Peter had noticed through his years of being a teenager that stress can develop two different ways. It can either build up, leaving the person stressed for multiple days, their hands slick with sweat and their heart always at a seemingly unhealthy fast pace. Or, the stress can come all at once. It can hit an unknowing someone with a force so strong that it makes them lose their mind.
After a week of spending his time daydreaming about his upcoming date, Peter found himself slapped in the face by stress. He faced his closet, unable to find any worthy articles of clothing to wear, the situation being much more stressful than the Halloween movie night.
The boy, in a very desperate situation and stuck in a fight of his own indecisiveness, called Jackie, relaxing as she answered the phone quickly.
"Big day, yeah?" she greeted him, Peter almost able to picture a teasing smile tugging at her lips. "Is something wrong? Ready to spill about the details that'll happen? Caden won't tell us anything."
Peter let out a nervous chuckle, the air huffing out as he ran a hand through his hair. "We're just going to dinner," he smiled, his lips quirking up at the thought of it until the overwhelming stress settled once more, "but I'm really nervous. Like, insanely nervous. What if I throw up or something?"
"Do you... feel sick?" Jackie asked confusedly, the hint of a smile on her face as she spoke with her eyebrows knitted together. She rolled off of her bed, peeking through her curtains to see Caden across the street with clothes strewn across his bedroom floor.
Peter thought about this simple question for a second. He didn't necessarily feel sick, but the thought of something horrible happening on the date being his fault caused his hands to shake and a sweat to break out all over his body. "No, no, I don't feel sick or anything. These kind of situations just make my stomach sink, not just plain old butterflies... something crazy."
Jackie cooed into her phone, waving at Caden through from her window. "Don't worry, Caden looks the same amount of stressed. His clothes are all over his floor, I don't think he can pick a shirt to wear. You two are both crazy like this."
"I really don't think you and Reese are the best at consoling me, you always tell me something that Caden is doing, like, why to make me feel better? It hasn't helped at all." Peter exhaled a laugh, his breath wavering. He paced around his room, his eyes landing on the familiar red cotton that Caden had given him a week earlier. "He made me a Spider-Man sweater, you know-"
"Wear that!" she instantly jumped onto the semi-suggestion, figuring that Peter was in the same predicament. "I don't know how to help you with the whole speaking to him issue, though. My guess is that you'll both be blushing messes every five seconds, but you both like each other more than you can admit, so it'll be a great time. I'm going to tell Caden to wear blue, it matches his eyes, and it'll be perfect."
Peter heard rustling in the background of Jackie's side of the call. He assumed she was preparing to leave to head over to Caden's, quickly saying goodbye to her. "Thanks for talking, I hope you're right."
"No problem, Pete. And, don't worry... I'm always right." And with that, Jackie hung up, leaving Peter to throw his phone onto his bed and grab the red sweater.
Pulling it on over his T-Shirt and binder took him less than a few seconds, but standing in front of the mirror, straightening the sweatshirt a million times over took significantly more time. He was forced to stop when May quietly knocked on his door, her ever present smile growing wider at his outfit.
"Well, don't you look handsome? Spider-Guy, right?" She pointed to his sweatshirt, eyebrows raised that emphasized her bright grin.
Peter choked out a laugh, a blush dusting his cheeks at her compliment. "It's Spider-Man, May."
She rolled her eyes, the action softened by her lips upturned in a grin. "Guy, man, whatever. He's still putting himself in dangerous situations."
"He's a superhero," Peter defended his own name, insistent on his stance over Spider-Man. "He can handle himself, I wouldn't worry about it."
"I came to check up on you because you've been quiet all afternoon, and I come in to see you dressed up. Are you going out or something?" May's soft grin melted into a smirk with slightly raised brows. Peter was certain she had picked it up from Jackie.
"As hard as it may be to believe, yeah. I'm going to dinner with... a friend. Thai food." Peter twisted his hands in Caden's handmade sweatshirt, his fingers gripping the fabric tightly as his palms moistened.
