She probably should be celebrating. Everyone who died is back to life. All the horrific damage has been undone. That's good news, right? Except Michelle can't seem to find it within herself to be happy.

After babbling something incoherent to Peter, Michelle had stumbled out and practically fled the school. It's not like she could remember what her class schedule was, so trying to fake it for the day was out of the question.

According to her phone, it's the day before Thanos attacked. A Friday. The loose bits of conversation she was hearing between Ned and Peter as she "came back" must have been Ned telling them about his upcoming date with Betty tonight. If she remembers the events correctly, Michelle goes off to have another one of her training sessions in the Mystic Arts tomorrow morning and on her way out is when Banner had crash landed next to her, screaming warnings about Thanos.

She won't go.

The Sanctum no longer belongs to her. Strange would be there and that's a gigantic can of worms that Michelle doesn't want to go remotely near right now. Because of that, she winds up heading back to her old apartment. It's odd. She has the keys, but they feel different. The layout, the furniture, and even her old bed don't seem like hers anymore. Like they belong to a stranger. What should feel nostalgic now looks out of place.

She may have saved the universe, but in an unfamiliar home, in an unfamiliar bed, and wrapped in unfamiliar covers, Michelle Jones weeps for what she's lost along the way.

There were some attempts from Peter to call her, but they stopped after he likely had to return to class. He didn't try again. Michelle's not sure how to feel about that. Technically, he's still her boyfriend in this time. It's March and they started going out at the tail end of August of last year so they would have been together about 6-7 months. Blowing him off like this and leaving him confused will cause her problems if she wants to salvage things.

Spinning her phone around in her hands, Michelle tries to start thinking about what to do. Should she just play it all off and pretend nothing happened? Should she try and act like she's 17? Should she tell him everything? She never gets the chance to make up her mind before someone different calls her.

It's Tony Stark.

Seeing the name reminds her suddenly that there are so many other things going on that she has forgotten or been ignoring. Who else remembers? Where are the stones? Is Thanos still alive?

"Hey Glinda," he greets.

How does she broach this? "Do you..." she trails off, hoping he gets the hint.

There's a long pause. Is she the only one that knows what happened? Was it even real? "I think we have a lot to talk about," Tony eventually says.

"He doesn't remember." It's all she says. It's all she needs to say, but it's probably pointless. Surely he knows. He must know. And he must be hurt too. She's not the only one who was close to Peter after all.

Again, silence for a time, "I know."

They don't really talk. Not like the way they probably should, but maybe this is enough for now. "I'm heading out to his place to talk with him and his aunt. Try and explain what's going on. He knows something's up and that you're involved somehow, but not what. I convinced him to stop calling you in the meantime," Tony tells her.

"Should he be told?" Michelle practically chokes it out.

"It's too late for that. I, ah, may have said too much when I was checking on him."

Michelle probably said too much herself with her spouting off Thanos' name. The metaphorical rain cloud over her head is practically storming, "I don't know what to tell him."

"I know."

"He asked me to marry him. It was dumb and it was awkward, but he did it and I said yes. And now he doesn't even remember it." She checks her hand. Yep, the ring he gave her is gone. There's no evidence it ever happened.

"I know."

More silence.

"Do you want me to tell him anything about you?" he asks.

God, and isn't that the root of it all. Michelle waves him off despite the fact he can't see her, "No. No, I'll figure something out."

"Got it. Listen, I'm at his place now so I've got to go. Don't come to the compound. Rogers is on his way in and things are about to get a little chaotic since he's technically on the run. I'd rather not see you and Peter get dragged into my media circus that's about to happen."

"Wait," she calls before he hangs up.

He doesn't respond, but she can tell he's listening, "Promise me that you'll remove any trace of that quantum time travel tech after this is all over."

Stark scoffs, "Who do you take me for? I already made plans to burn it all down."

She lets him go.

Peter doesn't try calling again that night.

Or Saturday.

