333(A/N: I do not own Spiderman. That right belongs to Sony).
Peter thanked the taxi driver, gave him his fee and even gave him a hefty tip as he parked near the Silver Spoon. He exited the yellow car as he looked inside. He could already see both of his bosses with their son (Who was currently scarfing down an ice cream sundae). He could also see Liz, Felicia, Gwen, Eddie and surprisingly MJ.
At first, Peter was confused as to why MJ was here but he guessed that either Gwen asked her to come or that MJ had asked Gwen if she could come. Honestly, it didn't much matter to him although he would have to keep quiet on the fact that he was in fact Spiderman (Which might prove a bit difficult but manageable). However, he couldn't help but notice that both MJ and Eddie were trying their hardest not to look at each other as they just shifted their eyes on anything or anyone else apart from the other. He figured after how their date went last year, he couldn't really blame either of them.
The young man walked towards the door and stopped as he was about to head in. He took a deep breath. He had been dreading this all day even though he was the one that suggested it. He still didn't really have a clue what he was going to say. He felt he was just going to have to just go with it. This wasn't really something a person could write a script for.
Peter hesitated for just a bit longer but couldn't hold it in for much longer as he soon spotted Liz waving at him with a slight smile on her face (Although he could see it was a bit morbid). That soon turned the others attention toward him as well as all their eyes were on him now. Knowing he couldn't keep this up for much longer, he entered the cafe/ice cream shop and gave the bravest smile he could as he walked over towards the table.
The group greeted him warmly as he sat down at an available seat. Peter, while still smiling, greeted everyone else warmly as well, saying hi to each of them, even MJ who technically wasn't really supposed to be here. However, that wasn't really the biggest thing on his mind right now.
"How've you been today, Petey?" Liz (Who was sitting beside him) asked as she gave a slight hug at Peter's arm.
Peter sighed as he shook his head. "Better than yesterday"
"Good…now that we got that out of the way-" Liz said as she moved away from his arm and slapped him across the face.
Peter let out a little cry as the young Latina's hand collided with his cheek. A few people nearby even turned to look at this. However, after seeing Peter quickly recover and give a nonchalant face afterwards, they quickly went back to their coffee, muffins and ice cream.
The occupants at the table (Besides Billy, who looked rather shocked at this before his mother quickly encouraged him to keep eating his ice cream) didn't look surprised at this. As a matter of fact, a good number of them approved of this, particularly the female members of the table.
"Don't say you didn't deserve that" Felicia (Who was at Peter's opposite side) said, looking a second away from doing the same thing Liz just did.
"I know I did. I did a lot of stupid stuff over the past few days" Peter said, looking slightly defeated at that moment. So far, this wasn't going quite as well as he hoped…but he knew it was more realistic than everyone jumping up out of their seats and giving him a group hug.
"Why'd you slap Peter, Liz?" Billy asked after swallowing his latest bite of ice cream.
Liz gave an awkward look to the young boy. "Uh, well…Billy, he just did something pretty stupid that made me upset so I felt I needed to do that to him"
"It's something I'm sure everyone at this table would like to do, I'm sure" Gwen said, concurring with the other girl's statement.
At that point, Billy looked even more confused, not really understanding what was being discussed here.
"Well, Billy…you understand that…Peter's aunt…she…well…" Martha said, suddenly looking from her cup of coffee over to her son.
"I remember. You told me she died. I'm sorry, Peter" Billy said, giving a sympathetic look towards Peter who just softly smiled.
While his words were polite (Although not entirely tactful), Martha couldn't help but cringe. As a matter of fact, nearly everyone else at the table couldn't help but cringe a bit at Billy's comment. However, Peter just continued smiling.
"Thank you, Billy. I really appreciate that" Peter said, smiling gratefully at the young son of his two bosses. He really was a product to his parents, he always thought. Kind, considerate and a bit blunt every now and then.
It didn't take too long for Billy to dive back into his sundae though which caused Peter to chuckle.
"Eh, did you want something, Peter? Everything's on us tonight" Curt asked Peter who just shook his head.
"It's fine, I'm not that hungry" Peter said, shaking his head, not really wanting to be any more of a bother than he's been over the past few days.
"I'm getting you an apple, Peter" Martha said, almost instantly as Peter said those words.
"It's fine, really-" Peter tried to protest. However, it seemed Martha wasn't having any of it.
"I'm getting you an apple. It's important to keep your blood sugar at normal levels after your latest…episode" Martha said, not wanting to hear any of the nonsense Peter was spewing out.