Peter's choice of words caused him to wince at them, watching May's face light up, her eyes growing ten times larger than usual. "A friend, huh?" Which can only be translated as one would expect a dog would react if a stranger walked into their house: "Who, who, who?!"
He groaned in response, his eyes lifting towards the ceiling. "Yep. A friend." Peter clasped his hands together, really trying his best to avoid May's sparkling eyes.
He had texted Caden earlier at first asking him to wait outside the building, and then immediately correcting himself that the older boy could come upstairs and say hi to May. But, as Peter continued to stare at his ceiling with the thought of May's excited eyes bright, he started regretting his decisions. Even more so when, after a few beats passed and May was about to question further, there were three knocks on the door.
The fact that Peter was slightly restricted movement wise while he was wearing his binder didn't stop him from racing to the door before May. He figured that breathing heavily for a few minutes wouldn't be nearly as bad as May starting to question Caden. Being questioned by his own aunt was enough, he would only wish that fate on Flash and his group.
"Hey," Peter greeted the older boy, mid-pant as he tried to regain a normal breathing pattern. He noticed Caden's blue shirt that he assumed Jackie had raced over and forced him to wear as she practically did with Peter, too.
Caden smiled widely, his eyes trailing down to the familiar stitching of the red sweatshirt Peter wore. "You actually wore it," he thought aloud, eyes lifting back to Peter's grin that matched his. "Does it fit alright? Is it comfortable and everything?"
"Obviously I wore it. It was a perfect gift, and it's crazy that you made this for me," Peter answered immediately, slightly furrowed eyebrows at Caden's surprise but their smiles remained. "I love it."
If possible, Caden's smile widened. A vibrant blush dusted across his cheeks as he looked to Peter, a faint pink tint settling on the smaller boy's face as well. "Well, I wanted to make you something special. I'm glad that you..." Caden paused, taking a second to appreciate Peter's gratitude and genuine happiness at his handiwork, before speaking in a much softer tone, "love it."
As Peter expected, May interrupted the boys' brief moment, their blushes turning into shades of good natured embarrassment rather than surprise and the butterflies of simply having a crush.
"Caden!" May greeted the boy, slinging an arm around Peter's shoulders. "Peter didn't tell me you were the friend he was hanging out with tonight."
Out of the corner of his eye, Peter watched as May smirked before the action settling into a grin. "I really love the blue, by the way. It brings out your eyes," May continued, ignoring Peter's attempts to step away from her and away from whatever embarrassment the conversation could lead to.
"Oh, thanks," he politely said, a small smile growing on his face.
"You look rather dashing, Caden, if you don't mind me saying. Right, Peter?" There it was. The awaited embarrassment. In a typical, over the top May Parker type of way.
Peter shot her a look before he glanced to Caden's parted lips, bright blue eyes, and all around shocked expression. Peter felt his neck getting warm, rubbing it with a hand as he thought about what his response would be. He sighed, not able to help himself but to smile as Caden's lip quirked upwards. "Uh, yeah. I'd say so," he quietly answered, licking his lips before casting his eyes downward.
Caden let out a chuckle, looking at Peter with admiration before his eyes trailed over to May. His smile dissolved, bringing his wrist up to check the time on his watch. "Uh, Peter?" The boy's head lifted up almost too quickly. Almost. The eagerness evident in his eyes, May watching with amusement. "I think we should..." He pointed a thumb over his shoulder towards the door, smiling apologetically at his aunt.
"Yeah, we should go." Peter followed Caden outside the door, grabbing his keys quickly. "Bye, May," he softly said goodbye, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"Home by 11," she warned, cracking a smile at the boy's blush. "Have a nice time."
Peter gave her one last smile, grabbing his jacket before shutting the door. He twirled his key ring - adorned with a trans flag and an Avengers key chain - around his pointer finger. Before catching up to Caden by the elevators, he straightened his sweatshirt again, never satisfied with how anything really looked on him.
"Sorry about... that," Peter began, balling his hands up into his pockets. He dug deep into the fabric of his jacket, cursing himself and May and the world as he felt the date was already headed downhill, and they hadn't even gotten five feet away from his apartment door.
