SPOILERS FOR NO WAY HOME DOWN BELOW DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN

AU where May doesn't die, but she was in a coma. Grab some tissues, y'all :D

Beep. Beep. Beep.

What was that beeping noise and why was it so loud?

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Were those voices she could here? Where was she? 

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Her fingers twitched. What happened?

"Did she just move?"

That voice was familiar.

"May?"

"May!"

"May, wake up!"

May's eyes snapped open, but she didn't see where she was. Memories of what happened flooded her mind. Peter. Peter, with his brown eyes filled with pain, blood and dirt smeared over his face and his sweaty curls gripped harshly in the tight grasp of...

"Norman! Peter, Peter where is he, where's Norman, Happy- where am I? Where-" Someone grabbed May's arm gently, cutting her off as he pulled her into a hug.

"You're okay," Happy whispered, stroking her hair. "You were in a coma, and then you died for about ten minutes but then they brought you back. You're back."

May pulled back, looking up at Happy. She squeezed his hand tightly, surprising him with how much strength she had. "Peter. Is Peter okay? And Osborn, Norman Osborn. What happened to them?"

Happy gave her a quizzical look. "Norman's gone back home, they fixed him but..." he trailed off, his eyes flicking across his face. "Who's Peter?"

May's eyes widened, then she slapped him on the arm. "Don't joke with me! Peter, my nephew." Her face fell when Happy looked at the nurses with a worried glance. "Happy... please tell me he's okay. I-I promised Mary- I-" She swallowed at the lump in her throat. "Happy."

He sat beside her bed, taking her hand. "May... you don't have a nephew. Peter doesn't exist."

It was like her insides had plummeted to the core of the Earth. From the concerned look of the nurses and Happy, he wasn't joking. No one knew who Peter was. Her nephew. "You don't you don't know Peter?" May laughed, but it was laced with hysteria. "Happy he was on the news! His face was everywhere!" She pulled him close and whispered into his ear. "He's Spider-Man!"

Happy pulled away, putting his hand on her forehead. "You must've had a dream when you were in the coma. That's normal, right?" asked, turning to the nurses for confirmation. They nodded and he turned back to her. "It was all a dream. You don't have a nephew, okay?"

"No. No, no no-" May ran her hands over her face, trying to calm herself down. "This wasn't a dream, Happy, it was, it was real- I... I raised him, with Ben- we- we had larb, he loved larb, Ned and MJ... Ned and MJ, I need Ned and MJ! My phone, Happy get me my phone, I have to have pictures somewhere-" Happy handed her her phone and she unlocked it, scrolling through her gallery. There was silence for several minutes as May scrolled rapidly through her phone, her eyes darting across the screen. Slowly, her thumb began to slow down and her eyes went blank as they started to shine with tears. "They're... they're not here," she said thickly, dropping her hands in her lap. It was like he was a dream, a faded memory. But Peter was real. She knew he was. He had to be.

Right?

* * * * *

May sighed, pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders. Snow was falling softly outside, painting the world in a coat of icy white, preparing them for Christmas. May had finally been let out of the hospital, and she wasn't too sore. She still couldn't run or do too much vigorous activity, but at least she could walk without feeling like she was about to rip herself open. 

Happy walked over, giving her a kiss on her head. "Wanna go out for coffee?" He asked. May nodded, slowly pulling herself to her feet. Happy helped her, watching her with concerned eyes as she grabbed shoes. She had grown incredibly quiet, missing the bright spark she used to have. It was though someone had blown a light out of her, as though she was missing a piece of herself. She hardly said anything about the weird nephew person she had dreamed up, but Happy knew that he was on her mind constantly. Maybe he should take her to a therapist, just to make sure she was okay.

The doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Happy said, opening the door. A young woman with a bouquet in her arms smiled at him. 

"Delivery for May Parker? And there's a note too."

"Oh." Happy took the flowers from her and smiled. "Thank you. Who is it from?"

The woman shrugged. "He didn't say."

May appeared, her coat in her arms. "What is it- oh!" She smiled softly as Happy handed her the bouquet of white roses and forget-me-nots. "Happy, you shouldn't have."

"They're not from me," he explained handing her the note. It was simply 'Get better soon' scrawled in a familiar handwriting that May couldn't quite put her finger on. She gave a childish smile and propped them neatly into a vase.

"Okay," she said, stepping back to admire her work, "shall we go now?"

Happy nodded and took her arm, leading her out into the crisp air. It was a nice stroll, the two of them chatting amiably as snowflakes danced across their gazes. May almost forgot her problems as she giggled and talked with Happy.

Until he steered her into a donut shop.