Or Sunday.

Much of what happens next is highly televised to the mass confusion of the world.

Nearly all parties involved in the events of the future begin finding their way back. As Stark had claimed, the fugitive Avengers are the first to arrive. All of them appear except for Natasha. From what Michelle hears, she simply vanished into thin air mid conversation with Sam Wilson. A devastated Wanda Maximoff is there and brings the body of Vision with her, the Mind Stone seemingly having disappeared as well.

Rocket's ship arrives from space and he brings along Nebula and his entire confused crew, sans Gamora. Michelle's never met her before, but heard some. Since both Gamora and Natasha apparently died as sacrifices to the Soul Stone, it's likely that the stones just refused to return them.

Thor arrives via the Bifrost in better spirits (and in better shape) than anyone has seen him in years and brings word that Banner was the one who ended up doing the snap, but is left in critical condition and is being tended to on the Asgardian refugee ship. His right arm was nearly blown off and didn't handle the transition back to 2018 well which makes some form of sense. The Hulk of 2023 and 2018 were very different. Apparently when time was reversed, Banner was found wearing the gauntlet with all the stones from the past still on it.

Thor's positive mood kept him oblivious to the fact that maybe bringing his now alive brother, Loki, to Earth wasn't a good idea at the moment.

With the six Infinity Stones in the compound and the media outside going nuts over outlaws and aliens in the building, the compound goes into full lockdown mode. No one in or out until they can send the stones back to where they came from. Only one exception was made. Scott Lang arrives in the same van that contained a quantum tunnel after an extended road trip across the country. With him are the Pym Particles required to make the trip.

The UN gets involved and it turns into a massive mess as everyone stalls until they can get rid of the stones. Threats and closed door deals were made, but everything holds together long enough for new quantum suits to be built in record time. Steve Rogers goes alone to return things to where they belong.

And doesn't come back.

Or maybe he does. It's hard to tell. Michelle gets some conflicting info there. Something about a girl. She figures it's none of her business. You do you, Captain America.

As for Thanos? According to Rocket, he and his army just disappeared. When the time came on Saturday for the initial attack that kidnapped Strange, nothing happened. No spaceship. No attack. No end of the world.

While no one is able to actually ask him yet until he recovers, it seems that the only people who remember are ones that Banner wanted to, but it only worked if they were alive at the time. The Avengers and other allies who died in the first snap had no idea what was going on. Apparently there are a few others who remember who weren't directly involved in the fighting, but they are largely family or friends of the group such as Pepper. Thor mentioned a valkyrie being one of them?

The downside is that this implies the reason Peter doesn't remember is because he died.

The problem is, Michelle doesn't really want to go back to school. Not so much because she'd be repeating classes she had sort of already taken, but because she's not ready to face anyone.

Or a specific someone.

That's why she's up at 4:00 AM on Monday morning, flipping coins to try and make up her mind as to if she wants to go. The universe conspires against her because the outcome ends up being "Go to School" 15 times in a row despite her attempts to keep claiming to herself it didn't count.

After dragging it out for much longer than is reasonable, Michelle manages to force herself to get cleaned up and leaves for class. The first thing on her To Do list is to show up early to go to the office and get a copy of her schedule. After that, she waits.

Ned Leeds enters the doors of Midtown a little while later, chatting happily with Betty. That's good. Their date must have gone well. Hoping that Betty doesn't take this the wrong way, Michelle walks up to him and pulls him into the biggest hug she can possibly give. Without letting go, she turns to Betty and says, "I'm stealing your boyfriend for a minute. I'll give him back."

Betty just raises an interested eyebrow, but says nothing.

No denial. Not even a hint of embarrassment. Their date must have gone extremely well. Way to go, Leeds.

"It's nice to see you too, MJ?" Ned hesitantly asks, unsure what in the world is going on.

Don't cry. Don't cry.

"Shut up and let me have this moment. I missed you."

