“I can't tell if that proves he's not hiding anything or if he is and is trying to distract us.” Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD said and cut the video off.

“I apologize, sir. I didn't expect for him to do that.” Natasha said and kept her face blank, even though seeing Ben's semi-hard state had gotten her excited.

“He claimed he's trying to earn her trust and that it's working, sir.” Clint added. “He even used proper hand signals for silence and privacy.”

“I'd ask what Agent Romanoff thinks, except she seems to be biased.” Fury said.

I thought I successfully hid my emotions. Natasha thought.

“She is biased, sir. That doesn't mean she's wrong about it.” Clint said. “I have to agree with her opinion as well. He seems to be bending over backwards to give her as much access to his life as possible.”

Natasha had to turn her head to the side briefly as she fought down a blush before it appeared, because it had been her that literally bent over backwards to give Ben access.

“Hill.” Fury said and Maria handed him a file folder that had a red border. “I actually had to call in a favor to allow you access to this file.” He said and tossed it onto the table between Natasha and Clint. “I normally wouldn't do anything of the sort; but, this Benjamin Parker knows a heck of a lot about things he shouldn't know about.”

Natasha and Clint exchanged a fighting look, then scrambled to open it and split the papers inside to skim through them. It took them only a couple of minutes to get through it all and they sat back and stared at the director of the agency.

“Yes, I personally recruited Richard into the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division.” Fury confirmed. “He was the best agent we had at the time, too. It's also how he met his wife, Mary Fitzpatrick.”

“Wait a second! Both of Peter's parents were SHIELD agents?” Clint asked, surprised.

“Alone they were great. As a team, they were practically unbeatable.” Fury said. “At least, that's what we all thought at the time.” He said and sighed. “If the higher ups had known there were already counter-spies in Hydra's organization, they never would have assigned them to infiltrate and I never would have approved the mission.”

“How old was Peter when they were assassinated?” Natasha asked.

“He was an infant a couple of years old. I doubt he would remember them.” Fury said and noticed the odd look that was briefly on her face.

Clint chuckled. “Of course he wouldn't remember. Ben claims he's dead.”

“Natasha?” Fury asked.

“Yes?” Natasha responded.

“What do you think of Mr. Parker's claims?”

“In my honest opinion, I think he's telling the truth. He hadn't lied, because we never asked. He's used several loopholes in our own procedures to acquire resources and hasn't abused it.” Natasha said. “We also had a few of the tech guys go through the standard drop deliveries over the last month and there was nothing significant that stood out, which in itself stands out, because it matched what he said.”

“You actually believe his outrageous story?” Maria asked.

Natasha gave a glance to Clint and he chuckled.

“What's funny?” Maria asked.

“It fits perfectly into a standard infiltration protocol, especially if the targets don't know what you look like.” Natasha said. “If they do, getting surgery to look like them and then pretending to have amnesia, is the next step.”

“If I didn't know better, I'd say he planned for Peter to bite it.” Clint said and Fury motioned for him to keep talking. “You don't just stumble across the son of two spies, who suddenly and accidentally dies, and you take his place without anyone questioning it.”

“You're right. It's too convenient of a set-up, unless it was planned beforehand.” Fury said. “Hill?”

“I couldn't find anything when I went downtown and searched central records.” Maria said and her face grew hard.

“It's not your fault he got away.” Fury said and Maria looked surprised. “We had no idea what this Spider-Man's capabilities were until you encountered him.”

“But, sir...” Maria said and started to defend her actions.

“Before you try to explain anything, you should read this.” Fury said and pulled a folded piece of paper from inside his trench coat and handed it to her.

Maria accepted it and saw it was a copy of a copy of a police report. Five gang members had been beaten nearly to death and they had their arms broken. All of them. “Good lord.”

“Yes, you were lucky, because that happened almost right after he met you.” Fury said and Maria nodded. “I don't know if that was an escalation from what he did with that drug gang or if he was just having a bad day today. In any case, the criminal victims said he seemed like he was brain damaged because of the way he talked.”

Maria was grateful for one thing that happened, considering the alternative was two broken arms. “He... he said I was pretty in a low gutteral growl and caressed my face.” She admitted and shivered a little. “He also seemed to be confused when I threatened to shoot him and didn't react until I aimed for a kill shot.”

Fury nodded. “I've had the lab guys check the gun he crushed. He had to use several hundred pounds of force to do that much damage.”

“If it had been my hand or my face...” Maria shivered again. “I'm doubly glad he seemed to like me.”

Fury smiled a little. “Perhaps we can use that.”

“With all due respect, I absolutely refuse to debase myself in that manner to an unknown.” Maria said.

