𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐐𝐮𝐨

twentythree.

"Oh hey, you guys are watching Squid Game... Without me? Guys! What episode are you on?" I whined, closing the front door behind me and tossing my backpack down next to the couch.

Aunt May and Uncle Ben were sitting together on the couch, snuggling up with each other when I got home after being at the Stark house. Peter offered to drive me home but I refused, wanting to prove to him I was still annoyed. Although, that took about an hour and a half on multiple trains given the time of night.

"You're home late," May said casually as she paused the episode on the screen.

"I'm always home around this time though," I shrugged, walking into the kitchen to find my dinner on the counter. Shoving it in the microwave, I walked back into the living room.

"And that's just the thing though. You're always getting home late nowadays Y/N," Ben said turning to face me.

"I'm at the Stark thing though, you guys know that," I said raising my eyebrow at then.

"We're starting to worry about it... It seems like you're doing it every night now. Whether you're with Tony Stark on some learning retreat, meeting with the other interns or studying at the library for the internship, you're never home. Are your grades at college still okay? You're investing a lot of time into this extra curricular," Uncle Ben explained.

"It's a one in a million opportunity though... And god, my grades are fine Uncle Ben, I promise. You'll both see me at graduation next week and you'll see my final GPA and you guys can relax," I laughed.

"New York can be really dangerous for a pretty girl your age alone at this time of night Y/N," May said softly.

If they knew that I was off fighting crime and risking my life every night, they'd never let me out of the house. I'd be grounded. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine Spider-Woman disappearing off the planet because she got grounded by her guardians?

How embarrassing.

"Guys, don't worry about me. Tony is great, the internship is great and I'm getting incredible opportunities," I said shaking my head and going back to the kitchen for my food which was in the beeping microwave.

"Are you sure Tony stays professional during this internship?" May asked timidly yet boldly, which I didn't think was possible.

"What do you mean? He's so great, he's like a second uncle I swear," I laughed.

"Has Tony Stark ever touched you?" Ben asked bluntly, making me almost drop my food.

"What?!" I coughed out.

"It's just a bit odd that a multi-billionaire is taking so much time out of his busy lifestyle to mentor you. We aren't discrediting your brilliant mind nor are we trying to make you feel unworthy of this, but we need to make sure this man isn't grooming you," May reiterated.

"Jesus Christ, Tony Stark had definitely not touched me! He hasn't even touched me in a friendly way, no hug, no hand touching, nothing. I can assure you, Tony isn't some creepy guy trying to make me some sugar baby," I scoffed, sitting down on the couch and twirling the pasta with my fork.

Uncle Ben's pasta is my all time favourite food. Even if it was served four hours ago and left on the counter in a Tupperware dish for me.

"We didn't think he would Y/N, we just needed to make sure these late nights were genuinely for learning. You're not sneaking around with boys are you? Because you know if there was a boy in the picture we would want you to bring him here so we could meet him," May smiled.

"Guys! Seriously! I'm mostly with the other interns at Stark Tower working on our individual projects. Seriously, ask him next week at grad, he'll be there for his son," I shrugged, speaking with a bit of pasta sauce on my lip that I didn't notice until May subtly told me.

"Are we ever going to see this project?" Ben asked.

"It's not really a thing you can see, it's more like programming intelligence. Like a bunch of ones and zeroes... But Tony said I'm on a good track to getting a full time role at Stark once I finish college," I smiled.

We spoke more about the 'future full time role' which didn't exist. I was just setting up the scene of me being home late every night after I graduate. The internship wouldn't exist if I wasn't a student anymore.

They asked me questions that I tried to dodge, answering vaguely or with 'I'm not sure yet' which they bought. It was difficult lying to them for this long, but like I mentioned, they'd kill me if they knew I was Spider-Woman. I fight dangerous people every night but my own family are the ones I'm scared of.

I was pretty good at covering up my injuries whenever I got home, if they were really bad or noticeable, I'd tell them I was staying at MJ's and she would cover for me. In reality I'd stay in the Avengers infirmary in a weird high-tech hospital room.

May yawned and told me to head to bed after I finished dinner, Ben nodding and turning the television off. I said good night to Aunt May as she kissed the top of my head, tapping my cheek lightly with her palm and telling me she was proud of me.

"Just remember kiddo, with great power comes great responsibility," Ben said rubbing my head before he turned the lamp off. He always did that to annoy me as a kid, rustling up my hair to frustrate me. And I guess it stuck throughout life.

"Good night Uncle Ben," I said softly, smiling at Uncle Ben's advice and smoothing out my hair.