Shit, I'm crying.

Ned seems to see this and quickly pulls Michelle out of the middle of the school hall where she won't make a scene. It's a nice gesture, but she doesn't really care about what others think of her.

"Seriously, are you okay MJ? You practically bolted out of school on Friday, I've been getting weird texts from Peter, and now this? Is this related to all the crazy stuff in the news?"

It says a lot about how used to crazy Spider-Man and mystical stuff Ned is that he can make that logical leap. Not trusting her voice at the moment, Michelle nods her head.

"Okay, wow. That was a total guess. And really awesome, but you're also crying into my shoulder so it's not cool."

After a couple minutes, she recomposes herself and lets go. "Some really bad stuff happened. I'll probably tell you about it at some point. Just... not now. I'm really happy you're my friend. Don't ever change, okay?"

Ned doesn't understand, but still pretends that he does and nods his head and gives a thumbs up, "You got it, MJ. I think."

Before she turns to leave, there's one more thing she wants to say. He won't understand, but it's for her own benefit. "And Ned? I'm sorry. About everything."

As expected, his only response is a dumb, confused look on his face and he keeps holding out his thumbs up. She'll take it.

For a second, Michelle allows herself to think that maybe she could get through the day without seeing Peter, but instead she sees him waiting for her at her locker. She's not ready.

Act normal. This Peter isn't your fiancé. He's been your boyfriend for about 6-7 months. How did 17 year old me act here? Dial back the soft, seem a little distant and uninterested.

"Parker," she emotionlessly greets with a stiff nod.

Too distant.

Her mistake is immediately apparent from the hurt look on Peter's face, but he manages to brush it off and take on a more nervous appearance It's obvious that Stark told Peter a least a little about her. Probably that she was one of the ones that remember. His face constantly twitches as if he wants to start asking something, but can't bring himself to do it. Conversely, Michelle still isn't sure how to answer any of the questions he would want to ask.

About a minute in, he manages to put forth a question, "Mr. Stark told me not to bother you and that you were working through some stuff, but you're here now. Does that mean...?"

Tony must have hated being called that again. It took nearly two years after half the universe died before he finally convinced Peter to call him Tony instead. Still, it's not within her power to deny him. Michelle doesn't say anything, but nods. That's apparently good enough for Peter who breathes out a sigh of relief.

"Okay, good. Good. Can we talk after school? Like, really talk?"

I'm not ready. I'm not ready.

"Okay."

What am I doing!?

School is a surreal experience for all kinds of reasons. Some good, some bad. Michelle has no idea what kind of homework she was supposed to do and doesn't even remember what she was in the middle of learning, so instead she zones out and just... looks around. It makes her look like an idiot a few times when she isn't able to answer any questions, but she makes it through the day without too many incidents.

There's no way she's going to pass her finals without completely redoing the entire semester's worth of studying. Just the thought of doing that for all of her classes makes her groan in dismay.

In her classes, she sees her friends that she once wondered if she would ever be able to beg forgiveness from. They're all completely unaware of the tragedies that took place. That's likely for the best. Even if they can't answer her, she hopes she's finally earned it.

According to the calendar on her phone, there is an Academic Decathlon practice scheduled for tomorrow. Michelle doesn't remember where any of her binders of questions are, but that's okay. She thinks she'll order pizza for everyone instead. Call it a day off. Maybe give Cindy a little extra to take home to her brother.

Still, that's tomorrow. She'll worry about it then.

On her way out of Midtown, Michelle spots Peter waiting for her by the entrance. As with before, he's nervous. She is too. They walk together in a mostly tense silence because they can't talk about the things they need to with so many people around. Once they get to a more isolated location, Michelle casts a subtle silencing spell which surprises Peter.

He gets the hint though and with a rub of his hands to psych himself up, he begins one of the scariest conversations of her life, "So, Mr. Stark told me a lot. About this really bad thing that happened and that we lived with it for 5 years. He also said that you remember this happening."

