Knock, knock.
Peter jerked awake, his hand flying to his chest. No scales. No claws.
Just skin.
"Peter, are you in there?" A gruff and masculine voice came through the door.
It's Uncle Ben...
He was home. He was alive. And somehow, that was the most terrifying thing of all.
"Ah, yeah?" he answered after a brief moment of pause.
"You alright, I heard the noise from downstairs, you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah, sorry, just tripped."
"Okay then, if you're done, come downstairs, there's something your aunt and I have to talk to you about." Peter was now on full alert. Uncle Ben's voice sounded a little worried, and Uncle Ben rarely ever sounded worried, and when he did, it was always with reason. Something must have happened…
"Alright, will be down in a few," he quipped. Death huh…
Just forget about it, Pete, one thing at a time…
Untangling himself from his sheets, he moved to the edge of his bed and glanced out his window. The sunlight filtering through his windows indicated it was late afternoon, approaching evening.
Peter decided it would be best to think about what happened to him at a later date, or not at all, if anything, that would be best for his sanity.
After a cold shower and a change of clothes, Peter made his way downstairs. He found his aunt and uncle sitting on the couch with grim expressions on their faces, along with a few well-dressed men making their way out the door.
Cops, if the badges around their necks were anything to go by, nope, FEDs, they were too well dressed to be cops.
Peter froze at the edge of the stairs, quietly standing and watched as his uncle wrapped his aunt in a warm comforting hug. It took everything in him not to run over there and hug the living daylight out of both of them.
Peter let out a shallow breath, mentally preparing himself, he reined himself in and let a calm mask of normalcy slip over his features.
Now was not the time or the place for this.
He continued his walk down the stairs, then when he reached the bottom of the stairs it happened. A flash—Spider-Woman's fist. The crack of bone. He blinked it away. Flesh squirming... Everything hurting! IT HURTS, STOP IT, IT HURT! Why Won'T YoU HelP me? SaVe MEEE—...
"Peter, Honey, are you okay?" the concerned voice of his aunt snapped him out of this memory.
Dressed in a brown sweater and comfortable jeans, she had an aged face but looked well for someone in her late forties with long brunette hair and youthful brown eyes behind her framed glasses that betrayed her age, her lips pursed in worry. "Peter, you don't look so good."
"Sorry, lost in thought, don't get up, please, it'll pass, I just slipped on my skateboard and bumped my head on the desk, that's all, clumsy me," he told them, forcing a smile on his face as strolled over and gave them both a hug.
Come on, keep it together, Pete, now is not the time or the place...
They didn't know, and they did not need to know. Whatever happened to him was his burden to bear, a result of his selfish mistake. They did not need his baggage ruining their lives. So he would play the part of the Peter they knew and loved. After some time, he was sure he'd figure out a way to deal with his own problems.
For now, he would focus entirely on them.
"You should be more careful, I still don't know why you use that thing. It's dangerous, you could very easily fall off and hurt yourself." Even at this moment, Aunt May appeared more concerned about him.
Uncle Ben snorted with a chuckle. "Because it's stupid and dangerous, remember when we were stupid and dangerous."
May shook her head exasperatedly, a slight smile forming on her face.
He missed this, he would never let anyone take this away from him. Never let... His eyes glazed over as he took a seat, noticing a spider by the window.
His hands trembled. The smell of sweet, intoxicating blood filled his nose. Saliva dripped down the edges of his lips. Captain Stacy's face twisted in agony. A woman screaming, her left hand hanging from his maw—Stop it—entrails, blood, and sinew squelched in his claws—STOP! Snapping himself back into reality, he tried banishing any thought related to the last few days from his mind.
It wasn't as easy.
Uncle Ben moved close to Aunt May, and Peter covered his inner thoughts with a mask of concern, he didn't need much effort because he was already genuinely concerned for them now.
Peter hoped they wouldn't notice his minor mishap. "Hey, did something happen?"
