newyorknative | Don't tell your mother

When Wade gets home that evening, he'll find Peter literally crawling the walls. Literally. He's anxious, that much is obvious, textbook in one hand as he restlessly tries to find a comfortable position to read it in. No dice, and he keeps moving back and forth over the ceiling, trying each corner repeatedly.

"Hey Wade," Peter grumbles from above the door, nose buried in his book. It's right-side up to Wade, meaning it's upside down to Peter - poor guy. What even happened?

Well, it started with his weekly phone call to May. The whole thing is kind of Peter's fault, anyway. His Aunt had called, starting off the conversation casually, and had Peter been paying attention he would have noticed the fake sweetness in her voice that only rose to the surface when she was very, very angry.

"When were you going to tell me you'd moved out of your apartment?" May slipped the question in at the tailend of Peter detailing his woes over his history class. He'd frozen, falling from his perch on the edge of the kitchen chair he'd been twisted on. "Uh, what?"

This quickly devolved into May yelling at him for not telling her he'd moved - apparently, she'd found him out while trying to surprise him and take him out to lunch, and instead discovering a single mother in his old apartment.

Peter had tried to explain that he'd moved in with someone and he hadn't wanted her to worry he was actually in a much better part of town now, which sent her on another long-winded rant until Peter simply couldn't take it anymore and, well, exploded.

"Because we're dating!" At least that earned him a long moment of silence. There were many reasons, obviously, why Peter might not be comfortable telling May he was dating again - and it wasn't until after he'd hung up, after May had demanded Peter bring his new partner to dinner on Sunday - that he realized he hadn't exactly told her Wade was a dude.

How did this kind of crap always end up happening to him?

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Peter squeezed Wade's hand, attributing the minor shift he detected in Wade's demeanor to him being intimidated by May. May, for her part, nodded and smiled, brushing her hair out of her face absently. "Caught yourself a foreign man, hm, Peter? Which part? I had a girlfriend who went up to school in Quebec."

"Hm," Another thoughtful pause, with May sipping her tea slowly. Peter knows it's just to make them sweat, can see it in the twinkle in her eye. She always did enjoy teasing him. "I can see why Peter likes you."

The timer on the oven saves them from further grilling, and Peter immediately stands to start setting the table as May heads to take the chicken pot pie out of the oven. "No, Peter, the nice plates, we have a guest. Wade, dear, wash your hands please."

"You better do it," Peter murmurs, smiling softly at his boyfriend as he reaches over Wade to set down a plate. May was already bossing him around like he was part of the family. Peter would say this evening was going pretty well so far.

The squeeze from Peter calmed his nerves. He took a deep breath before replying to what May had asked. Wade couldn't stop smiling at that. "I'm from Toronto. Ontario."

Well, it's working. Wade's definitely sweating. He couldn't keep the look of surprise off of his face though. He felt his face get hot, but he didn't say anything, just smiled. Wade still couldn't see what Peter liked him, yet somehow May could. She knew Peter best, so maybe he would just have to trust May's opinion on the matter? Maybe someday he could. He felt like he could get there eventually.

"Yes, ma'am!" Wade got up and went to wash his hands in the sink. He stuck his tongue out at Peter when May wasn't looking. What? Oh man. That chicken pot pie smelled amazing. He couldn't wait to dig in. But this was also coming from someone who had no bar set when it came to food. So regardless, he was going to love it. Anything home-cooked was a miracle to him.

May shot Peter a small smirk that seemed to say, attaboy. Peter hid a laugh, setting out the nice china on the table, along with the forks, knives, and napkins. May plunked the chicken pot pie on the potholders, immediately followed by salads unearthed from the fridge and a bowl of mashed potatoes she'd left in the microwave to keep warm. Peter hummed happily, ushering Wade to sit.

"It smells delicious, Aunt May. Thank you." May put Wade's flowers on the table as well, fluffing them up with her fingertips, before she sat down at the head of the table.

"Of course, dear. Now eat up! If you get any skinnier, Peter, you'll blow away." Peter laughed and dug in, glasses slipping down his nose a little. Sometimes it was nice just to come home and have May fuss over whether or not he was eating well, or sleeping enough.

Wade sat down, unable to stop himself from smiling at Peter. He seemed so happy. It was cute. Peter needed this. All this stress built up for no reason.

The food smelled amazing and Wade was totally ready to eat. "Yes, it smells scrumptious! Can't wait to dig in," Wade grinned. He scooted his chair a little closer to the table.

"I promise I feed him," he laughed. The atmosphere was so nice. His grin faltered for a moment. Wade wished he had had something similar when he was younger. A warm, safe environment surrounded by people that you loved and that loved you. Maybe he would have turned out differently... but there was no time to think about that right now. Wade was just happy that Peter had someone like May growing up. It explained why Peter had such a good heart, at least partially. Wade snapped himself out of his thoughts and reached for the mashed potatoes. Things were going good so far.

"Family recipe," May replied sagely, and Peter snorted. She batted at him fondly, serving up the pot pie generously. The meatloaf may be radioactive, but she still had quite a few tricks up her sleeves.

"Oh dear, it's not your fault he's a bottomless pit! And still growing, my." May dumped an extra scoop of mashed potatoes on Peter's plate with a Look (TM). Peter chuffed and shook his head at her, patting them down with his fork. He did note the distant look on Wade's face for a second, and watched him quietly, wondering if the boxes were back at their usual antics inside his head. He...didn't know how he'd explain that to May, if it happened now.

"Awesome." Wade grinned at the interaction between May and Peter. It warmed him to see how happy Peter was around her. Clearly this dinner was a long time coming. He felt a little less anxious due to the comforting atmosphere. It set his mind back into a good place.

Bottomless pit, Wade threw his head back and roared with laughter at that. The perfect way to describe Peter's hunger. Not that Wade could say anything. He was the same way. The two of them could easily take out a couple of large pizzas and still have room for Chinese food later. "We're both bottomless pits, in all honesty," he said with a smile, though he was still a little quiet compared to usual.

It was true, Peter hadn't been to see May in quite a while - it just got to the point where he wasn't sure if he could lie to her, and the truth scared him. Overall, however, she'd been taking it well, and the ball of anxiety in Peter's gut had loosened somewhat, making him realize, in retrospect, how silly he was being.

"At least he's eating, then," May says fondly, passing the mashed potatoes to Wade. If she notices anything, she hasn't said anything about it.

Don't tell your mother

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