Chapter 20: "Tea, Trauma, and Embarrassing Parker Secrets"
In which Jessica Jones meets the parental units, learns Peter used to wet the bed, and discovers that love tastes like grape addiction.
New York City looked oddly peaceful when you were swinging thirty stories above it with your body cloaked in a perfect veil of chakra-infused invisibility. To the pedestrians below, Spider-Man didn't exist.
Which was fine. Peter Parker was never a fan of the spotlight anyway.
He soared between buildings with effortless grace, the night air cool against his masked face, the soft thwip of web-line releases echoing like a rhythm only he could hear.
But even while his body moved like a practiced acrobat, his mind wasn't exactly… zen.
"Naruto," Peter said, speaking not aloud but inward, like a mental radio dialed to one very chatty sage.
Naruto's voice came in immediately, bright and casual, like he'd been waiting for the call.
"Yo, Webhead. What's up?"
Peter twisted midair, flipping off a flagpole and launching himself toward another rooftop.
"I was thinking—if I can train in the mental world, could Jessica do it too? It'd really help. She's strong, but she's got a lot going on. More than she lets on."
For a moment, Naruto didn't answer.
Peter landed on a water tower with a thunk, crouching like a gargoyle while the wind ruffled his suit. His thoughts buzzed louder than the city lights below.
Then came Naruto's voice, calmer this time. Wiser.
"Yeah… it'd help. A lot of things would help if I stepped in more. But that's not the solution either."
Peter frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Naruto answered the way he always did—like a mentor who'd once made every mistake in the book and lived to tell the tale.
"You can't keep leaning on me, Peter. I'm not here to fix your life. That's not what a teacher does. That's what a babysitter does."
Peter scratched his neck under the mask, sheepishly.
"Ouch."
"You're strong," Naruto continued. "But real strength isn't about having someone swoop in and save the day. It's about patience. Discipline. Solving your problems even when the world's stacked against you."
Peter stood slowly, gazing out across the city like it might hold the answer.
"So what? I shouldn't use mental world training?"
"I didn't say that," Naruto replied. "If you want to use it, learn it. Ask. Study. Make it yours. Don't ask me to hand it over like a cheat code."
"Okay," Peter said, a touch embarrassed. "Then… how do I learn it?"
Naruto laughed lightly.
"Now that's the right question."
"So, teach me."
"Patience, bug-boy," Naruto said with a grin Peter could hear through the psychic link. "Before you even step into that level, you need to become an advanced master of chakra. You're still at… what? Fumbling-in-the-dark level?"
Peter groaned.
"More like accidentally-setting-my-coffee-table-on-fire level."
"Exactly. So no shortcuts. You'll get there. But only if you earn it."
Peter nodded, even though Naruto wasn't there to see it.
"Got it. I'll train. I'll earn it."
"Good," Naruto said. "Because the next time you step into that mental realm… I won't be there to hold your hand."
"Oh joy," Peter muttered, leaping into the air again.
As he swung through the night sky, the city once again alive beneath his feet, he felt a bit more grounded—even if he was thirty stories up.
Naruto was right.
No shortcuts.
No saviors.
If he wanted to build something real—for himself, for Jessica, for this city—he'd have to climb that mountain the hard way.
Web by web.
Step by step.
And maybe, someday, chakra-controlled dreamscape by chakra-controlled dreamscape.
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If there was one thing Jessica Jones wasn't expecting when she sat down for tea with Peter Parker's family, it was... warmth.
Not the "your-coffee's-too-hot" kind. More like the "actual love exists in this building and it's melting my emotionally-repressed heart" kind.
The Parker household wasn't fancy. No marble counters. No high-tech furniture. But it had something better—coziness. The walls were covered with photos and shelves crammed with books, old trophies, and random science gadgets that probably buzzed or blinked if you poked them.
Jessica sat at the kitchen table with a cup of tea in hand, doing her best not to look like she was prepared to throw it across the room at the first sign of emotional vulnerability.
Mary Parker smiled warmly as she set her own cup down. "So, Jess… how did you and Peter meet?"
Ben Parker chuckled from across the table. "We don't get many visitors who claim to fight crime with him. Usually just his lab partners and the occasional pizza guy."
Jessica smirked, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Let's just say Peter and I kept running into each other in very… explosive circumstances. You know—bad guys, rooftop chases, high-speed disasters. Romance stuff."
Mary gasped. "Explosions?"
Ben shook his head. "I don't even wanna know."
"Oh, don't worry," Jess said, sipping her tea. "He's careful. And I'm… learning to be. Peter's been training me. Helping me get stronger."
Mary's expression softened like fresh cookies out of the oven. "That sounds just like him. Always looking out for people."
"Always," Jess echoed.
Then she leaned forward with a grin. "So... since we're doing this whole domestic bonding thing—I need to know. What was Peter like as a kid?"
Mary and Ben practically lit up.
"Oh!" Mary clapped her hands together. "Did Peter ever tell you that he used to sleep with us until he was ten?"
Jess's eyebrows shot up. "No. No, he did not. But he definitely will now."
Ben grinned. "Stopped wetting the bed at six. We were so proud."
Jess choked on her tea. "So proud," she wheezed.
"Oh, and he was a menace with gadgets," Mary said fondly. "He once broke his toy car and rebuilt it into a remote-controlled spider. Said it was 'field testing.'"
Jess's eyes widened. "That is the most Peter Parker sentence I've ever heard."
"And his eating habits!" Mary leaned in like she was sharing a national secret. "Loves spicy food. Won't touch sweets."
Ben snorted. "Unless it's red grapes. Then he's a sugar maniac. Ate a whole bag once. Got a tummy ache and blamed quantum physics."
