"I need some advice."
Johnny had wondered when his old pal would finally give up the pretense of a simple visit to unload on him. The man must have had something important on his mind if he couldn't even manage a decent chuckle at his antics. Giving up his own games the blond withdrew his flames much to an annoyed Benjamin Grimms' relief. Following his friends' lead Peter trailed after him away from the rest of the Fantastic Five.
"Does this have anything to do with May or are you once again reconsidering your web swinging?"
"No, nothing like that. It's about Ben."
Not getting the connection Johnny winced in sympathy. "Is the little guy alright? Because the FF is here for you a hundred percent if-"
"No, no. It's not...my son." Peter never knew how to bring up his brother in a round about way even to people who knew his history. Saying 'my clone' was too crude and really didn't capture the essence of Ben Reilly. Ben was much more than some experiment the Jackal created. He was family.
Fortunately Johnny knew him well enough to pick up his meaning the second time around. "Oh. THAT Ben." He scratched the back of his head to delay his own response. No one had really known Ben that well beyond the Parker family. His own dealings with the clone weren't always that great and even after he knew the truth he never knew how to act around the guy. Why would Peter be bringing him up after all this time unless... "Is he, umm back?"
Peters' eyes widened at the implication. "What? No! Why would you think that?"
"Hey don't get mad at me buddy! This kind of thing does sort of happen A LOT so I'm just checking! I mean, why bring Ben up out of the blue after all these years? Not the usual sort of thing we dicuss." Most of the time Peter made an effort to steer clear of the topic all together barely giving a grunt in ways of response when Kaines' name popped up.
"I know, Johnny. It hadn't been easy for me to talk about him. It's just that, recently, I-we discovered that his legacy extended more than we thought."
"How's that even possible? Your kid is wearing his webs, your sons' named after him and then there was even that girl that took his Scarlet Spider mantle for awhile. That'd be impossible unless he..." The blond stared at his friends' serious expression and the words petered out. "Wow."
"Yeah. I know."
"Are you sure? I mean we are talking about the same thing right? He had a kid?" At Peters' nod he grew suspicious. "And how do you know this one is legit? Wasn't there already a girl that tried to scam you into believing she was his long lost daughter?"
" 'Gwen Reilly' or so she claimed. That was part of Norman Osborns' oh-so-charming legacy of revenge. But this one checks out. Blood test and all of that. Turns out Kaine knew of Bens' kid for years but didn't think it was any of my business!" Funny how all his misplaced anger and hatred could find a new target so easily. Kaine might of returned his little girl all those years ago but he had taken so much in return. He always suspected the clones' generosity came with a price tag just not this. Not their brothers' son.
"Easy buddy! As much as I'd love to hear you bad mouth the guy I doubt that's why you came over." Waiting for his old friend to calm down Johnny led them into one the currently empty rooms Reed usually used for simplistic things like lectures or family movie nights. Several cushioned seats lining the otherwise sterile looking room. With a little effort the former Spider-Man sat down looking far more strained than he should at such a small task. Johnny knew better than to assume it was the physical strain that bothered Peter the most.
"You're right. I just get worked up whenever I think of what he did."
Best not to go down that road of regret. Not when your buddy had the nasty habit of over-analyzing every perceived mistake and carry the weight of the guilt for years to come. "So, Ben has a kid?"
Peter blinked up, the lingers of his gloomy thoughts still imprinted on his face. "Right. I'm...I'm really not sure where to begin. I met him before but I didn't know who he was. Just who I assumed he was." Bitterness colored Peters' words, an ugly tone that didn't suit him at all. "I was-god Johnny-the things I said to him!"
"You're a undisciplined freak! A monster who spits on the image of a great hero!''
Peter winced at the memory, ashamed that he used to feel a vindictive sort of pride at having stunned Darkdevil. The glee that perhaps his words had hurt the being he used to hate the sight of. He was such a damn fool.
"Doesn't matter that some of it was under Lokis' influence, I meant every word and he knew it. I can't even talk to him now without unintentionally insulting him! When I try to make amends he won't come anywhere near me! He'll sooner talk to Kaine than me!"
It hurt to know that the killer that had stalked Ben and his lives and turned Bens' son into a demon was still regarded as a close confidant. Not that Peter hadn't brought this on himself with his constant Darkdevil bashing. Uncle Ben would have been ashamed of him-BEN would be ashamed of him. He was a complete failure when it came to being an uncle.
"Give him some time. Sometimes kids just need a little space." Wasn't that hard to remember how much he used to rant at Sue for always being on his case. "Just out of curiousity, why did you come to me with this? MJ usually has better advise than me."
Peter frowned, looking like the answer should have been obvious to anyone who had a operating brain. "Because you're a good uncle."
Johnny smiled oddly touched by the sentiment. "Good answer. Alright, let's see if we can cook up a way for your nephew to bond better with his uncle Pete."
Nephew, Peter silently mouth the word to himself. He doubted he'd ever be as good a uncle as uncle Ben but he'd try.