Chapter 11 - The Soul Bond Perk activating (Part 1) (R-18)

Queens, NYC, USA.

Ben's P.O.V.

After bidding goodbye to their nephew, the two adults entered their bedroom where Ben started to take off his shirt immediately, while May began to talk. "We're finally alone... It feels like ages since the last time we were together without anyone else around..." She finished with a tired sigh, while she also started to strip her clothes off.

As his hands moved to his buckle belt, followed by his pair of pants, he replied with a small smile of understanding on his face. "It's only been a week. But I get what you're saying. With everything that happened, we haven't had a moment of peace to ourselves."

As the two only had their underwear on, Ben moved quickly to hug May from behind, whispering. "I missed it. *Chuckle* Actually, I missed you even more." That drew a giggle from the beautiful petite mature woman. "Mister Parker! I'm already married. I can't give myself to you." Her role-play made his arms tighten even more around her, while a retort came out of his mouth. "It seems that I'll have to take you from your husband. That man obviously doesn't deserve an amazing woman such as you."

Acting coy, she said. "Oh stop it, you charmer. If you continue, I'll end up believing your words." Turning around in his embrace, she raised her head up to look into his eyes. "I feel really small when I'm in your arms. Why did you have to grow so tall, my dear husband?" 

Lifting her arms in the direction of his neck, Ben understood her intentions right away. His hands moved to her springy buttocks, boosting her enough for her to be able to comfortably wrap her arms around his neck, her face being only a few inches from his own. Their gazes full of desire collided with each other, with the black-haired man observing the face he never grew tired of looking at.

Her face had some sort of intangible feeling that seemed to always capture his attention. It felt like a fairy frolicking around in a forest clearing during spring, with the birds singing in the trees and a small river flowing nearby. To him, she represented... Happiness. 

As the scene seemed frozen in time, Ben declared, his voice laced with all his inner feelings. "Maybelle Parker, I love you." As the words escaped his lips, time seemed to resume, with Ben lowering his head toward his wife's, his lips touching hers softly. Her reaction was immediate as she kissed him back, her lips' movements slow but deliberate, showing her love and longing for his presence.

After a few minutes of chaste kissing, May had to stop to regain her breath. Her eyes hazy with contentment and lust, while she used her tongue to lick her own lips seductively in hope for more, she said. "You taste even better than before." A deep chuckle reverberated through his muscular chest at her funny comment, dispersing a bit of the haziness clouding her mind.

Advancing his lips to resume kissing her, he felt her index finger on them, as May seemed to have a struggle with herself. "Wait! You promised me we'd talk earlier." Feeling a bit disappointed with having to stop, he understood that he could not avoid it anymore. 'I'd have to face it eventually. Might as well be now, I guess.' He thought wryly.

Feeling her right hand caressing his cheek, his gaze regained his focus, noticing the mess of emotions filling her eyes. Love, doubts, and hope being the most obvious. The situation helped him steel his resolve. He would make it right and bring this amazing woman whom he loved so much along on his journey to power and adventure. 

"Let's go under the cover. I'm feeling a bit cold." She whispered, shivering slightly, despite the room being reasonably warm. Following her instructions, he walked with her in his arms, his left arm holding her buttocks, while his right was busy lifting the cover of their bed.

Slipping under it, May positioned herself on his chest with her chin over the back of her hands, and her face turned toward his, her eyes transmitting her desire for answers. The desire to cherish the woman lying on his body made him lift his hand and caress her face tenderly, his deep masculine voice resounding in the silent room.

"What questions do you have, my love?" His words made her ponder for a few seconds, the corner of her lips raising up unconsciously at the pet name. Having visibly made a decision, she asked. "What truly happened to you? I understand that you've become... superhuman. But that shouldn't have changed you mentally. I mean, not as much as... Now..."

Smiling at her adorably confused expression, he teasingly asked, with some hidden curiosity. "Am I that different?" Nodding once, she then shook her head before saying. "It's not that you're a different person. But... Argh, it's so hard to explain..." She visibly struggled with her explanation, prompting him to stroke her hair this time.

