Hi
Quick A/N just to start - I don't own Spiderman or anything Marvel related. The only thing I do own is the storyline and any OC characters that may feature.
It's been a long time since I've written anything but this movie really inspired me.
I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
"Peter?! I'm home. You in yet?!"
May yelled as she kicked open the door, keys in one hand and a paper bag full of groceries in the other. Pushing the door shut with her foot, she dropped her keys in the bowl resting on the table by the door and kicked off her shoes, sighing with the relief of finally being out of those heels and back in her own home.
"Peter?" She called out again, but like usual over the last couple of months, when she returned home he wasn't there.
She was glad that he'd gotten this Stark internship and that he seemed to be enjoying it but she really missed seeing him when she got home.
As strange as it may sound, he was one of her best friends and she looked forward to hearing him tell her all about his day as soon as she got in every evening. Ever since he started this internship it was like he was never home. When he was he was always tired. And he almost never told her about what he got up to.
May sighed as she plodded in to the kitchen and began puting her groceries away.
She supposed that this was bound to happen at some point anyway, after all he was 15, but there was something about this whole internship thing that worried her. He'd tried to hide it but she knew he snuck in and out of the house at all times of the day. What kind of internship required a 15 year old to sneak out of their bedroom window at 3am?
And the bruises. He tried covering them up but she knew.
If he was just working in a lab how could he get hurt so much?
Interns were just supposed to file paper and get coffee, what was he doing that he was coming home covered in cuts and bruises all the time?
Of course, like every adult raising a child she knew that he wouldn't always be waiting for her to come through the door, rushing at her and hugging her knees as he babbled excitedly about his day. He had to grow up eventually but this...this had not been what she was expecting.
No, something about this whole Stark Internship just did not sit right with her, not one bit.
The sound of the phone ringing pulled her out of her thoughts and May reached over to grab the cordless phone sitting in its charger by the fridge. Taking a quick look at the caller ID she couldn't help but stop the grin spreading across her face at the name "Chrissie" flashing back at her.
Peter may not be home but at least she knew there was one of her babies that she could still talk to.
"Hey Chrissie Bear!"
"Hi Aunt May!"
May's smile only grew. She always loved to hear the sound of her God Daughter's voice.
Chrissie's mother Georgia had been May's best friend since she was in high school and the two were still close friends to this day.
She was a lawyer for a big firm in the city and her job regularly required that she go out of state to work on high profile cases. May mostly worked from home and had a few odd jobs here and there so she'd been looking after both Peter and Chrissie since they were babies, whenever their mothers needed them to be cared for.
As a result Chrissie was often in and out of her appartment while she was growing up - especially after Peter's parents died and he moved in with her permanently.
The two had been the best of friends since birth, having her best friend and her honorary Aunt under the same roof just meant Chrissie got to spend more time with both of them. May always loved it when she stayed over.
But, as she got older, Georgia wanted to give her daughter the choice. So, whenever she was going out of town she would let Chrissie choose what she wanted to do - on the basis that Chrissie checked in with May and Peter every day to make sure everything was ok.
This had been the third time since the arrangement was put in place that her mum had gone away for work and so far every time she had ended up calling May asking to come over. Not that she had to ask. There was nothing that May wouldn't do for that girl. Which is why, when she asked to stay over for the night, May didn't hesistate to say yes.
"Oh of course sweetie. You don't need to ask just come on over. Your Mum working out of town again?"
"Yeah some big case in DC, she's going to be gone for at least a couple of days, maybe a week. She meant to call to let you know but it was so last minute she asked me to call you instead."
"I'm sure she'll call me later, she always does. Make sure you pack enough stuff for a week and bring Lottie with you, you're staying with me and Peter until your Mum comes back."
"Aunt May I can't-"
"Yes you can. I insist."
She heard Chrissie take in a deep breath ready to argue some more but May stopped her before she could continue.
"Chrissie I know what you're going to say but stop. I know you're 15 and you can look after yourself but you're my God Daughter and Peter's best friend, now that I know your Mum is out of town I won't feel comfortable unless I know that you are here with me, safe under my own roof. So grab your dog, hail a cab and get your ass over here."
There was a slight pause before Chrissie answered.
"I'll be there in 30 minutes."
"That's my girl!" May cheered causing Chrissie to laugh. "I'll see you in 30. When you get here you can help me make dinner. I've got a new recipe I'm dying to try and you are the perfect person to help me."
"Aunt May are you sure you just don't want me to stop and get take out? There's a great pizza place a block away from your building."
"Hey! This is going to be awesome ok. Just you wait and see!"
Chrissie laughed on the other end of the line.
"Ok Aunt May. I'll believe it when I see it."
"Well you better start believing young lady. Now enough of this talking. Get your stuff packed up and get your butt in a taxi!"
"Yes Ma'am!"
"And enough of the Ma'am. I expect to see you in 28 minutes. No later. Bye honey!"
"Bye Aunt May."
She grinned as the girl hung up, a slight skip in her step as she headed in to Chrissie's room to get everything ready.
After Ben had died both she and Peter had wanted to move out of their old appartment and away from the painful memories. They'd eventually moved in to a small 3 bedroom apartment only a couple of blocks away from Georgia's house.
