Chapter Text
MJ groans as her alarm goes off. It's extremely too early for this. Then again, she's never been an early riser. Her sisters have, though, which means that inevitably she was bound to wake up at ten or eleven, which is early for her.
It's nicer when there aren't two younger siblings running between four walls. Not that she doesn't love them, because she does, but the age gap is wide, and her younger sisters can be . . . wild. She's got a brother, too, but he lives way out and they're not even technically related.
Needless to say, while living alone is nice, albeit lonely sometimes, she doesn't mind it. But it's not so much fun when she has to wake herself up in the mornings.
She gets up and throws some clothes on, brushes her teeth, etc. The normal morning routine. She grabs her purse and her work bag (she's seriously doing what she's always dreamed of doing . . . revolutionizing journalism. How awesome is that?) and walks out the door, locking it behind her.
"Work time," she sighs. "but first . . . coffee."
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
The bell above the door chimes as she walks in, accidentally bumping into a man on his way out. "Sorry!" she calls when he grumbles. Then, under her breath, "rude."
She makes her way into the shorter line. She's not running late, but New York traffic is unpredictable, and an hour-long subway wait, and another hour-long ride doesn't ever sound particularly fun to her. Ever.
She drifts around, eyes flitting from one place to another while she waits in line. The bell above dings ever so often. Then, in her ear, "What can I get for you today, ma'am?"
She orders her coffee, pays, tips, and makes6 her way out of the line as the person behind her stands up and starts to order.
MJ finds a table next to a window and gazes out of it, nearly dropping her coffee as she sees a familiar face walking down the sidewalk . . . a face she hasn't seen in years. Abruptly, MJ stands up, a couple gasps making their way across the shop and some people making their way to the window she's standing at, looking away awkwardly and shooting her weird glances as she gapes. A few "ma'am, are you alright?"s make it to her ear but shoot right out of the other one.
"Excuse me," she says to a man in line. He politely scoots back and lets her through to the back, where she makes it out of the door.
"You've gotta be kidding me," the familiar voice says in exasperation. "Okay, kids. New plan. Back in the car."
"But dad!" a small boy's voice whines.
Kids? Dad?
"What did you want to get in there anyway? You can't even have coffee." he smirks. "Wanna know a secret?"
"Yeah!"
"Daddy doesn't like coffee anyway."
MJ doesn't hear anything after that, running back inside and ordering what she remembers to be Peter's favorite coffee. He's lying so those kids don't feel guilty.
The boy laughs, but the other kid, a girl, is watching her from her place in the back seat. "Daddy, why is that lady staring at us?"
"There's not a lady staring at us. Now come on, I'm gonna be late but at least you guys won't be late for school."
"Ewww," the boy says. "school sucks."
"Yeah!" the girl agrees. "Daddy, the crazy lady is still staring at us."
"May, that's not very ni- oh." he says when he stands up from buckling the kids in the car.
MJ walks up to him. "Hi."
"Hey," he says, scratching the back of his neck. "uh, long time, no see?"
She laughs. "That's the best you could come up with? Peter, really?"
"Sorry, I just . . . well, this is awkward."
"Yeah," MJ says, holding out another hand. "For you."
It's his favorite coffee.
"Aw, MJ, I-"
"Take it," she says firmly. "I insist. Plus, I am not drinking two coffees."
"Alright, fine. Just this once." he says, taking the drink from her. "So, how have you been?"
"Fine, I guess. The usual. You?"
"Y-yeah. Yeah, same here." he stammers. "Everything's great."
MJ immediately doesn't believe him but doesn't say anything. "You're not a kidnapper now, are you?"
"What? No. These are my kids. This," he gestures to the boy, who has been eyeing MJ through the window, "is Ben Reilly. And over there," he gestures to the girl on the other side of the seat, "is May."
May's giving MJ a death glare. "Your kids?"
"Yeah, well I . . . it's complicated," he says.
