A Family of Flaws

Chapter Five; Out Of The Hospital

*Peter's POV*

The three days were up and May was coming back home. The apartment had felt incredibly vacant without her, but knowing she was being cared for in the hospital had also given Peter some time to himself where he didn't have to worry about her.

  The first two days with her in the hospital had been hard, even when he didn't have to currently worry about her he did have to worry about what would happen when she was released from the hospital. And it was clearly showing during his time as Spider-Man.

  The reporters had been going on and on about it in every article, so the third night he tried to act normal. Like the usual, happy, comedic Spider-Man that everyone knew. It was working, he just had to stop thinking about May for a few hours and pretend everything was still fine. And he knew it was working— when reporters showed up to the scene after he was done fighting a criminal they didn't ask any invasive questions. Instead, they told him they were glad he was back to normal. So he could fool them. Citizens would stop worrying and his superhero life could go back to normal, even if his life as Peter was far from normal.

  Of course, then that same night the Captain America and Falcon showed up out of the blue to talk about forming an alliance with him. He admired Captain America so much, but he couldn't just trust the hero. Spider-Man wasn't even that big of a deal yet, which meant they had been looking into him a lot if they knew how to find him.

  However, they seemed trustworthy enough. And Falcon was nice and much more laidback than Captain America, his persona matched Spider-Man's a lot more than the ex-soldier. So, naturally, he felt more pulled to him, and he listened to him with a sense of relief rather than suspicion.

  Peter knew that they wouldn't do anything for now. Perhaps in the future they would, but it did seem like they just wanted to assure the public that he's not a threat. If they knew he was a hero then they wouldn't have to watch over him as closely. And when he turned eighteen, a legal adult, then he could actually join the Avengers. Maybe. It all really depended on how quickly he could move into his own apartment or something of the sorts so that May wouldn't be at risk.

  They had mentioned him joining the Avengers, but he couldn't do that right now. May was working herself to death and he couldn't risk his identity being compromised when she was still in danger. When Peter turned eighteen, he would be able to legally protect May. Maybe the Avengers would even let her stay in Avengers Tower, where she would be safe.

  Tony Stark lived there with his fiancé Pepper Potts, along with many of the Avengers. But he refused to think so far ahead, all they did was offer him a possible spot when he was ready to trust them. And they seemed to be looking him over, trying to test if they could trust him. Clearly they were just as weary as he was.

  Pushing the thoughts of his superhero life aside, Peter helped May into the apartment and let her down onto the couch gently. She gave him a grateful smile and hugged him before leaning back on the couch.

  "I can go get some dinner for us, May." Peter told her as he went into the kitchen to wash the growing pile of dishes that had been stacking in the sink. "Anything you want." He threw over his shoulder, glancing back to see her expression.

  May kept her back turned, but her shoulders were clearly tensed and she was no longer relaxing. "I, uh, helped a young lady and her son cross the street the other night and she gave me twenty bucks because she was so grateful." Peter quickly lied, hoping that would convince her. "Honestly... I felt bad for taking the money so if I use it to get dinner it'll clear my conscience." Maybe a little guilt tripping would help as well.

  With a sigh, May turned around and forced a smile. "You're always such a sweetheart, Petey." May said with a controlled laugh. "Go on ahead, honey, and you can pick what we eat. I'm really not picky." As she turned back around and turned on the television to watch the news, Peter let out a relieved sigh and finished cleaning the remaining dishes.