"Nothing's wrong, dear, just an accident at my work." Aunt May answered with a quiet smile.
"No, May, he has the right to know. It's best if he does."
His uncle stated firmly. He had an aged and wrinkled face, but like his aunt, he aged well for someone in their late fifties.
The grey and white strands woven into Uncle Ben's black hair added to the roguishly handsome appeal of his full beard.
He was wearing his preferred large blue denim jacket, a white button—down shirt, gray trousers, and work boots. He must have come back from work in a hurry. There was still wet cement on his boots.
"Okay, so something did happen." He moved his seat near the edge of the table, closer to them.
"Peter, everything is alright," his aunt tried to reassure him.
"No, May, someone tried to hurt you, everything is definitely not okay," Uncle Ben interrupted her.
"Those damn suits won't even do anything about it, a goddamn reassurance is all we get, reassurance my ass, they care more about that dead city councilor than they do about you right now."
Uncle Ben snickered under his breath.
"Heck, I bet if it wasn't that rich pompous ass but some average Joe that got killed they wouldn't even be here, I get that they're a little short-handed with the giant killer lizard and all, but still, a little protection isn't too much to ask for"
"What? Are you okay? What happened? Who was it?" Peter asked, panic clear in his tone, his expression quickly matching his uncle's. He chose to ignore his uncle's mention of a giant lizard, weaving around the table close to his aunt and placing his hand on her shoulder.
"No, no one tried to hurt me, your uncle is just making things worse than it is. I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, that's all. Everything is okay. He never even saw me." May tried to calm the situation down as best she could. She gave Peter's hand a reassuring squeeze.
"He?" Peter probed.
"Making things worse? May you witnessed a murder, not to mention you also saw the face of the killer, if anything, we should be careful from now on. At least until they catch the killer." Ben pressed, getting to his feet to check the windows suspiciously.
"You never know with stuff like this," Ben asserted, lowering the slides as he watched the cops slipping into their vehicles.
"Ben, you're just being paranoid, like I keep telling you, he never saw me in the first place, and besides, I left his description with the Feds, I'm sure by this time tomorrow he'll be behind bars." Uncle Ben's antics caused May to roll her eyes.
"You don't know that," Ben grumbled, still watching the police car pull out into the driveway and drive off.
Peter's patience snapped. "Can someone please tell me what's going on?"
"Your aunt saw someone getting murdered at the hospital last night, even saw the face of the man who did it, the killer thought he could use the commotion that this lizard—man thing caused to get away with it." Ben let out a tired sigh as he made his way back to his chair, not noticing the slight twitch in Peter's actions.
"The FBI came to get her statement just now, that's them leaving, got what they wanted," he looked up at Peter with a tired expression.
"Are you serious?! Aunt May! This is serious, are you okay?" Peter exclaimed, checking his aunt for injuries of any kind. Again, ignoring his uncle's mention of his alter ego, not that he would ever assume that identity ever again.
Lesson learned, that's for sure…
"What did the cops say? Are they sending someone to watch the house? You sure you're okay?"
"Oh, Peter, not you too, I told your uncle and now I'm telling you that I'm alright, I've seen worse things at the hospital, I am a nurse, you know, I don't need both of my boys all worried about something like this." May sighed softly. She abruptly stood up, drawing both their attention, swiftly moving out of Peter's embrace, and making her way to Ben.
She took his hands in hers and motioned for Peter to come closer.
"Now, both of you look here, today was supposed to be our anniversary, we have one day a year for this, and we've been planning it for weeks. I won't let some would-be killer ruin it, Ben, look at me." She smiled in that reassuring way only she could.
"Everything is okay, the cops said they would send a unit tomorrow to watch the house, so for tonight, we go down to that Chinese place you both like," glancing back at Peter.
"We'll have a nice meal, stop by the park to watch the fireworks, and come back, everyone's celebrating you know, the news said whatever that killer lizard is, it's gone now," she pulled them both into a hug.
Peter hid a wince and hugged them both a little tighter.