Jess laughed. "I am absolutely saving this for later."
"Oh, and he still watches cartoons," Mary added. "Mostly science channels, but when he's stressed, it's always Looney Tunes."
Jess's grin widened. "Mental image locked and loaded."
Mary took a sip of tea, then said casually, "He loves romance novels too."
Jess blinked. "Wait. What?"
Ben nodded solemnly. "He cried during The Notebook. Denied it. Swore it was allergies."
"Peter 'awkward-nerd-science-boy' Parker reads romance?" Jess repeated, incredulous.
Mary smiled like a mom who knew her son better than any file or intel report. "He doesn't talk about it, but he's a sucker for a good love story."
Jess sat back, mind officially blown. "I honestly don't know what to do with that information."
"Oh, tease him endlessly," Ben offered. "That's the only correct response."
Jess nodded. "Oh, I will. For years."
Ben chuckled. "Just don't mention football. He can't stand it."
"Really?"
Mary nodded. "Too violent, he says. But baseball? He loves it."
Jess chuckled. "Yeah, that checks out. Nerd sports."
Then came the part that hit her square in the chest.
"You know," Ben said, folding his arms. "Peter's never really brought anyone home. Not since he was a kid."
Mary nodded gently. "You being here… it means a lot. To us. And to him."
Jess blinked, suddenly feeling like she'd walked into an emotional ambush. "Oh. Well, uh… Peter's important to me too."
Mary reached over and gave her hand a soft squeeze. "Then you're important to us as well."
Jess froze.
Her throat tightened. Her eyes burned in a very annoying, un-Jessica-like way.
"Thanks, Mrs. Parker," she said, trying not to sound like a twelve-year-old who just got adopted by Santa Claus. "That… actually means a lot."
Ben smiled. "Call us Mary and Ben. You're family now."
Jess sat back in her chair, a small, stunned grin on her face.
Family.
She never thought she'd hear that again—much less from the parents of the world's dorkiest superhero.
But as the kitchen filled with laughter, tea, and stories Peter would definitely sue them for sharing, Jessica felt something she hadn't felt in a long, long time.
Like maybe… this was home too.
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Jessica Jones had discovered three very important facts today:
Training with Peter Parker was like volunteering to be hit by a car repeatedly.
Muscles could in fact scream.
She might actually like it.
Not that she'd ever admit that third one out loud.
She stood in the living room, rubbing her aching arms and scowling at her reflection in the TV screen. Her hair was a mess, her hoodie was soaked in sweat, and her body felt like it had been steamrolled by a freight train. Twice. With attitude.
"Who knew push-ups could be this personal," she muttered.
Just as she was about to collapse onto the couch and declare herself legally deceased, the front door opened with a soft click.
Peter walked in, casually tossing his backpack aside. Jess, running on pure instinct and leftover affection-fueled endorphins, bee-lined for him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Welcome back, dear," she said with a grin, snuggling into his chest. "Would you like dinner, a bath, or… me?"
Peter blinked. Then he chuckled, hugging her back. "Bath first, then food. But tell me—how'd training go?"
Jess groaned like she'd just been asked to solve a calculus equation after running a marathon. "It was awful. My legs feel like they belong to someone else. Someone weaker. I look like a zombie. A sexy zombie, but still."
Peter chuckled, brushing a damp strand of hair from her face. "You did great. I'm proud of you, Jess. Keep pushing, and soon we'll be patrolling together for real."
He reached up and gave her head a soft pat-pat, ruffling her already chaotic hair.
Jess blinked.
"Wait. Did you just pat me like I'm five?"
Peter tilted his head innocently. "You don't like it?"
"You ruined my hair."
Peter's smirk grew dangerously wide. "Then maybe you'd prefer this."
Before Jess could react, Peter leaned in, voice low and smooth, and whispered something into her ear. Then—because apparently he was now certified in chaos—he nibbled on the edge of her ear and kissed the side of her neck.
"H-HYAA?!"
Jessica launched him.
There was a blur of motion as Peter flew backwards—except he didn't crash into a wall like a normal person. He flipped midair like a caffeinated gymnast, stuck to the ceiling, and landed gracefully on the coffee table like it was a runway.
"I knew it. Your neck's your weak point," Peter declared proudly, brushing imaginary dust off his shoulder.
Before Jess could unleash her righteous fury, a loud laugh boomed from the hallway.
"That's my boy!"
Ben Parker stood in the doorway, arms crossed, grinning like he just watched his son win the Super Bowl and confess his love on live TV.
"Dad?!" Peter's voice cracked harder than a dry twig.
Ben strolled in, looking entirely too pleased. "You're confident. You're smooth. You even did a backflip out of danger. For a second I thought Naruto was on the TV again, but nope—it's you!"
Jess, still red as a tomato, crossed her arms. "H-Hey! Don't encourage him!"
Ben just shrugged with a twinkle in his eye. "What? I'm just saying he's showing initiative. But don't become a deviant. I don't wanna turn on the news and see you two wrestling in Central Park."
Peter groaned like the universe itself had betrayed him. "Daaaad!"
Jess doubled over with laughter, her earlier soreness completely forgotten.
"I'm serious!" Ben continued, unfazed. "I've read about what some young couples get up to these days. No alleyway shenanigans, you hear me?"
Peter buried his face in his hands, dying inside. "I would never do something so humiliating in public. That's mortifying."
Jess patted his shoulder sympathetically. "It's okay. I'll protect your honor. Right after I tell May about this."
Peter groaned louder.
Ben just smiled and sipped his tea like the proudest, most chaotic dad alive.