That was, until Caden let out a soft chuckle, making Peter's ears perk up like a puppy's. "No, it's totally fine. You look great, too, by the way," he teased, flashing him a smile. "Your aunt is probably the biggest supporter in a relationship between the two of us, and I appreciate her determination."
"I'll be sure to tell her that," Peter responded, smiling up at Caden as he replayed the word "relationship" over and over. The fact that Caden Young could possibly want to be in a relationship with him was too much for his small body to handle.
"Don't worry about it, I can just tell her when I walk you back home later, right?"
The nonchalance in Caden's voice made Peter take in a shocked inhale of air, his breath wavering as he took everything in. Caden's teasing and planning for after their dinner sparked so much hope in him. The feeling was hovering on the edge of indescribable. It was pure happiness, topped off with Peter's grin to prove it.
Peter lifted his eyes, the smile still on his lips, and saw the matching grin and happiness in Caden's expression. He gave him a nod, chuckling a bit before answering. "Yeah, uh... she'd like that a lot."
"Anything to make her happy then." Caden gave the boy a quick wink with a smile before walking ahead to press the elevator button. Peter's eyes widened, before sighing into a more relaxed position as he prepared for the rest of the night.
-
"I really hope you've had Thai food before because otherwise you're going to hate me after this," Peter warned Caden once they had arrived to the restaurant. He laughed, glancing at Caden then looking back at the menu. "I can sit here and watch you order something that'll burn your mouth for months, just so you know."
Caden scoffed, rolling his eyes at the boy. "I actually love Thai food so you're out of luck on that. I like you, but not enough to blindly agree to food adventures. Not yet, at least."
"Hm, noted," Peter replied, his heart speeding up a good amount. If he had been swinging by Caden's place as Spider-Man, Karen definitely would've reminded him by now of his red cheeks and raised heart beat. "Um, what's your favorite meal? Thai food, obviously, I mean."
The older boy put down his menu, propping his head up with a hand tucked under his chin. "Pad Thai. As unoriginal as that opinion is, I love it. What about you?"
Peter collected their menus in the middle of the table, brushing the soft fabric of Caden's shirt before murmuring a soft apology. "I always get the spring rolls and some fried rice. Sweet and sour sauce is just something you can't beat."
"Yeah, I get that. I always hoard the egg rolls whenever my family gets take out."
Eventually Peter furrowed his eyebrows, a smile cracking at the situation and the couple's overall oddities. "Is it weird to talk about egg roll and spring roll preferences on a date?"
Caden laughed loudly, covering his mouth as he quieted down. "Definitely not, but I did want to ask you something. I think it might be too personal, though."
"Well, now you have to ask me." Peter mimicked the older boy's position, leaning on his hands as he raised his eyebrows at him.
"Why Peter? What made you choose that name?" Caden's voice wasn't full of judgement or ridicule as many others had been when asking Peter this question. The name had seemed to go out of style, and many people liked to remind him of that - when they weren't calling him Penis Parker. He knew that a name like Michael or Chris wouldn't have been questioned yet he settled on the name Peter. As Caden sat before him, genuine curiosity in his blue eyes, he smiled at him.
"In all honesty, it was because of Peter Pan," he answered, chuckling a bit at himself. "I watched the movie all of the time, I could practically recite it. And, now that I think about it, I definitely had a crush on him."
Caden let out a laugh, eyes trailing from Peter's eyes to his pink cheeks. "Are you saying that I have to dye my hair red and start kidnapping children for you to like me?" he joked, smiling as Peter rolled his eyes.
"If it makes you feel any better, I like you as much as I liked Peter Pan. Maybe I'll change my name to Caden because I like you that much."
It was Caden's turn to blush and Peter's smile widened as the boy's cheeks turned red. "I like the idea, but it would get pretty confusing. Maybe test it out after Thanksgiving break or something to see if it's the right fit."
"I can't wait. It's definitely better than the nickname my aunt and uncle gave me when I was younger."