The African-American girl moved her fringe out of her face with a flick of her head. "Welcome to Candy Lane donuts, how can I help you today?" she stated with a bored expression. May blinked, her eyes flicking to the Black Dahlia necklace around the girl's neck.

"Hey... have you seen Peter around? My nephew?" She needed to know, MJ was still wearing the necklace, so maybe...

Happy gave her a sharp look as MJ frowned. "I-I'm sorry ma'am, I don't know who your talking about."

The emptiness and confusion that had faded clouded around May once more. She nodded, giving MJ a smile. "Sorry, I... I must've gotten you confused with someone else. I'm sorry."

The girl returned the smile, reassuring May that she was fine. Happy ordered the donuts and coffee and they stepped back. May picked at the skin around her nails, ignoring everything around her as she stared blankly at nothing.

"May."

She snapped back to attention, turning to Happy.

"You need to stop." His eyes were filled with worry as he took her hand. "Peter isn't real. I promise."

May pulled her hand back, shaking her head. "No. You don't- you don't get it." The conversation ended there, Happy not wanting to push May over the edge when she was in such a fragile state. Their order was soon ready and they left. May gave MJ one last look, looking away when she realised MJ was watching her with a similar expression. She just wanted to go home.

The apartment was warm when they got inside. May was quick to shrug off her coat and made a bee-line for the note by the flowers, inspecting it closely. Happy watched her carefully.

"Happy," May said suddenly, "what's my favourite flower?"

Happy shrugged. "I... don't know. You seem like a daisy person to me."

May shook her head, fingering the roses carefully. "White roses... there were only two people who knew that." She sighed, sitting heavily into a chair. "One of them is dead."

Happy sat beside her, taking her hand in his and stroking it gently. "What about forget-me-nots?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." May looked down at the piece of card in her hands, the narrow letters filling the page. She had seen that handwriting before but where?

Happy birthday :)

Thank you!

Web fluid 3.0

I larb you <3

"I larb you." 

Happy looked up, confused. "What?"

"Forget-me-nots. Larb." May looked up and Happy could practically hear the gears working in her head. "Peter."

"May-"

"No." May clenched her hands. "Do not tell me he isn't real. He has to be."

"May, look at me." Happy cupped her face in his hands. "I know it's confusing, but... you don't have a nephew. I'm sorry, I know it's hard to accept, but-"

May pulled her head away, standing up abruptly. "No, you don't get it. No one gets it, Happy! I don't know what's real anymore! Everyone keeps on telling me that he's not real, that he's just a dream, but how would you explain this!?" She shoved her hand at the flowers. "How else would you explain us knowing each other!? Why else would I have gotten hurt, if it was just a stupid dream!?"

Happy could only watch as May fought with her emotions, her chest heaving as tears began to fill her eyes. He had never seen May this delicate before. She was always so strong, so heald together, but now, now she was on the verge of falling apart, breaking down before his eyes.

She wiped at her eyes, blinking as she stared at the ceiling. "I'm going for a walk," she said abruptly, grabbing her coat from where she had dumped it on the table. "Alone." With that, she shut the door behind her, stepping into the winter air once more.

She didn't know where she was going. She just kept on walking on and on, lost in the spiral of her thoughts. Everything she knew to be real, to be true, no one believed her. Every day was filled with worried glanced out of the corner of eyes, hushed whispering in other rooms, offers to take her to a psychologist, everyone hearing but not listening. She felt like she was insane, in a world that only she knew.

Eventually May's stomach got the better of her as She started to drift towards the nearest McDonald's. She could really do with a 6-pack chicken nuggets. With aioli. She opened the door and was greeted with the busy atmosphere, filled with the smell of fries and burgers, sizzling as they cooked. May stood in the line, picking at the skin around her fingernails again. It was a bad habit she had whenever she was nervous or feeling down, but it kept her focused on things at hand. She almost believed that maybe he was just a dream. Maybe it was from her being in a coma. Maybe Happy was right and she needed mental help.

The line grew shorter and shorter and soon it was her turn to answer. The cashier's face was hidden as he looked down, but he quickly looked up. "Hi, welcome to Mc-" he pauses for a fraction of a second as recognition flickered across his eyes, "-Donald's, what can I get for you today?"

May froze. The cashier looked at her, with his dark, tired eyes and chestnut curls peeking out from under the cap. He was here, right in front of her eyes. "... Peter?" She asked tentatively, unsure that she was awake or dreaming.

His face softened as his eyes widened with shock. "May?" He whispered.

"You're real."

Peter raj around the counter, launching himself into May's arms. They stood there for a good minute, hugging and crying silently into each other's shoulders. May stroked his curls, almost as though to reassure that he was real, that he was in her arms.

They pulled apart, Peter wiping at his eyes quickly. "Where have you been? What happened?" May asked, resting a hand on his cheeks.