Martha then began going up to the counter to purchase an apple from the fruit options the Silver Spoon had (They couldn't sell nothing but sweets after all), leaving Peter at his seat speechless.
"It's better to just go with it, Peter. Believe me, after being married for a while, it's better to just accept it and move on" Curt said, letting out a little laugh.
The remaining female members of the table seemed to agree with the blond doctor's statement as they all gave their nods of approval.
Peter didn't really have much to say to that. He supposed there really wasn't much he could say. He could just take the doctor's advice and just move on.
Moments later, Martha was back in her seat after placing an apple right at Peter's spot at the table. Peter, after getting a knowing look from Martha as well as others, took a bite of the apple and started chewing, letting out an audible crunch to the other occupants of the table. It took just a few moments for Peter to realize that pretty much everyone at the table was just looking at him and staring as he ate the apple. Even Billy, who at that moment finished his sundae, started looking at him.
This was not a particularly welcome sight for Peter as he felt his body temperature drop at this. He knew though that it was warranted. He did after all call them up here when they no doubt had other things they could be doing right now. They deserved to know why he had asked them all here. After swallowing his bite of the apple, he placed it down on the table and took a deep breath and started to speak.
"The reason I wanted to speak with you all here tonight is because I….Well, I just wanted to apologize for all the stupid stuff I did over the past few nights. I'm sorry I just left you, Felicia and Liz, like that without talking to you. I'm sorry for going out and just…hurting myself all day yesterday, I'm sorry I came over to the lab like that and more than anything I'm sorry for saying all the stupid, hurtful stuff I said to all of you. It was all completely wrong, uncalled for and just flat out wrong. You've all done nothing but try to help me throughout this entire thing and I repaid all of you by just spitting in your faces. That's…something I'll always regret for the rest of my life. I…I know that I don't really deserve forgiveness from all of you and I'm not really asking for it. I just wanted to say my piece and to just let you know that if you don't really want to speak with me ever again after this, I understand and I won't try to stop you" Peter said, giving his little short speech, hardly skipping a beat as he began to breathe after finishing.
Everyone at the table stopped and digested what Peter had just heard. Almost all of them were stunned at the words he spoke. Surprisingly though, the most stunned of them all was Mary-Jane.
Of course, Gwen had told her most of the details of what happened over the past few days. Peter took the loss of his aunt pretty badly (As anyone would in his position), leaving Liz and Felicia to go to god knows where along with going out and getting drunk again…but she didn't hear anything about what he may or may not have said to the group before her. She especially didn't think it even held the possibility of them risking his relationship with any of them. What had happened in the lab last night? She reminded herself to ask Gwen more about this later on. While she didn't really know if she even wanted to know the full extent of what happened, she couldn't help but let her curiosity get the better of her. Either way, she stayed quiet for the reactions of the rest of the group.
The silence continued for a few more moments as Peter waited for their responses, practically holding in his breath as he waited. They were giving him looks that seemed to give him the impression that they thought he was crazy. While this did give him a small bit of hope, he wasn't by any means a psychiatrist. He didn't know what was going through any of their minds. The young man just continued to wait for their response, not knowing which way this could go.
Peter's thoughts were cut short, though, as finally he got a new reaction. He saw Felicia quickly roll her eyes, shake her head and all of a sudden threw her arm around his head. Before he knew what was even happening, he was locking lips with the older woman. While he was used to kissing Felicia at this point, this particular kiss made his eyes nearly bulge out of his eyes.
"Woah" Billy said as he blinked and watched the two of them go at each other (Her more than him it seemed).
Martha, being the mom she was, quickly covered her son's eyes. She learned to accept Peter's…informal relationship she guessed she could say but it didn't mean she liked seeing it in action.
"Mom!" Billy said, protesting his mother's actions, trying to push her arms off.
"Knock it off, Billy" Martha quickly hushed her son. She didn't want him seeing stuff like this in public. He was already 11 and had full access to the internet. He didn't need to see this kind of stuff in person, especially with how the older woman was currently kissing Peter.
It didn't take long for Peter to kiss back as his eyes closed. However, it didn't last long as Felicia didn't want too many prying eyes on them. Just a few moments after Felicia started kissing him, he found himself locking his lips with the other girl at his side. Liz practically had to shove Felicia aside as she kissed her boyfriend on the lips, not really caring that multiple onlookers were watching them. What did she care if a bunch of strangers saw them kiss? If she wanted to kiss the man she loved, she was. Screw them for all she cared. This was important not only to him to reassure him that everything was alright…but to herself that Peter Parker was the one she wanted to be with.