"Well, now you have to tell me." Peter shot him a smile as the older boy echoed his previous phrase. "I'm serious, I want to hear this nickname they gave to the genius Peter Parker."
"It was..." Peter winced, letting out a long exhale as Caden's eyes watched him with an amused smile. "Lion. That's what they called me."
"What's the story behind this? I can make up a story in exchange." He flashed the boy a grin, watching him moan and groan. Caden's teeth clung onto his bottom lip, biting back a smile of adoration.
"A nickname story for your nickname story." Peter paused, letting Caden think this agreement through, and when he nodded Peter's nerves eased up a bit. "It's kind of a sad story because it all started with me being a very unhappy child after my parents died. Um, May and Ben tried everything to get me happier, and some things would work. What worked best, though, was this stuffed lion that May found from my parents' apartment. So, they called me Lion which was kinda perfect especially because of my curls."
"Aw, Lion, that's cute. I'm glad you were able to be happy because of that." Caden offered him a small grin, Peter groaning at the use of the nickname.
"Don't start with that. Now, where's my name story exchange?" He raised his eyebrows at the older boy as if one-upping his story was something to be challenged.
"I don't have any nicknames... except Giant by Jackie, and that one's pretty self explanatory: I'm tall."
Peter shook his head, a smile on his lip. "You're not getting out of this. How about your first name; Caden is good enough. Why'd your parents choose that name?"
"Oh, that's a story," Caden began, smiling as he spoke. "My mom is a history teacher, so it's basically required that she's a history nerd, right? So, she's in love with Greek mythology and had her heart set on naming me Jason after Jason and the Argonauts. In the end, my dad suggested Caden. It means spirit of battle which kinda ties into the whole chase for the Golden Fleece. Honestly, I just think he didn't want me to have a known name, but I would've preferred Jason because there's not really a way to mess up that pronunciation."
"I like Caden! It's unique. Would you rather have been called Argonaut? Argo for short. 'Hey, Argo, can you do this for me?'" Peter joked, laughing as Caden shook his head with his nose wrinkled.
"When I said I didn't have any nicknames that wasn't a challenge to come up with one."
"Sorry, Argo, But, it's your Peter Parker nickname now."
"Great. Thank you very much, Lion," he deadpanned. "Now, do you have anymore stories to share or are we going to be staring at each other for the rest of the night? Not a bad thing, you're cute, but talking is good, too."
Peter blushed, not able to catch how Caden smiled at him and his rosy cheeks. "The only thing I can think of is my coming out story, and I doubt you-"
"I want to hear it if you're willing to tell it. I plan on knowing everything about you one day so might as well start with your Peter Parker origin story, yeah?"
"Everything about me?" Peter asked a bit nervously, thinking how that couldn't be possible for his own safety and Caden's safety. Spider-Man wasn't just about Peter, the concept was a lot bigger than that, and he wasn't sure if anyone could know that huge part of him.
"Well, yeah."
"Okay," Peter started with a smile at Caden's determination. "I was 11, a horrible age because middle school absolutely sucks and puberty attacks you. I started going through puberty, and I hated it a lot, as you can probably guess. I got super depressed, all that dysphoria and shit. And, May and Ben were sad for my own sake because I'd worn masculine clothing since before I even started school but was pressured by everyone around me to become 'normal.' For them that meant that I should be wearing girl's clothing and growing my hair out. So, I did for a bit. Then, I started going by Peter in seventh grade but only towards MJ and Ned and a few other people. I eventually came out as trans before high school started although everyone could've already guessed. May and Ben were totally fine about it. They even threw a party and everything."
Just thinking about it, Peter was brought back to the humid day, the last day of summer before high school.
Peter was walking home from Ned's house after their final day of summer, having said goodbye to the activities they busied themselves with during their two month break: playing video games, building hundreds of Lego creations, and trying to build a fully functioning computer through scraps. Unaware of Ned racing to the subway station and the busy planning that went into the celebration that was going to be happening at his house, he walked leisurely along, smiling as he saw multiple dogs on his way.
Peter genuinely liked walking around his neighborhood. Sure, the speed of the subway was important for going to school and returning home, but he liked seeing his neighbors, familiar faces, and he just needed to think.