"Um... It's a bit of a long story, but my shift finishes in about 10 minutes, so I can talk to you then?"

May nodded, a massive smile slowly spreading across her face. "Yeah. That will be good."

Peter slipped back behind the register, giving her a broad grin. "Now, what did you want? 6-pack of nuggets with aioli?"

"You know me so well." May paid and took her food, enjoying the nuggets as she waited for Peter to finish. It felt so good to not be confused anymore, to know that she had been right all along and that he was okay.

        
Happy sat with Pepper, both of them half paying attention to the conversation as they watched Morgan play with her Avengers figurines.

"I think she needs to go see someone. It's becoming too much," Happy said.

Pepper nodded, taking a sip of her coffee. "I just don't want her to feel hurt."

"I know."

As if on cue, the door burst open, making everyone jump. May grinned from the doorway, her cheeks flushed from excitement and the cool air. "He's real. I found him."

"You- wait what?"

May bounced over, taking her coat off and dropping it on the table. "Peter, Happy! He's real!"

Happy looked at Pepper. May had seriously gone off her rocker. But just as he was about to comment about it, a teenage boy, about 17 or so, stuck his head around the corner timidly, almost unsure of whether he was allowed inside. "Um.... hi," he said, giving them an awkward wave. "I'm Peter? May's nephew?"

Happy almost didn't believe it. It was incredibly confusing, seeing something- someone he thought was a wild fantasy in front of him, in the flesh. May dragged Peter inside, shutting the door behind him. "Okay. Now explain why no one knows who you are and why all records of your education, your birth certificate, etc. is nowhere to be found."

Peter gave a soft hum. "I was wondering whether I'd still have a birth certificate. Apparently not." He sat down, taking in a deep breath. "First things first: I'm Spider-Man. Tadaaa, whoopee, okay you get the message. Now for what happened. So after Goblin attack May, I went off, met up with Peter 2 and Peter 3, who are me from different universes-"

"Oh no not three of them," May joked.

Peter chuckled. "It got a bit confusing, but anyway. We worked on the cures, went to the statue of liberty, the bad guys came for us, we started crying them, Goblin came and threw a bomb thingy at the box and the spells broke loose and opened the multiverse, Strange was trying to fix that, we cured everyone, I nearly killed Goblin, I didn't, don't worry, I said goodbye to Peter 2 and 3, went up to Strange, we talked about the situation, and then I realised that the only way to close the multiverse was if everyone forgot that I existed."

Everyone was silent after that word spew. Peter swallowed, continuing. "So that was that. I said goodbye to Ned and MJ, and then Strange casted the spell."

May took his hand, rubbing it gently. "That's why no one believed me. Because no one knew who you were."

"But that's the thing that confuses me. How do you remember?"

May furrowed her eyebrows. "Hey Happy, what time was I dead?"

"YOU WERE DEAD!?"

"Around sunrise, just after the sun had risen above the horizon," Happy replied, ignoring Peter's shocked face.

May turned to Peter. "And when did Strange cast the spell? Oh, don't give me that face, I'm alive now, aren't I?"

"But- but-" Peter stopped as she gave him a look. "... Yeah it would have been around that time."

May nodded, pleased with her detective skills. "And now everything makes sense," she said, sitting back.

Happy cleared his throat. "One last thing: did you see the flowers, Peter?"

Peter looked at the roses and forget-me-nots in the vase. "Yeah, that was me. May's favourite flowers are white roses."

May pulled him in, ruffling his hair despite his protests. "So when are you going to tell Ned and MJ about this?"

Peter's face fell and he started picking at his nails. "Ummm... I'm... not?"

May turned around to face him fully. "Peter, why?"

"Because "wherever Spider-Man goes, chaos and calamity follows," according to Jameson. And he's not wrong, for once."

"Hey, look at me." Peter looked up. "Wherever Jameson goes, lies and deceit follow, okay? He's wrong. You help people."

"But people get hurt because of me. MJ fell off a building and nearly died, you definitely died, and I don't want anyone getting hurt because of me."

May took his hand in hers and gave him a steely look. "No. They don't get hurt because of you. They get hurt because they love you. And because of other people against you. This isn't your fault, Peter. I chose to be there, that night. I could have easily run away, or told you not to help them, but I didn't because I love you. Do you understand?"

Peter nodded and May pulled him close, resting his head on her chest. "Now, we're going to find Dr Strange and set this right. I'm sorry, but you and MJ were the cutest couple I ever saw and I need you two together. End of story," she said as Peter tried to object. "Where does he live?"

Peter sighed, trying to hide the smile threatening to creep up on his face. May noticed, and grinned.

She was determined to set things right, and when May Parker is determined, nothing will stop her.

Especially when it comes to her nephew.