Everyone else just watched the scene with some interest. Gwen in particular however, just looked away. While she knew Peter needed this, this was still not something she was too keen on seeing, even after all this time.
Moments later, Liz finally parted with Peter. The young man had to take a large intake of breath after his mouth had finally been freed from the 'assault' he just experienced.
"That tell you anything?" Felicia asked, looking boredly at Peter. He just looked at her as she gave a sigh and continued. "I'm with you till the end, boy scout. You think you're the first ever guy to tell me off? I'm a big girl, I can take it…but don't you dare push it"
The platinum haired woman gave a semi dark look to Peter who just gulped and nodded.
"Noted" He said, his voice cracking ever so slightly, which caused some grins throughout the table.
"I lost you once already, Petey. I don't plan on losing you again, not something over this…besides, it's not like there wasn't any sort of truth in what you were saying. I admit I was some snobby, stupid, stereotypical cheerleader ... .I am sorry for how I treated you back then" Liz said, fully aware she should have said that long ago.
Peter shook his head. "You don't need to apologize. With how I was back then, I probably did need some wake up call that I wasn't special simply because I got better grades than most people. Even now, I still don't think like I am"
"Oh knock it off with the modest crap, Peter" Gwen said, speaking up and rolling her eyes. "You made some mistakes. Everyone does and I think you out of all people have a right to not be in your right mind. The fact that you're able to come out and say you messed up says a lot about you. Not a lot of people are brave enough to do something like this but you are. I'd call that special"
Mary-Jane nodded. "I gotta agree with Gwen, Tiger. I know I haven't known you as long as most people here….but you're probably one of the greatest people I've ever met. You see the best in the people where no one else does, you're able to forgive and forget when most other people can't"
Peter didn't really know if this happened or not but for a split second, he could've sworn he saw MJ shoot her eyes towards Eddie (Who had been looking a bit sheepish right now). However, he quickly got that out of his mind as she continued.
"Anyway, the point is don't sell yourself short. You're worth a lot more to people than you realize. The fact that you got everyone here in such a short amount of time is evidence enough for that, I think" Mary-Jane said, concluding her little excerpt.
Peter didn't really say much to this as he saw the table look around and pretty much agree with each other. He didn't really know what to say if he were being honest. He was touched by all of this but he still couldn't help but feel disheartened and he didn't know why. Maybe it was just natural to feel like this in these circumstances, he thought. It wouldn't be the first time, he recalled…Either way, his little 'meeting' he called for was a lot more freeform than he expected and he was never really good at improvising (In this state of mind at least).
Seeing that he needed help, Mary-Jane decided to help out. "Oh and Peter, I forgot to mention. My aunt is really sorry about…what happened. She really loved May. She also told me to tell you that if there was anything you needed, feel free to ask"
Peter smiled lightly in response to this and nodded. "Thanks, MJ…and thanks for making the effort to be here even though you didn't have to"
Mary-Jane gave a little grunting chuckle. "Well you know me…I can't help but crash a party"
There was a bit of a light chuckle throughout the table. After that, there was a bit of silence that went throughout the table as people began focusing on their coffee or ice cream they were eating/drinking (An apple in Peter's case. He had enough coffee this morning…).
After a few minutes, Curt and Martha looked up from their shared sundae and nodded. They figured it was time for them to discuss what they really had wanted to discuss with Peter tonight. They put their spoons down, wiped their faces and looked around. Curt began to speak.
"We…hate to end the party so soon but we were wanting to discuss something with Peter. We'd like Eddie to stick around too if that's alright" Curt said, looking at Eddie who just nodded with a light smile on his face.
This in particular made Peter's eyebrow raise. He understood why they wanted to speak with him (And it was why it made his heart lightly sink as he was still a bit nervous to talk about this)...but the fact that they wanted to speak with Eddie too just confused him.
The confusion made its way across the table as well, even to their son Billy. However, after a few moments, there was a general level of acceptance that went throughout the group.
"Uh, ok. I guess I'll see you later, Petey" Liz was the first to say as she got up from seat, drinking the last of her coffee. She gave Peter a quick kiss on the lips.
Felicia stood up as well and just squeezed Peter's shoulder. However, she discreetly traced her fingernail down his arm which caused him to shiver. Even after all these months, she had this strange effect on him.
