Of The Twilight Hours

Sequel to 'Midnight is Meant to Be'

Disclaimer: I own none of Marvel/Stan Lee's creations, only the scenario and original characters in this story.

Awesome Response: Good Job you guy, I thought you had abandoned me! Due to your encouragingly quick and plentiful reviews I have written this chapter quicker than I would have by about three months :D

"How could I ever forget anything about you?" Peter said softly, the bare honesty of his words shocked even him, but honest they were. Ever since he had first laid eyes upon Mary Jane Peter had never found anybody as intriguing, and Peter rarely forgot anything about something that intrigued him, even when he tried to. Mary Jane turned to look at him, she looked naked, her eyes clear and her face light with hope, she was throwing herself at him, trusting him with the heart she had just put on her sleeve.

"Peter, I never meant to hurt you, you know I would never do that to you" Peter could see that she had tears in the wings of her emotions, so fragile, beautiful.

"I thought I knew a lot about you, I liked to think I knew everything, I liked to think I knew you better than anybody" Peter's hand slipped from her shoulder, "Why didn't you tell me about him?" Peter had to ask her, she was forgiven, but he had to hear her say it. Ever since that fateful night Peter's fears had spoken to him in her tongue, set his heart alight with pain, it would banish so many demons just to hear the truth.

"I hadn't know him for long, he certainly wasn't my boyfriend at the time he thought I was, that only happened after…" Mary Jane swallowed, downed her fear, her memories, "after I lost you"

Peter wasn't sure what to say, but the words came automatically. Having spent most of his waking hours with that night on his mind for most of the year Peter instinctively knew the questions he needed to hear answered, and the answers that weren't enough. "So you did love him?"

"NO!" Mary Jane was disgusted by the idea of Peter asking her that, "I never loved him, I barely even liked him. After you left I went to pieces. I was broken, it just happened. Falling into his life was just too easy, I didn't know what to do" Mary Jane didn't like to relive the first few weeks she knew John, things moved so quickly, she was stuck in time, in the moment when she knew Peter was gone, he was out of reach.

"I, I couldn't have stayed. You, I…" Peter stumbled, he knew deep down the reason he couldn't have stayed, the barriers he had put up between them had been broken, that night was the first time in so long he had been honest with his feelings, only to get burnt. He knew how he felt, that was why he couldn't stay, but like they say, once burnt, twice shy, the moral of Peter and Mary Jane's dance. Now was not the time to tell her how he had felt about her then, using the past tense was bold, the current was not something he was happy thinking about at this very moment.

"It's alright Peter, I know" Mary Jane had finally told him, he knew at last that she had died inside when he left her, now she had to convince him not to do it again in five minutes. This time John wasn't going to conveniently save her from herself, she needed Peter, he surely had to see that now.

"Peter, I want to be your friend again" Not so often said, this statement was blatant, simple, but not so simple to answer. Peter hadn't said anything since he had stumbled, confronted with feelings he had tried to bury, a fire he had tried to extinguish with little avail. The wait for him to say something was agonising, the silence a rejection in itself.

"On one condition" Peter finally broke the cage of stillness in the room, "you don't get me socks for Christmas" His voice was dead pan, and Mary Jane started to smile, he never changed. Overjoyed, MJ turned to him and wrapped her arms around him, a single tear fell like a star to his shoulder, drawn to the ground by a force of god, just like she was to him, a non-corporeal magnetism she had been tormented by up until now, when he squeezed her back.

"I missed you" she whispered. To Peter this was the understatement of his life.

Peter hadn't smiled like this for a long time, guilt free, and without anything in the back of his mind. It was innocent happiness, and as care free as it was, he was going to have to cut it short. Aunt May had arrived back fifteen minutes after MJ and he had 'made up', their coffees long gone, and she returned lacking cream. Peter knew how sly she could be, and he appreciated it. It was now an hour since Ms. Watson had sat on his bed beside him, and he had been discharged. Aunt May was going to give Mary Jane a lift back to John's apartment and help her pack her belongings into May's small car before taking her to her Aunt Anna's in Queens, since it was on the way home anyway. Peter would have to say his goodbyes, he was going to have to rest up after such an eventful day.

"Here's where I get off I'm afraid" Peter said as they exited the hospital's back entrance, which opened out into a car park. It was calm now, most of John's fans had either retired or actually gotten in, so their was no trouble in bypassing the remaining groups pf people.

"Don't be a stranger Pete" Mary Jane smiled, she was back to normal now, and was walking with the same vibrant confidence which had taken his breath away in high school.

"Don't worry, I have your number" Peter smiled; the piece of paper in his hand was embellished with the same girl heart at the end of Mary Jane's number as she always used. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Peter looked at the smirk on Aunt May's face, and was taken off guard by another tight hug from Mary Jane when they all stopped near the car.

"See you soon yeah?" MJ asked, it wasn't the rhetorical question it usually was.

"You can count on it" Peter smiled as he started to walk away. A hug of his Aunt later and he was away, waving to them as they opened the car doors. He couldn't face Ditkovich's shit right now, best to just steer clear and check on Felicia too, see if he could stay there for the night. As he walked the more easily web slung route to Felicia's flat, Peter found the posters of Mary Jane less torturous, she was awe inspiringly beautiful, she would no doubt have every guy in NYC calling her now, seeing if they can help 'pick up the pieces' of her break up with John. At least they were friends again, that was a good feeling. He could walk down the street again without fearing her in his path, which was why he chose to walk to his destination for the first time since he had met Felicia.

Peter stepped out of the elevator and walked the dozen or so steps to Felicia's door. He could hear muffled sounds on the other side, and using his key quickly pounced into the room, not knowing what to expect. What he found though was even more surprising than what he could have imagined. Curled up where her bed met the corner of the walls Felicia wept her eyes dark and sore, seemingly unaware of Peter's silent but quick entrance, she choked on her breathing, short gasps in her crying.

"Felicia, hey, what's wrong?" Peter was instantly on the bed, kicking the door shut behind him, and folded her into his arms. "Hey, its okay, I'm here, everything's going to be fine" Peter tried his best to sooth her, and it seemed to work, if only a little. "Tell me what's wrong?" He asked again, softly, stroking her hair as her head cradled against his chest.

"I thought you were going to die"

I hope you guys like it, please tell me what you think! All your reviews keep me going, and this is now the longest fic I have done under this name, my other account was deleted about 3 years ago ;)