Chapter 15 - Training his nephew (Part 1)

Queens, NYC, USA.

Ben's P.O.V.

"Sounds good, Old man. I've got a few things to settle in the morning, but I can be at your house with Clint by 2 p.m." "Sure. See you then, Nat." "I can't wait. By the way, say hello to your wife for me." Smiling wryly at her playful words, fully aware of her intent on messing with him, he nonetheless decided to ignore them and hung up. Instead, he simply looked at his wife, Maybelle Parker, for a few seconds with a smile on his lips, before declaring. "I guess it's a new beginning for all of us..."

Despite her smiling back at him, he could not ignore the slight worry hidden behind her pretense of confidence, especially as his focus was turned toward their Soul Bond. Sighing at her overall 'normal' reaction, he knew that he needed to take his time with her, to make her comfortable with the idea of such a big change.

'Aah, is this what she felt when she had to cheer me up every time I fell into depression? No, that was probably worse. At least, she isn't averse to the idea. I was simply a wreck at that time.' He thought while his admiration for his wife seemed to increase by a huge chunk as he started to understand what he put her through.

As if she was also focusing on the bond... Scratch that! She definitely was! Her smile turned more genuine, with some of the previous worries turning into satisfaction. A loving smile on his face, Ben said. "I'm sure everything will be fine. If you think about it, we're simply moving house. And since the kids and Mady will come with us, it won't be that disorienting."

Nodding her head, May replied. "Right! Plus I can feel you in my heart now, so I feel much better." Chuckling at her phrasing, he retorted with a teasing question. "I thought I was the corny one in this relationship?" Giggling, she answered. "I plead the First! Plus I can't leave you all the awkwardness. It wouldn't be fair!"

Shaking his head at her antics, he agreed. "As long as you're happy, I don't mind it." Laying his right hand on hers, he started to play with it, while he lost himself in her charming brown eyes for a long moment, the two simply enjoying each other's presence, while basking in each other's feelings transmitted through their link. 

That lasted for a few minutes until they were interrupted by the sounds of someone's feet stepping on the stairs leading upstairs. As the two woke up from their shared trance-like state, they simultaneously looked toward the sounds' origin, only to see a small Peter in his pajamas, his eyes drowsy while his brown hair, which was similar in color to Ben's before his transformation, was a complete mess.

Looking at his nephew with amused eyes, the muscular man asked in a joking manner. "Had trouble sleeping, Pete?" Nodding his head sluggishly, Peter replied in the same manner. "I kept thinking about what you told us yesterday, so I couldn't sleep." Their subsequent chuckles made his cheeks redden in obvious embarrassment, but May's words seemed to alleviate that feeling.

"Come eat some breakfast, sweety. Do you want the usual?" Nodding with a shy smile, the young boy then sat at his Uncle's side, peeking briefly at his face for a second before lowering his face quickly. Noticing this odd behavior, the raven-haired man cocked his eyebrow while a question left his lips. "What's wrong, son? Cat got your tongue?"

Lifting his head to look at his Uncle, Peter asked with some hesitation mixed with excitement. "I... Is it true that we're moving? I mean... I know that's what you said, but I wasn't... I wasn't really sure about it." He finished a bit bashful, but this time not avoiding the adult's gaze.

Smiling at the small child on his side, Ben replied. "Yes, it's true. I'm not sure when we're supposed to move exactly, since it'll depend on the agency employing me. But it shouldn't take too long." Pausing for a second, he added. "Speaking of which, some people working for the agency will be coming this afternoon. So, you'll take MJ and little Gayle with you upstairs, alright?"

Despite being visibly disappointed by not being allowed to listen to the conversation, the boy was mature enough to obey his instructions without protesting. At least on the surface, as Benjamin knew curiosity was both one of his quality and fault. That meant that the smart little guy may still try to listen in. 

'Oh well... We'll cross that bridge when we get there.' He thought with both amusement and affection for his little nephew and his antics. Turning back toward his beautiful wife, the latter being almost done preparing Peter's breakfast, and said offhandedly. "We also need to tell Mady to come this afternoon, since it also concerns her."

As he knew about her insecurities, he was not overly surprised at her reaction, with her body's muscles tensing for a brief moment before loosening, with an almost indiscernible sigh escaping her mouth. Through the bond, he could feel that her emotions were a mess, but she was strong enough to control her dark impulses, not letting them dictate her actions.

After a few seconds, she seemed to calm down, as she took everything she prepared and set it in front of Peter, encouraging him to eat, all the while not looking at her husband at all. His emotional quotient having clearly increased exponentially with both his previous memories and his powered-up body, he knew she was upset and why.

Unfortunately, there was nothing much he could do about it. He could only control his actions, not his feelings. Hopefully, she would talk with Madeline and they would sort it out together. 'Is it too selfish to hope she'd allow me to take Mady as my lover? Who am I kidding? Of course, it's selfish! Forget it! I'll just let nature take its course while being present for May. It seems to be the best way to deal with this situation.' He thought, perplexed. 

