two sided | peter parker

XXXVII | elate

『e·late | verb | make someone ecstatically happy』

"YOU ARE OF ITALIAN DESCENT, AREN'T YOU?" Viva scolded him, watching him mess up the traditional Italian dish for the tenth time. Aunt May's birthday was coming up and Peter was an absolute mess. Being a University student didn't give him much credit in the financial department, along with being unemployed and a web thrower at night.

There was no way that he'd be able to hold down or keep a job at the moment. Along with that, he refused to take Tony's money and buy her an expensive brand name gift when she'd obviously enjoy something more authentic and from the heart. Hence, why Peter was trying to cook up some Italian feast with Viva's help.

Her accent popped out more, the girl constantly nitpicking at every single action Peter did. It was aggravating, yes, but what kept Peter going is how much he owed Aunt May in nearly every aspect. Viva was on the side, carefully watching him and expertly making arancini, rice balls which were coated in bread crumbs and deep fried, tomato sauce, mozzarella, and peas stuffed inside.

This was about the fourth time that Peter was forced to redo his pasta. The boy was incredibly nervous when it came to Viva's overwhelming voice in the kitchen and her orders, constantly stressing him out. Hence, how he would add too much salt into the cooking because his hands were shaking so much; the action eventually leading to more yelling.

Viva seemed to curse in Italian for a while, her eyes shooting daggers at Peter as he stirred the pasta in the pot. Beside him was the already finished meat sauce, again, thanks to Viva's help. They were stuck in the kitchen of May's apartment until they finished at least one meal and some kind of side, one that Viva was already taking care of due to the arancini.

Due to the restricted time though, Peter was also responsible for buying the box of tiramisu that rested nicely inside the fridge. He frowned again, his hands shaking as he tried to add the right amount of salt. Viva huffed, beckoning him to give the salt over. "I can do it. Hand it over, you little cazzo." 

Peter, not understanding what the word meant, handed it over reluctantly and watch her shake the salt lightly and pour it in. His eyes held pure confusion, glancing at her occasionally. Hands on her hips, Genevieve turned around with a stern look. "You'll have to help me with the arancini then," Following her orders, he found it oddly easy to do the arancini.

It was just sticky rice stuck together with a nice filling, but the two ran out of the filling before they ran out of the rice. She absentmindedly waved to him, grabbing her phone and pocketing it quickly. "Hey, cazzo," Peter turned at the word, blinking innocently as his reaction only managed to amuse her further. "I'm heading out for a bit. Be sure to make more filling."

He started, but was quickly cut off by the swift slam of the door followed by her footsteps ringing out from the outside of the apartment. Peter groaned and threw his head back, frowning before grabbing his mask and asking Karen to pull up a recipe for the filling. He made it, but pouted when it didn't taste like the other filling they previously made.

Peter kept looking around, the mask still on his face. His eyes were drawn to the clock as his heart dropped, he just had another two hours until Aunt May came home. Plus, with May's worrying personality and Dylan's ability to distract her for only so long after work, it could lead to Peter's failed conclusion of the plan.

Panicking at this moment, his thumb hovered over Viva's number on his phone before he shook his head and pocketed it. He couldn't prove to her that he couldn't do anything without her, even if it was a simple meal. He searched for the most logical explanation, Viva might've brought her own version of the recipe. If not, he'd have to wing it.

Spinning around the kitchen a few times, he smiled in relief when he spotted a piece of paper set near the stove with little curly writing on it. In between the lines, it neatly scrawled out all the materials and some of the procedures. A few words were in Italian, but thanks to the root words, he was able to understand enough to get it right.

Fixing up the rest of the filling, he carefully poured it into another bowl. Gently, Peter took the rice ball and split it up a bit to put the filling in before waiting for Viva to return so they could fry the multiples of them all together. He piled them together in little rows, smiling as he did so. The click of the door sounded, the boy turning around.

Viva walked in with a plastic bag in her hand. Tucking away a curly strand of her hair behind her ear, she took off her shoes and let her socks meet the kitchen floor again. Approaching the bowl of filling, the girl sent him a questioning look before taking a spoon out and scooping a little bit from it.

Tasting it, she grinned. "You're not as dumb as you look, little cazzo." Peter grinned at the compliment, bouncing back and forth on his heels before she took care of the frying and brushed him aside to help him clean up the area. After mixing the meat sauce and pasta together, setting the pot of it next to the bowl of arancini, they plopped on the couch.

"Nice job," She sighed and leaned her head against the softness of the couch. "That was a family recipe, I purposely left it to see if you'd be sensible enough to figure it out." Peter, though slightly offended, cracked a grin nonetheless. He blinked tiredly and spared a glance at her while a sigh escaped his lips. "What did you go out to get anyways?"

Searching through the bag, Viva brought out a dictionary book of Italian-English translation. She stood up again, shoving her feet back into some sneakers. "Your Aunt should be here in about thirty minutes." Viva explained while Peter flipped through the book with a grateful smile, turning his head to look at her. "Thanks."

She just nodded, lacing up her converse and doing the last bunny rabbit knot. His eyes froze as he looked for the word that she'd been calling him for the past few hours. Peter stared at it, his jaw dropping and looking at her with an amused yet flabbergasted expression. Viva smirked, heading out the door.

"See you later, you little shit."