It hadn't been cheap renting a 3 bedroom apartment in Queens.
She'd only just been able to afford it thanks to a friend of Georgia's who had agreed to give it to May at a discount rate. But both her and Georgia agreed that now the children were older seperate rooms were needed and Georgia helped by paying a third of the rent every month plus all of Chrissie's expenses. May had been totally against her doing so at first, insisting that she didn't need her friend's support, but once she realised how expensive the rent on the appartment was (even with the help of Georgia's friend) she reluctantly agreed.
Now that she and Peter had been in the appartment for almost a year she was glad that she'd agreed - although she would never tell Georgia that (even if she suspected that the other woman already knew).
Being in this appartment meant that she could have two of the most important people in her life under one roof and her best friend was only a couple of minutes away whenever she needed her. It made days like today when she missed Ben and she was worried about Peter (which only made her miss Ben more - he always knew what to do), just that little bit easier.
Shooting a quick text to her best friend to let her know that Chrissie was staying with her, May tucked her phone in to her back pocket as she began taking the extra bedding out of the airing cupboard in Chrissie's room, thinking about the night in she had planned with her God Daughter and the dinner she was planning to make.
And, for the briefest of moments, she was able to forget about all her worries over her nephew.
She was just smoothing out the wrinkles in Chrissie's sheets when there was a knock on the door. She frowned slightly and stared down at her watch. It had only been 15 minutes since she spoke to Chrissie and she knew it would take the girl at least 30 minutes to get Lottie ready and get a taxi to May's appartment. Plus both her and Peter had keys so neither of them would need to knock. But she was only expecting Chrissie so who else could it be?
Walking back out in to the front room, she headed towards the door and leaned down to reach for the baseball bat she kept by the front door - ever since Ben's death she'd been overly cautious about pretty much everything. Living in New York these days, having had the life experiences she'd had, it didn't hurt to take precautions.
But, thankfully, this time those precautions weren't needed - it was only Ned.
She left the bat where it was and swung the door open, greeting the boy cheerfully as he stood in the hallway, hands tightly clutching what looked like a half completed lego death star.
"Hi Mrs Peter...I mean Mrs Par..Parker.." The boy stuttered nervously and May couldn't help but smile at him. Ned had been friends with Peter and Chrissie since first grade...the exact same amount of time he'd had a crush on May - something the older woman found very endearing.
"It's just May Ned. You know that."
The boy nodded quickly and May found herself having to bite her lip to stop from laughing when she saw his face go bright red - probably at the idea of calling her May. All these years and he'd still not managed it, although the fact that he was able to talk to her at all, even if he couldn't look her directly in the eyes, was certainly some kind of progress.
"If you're here to see Peter he's not back from his internship at Stark industries yet."
Ned's head snapped up at that and the complete look of sadness in his eyes almost caused May's heart to break.
Seems like she wasn't the only one feeling a little neglected thanks to Peter's new internship.
"Oh ok I'll just-" Ned turned to leave but May called out stopping him before he'd got too far away. She would have put a hand out to stop him but she was afraid if she touched his arm the poor boy would combust.
"Ned wait! Chrissie is on her way over I'm sure she'd love to see you. And Peter's usually home by dinner time. You should stay and have dinner with us. Then you guys can all hang out and work on your death star together. What do you think?"
Ned looked like he was thinking about it for a minute before he nodded and turned back towards the appartment. May moved out of the way, letting the young man through and directing him to Peter's room where she thought he would feel more comfortable, offering him a drink while he waited.
"Could I...could I have a water please Mrs..Miss..I mean May...MAY!" He coughed slightly, his voice breaking a little as he talked to her. Again May found herself having to bite her lip to stop herself from smiling.
Ned and Peter both had this awkwardness about them that was just so cute but of course she couldn't say that. So instead of smiling and reaching over to pinch his cute little face like she wanted to she headed in to the kitchen to get him his drink.
As she was walking back to Peter's room she took her phone out of her back pocket and sent Chrissie a quick text just to let her know that Ned was there.
She thought about calling Peter, letting him know that his friends were both coming over, but she stopped herself from doing so. He'd told her before that he was so busy working on his internship that he never got a chance to check his phone so it was pointless trying to call or text him.
May sighed deeply.
God she really needed to have a word with that boy!
This internship was an amazing opportunity for him but still. It was 7 O'Clock on a school night and he still wasn't home!
Instead of hanging out with his friends building lego death stars or eating dinner with his family, like normal 15 year olds, he was out doing God knows what until all hours.
Well hell to that!
She thought.
I'm the boy's Aunt. I'll call him whenever I feel like it. No crackpot inventor and his internship is going to stop me from...damn it voicemail.
"Peter. It's May. I don't know where you are or what time you're thinking of coming home but Chrissie and Ned are here. I'm trying out a new recipe and Ned's brought around his death star for the 3 of you to work on so it's going to be a good night...and your missing out on it." She paused and took a deep breath to calm herself down before continuing. "I know this internship is important to you but Peter, please, come home soon. I...we...we all miss you."
