Uncle Spider-Man

A Story by Angel-Is-Alive

Peter and Johnny are in a secret relationship, and Franklin really loves Spider-Man.

This fic is written loosely around these comic panels. I have no clue where they are from, but they are adorable. If anyone knows what comic these are from, please leave a comment and I will edit this!

The sound of tiny Skechers pounding across the floor drew Ben out of his thoughts. He smiled down at the little boy ahead of him, who was practically buzzing with energy.

“Uncle Ben!” came the cry, and Ben chuckled.

“Hey, Frankie. What’s up?”

Franklin walked over to his leg and stationed himself firmly at Ben’s side before responding. “Why are there so many people here?”

Ben opened his mouth to answer when Franklin tugged on his pant leg and pointed to where Peter and Johnny stood chatting. Johnny handed Peter a drink and shot a flirty smile his way. “And who’s that over there talkin’ to Uncle Johnny?”

“Him? That’s Sp, ah-” Ben caught himself before he said Spider-Man. “He’s… a friend of the family’s.” He set a large hand on Franklin’s shoulder as he explained, “I think you’re gonna like him, a lot.”

Franklin clutched his Spider-Man action figure tighter in his palm. “Why? Will he play Superheroes with me?” And Ben hummed as he made his way over to the bookshelf and drew out a well-used book of Franklin’s. He stared at Ben with a confused look.

“You see, Frankie,” Ben began, kneeling down to the boy’s level, “this book that Mr. Lumpkin gave you for Christmas? He’s the guy who took alla’ the pictures in it.”

Franklin’s face lit up like he’d just won the lottery, and he whipped around to stare at Peter. “You take pictures of Spider-Man?” he cried. Peter, having been listening in on their conversation, smiled and bent down as Franklin quickly scurried over, book and action figure in hand.

“I do!” he confirmed warmly, gently taking the book from Franklin’s hands and opening up to a random page. It was a two-page spread of Spider-Man sitting under an umbrella at a café with a brightly-colored drink. Peter grinned when Franklin gasped softly and held his toy figure out to him.

“Spider-Man’s m’ fav’rite,” he informed Peter with a seriously starstruck glaze over his eyes. “I do like you. Uncle Ben was right!”

Peter chuckled and rested a hand on Franklin’s back as they flipped through the pages of the book. “You know, speaking from experience, I have a theory that Uncle Bens are always right.”

A snort from Johnny that sounded suspiciously like “Kiss-up” made Peter toss a soft glare his way, but Johnny’s eyes roamed about the room and he didn’t catch it. Peter knew that Johnny knew that he was being glared at.

“Who’s your fav’rite bad guy, Mister Peter?” Franklin asked. Peter blinked as Franklin rattled off names of various villains he’d fought, before his eyes landed on a Human Torch figure lying discarded on the carpet. He plucked it from the floor and presented it to Franklin, who scrunched up his nose in confusion.

“That’s Uncle Johnny! He’s not a bad guy!”

“Yeah, Peter, he’s not a bad guy,” came Johnny’s comment, which Peter pointedly ignored.

“Maybe not, but he and Spider-Man do fight a lot, I can tell you that.” Franklin’s gaze quickly became worried and he glanced up at Johnny, then back to Peter.

“Why?”

Peter exhaled and smiled as genuinely as he could muster. “Well, sometimes you fight with people you love. That’s how love works; it’s not always without imperfections.”

Franklin looked down at his two action figures, clutched in opposite hands. “So, Spider-Man loves the Human Torch?” His eyes shone with wonder, as blue as Johnny’s own, Peter noted, when he looked up to Peter for an answer.

“Yes. Spider-Man loves the Human Torch.” Feeling his cheeks heat up, Peter’s eyes momentarily met Johnny’s, and he received a warm and promising smile.

Franklin studied Peter’s face momentarily before asking, “Do you love Uncle Johnny?”

At that, Johnny sputtered into his drink and excused himself from the room to grab a tissue. Peter wished he could join him. Looking over his shoulder to where Johnny disappeared to, Peter leaned in close to Franklin and whispered, “Yes, I love your Uncle Johnny very, very much. But don’t tell anyone else. It’s a, um, a surprise.”

Franklin nodded vigorously. “I won’t. I’m very good at keepin’ secrets,” he whisper-yelled back, and Peter chuckled as he gave the boy a hug. In doing so he also made eye contact with Ben, who gave him a thumbs-up and a knowing look. Peter mouthed a “you keep quiet, too” at him before pulling away.

Johnny poked his head into the room to announce that dinner was ready. Peter stood and took Franklin’s hand as the little boy made “thwip-thwip” and “flame on!” action noises with both figures pressed tightly against each other in his fist.

A houseful of people is nothing to sneeze at when you're trying to hide a relationship and simultaneously catch a few minutes alone with your secret boyfriend. But when said boyfriend has his handy Spider-sense, it becomes a lot easier to deal with. This didn’t deter Johnny in the slightest when complaining about their lack of romantic freedom. So when Peter shoved him away for the fourth time as Johnny was pressing kisses against his cheek and jawline, Johnny groaned loudly and fell backwards against his bed.

“Peter, I’m tired of this. Tired of hiding. Really, what’s the big deal anyway if we come out?”

