Look at me, being all consistent. I'm doing NaNoWriMo now too, so here's to hoping that will push me to keep this up. I will be releasing a 12 days of oneshots fic for Christmas, so send in prompts! May the best be featured :)
Enjoy!
The day of the visitation Peter didn't eat. Tony tried and tried all throughout the day to get him to have something, but every time Peter shrugged it away, giving Tony a pleading look that he couldn't fight. Out of desperation, he ended up texting Clint and asking for advice on force feeding a grieving teenager. Clint showed up at the Tower, with his hands full of milkshakes, passing them out to the team who sucked them down whilst getting ready.
By noon they were all dressed in black and just about ready to head out, when the elevator dinged and a man of braided blonde hair walked in, carrying a boquet of pink and white flowers. ''Boy of spiders, it is with great dismay that I announce my sorrow for you and the death of your beloved Aunt. I brought you these flowers from Asgard, with hopes that you-''
''Hey big guy,'' Tony interrupted, not unkindly. ''It's a rough day, let's keep it down please. Also, I'm not sure pink is exactly the right color for this, situation...''
''Well, I have reason to believe this is the perfect color for such occasions,'' Thor argued, walking into the room and setting the boquet along the counter. Peter followed him, peering over at them. ''My Mother was buried with these. She lay surrounded by these very flowers at the ceremony and remains that way today.'' There was a cloud of sadness in his eyes that did not go unnoticed by anyone. ''Queen of Asgard,'' he added, turning his head to the ground, a smile playing falsely on his lips when he looked back up.
The room silenced at this. Tony took a breath, looking apologetic, but Peter stepped over and placed a hand over Thor's. ''I'm sorry sir. The flowers are beautiful, thank you so much.''
It took all of three cars to get them all hauled to the church where the visitation was being held. Rhodey drove in the front of one of Tony's less flashy cars, Bruce in the seat beside him and Tony and Peter in the back. Tony had insisted that he be the one to drive his own car, but Rhodey pointed out that he didn't belong to Church, so he wouldn't know the way. Without arguing Tony just shrugged, climbing in beside his kid. He was about to mention that Friday would have no problem figuring out the way, but one look at Peter, curled in the seat, head resting sadly against the window and he shut his mouth. He figured Rhodey had probably seen this too, and he gave the man a smile before they took off.
Steve opted to drive a car of his own, arriving at the church in a packed black vehicle of Bucky, Thor and Wanda. Clint and his family showed up shortly after, along with Nat who rode with them. Peter knew Clint had kids, for he more often than not returned home at nights and weekends to them, but he had yet to meet any. He guessed he would have to wait a little longer though, because this just didn't seem like the place to make friends. Still, he couldn't help but appreciate the man when he showed up with a little boy on his hip, another in his wife's arms, and a girl a few years younger than Peter walking in beside him.
Clint had a whole other life, with a family of his own, yet he still made an effort to spend so much time with Peter, who wasn't even related to him. The very thought sent him striding over to give Barton a hug the second he set his own boy down.
''Hey there Pete,'' he grunted, surprised by the unexpected embrace that came out of nowhere. ''We uh, we doing okay?'' He asked, wrapping an arm around the teen, whilst looking around for Tony.
''Yeah, yeah,'' he confirmed quickly. ''Just, thank you for being here. You didn't have too.''
''Of course, Peter, we're all gonna be here for you. The whole team, don't forget that.''
When he released himself, Natasha was waiting right in front of him, arms open and before he knew it he was embraced by a lighter pair of arms. ''Оставайся стойким, у вселенной есть для тебя награды,'' she whispered, gently into his ear.
''Will you teach me? Russian.'' Peter clarified, hugging her back before pulling apart to look her in the eye. He had dabbled in several languages, some for school, but most on his own time. He was almost fluent in Spanish and could speak nearly perfect Italian, thanks to growing up with his Aunt.
''I would love too. Tony tells me you're a quick learner. I apologize though, I'm afraid I'm not the best at teaching.''
Peter waved her off with a grateful smile. ''I'm sure you'll be great.''
By then, Tony had made his way over and placed both hands on Peter's shoulders. ''Parker,'' he started, to which Peter hummed back. ''All right, your Aunt's friends will be showing up soon, along with your friends I assume.''
Peter nodded, noting the man's tone, hinting that this was going somewhere.
''Yeah so, they are obviously going to have questions, we haven't exactly gone public with this whole estrange.''