"I do. You were there too," she answers as evenly as possible to avoid saying too much.

Peter nods, "That's what Mr. Stark said. So, what, you're 22 now?"

"In my head, I suppose," Michelle says with a shrug. "Obviously I look no older than you. I'm trying not to think about it or I'll drive myself crazy."

Ever so carefully, he asks the one question he wants to know, "He didn't want to answer much about you. Do you know why?"

"I asked him not to." She could have phrased that a lot better.

He nods regardless, "Did something happen between us?"

Oh. He's just going right for it.

Peter, however, interprets her hesitation as the worst possible case, "Because you almost acting like we're not even friends anymore. Mr. Stark is telling me not to call you. It feels like we're falling apart and I don't even know why. I must have screwed something up in the future for you to act like this. What did I do? Can I still fix it? I promise I'll do better."

It's just like him to assume it's always his fault. Michelle opens her mouth to try and refute him – to try and make him understand that it's not really his fault – but she isn't sure how to do it without saying what really happened.

"Do you not want to be with me anymore?" the vulnerability in his voice practically tears her apart.

"I do!" she accidentally says louder than she meant to in an attempt to reassure him. "I do. It's..." but Michelle has absolutely no idea what to say. Screw it. "You've got to understand. We were 22. Three days before we came back, you asked me to marry you. Now you don't even remember it."

Peter's voice practically squeaks, "I did!?"

Great. Did she just screw it up and scare him off? Michelle cringes, "Can we pretend I didn't say that?"

He snatches her hand before she can back away, "No! No, no. You can't take that back. I mean, yes, that's pretty far from what I expected and I don't know how to react yet, but I'm happy you told me."

Michelle nods rapidly, "Exactly. I don't know how to react. There's years of memories about us that only exist now in my head. We got older. We moved in together."

"So I didn't mess up?"

"Not in the way you're thinking. We had arguments and fights, sure, but we got past that."

The information seems to still be settling in Peter's head, so Michelle takes the opportunity to continue, "This thing where I'm being weird about you, that's my problem. I look at you and I see the other Peter that I've come to know for years. You're the same person, but you're also not. Does that make any sense? You're still my boyfriend, but I feel like I'm starting over. The fact that you're in front of me is something I'm still having trouble with. I watched you die. Then moments later, we come back in time only for me to see that you didn't come with us."

He nods, apparently understanding. It seems like he's trying to work out the words of something he wants to say so she waits.

"Maybe," he trails off and looks away for a moment before gathering his resolve, "Maybe I'm not the exact same person you remember, but I hope I'm close enough that you're willing to try."

He takes her silence as a cue to continue, "When I'm with you, I'm... happy. Really, really happy. It's the kind of happy that keeps me up at night because I'm wondering when the rug is going to get pulled out from under me since I'm not supposed to be this lucky. I'm not old enough to already be making plans to be marrying you. We haven't even been together long enough from my perspective for that. But when I think about my future, it's not some blank placeholder face there beside me. It's you. It's always you."

"Peter," Michelle tries to start, but doesn't know what to say.

"This stuff you're telling me - about us together in the future - I want that, but I'm not mature enough yet. I need to build my own life first. Will you wait for me? It'll be a few years."

("Will you wait for me? It'll be a few years," Peter asks lowly.)

The memory from his proposal practically bowls her over and she loses her balance for a moment despite standing perfectly still.

That's right. I can't believe I forgot my promise. Maybe the circumstances are different now, but it applies all the same.

"I can wait."

Slowly, she meets his eyes and repeats herself with a small smile, "I can wait. You might have to wait a little for me too. I'm still having trouble coming to terms with this thing where I'm 17 again."

For the first time in a while, she sees him start to smile a little as well, "I can do that. So, can I take you out somewhere tonight?"

"Where to?"

"Haven't made up my mind yet. How about we head out for some ice cream later and figure it out as we go?"