"How is having kids complicated?"
"It just . . . oh, look, I have to go, or they'll be late for school. I'm already late."
"For work?"
"Hm? Yeah, sure. Look, it was nice seeing you again. Maybe we can hang out soon."
"Yeah, yeah. For sure. Um, do you want me to take Ben and May to school? I don't have to be at work for another hour."
"MJ, I can't ask you to do that."
"You're not asking me. I'm telling you. Get in the passenger seat."
"MJ--"
"Now."
He sighs in defeat. "Fine." and heads to the other side of the car.
MJ just makes a hmph sound, content with herself and her win. But she also wonders why he didn't put up more of a fight.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
"Who are you, crazy lady?"
"May!" Peter says. "What have I said about being nice?"
"To . . . be nice."
"And was that very nice?"
May sighs. "No, daddy."
"Now, say sorry."
"Sorry, crazy lady."
MJ smiles. It's funny. Peter just sighs in exasperation.
Her smile fades into an expression of confusion.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
"May, Ben . . . this is my friend, MJ." Peter explains. "We went to school together."
"Oh! Like Ned and Betty? Or you and Ned? Or Aunt Paige's friend, uh . . . oops. I forgot his name." Ben exclaims.
May whispers something in his ear. "Yeah, him!" Ben yells in agreement.
Peter laughs. "Yes. MJ, Ned and I were all friends in high school."
"And Aunt Betty too?"
MJ mouths Aunt Betty? and Peter just shrugs. Don't know why he calls her that. He's got Uncle Ned, too.
"Yes, and Aunt Betty too."
"Oh, cool!" Ben exclaims. "Nice to meet you, Miss MJ."
She mouths again, your manners and mannerisms.
Peter, again, just shrugs.
MJ chuckles. "Hi! It's nice to meet you."
"May?" Peter asks. "Do you have something to say?"
She sighs. "Hi."
"Hi. It's nice to meet you too."
May doesn't say anything.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
"Daddy, you said you didn't like coffee."
"Yes, Ben, I did."
"So why did we go to the coffee shop? And why do you drink it all of the time?"
"I don't know Ben, I don't know."
Ben leans over to May. "Maybe Daddy is the crazy one." he whispers, to which May responds with a slap to Ben's arm.
"May!"
"Sorry, Daddy. Sorry, Ben." May says. "He said you were crazy!"
"Well, maybe he is!"
"No, he's not!"
"He's sitting right there! You're gonna hurt his feelings." May says, then turns to Peter. "Daddy, are you crazy?"
Ben quietly sing-songs from the back when Peter accidentally spits up his coffee at May's question. "He's drinking the coffeeeeee . . ."
Peter looks at May. "No, not yet I don't think. Now sit back before you break the seatbelt. Again."
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
"So sorry about that. Ben's excited. He's my social butterfly. May . . . not so much."
"It's alright. She does seem very . . . closed off."
"Yeah. She's not big on new people. She gets jealous, I think, but I'm really the only parent she's ever had. Apart from May . . ."
"Surely other people help you out, though, right?"
"Oh, yeah. She goes and plays at Ned's all the time. She and Ben both are pretty much best friends with them. They love Morgan too. They love Paige, too, but she's always pretty busy."
"Paige?"
"Yeah, Paige. My sister?"
"Oh! Right, sorry."
"It's okay. We don't see her much anymore, but she does try to see us as much as she can."
"Yeah. And, hey, what do you mean by May not liking to share you? She doesn't think we're, like, a thing, right?"
"No. No!" he says. "I, uh, well . . . she's just very clingy. She's just at that stage right now."
"Oh." she says. "I didn't know you were married, much less had kids. I'd have sent a card or something.
"I'm, uh . . . I'm not." he says. "And you would have been invited if I had gotten married."
"Oh?" she smirks, and he laughs.
"So, they're not your kids."
"Yes! They're my kids. Last name and everything. But I never married."
"Why?"