Eleven days earlier - Peter had counted - he came out as transgender to his aunt and uncle which came as a shock to no one. He had already been out to his best friends, Ned and MJ, but it was different to be fully out. It was different to be called Peter Benjamin Parker by his Aunt May when she scolded him for not clearing up his dinner plate. But, it was a good different, a relieving different, a huge weight off of Peter's chest.
He was nervous about high school. He was nervous to go to school officially as Peter and not just be called it by Ned and MJ. He was excited at the same time, though. He figured that after most of his life contemplating who he was, he deserved to be just that: himself.
After the short trip, Peter tightened the straps on his backpack that bounced up and down with every step. He was always worried that Flash or someone from his group would follow him home and take his backpack - and it wouldn't be the first time that happened either.
Peter was expecting a normal greeting when he arrived home. He figured his uncle would still at work since he wasn't home until late, fixing the neighbors' electrical problems around the block. May would probably be home going over introductions to the next article she would soon write for the local newspaper.
What he wasn't expecting at all was his friends, aunt, and uncle surprising him as soon as he walked through the door, their apartment covered in blue streamers, balloons, and various other decorations. A hastily put up banner read "It's a Boy!" in May's handwriting, and the people that were closest to him stood below it with party horns.
"I hope you don't mind that we worked together to throw you a coming out party," May greeted the boy, blowing air into the party horn so a short noise came out of it.
Ben walked up behind May, wrapping an arm around her waist. "We made cake, too. Ned and MJ decorated the cake and the house."
Peter was shocked into silence, smiling wide eyed at the apartment. He took a few steps towards the table to see a light blue frosted cake with lots of dark blue sprinkles covering it - Ned's specialty.
"Peter Benjamin Parker," he read aloud the script details on the cake with a teary eyed grin. "Thanks, everyone," he quickly turned behind him to see May and Ben watching him with equally wide smiles on their faces, "I love you guys."
"We love you more, Peter." May pulled the three of them into a hug, smiling as she squeezed her nephew.
"It's Peter Benjamin Parker, May," Ben corrected, letting out a chuckle that blew a few strands of Peter's hair gently. "We're proud of you, son."
After Peter turned back around to face his best friends, he gave them a smile, too. "I love both of you, too," he told them, giving each of them a quick hug.
"You're forgetting the best part of this, dude: presents!" Ned exclaimed, shoving gift bags into his hands.
The rest of the day was spent opening gifts - a new wallet and a bottle of cologne from
Ned and MJ, some hand-me-down clothing from Ben, and a few binders and sports bras from May - while Peter, MJ, and Ned all discussed the upcoming school year. The last gift Peter received was a stack of paper. He looked closer to see that it was a pile of printed out emails that had been sent by Ben and May to Peter's future counselors, teachers, principals, and other school authorities that informed them all of his new name and pronouns.
Despite shedding multiple tears of happiness, Peter knew that was one of his happiest days.
Caden listened intently to Peter's story, smiling all the while. "That's such a great story, Peter. Ben sounded like an amazing person, I wish I had gotten to meet him."
A sad, reminiscent smile appeared on Peter's face as he nodded. "Yeah, he was the best. He would've liked you."
"Because I'm such a nice person, right?" Caden joked, smiling in success as Peter cracked a smile. "See? Now, you're smiling. I don't want you to be sad."
"He would like you because of course you're the nicest guy ever, but you also like me," Peter said in a quiet voice, smiling down at his hands. "And, you don't like me for a good laugh or anything like that... I mean, I hope you like me for how I am or else I'd feel pretty stupid right now."
Caden has a faint, shocked smile on his lips when Peter finally looked up from his slightly sweaty hands, his smile widening and eyes crinkling when the younger boy made hesitant eye contact. "I definitely don't like you for a fake Peter Parker, I can tell you that for sure. I do like you the way you are. A lot, actually," he added the last part softly, letting out a small laugh. "So, I wouldn't worry if I were Ben, and I wouldn't worry if I were you either."