CHAPTER 20: BACK TO NEW YORK
Peter was in the infirmary, Rogue was looking better and even though she said she was fine Xavier and Beast were keeping her there for tests. Rogue would have died of boredom if not for all the visits and of course Wanda keeping her company. The other goth girl hated being in the mansion when it was mostly empty as well and so far the two girls were forming a nice friendship.
But Peter noticed that Kurt was with her in there and decided to hold back, 'Oh boy looks like she's going to finally tell him…' Peter thought as he saw the expression on Rogue. She had told him and the adults about what Mystique had said and to say it was a shock wasn't even close. It had taken her a day to just work up the nerve to be the one to tell Kurt what Mystique had said.
Rogue had just finished telling Kurt everything and waiting for him to say something. To tell the truth she wasn't sure if she wanted people to know she was related to Mystique, hell she didn't want it to be true but after a long talk with Peter she felt that Kurt deserved to know. Like Peter had said he was technically her family.
Family…That was still strange for her since the only thing close to family had been Irene. Now she not only had a 'mother' but apparently a brother and a sister.
So now the ball was in Kurt's court on what to think. Kurt was just sitting by her bed not really saying anything in fact he looked like someone just kicked him in the gut and was just dazed. Kurt couldn't believe it, he just couldn't believe that not only did he learn that he had on older sister who hated his guts but that Rogue was his sister too.
All this time and they never knew of the connection they had to each other. It was a lot to absorb that was for sure. But at least with Rogue things wouldn't be as bad as they were with Sandra that was for sure. Rogue was getting a little impatient on waiting for an answer the suspense was starting to get on her nerves. "Kurt…Come on say somethin' will ya."
"Oh sorry…It's just that…man I had no idea…" Kurt said dumbfounded by it all.
"Yeah ah know…"
Then Kurt's face broke into a smile, "Vell I alvays vanted to had siblings and a larger family."
Rogue gave a small sad smile, "Ya don't have ta Kurt. Ah mean…Ah don't know what it means ta beh in a family so ya don't have to do this."
"But I vant to," He said placing a hand on her shoulder making her look up at him. "Rogue, veather you vant it or not you are mien sister and I vant us to be a family. I…Never had anyone ozher zhen mien parents and zhey couldn't have children of zheir own. I vas their miracle child they said but I alvays vanted more in my life. I vanted brozhers or sisters to play with."
"Ya really want a sister lahke meh in your life?" She said feeling a few tears in her eyes, she was fighting it back but it was hard. She had been just as lonely in her life. So far she had gained friendship, a place she belonged and fit in, a boyfriend, love…was she really ready to have a family?
"Ja…Rogue I vant us to be a family…Okay…Sis?"
She got a small smile at him calling her that, it was strange she had known Kurt for years. Sure he was like the annoying little brother at times but now he was her annoying little brother is seems. It would take some getting used to that was for sure but a part of her longed for a family of her own. Sure this would be one messed up family but it would be her family, a family all her own for the first time in her life.
"Ah…Ah guess we could try this out…Brother…"
Kurt smiled and caught her by surprise when he hugged her. "Careful! Peter didn't fix my bracelet yet."
"Oh sorry," He grinned sheepishly pulling back, "Got kind of caught up in zhe moment."
The guess she could understand that and so there was a little awkward silence. Thankfully Peter decided to come in and save them the unsettling silence. "Hey how are things going?"
"Good," Rogue stated happy to see him, "I told him."
"So I guessed," Peter smiled at Kurt, "So what's it like to suddenly get two older goth sisters?" Rogue groaned forgetting about Sandra at the moment. "Guess that means she forgot about Sandra."
"Ja looks like it," Kurt chuckled to himself, he got up to excuse himself and touched her on the shoulder again, "I'll see you soon, but if you excuse me I zhink I'll call Amanda. She vill not believe this."
Peter raised and eyebrow, "What? Having her boyfriend as a blue fuzzy elf that can teleport, being friends with people with powers, knowing her science teacher turned into a monster and let's not forget the dino-monsters at the dance. You think this she won't believe?"
Kurt laughed not thinking about that, "Ja I guess zhis isn't zhe most vierd thing to happen."
They watched him teleport out so now it was just the two of them at the moment, "So pretty lady what can I do for you? Fluff your pillow? Get you something to drink or eat?"
