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It had been two weeks since Tony had taken the Infinity Stones, and snapped to bring half of the universe back.
It had been two weeks since Peter had blinked, and five years had passed.
It had been two weeks since Peter's life had completely rearranged itself right in front of his eyes.
Two weeks since half of his life had continued on, while the other half stagnated. Peter was one of the stagnated, and his childhood friend, Kate Bishop, was one of the ones who were spared, and continued on. Turns out Kate was one of the lucky ones (depending on who you ask) and hadn't been dusted, and got to carry on with her life. It had been a bittersweet reunion, they were supposed to go to college together, but that had been before Peter became Spider-Man and before Kate had been moved to a private school by her mother. They'd always kept in touch, but their friendship had never been the same since. They were only able to see each other once before their lives had permanently changed.
Now, it's a lifetime later for the both of them, and Peter was struggling to cope with everything that had changed in his absence. Kate was older than him now, despite Peter being born a year before her, and she was in her third year of university while Peter was still in 11th grade.
It wasn't fair.
Kate had gotten back in contact with Peter, saying that the last five years had been enough and she wasn't going to take any more silence between them. Peter was overjoyed (and trying to ignore his complicated grief) and they'd made plans to meet up and reconnect. A week later, Peter was sat at a random coffee shop in Manhattan, two hours before his scheduled lab day with Tony, and he wasn't ready.
Or, well, he was, in fact he missed Kate dearly. She was one of his very first friends, having met in daycare while Peter's parents were still alive and could afford better childcare in Manhattan rather than Queens. Peter was sitting in a corner by himself, when Kate had come up to him and offered him her toy, and they were fast friends immediately afterwards.
Breaking away from his reminiscing, Peter looked up as he heard someone walking up to his booth, he broke out into a smile as he saw it was Kate. Jumping up from his seat, he ran to give her a hug, and they both started laughing as their arms met.
“Pete, oh my god I can't believe it's you!” Kate said, her voice thick with tears, and her smile genuine but pained. She gripped his arms like she couldn't believe he was real, which, given the circumstances, Peter could understand.
“Hi Kate,” Peter said somewhat shyly, a half-smile lining his face. “It's good to see you again. It's been…a long time.” Tears welled up in his eyes as the magnitude of what had truly happened hit him.
They both sat down, silent tears making trails down their faces, lining the smiles they wore. Peter took some time just taking in Kate, how she'd changed over the years, how she'd grown up.
How she's now older than him, despite Peter being born a year before her.
Her hair was longer than he ever remembered her keeping it, and she had fine lines at the outside corners of her eyes he knew weren't there before. Peter also noticed that she carried herself differently. She seemed more anxious, unsettled, like she was carrying some hidden weight on her shoulders during every waking moment.
Grief is what that weight is, Peter realized. It settled in him like weights strapped to his ankles, holding him down. Sure, university was probably stressful for her, and he knew for a fact her overbearing mother hadn't changed her ways in half of the world's absence. It could've been anything going on in her life.
But Peter knew. Peter knew that Kate grieved him as much as she breathed. He knew she carried it with her in everything she did, his memory following her every achievement, an empty space by her side where he should've been during the past 5 years. He could see it on her as clear as day.
“Hey Peter,” Kate finally replied, an almost awestruck and disbelieving note to her voice. “How- how are you?” She asked tentatively, hesitant to pry into something that Peter might react negatively to. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she took a sip of the coffee she had, needing something to occupy herself with.
Peter smiled as he replied. “Well, all things considered, I'd say coming back to life and being part of the Battle for Earth, and fighting the guy who was responsible for…everything, was pretty cool. I mean how often does someone get to say they actually came back from the dead right? That never happens! I mean, I guess it does now, and a lot of people can now say they came back from the dead- so it's probably not as cool now, but I mean it's all just…honestly Kate I'm just glad to be back. I can figure out the finer details of everything else later.” He rambled on, words coming out of his mouth with no filter, hands gesturing wildly as he spoke.
Kate smiled as she listened to him speak, gentle and sweet, her eyes attentive.
“I'm glad then, Peter. I'm glad for everything, it's an actual real life fucking miracle that you and literally half of all existing life are back. I don't think anyone saw that coming, honestly.” She said with a cynical laugh. “But all I really care about is you, Peter. My best friend. Someone who should've been here with me this whole time. Someone I've missed as much as I've missed my dad. I thought you were gone, Peter.” Her voice broke on his name, tears running down her face in silent rivers. She wiped her face with a hand, and then immediately pointed at him in a way that reminded Peter of Aunt May.
