Fic: Family (Ultimate Spider-man)
Title: Family
Author: milleniumrex
Recipient: ragingpie
Prompt: "May Parker's Home for Waifs and Super-Powered Strays." Life can get a bit crazy with 4 teenagers in the house.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1062
Characters: Peter Parker, May Parker, Johnny Storm, Bobby Drake, Gwen Stacy
Warnings, if including any non-con/dub-con/etc.: Current continuity, so spoilers.
Summary: Just another day in Woodside, Queens' unofficial superhero hostel.
May and Ben Parker had always wanted a big family. When they were young and newly married, they dreamed of a house filled with children. But their plans didn't pan out, and they were happy with each other. Their lives seemed a little more full once Peter came into their house, and they raised him as their son. It wasn't the bustling house full of life that they'd always imagined, but it was their own little family.
As May lay in her bed after another exhausting day of looking after four teenagers, three of whom had superpowers, she wondered if she was crazy for taking this on. But deep down, she didn't have a doubt in her mind that it was the right thing to do. Ben would laugh if he was watching right now, she thought. She had gotten her big, crazy family after all. And "crazy" was an accurate description.
May had just started to drift off to sleep when she heard a sudden cry, followed by a loud crash. She jumped out of bed and ran to the stairs - only to nearly slip on a slick spot, saving herself by grabbing on the railing just in time.
"Aunt May?" Gwen's voice came from the bottom of the stairs. She was sitting on the floor, clutching her ankle. "There's ice on the stairs. Why is there ice on the stairs?"
"I don't know..." May carefully walked down the stairs, checking to make sure there weren't any other slick patches. She helped Gwen off the ground, helping her make her way to the couch. "But I have a sneaky suspicion." She turned and yelled up the stairs. "Bobby Drake! Johnny Storm! Wake up and get down here NOW!"
Sleepily, Bobby and Johnny wandered out of their rooms, seeming to wake up suddenly when they saw the stern look on May's face.
"Uh-oh."
"Boys..." May crossed her arms. "Do either of you remember the conversation we had about this little prank war you've been having?"
"Yeah..." Johnny scratched his head sheepishly. "After the lizards in the drawer, you told us to knock it off."
"Easy for you to say!" Bobby muttered. "That was before you put a hundred joy buzzers in my bed! No way I was going to let you get away with that."
"Well, I hope the two of you are happy." May shook her head. "Gwen's hurt because of your silly stunt. Honestly, what were you thinking, Bobby? Ice on the stairs?"
"But...Johnny always gets up first! And he can fly! It wasn't like I thought Gwen would slip on it!"
"He's right, Mrs. Parker. Normally, I would have been the one to step on it. And I guess I shouldn't have done the joy buzzer thing."
"Well, the fact remains that someone did get hurt because of this silly war of yours. We'll talk about this more later." May turned to Gwen. "I'm really sorry about this, dear. Do you think you need to go to the hospital?"
"Yeah, it really hurts." Gwen rubbed her ankle through her boot.
"Well, I'll just get my keys, and - Wait." Taking a look at Gwen clearly for the first time, she noticed something. "Gwen...why are you dressed to go out at 3 AM?"
"Um...I like to sleep in jeans and boots sometimes?" Gwen said nervously. Aunt May's dubious expression made clear she was NOT buying it. "Okay, okay. There may have been a late-night concert at the Phoenix club tonight, and I didn't want to wake you - "
"You mean you were sneaking out to an adults-only club."
"Well, if you want to put it that way..."
May sighed. "The four of us will be having a long talk about house rules - and consequences - when Gwen and I get back." She crooked a finger at Bobby and Johnny. "As for you two, get rid of that ice! And make sure that any more surprises you may have left around the house are gone too!"
"Yes, ma'am." The boys replied in unison.
As May helped Gwen hobble to the car, the irony did not escape her that of all her kids, the only one who had managed not to get into trouble tonight was the one swinging around the city.
-----
"Busy night?"
The sight of Gwen's crutches and a chastened-looking Bobby and Johnny washing dishes at the sink piqued Peter's curiosity as he came down the stairs as May finished preparing breakfast. It had been a busy night around the city, but no major crises. He was tired enough to crash the second he finished patrolling, and had missed all of the night's drama.
"Oh, nothing too serious. We just had a little...excitement." May smiled. "Sit, sit. You must be starving."
"On the plus side, I get to skip gym class for the next two weeks." Gwen grinned as she kissed Peter on the cheek. "And you've been drafted to carry my books."
"Okay?" Peter nodded. "I'm pretty sure I still don't know exactly what happened, but - "
"Dude. Your aunt's one tough lady, and let's leave it at that." Johnny said as he finished scrubbing the dishes.
Peter was digging into his food when the doorbell suddenly rang. "Huh? We expecting anyone, Aunt May?"
"Not at this hour..." May said as she walked to the door.
May opened the door - and gasped as a teenage girl nearly collapsed in the doorway. It took her a second, but she recognized this girl. She was the clone of Peter - Jessica, her name was - who had helped her during the tidal wave. She looked like she had recently been in a fight, and was clearly hurting.
"Um...hi, Aunt May." Jessica shivered. "I'm really sorry to bother you, but I really got roughed up last night, and I didn't have anywhere else to go, so - "
"Nonsense." May took a coat off the coathook and draped it over the shivering girl. "You remember me, don't you? You remember growing up here. Of course this house is always open to you."
It definitely wasn't predictable, or calm, or quiet at the Parker household anymore, but May had to smile. As crazy as they were, these kids needed her. And in a way, she needed them. And really, that was what family was all about.