Peter shrugs. "Dunno. I saw Ben and May at the hospital with May one day . . . the mom had just died while giving birth and the father had died just weeks before in a car crash . . . I just saw so much of myself in them. Ben was crying out in the hallway after he heard about his mom. I walked over to check on him and he wouldn't go anywhere in that hospital without me after that." he smiles. "I actually had to drag him to the bathroom with me once, just so I could go."
MJ laughs. "So, you adopted them?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I did."
"That's . . . that's really good, Peter." she says. "Now, what were you going to be late to?"
"Oh, it's uh, over now."
"What?"
"Oh, just a meeting, nothing more. Uh, I'll drop you off at work?"
"But I'm driving."
"Yeah, fine. Drop yourself off at work then."
"No." she says. "I texted, took the day off."
"MJ!" Peter says.
"Perks of being your own boss."
"So, you're self-employed?"
"No. Only writer in my area."
"I'll pretend to know what that means." he laughs.
So does she.
"So, do you wanna go eat somewhere?"
"MJ, as much as I hate to say no, I am extremely broke."
"On me, then." she says. "And I'm putting in a good word for you."
"Oh no. No, you're not."
Oh yes. Oh yes, I am."
"No!"
"Yes!"
"MJ--"
"Peter--"
They spend the rest of the day together under MJ's orders, laughing and catching up.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
"I thought you were supposed to take over Stark Industries, Mister Intern." MJ says.
"I was." he says. "But Tony's still around."
"Yeah, but I thought he retired after the whole . . . blip thing." she says. "A few months before Europe."
"A few months?" Peter scoffs. "MJ, we were all dead for five years."
"Five years?" MJ gapes. "I didn't know that. We didn't age, and, when I came back, everything was different, sure . . . except for me. I was wearing the same clothes and I hadn't aged and there were random people living in my house."
"That's what the displacement centers May set up were for when she came back."
"So all the Parkers' blipped?" she asks. "That must have sucked."
He frowns. "Not all of us."
It's her turn to frown now, and she does out of confusion. "'Not all of us? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Paige, uh . . . Paige didn't," he explains. "She'd finally figured out where May and I's apartment was and when she went to visit, there were random people living there. She went to the Avengers Compound and lived there until Tony moved out. She lived with Tony after that."
"I thought they didn't like each other."
"They didn't, but a lot changes in five years when you can bond over losing the same person. She didn't have anywhere else to go, so she trained and became a junior-league Avenger." he says. "Sometimes a spy, too, but never anything too big. There weren't very many Avengers left to take on the Avengers-level threats anymore, but they all did the best they could."
"A junior-league Avenger, huh?" MJ says, then slowly: "Like . . ." she swallows. "like you?"
Peter furrows his eyebrows. "Yeah, like me." he says. "But I had to give all that up for Ben and May."
"So, you don't . . . do any of it anymore? Not even just . . . be friendly neighborhood Spider-Man."
"I, uh," he stammered. "I still go out as Spider-Man sometimes. When I need a break. But Paige does most of that now. Sometimes we go together, though."
"So does she have, like, superpowers or anything?"
"No. It's all in her suit. But she took my mantle."
"She's Spider-Man?" MJ grins sarcastically.
"No. She's Spider-Girl." Peter hides a badly concealed amused grin behind a face contorted in confusion.
"That makes more sense." she laughs.
They pull up to the car line. Ben and May should be out soon. Peter doesn't understand people who line up at lunch to pick up their kids, but . . . everyone's different. He of all people should know that.
"Do you pick up Morgan too?"
"Sometimes, but not today."
Ben and May hop in the car again.
"Daddy, Daddy! Guess what we learned about today!" Ben exclaims.
"What did you learn about today?"
"No, you gotta guess!"
"Hmm . . . did you learn about how tomatoes grow?"
"No! We learned about Grandpa Tony!" Ben says, thrusting two pieces of paper in the front seat. "There's one for Miss MJ and one for you, Daddy!"
