The prize to pay for the lost souls

7

The ride to Queens was filled with conversations about utter nonsense with James on speaker phone, because Morgan just refused to have him drive the whole way alone. She somehow persuaded him to let her coat his arm in magnets when they got to May's place, and that's how they found themselves at the dinner table with all the alphabet magnets previously stuck to the fridge, covering both the table and the shiny arm, writing different words and small sentences, giggling and inventing some kind of secret language only the two of them could understand. But that's what you get when pairing a child genius and a super spy.

Peter, May and Happy sat on the couch, talking about why they were all there, with a cup of warm coffee each. May didn't mind, she was always happy to help, albeit a little concerned about Morgans mental state and cheery attitude, with everything going on. She stole a couple glances over at the letter covered table, studying the bond forming between the stranger and the little girl who obviously stole his heart.

"So... Who exactly is your friend? He looks nice. And very handsome by the way. Do I need to shovel talk him?" She winked at her nephew, who's ears turned hot and bright red immediately, and he silently thanked the gods for his overgrown mop of hair for covering them.

"No, May, that won't be necessary. He's just a friend from S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Avengers. He was Steve's best friend before the war." Peter smiled, remembering the memory they shared only days ago, and the weird moment at the diner, and somehow it felt like they had known each other for years. Like he could replicate the feelings going through his soulmate when he found his friend thrown away in the dumpster like a piece of trash, covered in bruises, and it made him warm on the inside, knowing he was paired with such a protective and loving man. Seeing how he acted around Morgan, and whatever it was he saw earlier, didn't help his ever growing feelings either.

He was snapped out of his train of thought by Happy clearing his throat, and realized he had been staring at his other soul half, grinning like an idiot. He snapped his head towards the older man, who was giving him a knowing look, and oh god, he knows.

"So, he's your soulmate?" Like that's just something you talk about on a daily basis, and isn't an intimate topic at all. Damn you Happy, and your lack of knowledge regarding social norms. Guess it does mess with your head, working so close with Tony Stark for over two decades. May looked over at her husband, and then snapped her head over to the muscular man, entertaining the seven year old, and then back at her nephew, now completely red from chest to hairline.

"What? When did that happen? He's working with you as a superhero and you've only made physical contact now? How does that even work?" She looked baffled by the revelation, to say the least. From what she had understood by standing on the sideline, was that all the superheroes somehow knew each other on some kind of intimate level, considering the life threatening events they encounter on a weekly basis. Even those small time heroes covering their own territories, like her own Spidey, had a somewhat intimate relationship with each other. So how her nephew only now got paired with a fellow part time Avenger was just beyond her.

"Well... He was on the 'wrong' side of the civil war, and spent a lot of his time afterwards on the other side of the world. And then Thanos happened. It's not like I spend my life at the compound y'know. It just sorta happened because I pranked Sam." Peter shrugged his shoulders, smiling meekly, trying to tone down the tomato red shades covering his face.

"Pete? Can we show James your room now?" The question was rethorical, of course, because they were already on their way down the hall, Morgan in lead, clutching James' magnet covered arm. Peter nodded and stuttered a 'yeah', before shuffling out of the living room with his coffee, preparing for even more embarrasment tainting his poor cheeks.