The Stark Internship

Part 47

PETER

Four months later.

I wake suddenly - as I've found has become my normal way of waking up. Normally sweating, normally unsure where I am.
It takes me a moment. The cream colour of the wall, the photos around me. I stand up and look out the window, an incredible view over miles and miles of forest.
I remember that this is where I live now.
I open the door and find it empty. But I'm not surprised. It's normal. I'm not sure how I know that it's normal, but it is.
'Peter?' I hear. A fuzzy voice over the intercom, 'Hey Pete. Buzz me in. Are you awake? You better not have slept in again.'
I go over to the intercom and pause. It's MJ's voice. I buzz her in. I look around as I wait, I recognise it all. My head hurts.
The door opens and MJ comes in, already taking off her coat and throwing it over the sofa. As if she's been here hundreds of times before.
'Pepper and Tony left already?' She asks, to my surprise.
'What?' I ask, watching her. I'm at a loss for what to do.
'Oh god. Has it happened again?' She says, slowing down and looking to me. She smiles slightly and walks over to me.
'Has what happened again?' I ask, obliging by her gesture to sit on the sofa.
'Name?' She asks, sitting beside me.
'What?'
'Just answer. Quickly. Name?' She says, once again giving off the impression this is nothing new to her.
'Peter.'
'Full name.'
'Peter Benjamin Parker.' I reply, utterly confused.
'Living relatives?' She asks, quietly. Scared almost.
I pause for a moment, 'None.'
'Legal guardian?'
'I...I don't...'
'How did May die?'
'I...can't...I...' my brain is on fire, I close my eyes.
'It's okay. It'll all come back to you. It always does. It takes a couple minutes.' She says, placing a hand on my shoulder.
'This has happened before?' I ask, looking up at her.
'Every week or so.' She replies, 'we all know how to bring you back though. And it's not happening as often as it did.'
'Right.' I say, rubbing my forehead as flashes of memories start to come back to me, 'so I...I live here? With Tony and Pepper?'
'Yeah. Have done for the last three months.' She replies.
'Cool. Cool. Okay. Right.' I say, completely overwhelmed, 'where's Mr.Stark? Tony. Where's Tony?'
'He's at the new internship thing that you guys made.' She says. She continues as I show no sign of understanding what she means, 'you'll remember in a bit. But you guys have been working on a internship thing for the last couple of weeks, and it launches today.'
'That actually happened?' I ask, surprised, 'that's great.'
'He didn't want to do it without you but you spent hours convincing him.' She says. As she talks I begin to remember. It all starts to come back.
I clutch my head and MJ sits and waits as everything comes rushing in. I remember everything in pieces. I find it impossible to understand how I didn't remember it all.
'God.' I say, leaning forward as it dims down, 'I'm sorry. This is just...a mess.'
'I can't disagree with that.' She says, laughing a little.
'I'm so sorry. That you have to deal with all this. God.' I say, looking up at her, 'the world really doesn't want us to be together.'
'How'd you figure that?' She asks.
'We kiss, and I go into a coma. We finally talk again, and I get brainwashed. We talk again. And I can barely remember who I am.' I say, looking up at her, 'it's not exactly rooting for us.'
'Since when do you believe in fate and all that?' She asks, staring back at me. Her knee is resting on the sofa so that she faces me.
'Who says I do?' I say.
'Peter, I swear...' She says, looking away briefly and then back at me, 'if you don't kiss me in the-'
And I'm kissing her before she's finished. One hand in her hair, the other around her waist. She clings to me. It feels like our first kiss was only seconds ago instead of months.
She pulls away, resting her forehead against mine. She breathes heavily, smiling.
'Well.' She says, 'you took your time.'
'I like to play hard to get.' I reply. She laughs and shakes her head. I still hold onto her.
'Just so long as you don't wait another six months before our next kiss.' She says.
'Alright. Okay, five months.' I reply.
'Five months works for me.' She laughs. And I can't help but kiss her again. And I think of how long she's stuck by me. How much time she's helped me get better. And I think for a moment, that I might just love her a little bit.