"Dude, seriously, stop blowing up my phone." Jackson called Chaz to stop him from texting. He'd received over thirty messages in the past fifteen minutes about how awesome of a guy Harry was. "How do you know I'm not with Peter or doing something important?"

"Are you?" Chaz had that tone again, the one Jackson always wanted to hit him for.

"Well, no, but that's not the point. I never did this to you or Cam, like ever." He appeared behind his cousin and tapped his shoulder. "Hi."

Chaz spun around and picked him up around the middle. "Dude! Those powers are the coolest! You're just like Misf—" Jackson covered his mouth and glanced around quickly.

"Only I can do that." Chaz made a face and put him down. "You didn't tell Harry, did you?"

The blond tilted his head. "What do you mean? Like about you being a mutant?" He shook his head. "No. We talked a lot about comics, and he told me about Peter. I told him that, despite your inability to shut up when you're being sarcastic, you're actually a really cool guy." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Which reminds me. Uh, I'm really sorry about before, Jacks. Y'know..."

Jackson sat on Chaz's bed. "I did insult you a lot. Not like you didn't deserve it. No offense but you were a fucking asshole." He was quiet. "Did you ever find out who—"

"What?"

Jackson looked uncomfortable. "You didn't. It was Lance and Nick..." They never talked about it. "Cam told me once. They were the ones who told him he was better off dead. That's why he stepped into oncoming traffic."

Chaz's expression was unreadable. Lance and Nick were his best friends, and he never understood why Cameron would do what he did.

"I'm sorry, dude. I should have told you before. I just don't want you getting in trouble for killing them." Jackson remained where he stood. "I did take care of it though. Cam lost the use of his legs. They'll never walk again either."

Chaz was about to ask but a door opened and Harry emerged from the steamy bathroom in a towel. Jackson groaned and turned away. "You don't like this, Jackson?" The rich boy teased.

"No. I'm seeing your best friend. Put some fucking clothes on. Jesus."

Harry passed Jackson and flicked the back of his head. "Chill out, squirt." He grabbed his cast-aside T-shirt from a chair. "What were you guys talking about?"

"Just making up for lost time." Chaz moved over to Harry. "I used to bully Jacks a lot."

"A lot," Jackson scoffed, pretending to busy himself with cleaning up. "We can't fix the past, but we sure can alter the future." He made a gagging sound. "I sound like a fortune cookie." He moved some dishes into the kitchen. "Alright. Well, now that I know you're not alone, I'll take my leave."

Harry opened his mouth to ask but he wasn't sure if Chaz knew. "Jackson, wait." The boy's hand was on the doorknob. "Can we talk? Privately?"

The brunet sighed. "If it's about what I think it's about, Chaz already knows. So do Cam and Peter." The fire alarm in the kitchen went off, and he glanced at an overheating microwave. "Idiots," he grumbled, not moving from his spot as he shot an ice orb, instantly quelling the smoke. "It's that, isn't it?"

Harry watched, jaw dropped, as a small ball of ice shot out of his palm. "Are you a mutant?" His voice was quiet and bordering on excited.

"Yes, Harry, I'm basically an X-Man. I'm just not part of the team, because I've had sex." He wasn't going to say anything about Peter but now they'd have to talk about it later.

Chaz perked up and sat on the couch, Harry beside him. "Show him what you can do!"

Jackson groaned and took his hand off the door.

Peter was anxious. Aunt May requested that Jackson come for dinner again. The first time was embarrassing enough, with his aunt and sort-of boyfriend making jokes about his baby pictures. Was Jackson his boyfriend? They never really approached the idea; they just enjoyed each other's company.

"How's your boyfriend, Peter?" He nearly startled into the air when he heard MJ's voice. His Spidey senses must be off, first Jackson (although there could be some reasoning), now MJ. "You're awfully jumpy these days. Got something to hide?"

Aside from the fact that he's everyone's Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and sort of dating Kid Psionic, who was garnering quite a social media following? "Do you actually care?"

She shrugged. "We are friends. Should I care?" Peter rubbed the back of his neck. "Is it you and Jackson? Because you two belong together."

He looked at her with wide eyes. "R-really?"

"You got all moody after Liz moved, and he makes you happy. I have to slam the gavel Harrington gave me to get you two to focus. He's an even bigger nerd than you and Ned combined." Peter was blushing again. "If you haven't already told him how you feel, you should."

He had been wanting to approach the topic of boyfriends but he was unsure how Jackson would take it. "He knows and he feels the same—" He looked hesitant.

"If you're not careful, someone might end all that sexual tension." Peter stared at her, and she only smirked. "Go get 'em, tiger." With that, she left, leaving him to sink into the chair.

Jackson lay on his usual rooftop spot where he and Peter always met in costume. His mask was off and being used as a headrest. He heard the familiar web-shooting noise but didn't budge. "Hey, Spider-Bae."

Peter sat beside him and smiled. "Hey, Jacks." He ghosted his fingers over Jackson's chest, earning a purring noise. "I like you more without all the makeup."