“Listen- I know you're…stronger than you look, but don't you EVER do that again, okay? I know all you ever want to do is help, and be there for everyone as much as possible- but Peter, you overextended this time. Fighting- fighting Him, I understand. Everyone wanted to in those five years. But you got unlucky enough to pay the price for actually doing it. And I can't…Peter I can't do another five years without you, do you understand? I just can't.” Kate sat back in her seat and looked away as she continued to cry angrily.
Peter's eyes softened as he listened to one of his oldest friends break down in front of him, over the loss of him. He reached across the table and grabbed one of her hands.
“But I'm here Kate, I'm back and I'm here and I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I'll make sure of it okay? I'm sorry I left you behind, but this is hard for me too, okay? I mean you're older than me now even though I was born a whole year before you. Half the people I went to school with are off in college or have otherwise started their own lives. And here I am, still sixteen, still in 11th grade, unchanged and unmoving. What am I supposed to do about that? How am I supposed to feel? How- how do I handle this? How do I handle everything that's changed when I've stayed the same?” Peter's voice rose as he spoke, a desperate sort of urgency tainting everything he said, showing that he was still a scared little kid underneath it all.
His chest heaved, his hands shook, eyes wild as he instinctively looked around for any signs of danger, adrenaline racing through him as he tried to process everything he'd been pushing away ever since he'd come back, everything he'd been avoiding.
“Kate I don't- I don't know what I'm supposed to do now. What am I supposed to do?” Peter pleaded, panic lacing his voice as he desperately tried asking Kate for answers he knew she didn't have.
Kate's face fell as she watched him panic, watched him realize that the world left him behind without a clue of what comes next. She steeled herself, steadied her voice, forced herself to become the stable rock that Peter needed in this moment.
“Listen Peter, I don't have all the answers for you, I'm just as lost as you are. I don't know how you're supposed to move on from this, if at all. But you know what I do know? What I do know is that you're not alone in this. You have half of the entire world, plus more- that are going through this with you. I'm sorry that- that I didn't get snapped too, that I had to grow up without you and leave you behind. God knows how much it killed me inside every time I looked in the mirror and saw myself at an age I thought you'd never get to see, years lost between us. But your other friends- Ned and MJ? They got dusted too, they're in the exact same situation as you are, and they'll need you. You'll need each other. Don't forget them too okay? I know you've been talking literally every day, but just- just don't forget they're in the same boat too.” Kate took a deep breath, and reached forward to grab Peter's other hand that wasn't holding hers. She leaned forward and made eye contact with him.
“You’re not alone in this, Pete. Not by a long shot. You have Aunt May and Ned and MJ and every single one of those heroes up in that tower who would give anything to see you safe and happy. I know this is going to be so fucking hard to live with, because I already know one side of it. But this grief, we can carry it together, yeah? We can hold it up together and ease the weight, that's what friends are for. To carry the weight of the world together, to make grief and all the hard things easier to hold.” Kate smiled as she tried her best to soothe her best friend.
Peter smiled back, tears of his own making their way down his face. “Since when are you so smart huh?” he joked, still crying but smile suddenly brighter than it's been all day.
Kate laughed. “Oh I don't know, don't they say wisdom comes with age?”
“Oh so you're admitting to being ancient now? I didn't take you to be the wise old sage type, Katie. Or is it the college? I say for shame either way.” Peter chastised her, mirth lighting up his voice.
“Oh I'm definitely the old sage type. I'm gonna be so cool and smart when I'm old, haven't you heard?” Kate said with a grin.
Peter's smile softened in response. “I believe it Kate.” He checked the time on his phone, noting how long they'd spent in the coffee shop. “Hey, I should be heading out soon- don't wanna miss lab time with Mr. Stark, you know? He just got discharged from the med bay and we've both been desperate to do something normal. Do- do you wanna come meet him? I think he'd like you.” He asked hopefully.
Kate, despite her surprise, immediately grinned. “Hell yeah I do, Parker. Let's go meet your dad.” She spoke as she got up and started walking to the entrance, leaving Peter stunned in his seat.
“Wait, what???? KATE WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT??? KATE?” Peter sputtered as he ran to catch up with her.
I think I needed that, Peter thought as he caught up with Kate and started leading the way to the Tower. I didn't realize how much I needed my best friend.
Thanks Kate.