Flower Child (Peter Parker, MCU)

The Trip Begins

Shy Boy — Carly Rae Jepsen

Peter was still ghosting Nick Fury while packing his last minute essentials the next morning. His socks were clean, bundled neatly, and thrown into the suitcase. As Peter, still in his pajamas, visually went over the clothing in his room, mentally taking note, his eyes fell on his closet and he paused. The blue and red piece of fabric stared back at him, waiting for Peter to make a decision.

It was a deliberation that he'd procrastinated until now, despite already having told people he wouldn't bring the suit. It was the moment of truth now, would Peter change his mind? The rate at which Nick Fury was contacting him had him second-guessing his decision. Maybe he'd been too hasty—

"Hungry?"

Peter didn't even have time to turn before a rather firm banana struck him across the face. In utter bewilderment, he turned to face the culprit. His aunt hid her surprised smile behind her hands, genuinely trying not to laugh at him. "So sorry. I thought that you could sense that, with your..." She fought to find the words, "Peter-tingle."

"Please do not start calling it my Peter-tingle."

"So what's up?" May asked. "You can dodge bullets, but not bananas?"

Did he want to get into the potential defect of his Peter-tingle (not an official term) with his aunt before his flight? She'd been on him about it since he'd divulged the events of Lila and Macendale, and how his senses had failed him in a moment of life-threatening danger. May knew it, Peter knew it, but it was yet another problem Peter was ready to put to the side followed by an entire ocean of distance.

So all he stated in reply as he stared at the Spider-Man suit was, "I just really need this vacation. I need a break."

May simply nodded and swept her tired nephew in a hug. "You deserve it." She turned to leave him when a follow-up thought seemed to reach her. "You know what? You should pack your suit just in case. I have a tingle about it." She winked at him, and walked away.

"Please stop saying 'tingle' May," was shouted behind her, and Peter turned to face his suit, still hanging in the closet. Tingle or not, May had a knack for being right about things like that. But she was also right in that Peter deserved a break, so he made a compromise. He'd bring his web shooters, the bands were made of nanotechnology and would go largely unnoticed. However, he would leave his suit in New York. Without much further thought, he slammed his suitcase shut and joined his aunt for breakfast, eagerly waiting to go to the airport.

                               *****

Lila Landry was her mother's daughter in many ways, but one of them was traveling. When she was seven, the Landry family visited Paris for Christmas, and the packing was just as strenuous as the actual traveling itself. Angelina was a Parisian through and through, and could not be seen in her home country if she wasn't wearing the most up-to-date fashion of the city. And according to Ted, vacation began the minute she stepped out of her house.

Lila liked copying her mom that way, it felt like she saw the world the way Angelina did: dressed very well. Which was why she was up bright and early, smoothing out her hair nervously as she looked in the mirror, hoping that at least some of her classmates also decided that a European wardrobe was in their suitcases.

Of course her dad would make a big deal of it as soon as she stepped into the kitchen. Lila had to suppress a blush as she waited for Ted to stop shouting his praises over the fact that his daughter was wearing a button-up shirt and high-waisted shorts. One would think Lila emerged in a wedding gown, but it was comforting to know that Ted was in her corner.

Harry Osborn, on the other hand, merely nodded in approval. He'd arrived with no notice to the Landry household and was welcomed in by Ted, clad in his pajamas and a confused expression. The only explanation he offered to Ted (Lila was still working with Harry on the formalities of hanging out at her house, mainly the showing up unannounced part) was that he had urgent boy matters to address.