"Thanks. I feel more free without having to hide behind that wall. I do like the piercings though."

He'd Googled how to do this and he was bound to make an ass of himself. "Um, so we've been hanging out for a while as sort of dating..." He cleared his throat. "Do you want to... be my boyfriend?"

Jackson's eyes opened and he sat up. "Peter..." He wanted to say yes, so much yes.

"It's okay, Jackson. It's not going to hurt our friends—" He was interrupted by Jackson's lips on his, and he melted into his embrace. Jackson had that ability to make him feel things he hadn't before.

The elder pulled back, smiling shyly. "Do I want to be your boyfriend? Fuck yeah."

They changed back into civvies and were on their way back towards Peter's when there were screams. Both looked up to see a flesh blob moving down the street.

"Okay. Points for weirdest thing to ever cross our streets." Jackson pulled his mask from his back pocket and went into action. "Dude, that's not cool!" The blob was in the process of destroying the Sixth Avenue NAACP office. "You gotta let it go, man. What happened to progression?"

Passerby had their phones out and Peter could hear whispering like wildfire.

"That's him, isn't it?"

"He's so cool."

"I wonder what it's like to do what he can."

Jackson had conjured up a fire/ice construct and thrown it directly into the monster's head, causing an explosion within seconds. He teleported in and out of the crowd, moving civilians out of the way of destruction. He reappeared beside Peter and was about to remove the mask when he was swarmed, people begging for pictures and autographs.

"Uh, hey, everyone. Just, uh, hold it down and I'll Facebook a meetup, okay?" Before anyone could respond, he took Peter by the waist and vanished.

"No powers." Jackson gave Peter the kicked puppy look, which, on any other occasion, would have Peter crumbling but not tonight. "I'm serious, Jacks. Aunt May had a hard enough time with finding out that I'm Spider-Man." She'd already put it together and Peter's silence on the matter only confirmed it.

"Fine. No powers." He figured he'd embarrass his boyfriend in the form of crude jokes and baby pictures. "We're so going out later." He left it hanging, and Peter already had a suspicion what Jackson meant. He opened the door to the smell of his favorite risotto from the expensive Italian place near Astoria. It was then he realized May went all out for Jackson coming over.

May emerged from the kitchen and gave Jackson a hug. From the embrace, the boy gave Peter a wink as he nestled into it; in reality, he loved the hugs because they reminded him of his moms. Not a beat passed for Peter to know what Jackson was trying to do, and he shook his head with a sigh. It was going to be a long evening.

Most times when they were together, Jackson seemed pretty at peace with the way his life was going. But, for some reason, he always ate like he'd been starving. It wasn't uncouth but he had five or six helpings of whatever was available. May had been prepared in ordering lots of food yet both she and Peter watched as Jackson self-served a fourth bowl of the Pasta e Fagioli. "What?"

"Uh, Jacks, do you get enough to eat when we're not together?"

Jackson had been dreading having this conversation. It was another little facet of his life that no one knew—except Joel. He put the spoon down and folded his hands in his lap. "Y'know how my moms died in that car accident five months ago?" Peter and May nodded. "And my stepbrother is now my legal guardian?" They nodded again. "There was a month where I was homeless, living in an alleyway. It was the worst time of my life... okay, rivaled only by the ten months I regret to call eighth grade but even then I wasn't having to scrounge for food. When Joel picked me up, I swore that I'd live every day to its fullest. That's why I patrol and try to save as many civilians as poss— I mean... oh." He grinned sheepishly.

"I already know, Jackson." May smiled reassuringly. "I'm grateful you're there for Peter when he's Spider-Man. I worry a lot."

Jackson reached under the table with his foot to rub against Peter's thigh. The startled look on his face was invaluable. "I would never let anywhatever touch even a follicle on his cephalic." May looked a little puzzled but Peter buried his face in his hands. His face was beyond normal red.

As they cleared the table to go to the couch, Jackson brushed past Peter with a smirk. "You are such an asshole," Peter mumbled. This made Jackson freeze in place and he turned to face his boyfriend with the biggest "oh shit" look on his face. "Jacks—"

"May!" He flinched a little at the volume of Jackson's voice.

She came out and looked at Jackson curiously. "What is it?"

"Has Peter ever sworn before?" Peter made it to the couch and put the pillow over his face. Jackson was struggling—and failing—to control himself. "He just called me an asshole."

May was in no position to reprimand Peter for swearing but she was surprised at this. "What do you have to say for yourself?" She strode over to where Peter sat and took the pillow.

"Nah. I'm just fuckin' with you, babe." Jackson jumped into his lap and looked up at him with that all-too-famous Cheshire cat grin. "I love you." He leaned up, pecking his lips.

This made Peter stop and reassess his life for about thirty seconds before glancing at Aunt May, who was watching him with no expression and down at Jackson, who wore the same mien. He had always pegged Jackson to be the one who said it first. He practiced this interaction in his head many times, and this wasn't exactly how he saw it turning out.

"I love you too."