âIâm just so glad that the sad man has friends.â
Thatâs what she had said. Yelena had said that and suddenly everything else came flooding back.
âThere was someone, but I had to let her go. To keep her safe.â
âThis is the most fun Iâve had in years.â
MJ really should be doubting herself here. What kind of person spends four years completely isolated?
The kind of person who writes a letter heâs never going to read. Thatâs who. The self sacrificial idiot who got himself shot trying to save the person who was terrorising him. The same idiot who hasnât shown his face in the past two weeks.
So, with the help of Nedâs computer skills they get Yelena back on the phone, and with her government access and a side comment about Spider-Man declining her invitations to the tower, MJ had an address.
And she checks that address six times before finally concluding that yes, this idiot lived in the most run down building of all time. And yes, this idiot lived in the attic that was completely on its own. And yes, this absolute idiot had a sign on the door so he didnât even have to talk to delivery drivers.
She knocks with more force than necessary, probably.
And Peter opens the door quicker than she expects, panicked eyes racking up and down as if sheâs carrying something dangerous.
âAre you okay?â He asks, breatheless.
And now that theyâre up close, she can see the bags under his eyes, the cuts on his face and the bruises on his neck.
âYou didnât call,â she says, pushing past him and into the apartment. Cupboards are left open displaying the empty shelves, clothes strewn around the floor. Thereâs an unmade bed in the corner and no couch. It smells stale and old and she is going to kill this idiot.
âI didnâtâ Woah, hang on.â And Peter finally has the gall to sound embarrassed. He should be. This place is horrifying.
âYou canât just disappear!â MJ says, voice dangerously close to breaking because Peter was supposed to go to college with them. He was supposed to have a life.
âIâ I didnât think you wanted anything to do with me,â he says, though itâs more of a question.
âWhat, just because I friendzoned you?â
Peter seems to stumble at that point. âYou wanted to be friends still?â
MJ rolls her eyes, trying to hide the glassy shine, before bulldozing Peter into a hug. He took a few seconds to even realise what was going on, and that just made her hold on even tighter.
Sheâs going to love this idiot back to life if itâs the last thing she does.