"Ah'm fahne thanks," She told him resting a bit, "Ah'm just sick to death of wakin' up here."
Peter looked around the room, "Yeah the sterile and all white look went out decades ago. You think we can talk Hank to painting this place up a bit? Putting up posters and stuff? I mean why do all these places have to be so drab and monotone?"
Rogue just shook her head at him slightly amused. "So how's tha new bracelet comin' along?"
Peter grinned at her, "Oh? Can't wait to have it to have your wicked way with me?" That earned him a playful swat on his arm but he took it.
"Not that ya damn Yankee," She told him although she was smiling a little.
"I'll have you know I'm proud to be a Yankee…Sure the team could do better but still," His smile then faltered a bit and he sighed, "It will be a few more days, Hank getting the replacement parts and he's putting it together but a few of the parts need to be put together just right."
"Oh…ah see," She looked disappointed by that and she was, she missed being able to touch again. "Well at least it's two days and not two years."
"There's the spirit," Peter gave a small smile to her, "So they find anything yet?"
She sighed and leaned back against her bed, "God ah wish…So far ah feel fahne but they are wondering how ah'm doing so well so fast. Plus they want meh ta do some physical work today as well."
"Damn that sucks…" Peter was now feeling a little torn. One the one hand it was now Friday and he promised Harry to visit him in New York after school but he also didn't want to leave Rogue alone. It was times like this he wished there was another of him or that Jamie could clone him or something.
Rogue then noticed the look on Peter's face, she knew him well enough to know he was deep in thought about something. "Peter what's goin' on? Is somethin' tha matter?"
Peter considered what to tell her but in the end just decided to lay it all down to her. He had planned to tell her anyway but then this whole thing happened. "So I can call Harry and tell him I can't make it if you want me here."
Rogue thought about it, truth was Harry was one of the only friends that he had back in New York and she didn't want her to get in the way. Plus she was fine as it was it was sweet of him to ask her though but still he should go. "Peter ah may want ya here…But ah don't need ya here."
Peter blinked a few times, "Uh…care to clear that up for me?"
"Ah think ya should go, ah mean he needs ya more then ah do. Ah'm doing fahne now, besides he's most likely in pain and needs a good friends and that's what ya are."
"You sure?"
Now Rogue was getting a little frustrated sometimes Peter could be almost as stubborn about certain things as she could be. "How about if ya don't leave then I'll get out of this bed and make ya go?" She threatened and Peter knew she would do just that. His girlfriend wasn't one for idol threats.
"Okay, okay you convinced me," He said holding his hands up in surrender. He got up and stroked her shoulder gently, "Well I better get ready then…I'll try to bring you back something from New York okay?"
She smiled at him and nodded, "And ah'll have the new bracelet by then too."
-Elsewhere in the Mansion-
May was getting ready to drive Peter back to New York to visit Harry. Her nephew had told her all about it and he wanted to give him a lift. It would allow her to visit a few friends in New York as well while he was there. There was still an hour before they left so she was just tidying up her room, just as she was finished there was a knock on her door.
"Come in." She was surprised to see Jean of all people walk in.
Jean had never been in May's room she saw photos around the place mainly of May, Peter and a man she guessed was Ben. The place had a nice warmth to it as well, with a few things here and there decorating the room. Several things that must have been brought with her when they had moved into the mansion an old dresser, lamp and a few other things.
"Hey May…Can I talk to you?" Jean said a little unsure about how to go about this.
"Of course please sit down," They both sat on her bed. Jean was starting to run through all the different ways she could go through this in her head. She must have been thinking longer then she had thought when May spoke up, "Jean dear unlike you I'm not a mind reader."
"Oh right, sorry." Jean's cheeks flushed a bit as she composed herself, "Well I just wanted to know…How do you know when you're in love?"
May stared to get an idea of where this was going and smile at her, "I see, so this has to do with Scott."
Jean nodded her head, "Yes…I've never felt like this…And well you were happily married I mean when you talk about Ben I can feel the warmth you feel when you think about him."
May's smile grew a bit more at those words, "Well Ben was special dear. I don't know if you believe in soul mates or 'the one' but to me Ben as all that and so much more. I was lucky to have found him in my life and I cherish each and everything moment we were given on Earth together."
Jean listened in on this, she never saw this side of May before, "How did you know that he was the one? That you were in love with him?"
