It's amazing how the human body works. Incredible really, how the feeling of an even rhythm in your chest means your body is working properly to keep you alive. Peter remembered how it felt as a child to play with a toy stethoscope against his chest and then placing in the small earplugs. Even with a plastic toy he was able to hear the light beating of his heart. He remembered the morning we woke up, only a month after he turned 16, when he had gotten bitten by the radioactive spider. He was able to hear his own heart beat pulsing loudly in his ears, along with all the other small noises in his apartment and in the streets of New York City. He was able to see every detail of paint on his wall, of the dust on his windowsill. Peter could recall having to hold a hand to his pounding chest, and having to shut his eyes tight, trying to clear the intense clarity. Peter got mostly used to it of course, could drown out almost all unnecessary noises and signs unless he needed to hear of see something extremely far away. He even named these powers, including his ability to climb up walls and have super strength. He called this his spidey sense. And when Mr. Stark died he begged for his powers to go away.

Peter heard Stark's heartbeat slow the moment he had used the infinity stones. He heard the rasping of breath, trying to escape from his throat. Peter knew was dead when he heard silence. Silence and open eyes.

His passport was expired. His phone battery was shot. His bedroom door creaked open after being closed for so long. It was the little things like this that surprised Peter nowadays. A new store that had opened on the corner of his block, an old one that had closed after Thanos and had yet to be reclaimed. And while almost all the cars that filled the sides of the streets were gone, there were still the ones that sat, covered in rust, looking like they haven't been touched in five years, and will remain that way indefinitely.

School became a strange experience. Though Peter hadn't been friends with all his classmates, they at least had given him a sense of familiarity. Entering the school building now felt wrong if not uncomfortable for him. Peter looked sixteen, even he could not deny that. But given that he knew it was no longer 2018 but in fact 2023, he felt like a trespasser in the hallways.

Another surprising factor of this new way of life was that the lockers belonging to the fallen hadn't been cleared. And with half of the student population gone, it wasn't as if the extra space was needed.

"Hey Peter" A girl said, giving a small wave and a smile as he passed. He recognized her briefly as the person who sat behind him in U.S. history. That was just one of the difficult adjustments after Thanos. All who had disappeared had to restart the year in which they had left. Meaning Peter had to retake his junior year.

Peter put up a hand to wave back. Trying his best to muster a smile. She hadn't disappeared, she hadn't had her whole life stripped away. It wasn't her fault though. She was one of the nice kids, the kids who pitied the ones who had disappeared.

Peter felt a vibration in his pocket. He pulled out his phone, old as it was it still worked well once he had the battery replaced. He knew who would be calling before he saw the screen. Happy.

Even though he had been calling repeatedly since the funeral every time the name appear on screen Peters mostly because Peter had refused to answer even once.

"Peter, hey!" Ned came up to him. Peter's phone vibrated again, he refused to look down at it.

"Still not answering?" Ned asked, having seen Peter refuse the calls for weeks.

"No point" Peter said. He opened his locker and pulled out a textbook.

"You know maybe it's time though" Ned said carefully. "You suiting up again, me the guy in the chair" he dropped his voice to a whisper.

"What're you guys doing?" MJ asked, coincidentally having been passing the two.

"Nothing" Ned said quickly.

"Really?" She said taking a step forward, trying her best to appear threatening. "Because it looked like you guys were being all secretive"

"We were just talking about Spider-Man" Ned said almost too quickly.

"Spider-Man? You know I heard he was snapped too" MJ said.

"Snapped?" Peter asked.

"Yeah you know, poof, gone" MJ said as she gestured an explosion with her hands. "Just like the rest of us, right. You would think he'd be back now seeing as the Avengers are down two superheroes".

"Yeah, you'd think" Peter muttered. He felt a headache coming on. He wanted to leave.

"Hey Parker, you're not looking so great" MJ said. "Though, not worse than usual...hey!" She said as Peter slammed his locker shut and began walking away rather fast paced.

Peter made his way straight into the boys restroom as the nausea crept up his throat and his headache worsened. He gave a silent prayer of thanks as the bathroom was luckily empty. Immediately he caved over the trash can and the minuscule amount of food he had eaten had resurfaced. Peter turned to look in the mirror, face red and he could see himself visibly shaking.

"Calm down Peter. Just calm down" He told himself. He felt weak, helpless, just like he had felt when he was trapped under concrete and couldnt move. He hated feeling this way. He wanted to be happy, to be Spider-Man again. But he couldn't like this.

"Peter?" A knock echoed. He could already tell it was MJ. Before he could say anything she entered.

"Hey this is the guys bathroom!" He protested but Peter didn't exactly look up for a fight.

"Do you really think I care" MJ asked. She didn't wait for an answer.

"MJ-"

"Before you start getting mad at me the same way you've been hating on everyone else just listen. I came to apologize" She said.

Peter stared at her.

"At first I thought it was just the shock of everything that had happened that made you lose it. But then I realized that it's different for you than everyone else" MJ began.

Peter immediately felt nervous, wondering if somehow she knew his secret.

"You lost someone didn't you?" MJ asked.

"What?" Peter asked. He wasn't sure what she'd say next.

"Tony Stark. You had your internship with him right? Well I'm guessing it was more than just an internship. You cared about him, and I'm guessing he cared about you" MJ said and she gave a shrug, waiting to see if she got it right. And technically she did. Though she didn't get all the details, she was still mostly correct.

"Besides for Aunt May and Ned he was the closest thing to family I had. But you can't tell anyone. Please MJ" Peter begged, knowing he probably looked like a mess right now.

"I'm not the one that goes around spilling peoples secrets" MJ said and Peter took that as a promise. "Anyways I knew that must've been the reason you freaked out when I talked about the Avengers".

Peter gave smallest bit of laugh that he could manage while trying to ignore his tears that had previously fallen. "Yeah, you were right".

"Well I should probably get out of this bathroom" MJ said.

"Yeah" Peter agreed, and MJ turned towards the door, grabbing the handle. Then she turned back around to face Peter.

"And Peter? If you ever need someone to I dont know, give you a pep talk or something, I'm not really that girl. But if you need someone to talk to-" She extended her hands out to either side and pointed to herself. Then she left.

Hoping to write more about Stark in the next chapter. please leave reviews and tell me what you guys think! And yes, I am trying to put a lot of Peter and MJ in this fic, i am hoping they get together in Far From Home