"Call me later, ok?" Felicia asked with a wink which made Peter flush a small bit.
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, of course I will. I promise" Peter said, nodding.
"Good because if you ghost me again, I'll claw your face" Felicia said, giving the top of his head a quick kiss before patting his cheek before making her way out of the coffee shop.
Peter continued to be frozen for a short while as his face went cold. Somehow, he could tell she wasn't being completely hyperbolic.
The rest of the attendees were in a somewhat similar state that Peter was in. However, they recovered more quickly than Peter did.
"Er, yeah. Just…call me later, Petey. Alright? I'll see you later" Liz said, giving Peter's hand a squeeze and his cheek a kiss before heading out as well.
Peter just nodded in response this time, still slightly frozen before snapping out of it.
At that little scene, both Gwen and Mary-Jane began to take their leave as well. However, before they began to leave, it seemed Martha had a request of her.
"Gwen, do you mind doing us a favor? Would you take Billy home and watch him for the next minutes? We just want to talk with Peter and Eddie alone. We'll reimburse you for your cab fare to our house and back to yours and we'll pay you for your trouble" Martha said, a bit uncomfortably.
This caught Gwen by surprise as she wasn't expecting this request. She wondered why exactly they wanted to speak with Peter and Eddie both alone…but she also wondered why they didn't exactly want their son to listen in.
"Aw, I have to go now?" Billy asked, whining. He had just finished his sundae and wondered if he could get another.
As if reading his mind, his mother rolled her eyes. "Yes, that's enough sweets for you tonight, young man. It's time to get home. Gwen, do you mind? Sorry it's a bit sudden but we just really need some privacy"
Gwen was still surprised but ultimately didn't see a reason to deny their request which wasn't totally unreasonable. "Uh, yeah, sure. Of course. Billy, you ready to go?"
Billy groaned and got up, ultimately knowing he had to listen to his parents. "I guess so"
"We'll be home soon, Billy. We promise. Gwen, the spare key is on top of the door frame" Curt said to the blonde girl who nodded, understanding.
"Got it. Come on, Billy. I'll see you around, Peter. My dad gives his sympathies by the way" Gwen said, squeezing his shoulder as she passed him, giving him a small, sympathetic smile as she walked past him, the small blonde boy following close behind him.
"Thanks, Gwen. Tell him I appreciate it" Peter said sincerely to one of his oldest friends.
"I'll see you around, Tiger. Text me if you ever want to talk. I'll make time" Mary-Jane said, patting Peter on his arm as she also left the table.
At that moment, it was just Peter along with Eddie and both of the Connors. There then came a silent moment with no one really knowing to continue this along. However, it didn't last long as Martha first spoke up from her seat.
"Peter, we…we wanted to talk to you about our visit to you this morning" Martha explained to the young man.
Peter then became a bit uncomfortable. He would like to continue this conversation but the fact that Eddie was right here listening in was kind of unnerving to him. He still wondered why the Connors wanted him to stay behind. However, as if reading his thoughts, Eddie began to speak up.
"They told me about how they asked to adopt you, Pete. They came by my dorm room right before I headed here" Eddie said rather bluntly to Peter, feeling it was better to get straight to the point.
This kind of hit Peter in a way that he wasn't quite sure he understood. At first, he was kind of relieved that Eddie knew but he also felt a bit agitated. Why exactly did they tell him? Wasn't it supposed to be a private thing? Did they tell anyone else? He was still very confused as to what was happening here or what Eddie had anything to do with all of this.
"I know you're wanting to know why we told him, Peter" Martha said, instantly reading Peter's face. "The reason we went by Eddie's dorm was…well…"
"They want to adopt me too" Eddie said, finishing for the redheaded woman.
Another moment of silence as Peter took this all in, his confused face becoming that of a bit of shock. They…they asked Eddie too? Not just him? He didn't really know what to say.
"Me and Martha talked about this last night. We came to the agreement that it wasn't really fair for the both of you to be left in the scenario life had put you in" Curt explained in the best way he could.
"We felt that the two of you had gone through enough. We felt that maybe it was time for someone to step in and not exactly take the place of your parents…but rather fill in for them in their…absence" Martha said, trying to say this as delicate as she could.
Eddie nodded, confirming what they had told him in his dorm room a short while ago. He gave a slight smile to Peter, who still didn't really know what to say to all of this. However, there was a burning question going through Peter's mind as he turned to his older brother figure.
