Lol, I just couldn't resist making that the title!

With all my lovely reviews for Tangled, Numb, and Promise Me.... I'm on a Writer's High. I'm ecstatic that so many people liked Promise Me. So if anyone who's read that is reading this, let me know: Should thatremain a one-shot or should it be more?

Disclaimer: As much as I would love to claim ownership, Spider-Man and company still belong to Stan Lee and the crew, so I have to be content with borrowing them. Walks off stage calmly, disappears behind curtain. Weeping and gnashing of teeth is heard ;)

Chapter Nine: So Happy Together

"Aaaahh. Muuuch better," Harry sighed as he stood up straight after putting down another heavy box. "I was starting to feel like I'd be permanently hunched over."

Peter laughed. "Back troubles, old man?"

Harry punched his friend's shoulder lightly. "No, but it's almost your bedtime, fogie."

"If I'm a fogie, what does that make you? You are older than me after all, Har."

"Yep, and wiser too."

"Yeah right. You would never have gotten through high school without me!"

"That's 'cause I know how to have fun, Pete," Harry teased.

Peter pouted like a little kid who'd been insulted. "I know how to have fun. I'm just not a mush-head like you."

"Oh, you're gonna pay for that!" Peter dropped the fake pout, grinning broadly as he ran through the obstacle course of stacked cardboard boxes. Harry chased him, eventually catching Pete and tickling the otherman breathless. "Say uncle! Say it!"

"Never!" Peter cried valiantly. Until the hands tickling his ribs moved to his more sensitive stomach. "Aaaaggh! Okay, I give, I give! Uncle!" Harry stopped his assault, only to be on the receiving end of the tickling a second later.

"Ack! Pete! Noooo! Ha ha! Stop that!" Harry had a tendency to kick and flail his arms when he was being tickled, so Peter had to beware of flying limbs. "Aaagh! Uncle! Uncle!"

Pete stopped, and both men fell on the floor, still laughing. Even after their laughter died, they lay side by side on the floor in a comfortable silence for a while. Then Harry turned to face Peter, propping his head up on his hand.

"This is gonna rock, pal."

Peter grinned at him. "And here I thought I was the brains of this operation."


Two weeks later

Aunt May had come by and was thoroughly chewing the guys out. They hadn't done their laundry yet-- it was in a monster of a pilethat took up nearly an entire corner of their small living room. They were living off of cold cans of Progresso and Chef Boyardee, and not a single box had been unpacked.

"But Aunt May, we've been looking for jobs! We haven't had time to move in!" Peter protested.

"Nonsense! You must have some spare time!" An idea came to her, and she gave the young men an ultimatim. "If you two haven't at least unpacked the kitchen things and washed your clothes by the time I return in ten days, you two are moving home."

Harry's stomach lurched as memories of "home" came to him, unbidden. Oh, hell no. I am NOT moving back there. Not even if I have to unpack that stuff by myself. Pete'll help pull his weight though. He always does.

"Now, you boys know well enough to call me if you need anything. Oh, and I brought you a fire extinguisher, in case you amateurs set your kitchen on fire," May said seriously, amused at the thought of either man trying to cook. Last time Peter had tried, he had set the stove on fire, putting a nice burn mark on the wall behind it. That was why they'd repainted their kitchen, not long before Ben died.

Harry grinned. "Thanks May. I don't think that'll happen though. While Pete was taking another science course, I took a course on the science that is cooking." Peter stuck his tongue out at Harry, who responded in kind.

"Are you sure I don't need to seperate the two of you?" May teased. Both grinned, putting their tongues back where they belonged and whistled innocently. It was an inside joke. The men shared a very tight bond and had since they were little. It was easy for them to do the same thing at the same time, without being cued.

After May left, the men got to work. They put their dirty laundry in trash bags and hauled it down to the nearest laundromat. By the time the place closed, they had made a nice little dent in their laundry-monster. The two called it a day after getting the clean stuff put away and the trash bags full of dirty laundry tucked away for the next trip.

Within a few days, they had diminished the laundry to a reasonable amount. The unpacking of the kitchen utensils, appliances, and dishes followed without incident, except for a few jam sessions substituting pots for drums.

May's ultimatim had given Harry and Peter momentum, though, and the unpacking continued. So when May returned at the end of the ten days, she was surprised at the pilgrims' progress.

"Well, perhaps you boys can survive on your own after all," May said, smiling at them. "Oh, by the way, I got your message, Harry. Here's your new fire extinguisher. Just watch what temperature you turn the oven up to next time."


Lol! Will Pete and Harry ever learn to cook? Will Aunt May ever get a moment's peace? Will I quit asking questions cuz that is really annoying! Lemme know whatcha think.