Author: milleniumrex
Recipient: ragingpie
Prompt: "May Parker's Home for Waifs and Super-Powered Strays." Life can get a bit crazy with 4 teenagers in the house.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1062
Characters: Peter Parker, May Parker, Johnny Storm, Bobby Drake, Gwen Stacy
Warnings, if including any non-con/dub-con/etc.: Current continuity, so spoilers.
Summary: Just another day in Woodside, Queens' unofficial superhero hostel.
May and Ben Parker had always wanted a big family. When they were young and newly married, they dreamed of a house filled with children. But their plans didn't pan out, and they were happy with each other. Their lives seemed a little more full once Peter came into their house, and they raised him as their son. It wasn't the bustling house full of life that they'd always imagined, but it was their own little family.
As May lay in her bed after another exhausting day of looking after four teenagers, three of whom had superpowers, she wondered if she was crazy for taking this on. But deep down, she didn't have a doubt in her mind that it was the right thing to do. Ben would laugh if he was watching right now, she thought. She had gotten her big, crazy family after all. And "crazy" was an accurate description.
May had just started to drift off to sleep when she heard a sudden cry, followed by a loud crash. She jumped out of bed and ran to the stairs - only to nearly slip on a slick spot, saving herself by grabbing on the railing just in time.
"Aunt May?" Gwen's voice came from the bottom of the stairs. She was sitting on the floor, clutching her ankle. "There's ice on the stairs. Why is there ice on the stairs?"
"I don't know..." May carefully walked down the stairs, checking to make sure there weren't any other slick patches. She helped Gwen off the ground, helping her make her way to the couch. "But I have a sneaky suspicion." She turned and yelled up the stairs. "Bobby Drake! Johnny Storm! Wake up and get down here NOW!"
Sleepily, Bobby and Johnny wandered out of their rooms, seeming to wake up suddenly when they saw the stern look on May's face.
"Uh-oh."
"Boys..." May crossed her arms. "Do either of you remember the conversation we had about this little prank war you've been having?"
"Yeah..." Johnny scratched his head sheepishly. "After the lizards in the drawer, you told us to knock it off."
"Easy for you to say!" Bobby muttered. "That was before you put a hundred joy buzzers in my bed! No way I was going to let you get away with that."
"Well, I hope the two of you are happy." May shook her head. "Gwen's hurt because of your silly stunt. Honestly, what were you thinking, Bobby? Ice on the stairs?"
"But...Johnny always gets up first! And he can fly! It wasn't like I thought Gwen would slip on it!"
"He's right, Mrs. Parker. Normally, I would have been the one to step on it. And I guess I shouldn't have done the joy buzzer thing."
"Well, the fact remains that someone did get hurt because of this silly war of yours. We'll talk about this more later." May turned to Gwen. "I'm really sorry about this, dear. Do you think you need to go to the hospital?"
"Yeah, it really hurts." Gwen rubbed her ankle through her boot.
"Well, I'll just get my keys, and - Wait." Taking a look at Gwen clearly for the first time, she noticed something. "Gwen...why are you dressed to go out at 3 AM?"
"Um...I like to sleep in jeans and boots sometimes?" Gwen said nervously. Aunt May's dubious expression made clear she was NOT buying it. "Okay, okay. There may have been a late-night concert at the Phoenix club tonight, and I didn't want to wake you - "
"You mean you were sneaking out to an adults-only club."
"Well, if you want to put it that way..."
May sighed. "The four of us will be having a long talk about house rules - and consequences - when Gwen and I get back." She crooked a finger at Bobby and Johnny. "As for you two, get rid of that ice! And make sure that any more surprises you may have left around the house are gone too!"
"Yes, ma'am." The boys replied in unison.
As May helped Gwen hobble to the car, the irony did not escape her that of all her kids, the only one who had managed not to get into trouble tonight was the one swinging around the city.
-----
"Busy night?"
The sight of Gwen's crutches and a chastened-looking Bobby and Johnny washing dishes at the sink piqued Peter's curiosity as he came down the stairs as May finished preparing breakfast. It had been a busy night around the city, but no major crises. He was tired enough to crash the second he finished patrolling, and had missed all of the night's drama.
"Oh, nothing too serious. We just had a little...excitement." May smiled. "Sit, sit. You must be starving."
"On the plus side, I get to skip gym class for the next two weeks." Gwen grinned as she kissed Peter on the cheek. "And you've been drafted to carry my books."
"Okay?" Peter nodded. "I'm pretty sure I still don't know exactly what happened, but - "
"Dude. Your aunt's one tough lady, and let's leave it at that." Johnny said as he finished scrubbing the dishes.
Peter was digging into his food when the doorbell suddenly rang. "Huh? We expecting anyone, Aunt May?"
"Not at this hour..." May said as she walked to the door.
May opened the door - and gasped as a teenage girl nearly collapsed in the doorway. It took her a second, but she recognized this girl. She was the clone of Peter - Jessica, her name was - who had helped her during the tidal wave. She looked like she had recently been in a fight, and was clearly hurting.
"Um...hi, Aunt May." Jessica shivered. "I'm really sorry to bother you, but I really got roughed up last night, and I didn't have anywhere else to go, so - "
"Nonsense." May took a coat off the coathook and draped it over the shivering girl. "You remember me, don't you? You remember growing up here. Of course this house is always open to you."
It definitely wasn't predictable, or calm, or quiet at the Parker household anymore, but May had to smile. As crazy as they were, these kids needed her. And in a way, she needed them. And really, that was what family was all about.