Chapter Text
It is a normal day in Queens as a young Peter Parker is waking to his alarm, it sounding with that beep that always seems to rock around in your head making it impossible to ignore. he rolls over and groans pressing snooze as aunt May knocks on the door to check if he would be getting up. "Come on honey, we need to go soon, and you still need to pack, if you don't get your stuff packed in those bags in time you are going off without it." The woman warned waving her hand in the air looking around the boy's dark and messy room, "and you need to clean this up when we get back. And I don't want to see it all under the bed like last time."
Peter sat up his eyes squinting from the light coming through the open door. He raised his hand over his face and complained. "Are you sure I have to go? I don't even know the guy and I would be fine on my own." He slowly lowered his hand as he was starting to get used to the light.
"Over my dead body, I am not letting you be by yourself again. Last time you got hurt, and got blood all over my carpets." Peter looked up at her remembering the last time Aunt May went on a vacation for the weekend when he made the same argument. The next day he got into a big fight with some thugs in an alley, one ended up stabbing him in the side, he ended up bleeding on the floor when he came in. The next day when his aunt came home, he couldn't explain the blood that he tried so hard to get out of the carpet, so he said he had gotten mugged and did not want her to worry. But now, he can't be left alone for more than a day. Peter rolled his eyes.
Aunt May added. "And he is my second cousin, I think, but I will only be gone a week or two. You can still come to school just fine. Now you better start packing. I am going to go downstairs to make some breakfast."
It was rare for aunt May to have time off from the emergency room, Peter could try to tolerate living with a crazy cousin for a couple of weeks for her, she needed the time off to go on her trip. Peter sighed and got out of bed turning the lights on only to see how messy his room really was. There were the usual parts from the computers and spider gear he had been piecing together, there were also clothes and cups scattered throughout the room. He muttered to himself, "I didn't even know we owned this many cups, Ugg, this is going to suck when I get back." He picked up his backpack and made sure he had all of his Spider gear, grabbing the extra web cartridges off of his old desk. Turning around he sighed, how was he going to find some clean clothes in this mess.
xxx
"Come on Matt, he is only going to be staying around a little while, just after he is done with his school for the day, he can just sit with Karen I don't know." Foggy complained to his blind friend.
"I am just saying, having a kid around here is not gonna work out, he will just get bored and break something." Matt turned his head to listen for his friend's reaction.
"Look around you, we are so broke that there wouldn't be anything worthwhile to break. And it's not like he's gonna scare off the hordes of customers that are rushing in." Foggy rolls his eyes and lets out a huff as he falls back into a chair. Matt lifted his head up.
"Do you even know the kid?"
"Well no, not exactly. I have heard about him, he is my second cousin's nephew or something, it's confusing." He waved his hand in the air. "She was going on a vacation to take a break and she doesn't trust the kid to be on his own for some reason."
"Doesn't trust him? How old is he?"
"He is 12 or 14, maybe even 15, I haven't seen him, I think he is over ten."
"Honestly Foggy why do this?"
"I don't know, probably because I am bored and she needed someone to take care of him, I don't know what else there is to say."
"She couldn't find anyone else? Why chose you?"
"Does it really matter Matt, he is already going to be packing to come here, I am going to meet him at my house, so keep the fort down will ya." Foggy sighed, now he was second-guessing himself about the kid too, but it was too late, and what the hell maybe it will be fun. Matt could tell that Foggy was starting to second guess but became more confident by the end, Matt did a light smile hoping his friend knew what he was doing.
xxx
Peter sat in the back of the cab with his arms crossed, sighing every once and a while hoping that aunt would change her mind, and not let Peter stay with some stranger he knew nothing about. He turned to look at Aunt May, and she saw the look he was giving. "No, I am not changing my mind, and besides, you'll have fun."
"What do you mean fun I am just going to be living with some uptight lawyer who knows nothing about science." He sighed and turned his back once again leaning on the window of the car, watching as the buildings went flying past. Peter had full intentions of spending all the time he could as Spider-man and without being suspicious of his new roomy.
They pulled up outside an apartment building in Hell's Kitchen there out the front of the building was foggy. "Hello, you must be May." He started shaking her hand after she had gotten out of the car. "Is this Peter then?" Foggy turned and looked at Peter who was still miffed about the whole thing and was crossing his arms.
Peter looked up to Aunt May and she gave him a glare. He looked back up at Foggy. "umm yes that's me."
"Well, Peter do you want help with your bags?"
"No thanks I only have the one." Peter shrugged as he walked to the back of the car and opened the trunk to grab his case and backpack, he did not count the backpack as a bag, and he definitely would not want anyone holding such sensitive equipment.
May turned to Foggy as Peter was getting his bag. "Thanks so much again, I am so grateful for this, I am not leaving him by himself again after what happened last time." Peter looked up and knew they were talking about him, but he decided to wait by the car.
"If you don't mind me asking mam, but what happened? He looks old enough to take care of himself, but 2 weeks is a bit long."
"He got mugged." Foggy just stared at her with a surprised expiration, that was the last thing he had expected to hear. "He tried to stand up to them and got hurt. The big problem was that he was not going to tell me about it when I got back." Peter's hearing was a bit better than a normal human, so he could hear most of what they were saying, he walked over and finished the sentence for her.
"But I got blood in the carpet and there was no explaining my way out of that one." Peter sighed, lifting his suitcase over the curb. Aunt May looked at her watch and stated.
"I am gonna get going, I am going to be late for my flight." She waved and jumped back in the car, blowing a kiss towards Peter as they drove off. Foggy was still a bit surprised about the hole mugging thing. But he still showed Peter in and to his apartment.
"You will have to sleep on the couch while you are staying here, I only have one bed. Hope you don't mind." Peter looked around the room, it was cleaner than he expected, but Foggy probably cleaned it up before Peter got there. There were a few potted plants darted around the room and had a grayish color scheme with a blue couch and a red coffee table in the middle of the living room.
"I don't have much in the way of food. We can order something tonight if you want. We can get pizza. There is also a Chinese place down the street."
"Pizza would be great thanks." Foggy sighed in relief as he did not want to have Chinese. Peter reached his hand up and gestured towards the corner. "Can I put my stuff there?"
"Ya, that should be fine. Hey, peter if you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"
"I am 15 and will be turning 16 soon."
Peter was shy around new people; he was not really a talkative person, but Spider-man on the other hand, he was a like a completely different person, his mannerisms would change, he would make way more jokes. And it was like Peter could change between them and the people that knew both him and Spider-man would be none the wiser.
"Well then, happy early birthday, I am going to Nelson and Murdock in a few minutes, you should come with."
"Are you sure I am welcome?" Peter was gripping his arm.
"I am sure, it would be nice, you could meet my partner. And besides, we have nothing better to do right now."
"I will come then, I guess." It was clear to Foggy how timid the kid was, and he only knew him for 10 minutes.
"Come with me, it is only a 10-minute walk from here." Peter nodded and followed him out the door, grabbing backpack on the way out, just in case he would need it.