capeandcowllogs | (no subject)

Entry tags:

peter parker | spider-man

(no subject)

WHO:

secondhandwebs
WHERE: A diner in Queens.
WHEN: Last weekend, lunchtime.
WARNINGS: Parker twitchiness.
SUMMARY: Peter has some concerns about Reilly's behavior since his return, and confides in May.
FORMAT: Para, then whatevs!

Peter was tucked up in a corner booth, working his way slowly through an order of fries and his third coffee of the day as he waited for May to arrive. He couldn't help but wonder whether she would realize something was up. His invite had been an innocuous enough request for lunchtime company, but in the usual run of things, Parker Family Bonding Time happened at one of their apartments, or on patrol. Whether out of guilt, discretion, or desire for a psychological safety net, Peter couldn't have said, but given the topic he needed to broach he felt the need to set the discussion as far removed from their usual haunts as possible.

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When it came to the motivations of her family, May typically erred on the side of blindly-trusting. So despite talk of skrulls and general paranoia running rampant in the city, she didn't think anything of a change in venue for a lunch time meet up. Considering how much Parker bonding ended up somehow revolving around food, it seemed more like cutting to the chase than anything.

She slid into the booth only a record 15 minutes after she'd expected to arrive (punctuality was not strong in this one, not with spider duties, school, and work always there to fill her time) and flipped open her menu at the same time she gave Peter an apologetic smile.

"Hey. I'd say sorry again but...you know how it is. Hope you didn't get here too early."

"Tsk, tsk, May. A young lady like you should have a better handle on your personal responsibilities by now," Peter huffed. It might have come off as a genuine lecture if he hadn't winked and pushed the plate of fries at her.

He let the server come and take their drink orders (fourth coffee? yes, please) before resuming the conversation. "I know I haven't been around as much as I should, so I wanted to touch base. How're things going? I figure you must be glad to have Dr. McCoy back at the school."

The fries were happily dug into and a delicious soda pop ordered as Peter stared in with the first topic of the day. She shrugged off the apology with a small smile, waving the fry currently in her hand around a little as she dismissed it.

"Don't sweat it. With everything that's going on...well, I'm not exactly mad. Everyone's tied up these days, Parker's included. But, yes, guess it's nice to have somethings around here stay the same. The Institute just isn't right without some faces around."

Peter popped another couple of fries in his mouth, chewed, shrugged. "Maybe it's because we arrived almost the same day, but it never feels quite right in the City when he's not around."

He offered up a grin, rueful with a wistful edge to it. "Is it weird, to think of feeling 'right' in the City in the first place? Sometimes it's like I just happened to move somewhere else, and all I need to do to talk to Aunt May or MJ or Harry is call home."

She knew enough about differences between the universes that it shouldn't be a big thing anymore, but hearing him casually mention Harry Osborn still being alive in his mid twenties still made her smile turn a little sad. How different would that Normie turn out, with his dad actually there instead of just mixed up with his memories of his grandfather?

"I know what you mean...and, so you know, actually having some version of your dad a phone call away? Doesn't help with the surrealness. But it might be a little more weird if it never started feeling at least a little okay. I mean, it's easy to think when I go home...but in the meantime we can't just not have a life, you know?"

"All things considered, I think we've done pretty well with that here, don't you? Even if we don't remember ... just knowing, for however long this lasts, that our family's so much bigger than any of us could have imagined..."

He laughed at himself a little, leaning back against the booth wall. "Sorry, am I getting a bit gooey for your tastes? I've been thinking about this stuff a lot, lately. Which ... brings me to another issue, actually."

"If you tell me you're getting married, I might need a moment."

It's a joke, but there's a little be of wariness to the question. Married was probably too much, but who knew what new relationships might be springing up in this city?

"Well, now that you mention it..." he drawls. He lets that hang in the air for one, two, three beats, then winks.

"No, but seriously -- I do want to discuss family business, but I was thinking more along the lines of pre-existing nephews, not hypothetical spouses."

She let out an exaggerated huff of relief at that.

"Well, if it's a pre-existing condition, that's not as bad."

Still, May gave a small frown, knowing what kind of trouble Reilly could get in to even when he was at his best. Which the past couple weeks hadn't really qualified as, if she were honest.

"What'd he do?"

"Ever since he came back.." He toyed with the menu, restless, but before he could continue the movement drew the attention of the server, and it was only after her departure that he resumed the conversation.

"I mean, I know getting mur -- going through what he did should grant a guy a little slack, and he's never been Mr. Congeniality to me in the first place, but ... doesn't he seem a little off to you?"

"Did he say something to you?"

It wasn't a direct answer, because she didn't want to give a direct one to that. Yes. Yes he had been acting weird and worrying and a whole bunch of other troubling things that didn't necessarily start with 'w.' But she was hoping it was just shock.

"Nothing specific," Peter said, shrugging uncomfortably. "It's more that he seems ... well, a lot like we were when we first arrived, if not more so. He'd been easing up around me, acting less tense ... that's all gone out the window, and if there's a reason why he's not telling."

"He hasn't exactly been that open with me, either."

She looked down at her hands, then out the window. Anywhere that didn't mean she had to apprecite the full impact of what she was saying.

"I thought it was just...dying, I guess. Failing. He gets so- You know how he gets. And how hard he tries."

"As much as he doesn't want to let on, yeah, I noticed." He takes a sip of coffee, more to fill the silence than anything else.

Reluctantly, he breaks it to add, "I don't want to point fingers when he has plenty of reason to be under the weather. I'm just not sure we can afford to ignore it."

"Want me to talk to him?"

Her tone was doubtful despite her desire to be optimistic about it all. Sharing time with Reilly never went well when he was the one who helped initiate it. Something like this...

Well. She could try.

He nodded. "Would you? I think you're the only one who's got a chance of getting through to him. And let's face it," he added, with a wry smile that covered up no small amount of bitterness, "I'm about the last person he'd ever confide in."

Edited 2012-03-17 12:02 (UTC)

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