Marvel: Symbiote Spider-Man

- (Evening)

*Ding dong*

'Huh? Who could that be?' May Parker put the TV remote down and went to see who it was "Who is it?"

"It's me, Aunt May!" Peter's voice came, uncharacteristically excited. She opened the door "Peter? Sweetie, did you forget to take your keys again?"

"Aunt May!" He suddenly barged in, grinning from ear to ear as he took one of her hands, let the other go to her lower back, and kicked the door closed as he led her into the living room with a dance.

"P-Peter?! Hahahaha what's going on?" She was surprised, but didn't resist. Smiling at his happiness as he forced her to dance with him. She amused him, dancing with him as he hummed a tune.

As he finally stopped, she raised an amused eyebrow when he didn't let go "So, are you going to spill the beans? What's got you so excited? I haven't seen you smile so hard in a long time."

"Oh, just this!" He let go of her and presented a banquet of roses and a box of chocolate happily "These are for you, Aunt May! Just a little thank you gift for taking care of me all these years. I know it doesn't even come close to being comparable to all that you've done for me, but still, I hope you like it."

"Oh, Peter." She smiled fondly, her heart warm and touched as she gently took them from his hands "You shouldn't have, sweetie. Just what in the world is the occasion?"

"I just got my first paycheck!" He laughed, crossing his arms smugly. Aunt May gasped "Paycheck? Peter, have you been working somewhere?"

"Hm, yeah. So, you know how I've been coming home so late for the past month now? I actually got a part-time job and have the evening shifts. I didn't tell you because I wanted to surprise you when I got my first payment." His smile turned sheepish "So... do you like them?"

"Oh, sweetheart." She set the gifts on the table and pulled him in for a hug, eyes tearing up "You really shouldn't have, Peter. Oh, just look at how my little boy has grown up."

He smiled fondly and hugged her back "I'm the man of the house now. I can't stay a kid forever. Neither can I let you shoulder all the responsibilities of the house all by yourself."

"But, Peter, you're still-" She pulled back to protest, but a finger on her lips silenced her "No buts. This isn't up to debate. I'll be helping you pay the bills from now on, and I'm not taking no for an answer."

"But-"

"Nope."

"Peter-"

"Nuh uh!"

As she looked at those determined eyes, she knew she couldn't convince him. So she could only smile in pride and hug him again "Haaah, just look at what a fine young man we've raised. Your uncle would be so proud if he saw you like this."

"I'm sure he would, Aunt May." Looking at the picture on the table, he smiled "I'm sure he would."

"But if you're going to help with the bills, I have a condition for you, young man." She quickly said when he had his guard down. His groan made her smile smugly, before she smiled fondly "Peter, I can't just take the money you've worked so much to earn. So how about this? We'll split the bills, I'll pay 70% of the bills, you pay the other 30%."

"Oh, no no no! That's not-" His eyes widened, but she pulled the same trick as him to silence him with a finger on his lips "No buts. This isn't up to debate-"

But Peter gently grabbed her hand and pulled it aside "I don't care, Aunt May! If we're splitting the bills, I'm doing that 70% and you're doing the 30%."

She gasped and glared "No way, young man! I'm not letting you pressure yourself that much!"

"Yes way, Aunt May! You've taken care of me since I was a kid! With Uncle Ben gone, the least I can do is help you this much!"

Two sets of equally stubborn eyes glared at each other. The room was dead silent as the two waited for the other to give up. May finally pulled back her hand and crossed her arms under her plump girls "Have you even seen our bills, Peter? How much can this part-time job pay for you to think you can pay 70%?"

"First of all, yes, I have seen our bills. They're a lot, I know. I wouldn't talk big if I hadn't." He said calmly before smirking and opening his backpack "As for how much my job pays," He pulled out a big stack of dollars, making May's jaw drop "That will cover 70% of this month's bills."

Without waiting for her, he grabbed her hand and forcibly put it in her palm "As I said, I'm not taking no for an answer, Aunt May."

Seeing that she seriously wasn't going to win this argument, she sighed and rubbed her temples "...Alright, alright. Fine. But Peter, just what is your job for you to be paid so much? You're not doing anything dangerous, right?"

"Uuh, well..." He rubbed his neck, still conflicted. 'Do I tell her? Or do I go with the excuse I made up?' He contemplated. The decision was serious. If he told her about his identity, he was sure she would argue to stop.

He was confident he would be able to convince her to let him continue saving lives, but still, he was sure she would be worried out of her mind whenever he went out as Spider-Man.

On the other hand, he could lie and keep it a secret. It was called a secret identity, after all. But... he didn't want that. He didn't want to live a lie. He didn't want to lie to her every day about where he was, why he was so tired, why he was out so late.

"Peter? Why aren't you answering?" May's eyes were fueled with worry. He wrecked his brain, actually getting a small headache from thinking about it. But in the end, he sighed and made up his mind "Oh, fuck it. Aunt May, actually... I'm Spider-Man."

