Title: Related
Fandom: MC2
Characters: Reilly Tyne, Peter Parker, Mary Jane, Kaine, April and May Parker.
Summary: AU? Reilly was sick and didn't know if he'd ever be part of the family. The Parker Clan thinks otherwise.

Then:

The family didn't take the reveal well (understatement of the year) everyone was arguing at once like the subject of their protest didn't exist. Reilly was more than fine with leaving them to their bickering. If only he could still teleport he'd already be several cities away. Didn't matter, no one ever noticed when he was there unless he was half demonic. Out of all of them he expected May to understand. She didn't, won't try to. Rejected and tired from the ordeal brought by his abrupt exorcism he headed towards the exit hoping to at least get some rest. His head was pounding and all those sonic explosions made him feel nauseous.

Heat flushed his face spreading down his body like an inferno leaving trails of pain in it's wake. Before the agony claimed him Reilly realized what was happening. His limbs wouldn't obey his commands anymore, slipping, stumbling until...someone caught him before he fell. The warmth of the other body keeping him safe was welcoming. A protective strength he recognizes without having to open his eyes. Panic filled the room, total chaos of harsh voices thundering in his ears making the torture more acute.

Part of him wanted to speak to him-to them. To say the words he's always wanted to say but never knew how to articulate. Like usual he's rendered mute when he needs to say what he truly wants. Even knowing what he does he can't give voice to his longings. Not even when he knows that he's dying.
-
Now:

Ignoring the bickering men in the hallway (who promptly changed from yelling to arguing via whispering) she checked on their patient. After all the medical attention the boy received he needed a place to recover. None of them wanted to leave his side and they all agreed that it was time to face each other like a family. No more running, no more misunderstandings. Reilly deserved that much.

Ringing out the washcloth Mary Jane placed it back on the slumbering boys' forehead. Despite the circumstances she couldn't help smirking victoriously. She KNEW there was a connection between the young lawyer and her husband. Now she had her answer, perhaps it was more complex than she anticipated but it all boiled down to one great truth: he was Bens' son. That news had breathed new life into her family. Hope bloomed in Peters' eyes, a new understanding came over May and even April felt the excitement.

The problem had lied in how her family expressed themselves. May had been hurt that so much had been kept from her lashing out at anyone who had been withholding the information. In turn she had hurt Reilly, maybe the others couldn't tell but Mary Jane could see it clear as day. Her heart ached for the boy, a child that trust would never come easy. What a life he must of led with little to no time devoted to an actual childhood.

This news had renewed Peters' rivalry with Kaine, neither man willing to back down. Only Reillys' current state kept the two from having another all out battle. She'd remind them all of the boy when their tempers became too much for to bear. This boy was the best kind of miracle in her eyes. He selflessly risked his life for others and protected her daughter since almost the beginning of her web spinning days without asking for anything in return. Just like his father. Mary Jane wouldn't let bruised egos and mistaken guilt tarnish Bens' memory or his sons' health.

Kissing Reillys' forehead she let her fingers brush his sweaty locks away from his face. Apparently he didn't dye his hair like dad. Her smirk returned, a fellow red head then. You had great taste Ben, Mary Jane mused.

"Your father would be so proud of you. I know we are."

Then:

The lights were too bright, the voices too piercing. No matter what he tried he couldn't fight against it. They-Kaine and Parker-were fighting. Arguing like children while he was dying alone on a cold table. Reilly was scared of being alone then. Was he going to die without anyone noticing him?

"-of told us!" Parker bellowed.

"I gave you back your daughter, Parker! Be thankful of that! She was your responsibility not the boy!"

"We could have raised him with May! He's BENS' Son!" What was that supposed to mean? His head hurt...why were they yelling? "He's my responsibility!" The end of the statement was punctuated with the sound of metal giving under fists.

"NO! He's mine!" Kaine snarled with such possessiveness that Reilly instantly forced his eyes open. "You never understood Ben like I did! Your so-called "brotherhood" was a fleeting moment in his life!"

"Yeah, you knew him REAL well when you were trying to kill him. Forgive me for ever doubting your intentions." For a moment Reilly couldn't fathom who said what. Their voices were so ugly and hateful. He shook as chills overtook him. "And you did a real bang up job raising his kid. Oh wait-you didn't! You stalked him, made him a demon and Matt had too pick up the pieces! A ghost did a better job as a parent that you! A man that you got killed-"

Peter screamed, one of the girls tried to break it up and something beside him moved. "And your incompetence got Ben killed!"

A needle pressed into his skin and he was finally blissfully unaware of anything else.
-

Now:

"Hey kiddo. I know we were never formally introduced but I'm your uncle Pete." Did that sound as lame out loud as it did in his head? "I don't suppose this counts either since you can't really hear me."