Ah, to be a teenager again. Michelle could get used to this. What would be an appropriate 17 year old answer for her here? "As long as we stop being so cheesy for a while. This is getting pretty gross."

"Fair."

"Also, Peter?" Michelle reaches over to grab his arm and taps the crappy bracelet she had given him for Christmas, "Hold on to this. It might just save your life some day."

There's one more thing she must do and she's been putting this off for a while. Michelle opts to take the long way via public transportation out to the Sanctum. It gives her time to think about what she wants to say and how to say it. As much as she's annoyed by and upset with Strange, he has also simultaneously done a lot for her.

The train of thought starts with a simple question: What would have happened if Strange never pulled her in to learning the Mystic Arts? Well, Peter probably would have died after getting fried by Electro. Even if she pretends he survives there without her, he still would have died again after Thanos' snap since her shoddy bracelet wouldn't have saved him. With Peter dying in the snap, Michelle would have been left all alone in the world with nowhere to go. Where Wong welcomed her in to Kamar-Taj with open arms and helped give her a purpose, she would have drifted aimlessly in shelters. Maybe Ned's parents might have taken her in.

The reality is that the Mystic Arts saved her in more ways than one and for that she'll always be grateful, even if it may not have necessarily been the reason Strange did all this. So maybe she's not angry, just... conflicted. Does she even want to know his reasons? No, not particularly. She can already assume it's related either to what The Ancient One said or to her role in bringing everyone back. Any explanation he gives wouldn't be new information.

When she arrives, Michelle doesn't knock and heads right on in. It doesn't take long to spot Strange. He's in a chair, off to the side in the main room, deep into another spellbook. He looks exactly like she remembers. Blue robes, red Cloak of Levitation, even the same facial hair. The Eye of Agamotto is not around his neck however. It's resting on a nearby table. It's empty anyway, so there wouldn't be much point in wearing it.

He looks up at the noise of the door opening and notices her. "There you are," Strange says as he begins to stand. "I believe congratulations are in order. Wong is currently making rounds with the other masters to convince them that you deserve to be named a Master of the Mystic Arts again. I hear his speech is quite nice."

Of course, she expected him to somehow remember. Who knows how or why.

"Was it all worth it?" is her one and only question. Honestly, the big thing she's upset with Strange about is that the one future he saw things getting fixed was the one where Peter ended up dead along the way, and he was okay with that. In time, Michelle hopes that things will get back to normal with her boyfriend, but it still hurts.

Strange actually deflates ever so slightly, "I'm sorry that things had to be this way."

He probably means it all things considered.

He holds up the book he was reading to show her, "I've been investigating options to try and restore his memory. It's the least I can do."

A flash of hope rises in her chest, "And?"

"Nothing so far. This isn't a case of amnesia. The memories technically never existed to him so restoring what was never there is not so easy."

Suddenly, Michelle feels foolish for ever having hoped.

"I've discovered a method of transplanting your own memories to him which would possibly help, but I fear that's not a safe approach. In those memories, he would be you. It could cause identity issues."

That sounds like a bad idea. She shakes her head, "Yeah, let's not do that."

"There is," Strange hesitates for a moment, "one other option. Instead of trying to bring back Mr. Parker's memory, we could remove yours."

"No." The answer is almost immediate. Michelle didn't even think about it before refusing. It's not about Peter. It's about why she wanted to become a sorceress. She needs to remember.

"I'll keep looking then."

"Thanks."

The stress on Strange's face fades somewhat and he grins a little, "So, you met The Ancient One? How did that go?"

"You don't know?"

"It's a little difficult to pay attention to the details when you're trying to watch 14 million possible outcomes as quickly as possible."

Michelle rolls her eyes at his not so subtle bragging, "She was obsessed with you. It's creepy. If she wasn't dead, I'd suggest a restraining order." That gets a legitimate laugh out of Strange.