“Although I appreciate your candour, Agent Hill, I meant if we encounter him again, only female agents should be sent in any kind of response team.” Fury said. “Please issue orders that any available local female agents that are not on assignment, should assemble in a timely manner for deployment.”

“Yes, sir.” Maria said with relief and made note of the order.

“What about Agent Coulson?” Natasha asked.

“He has no idea who Spider-Man is and has never met him.” Fury said. “We take threats against our agents seriously and he's been relocated here to the helicarrier from his current assignment as the liaison for the New York City office.”

“Was it a threat?” Natasha asked. “I thought it was a warning.”

“It was a threat of invasion and called out 75 deaths.” Fury said. “Spider-Man is involved, since he so blatantly put his name on it.”

Clint nodded. “If the reports of his mental deficiencies are right, he might be warning us because he can't do anything else.”

“Are there any plans to evacuate?” Natasha asked.

“On a vague threat?” Maria asked back.

“It was pretty specific, actually.” Natasha countered. “What about calling for air raid sirens or getting people to stay home from work for the day? That could save a lot more than the 75 the warning states.”

“What do you mean more?” Fury asked.

“It only called out the deaths and not the injured or maimed.” Natasha said. “There could be hundreds or even thousands of them, if an actual invasion happens.”

Fury gave Maria a look and she nodded.

“We'll work on a tentative plan for both a retreat on that day and a full evacuation the day before.” Maria said. “Since everyone knows about it beforehand, the casualties should be kept to a minimum.”

“Agreed.” Fury said. “In the meantime, have a portion of the monitoring system keep a look out for Spider-Man. The sooner we catch him, the sooner we can determine if he's a genuine threat like I think he is. We are going to have to deal with him, one way or the other.”

“What about Ben Parker?” Natasha asked.

Fury gave her a significant look and she didn't flinch. “I'm tempted to say sit on him for a while before doing anything even remotely agency related with him.”

Natasha didn't blink or react in any way, because she knew he wasn't done talking.

Fury smiled slightly. “Bring him in and show him around the New York office. Get him to sign the forms, even if it's not his real name. He's making a commitment to SHIELD, and this country, either way.”

“And to Natasha.” Clint added. “You can't forget his motivation.”

“He'll be your responsibility, Agent Romanoff.” Fury said.

“Yes, sir. I understand.” Natasha said and successfully hid her delight at getting approval. “I'll run him through the official training program as soon as possible.”

“As long as he completes it by the end of the week, there's no rush. Your next mission isn't until just before Christmas.”

“Yes, sir. We'll be ready by then.” Natasha responded.

“I didn't mean to include the rookie in that.” Fury said.

“I know, sir. He'll still be ready.” Natasha promised.

Fury didn't let the disbelief show on his face. “Are you that confident in his abilities?”

“Not yet, sir.” Natasha said and gave him a wicked smile. “After two weeks? I will be.”

Clint laughed. “I almost feel sorry for the kid.”

“Like you said, I'm his motivation.” Natasha said and gave Clint the same wicked smile. “Never underestimate great motivation.”

“That's why I said I almost feel sorry for him, not that I do.” Clint said and held a fist up for her to bump. “I'll be around if you need to take a break.”

Natasha nodded.

“If anything comes up that you're needed, Hill will priority call you.” Fury said. “Dismissed.”

Natasha and Clint left the briefing room and Fury waited for a minute after the door shut before he turned to Maria Hill.

“Is she severely compromised?” Fury asked her. “I haven't seen her react like that before with a target.”

“I think when you showed her that file, it made it more personal for her.” Maria said. “I don't think she's compromised, she just has more of a personal investment in this than even she thought she did.”

Fury sat there and thought about that. The look on Natasha's face when she read the details of Richard Parker's death, had shown that it hit close to home for her. “Are you thinking what I'm thinking?”

“She was somehow involved with the father and now she's involved with the young man that's replaced the son.” Maria said.

“Are you suggesting something?” Fury asked her with a slight smile.

“She might feel guilty over it and she'll confess it to him as soon as she has an opportunity.”

Fury nodded. “Even if he's not Peter pretending to be Ben, he might not react well.”

“Should I have a team set up?” Maria asked.

“No. In the grand scheme of things, Ben Parker's feelings about sleeping with a woman that slept with his father, are minuscule.” Fury said. “Just be ready to pull Natasha from the next mission if she's the one that reacts badly to his reaction. The last thing we need is a woman scorned on that mission.”

Maria nodded and made note of that as well.

*

I worked quickly that night and didn't bother trying to do anything else. I went right home and spent a bit of time with May cuddling on the leather sofa. Oh boy, what a great sofa! We both pretty much felt like we were being hugged while we laid down and hugged each other as we watched television.

When the last show she wanted to watch was over, May sat up straight and gave me a pointed look. “You're going to be home alone all day tomorrow, so please be careful when you go out.”