Right. How did he not think of this before? The Avengers didn't sit through just anybody's funeral. There would questions and looks. Lots and lots of looks, which Peter hated. They seemed to be unavoidable for him, genius superhero and all, but that was different. With Spiderman, he obviously had a mask, no one knew it was Peter Parker swinging around Queens, stopping robberies and helping old ladies cross the busy streets. At school or Decathlon, he didn't think much of it. It was the place to be smart. He could show off all he wanted, even if spiderman did get in the way a lot, and sometimes he found himself holding back just a little, because he didn't want to appear like, well like Flash. May didn't raise him an egotistical boy.
''Pep and I talked about this last night, and we've taken care of all the legal stuff, no one will be able to share information about you staying at the compound, so don't worry about that. Fact, you don't even have to tell them you're staying with us okay?''
Peter nodded, chewing his bottom lip a little. Maybe he didn't have to tell them anything, but he felt like he should at least give some sort of explanation, shouldn't he? They had a right to be curious. But when everyone started filling the room, he realized that while people did give a few stares of disbelief to the famous members standing around Peter, they seemed to know that it just wasn't the time to act on it. This was May's funeral, they were her friends, some of them were like family to her, especially since her whole bloodline had passed. For a while, friends were all either of them had. But over the years, with time, it became clear, even after Ben died that they had more. They had each other.
He was left alone for the most part, besides people coming over to let him know how ''sorry we are for your loss.'' Ned and Mj stuck by him the whole time and Peter had to admit, he was extremely impressed at his best friend's ability to not fanboy, in a room filled with geniuses and superheroes, people both of them had looked up to since they were little boys.
He was also surprised at the ease between him and Mj. He expected it to be, well awkward, since their failed date. But it was like it never happened, and everything just went back to normal. They were going to remain friends, as promised and he found he was okay with that. Maybe someday, things would change. His life would calm down, he would get his anxiety under control and they could try again. But when she smiled at him, and offered a reassuring nod before she left, he knew that no matter what happened, their friendship wasn't going to end.
Within a couple hours, the Church emptied, and the team was left alone, to gather their selves and jump back into their cars for the long ride home. For a minute they stood there, all of them together, not saying a word. It wasn't spoken but Peter could feel the uncertainty in the air. He wanted to break it, to tell them they could leave, they had already been there longer than they had too, but it was Clint that beat him to it.
''I've got to head home and get these kids to bed, but if anyone's hungry, we're thinking of stopping for dinner on the way. The farm's quite a drive and I have a good feeling I'll be lugging several sleeping bodies into the house by the time we get back.''
It took longer than it should have for Peter to realize everyone was waiting for him to answer and for some reason he almost laughed at this. The Avengers were standing around waiting for him to decide their dinner plans. That was crazy. But it wasn't. Not anymore. It was just normal.
''Yeah, I am kind of hungry.''
The day of the funeral it rained. Peter couldn't help but think how freaking poetic. It hadn't rained all Summer and the sky chose today of all days to open up and pour down upon New York.
For the visitation, Tony helped Peter get to work calling all of May's friends and every single one of them showed up, dressed neatly in black, just as they had then, only more solemn. Peter wasn't a speaker, at least not publicly. But when Tony asked if he wanted to prepare a few words he found himself nodding and heading to his room to plan them, the night before May was buried.
Now he stood, in front of a crowd of people he hardly knew, wearing the nicest suit his skin had ever touched. He wondered if everyone could see him shaking from their seats. Nervously glancing through the crowd, he spotted the whole team sitting in the back row. He knew May didn't know any of them, but he didn't think she would be upset about the Avengers coming to her funeral. They were like family to him now and he felt better having them there.
Tony had taken a seat towards the back as well, taking Peter's hand before he went up, and whispering, ''it's gonna be okay kiddo. Just say what you need to, May wouldn't be mad if you have to sit down early okay?'' Peter nodded before walking up, clutching the piece of paper he stayed up all night writing.
''Hey,'' he started awkwardly. ''So um, as you all know, May had a husband, Ben Parker. They took me in when I was in-between age six and seven after my parents passed. I don't remember my parents as much as I want too, but I remember Ben and I'll always remember May. Without them, I wouldn't be anywhere close to who and where I am today.''
Tony leaned back in his chair, head tilting a little as he gave Peter a sad, but comforting smile.