MJ smiles, mouths Grandpa Tony? to which Peter responds with an I told you, I don't know.
"I love it, Mister Parker! Thank you!" MJ says.
"Ben! You can call me Ben." the little ball of energy says. "Daddy, do you like yours?"
"I love it! It's going straight on the fridge with all the other ones."
"Miss May?" Peter says. "You're awfully quiet back there. What's going through that big brain of yours."
May huffs. "Ben told everybody your friend from school drove us to school this morning."
"But she did!" Ben exclaims.
"Morgan said her daddy knows her." she scowls. "You two kissed in high school."
Peter sighs. "Yes, May. We did."
"So you lied? She's not really your friend? She's your girlfriend? And you never told us?"
"She's not my girlfriend, May."
"Then why did you lie to us, daddy?"
"I like Miss MJ, May!" he looks Peter dead in the eye. "I think she's nice, and that she makes you happy."
MJ smiles to herself in the front seat.
"But what about Mommy?" May says, and that smile turns into a shocked, wide-eyed face.
"May . . ." Peter says.
"No, daddy! You never talk about Mommy! And now this random MJ lady is here?"
"May!" Peter and Ben shout at the same time. Then Ben asks quietly, "Why don't you like Miss MJ, May? She's really nice. Maybe I'm right. Maybe Daddy is the crazy one . . . for Miss MJ-" Peter's eyes widen while watching his son make his speech. "or maybe you're right. Maybe Miss MJ is the crazy one. But I know Daddy would never do anything to hurt us, which means he trusts Miss MJ. I wouldn't mind if she were our Mommy."
Peter looks at MJ.
"Daddy, say something!" May says. "Tell Ben he's wrong! And- and Morgan is wrong! And Grandpa Tony!"
Peter doesn't say anything, just turns back around in his seat. He and MJ both can feel Ben's smirk radiating around the car, as well as May's upset, shocked impression.
"Fine. I'll ask Uncle Ned and Aunt Betty. And Aunt Paige. I bet she'll say otherwise! Oh, and I'll ask Aunt May, and Uncle Happy . . . and Mrs. Pepper! She says Grandpa Tony is always wrong except for when it comes to science. And Paige says Daddy is always wrong!"
"You know that Mrs. Pepper and Aunt Paige are just joking, right?" Ben says. "You just don't want to be wrong."
May huffs and crosses her arms. "I saw Grandpa Tony burn his hand on the stove once. The red thing was on and everything." she grumbles.
"I remember that!" Ben laughs. "Daddy had to wrap his hand and everything. Everybody else was laughing at him. Even me!"
"Daddy was laughing too." Peter says. "I nearly wet my pants."
"I would have laughed too." MJ says where only Peter can hear.
"I think Uncle Rhodey laughed the hardest." Ben says.
"No, Daddy did. He had to redo the bandages, like, at least fifteen times. Oh! I'll ask Uncle Rhodey, too! He always says he's the smartest person in the room. . . ."
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
"Yeah, okay, love you too. Bye, yes, I'll tell her. Okay, bye- yes, we'll be careful. We'll be there soon. Love you. Bye." Peter hangs up the phone. "That was May." he turns to his kids. "How does lasagna sound tonight?"
"Aunt May's not cooking tonight, is she?" Ben asks, sounding eerily scared. "She always burns it."
"But that always means Thai food!" May argues.
"No, it does not! One time I ate the best bologna sandwich before bed because Aunt May burned the pizza . . . Daddy's cooking is awesome." then he whispers. "You wanna know a secret, Daddy?"
"Yes, Ben." Peter whispers. "What is this secret you speak of?"
Ben laughs. "I like your lasagna better than Aunt May's . . . and even better than Thai food. Larb is yucky."
Peter laughs. "Is it because I don't burn the lasagna?"
"Yes!"
"Well, do you wanna know a secret?"
"Yeah!"
