Peter was enjoying another sunset swing through Queens on his way home from the little incident he had with the girl named Felicia and the two boys. The journey from Manhattan really picked up his spirits from the whole job thing. He tried to keep his thoughts about it in the back of his head, but they always managed to regain his attention.
INCOMING MESSAGE FROM MAY PARKER: Going out to eat, want to join me??
Peter always liked it when he and May went out to dinner. It was a nice tradition that she tried to keep going ever since his uncle died. They would talk about what was going on in their lives and listen to each other's opinions on how they should move forward. "Karen," he said, "text back: Sure, where?"
NEW MESSAGE: Del Mar's??
At first, he was quite alright with that choice, but then he remembered that he mentioned the idea of working at Del Mar's to her. He now regretted telling her as he deduced her intentions of choosing his deli out of all other options in the city. "O.k.," he said reluctantly to Karen, "tell her I'll be there in a few."
A few minutes later, he landed on a roof across the street from the bodega and where he saw May. She stood there waiting with her arms crossed over her chest. She had her hair down and wore her usual pair of glasses that Peter thought were sometimes dorky. She wore a flower covered sun dress that loosely fell down to her ankles. Peter could see her sandals bouncing up and down off the ground from how anxious she was for him to show up. He took his suit off and changed atop the roof he stood upon. Stuffing his suit into his backpack, he leapt to the sidewalk below and trudged over to his waiting aunt.
May smiled at the sight of him, and Peter gave a reluctant smile in return. They embraced is a short hug before walking in. As May reached for the door handle, Peter snarked, "Don't think I don't know what you're up to."
May gave a cheeky smile as she turned to face her nephew. "I'm not up to anything," she said, "I just want a sandwich." She knew he would figure out why they were there, but the fact that he showed up gave her reassurance that he understood what she wanted for him. It was maybe proudest that she had ever been of him within the past couple months.
She let Peter enter first, and Peter immediately announced their arrival. "What's up Mr. Del Mar."
Mr. Del Mar had been wiping down the work station when they walked in and turned around quickly at the sound of Peter's voice. "Hey, it's the Parkers," he said with a smile, "a lovely evening to you both."
"Hi," May replied, "can we get two sandwiches please."
"Sure thing," Del Mar assured, he always enjoyed preparing sandwiches for loyal customers like them. "The usual for you Pete," he asked, to which Peter nodded his head, "and what for you May?"
"A meatball sub will do thanks" she replied with a friendly smile.
"Will do" he said, and he and his co-worker set to work on their sandwiches.
Peter and May waited patiently, occasionally tapping their feet to beat of The Lovin' Spoonful's "Summer in the City" over the radio or swerving their bodies around to observe the surrounding shelves and food products. Peter was conflicted about whether he should ask or not about the job but May broke the silence before he could. "I think you should ask him" she suggested sweetly.
"May, I still think that's not a good idea" Peter contended in a whisper.
"It never hurts to ask."
Peter was getting slightly annoyed by her constant nagging. "May, please let me..."
"Excuse me," she blurred to Mr. Del Mar, and Peter rolled his eyes and head in irritation, "are you guys hiring by any chance?
Del Mar was little taken by surprise at the question, "not at the moment, why do you ask."
"Well, Peter's looking for a job and he was considered your deli as a possibility," May explained.
The deli owner smiled, he thought very highly of Peter and knew he would give any help to him if he ever needed any. "Oh, well I'd be honored to have your nephew under my wing," he replied, "but I already have a full staff. Sorry Pete."
Peter couldn't believe the words that were leaving Del Mar's mouth. He was a bit relieved that the moment was over. The stress of asking had passed, and he didn't have to worry about disappointing the man that he respected. "It's alright," he said to him, "I feel like I would disappoint you anyway."
"Disappoint me" Del Mar exclaimed, he had never thought that Peter would be a disappointment to him in his life. He often joked about his daughter, but that was just a playful game that they always did with each other. "Kid, you've got so much potential, and to be honest, I don't think you want to be wasting your time making sandwiches through the rest of high school."