"Now let's go. It took three months to get this reservation." She smiled. "You boys ready to show a girl a good time?"
"Well, when you put it like that, who am I to refuse?" Ben smiled back and leaned in for a quick kiss.
"okay... You two, get a room, seriously." He averted his gaze, and feeling a bit embarrassed by their open display of affection. Peter shrugged their arms off with a smile, as they continued, much to his embarrassment.
"Now, Peter, when you get yourself someone special, you'll be doing this too, all the time, trust me, son," his uncle said in between his affectionate smooches.
"I did not need that image in my head, thank you very much. And I would be more discreet about it, and not sucking each other's faces in the living room in front of the oh-so-very innocent teenager that happens to be living with them, case in point." Peter muttered on his way to the stairs.
"Oh-so-very-innocent, he says, I've seen your browsing history, Peter. Nothing innocent about them." May snorted.
"Hey! You promised not to mention that. It was one time, one time, god, left my laptop open one time, and you ransacked it for that, so what if I got a little curious," Peter shrugged as he climbed.
"I would if you kept it clean, young man. It's like a pig stays in there sometimes, and bring your dirty laundry down when it's full, we talked about this, equal responsibility, Peter." May called out after the teen.
"Yes, Mother! Of course, Mother! I heard you the first three hundred times, and again it was one time," the teen grumbled under his breath.
"You know, Pete, being responsible isn't about never being scared. It's about doing what's right even when you are." Uncle Ben spoke in a sage like voice.
Peter gave his uncle a blank stare. When did a conversation about room cleaning turn into a life lesson?
"Right…" He gave Uncle Ben a mock salute as he turned to leave. "I know. And I'm sorry alright, I'll keep it clean from now on, I promise."
Peter stopped when he reached the front of his door. Inhaled sharply, exhaled slowly, then pushed his door open and stepped inside his room. Focus on them now, that's all you need...
And with that, his door closed sharply behind him.
Ben once more pulled May in, looking at her with eyes full of worry, his expression softening in a way only May ever saw.
"Are you sure about this? We could just do this next year, May, please," he pleaded with her.
"Ben I'm fine, I keep telling you, it's not just one night, it's the NIGHT in this whole year, let's go have our fun, we'll worry about this tomorrow," she told him, his walls crumbling as she gently held his left cheek in her palm.
Ben leaned into her touch and sighed, he could never win with her, probably why he married her in the first place, he thought to himself.
"Alright, let's go get ready and go. I'll call a cab."
May smiled at him, a swift kiss on the cheek, and left to prepare herself for the evening without a care in the world.
"Women, can't figure them out, can't live without 'em, maybe I am getting too old for this."
Ben made his way to the phone to call a cab, passing the TV in the process. He paid no mind to it, opting to switch it off; best not to let it ruin the mood.
"Recent reports left most in shock and awe after the astrological events that lit up the skies of New York last night, an amazing event that left many astronomers baffled. Attempts were made to study the captured astral phenomenon. Something to look forward to in this dark hour. In other news, nothing has been discovered as of yet about the mysterious lizard monster that left dozens of officers and civilians dead and injured…" A sharply dressed woman was on the news, but Ben switched it off before long.
***
A few hours later Ben and May were comfortably resting on a bench by the bus stand.
"Come on, admit it, you had fun," May gloated at her husband, her head resting on his shoulder.
"Hmmm? You know what, maybe I did enjoy myself, just a tiny bit," Ben chuckled softly before his lips thinned. He was still against the idea of them coming out, and he would be damned if he let his wife think otherwise.
They were waiting for Peter, who left to get them both some hot dogs, but the teen was taking his time.
Ben enjoyed himself more than just a tiny bit. After a satisfying and rather expensive dinner, they went for a movie, one of the scary ones, one that had May screaming in her seat, and after that, they did some light shopping.
He even got a new jacket, May stated his old one was looking a bit worn, he never understood her need to frequently update his wardrobe, Peter, yes, he was a growing boy, but him, it seemed like a waste of his hard-earned cash but he long since learned not to argue with his dear wife about clothes.
