gadgets after she swipes them."

I tilted my head. "What? But what about the government agents? I'm sure she can swipe the stuff with ease, but the agents are there and – "

"There's nothing they can really do, as far their investigation goes. Had this been before The Spell, maybe you'd have something to worry about. But now, only a handful people know that Peter Parker was ever a student at Midtown High, and only three of them go to Midtown. No one is going to suspect that we have any connection to Spider-Man as long as we keep our mouths shut." I looked down at her, and she looked up at me. "You do trust us, right?"

"You know I do," I replied.

"Then let us handle it. You're not alone anymore."

I nodded. We sat there in silence for a bit. I knew we would have to leave soon. MJ had school and I had to swing by work. But I didn't want to leave. Maybe if her parents were out until tomorrow, I might've tried to convince her to stay. But, as it was, I just decided to enjoy this moment with her. However, a question popped into my head.

"Hey, Em, may I ask you a question?" I inquired.

"You just did," Michelle jokingly pointed out. "But yes, you may."

"How come you're not freaked out about us having a shared dream?"

MJ raised her head from my shoulder before she shrugged. "It's really not all that uncommon. I remember reading about it a while back – I was watching Look Who's Talking Now, and I was curious to see if shared dreams were really a thing. Turns out that it's not only real, but it's not too uncommon. Apparently, it tends to happen between people who are very close."

"You've had one before?"

"…No. You're my first."

I lowered my head in embarrassment. "Ah jeez." Michelle leaned into me. I felt her hand move up and down my back.

"Hey," she said soothingly. "Things started off a bit hectic, but it was still fun. I couldn't think of a better person to share a dream with." She paused for a moment. She then scoffed. "This sounds like we're talking about sex, doesn't it?"

I chuckled a bit. "I didn't want to say anything, but… yes. It does."

MJ chuckled. She then sighed. "I'm going to be honest, though. That wasn't the question I expected you to ask." I turned a bit to face her as I tilted my head. "I thought you were going to ask me if I love you, too."

"Oh." I smiled slightly as I shook my head. "No, I… Listen, when I told you that… I meant it, but I was feeling…" I paused for a moment to think of the right word. "…open. Vulnerable, you know? And at that moment, I just… It just felt like the right time to tell you how I feel about you. You're freaking incredible, you know? And there's so much I love about you. I love your dry wit. I love your knowledge of the darkest parts of history. I love the way you're there for me and keep me grounded. I love how you're always open with me and straightforward without being too mean about it and… I don't think there are enough hours in the day to tell you everything I love about you." At this point, there was a certain look that came over MJ's face and her cheeks became a bit flush. "Like I said, I didn't have any expectation from you, and I'm sorry if it feels like I'm pressuring you but MMPH!"

Before I knew it, Michelle's lips were against mine. It took me a moment to reciprocate – I wasn't expecting this. But once I did, it only took us a few moments to get into a rhythm. My senses were focused on her. I barely even registered when we lay on our side. I took in everything about her – the way she smelled, the way her skin felt when I placed my hand on her cheek, the way she tasted when her tongue found its way into my mouth to meet mine, the sound of her heartbeat… At that moment, MJ was the center of and the only thing that mattered in the universe – or multiverse, rather. I didn't even know or care about how much time passed.

Eventually, the kiss ended. Slowly, I opened my eyes to see MJ staring right back at me. We both smiled at each other goofily for a moment. MJ's smile then faded as that expression of hers came over her face – the one of vulnerability.

"…I don't know if I can call what I feel about you love," she began. "But, I know that, despite the fact that you're a superhero, I worry for you, and I want to protect you and take care of you. I know that, whenever you're at Peter Pan, my job becomes a lot less crappy. I know that whenever I think about you, I can't help but smile because there are things I enjoy and admire about you, such as how protective you are of me and the rest of us American Idiots, and how you try to always do the right thing, even if you don't quite go about doing it the right way." She then smirked. "I also know that I may or may not enjoy that cute butt of yours."

I chuckled as I shook my head. "You have a butt fetish," I said jokingly.

MJ rolled her eyes. "I enjoy a nice set of cheeks, sue me." She then looked straight at me, her serious expression returning. "…But in all seriousness, the most I want to say is that I really, really like you. But, considering everything I just said, and considering you got me thinking about things I normally wouldn't think about, from little things like what to wear when I'm about to hang out with you to major things like what our life together after college and beyond could be like… We should probably call a spade a spade."

I raised my eyebrows. "Does this mean…?"

"Yes, Peter. I'm saying I love you, too."

I was at a loss for words, not that I wanted to say anything. I just wanted to kiss her. And that's exactly what I did. We kissed for some seconds before she pulled away. "Come on, Peter," she chastised halfheartedly with a smile. "I have to go to school, and you have to go to work."

"I'm not going to lie to you. I probably won't be able to focus on anything else for the rest of the day."

At that, MJ scoff. "Dork." She then smiled. "My dork."

I smiled back at her. "Always."

The rest of the day went by in a blur. I was barely able to focus on what I had to do at work and at school. As a matter of fact, Scott pulled me aside after class and asked me if I was okay. I told him my day couldn't get any better. After I explained to him what happened this morning, he stared at me. He then smiled and said one word.