"See May," Peter exclaimed to his aunt, "he gets where I'm coming from." Peter was just making a joke regarding Del Mar's words, but as they sank into his mind, he was reminded of how valuable he really was. And that knowledge spurred a different thought, if I'm so valuable, then how have I not been successful at getting a job. This was his third attempt at a job and once again it had not worked out, which kind of bummed him out.
In the minute that he was thinking to himself, Mr. Del Mar and his partner had completed preparing and wrapping their sandwiches. He rung up the price and May paid with a pair of fives. Del Mar completed the transaction and handed back the change along with their sandwiches. "You two have a good night now" he said as the two made their way to the door.
"Thanks" they said in unison and walked out the door into the streets back to their apartment.
May didn't waste her time with her sandwich, she was pretty hungry. She took a heavy bite and a string of melted cheese stretched from the bun as she pulled it away from her marinara-covered mouth. A couple of drops fell to the ground from her face, and Peter couldn't help but smirk at how ridiculous she looked. She's going to stain that dress if she keeps eating like that, he thought. He reached in to his sandwich bag for a napkin and handed it to her.
"Thanks," she chuckled as she finished swallowing, "I forget that I can be a messy eater when it comes to saucy subs." She wiped her face and rewrapped her sandwich, noticing that Peter's face was void of emotion. His eyes were glued to the ground and his shoulders were slouched more than usual. May had only seen this look a couple of times in recent memory, mostly when she didn't know of his secret heroics. "You alright?"
"Eh," Peter sighed, "just bummed about Del Mar's." Peter didn't want to go too deep into explaining his thought process. He thought that giving May a simple excuse of an answer would be enough to stir her away from the subject.
"You sure," she replied, "cause' five minutes ago you weren't completely up to it."
She always did know when something was bugging him, but this time he wasn't sure how to explain what he was feeling. "This summer just isn't what I thought it was going to be, o.k." he said.
"Because of the whole job thing" May asked. She knew that he was a little taken back by the whole thing, and she could understand why. The boy had never gone out and make a life for himself. To a degree, he was already doing it as Spider-Man, but that was out of guilt of his uncle's death and he felt that it was his responsibility to make sure others didn't share the same fate.
Peter never answered, and May just left it at that for a while as they walked. She continued to dig into what was bugging him about the summer. She thought about what made her summer vacations so memorable. Her summer job at a beach concession stand were certainly memorable for all the long hours she put in, but the fun she had outside her work life was worth it. She would go on unforgettable experiences with her high school or college friends to music festivals, out-of-state road trips, and anything else that they could come up with. Then, the thought came to her and she asked, "or is it because Ned is in Hawaii and not with you."
Peter pursed his lips in defeat, "both, I guess."
"Have you tried calling him?"
"Yeah," he said with a bit of resentment, "but there was no cell service."
"Well that sucks," she responded. She didn't realize that Ned was out of his reach and that Peter was in a state of loneliness. "But, your spider life is keeping you busy, right?"
Peter shrugged his shoulders, "this summer has been quiet compared to last year. I guess I had high expectations for this summer because of the whole Germany experience last year." Peter remembered how exhilarating it was going through the process of fighting along-side the Avengers. Even more so that Stark told him that he would be called for another mission. For Peter, it was a great feeling, waking up every morning wondering if it was the day he was going to get the call. Now that Tony had offered a spot on the team and he had turned it down, he knew that no call would be coming at all. Now whenever he would wake up, he had nothing to look forward to.
May stayed silent for moment, knowing that her nephew was going through something that had never affected him so much, at least since Ben's death. She didn't want to see him in such a sad state and knew that his parents and Ben would rather see him happier than he was.
"You know," she said softly, "after I found out you were, you know, I thought you would change. But I can see that you haven't, you're still the same boy I've been taking care of for 11 years. And sometimes I forget that you're still a kid with dreams of his own." She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts, and out of the corner of her eye, Peter picked his head up to look at her. "Dreams that include wearing red and blue spandex" she laughed, which earned a smile from both of them.
"Yeah" Peter chuckled. They laughed at the thought for a while, admitting that it wasn't a dream that most people would normally have. Their laughter began to settle down, and May focused on the point she was trying to make.