It's probably about time to go. Even if they haven't spoken much, she got what she wanted out of this. "So as you know, I've got some personal issues to deal with. I'm cashing in all the vacation time I never got to take. It'll be several months or so. You're on your own until then."

He nods, seemingly having no problem with it. Maybe he really does feel bad about all this.

"Michelle, before you go," he says before she steps out, "If you'll recall, we had a deal. A bargain we once made. I still plan on upholding my end of that."

It takes her a while to determine what he's talking about. What feels like ages ago, they had made a deal that if she tried to take up training, he would throw his weight behind her application to Harvard. The reminder is nice since she had forgotten about it long ago. Maybe she can go to college this time around.

A second chance. Maybe that's all this really is.

With that, Michelle leaves and heads back home. Besides, she's got a date to prepare for.

Being a teenager again isn't so bad. Her night is spent eating more ice cream than should be considered healthy and wandering around the city aimlessly with Peter. Having minimal responsibility is something she needs to milk while it lasts.

Peter takes a bite of his ice cream cone. "So, Morgan Stark."

"Yep. She'll be born near the end of the year." Michelle almost feels bad for Tony. He's got his hands full. Trying to deal with helping the rogue Avengers get pardoned, getting married to Pepper, and having a daughter. That's a lot all at once.

"Wow."

"Having trouble wrapping your head around it?"

"A little. I know things were pretty bad then, but is there anything to look forward to? Any big advancements? New gadgets?"

Michelle hums in thought for a moment. She'd rather not spoil the surprise of his own stuff that he'll eventually invent. "The sex was great."

"W-W-What?" Peter practically trips over himself and starts choking on his ice cream.

"I mean, it was awkward at first-"

"Oh my god."

"-but I have so much to teach you."

"Please stop."

She sighs dramatically, "Alas, that might be too much for right now. We'll get there."

Peter reaches over and takes her free hand in his, "We'll get there."

Michelle should probably stop teasing him before his brain short circuits, but decides to go all-in instead, "Hopefully it won't take too long. Our first time was after I had a near-death experience. I'd rather not do that again."

"Um."

"You'll be amazed at how many practical uses your powers have in the bedroom."

"MJ!"

With a light shriek, Michelle runs away, laughing into the night, as her boyfriend chases after her.

Later that same night, long after finishing their treats and having calmed down from the teasing and running around...

"When are you going to do some training? I'd like to join you next time."

Michelle levels a glare at Peter. She hasn't had her big argument with him yet this time around about going out with him for dangerous stuff, so he must be up to something.

As expected, he raises his hands to defend himself, "Okay, so that was really just a thinly veiled excuse for me to come watch again. Can you blame me?"

"Again? Peter, you've never come with me. I always was with Strange in the Sanctum and he didn't want others hanging around."

"No, that's not true. Just a week or two ago I was watching you practice that spell where you control wind. I think we were out in the field in front of the Avengers compound?"

"That's a little creepy," she points out with a sideways glance at him.

"Hey! I've got an extremely badass girlfriend. Is it so bad that I want to see her at her best?"

Smooth. But she can't let him have the victory that easily, so Michelle pretends to contemplate it for a while and nods. "That kind of flattery will get you absolutely everywhere."

Peter seems to internally celebrate. It's cute. She's still a little confused though and asks, "When were we at the Avengers compound? I can't think of any reason we would have been there."

"Hmm. I'm not sure. You might have tagged along when I was working with Mr. Stark on my internship." He keeps thinking on it for a moment before giving up and shrugs.

No. That doesn't sound right...

Wait. Rewind that.

("Just a week ago I was watching you practice that spell where you control wind.")

"Peter, I didn't learn the Winds of Watoomb spell until I was 19," Michelle blankly says, her mind already elsewhere, fitting puzzle pieces together.

"Huh?"

Controlling wind.

In front of the Avengers compound.

About a week or two ago.