Peter couldn't recall a time when he felt like such a fool. Not since Bens' death and Mays' kidnapping had such guilt weighted over him. For years he despised Darkdevil without a care to his origins. The man was ripping off the name of a friend, that was all he focused on. Not Mays' defense of the hero, nor Phil suggesting he was sounding like Jolly Jameson.

Nothing changed his mind on the matter. He was already set in his way without any facts. All secrets and little truth, that was how he saw the man. No, not man. Boy. He played the part of the grim and gritty vigilante to a tee. Peter couldn't tell the difference from a lonely kid from a dark hero. He should have been able to see. Tried harder to figure out the truth on his own. All he did was make things worse with his distrust. God, he actually had hated his nephew. He attacked Bens' son. Didn't matter if it was mind control part of him had wanted it.

And that sickened him.

He thought he had long outgrown such pettiness. Too blinded by his own prejudices to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Great investigator that he was. There were so many clues he had overlooked or took to mean something else. In speech, his protectiveness towards May, Kaine always shadowing Darkdevils' movements...Peter was truly an idiot. Kaine had been right in that regard at least.

That didn't make what he did any better. When Peter thought of this boy...Reilly...going to all those foster homes before living on the streets at such a tender age... He should have been with his family. That was Kaine for you, still possessive over Ben Reillys' life. If he couldn't raise the child then no one would. The man had no respect for Ben no matter what remorse he'd claim. If he had then he would have realized that the wandering life would not be what their brother wanted for his son.

In his sleep Reilly shuddered curling up into a fetal position. It was the most he had moved since he received medical care. Fatherly instincts kicked in to sooth the boys' unease. Making sure that he was warm enough Peter studied him again. No matter how many times he stared Peter doubted the shock would ever wear off. Earlier he had heard April telling May that technically-on a genetic level-Reilly was their half-brother. Strange as it sounds, that hadn't occurred to him before.

Both May (by extension April of course) and Ben had blue eyes. Reilly inherited his and Bens' brown eyes. Peter eyed the crimson hair with a slight smile. If he had grown up with May most would assume he was theirs. He didn't think he would ever forgive Kaine for taking that chance away from them all.

Peter wasn't Ben, he wouldn't forgive the man that still haunted their lives.

Then:

Sliding inside the tube was the only way to save his life until more help arrived. If he could speak Reilly would protest against being forced to endure another lifeless existence. Helplessness was what he feared above all else. For so much of his life he's been a victim of someone elses' control. Too young to stop the social workers from shifting him from foster home to foster home. Too little to stop the abuse. Too weak to fight against his illness. It took being taken over by a demon and another soul to earn himself any type of control. To become somebody, to fight back from inside the system and out. Losing it all here and now may be worse than the pain.

Groggily his eyes blink up to see what he knows will be the last time he'll see anything for awhile. Much to his surprise brown meets familiar blue. Eyes that glared at him when they last spoke. Too tired to do more than blink back Reilly hears the hiss indicating the healing chamber was working. His last thought before darkness reclaimed him was of her. Who would protect her if he couldn't?

Now:

Finally! Sheesh, it took forever for the adults to clear the area. Now to see what the big deal was.

April wasn't sure how to act around sick people but her impulsive nature had led her to check up on her cousin. Well, half-brother, sort of. The more she thought about it the more convinced she was that she shouldn't have to call him a cousin. Why should she? Everyone demoted her to "cousin" status. May already had a little brother that adored her (didn't like April though) so why couldn't she have her own brother?

No one had outright said it but April knew what they were thinking. That clones weren't real people. By saying she was one they were saying that she was the fake. That she didn't matter. Her dear "sister" had everything, why couldn't she at least be the real one?

Then April had found out about Ben Reilly, the man whos' suit May wore. He had a kid and that was pretty big evidence that he was real. Maybe that was why the former horn head believed in her more than her double and the rest of their family.

Smiling April awkwardly patted the unconscious boy on the shoulder. "Thanks for the pep talk. Feel better and whatever. I'll try not to weird you out with my abilities...too much."

Afterall, what was the point in having a brother if you couldn't have a little fun.

Then:

Everything hurt, each breath was like a cut going deeper no matter how shallow he breathed. The lab was filled with more people all talking. More than ever Reilly wished that someone cared enough to hold his hand just so he knew he wasn't alone.

Suddenly something in his chest flared up and felt himself slipping away again. The voices grew louder, machines beeped wildly until-a different sort of bright light surrounded him.

It didn't hurt, it was nice. Welcoming even.

"Uh-uh kiddo. You're way too early to make it here." A figure spoke from everywhere and no where. A man, who embraced Reilly like he was something special and precious. He finally felt like he had come home, he couldn't leave now!

"You won't be alone. Remember that." No! He knew that man, he couldn't go now when he finally met his-

The world of living agony returned but Reilly still held onto the memory not willing to let it slip from his grasp so easily. "Dad?"

His eyes focused on his fathers' face though he was too out of it to realize who this bearded man really was. He smiled nonetheless a beckon of comfort compared to the glowering tall figure behind him. "It's going to be alright son."