"Shh . . . well, there shall be no burnt lasagna tonight."
"YAY!" Ben exclaims, right in Peter's ear. "Daddy's lasagna! Oh! Miss MJ, have you ever had Daddy's lasagna?"
"A long time ago." she says. "I hope it's improved." she laughs, and Peter sends her a look of utter betrayal.
"Oh, it's sooooo good!" Ben says. "You should try it sometime."
"What do you say, Miss MJ?" Peter says. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"
"Why not?"
"YAY!"
"Daddy!" May says.
"Oh, I don't have to if it's too much trouble . . ."
"Awww . . ."
"No, no. You can stay."
"YAY!"
"Daddy! It's not, like, a date, is it?"
"No, I promise it's not a date, May."
"Ooooh, maybe Miss MJ can cook too . . . but anyone can cook better than Aunt May. Even Dum-E."
Peter and MJ both laugh.
"Whatever. I'm still going to solve this . . . whatever this is."
"Daddy?"
"Yes, Ben?"
"If Aunt Paige is five years younger than you, then why are you the same age?" he asks. "Was it the Blip Grandpa Tony fixed?"
"Yes. She was eleven-going-on-twelve."
"Wow, she must be really smart if she figured it out that young . . ."
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
"Aunt May, we're home!"
Ben flings himself into his aunt's arms. May storms into Peter's room.
"Aunt May! Aunt May! Daddy brought a guest for dinner!"
"A guest? Is it Uncle Ned?"
"No, silly!"
Oooh!" May says, looking at Peter, wiggling her eyebrows.
"That's what I'm saying!" Ben says, then leans over and whispers something that sounds vaguely like I think daddy really likes her in May's ear. May pulls back and whispers, you think so? and scrunches her nose and grins. Ben smiles and nods.
"Well, who is it?"
"Well, she's very nice. She even bought Daddy a coffee this morning even though he said he didn't like coffee, which I think is weird because we went to the coffee shop this morning. Oh! And she drove us to school with Daddy! I even colored her a picture, like the one Daddy is hanging up on the fridge right now! May doesn't like her so much, though, and I don't know why . . . I think she makes Daddy really happy! But May thinks Morgan and Grandpa Tony are lying about them in high school . . . yeah! They went to school together! With Uncle Ned and Aunt Betty and Aunt Paige! But May says she's going to get to the bottom of the mystery, which I think is weird because there's not really a mystery here to solve. I think Daddy loves her!"
"Well, is she here?"
"No . . . she said she had to go home and change and take her stuff so she wouldn't have to carry it . . . but she also said it wouldn't take her very long!"
"Well, who is it?"
"Her name is-"
"DADDY!" May screams, and Peter nearly trips over himself trying to get to her. She's screaming like she's hurt. May vaguely hears a knock on the apartment wall and a keep it down in there! shout.
"What is it, baby? Are you okay?"
"No! What is this?"
A polaroid of him and MJ in Europe.
"Well, that's me and MJ. In high school."
"MJ?" May whispers, and Ben nods so hurriedly he might knock his brain out of place.
"Why is there a picture of you and MJ hanging up in your room?"
"Well, I told you. MJ and I were together in high school. For a long time."
"No!" she turns to Aunt May. "Is it true?"
"Yes, baby. It's true."
"No!" May throws the picture at Peter. "I can't believe this!"
"May!" Peter says. "Go to your room. Don't come out until dinner."
"But-"
"No."
"Daddy!"
"May."
She looks hurt. "But you're my daddy."
He talks in a lower voice this time. "Hey, there's something I want to talk to you about. We'll talk after dinner. It's very important."
"Do I have to stay in my room until dinner?"
Peter sighs. Some of this is kind of his fault, anyway. "Maybe not that long. Three minutes. Calm down while you're there. Read your book you're always telling me about."
"Okay . . ." she says, heading off.
