Familiar Stranger

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I combined two requests, Jeon_SaeWha and Stucky_Fandom

...

It's like seeing everything for the first time. At the same time, I feel like I never left. The streets are the same, the roads are the same, and the signs are the same. Yet my favorite restaurant on the corner is now a clothing store. I guess I'm not the same either. 4 years ago I was a boy with dreams of saving the world. Even being Spider-Man couldn't prepare me for the army. Nothing could prepare me for being a POW for two years. 

One thing hadn't changed from four years ago. How I feel about MJ. Every day I would think about her smile, her laugh, her curly hair, and her sarcastic comments. She got me through the long days and the even longer nights. Her love and her warmth got me back here, even when I didn't think I would ever set foot on American soil again. 

The taxi comes to a stop and I push open the door. I pay the driver and take a deep breath. She lives in the same apartment, run-down but perfect in every way. It's perfect because it is hers. By the time I left, it was practically ours. I gave it all up to go to war. People expect me to say I regret it, but I don't. Something about the adrenaline the brotherhood, the different world, I would not change my decision. 

With that being said, I am finally out. I am done. I am done with Spider-Man, with fighting, with all of it. I am ready to be with MJ, I am ready to start a life, and I am ready to be a civilian. I open the front doors to the apartment and start the climb up the stairs. I am dressed in my army uniform and carry all of my possessions in a small backpack. 

My heart flutters as I think about seeing MJ, her half-grin, her spunky personality, her down-to-Earth mentality, everything. I have to stop a smile from spreading on my face at the thought of her. I wonder how she will react. Shock? Excitement? Will she cry? Will she have moved on?

The last makes me falter. Quickly, I shake it off. It's MJ, I've known her since preschool. She just isn't my girlfriend, she is my best friend. The apartment looks exactly the same, my smile widens as I rap my knuckles against the door. 

I chuckle at the noise coming from behind the door. I bit my lip as it swings open. Her hair looks the same, curly, and only a little frizzy. Her face looks older, more mature. 

"Hi, MJ," I say in a small voice, looking deep into her eyes. 

"Wh-what? I-I," Her voice shakes and she slaps a hand over her mouth. Something passes through her eyes that I can't place. Worry? Relief? Both? She drops the towel that she was holding and a tear leaks down her face. 

Hesitantly, I reach a hand out to brush it away. She is beau-

"Mommy?"

MJ quickly wipes her eye and takes in a deep breath, "What's up baby?" Her voice is shaky, wet, and still filled with tears. 

"Is daddy home?"

Her lower lip trembles and she squeezes her eyes shut, pushing her hand into her eye, "No baby, daddy's gone." 

My heart clenches in my chest and my mouth falls open. Suddenly the familiar face is completely unrecognizable. The world seems to tip and flip upside down, my eyes keep flipping back and forth between MJ and the girl, but both of them are strangers. 

Every memory, every dream, everything turns dark and sad. It's like I hardly even recognize myself. "I-I'm sorry." 

I turn on my heel and speed walk to the fire escape at the end of the hall. The one we always used to go on to watch the sunset. The tears start streaming down my face as I yank open the door and step into the cool night. 

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