God forbid the countless hours of lectures he sat through, and her shopping sprees when they were younger left him with haunting flashbacks when even the slightest mention of clothing discount prices was brought up. He learned the secret to any pleasant conversation with his wife when clothes were involved was to smile and nod, and tell her it looked good on her, which wasn't a lie since most things did look good on her.
"But I still think we should have waited. We could have done this next year," he replied with a slight smile on his face from the memory, despite his worry.
"Come on, love. You had fun, Peter had the time of his life, I had a blast—now all that's left are the fireworks. Then we can go home, and you can go back to being Mr. Overprotective and paranoid. Just... let this play out, for me—and Peter. He's having such a great time." Huffing slightly at him. She pushed herself up and looked at him expectantly.
"I haven't seen him this happy in forever, and you may not have noticed, but something is going on with Peter. He seemed distant. Almost like you after the war. I just can't seem to put my finger on it, but I know something is wrong, I can just feel it." May grabbed his hands and gave them a tender squeeze, trying to find the words to explain what she felt.
She knew something was wrong the moment she looked into Peter's eyes. They looked haunted. He acted like Peter, but he wasn't Peter. Almost like the Peter she was looking at was just not the boy she raised, as if something changed in a single moment when she took her eyes off him.
Ben returned the tender squeeze with his own.
"Fine, I'll try, but after this, we go to the station first thing in the morning," his lips thinned but slowly grew into a playful smirk.
"And Peter's fine, maybe the boy's having some girl trouble at school or something. I remember someone saying, and I quote, 'How far would you go if you knew you could not fail? Just ask her out.' now that has to be the best dating advice I've ever heard, almost like it came from a certain magazine. Look at you already prepared to handle teen—oaf hahaha they grow u so fast…haha… look at us now, who would have thought…" He teased her with a peal of gleeful laughter, wiggling his eyebrows.
May shrugged playfully.
"I'll have you know I am more than capable of giving dating advice to my teenage...son..." She paused as she noticed a black Mercedes with tinted glass pull up, and time seemed to slow down to a crawl.
May's eyes widened in recognition and horror. She could feel Ben moving to shield her.
The barrel of a gun and the bullseye tattooed on the back of the palm of the hand that held the gun reflected in Ben's eyes as he turned instinctively to where his son was.
"Peter. No."
***
Peter felt content.
He was having more fun than he thought he could. His flashes have stopped for now and Aunt May, God bless her heart, for whatever reason was paying more attention to him today than ever before.
He watched them on the bench as he made his way toward them, two hot dogs, one in each hand, his smile wider than it had been in days, watching Aunt May playfully shove Uncle Ben, who teased her over something he could not hear.
He wondered if he'd ever have a relationship like that one day. Seeing them filled him with so much hope.
He watched as a black Mercedes with tinted glass slowed to a crawl next to them, the glass sliding down as a tattooed hand came out, holding something dark.
The hot dogs slipped from his hands. They never even touched the ground before his voice, a loud and desperate shout, bellowed out. His legs moved before his mind had even processed his action.
"AUNT MAY! UNCLE BEN! WATCH OUT! HE'S GOT A—"The words didn't make it out of his mouth fast enough, his legs didn't carry him fast enough. His warning came out too late, his aunt turned to him in horror, her mouth parted, trying to call his name as if to warn him. His uncle grabbed her close as if to shield her, his eyes locking with his as if pleading with him to stay away.
Uncle Ben's mouth parted, lips quivering. Peter couldn't hear what he was saying, but he knew what he said, he'd seen him say it so many times.
"Peter. No."
Even in the face of death, they cared more for him than they did for themselves.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Six shots. Screams. Running footsteps fleeing from the bleeding couple.
The world was reduced to chaos.
All this would pale in comparison to the horror-stricken cry that would later fill the street when the broken, distraught teen finally reached his family.
Chapter End