Akili-Chan: I think that Reilly has been keeping so many things bottled up because he really hasn't had anyone to confide in. Having someone he cares about betray him (intentionally or not) makes him feel like he needs the space. Because staying with the Parkers was a leap of faith that ended up hurting him. I think May is overly naive in many respects mainly because she wants to see the best in people. The idea of someone abusing Reilly didn't enter her head because she knew him as Darkdevil. She still is trying to think of him as not just family but a kid. The guy was kind of a mentor before so it's a little mind blowing. Not to mention Reilly does act mature-in some respects-like his dedication to the law. Mary Jane knows this but all the same she won't put up with her daughters' ignorance hurting him. Well it is a sliding time table and who knows what other trouble Ben and her got into. The promise also helped Kaine in a small way which she'd know Ben would have wanted. Yep, that's one of the reasons he collected the pictures.

Fiona the Otaku: Reilly doesn't think those reasons are gone which does create some friction. Thanks!

Myulander: Thanks!

Nekochan1994: On Gene having a crush on him? Honestly I wasn't going to touch it but I might now if only because I remember how Gene acts in canon over those he likes. If I do write it that plot will have to wait for awhile. Peters' sister will not show up, I'm pretty sure she doesn't exist in the MC2 world. They mentioned a few times (mainly when clones are involved) that Peter is an only child. I'd rather not mess with that anyway because I'm working with already established MC2 characters and she'd be a little awkward to introduce in this story.

...

Tucking in his pockets Reilly straightened his shirt and ran his hand through his hair. It had grown out since his stay with the Parkers' giving him bangs. Most of his life he had it short to be easy to manage. He somehow looked more boyish with longer hair, a change he had somehow missed. Well he had never been vain especially after turning into a demon. He only took note of it now because Maggie had mentioned the it. Reilly had only meant to talk to her to get some of the burden off of his chest. Staying hadn't been something he planned simply because he never took charity. Maggie had been persuasive though and he had been too exhausted to argue. He had given the donation the twenty dollars in his pocket as payment for room and food.

There were three options Reilly could take but he had already vetoed abusing the church's generosity any further. That left the choices of remaining out in the streets or facing his problems head on. He didn't want to do the latter, he didn't trust himself to keep his emotions under control. But Maggie had been right when she said he bottled things up too much. Besides he wasn't a coward even if dealing with his family was the only thing he ever really feared. Taking a deep breath Reilly walked down the aisle to the newly lit candle where a looming figure met him. The relief was palpable on Kaines' face.

"The woman on the phone said you'd be here but I wasn't sure you'd stay."

Reilly put his hands in his pockets feeling like a kid for the first time in ages. The clones' size helped in that regard though he had always been the shorter of the two it was more noticeable then.

"I think that's why she agreed to make the call." He might have hung up in his current mood.

Kaine gestured to a pew and they sat down in the empty place of worship.

"Do you have any idea how worried we were?!" The man snapped.

The sudden burst of anger had caught him off guard and as usual Reilly acted defensively. "If you remember I can take care of myself. I've been doing it for years."

He could almost taste the bitterness of his words perhaps Kaine could too. His expression turned haunted and he clutched onto the boys' shoulder in a near desperate fashion. "What if you needed more treatments?! They said you needed check ups!"

Oh...he hadn't thought of that and for lack of better response he shrugged. A growl of pure frustration left his uncle, a sound he used to love hearing. It had meant he had managed to get to Kaine, now it just served as a reminder of all the things left unspoken between them. Sighing the man used the back of the pew in front of them as an arm rest as he studied his nephew.

"I know I screw up a lot in my life. I never denied that or made excuses. I've tried to do my best and when I know I'm in over my head I know when to bow out."

Reilly snorted.

"Kid...You said you don't want me to apologize for what I did and I don't expect to be forgiven. I never expect that from anyone."

They sat silently for a moment as each tried to think of a way to bridge the gap between them. Finally Reilly decided it was time to just be honest no matter how much it hurt. He was tired of hiding the truth and it had gone on for too long with the man next to him.

"Do you even know what you'd be apologizing for?"

Kaine frowned in confusion, "For turning you into a demon."

"That was only part of it-which by the way was never about saving me. That was a comforting lie you convinced yourself of after the fact. You only wanted to save Matt because of your guilt, I was never part of the bargain until he changed the rules." His uncle may of caused him pain in the past but Reilly never wanted to hurt him. But he was speaking the truth so what other option was there? "How long did you follow me?"

"I...Since you were born. I looked in on you to make sure you were in a good home. If you weren't I'd do something about it." After another moment of hesitation he gently turned his nephew back to face him. Kaine was surprised to see furious misty eyes greet him.

"You abandoned me." It came out as a whisper but the impact was instantly etched across Kaines' face.

"I didn't-"

"You let me go through one foster home to another and only bothered to show up when I was dying! I had no idea what I was!" What he had thought back then and the pure fear he had felt. The utter loneliness of knowing he was a freak with no one to confide in. "The only family I had were those people! Then after almost a year of taking care of me you just-just left!"

"Y-you told me to go."

"I was thirteen! I was upset with no idea what to do! You were the adult!"

Once he had cooled down Reilly had thought his uncle would return, he hadn't. The boy turned demon had been in such a dark place and if he had given in to the despair he wouldn't still be around. When Spider-Girl had drawn the mans' attention he thought it best to protect her. Throughout the whole ordeal until Kaines' turn into a government agent he had constantly been hoping his uncle would care enough to seek him out. No such luck although they would later have a somewhat tense working relationship. It had mellowed but they never addressed certain topics directly, until now.