May smiled thinking back to those youthful days, when she and her best friend Mary met the Parker boys. "Well you see Peter's mother and myself were great friends then while on a little vacation during the summer we met the Parker brothers Ben and Richard Parker. Well as you guess we both liked the boys and well things started to grow from there. We went on double dates all the time and the four of us were really close."
"So did you know right away?"
May thought about it, "Well not at first but over time I suddenly realized how much he meant to me. I started to think about him more, the thought of just meeting him again made me all excited, a longed for moments when he would just to the simple things like caress my face. Soon I just knew that I was falling in love with him."
Jean rested her head on her hands looking at the older woman and the look of happiness on her face when she talked about it, "What's it feel like?"
"Like nothing in this world dear," May said as she tried to put it into words. "When you're together it's like magic, you feel so much more alive and it's like the world suddenly makes sense. You feel warm inside when you think about them and when you're together it's like the other problems just melt away."
"It's also painful since when you're apart for so long you feel empty inside," May's face took on a note of sadness now and Jean reached out and held the other woman's hand. She smiled back at the young woman and went on. "You start to ache for them, to long for them. There are times you feel like you would do anything to have them back even for a moment."
"You miss him a lot don't you?" Jean didn't need to say his name she knew where this was going.
"That word doesn't even come close to it Jean," May said wiping away a tear, "When my Ben died…An important piece of me died with him. I've never felt whole again Jean and I know I never will. You see when you find that one person that's it there is no second chance. You can find love again but it will never match up to the one you belonged to."
Jean really thought about that and how May was feeling at the moment. She thought what would happen if she suddenly lost Scott. She felt this void in her all of a sudden this terrible empty feeling and she couldn't imagine living like that.
"I…I think I know what you mean." The red head began, "Lately I think about Scott all the time when I'm not busy. How he smiles, how he always making sure everything is going. How cute he looks when he's a little uncertain about something."
"He knows me better then anyone, we've been close friends for so long I feel like I've known him my entire live. I can't imagine my life without him and…Well it's like you said, I feel complete with him in my life."
May could only smile warmly at the young woman as she put a hand on her shoulder, "Then I think you have your answer Jean. It sounds like you are in love with this man."
Jean looked into her heart and said what she felt, "Yes…I do." Jean got a huge smile as she felt that she finally knew how she truly felt now and looked at May. "Thank you for listening and helping me."
"Anytime child and I wish you and Scott well," May kindly said to her remembering how she was at her age. It was uplifting to see so much young love growing up around this mansion.
-Three hours later-
Peter had been riding with his aunt for the last few hours it only took one to get to New York but once you hit the traffic well that added to the travel time. He was tempted to ask her to just dropped him off at an alley and suit up and swing there. It would only take him a few minutes after all he got from Queens to North part of Manhattan in ten minutes, that had to be some type of record too.
But he thought against it, although his aunt had been talking about him and Rogue quite some time too it was kind of embarrassing as well. He knew that she was just checking up on him but sometimes he thought he'd rather go another round with Venom again. Especially if this turned into another sex talk again like last time.
God he hated that, but he and Rogue did get Logan back when they found out he was the guy that gave his aunt that idea. They had pretty much had taken all the beer bottles in the fridge and replace it all with Sprite soda. The hard part had been for Peter to get the pressure just right so when he pulled off the cap it made that same sound of pressure being released.
Still it had been funny as hell seeing Logan take a drink and then spit it out, boy had he been pissed. Sure he gave everyone extra training that day but both he and Rogue agreed that it was well worth it. They finally made it to the Osborn residence which was mainly a tall tower in Manhattan with a built on mansion on the top of it.
May stopped to let him out since she wasn't going in, "Give my best to Harry and I hope things work out."
Peter nodded as he opened the door and pulled out a backpack and a suitcase, "Thanks I will Aunt May, enjoy seeing some of your friends."
"Oh I will, I'll see you again on Sunday." She told him and went off before she held up the traffic.
Peter slung the backpack over his shoulder and picked up the suitcase and walked up to the large glass doors. He had been here many times but the size of the place was always intimidating. The reception area was large with a lot of people in suits going back and forth. He remembered the first time he and MJ had went over to Harry's it had been kind of scary with all the strangers around.
But by now he knew the routine, he went up to the front desk to see a new guy working there giving him a strange look, 'Most likely thinks I'm a tourist who thought this was a hotel.' He thought with a small grin to his face.