"Nice."

There was only one damper to my whole day. But, in hindsight, it was a crucial moment for me.

After I got home from patrolling, I went to bed. But I didn't go to sleep. The dream conversation I had with MJ played in my head again and again – specifically, the part where she said I needed to find some professional help. I made a promise – a promise in a dream, but a promise nonetheless. Looking back on it, I could have waited until the morning to do what I was about to do. But, instead, I sat up in my head, grabbed my phone, took it off of my charger, and went through my contacts. I found Scott's number before I called it. The phone rang a few times. On the fourth ring, I figured I was going to get his voicemail. However, on the fifth ring, Scott picked up.

"Hello?" he said in a raspy voice.

"Hi Scott," I greeted. "Um… you have a minute?"

"Is everything okay? It's about three o'clock in the morning." He went quiet for a bit. During this, I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked at the screen. It was indeed about three o'clock in the morning – 2:56, to be exact. I brought the phone back to my ear. "You didn't run into Scorpion, did you?"

"No, no. Um… I'm sorry for calling you around this time but… I was wondering if you could help me with something."

"Does it have anything to do with Michelle? I can give you advice on that front, but I haven't dated since I was married, so…."

"Not really, no." I paused. "You were married?"

"Yeah, I was. Long story short, my wife died and got resurrected as a vessel for a cosmic force. We ended things on an amicable note before she went off to space." I couldn't help but mouth a "wow" at that. "But, enough about me. What do you need?"

"I was wondering if you had a number for a therapist."

"Psychological, or physical?"

"The former. I…" I sighed. "MJ thinks I need one and… I don't think she's wrong. The problem is that I need one I can be completely open with. I really don't want to have to skirt around certain things, you know?"

"So, basically, you want a therapist for costumed vigilantes."

"Yeah. I know it sounds stupid, but…"

"Pete," Scott interjected. There was a certain seriousness to his tone – one I would hear in Aunt May's voice whenever she was about to tell me something really important. "There's nothing stupid about looking out for your mental health. I can't even begin to tell you the amount of people I've seen burn out or explode at the worst possible moment because they believe that going to therapy was for the weak. Honestly, I'm glad you're asking me about this. As for your request, I do know a guy. His name is Jericho Drumm. He's based out of New Orleans, but he does a lot of online sessions as well. I can give you his number to call after class tomorrow, if that's okay."

"That would be a great," I replied.

"Good, good. Now with that squared away, is there anything else you need?"

"Um…" I thought about it for a few moments. Then Aunt May popped into my head. I realized it been a long while since I visited her grave. I've been avoiding it for a long time – I didn't want to cry anymore. But, maybe me not crying wasn't a good thing. "…I… want to go see my Aunt May tomorrow."

Scott didn't respond at first. Maybe it took him a moment to realize what I was saying. "Okay. Do you need a ride or anything?"

"Technically, no. But…" I paused for a moment. "I would like it if you were there with me. I'm going to ask my fellow American Idiots if they can be there with me, too."

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't mind. But, usually, that kind of thing is reserved for family."

"You are my family, Scott."

There was another pause. There was a part of me that thought that he was going to contradict what I said. But, much to my relief, he spoke again. "I'm free after class. Would that be okay?"

"Yes. Yes it would be."

"Okay. Well, I'll see you tomorrow… or today, rather. Good night, Peter."

"Good night, Scott."

I ended the call. I then brought up the American Idiots group chat. I started typing away before I sent the message.

"Hey guys. I'm sorry for the late text. But, tomorrow I'm going to visit Aunt May's grave. I know this is kind of short notice, so don't feel obligated to do so, but I wanted to know if you guys can be there with me. It'll be in the afternoon after I'm done with my GED class. Just, let me know if you can."

I put the phone down and looked forward at the wall in front of me, staring off at nothing. I smiled sadly. I wished Aunt May was still alive. Knowing her, she'd have all of my friends over for dinner just to get to know all of them. She'd tell the group embarrassing stories about me, and I'd whine about it. She'd also tease me and MJ. And then she'd tell them we could sleep over whenever we needed a place to crash. Craig would finally get to know her beyond the two times he met her.

I felt myself start to unravel. This time, I didn't stop myself from crying as tears flowed from my eyes. I just bowed my head and sobbed, letting it out. I didn't stop crying until five minutes later. Once I was done, I sniffled as I wiped my eyes with my forearm. Once again, I felt a bit of weight off of my chest. I started to wonder what else was weighing me down. After that, I heard and felt my phone vibrate multiple times on my lap. I picked it up and checked it, seeing I got messages – all from the group chat. I unlocked my phone and checked the messages. I then smiled.

"You know I'll be there, Peter," MJ wrote. "I'll call out of work."

"Of course I'll be there, dude," Ned chimed in. "See you then."

"I'll be there as well, even though I never met your Aunt," Betty added.

"Is this even a question?" Craig demanded. "You already know I'll be there."

"I got to be there for my little brother," Kitty messaged. "Let's all wear nice clothes, okay?"

I closed my eyes. Tears flowed through my eyes again. This time, it was tears of joys and gratitude. After wiping my tears away, I sent one more message to the group before I called it a night.

"I love you all."