Peter loves Vido.
Of course, he does, Jessica thinks.
There is literally no reason for him to dislike Vido.
It happens like this.
Vido and Oscar come over to Jessica's apartment because this is a Thing (with a capital T) now, apparently, and it has come to Oscar's attention that when she doesn't go to their place to eat, Jessica seems to starve.
"And we don't want that to happen, do we?" He asks, that charming smile on his face, and Jessica is torn between kissing him and punching him.
She decides to do neither, instead settling on brooding and glaring at the wall as Vido laughs and tucks his hand into her's. "You don't want to set a bad example for me, do you?" He asks, eyes glittering, and Jessica groans, because shit, now there are two kids that she's grown fond of.
Speaking of kids.
A rap on the door.
"We're closed!" Jessica yells.
The door swings open at her anyways, and Matt shoots her a lopsided grin, "Now, that's no way to run a business."
"Oh," Jessica wrinkles her nose at him, "It's you."
Matt shoots her a mild, light smile because he's a fucking freak that can't take an insult as it is. "You have company."
"And you don't?" Jessica snorts, even as the door widens and Peter waves at her, smiling awkwardly at Vido. "Cut to the chase, Murdock."
Matt shifts, that way that he always does when he's trying to be confrontational as himself (and damn, what does it say that he can't face his problems without a mask on? But Jessica will save that thought for another day), and rubs a hand against the back of his head, "Well, um, you see, there's this kid trafficking ring in Brazil and it's gotten it reaches all the way over here and you know that I typically try to leave this stuff to the cops, but it's really bad and..."
"I have a life, you know," Okay, fine, maybe that's a bit of a reach, but still.
"You do?" Peter looks incredibly pleased, "That's so great, Miss Jones! You've been making a lot of progress lately and..."
"Shut it, underoos," Jessica groans, and Peter does so, but he's still got that gross, affectionate smile on his lips. Ugh.
"Just a few nights, Jessica," Matt says pleadingly, and Jessica crosses her arms over her chest, glaring at him.
"Look, last time that you said that..." She doesn't get to finish her sentence because Peter evidently decides that he doesn't need her permission to move in, after all. He shuffles in and yells something about using the same parts of the closet that he did last time, and Jessica buries her face in her hands.
Matt is smiling. She just knows it.
"What about Stark?" She groans.
"He's smoothing things over after the whole Raft incident. You know how it is."
Jessica is silent.
Matt smiles.
"Thank you," Matt says.
"I didn't agree to this," Jessica mutters.
Matt laughs, and, asshole that he is, leaves.
"So, um," Oscar clears his throat, "...Peter?"
"Before you ask," Jessica stares at Oscar, "I didn't have sex with him, and Peter's not related to me in any way."
"Oh, well," Oscar, to his credit, has no relief, just understanding, "I wouldn't judge you if he was."
Jessica rolls her eyes, "You have Vido, I think that you're the least qualified person in the world to judge me if anything were the case."
Oscar dips his head. Point.
"So how do you know him?"
"He's involved in," Jessica waves a hand, "Some shit that I also got involved in. He wormed his way into my life and now I use the same shampoo as him."
Oscar stifles a smile, "You're quite fond of him."
"Yeah, well," Jessica shoves her hands in her pockets, "He's literally reading Warriors to Vido. He's one of those, you know, those people."
Oscar raises an eyebrow. God, he's cute. "I'm afraid I don't know," he says. Charming.
Once again, Jessica has a dilemma. Kiss. Punch. Neither, in the end. "Like you and Vido. Little rays of goddamn sunshine, worming your way into my miserable life."
Oscar laughs at her.
And yeah, okay, maybe she deserves that.
"You like superheroes?" Vido asks Peter, flopping down next to him on Jessica's bed.
Their makeshift pillow fort has been dismantled, he notes with something almost like dismay. There are new pillows, too, which means that either a villain attacked or Jessica tore them up.
"Love them," He smiles at Vido, small and a bit giddy. "Do you have a favourite?"
"Well," Vido begins with a very prim, proper voice. It almost makes Peter laugh. "I used to think that Captain America was the best. But now I don't know."
"Oh?" Peter raises an eyebrow.
"Yeah, well," Vido frowns, "Spider-man's really cool, you know? One of my friend's dad, Spider-man saved him. My friend doesn't like him because his dad had to go to jail, but his dad was with some really bad people. Like, that bird bad guy in the news, with all those glowy weapons? My friend's dad's gang had one of those. It was really bad because they thought that he helped to make them. But Spider-man, he went to court and defended my friend's dad and everything, saying that the bird guy and my friend's dad didn't know each other. So he got off kind of easier. I mean, he still in jail, though."
Peter tries not to turn red. He remembers that.
"Oh, well," He clears his throat, "I don't know, Spider-man's not that cool."
Vido's eyes flash, and Peter has just a moment to think oops before a tiny finger is jabbed into his chest. "Look, just because Spider-man didn't fight aliens like Iron Man doesn't mean that he isn't..."
"Okay, okay," Peter gently lowers Vido's arm. "I'm sorry. Want to talk about a different hero?"
Vido frowns, "Why don't you like Spider-man?"
Peter starts, "Well, I mean, there's nothing wrong with him, but..."
"Then why did you say that he wasn't cool?"
"I mean, he just does little things, like help old ladies or..."
"He stopped a bus with his bare hands..."
"Tons of people can do that..."
"I don't understand why you wouldn't..."
"Calm down, kids," Vido's dad cuts in. He presses up against the doorframe, and Jessica raises an eyebrow at Peter across from him. "Vido, I'm sure that... Peter, right?... didn't mean anything by saying that Spider-man wasn't the best."
"He said that he wasn't cool," Vido sulks, "Not even a bit."
"It's true," Jessica laughs. Casual. Light. "He's a geek, and a total brat too."
Peter glowers at her.
Jessica sets a cup of tea in his hands, firm and warm, calloused fingers brushing against his. "Boldo tea," she says, in lieu of explanation. "You need to chill."
"My favourite superhero," Vido says, calmly, pointing at Jessica, "Is her."
Peter tells bedtimes stories to Vido.
"You can stay the night," Oscar yawns, stretching his arms and his shirt lifts ever so slightly to reveal a soft stomach. "Both of you."
"Thank you for the offer," Peter smiles, "But it would be improper."
"No," Vido reaches out and wraps his hands around Peter's arms. "Stay."
"I don't..."
"You two will be here for breakfast tomorrow morning, anyway," Oscar exchanges glances with Jessica. Somehow they've all ended up with tea in hand, Jessica's in a flask spiked with vodka and Vido's with too much sugar to be anything resembling healthy. "It's more convenient this way. I'd rather not have to make the trip to your floor just to call you over, especially not so early in the morning."
Peter looks ready to argue, but Jessica has attempted to fight this fight before and she knows that it's futile so she just runs her fingers through her hair and sighs, "Just give in, kid. If you're lucky, he'll let you sleep on the couch instead of carrying you to the bed."
Peter shoots her an unimpressed stare. "You won't let me sleep on the couch."
Jessica dips her head, "You make a very good point."
"Story?" Vido whines, hopefully.
"Yeah, okay," Peter rubs the back of his neck, smiling shyly, "So Spider-man goes to his date's house, right? But it turns out that her father is actually... the Vulture! Shocked, he tries to act normal, but..."