"Can I help you?" He man said to him giving a little attitude but hey this was New York after all.
"Yeah I'm Peter Parker," Peter said hoping to have a little fun with this guy.
"And that's supposed to mean something?"
Peter just smiled, "Check the registration form for the Osborn residence for today, the T-32 form I think. You know that blue sheet they give you so you can hand out the keys to all the important people so they can use them in the elevator."
Peter tried not to laugh as the man straightened up a bit and looked a little nervous. Peter saw him check the blue papers for VIPs and when the man suddenly froze and paled he had to bite his tongue from not laughing out. He saw the man swallow and quickly got one of the keys for the elevator. "Oh I'm s-sorry sir, h-here you are."
"Well I never," Peter faked being insulted and grabbed the key and walked off. It was good to let people know that the next person they are rude to could get them fired. He bet the guy would be sweating bullets all day. He got into the private elevator and put in the key and then pressed one of the few buttons there that would take him to the top most levels only.
He waiting while wishing for the guy to created elevator music would be arrested for crimes against humanity when the doors opened. He stepped out to the marble floor, saw what you will about Harry's dad the man had style. Peter looked around at all the really expensive things they were never allowed to touch.
Norman had things in here that put Xavier's to shame really, where the mansion was nice and homey feel to it this place felt more like a king's personal quarters and someone like him wasn't welcomed. There were large carpets, old furniture and lots of other things. "Why do I always feel like I just stepped into a museum when I first walk into this place?"
"Most likely because I bet his dad buys some of this stuff from them," Peter jumped and spun around but broke into a smile seeing who was there. Mary Jane Watson his old friend and old secret crush, standing there looking as good as ever in her low cut jeans and t-shit that was showing off her stomach, her long shoulder length red hair flowing free as always.
"MJ!" Peter cried out happy to see her in the flesh again, he picked her up into a hug as she laughed hugging him back.
"Hey stranger long time no see!" She said happily and then felt his arm, "Damn Peter what the hell?"
Peter noticed what she might have been noticing, ever since he got bite by that spider and went from skinny to ripped he had been hiding it. "Oh uh…there's this fitness program at that boarding school that we do. You know keep the mind and body fit and all."
"Well it's working," She smiled at him.
Peter just shrugged a little sheepishly, "Yeah well I was tired of being the unofficial punching bag of our high school." He hated lying to her like this in fact he hated lying period but sometimes you had to do something like this to protect others. There was an awkward moment of silence between the two of them before Peter asked the question he had to ask, "How's Harry holding up?"
MJ sighed a little, "Well…he's holding up he's just really frustrated that they won't let him see his dad you know?"
"I still don't get why they are doing that," He shook his head trying to think of a reason why.
MJ just shrugged as she led the way through the place, "I wish I knew that too, but at least with the three of us together again we can cheer him up…Peter…"
"Yeah?"
"I've…well I've really missed you," he said slightly softly, Peter had been the rock of the group for so many years it was hard not to have him around anymore. Sure she still had other friends but her, Peter and Harry were like the three musketeers. When he left it was like she lost a central point of her life.
Peter placed a hand on her shoulder, "Hey I missed you and Harry too."
"Oh by the way we got another visitor here too," MJ said with a grin.
That got his interests, "Oh really?"
"Remember Liz?"
Peter thought about it for a moment, "Wait-you don't mean Liz Allan? The cute blond girl that Harry has been crushing on for like a whole year?"
MJ giggled and nodded her head, she filled him in on how she and Liz were friends and when she told him how bad Harry was doing she noticed how Liz was taking it. She pulled the girl aside and asked her if she felt something for Harry. She had confessed that she had liked Harry from the start but never thought that he took much notice of her.
It was at that point Peter burst out laughing, "Oh man I just knew you liked to play match maker."
"Hey!" the red head said in her defense, "It's working, I left the two of them along to get you and they were all flirty and stuff."
Peter grinned at the fortune of his long time friend it was about time Harry got a girl in his life and he guessed with this Harry might be in a better mood for later on too. By the time they reached Harry's room he and Liz were already talking and laughing about something. Peter just took a moment to watch his friend, it was good to see him happy even if it was for the moment.
NEXT UP CHAPTER 21: IN A NEW YORK MINTUTE