Pointe Shoes and Spider Webs

43. Girl Talk

Daphne didn't expect to be nervous to meet Peter's aunt that Saturday. Yet, here she is. In front of Peter's apartment. Frozen in place. With her stomach doing flips and her heart beating fast and loud. She quickly pushes her hand through her hair, roughing it up a little to create more volume. She unzips her coat and straightens the blouse she's wearing underneath. She's embarrassed to admit she spent an hour in front of her closet, unsure of what to wear.

After putting on eight different outfits she asked her father for advice and he just said to wear that one blouse because he likes the pattern on it. The irony of it made Daphne laugh, as it's navy blue with little, white doves repeated on it. She also hit herself in the head for not coming up with it herself. She's also wearing light brown trousers and her trusty knee-high boots. She takes a breath, closing her eyes for a second, and knocks on the door. She doesn't have to wait long for it to open.

"Daphne!" A kind looking woman smiles brightly at her. She must be May. She looks younger than Peter said she is. Her long, brown hair falls over her shoulder. She's wearing a tank top and tight jeans with a broad belt. Her eyes sparkle with genuine excitement and she steps away from the door to let Daphne in. "It's so good to finally meet you!"
"Likewise, Mrs. Parker," Daphne says politely. She smiles and nods as she steps into the apartment. May immediately waves her hand dismissively.
"Please, no ma'ams or Mrs. Call me May." Daphne lets out a nervous breath.

She's not entirely sure if she should. She still calls Tony Mr. Stark and Bruce Dr. Banner. It'd be rude to just call her May. Before Daphne can reply, May continues talking. "Let me phrase it like this: if you call me Mrs. Parker deliberately I can and will throw you out the window." Daphne snorts and shrugs, her smile still on her face.
"Alright, then." She straightens her back. "May-" she emphasizes May's name. "Thank you so much for the invitation. I'm very excited to be here." Maybe a little too excited. Her nerves are still bouncing around in her body, but May seems to be everything Peter told her about his aunt.

May closes the door and makes her way to the kitchen. Daphne follows right behind her.
"Peter's told me so much about you!" May turns back to talk to Daphne. Daphne blushes a deep red and has to remind herself to breathe. She shouldn't be surprised he talks about her. But somehow, it's still so disarming.
"Likewise!" Daphne blurts out. That's the second time she's said that in five minutes. Get it together, Daph. "As in, he talks a lot about you too," she quickly adds, slightly embarrassed. She leans against the counter as May grabs two glasses and fills them with water. "He loves you a lot."

May looks up from what she's doing. She didn't expect that. She knows Peter loves her, but he has never really shared that vocally with friends. Her attention turns back to the glasses and she tries to make light of it.
"If he loves me as much as you say he does, I'm sure I can ask him to start doing his own laundry from now on." They both laugh.
"Wait, he doesn't do his own laundry?"
"He doesn't take the time to properly separate the colors." May hands Daphne her glass of water and chuckles, recollecting a memory. "Last time he tried to wash his-" she stops herself with raised eyebrows. 

May completely forgot to ask Peter if Daphne knows his secret by now. She takes a sip of the water, trying to make her pause seem a little more natural. Even though it happened at an absolute horrible and unnatural moment in the sentence. She swallows and continues as if nothing happened, hoping Daphne didn't catch on. "-stuff, he turned all his sheets pink. Even some of his, eh, other clothes."
"Wait, so his pink hoodie...?"
"Used to be white." May finishes Daphne's sentence. They both burst out laughing again.
"Pink suits him, though," Daphne says as she remembers the soft pink hoodie she's seen him wear before. She figured it was a statement, rather than a blunder, but it makes it all the more endearing. She sucks at her teeth. She'd love to see him wear that hoodie again. Maybe steal that one too.

"It does, yeah," May laughs. Daphne finally asks the question May hoped she wouldn't have to answer.
"Is Peter not in yet?"
"No," May replies quickly. "He's, uh... Running some errands for Tony."
"Oh, that's okay!" Daphne nods and smiles. "I could help you cook if you want?" May's heart drops, knowing that both she and Peter are lying to such a sweet girl. May realizes how tough this must be on Peter too. Knowing him, he's probably bursting to tell her whenever he's with her. May makes a mental note to keep track of how many times Peter accidentally slips around Daphne and says something suspicious. He always blurts things out when he's comfortable and if he spends as much time with Daphne as he says he does, then he must definitely be comfortable around her.

"Oh, no, no! You're my guest!" May places her glass on the counter and brings her hands together apologetically. "Besides, I'm getting takeout." Daphne cocks her head, amused. "I'm a horrible cook."
"Food is food!" Daphne exclaims, trying to cheer May up. Being so self-conscious about your own cooking mustn't be fun.
"I try," she says jokingly.
"Next time I come over; we'll cook something together."
"You know how to cook?"
"Dad can't cook. Mom's not in the picture, so I taught myself some basic stuff."

"Oh, Daph, I'm sorry-"
"It's okay, don't worry about it," Daphne interrupts with a smile. "I have zero memories of my mom. Peter's situation is a whole lot worse than mine. He was actually aware of everything happening."
"That doesn't devalue your experience," May says with a frown. She places a hand on Daphne's shoulder. Daphne shrugs lightly.
"I know. Guess it's just different?" She poses it as a question and May nods.
"Different's the right word, Daph. Can't compare the two, so it's better to just not do it at all."

Daphne really likes aunt May. Sweet, caring, but also down to earth and strong. Daphne's fairly certain she's going to be spending a lot more time with her.
"Alright, so I'm gonna go get us something to eat. Whadaya fancying?" Daphne thinks for a second, pursing her lips before answering May's question:
"Italian?"
"Bolognese?"
"Lasagna?"
"Lasagna!" May points at Daphne as she walks backwards out of the kitchen. She grabs her coat and puts on her heeled boots. "Think I can leave you for half an hour without tearing apart my apartment?"
"I'll behave," Daphne says with a grin. May laughs as she opens the door and makes her way out.
"Be right back!"

Little did they know that a certain wall-crawler was already making his way to his bedroom.