I sat up myself and pulled her back into a hug. “You've shown me what to do with my hair and you know I've had some practice with falling and being hurt.”

“Ben...”

“Don't worry, I've got this.” I said and kissed her cheek. “I'll even get up early and make those breakfast bagel sandwiches your coworkers like so much.”

May nodded before she stood up, helped me stand, then she laid back down. “We need to get to bed.” She said and smiled at me, closed her eyes, and let out several loud fake snores.

I had to laugh at that. “I thought I was supposed to be the cheeky one.” I commented and carefully picked her up in a princess carry and she cuddled into me. I carried her up the stairs and into her bedroom, then I tucked her into bed. “Goodnight, May.”

“Goodnight, Ben.” May said and opened her eyes. She almost looked like she was pleading with me, so I leaned down to plant a three second kiss on her cheek.

“I'll get this sorted out soon, I promise.” I whispered, gently stroked her hair for a moment, then I walked over to the bedroom door.

“Ben.” May said and I turned around. “You don't have to ignore them. I know I was upset and...”

I held up a hand to stop her. “Like I told my lab partner Sally when she asked why I was eating lunch with her and not with Liz and her friends, we don't own each other. We might all be off during Christmas break; but, that doesn't mean we have to spend all of that time together. We have lives and interests, and we don't have to force ourselves to interact with each other.”

“Oh.” May said. “I thought you were avoiding them because of me.”

“I am.” I said and she looked surprised. “I haven't called or texted anyone since school let out.”

“But... you just said...”

“What I said was true. That doesn't mean we don't want to interact.” I said with a chuckle and walked back over to her. “I had the chance today to spend it with you and we had a great day... right up until that happened. When I came back, we also had a great time.” I sat on the edge of the bed to take her hand. “I forgot to thank you for using one of your vacation days to take today off to help me.”

“You bought that really nice sweater for me and you gave me the money to put back in the bank. That's more than thanks enough, Ben. Really.” May said and gave my hand a light squeeze.

“I wanted to do more, May.” I whispered and hung my head a little. “I wanted to do so much more.”

May pushed her blanket off and sat up as she took me into a hug. “What did I tell you when you first went back to school after you lost your memory?”

“Don't just assume that all of the responsibility is on your shoulders.” I repeated.

May smiled warmly at me. “I'm so glad you remembered that.”

“Like I'm going to forget the words of the first beautiful woman I've ever met.” I said with a chuckle.

“B-Ben... y-you... I-I'm...” May stammered.

“Just because you're my aunt, that doesn't mean you're not beautiful, desirable, and smoking hot.” I said and she blushed. “I believe I try to remind you of that every few days, just in case you forget.”

“You shouldn't say those things, even jokingly.” May said.

“Who's joking?” I asked her. “It's not like I wear anyone else's panties on my head.”

May made a snorting sound and then laughed. “I still can't imagine you doing that.”

I nodded. “And that's why I enjoy making you smile and blush. You know I won't do anything, even with you prancing around in your underwear. I won't ever suggest anything that makes you uncomfortable. I'm here to help you as much as I can.”

May took a deep breath, which just so happened to push her chest into mine, and she sighed. “I wish things could have stayed simple.”

I smiled warmly at her. “What's more simple than family?” I asked her and then I kissed her cheek once more. “You've been so great about everything and I couldn't have asked for anyone better to take care of me in my most desperate time of need.” I said and looked deep into her eyes. “I love you, May.”

“I... I...” May stammered as tears came to her eyes. “I love you, too!” She said and hugged me tightly and cried on my shoulder.

“Most people are usually happy when they hear that.” I joked.

May chuckled and kept crying. “I am happy, you idiot.”

We stayed like that for several minutes before May took a deep breath, which pressed her considerable chest into mine again, then she eased her hold on me and leaned back.

“You better get to bed if you're getting up early.” May said.

I wiped her cheeks off with my pyjama sleeve to make her laugh. “I'll make yours with double bacon.”

May smiled and I eased her back into bed and tucked her blanket back over her. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” I said and left her room to return to my own. My spider-sense started tingling even more than usual, so I knew I had a guest in my room.

I opened my bedroom door without stepping into view and I heard a familiar soft laugh. I crouched down and peeked around the door frame at knee height and Natasha had to cover her mouth to muffle her laugh again. I rolled into the room and carefully closed the door with barely a click, then I crawled on my belly to the bed and peeked up over the side to see her very amused face.

“This lowly recruit requests permission to enter your facilities.” I whispered.

“Oh, god.” Natasha whispered and laughed. “Cover the camera and get in here.”

“As you command.” I said and belly crawled across the room, stood out of the camera's view, and placed the cover on it without being seen.