That was the time he came out in the field to talk to me. It was the same day Lang showed up and they started working on the time travel stuff in the Avengers hangar. A lot of it went over my head so I went outside to practice.

("Show-off," Peter says as he approaches. His hands are in his pockets, but there's a fond smile on his face as he approaches.)

"You called me a show-off," she voices slowly.

"Yeah! You remember it now?"

He's remembering something. He's actually remembering something. Maybe he hadn't completely died yet when Banner did his snap?

Michelle carefully broaches it, "That happened in 2023."

"What? No. It was a week or so ago."

"It was 2023 a week ago."

Understanding appears to slowly dawn in his eyes. Michelle gets impatient and holds him by his shoulders and begins rapidly asking questions, "Do you remember anything else from around then? Where did we go after? How did we get there? You must know something else!"

"I-I-I don't know."

"But why this one? Why is this the one thing you remember?" she's shaking him now.

Peter seems almost scared by her reactions, "I'm sorry! I don't know!"

Michelle's pressing him too much and she kind of hates herself for it, but she needs to know. Why this one? "There must be some reason. Please. Just try."

"Okay, okay," Peter placates her and closes his eyes to try and retrace the memory. "I think I was walking out of the compound, but I don't know why I was there. I was upset about something and I was trying to figure out what to do about it. Some big plans fell apart?"

He's recalling his frustration with the time travel thing coming up right as he was about to propose.

As if he was remembering it at the same time as he was speaking, Peter slowly continues, "When I got outside, you were there in the field doing your thing. You looked so confident. So self-assured and comfortable with who you were. And the way the wind was throwing your hair around made you look really pretty so I stayed back and watched for a little while."

His face crunches in thought, straining to follow the memory. "Then I-" He cuts himself off and his eyes suddenly open and widen in surprise.

Expecting him to continue, Michelle waits, slightly leaning forward in anticipation, but Peter doesn't say anything, seemingly still in shock. "What? What happened next?"

The words are quiet, but sure, "I put my hand in my pocket. There was a small box there."

Oh. Oh.

"And I held on to it while I watched and kept thinking, 'Yes, this is the one I want to spend the rest of my life with.'"

Neither of them speaks, both only lit by the ambient light from the stars above and street lamps. The moment balances on a knife's edge. Not willing to push Peter into something he may not be ready for, Michelle steps closer to him and kisses him, trying to ground him. It works, and he returns it.

Gently, she rests her forehead on his. The words are a repeat from earlier in the night, but they're more serious now. More important. "We'll get there."

She believes it.

There's flickers of excitement in his eyes that weren't there before. "Yeah. We'll get there."

Michelle can wait. After all, that's what he asked of her.

Epilogue:

This is something she's been preparing herself for. Honestly, she's kind of terrified of how this might turn out, but Michelle is pretty certain she'll feel better after this is all over one way or the other.

See, her parents have come home from their business trip and she wants to tell them everything.

There will be some things altered or removed for privacy reasons of course. She won't tell them that Peter is Spider-Man for example or the exact location of the Sanctum (just in case they don't react well). Mostly everything else will be included though.

Stepping out of her bedroom, she sees them on the couch, watching something on TV. Michelle takes a seat on the recliner nearby so she can face both of them, "Mom? Dad?"

Theresa Jones grabs the remote to turn it down, "Something wrong, Michelle?"

"I've got a story I want to tell you. It's kind of long and will take a while, but I promise it's all true. It all started about, I guess you could say 6 years ago."

And while her mother gasps at the illusion spell used to conjure images as a visual aid, Michelle tells the story of her life ever since she met Stephen Strange.

And this concludes the story. Will there be more at some point? No idea. There are a few plot threads I've left dangling that would be fun to explore and wrap up, but I'm taking a break from this for now.

I'd like to thank every one of you that left comments on this as I went. This is the first time I've ever written anything for fun and it has taught me so much about the process. It's been a great ride for me. Hopefully it was for you too.