"I-I didn't want to ruin your life anymore than I had. I always knew that I'd fail if I took you in and I have. Even so...I almost returned earlier," Kaines' eyes darted to his nephews' face, "when I heard about Darkdevil. But I knew you were doing some good and I would get in the way. When I heard that May had taken up the webs I couldn't stay away any longer. It gave me the excuse I needed to come back. I wanted to see you both. At first I was just going to catch a glimpse then leave town again."

Chancing a glance at his uncle Reilly saw the same guilt cross the clones' face that usually made an appearance whenever the past came up. Understanding what went on in Kaines' head seemed impossible despite the fact it had been explained to him. How the man twisted a simple concept like family into such complex process he didn't know.

"I heard you were on my trail and wanted to save you more trouble. Then I saw you two fighting at the docks." That was something he hadn't known, he never even suspected they had a witness. "She didn't know what was going on of course and wanted to stop you from going down a dark path, right? You were trying to not hurt her and get to me. It made me want to talk to you...then...well."

They had fought and Kaine had lost his temper when Reilly had rightfully been ticked off over his behavior. It had been the single worst interaction they ever had and it hadn't helped mend old wounds in the slightest.

"I shouldn't have said those things I knew would...I shouldn't have hurt either of you. But old feelings came on strong and I did what I always do. I redirect my anger at someone else. At the time I thought it was for the best if you both hated me." Kaine stared down at his feet too ashamed to look at the boy. "I'm sorry."

His large hand hovered in hesitation for an age before firmly gripping Reilly's shoulder to pull his nephew into a sudden hug. They stayed like that with Kaine murmuring "I'm sorry" every few seconds until Reilly's body slid in his grasp.

"Are you-wait-were you sleeping?!"

The red head shrugged unabashed, "I didn't get much sleep."

Kaine grunted is disapproval and much to Reilly's embarrassment felt his forehead. Ignoring the noise of protest he grumbled under his breath. "You feel a little warm, might be coming down with something. Want me to take you home?"

The boy stiffened looking alarmed. "No. I don't want to go back to the Parkers. I can't..."

He just wanted them to know he was okay and hadn't thought ahead past talking to Kaine. His uncle nodded as if he expected that answer. "Alright then at least come with me."

Reilly stared at the outstretched hand frozen in indecision. Did he have any other options?

"Is it at least better than your last place?"

"I don't have cable but it's roomy and doesn't have rats."

"Nice to see it met your high standards." Standing up on his own two feet he suppressed the urge to yawn. Kaine seemed to accept the movement as a nonverbal agreement and sidestepped to lead the boy outside.

"Why did you stay at a church, kid? Were you trying to be ironic or did you want to see if the sanctuary thing was real?"

"If I wanted to know I'd ask you. I'm sure you rang some bells in the past." For the first time in days something in Reilly's life felt normal again and he almost smiled.

"Real cute kid. Now get in the damn car." The vehicle peeled off as soon as the belt was buckled just in case there were second thoughts.

...

"May! Hold up!"

Wes peeled around the corner to catch up with his girlfriend. When he did she cast him a miserable look and kept her steps at a slow pace.

"Hi Wes."

"What's wrong? We haven't seen or heard from you in days! Did something happen?!"

May nodded but didn't speak until they were in the alleyway away from prying eyes. "I messed up really bad. I was just trying to do something nice but I was so thoughtless about it."

She was glad they had the cover of the alley because she didn't want any of their friends to see her tear up. Doing so in front of Wes was still embarrassing but it was better than having everyone witness it. Nor hear her confession of guilt that came out in a breathless rush. "-that really weren't the best of people especially to him. Now Reilly has been gone three days and it's all my fault!"

"Oh geez, no wonder you were upset." He tried to hug her but May recoiled.

"I don't deserve sympathy, I'm not the one who's hurt. After all he has done for me this is how I thank him. Mom is disappointed in me, dad has been a nervous wreak and April is mad at me for making Reilly leave. I don't know if I can fix this, Wes."

"I think you can. Maybe it will take awhile but I think he'll forgive you." Wes squeezed her hand.

"Why would he?" Across the street her mother stepped out of the grocery store. "I got to go Wes. I'm only out to run errands for my dad then help my mom."

"Okay. But in answer to your question...I think he'll forgive you because he knows you regret what you did."

May didn't know if Reilly did know, he certainly wouldn't if he kept his distance.

...

"The kid is alright. He had someone contact me and he's at my place now." Kaine informed wanting to get to the point as quickly as possible.

"Thank god." Peters' voice sounded relieved and Mary Jane said,"Thank You Kaine" in the background. They must have had the the conversation on speakerphone.

"How is he-emotionally?" Mary Jane asked. "Do you think he'll come home?"

"I don't think so. I wasn't sure he'd even agree to come with me. But we talked and well I think the two of us are okay. Reilly did say he'd stay here-"

"I'm coming over." The former hero interrupted.

"You don't even know where I live and I'm not telling you! If you think Reilly's pissed now then imagine how he'd feel if you showed up!" Not to mention the idea of Peter Parker invading the privacy of his home made Kaine feel irritable.

"Fine but we need to see him at some point." Peter might not like it but he at least seemed to finally understand he had to trust his clone.

"I'll see what I can do but I can't make any promises."

By the time Reilly emerged from the bathroom Kaine was off the phone and making coffee. The boys' clothes were in the wash and the only things available for him to wear until they were dry were Kaines' oversized clothes. Knowing it wouldn't go over well he reframed from informing his nephew how adorable he looked. Instead he lifted the pot of coffee as a silent offer and received a shake of the head as his answer.

"Get some sleep then."

For once Reilly had no snarky reply, he seemed too exhausted to even acknowledge the comment. Lying down on the surprisingly decent sofa (the government paid well enough) the boy fell asleep quickly.