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“You alright, kid?”
Peter nodded. He was sitting in the corner of Nelson and Murdock, which had become like a second home to him over the past couple of months. He hadn’t meant to become attached, but he had underestimated how nice it was to have someone who understood. Not just knew, like Ned (who was awesome, but didn’t get how serious it all was). Karen had started joking that Matt had acquired a child and then suspiciously asked if Peter was actually his.
“Do I look old enough to have a 16 year old kid?” had been the indignant response.
“Yep!”
“Fogs, throw something at this woman for me, will ya?”
Today, though, Peter wasn’t springing to help with boxes or pestering Foggy for information about the latest case. Karen came and plonked herself on a stack of books beside him, concern in her eyes. “You know you can talk to me, Pete. If there’s something going on at home, or…”
“Seriously, I’m fine!” He suddenly softened. “Sorry, Miss Page.” He started to sniffle, and tried to stop himself, but suddenly Matt was there, guiding him into his office.
“You’re not fine, kiddo. What’s wrong?”
“May- my aunt- found out about Spider-Man.”
“And what, she kicked you out?”
“No!” Outrage at the thought. “May wouldn’t do that!”
“So what’s wrong?”
“I dunno. It’s just… I was keeping her in the dark to protect her, you know? She worries, and my life is dangerous, and I don’t want her to get caught in the crossfire. I’m scared she won’t let me be Spider-Man any more.”
“She will. She sounds a wonderful person.”
“She is.”
“You’re really lucky, you know that? Not everyone has family who’d be that accepting. And it’s a good thing she knows. I get it doesn’t feel that way now, but she was going to find out someday and, trust me, sooner is better on that front.”
“Can you… can you come and talk to her?”
Matt blanched. “Uh… you sure you want me to do that? I can get Foggy to do that. He’s much better at the human stuff.”
Peter stared at him. He was sure the guy could probably sense it, or at least the scorn behind it. The man without fear. Huh.
Matt sighed. “Yeah, I’ll talk to her. I’m not convinced it won’t worry her more, but I’ll do it.”
“Thanks, DD,” Peter gave a small smile.
Matt ended up walking Peter home after work. He was convinced his presence would somehow make this whole situation worse, and it reminded him a little too much of when Foggy had found out about Daredevil. But the kid wanted him there, so he’d be there.
The Parker home smelled lovely. He could tell that even from outside the door, the freshness of too many houseplants and warmth of baking cookies. Peter must have been monitoring these; he’d told Matt about his aunt’s cooking.
There was a rattle as Peter unlocked the door. “May, I’ve brought a friend,” he said.
May was younger than Matt had expected, only a few years older than he was. She was tiny, and smelled of cookie dough, washing up liquid and the lingering scent of coconut shampoo. “Pete?”
Peter ran at her and wrapped himself around her.
She glanced at Matt, then held Peter out at arm’s length, looking up at him. “You going to introduce me to your friend?”
“Matt Murdock, Mrs. Parker,” Matt said, shifting from foot to foot. She reminded him a little of Sister Beatrice.
“The lawyer?”
“You read about the Fisk case then?”
“And Castle. You’re really making waves on the news. How do you know Peter?”
“I think the question here is how do I know Spider-Man.”
May brought Peter in close to her and held on as if Matt would take him away from her. “Would you like to come in and sit down?” she asked. “There’s an armchair to your 2 o’clock, 6 paces.”
The seat was comfy, soft, but he perched on the edge of it as if he’d need to flee at any moment. The Parkers sat together on a sofa, May still holding Peter. “So, how do you know Spider-Man?”
Peter answered that question for him, murmuring it into her. “He’s Daredevil,” he said. Matt shifted uncomfortably. That was five people who knew now. He wanted to have a talk with Peter about the secret identity, but now was absolutely not the time.
May looked at him again, sizing him up. “How does that work with the blindness?”
“Enhanced senses,” Peter answered that one too.
“We met on a job a few months ago. Your nephew saved my life.” There, hopefully that would help.
“He’s been training me. And he got me out of the Raft after Germany.”
“I see,” May said. Matt had to stop himself from inserting the requisite blind joke. It was nerves. Now was not the time.
The three of them sat in silence for a minute before Matt spoke. “Peter isn’t going to stop being Spider-Man, any more than I’m going to stop being Daredevil. I’ve tried, it doesn’t work. I didn’t want to train him, but it was important to give him the skills to keep him safe while he’s out there. He has saved so many people, myself included. He’s very good at what he does.”
He shifted in his seat again.
“I’ll make tea,” Peter said, suddenly.
“Check on the cookies while you’re at it.” The boy nodded and then fled the room.
“So, Daredevil, huh,” May said. “Your partner know about that?”
“Yes,” he gritted out. It would never stop being weird and uncomfortable that strangers knew more about him than he did about them. Peter. He was here for Peter. “He didn’t. Now he does. He loves Peter, by the way. You have a great kid.”
“I do. What’s this about him saving your life? I’m not even going to ask about the Raft, not yet. I don’t think I want to know. I saw enough on the news.”
Peter came back in near the end of the story and handed them both steaming mugs of tea. He set a plate of cookies on the coffee table. It made a little chime of china on glass. He snuggled in next to May, and started injecting little comments. The “Yeah, he was unconscious for that bit,” parts.
“That’s quite a tale,” she said, ruffling Peter’s hair. “And I’m really glad you have a support system going. Honestly, I’ve suspected something’s been going on with Pete since before his uncle passed. All the injuries that are just gone the next day, the absences. The Stark internship. He’s been less good than he thinks at hiding it. I’m glad it’s all out in the open now.”
“Me too,” said Peter.
Matt smiled and thought of Foggy. And Karen. And how maybe telling her might not be as bad as he thought it could be. It had been a relief when Fogs had found out, even as badly as he’d taken it. He thanked them for the tea and got an invitation to come round to dinner later that week. “Now I know you’re looking out for Pete, there’s no getting away.”