Peter said nothing but tugged lightly on Johnny’s elbow. Johnny obeyed, sighing quietly when Peter took his hand in his and began massaging his fingers. “C’mon, Pete, what’s the worst that could happen?”

Johnny’s fingers were warm between his own, so Peter scooted a little closer to his boyfriend, savoring the heat. “I’m not ready for everyone to know about us,” Peter murmured. “There’s a total of two other people in the world who know we’re together, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I told them.”

A confused look drew Johnny’s eyebrows together. Peter wanted to kiss the little crease between them away, but he held himself back.

“Two people? Ben I know about, but who’s the second person?” he asked. “Did you finally come out to your aunt? MJ?” Peter shook his head at both, flushing pink.

“It’s, um, Franklin.”

A beat of silence passed before Johnny drew in a deep breath. “Franklin.” He said it slowly like he was tasting the words on his tongue. “He… does he understand… like, what that means?”

Peter met his worried gaze. “I made it pretty clear, yeah,” came his sheepish answer.

“When did you-”

“When he was talking about me- about Spider-Man. My favorite bad guy, remember? And I said it was you?”

Johnny smirked up at Peter and shifted so that his head rested in Peter’s lap. His hand held tightly to Peter’s, a welcome anchor. “I do remember that. N’ you said that we fight a lot, and that’s what people do when they love each other.”

“Yeah.” Peter brought his unoccupied hand up to brush through Johnny’s hair. Johnny made an appreciative noise and, in turn, cranked up his body temperature. “Yeah, and then he asked if I loved his Uncle Johnny, and you choked and went to the kitchen.”

“And that’s when you told him, huh?” Johnny hummed. Peter nodded as he pushed a lock of gold back from Johnny’s forehead. “What did you say, exactly?”

“Well, I…” Peter shifted, suddenly feeling too warm. “Really, it was just… I kind of, um.”

Johnny looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. “Spit that out before you choke on it, Pete, c’mon.” Peter closed his eyes.

“I told him that I love his Uncle Johnny very, very much. And that he couldn’t tell anyone else because it’s a surprise.” When Peter finally looked down at Johnny, his face was split by a beaming grin. His eyes sparkled with affection.

“Dork,” Johnny murmured, “I love you very, very much, too,” and brought his hands up to frame Peter’s face. They kissed, unhurried and unbothered. Peter hummed contentedly into Johnny’s hair when they parted, and that’s when he looked up.

...And saw both Valeria and Franklin standing in the doorway, gaping freely. Or rather, Valeria was gaping, and Franklin had a huge smile on his face. He held up his Human Torch action figure. “You do love Uncle Johnny!” he cried, and Peter and Johnny broke apart with frantic excuses and explanations.

Johnny leapt across the room and pulled both children against his chest before closing (and locking, thank you) the door behind him. Peter meanwhile was sitting on the bed looking fairly pale and clutching the sheets in his hands.

Jumping up onto the bed, Franklin scooted over to Peter and threw his arms around him. “Are you my Uncle Peter, now?”

Peter’s gaze drifted over to Johnny, who was speaking in hushed tones to Valeria. And, amidst the momentary chaos and heart failure, Peter smiled.

“Yeah, Frankie. I’m your Uncle Peter now. But only if you want me to be,” he added quickly.

Franklin nodded and squeezed Peter’s arm tightly. “You’re cool. Now I have a cool uncle who knows Spider-Man!”

“Hey!” came Johnny’s cry, “I’m pretty sure I meet both of those criteria, too!” Franklin giggled and hopped off of the bed to join his sister. Peter followed.

Valeria eyed Peter as he knelt in front of her. He hadn’t really met her yet, in fact she scared him a little. Now was no exception, as he drew in a breath and mentally prepared himself for disagreement.

“Look, Mister Peter,” Valeria cut in as he opened his mouth, “Uncle Johnny isn’t the smartest when choosing someone to date-” followed by an offended, then affirmative noise from Johnny- “but I take it that you are.” Valeria met Peter’s stare, and for a moment he could have sworn that he was looking into the eyes of Doctor Richards himself.

Valeria stretched out a tiny hand towards Peter. A small smile graced her lips. “Welcome to the family. Please don’t mess this up.” They shook on it, and Peter turned to Johnny.

“Well, now that’s three people,” Johnny chuckled, putting a hand on Peter’s knee. He nodded to himself after hugging the twins. “Well, Spidey, that could have gone worse-”

Johnny froze, eyes wide as he realized his mistake. Peter went as white as the sheets on Johnny’s bed. Franklin and Valeria both voiced their confusion loudly, but Franklin caught on after a second. He dove into Peter’s arms and began crying softly.

“Spider-Man is m-my uncle?” he whimpered, then laughed wetly. “That’s s-so cool!”

Two weeks later, Peter and Johnny revealed their relationship before Sue, Reed, Ben and the kids. Sue hugged them both tightly and congratulated them. Reed gave a mini-speech about his approval that ended with him asking about wedding plans. Franklin and Valeria both jumped into Peter’s and Johnny’s arms respectively, and held on tightly. Ben watched with a knowing smile.

The next photobook of Spider-Man featured Franklin and Valeria on the first page, posing beside Peter and beaming at the camera. “Uncle Spider-Man” was written neatly underneath.