It Only Takes a Second

- XXXII -

"So what did you do?" Harry asked, holding his stomach as he laughed.

"I grabbed the wooden spoon and held it above my head, ready to attack whoever it was with the spoon. That's when the lights turned on and I saw Ben standing in the doorway, looking scared out his mind!" May cried, laughing so hard that she snorted, making everyone laugh even harder.

"You must have looked like a maniac, wielding a wooden spoon, out of all the kitchen utensils you could have grabbed, in your pajamas at 3 a.m.!" Peter wiped tears out of the corners of his eyes, clutching at his side.

"I just wanted to fix some Mac' n 'cheese!" May laughed, tears leaking from her eyes as well.

It had been two hours since Tony had told everyone goodbye and promised to return on Sunday evening, and now the three were all sitting in pajamas in the living room, surrounded by empty pizza boxes and soda cans, a bowl of buttered popcorn now being passed between them. It reminded Harry of some of a stereotypical sleepover in a teen movie that Peter had showed him.

For the past hour and a half, May and Peter had been telling Harry stories about one another, and they were all hilarious. Harry's favorite one in particular was a story about Peter when he was six, when he spilled his spaghetti and was so afraid that someone would be mad at him that he shoved all of the noodles and sauces into the vent system. The entire apartment complex had smelled like spaghetti for weeks before Peter finally confessed to what he did.

"I'm so sorry boys, but I have a shift beginning in a hour," May groaned as her phone buzzed on the table. "I'm going to get ready and then head down to the hospital. Are you two alright here by yourselves for the night, or do you want to go to the tower with Bruce, Steve, and Bucky?"

"I think we're okay here, but it's completely up to you," Peter glanced at Harry, who gave May a smile and a nod.

"I think we're alright, thank you though!" Harry smiled gratefully.

"Alright, I'm going to go get ready then. You two just go ahead and find a movie or a show to binge, and don't stay up too late, alright?"

"Will do, thanks Aunt May," Peter reached up, and the two did some sort of secret handshake. Harry couldn't help but smile at the relationship the two of them had.

May gave them one last smile before retreating down the hall into her room, and Peter turned to Harry.

"What do you think, is she okay? I really hope you like her, I can tell she loves you," Peter rambled nervously. "She was really nervous about meeting you, and I was nervous that you wouldn't like her, and-"

"Pete," Harry interrupted, eyes crinkling with fondness as he smiled lovingly at his boyfriend. "I love her."

Peter let out a sigh of relief, his body visibly losing some of it's tension that it had been holding.

"I'm so glad," he said, grasping Harry's hand in his own. "I can tell she really likes you. She doesn't warm up to everyone this quickly."

"Well I'm very glad that I have the May Parker stamp of approval," Harry declared, leaning forward and kissing Peter.

"It's a very honorable thing to have," Peter wiggled his eyebrows at his boyfriend, making him giggle. "Do you want to watch a movie?"

"Only if you pick. I'm too indecisive and don't know enough of them to choose. Also, we have to cuddle," Harry glanced at Peter slyly.

"I think we could manage that," Peter winked, pulling Harry closer to him gently. As he helped Harry get situated, he was mindful of the still healing wounds on Harry's back, knowing that they still stung and caused him pain when touched the right way, or if he was in a position for too long.