"Did you say yes?" Peter asked Eddie with a raised eyebrow.
Eddie hesitated for a short moment but ultimately he gave a nod. "Yeah…Yeah I did"
The older man didn't really say anything beyond that, figuring there wasn't really much of an explanation that needed to be given. After all, what was there not to accept? He never really knew his parents, much like Peter knew his and he never really did grow up with parental figures in his life. Sure, Ben and May Parker were there for him. However, they were never really the parental figures they were to Peter.
From where he stood, Peter understood precisely and didn't really see any fault in Eddie saying yes as it made complete sense. Hell, he was glad. Eddie would actually have parents in his life again and that made Peter ecstatic for him (Although he had a hard time showing it right now with his mind conflicted). However, he wasn't too sure what he was about to do would make as much sense.
As Peter gave a nod in response to Eddie's question, he looked back at the Connors again who looked a bit nervous food whatever reason (Peter couldn't tell if they were dreading him saying no or yes). After a few more given moments of silence, he began to open his mouth.
"Believe me, the offer is very tempting and I truly do appreciate what you're trying to do for me…and to have Eddie officially as my actual brother would pretty much be a dream come true, it really would be…" Peter said, beginning to trail off as he began to collect his thoughts as to what he would say next.
"I sense there's a but coming" Martha said, interrupting, her face dropping ever so slightly.
The two other men at the table kept straight faces as they continued to listen to Peter's answer.
"...But…I don't really think I'm ready for that quite yet. I'd like to continue to be a Parker for just a little bit longer before officially joining another family" Peter said, slightly regretting what he had just said.
While Peter didn't really want to say no (After all, the offer was very tempting), he just wasn't really ready for something like adoption yet as his aunt had just passed. Plus (And this was something he had chosen not to say to them), he wanted to ensure the Connors would be safe before committing to adoption. He knew the dangers he could bring to his loved ones if any supervillain figured out Spiderman was Peter Parker, something he found out very recently. He didn't really feel this was a 'no' for all time. Rather, he thought that it was just a no for now while he adjusted to being without his aunt now.
"We understand" Martha said, finding it a bit harder to hide her disappointment. However, she was sincere in her words.
Eddie was about the same way but he couldn't fault Peter for it. After all, it wasn't something someone in his position could just consider right then and there.
"Just know that the offer stands, Peter. You're free to take it whenever you'd like" Curt said, reaching over the table to squeeze his shoulders with his non-prosthetic arm (He couldn't help but slightly widen his eyes at how solid Peter's muscles were).
"And you're my bro no matter what a law says or doesn't say, Pete. That'll always be true" Eddie said which made Peter's heart warm up, knowing this time Eddie meant it.
While it was true that he didn't really feel he should accept the offer now, there was one thing he wanted to clear up.
"This isn't to say that I don't want to…and I'd like to spend more time with all of you if you'd let me. Maybe I could come by for dinner some nights?" Peter asked, hopefully.
Martha and Curt brightened up at that idea.
"Yes, of course. That sounds like a great idea" Martha said, smiling wider than she was just a few moments ago.
"I agree. That sounds like a fine idea" Curt said, agreeing with his wife. "We can maybe have it on Friday or Saturday? That way we don't disturb either of your school schedules"
Both Peter and Eddie enjoyed the idea. They'd actually be part of a family again, they thought, one officially and one unofficially (For now, anyway).
"That sounds great" Peter said, nodding in agreement to this.
"Yeah, I agree. Maybe I could spend the weekend sometimes there instead of campus as well…since I'll officially be a Connors soon after all" Eddie said, laughing nervously (Although he wasn't too sure why. He guessed he was still a bit jittery at the whole thing).
Martha nodded, confirming. "Of course. You can come anytime you want. You're going to be a part of our family, after all. The offer goes to you too, Peter"
Peter nodded, thinking he may take them up on that offer sometime. However…he couldn't help but wonder if there was an opportunity in this to properly heal his and Eddie's relationship. The only way he could do this he thought was by living with each other as roommates. However, he wasn't sure how Eddie would feel about living with Peter in his aunt and uncle's house and he didn't really know if he had the strength to continue living in it either…with the particularly bad reminders it brought up.
This was something he would need to think about carefully in the future. However, he was content on just spending the rest of his night talking with the Connors as well as Eddie. For the first time in the last couple of days, he felt like he was really speaking to people he could consider his new unofficial family.