It’s surreal, having you here. We’re sitting on my bed like nothing’s changed, like the last few months haven’t stretched out forever. You lean back on your palms, looking around my room like you’re trying to memorize it or like it’s the only stable place you’ve been in a while.

We talk about nothing for a bit. About school, the city, dumb villains we’ve taken down lately, but there’s this buzz under everything like we’re both avoiding the bigger question: "how are you even here?"

And then you spot it, my notebook, the one I forgot to shove further under my leg.

Before I can grab it, your hand moves fast. "What's this?"

“No, hey, wait-” I reach for it, but you're already flipping it open, fingers moving across the pages.

At first, you’re just smiling, teasing. “Are these your drawings? They're good.”

"Not really, I mean- kinda-" I mutter, trying to laugh it off while subtly reaching again to take it back.

You chuckle and twist away. “Relax, I’m just-”

And then you turn the page. You. You. You. You.

A dozen sketches, some detailed, some rough. You mid-swing, laughing, looking over your shoulder. You in your suit. You without the mask. You just sitting, looking tired. You smiling in a way you never do when people are watching.

“Wow” you whisper, voice softer now. “There’s…so…many.”

You don’t sound weirded out, you sound surprised, kinda...breathless.

I freeze, cheeks burning. I can’t even look at you, I just stare down at the floor like it’s going to open and suck me into a new dimension, preferably one where I don’t embarrass myself on a cosmic scale.

“I missed you too" you then say.

I blink. You close the notebook gently and hand it back to me.

I finally look up, completely thrown "You...did?”

You nod and there’s something in your eyes now, not teasing, not playful, just real.

I clear my throat and shift awkwardly, trying to remember how to sound normal again. “So, uh…what are you doing here? I mean, I thought I’d never see you again. With all the multiverse rules and…y’know, everything.”