The room went silent. So silent one could hear a pin drop. At least before Aunt May started laughing "Hahahahaha! Hahahahaha oh, Peter, this isn't the time to joke! I appreciate you trying to ease my mood, but-"

She froze as Peter shot a web to the ceiling. And to make sure she understood, he also jumped to the ceiling and hung from it with one hand. May's jaw dropped "You're Spider-Man?!"

-

"No, no, NO! Absolutely not! Over my dead body!" She refused harshly. With how long the story was, they had moved to the couch. And after explaining everything, Aunt May wasn't satisfied, to nobody's surprise. He had already been trying to convince her for a while now.

"There is no way you can continue this!"

"But, Aunt May-"

"No buts! This is not a simple matter, Peter!" She glared, shutting him down "You're thinking so lightly of it as if you're not risking your life! These aren't some petty fights between children! You're fighting criminals who have guns and can kill you, Peter!

I-I can't lose you too after losing Ben..." Seeing her tears broke his heart. He quickly moved to sit beside her and hug "Aunt May, please don't cry." The way her arms clung so tightly around him, as if to make sure he stayed there, saddened him further.

"I know it's dangerous, Aunt May. Believe me, I know. Every time I hear a gunshot, I get reminded of just how dangerous what I'm doing is. But somebody has to do it, Aunt May. We both know the pain of losing someone to criminals..."

He brought their family picture to her. Seeing her late husband's picture made May's heart ache. Just adding more evidence to his words "I just don't want somebody else to experience the same pain as we did."

She was silent in his arms. Just letting the reality of what her nephew had been doing sink in. She wanted to continue refusing, to convince him to stop, to not put him in danger. But his words held reason. After all, even after months of Ben Parker's death, she still couldn't help but cry with how much she missed him.

Her selfish, protective side wanted to stop Peter at all costs. But the compassionate side, the one that Ben loved so much, didn't want somebody else to go through what they did.

In one last futile effort, she cupped his cheek, letting him lean into her touch as she whispered, afraid that she would break into sobs if she spoke louder "But it doesn't have to be you..."

"With great power comes great responsibility. Those were the last words that Uncle Ben told me." Peter smiled gently, lightly grabbing her hand and kissing her palm "Who else has these powers that I have? If not me, then who?"

"...But still... I can't just let you put yourself in danger like this..."

"Aunt May, if I don't take small risks, then people will be hurt. And believe me, you haven't seen even half of what happens in New York's dark alleys. Just last night, I saved a woman from getting raped and robbed by a group of thugs. If I wasn't around then, if Spider-Man wasn't there to save her, what do you think would happen to her?"

"..." She was silent, scared and shocked from what she just heard. In the end, when she looked at those unwavering and determined eyes, she could only sigh "Fine, you win, Pete. You can continue to be Spider-Man."

She didn't let him celebrate just yet. Her hands cupped the sides of his face gently, drawing circles under his eyes soothingly "But you have to promise me that you'll be careful, okay? I never, ever want to experience what happened to Ben again. Can you promise me that?"

He gently held her hands and smiled "I promise, Aunt May. You have nothing to worry about."

"...Haaah, okay. I'll trust you. Just please, don't risk your life, alright? I know it's horrible of me to say this, but I would rather somebody else lose their life than you leaving me."

"I know, Aunt May, I know. And you're not wrong for saying that. I would rather let the entirety of New York get wiped out than you get harmed too."

"Hahahaha, you're sweet, honey." She chuckled, not thinking much about it. Not knowing that Peter was dead serious.

"So, you've been Spider-Man for what, three, four months?" Her voice suddenly turned serious and dropped an octave, causing Peter's Spider-Sense to actually activate "And you didn't bother to tell me once?!"

He quickly pulled back, dodging the fingers that had aimed for his ears. He grinned widely at the shocked Aunt May "Ha ha! Spider-Sense, Aunt May! How do you think I dodge bullets?"

"Why, you little!" She grabbed the sandal she was wearing, making his eyes widen as his Spider-Sense was activated again "Oh, shit!" He ducked, dodging the sandal that was thrown at him.

May was officially pissed "Oh, now you're going to get it." She grabbed her other sandal and ran after him. Peter ran for it as she chased him "So you think you can avoid punishment just because you're a superhero now?! Get back here, you little shit! I'm going to teach you a lesson about keeping such big secrets from your aunt!"

"Shouldn't I be rewarded for telling you the truth instead?!" He ran behind the dining table. Aunt May glared "You'll get your reward! After getting your punishment! Now get your butt over here!"

"What punishment will I even get?! I have super durability, I wouldn't feel a thing even if you hit me!"

"Even your super durable butt will feel it if I spank you hard enough! Now get that ass over here!"

"Huh?! I'm a grown ass man! What spanking?!"

"I don't care! Get over here!"

As she ran around the table, he quickly ran towards the door "Sorry, Aunt May, but I have criminals to fight and I also promised to hang out with Gwen! I'll see you later!"

"Peter! Peter, get back here!" She yelled as he ran away "Just you wait! I'll teach you a lesson when you get back!"