Too exhausted to argue he let himself pass out again safe in the knowledge that his dad would protect him.

Now:

"None of them understand. I don't think you ever did either."

Sighing Kaine rubbed his forehead irritably. He wasn't much for these sort of talks that was more of Parkers' thing. Made little sense if the kid couldn't hear him anyway. Not that he ever had these sort of talks with him. Oh he tried but hardly ever succeeded. Smart mouth kid was too angry and hurt more often than not. Mad at what he did, furious at what he didn't.

Crappy parent figure? Sure, he knew he was. Maybe he should have given up the racket to care better for the kid. Turned him over to Parker to get his big wig friends to take a look like they recently did. Had he really been so lonely and selfish that he had held on too tight? If he couldn't have him then no one could?

Ben was his brother, a better man than him or Parker. Kaine owed it to him to watch over his son. Their bond was different than what Parker and Ben had. They shared a status that the man their cells came from would never understand. That made the kid his.

Seeing his first steps, hearing his first laugh, yeah that might have made him more possessive. Perhaps he felt entitled since the Parkers had their own child. Like everything else he touched he poisoned the boy. Reilly said that he wanted him to be a freak so that Kaine was the only one he could turn to. Sometimes he wondered if that was true and hated himself for agreeing a little.

He didn't mind sharing the boy with his cousin, perhaps even Mary Jane. He loathed the idea of Parker stepping in. Seeing the dazed youth refer to HIM as his father burned Kaine to the core. Though Reilly wasn't even aware of it that one word hurt him far worse than anything the child had ever said to him. As if he purposely chose-

"Dad..." Reilly mumbled in his sleep.

Kaine smiled with a tenderness he didn't think himself capable of. He would never admit to it if pressed but he treasured that one word more than any other in that moment. Lifting his nephew up Kaine held him like he used to when he was little. When his care taker had left the child alone and Reilly would be to young to remember him. When the boy loved him without any qualms.

Then:

"I don't care what issues you two have! Neither of you will do anything while Reilly is staying with us! Is that clear, gentlemen? I asked if that was clear."

Two male voices affirmed it was crystal clear. With a sigh the woman pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Welcome to the family. Hopefully we'll all be mature by the time you wake up."

"Hey don't blame us for them fighting!" A girl piped in.

"That's enough young lady!"

"Come on dad, April just meant-"

Yep, another headache was coming.

Now:

This was just ridiculous. Everyone was visiting Reilly to the point she had to wait until they all left. May didn't know what to say. It had been four days and he still hadn't come around. The experts claimed this was to be expected but she was worried.

You'd think after having all this time to herself she would be able to have a better grasp of how she felt. She didn't. The confusion and hurt from being kept out of the loop still bothered her. Kaine had explained a little of Darkdevils'-Reillys' thought process. Why he didn't tell her, what he had been etc. All it had done was make May wonder if she came off as really judgmental.

To top it off he was a teenager! All these lectures about how inexperienced she was, all those "young lady" comments and he was a kid too! Gah! To make matters worse he still had more experience and was already in college so it wasn't like he couldn't back up his claims. And he did all this mocking guide stuff just to protect her.

The whole concept she had in her head on who Darkdevil was turned on it's head. Were there telltale clues that she had ignored? Her instincts told her early on that she could trust him, why couldn't he trust her? When she first met him as Reilly Tyne there hadn't been anything to link him with Darkdevil. Not until he went missing and Darkdevil showed up but no one had really thought too hard on that one. She thinks he was nervous to meet her, he did say he wasn't expecting her to be there. Maybe that wasn't his true form but he was exposed in a way. Not like he was when she met him as May Parker. She remembers his smile at Normie and Brendas' party, it looked genuine. Not like the fake ones some of her parents' friends put on when they met "little May."

Mom and dad wanted him to stay with them. The life of Reilly Tyne/lawyer was up in the air with his apartment blowing up and being de-aged back to a teen. Kaine harbored doubts on Reilly taking this new life well. Said "the kid grew up a long time ago."

He was Ben-HER uncle Bens' son. Her dads' clone. May wasn't sure what that made them. Dad said cousins, April said half brother. She already had boy cousins and one brother. Was that why he didn't tell her the truth? He didn't think he'd fit in? Maybe having April around filled some other spot in his mind? There were so many times she wished that she could talk to someone her age that understood what it was like. April didn't get most of it. In the Warriors only Uncle Phil knew what her family was like.

Maybe she was seeing this the wrong way. She couldn't say that she understood what he went through. She'd try. He was always there for her when she needed him. How could May not do the same? Ignoring her sleepiness May got on top of the covers to look at Reilly better. She still couldn't believe it. In the end it didn't matter how he was related to her, they were family and that was all that mattered. Against her will Mays' eyes slide shut. Hours later she would be waken by the flash of Aprils' camera but the first thing she saw would be brown eyes blinking open.