He stands up, looking at Ben, who's holding his arms out to Peter, and swaps over from May's arms to Peter's. "And you, little mister! Can you go color or something while I talk to Aunt May?"
"But-"
"Please, buddy?"
Ben sighs. "Okay, Daddy." he gasps, his energy changing in the blink of an eye. "I'll color in my Iron Man coloring book!"
Peter chuckles. "Yeah! You do that." he says while setting him down. He sits down on the couch when Ben makes it in his room. May follows and sits next to him, wrapping her arm around him and rubbing his arm.
"You okay, baby?"
"Yeah. I'm good. It's just . . ."
"A lot?"
"Yeah." he chokes. "Yeah. It's a lot."
"But you do it because you love them." May says. "So, MJ, huh? Ben says he thinks you really like her."
"So I've heard. He really likes her too . . . May, not so much. I don't know why. I mean, Ben even said he wouldn't mind if MJ was their mom, but May . . . well, she has a rough enough time when I spend time with Morgan. She's just . . . not used to sharing, I guess. You know, sometimes I think it's funny."
"What's funny about it, Peter?"
"Well . . . Ben was the clingy one back at the hospital, right? Wouldn't let me out of his sight. But now . . . it's May."
"Yeah, but Ben was scared. You're the only parent May's ever known. Even with Tony and me and Paige and everyone else, you're her dad. She's a daddy's girl. You know, you took more to Ben when you moved in with us. You wouldn't talk for months . . . but you would always curl up in Ben's lap whenever you could. If Ben wasn't around, you'd cling to me. And after he died . . . you wouldn't even let go of me. Just getting you to go to school was rough, and you loved school."
"I know." Peter sighs. "I just want them to be happy."
"And I think they want the same thing. They just have different ways of showing it."
"I guess."
"Well, do you still have feelings for MJ?"
"I don't know. I mean, I- what are you doing behind the couch, little miss?"
"It's been three minutes." she says.
"You haven't been eavesdropping, have you?"
"No." Peter gives her a look. "Okay, maybe a little bit . . ."
"Geez, you're just like your aunts."
"Daddy?" she asks. "Can we have that talk . . . now?"
Peter gulps. "Are you sure?" he looks at Aunt May, who nods.
"Yeah," his daughter says. "And I want to tell you something."
Aunt May looks between the two of them. "I'll give you guys a few minutes."
"Do not start the lasagna!" Peter yells after her, and both Mays laugh.
"So," Peter starts. "What did you want to tell me?"
May gulps. "I'm sorry for how I acted. I don't know why I did. I just . . . well, you were right. I want you to be happy, but I don't want to share. You're my daddy."
"Aw, baby," Peter pulls his little girl into his lap. "I'll always be your daddy."
"Do you really still like MJ?" she asks. "Because I saw how you were smiling, and how she made you happy. And I thought . . . well I thought Ben and I made you happy."
"You two do make me happy! I couldn't ask for better kids. But so does my family."
"But Miss MJ's not our family. Is she?"
"I don't know. But she doesn't have to be if you truly don't like her. I'd never date anybody without asking you guys first."
"Who said anything about dating?" May smirks.
Peter laughs. "Look, if you don't like MJ, all you have to do is tell me."
"You know, you looked at MJ the same way Uncle Ned looks at Aunt Betty, or how Grandpa Tony looks at Mrs. Pepper." May says. "I think you do like her. I think she does make you happy, and I like anyone who makes you happy."
"So you do like MJ?"
May sighs. "Yeah, but I don't know why I acted the way I did. I'm sorry."
Peter smiles. "It's okay, baby. And look! You did all the talking yourself! But can you do me a really big favor?"
"Sure! What is it?"
"Can you give MJ a big apology for me tonight?"
"Yes," May says. "do you think she will like my book?"
Peter laughs. "MJ loves to read."
May gasps. "Just like me!"
"Just like you." Peter smiles, and May runs back to her room, Peter presuming she's reading as much of her book as she can before MJ arrives.