"You mean that I'm still Ben Parker, but slightly different. Or something like that?" Nodding her head, she added. "Exactly. It's almost like you're the Ben Parker from a parallel world or something." Scratching her cheek in embarrassment, she continued. "I think I've watched too many sci-fi movies."

Snickering, Ben retorted. "Well, you're not completely wrong." Letting a few seconds pass to tease her, her eyes narrow in doubt. "But you're also not completely right. I'm YOUR Ben Parker from this reality or universe. At least as far as I know." Even though he could be lying to her, she seemed to implicitly trust his words, prompting her whole body to relax.

Having had his fill of teasing, he finally became serious. "Belle, I never asked you this... But, do you believe in the whole reincarnation thing?" Matching his serious tone, she answered with some hesitation. "I never really thought about it. You're asking because..." Her husband could see the seed of understanding growing in her gaze.

Nodding, he retorted. "Yes, it has everything to do with your previous question. When I almost died to those aliens, I regained the memories of my previous life. That and some power activated inside me, turning my body into what you can see now." Interest visibly lit up in her eyes as she inquired. "You're not messing with me, are you?" 

To the shake of his head, she continued with her questions. "So that's why? Tell me more. Were you a king? Or a space pirate? Did you have a wife? What about the lives before that?" The barrage of questions took him a bit by surprise, freezing his thoughts for a moment before his mind went back on track, helping him answer.

"Calm down, Belle. I can't answer that many questions at once." That halted her 'bombardment', prompting her to listen in silence. Taking a breath to stabilize his emotions, he started his explanation. "First, no I don't remember any other lives. I'm not sure as to why. It could be that my previous life was my first life or maybe something else. I don't think it really matters anyway."

She nodded to his statement as she urged him to continue, which he readily obliged. "I'm sorry to disappoint, but my life was nothing extraordinary. I had a boring job and wasn't too happy about that. My family was very supportive. Except my father. I had a brother and a sister. They were a bit crazy, the good kind of course. And no, I was single with no kids." He continued to describe his previous life, not noticing the relief on May's face with his last sentence. 

She, however, quickly asked a question that stumped him the first day after he woke up. "Are you sure that those memories are real, though? I mean they could be fabricated by... I don't know. Something or someone, I guess?"

Shaking his head, he replied. "Maybe you're right. But in any case, we're all technically clusters of energy with some consciousness. Are memories even real? Or simple construct used by higher entities to help our soul grow in this dimension?" Those metaphysical questions seemed to send her mind into an endless abyss of questions.

Brushing her nose with his index finger coupled with his next words, helped her withdraw from it. "Forget it, Belle. As long as we believe it's real, then it might as well be. No need to twist our brains over concepts that our weak minds can't comprehend. In my case, I choose to believe that my previous life's memories are real. They make me who I am today, and that's enough for me. Just like you helped me become who I am today."

Nodding, she said, visibly appeased. "You're right, hubby. You're my husband and I'm your wife in this life, and what you told me won't change that." Appreciating her open-mindedness, he grinned. "Exactly." Pausing for a second, he added. "There's also something else. About my powers I mean. I didn't tell you everything because I didn't want to be overheard by SHIELD."

Hesitating for a second, he added. "Even now I'm not sure if they're listening, or not. I just want you to know that my powers are not as simple as a strengthened physiology..." Staring into his eyes for a few seconds, as if to search for some answers, she seemed to have found them as she replied. "I trust you. I'm sure you'll tell me when it's safe for you to." 

Feeling gratified at her understanding, he said. "I'm really the luckiest man on Earth to have such an amazing wife." Tracing the contour of his bulky pectoral muscles with both her fingers and her eyes, a small unconscious smile appeared on her face, while her retort made him laugh for the umpteenth time that day. "You better remember that, Mr. Parker."

As something seemed to come to her mind, her smile instantly disappeared, leaving a serious expression on her face. Turning toward his face, she suddenly stated. "We also need to talk about Mady. You better have a good explanation." The curt command made him tense up almost imperceptibly, before a sigh escaped him, carrying with it his nervousness, leaving only acceptance in his mind.

