[REWRITING] SHOOT TO THRILL ✷ May Parker

05. hell's bells

05. hell's bells
(🕸🧷🎒🤟🏼🕷)
gavin's car
int. morning

❝NO, SHE DOESN'T HAVE A frickin' clue, okay? Stop—Maria, seriously. What? No! He's too busy worrying about—what? You're worse than—would you let me talk?"

Gavin wasn't sure if he was cut out for married life, but he liked to think talking to Maria Hill on the phone was the closest he'd get. He was sitting slouched over in the driver's seat of his Prius—yes, a Prius, because according to Maria: "No one on a teacher's salary drives a vintage '72 Mustang."

     "I'm just saying, be careful. Don't get sloppy just because you're alone with the kid. They tend to pick up on everything."

     "He's a teenage boy. It's basically like having a pet, which I'm entirely capable of babysitting for two weeks. I'll meet you at—yeah, no, I brought it. Yeah—yeah, okay."

     He hung up, a drawn-out sigh escaping his lips. Goddamn, she was worse than his mother. Truth be told, it was more serious than that. Hadn't he proved himself by now? Hadn't he pulled her ass out of the fire time and time again? Yet, somehow, a sixteen year old in a onesie was above his pay grade.

There was a sharp rapping on the car door, and Peter leaned his head in the passenger side window. "Uh—hey, I'm ready."

Gavin straightened up. Peter had that same expression he did the day before—bordering on concern. Why he always looked like a puppy that'd been kicked one too many times, Gavin would never know. Maybe May was right, maybe the kid had lost too much. "Yeah, alright. Hop in."

Peter settled in next to him, putting his suitcase at his feet. "I've got everything—pretty sure. Did you, uh, wanna go say bye to May again or something?"

Gavin looked over at him, almost smiling. "Nah, that's alright. Knowing her she'll try and call before we even get to the airport."

The engine turned over and Gavin peeled away from the curb, merging with the city traffic. At the first light, he reached over and turned on the radio. Out came the music from last night's drive home: classic rock cranked way up.

     Peter's brows furrowed a little. "Mr. Stark liked this band," he blurted out, but immediately looked as though he regretted it.

     "...Tony Stark? Oh—wait, yeah, you did that cool internship thing. May told me about it. She said you two ended up getting pretty close."

     Peter didn't confirm or deny that, turning his attention back to the window. "Yeah. He was really cool."

     Gavin nodded, tapping the steering wheel as he chose his next words carefully. "Hey, well—the guy had good taste if anything. You can't go wrong with a little AC/DC."

     "I—uh, didn't think you liked this kinda music. May said you listened to some history podcast in the car. Which, um—not that it isn't cool—"

"It's alright, Pete," Gavin just shook his head, chuckling. "I like both, I guess." They hit another light. "You know, you apologize too much. It's alright to be honest sometimes—you can't control how people feel."

He was surprised to find that he actually meant it. Not that he gave a crap about the kid, of course. He didn't do chick flick moments.

Totally not.

Peter stared at his feet. "I...I know," he told him. "I guess I just want things to be good 'cause May likes you so much, and I don't want her to be upset—like, you know, if she thought I didn't like you."

Gavin raised an eyebrow. "Do you like me?"

"...Uh..." Peter hesitated. "I think so, yeah. I'm just—I dunno, it's kind of a new thing. May is really, really cool. She deserves someone who's not a jerk, and who's honest with her."

"Can't argue with that, I guess," Gavin told him, a bitter taste in his mouth. "I'll tell you what—you ask me something—anything—and I'll give you the God's honest truth."

Peter thought for a moment. "How many girlfriends have you had before May?"

"One."

"Why'd you break up with her?"

Gavin shrugged. "We wanted different things."

"Are you only dating May 'cause you think she's pretty?"

"No."

"Who's Maria?"

Gavin nearly crashed the car, swerving a little to avoid hitting the driver in front of him. He was met with a crescendo of honking. "Jesus—" He took a shaky breath, giving Peter a look. "Where'd you—why are you asking that?"

"The window was open earlier. I heard you talking to someone on the phone—you called her Maria. Who is she?"

"...An old friend of mine," he explained. "I've worked with her for a while now. I was talking to her about the trip. She's kinda the one who set it all up, that's all."

Peter took that in, nodding. "Oh. Okay."

It took everything in Gavin not to laugh. For a smart kid, Peter sure had his moments. Maybe he was a decent enough hero, but he wouldn't make it a week as a S.H.I.E.L.D agent. He supposed it was better that way. Peter shouldn't have to grow up the way he did, thinking the world was out to get him, and that behind every charming smile was a liar: someone trying to squeeze out whatever they could take.

"...Look, I know it's only been a few months, but I'd do anything for May. She's the best thing to happen to me in a long time. I know you guys are a package deal, and it's a little outside my comfort zone, but I'm okay with that." Gavin snuck a glance at Peter. "Depending on how things go, it'll be better for both of us if we start now. Is this...making sense to you, or...?"

"Yeah," Peter said quietly. "I wanna try—really. I'm not looking for this to fail. It's sorta like an important job—or a mission, you know?"

Gavin snorted. "Believe me, kid, I do."