"I don't want you to think that I'm trying to control your life, all I want is for you to be happy. And the whole spider thing is new territory for me, for anybody really. But you deserve to have a fun summer Peter, like every kid should." Peter was feeling very appreciative for May, it made his eyes misty and a grateful smile grew across his lips. "So," May continued, "why don't we put the job search on hold for a while.
Peter's eyes widened, and he snapped his head in her direction. "Are you sure" he exclaimed.
"No," she said unsure if she was making the right choice, "but like I said, this is all new territory. And you deserve something to smile about Peter. Something that doesn't require putting on a mask."
Peter was a little shocked at her but was excited that she was taking this chance with him. He was truly grateful that he had someone like her in his life, but he was saddened to know that she thought he didn't have anything to smile about. In an attempt to comfort her, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and sweetly said, "I already do."
May smiled and wrapped her arm around is torso in appreciation. It was kind of like they were engaging in a hug as they walked. "Make some memories, live your life, but be safe," she concluded, "remember that the hardest workers deserve the happiest lives."
They came up to their building and released their hold on each other. Peter held the door for May and she took the lead up the stairs to their apartment. As soon as they entered, Peter told May that he would be in his room for the rest of the night. He closed his bedroom door and immediately reached into his backpack for his mask. He sat down on his bed and fell on his back upon the comforter.
"Good evening Karen, do you wanna start our little background check on our mystery girl" he spoke behind the mask.
OF COURSE, PETER
"Go to before she ran from the boys" he suggested, and Karen scrolled through her video files of the day. The whole event played in reverse as Karen tried to find the best moment that her face was clearly visible. "Right there," Peter ordered, observing the attractive blonde on screen. "Who is she?"
FELICIA HARDY, AGE 18, A SMALL-TIME THEIF ASSOCIATED WITH 3 DIFFERENT PETTY CRIMES IN THE PAST YEAR
"So, she's kind of a rebel?"
OF SORTS, ALL CRIMES OCCURRED AFTER HER FATHER WAS EMPRISONED FOR BEING A CAT-BURGLAR
"So, daddy's kitten goes off the deep end and follows in his footsteps, there's a family legacy for ya." Peter didn't deny the fact that she was good at what she did. From what Peter had seen of her, she was very resourceful. He could still feel the stickiness of the orange soda that she splashed him with to escape. "We need to find her before she suffers the same fate as her father," he said with a bit of concern, "or before she meets those boys again."
AGREED, BUT UNFORTUNATELY HER MOVEMENTS ARE CONSTANTLY CHANGING. THERE'S NO WAY OF FINDING HER.
"Terrific" he huffed, but then thought about how she had conversed with the boys before she bolted. "Maybe one of the guys know, any leads on them?"
ONLY ONE, she said showing the boy in the orange hoodie. JASON MACENDALE, AGE 21, HAS COMMITED MANY CRIMES INCLUDING THEFT OF AN AUTOMOBILE, ILLEGAL COPYING OF PORNAGRAPHIC CONTENT, AND A FEW VIOLENT ENCOUNTERS AT A LOCAL COMMUNTITY CENTER
"Then tomorrow we'll paying him a visit."
DID YOU WANT TO TRY INGERROGATION MODE AGAIN?
"No thanks Karen," he quickly replied, remembering that the last time he used interrogation mode that it nearly lost him a chance to catch the Vulture. "I'll just stick to snooping," he continued, "maybe let Peter Parker have some fun stalking violent law-breakers instead of Spider-Man."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N- HELLLOOOOO READERS!!! Hope you guys enjoyed Chapter 12 cause it was a fun and challenging piece to write.
I felt that I should have another scene with Peter and May to strengthen their bond and flesh out their understanding of one another. And hopefully, this chapter gets that point across. Plus, its always fun to play with Mr. Del Mar, especially when May is in the same room. I know I should have had a little playful banter, but May isn't one to flaunt how gorgeous she is, and I like that about her.
Last thought before you go. To anyone that is starting school this week, or have already started, I hope you have a great school year filled with hard work, fun laughs, and precious memories. and have a good Labor Day weekend as well, cause we all deserve a little relaxation from the hard work we do.
Give the chapter a vote if you liked it and don't hesitate to comment on anything. The feedback is always appreciated.
New chapter coming next week. Until next time, BYE!!!