Cool Kids [p. parker] || SLOW UPDATES

TWENTY-SIX

"You could be twins," was the first thing out of Nick's mouth.

Shawn nudged Peter back as he opened the door wider for Nick to walk in. "Yeah, we get that a lot, and I honestly don't see it," he said.

"Neither do I," Peter said, quickly getting between Shawn and Nick, and shut the door with one hand as the other slipped into Nick's. But then a split second passed by, and Peter was about to pull his hand away remembering that Nick wasn't out to either Shawn or May, but he stopped as Nick laced their fingers together. Peter looked at Nick with a smile, but the shorter boy ignored it as Shawn jumped over the back of the couch and landed face down on it.

"So, I heard something about meatloaf," Nick said, Peter dragging him to the kitchen where May was.

Peter made a disgusted sound at the back of his throat as he pulled his hand from Nick's to go to the fridge, searching for snacks and drinks. "It's better if you just forget about it. We might as well go ahead and order take-out, too, Aunt May."

"It's not getting any better, Aunt May!" Shawn shouted from his spot.

May huffed and crossed her arms. "You two have no respect for my dignity, especially in front of guests," she said, motioning to Nick. "And it is getting better! It was edible last time!"

"I'm sure it'll taste lovely, Miss Parker," Nick said with a smile.

"Thank you, Nick, and please, just call me 'May'."

Peter handed Nick a soda and a back of chips. "Suck up," he whispered just quietly enough to where only Nick would hear it. Nick instantly stuck out his tongue in a childish manner and opened the bag of barbecue chips. May watched the interaction fondly, and Shawn peaked over the edge of the couch to watch, thankful in the moment that the couch was in direct line to the kitchen entrance, giving him a clear view.

+++

"How are you, really?" Nick asked as he looked around Peter's room. He's only been in it a handful of times, and only really looked at everything in it once. "Like about last night."

Peter looked up from his phone from where he was on his bed, lying on his stomach. For a second or two he just stared at Nick, watching him pick up an old computer keyboard in confusion. Finally, the younger boy shrugged. "I guess 'm fine, why?"

"I mean, you watched Gwen's dad almost die, and you almost got choked to death by Doctor Connors, and got beat up pretty bad, actually." He motioned to Peter's face vaguely; well, actually, he just motioned to Peter in general when he mentioned the last two things. Peter had few more bruises, cuts and scrapes, and his neck was badly bruised but he had gotten ahold of some makeup of Aunt May's to cover it up. "It's a lot compared to me running into a door and almost breaking my nose."

Peter, despite smiling amusedly at Nick running into a door, rolled his eyes. "I mean, yeah, none of that was fun, and it scared me, but I'm fine now. Captain Stacy is alive, so is your uncle, and so am I. Doctor Connors is behind bars. No one got turned into lizards. It's a win, despite the wounds." He then rolled onto his back, lifting his phone above his face as he read a text from Ned, his best friend going on about the Spider-Man and the Lizard. Peter smiled and sent back a quick message just as Nick laid down beside him.

"Are you positive?"

"Yes, Nick."

"Like, superheroes go through some tough shit, y'know? Tony Stark went through some hole in the sky! He can't be okay after that, and Captain America was in a world war, so he's definitely not okay, and who knows what the Black Widow went through. I mean, my uncle has seen some serious shit, too, and-."