Spiderdad

59

"May!" Peter called excitedly.

May furrowed her brow and looked around a few times before her eyes landed on her nephew, "Peter?"

"Yep," he beamed brightly at her, joyful tears blurring his vision, "it's um... it's been awhile."

"Yeah- I-" May tripped over her words as she stared at him; it was as if she had laid eyes upon a ghost, "I- Peter... Peter, I'm so sorry, I- I'm sorry, I don't know what to say."

"It's okay," he fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, "I just wanted to tell you that I'm clean," the words felt strange on his tongue— as if he were speaking half-truths, he could hardly believe himself as he spoke, "I've been clean for almost six weeks."

May's face lit up in disbelief then she wrapped her arms tightly around her nephew, "Peter, that's amazing!"

A few tears rolled down Peter's cheeks as he hugged his aunt tightly, savoring her gentle touch. He felt warm and safe in her arms, in a way that the strongest suits of vibranium armor could never achieve. His heart fluttered with joy as she stroked his hair lovingly. 

They held each other in the middle of that New York sidewalk for what felt like hours but was only a few minutes in reality. When they hesitantly stepped away from each other, they both had their cheeks stained with tears and small smiles on their faces.

"It's so good to see you," Peter managed after a second.

"It's good to see you too, Peter," she replied, "how's Michelle? Did she have her baby?"

Peter's heart dropped and he heaved a small sigh as his energy faded, "she's... she's good and our baby's doing well too. Um... I'm actually meeting up with MJ in a moment, we uh... need to sort some stuff out."

May's expression shifted into a frown, "is everything okay?"

He shrugged slightly, "we've just been fighting a lot lately, and we need to be able to talk without a baby around and um- without yelling at each other. I remember you telling me my parents used to meet at cafes to sort out their problems sometimes. So we're doing that."

A sad smile crept onto her face and she nodded, "I'm glad you remembered that."

"Me too," he agreed then felt a heavy soreness in the back of his throat.

Oh shit, he thought briefly. He quickly turned away from his aunt and covered his mouth with his arm as he erupted into another nasty coughing fit. The hoarse, barking cough made his chest ache and scream and rattled his head, making a harsh pain settle in his skull. 

"Peter, what's wrong?" May asked frantically with wide eyes as she rested her hand on his shaking back. 

Peter took a hoarse, wheezing breath to calm his aggrieved lungs then forced himself to shake his head, "nothing. Just a scratch in my throat."

"That was not 'just a scratch,' you sounded like you were dying," she disagreed.

Peter heaved a sigh, only to wince at the pain it caused his chest, "I'm a little sick. But I'm not contagious, so don't worry."

With her expression still twisted into one of worry, she nodded hesitantly, "if you say so."

"I promise," he smiled reassuringly, "it was really amazing to see you again, Aunt May, but I gotta go see MJ now."

May smiled, "I'll see you later?"

He lit up and was filled with joy, "yes! Yes, that would be amazing."

"Just text or call me," she offered, "do you still have my number?"

"Of course," he replied then hugged his aunt one more time, "I love you."