One week after Spider-Man and Doctor Strange battled some villains at the Statue of Liberty...

MJ was already on the roof of the school when Ned arrived and started talking. "Finally, some privacy. It is so crazy down there. So, I was thinking, if we're going to live together in Boston we should start browsing places"

"Yeah. Love That."

Ned was puzzled by her less than enthusiastic response but sat next to her. He pulled out his laptop and started pulling up student apartments. "Not many have separate bathrooms."

"You gonna be embarrassed if I hang my delicates on the shower rod?"

Now Ned understood something was bothering her. Even MJ wasn't usually this caustic. "What's up?"

"You shouldn't plan based on something that might not happen. We still need scholarships so we can actually go."

"Come on. You've got the scores and the grades..."

"I just feel like if you don't... If you expect disappointment, then you can never really get disappointed."

"We'll figure it out. Get away from all this nonsense and into some new and better nonsense. New school, new town. It'll be a fresh start."

She took his hand. "Yeah. You're right. Fresh start."

That night Ned and MJ were face-timing. Suddenly she hit him with an unexpected question.

"Have you told your parents?"

"About what?"

"About you asking your non-Filipino girlfriend, who they haven't met, to move in with you in Boston?"

"Girlfriend?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "We've been hanging out every day, doing this every night, and even going out occasionally for over a year. I think that qualifies." With her memories of Peter gone, all the social life she could recall was with Ned.

Ned was astonished to discover she was right, his altered memories left nothing else either, and he wondered why he never considered their relationship in that way. He certainly wasn't going to disagree. "You surprised me. It's the first time we've said it out loud."

"Feels weird, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, but good weird."

"Definitely good weird."

"I haven't told them yet. They're pretty chill. I think they'll be OK with it. Why wouldn't they be?"

"I'll let you think on it. If you don't figure it out by morning I'll show you tomorrow on the roof."

The next day MJ was again already waiting when Ned arrived on the roof.

"Hey, MJ."

"Hey. You still think your parents will be cool with us living together?"

"I don't see why not."

"Come sit next to me."

Ned complied. Before he could say another word, MJ kissed him on the mouth. He returned the kiss as best he could. It was the best kiss he'd ever had. He was speechless afterward.

MJ broke the silence. "That's why your parents might have a problem with us living together. They'll worry we'll get even more physical."

"You didn't have to."

"I wanted to. I think I've been wanting to for a while."

"But we don't do that."

"We do now." She moved in to kiss him again and he met her halfway. They continued making out until the bell rang indicating their next class.

They were both partly right. Ned's parents were shocked he even had a girlfriend, let alone one so serious they were planning to live together. Ned was right that MJ's ethnicity was not an issue. MJ was right that they had concerns about them cohabitating. Their worries were short lived, however. Once they met her and saw how the two were together those objections melted away.