As if she read his mind, Maybelle suddenly lifted her head and stared into his eyes, declaring in a serious tone. "I'll send her a message. Also, after the meeting, I'll talk to her about the situation... About us..." Acquiescing by bowing his head briefly, he replied in a tone mirroring hers. "You'll let me know what you'll both decide, alright?" 

Despite the outwardly confident tone, he knew that that particular conversation could go in any way possible, good, bad, and pretty much anything in between. Nonetheless, after his conversation with his wife the previous night, he had an inkling that the situation might turn in his favor. 

Nodding her head, she grunted in assent. As if the latter lifted a small burden from her, her serious expression melted into a confident smile as her eyes lost focus and a mutter escaped her. "I'm the first and best wife anyway, so I don't need to be scared of a tall bitch with huge tits..." That last sentence was so unexpected for Ben that he almost fell from his chair in surprise, breaking her out of her reverie.

'Damn! Women are scary!' He thought while a shiver ran down his spine at the idea of his stunning wife lashing out at him. As if reading his mind for the second time that day, May looked at him with a dangerous smile. "Did you hear anything, honey?" "Nope! I was just thinking about how charming you looked today, Love."

Nodding her head at his answer, she placed her hand on his and was about to continue the conversation, however, she was suddenly interrupted by the sound of fake retching followed by a few words from the child in the room. "So disgusting! Uncle Ben and Aunt May, please stop. I can't take it anymore!"

Narrowing his eyes at his small nephew, the raven-haired man suddenly grabbed the boy and started tickling him while saying in a fake serious voice. "This is called showing your love to your wife, little brat. You should learn from your uncle! It'll help you get a girlfriend in the future!"

As those words left his mouth, Peter was howling in laughter from the teasing. "Uncle, pl... Haha... please s-stop! Haha! I... Haha... I was wrong! St-stop tickling me! Haha." However, Ben was merciless. "Begging for forgiveness will not help, my dear nephew. You need to be punished for your insubordination."

Minutes passed as the trio's laughter resounded in the living room until Ben noticed that the young boy was too tired and thus stopped his 'torture'. Gasping for breath while lying on the sofa, Peter looked completely exhausted. May, however, was only slightly out of breath, probably due to her improved physical condition.

Yes, the latter was also mercilessly tickled by her husband. 'After all, my tickles are rated E for everyone.' He thought amusedly, after which a sudden thought came to his mind. 'I really changed, didn't I? I feel cheerier than before I awakened... Whatever the reason, when I see those two with big smiles on their face, I feel so lucky...' 

Satisfied, the three then had a conversation about some random topics for a while, before the muscular man declared. "Alright, I need to go train a bit." Cocking her eyebrow, May asked him. "Where are you going to train? And until when?" Smiling at her, he replied. "I'll stay in the living room since I don't really need to move around at all. And until lunch."

Seemingly satisfied by his answer, she nodded and kept silent. However, Peter was not as easily satisfied with it. "What kind of training are you gonna do? Can I watch?" Hesitating for a second, he added. "Can I... train too?" That particular question was both surprising and unsurprising for Ben.

After that attack on New York City less than two weeks ago, it was understandable that a young boy like Peter would be traumatized. The kid was after all only a normal 11-year-old and did not have any prior experience with that level of violence and death. Now that he thought about it, it was pretty much a miracle that he went through all of it without being too much scarred mentally. 

'The kid has potential... I guess I could start instructing him on the basics. That way he won't be totally helpless if there's a next time.' That last thought soured his mood a little, vanishing his previous smile from his face. "If it's not possible, it's okay! I was just asking..." Peter said flustered and with a hint of disappointment in his last words.

Shaking his head to remove that upsetting thought, Ben replied, a small smile finding its way back on his face. "Sure. Let's get you trained up." That short sentence drew a big smile on the kid's face, amplified by the man's hand tousling his already unkempt hair. Jumping in the air from happiness, the young boy screamed. "Yes! I'll become a superhero like you Uncle Ben! I'll be super strong and beat up the bad guys!"

Rolling her eyes at this excited declaration, May's next words helped him 'cool down' instantly. "By the way, Mr. Super Parker, did you clean up your room?" That question made the young boy visibly freeze while he visibly did his best to avoid her gaze. "Of c-course, I did. I definitely did it!" 

From the dangerous glint in her narrowed eyes, both Ben and Peter understood that the latter's lie did not go unnoticed and that there would be dire consequences for the boy. 'Why do you even try to lie when you're clearly terrible at it? That's beyond me... Was I like that when I was a kid?' He thought with some amusement as he was witnessing the following tongue-lashing.

Maybe it was because of his smile or the unconscious laugh that escaped the man at the thought of his childhood shenanigans, but those deadly but captivating eyes suddenly turned toward him. "Honey, do you think it's funny?" Freezing for a brief moment, Ben suddenly smiled at her and replied with confidence.