''I guess people probably think I might consider May like a mom and Ben a Dad. But the truth is, I don't. I never did. Since I was six years old, they worked so hard to fill those gaps for me, and they did an amazing job. I can't tell you how thankful I am that I had them for as long as I did. They may not have been Mother and Father to me, but they were there for me, and that was more than enough.''
Peter paused. He was rambling at this point, barely following the lines he had practiced the night before. Swallowing, he pulled his hand from his side, bringing the paper into view. He knew what he wanted to say and that involved Tony, but he was here for what he needed to say and that involved only May.
''May was the toughest person I know. She didn't get enough credit for it, but she didn't break easy. The truth is, May lost just as much as I did if not more. Despite this, she managed to stay strong, for me. She lost everyone, including the man closest to her, and still managed to look at most everyone in this room with a smile every day. That's pretty amazing.''
The audience seemed to agree with this, because while they all kept quiet, Peter could make out soft nods from every row. So, with one last glance at the paper, for memory, he continued to say what they needed to hear. He went on about all the good things his Aunt did, how she loved to help and was always big on charity. She worked a lot, but she enjoyed that too. Never was one to complain about her job.
''She didn't deserve to go the way she did, or to leave so soon, but tonight let's all rest knowing that everything she's lost, is with her again.''
The tip of his tongue slid over his bottom lip as he ducked his head and walked back to his seat. He didn't even try to hide the tears shimmering in his eyes, because this time he knew he wasn't the only one.
They didn't spread the ashes like people typically did. Peter decided off the bat that he wanted her next to Ben. So, after the ceremony, everyone hopped back in their cars and drove to the graveyard where they were now gathered. Once she was buried, they stood around in silence, not because no one knew what to say, it wasn't awkward like that. It was more a thoughtful silence. Everyone's heads were flowing with different memories of the same person. Peter thought it interesting that one person could have so many reflections, none exactly the same as another.
The way you view a person is determined by what happens in the moments spent with them. It dawned on him, that some of the people around him had grown up with May. They shared moments with his Aunt unlike any he had with her himself.
The quiet thoughts were broken by a lighthearted voice that Peter would never have expected to hear at a funeral. The words it spoke paved way too many more that followed, and it was like magic. One voice, a small speech, was all it took for handfuls of memories to fall loose, some Peter's and some from people he didn't even know. The first voice was Tony's. No one expected it, but the appreciation was clear.
''About a year ago I knocked on her apartment door and she answered within seconds, not at all expecting to see me there. She invited me in almost normally and I remember being handed a cookie. I said is this homemade, she said yeah, yeah, I just made it.''
Chuckles were heard through the rain that splashed down on them all, wetting their suits but no one moved. They kept their gaze on the billionaire, reminding Peter of his Aunt by the casual way they listened, as if he were just one of them. As if he wasn't the most famous person they would ever meet.
''I'll tell you all right now, nicest woman ever, beautiful too-that was not a cookie.''
More laughs and a few side comments, then another person was speaking. Peter recognized her instantly as one of May's good friends. The two went for lunch together whenever they had time off work and Peter even remembered going shopping with her a few times.
''I remember sitting at my desk one day, back when May and I worked in the office together. My phone rings, I ignore it, phone rings again I'm like all right, so I pick it up. May's on the other end and she asks, 'why are you in office, you're sick today.' I was pretty confused because one, she wasn't there to know I was in office and two, I wasn't sick. She told me to check my email, so I did, and I find a message from my boss, telling me to feel better soon. I scroll up and there's another message, one sent by me explaining in depth of why I couldn't come to work that day because I had caught the flu from May Parker.''
She went on to explain how May had hacked into her email and sent the message herself, and how grateful she was because that was a really tough day for her. So, she had packed up and left the building, only to find May waiting outside to haul her over to the mall. Peter didn't know about that, but it seemed like something she would do.
Several stories and a lot of rain later, people were ready to get off their feet and head somewhere dry. Peter wouldn't say he was happy, but after receiving hugs from the crowd of people, and returning once more to the car, the stories they told ran over in his head and he felt a sense of relief, maybe even a bit of satisfaction. May's life was tough, but it had a lot of good moments, and he knew she wouldn't be forgotten by anyone that was blessed with knowing her.
The tears were likely to come later, probably in bed when he was trying to sleep, but for now he allowed himself to feel good by the memory of May, instead of choked by the loss.
If you're liking this so far, don't forget to follow, fav, and I'm missing my reviews! I read all of them, and I do try to reply to all prompts. I have a handful of half written ones lying around though... so feel free to send more but wait patiently if you want it filled. Love you all!