Gazing at her beautiful but clouded eyes, he replied. "Mady, uh?... What kind of explanation do you want? If you're afraid that something happened between us, then you can rest assured that nothing did. I never broke your trust, and I'm not planning to do it ever. You're too important to me."

As silence settled in the room, Ben's arms tightened around May's practically naked frame, his entire body trying to share how he felt about her. He could thankfully see that it worked, as the heavy emotions darkening her visage were melting away, leaving only a few remnants, turning into a question he dreaded to answer. "What about how you feel about her? She clearly likes you in that way. And you seem..."

She did not finish her sentence, but he could easily guess what she meant. Taking a deep breath, he did not answer her question right away. Instead, starting with what seemed like a digression at first. "I told you about my previous life's memories. Whether they're real or not, they did change some things about me. One of those things is my honesty with the people close to me. In my last life, I swore to myself that I would not lie to my loved ones and especially my future lover..."

Pausing for a second, he could see the understanding in her eyes, coupled with some hurt. Stroking her cheek with his hand, he continued. "So, I'll tell you the truth. Yes, I do have feelings for her. But I won't act on them if you don't allow me to. Like I said earlier, your trust is more important than acting on those feelings."

At his words filled with his care and love for her, tears started to stream down her cheeks, her voice cracking as she said in a lost tone. "I *Sob* don't know what to *Sob* do, Ben." Feeling his heart break at her suffering, his right hand gently pushed the back of her head to his torso, before he kissed the top of her head, whispering gently. "It's okay. We'll figure it out together. Do you remember what we swore at the altar?"

He started. "I, Benjamin Parker, take you, Maybelle Graham, to be my wife." As he repeated the vows out loud, he could hear her mumbling along. "I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health." As he went along, her voice started to strengthen until they both said. ""I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.""

As the last verse resounded in the otherwise silent room, two things happened at once. May, with her eyes red from crying, but with a happy smile on her face, lifted her head to look at him. The second was a strange feeling washing over him, helping him understand how to utilize one of his perks better. 

The surprised expression on his face seemed to intrigue the raven-haired beauty in his embrace. "What's wrong?" His face then projected the overwhelming happiness he was feeling, making him blurt out. "Nothing's wrong. On the contrary, something great happened." Cocking her pretty eyebrow, she jokingly retorted. "Care to share the good news?"

A mischievous smile appeared on his face, as he smoothly replied. "Always." Pausing for a second, he resumed in a serious tone. "Maybelle Parker, will you stay by my side forever, as our souls bond together in an indestructible connection?" As she was about to impulsively reply, he added. "Think about it for a second. The decision is final. As far as I know at least."

Rolling her eyes at his warning, she retorted. "In this life, I'm yours and you're mine, Mr. Parker. So, you better get used to it!" Chuckling at her cute antics, he said. "So it shall be." As those words left his lips, his head lowered until their lips met, turning into a kiss, light at first, but deepening as time went by.

As soon as their tongues intertwined inside each other's mouths, something deep inside them started to change. Ben could feel a connection being established between them, and from the surprise appearing on her face, May was feeling the same thing. 

It should be the so-called Love Bond perk bonding their soul. As the connection strengthened, a sensation of euphoria came over him, clouding his normal thought process, and dissipating all his doubts and reservation about his wife. Surprisingly, he could now sense his wife's presence on an instinctual level. He could even feel what she felt if he concentrated. Although, he could not communicate telepathically with her. Yet.

Being curious, he tried doing the former, and what came to him was a torrent of trust and love, making him giddy with happiness. From her gaze, he understood that she could feel the same thing, and from their bond, he knew that the same emotions coursed through her heart. Or soul? 

As the change seemed to slow down, the two were still lost in their kiss and what they were feeling. Intrigued, Ben started to caress her right breast, noticing her lust increasing, while a moan of pleasure escaped from her alluring mouth.