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(different anon) another angst idea :D Peter seeing his uncle using a gun, a weapon he despises because it so easily took away his uncle's life and destroyed his world
It will probably cause conflicted feelings for Peter
Also welcome!! Thank you for the ask :) I hope I did it justice <33
Peter won't lie. He may have gotten... attached.
Ok, ok, it sounds like a recipe for disaster. Spending time with his not-uncle from another universe? Definitely not what Mr. Falcon would've recommended, but it was actually really... nice.
He— Jason, not Benjamin here— was so like his Uncle Ben. The way he spoke, the way he laughed, even down to his reading taste. But he was so different, too. He carried himself with caution, he had more scars, his mannerisms were just slightly off, and doesn't talk about family. Ever.
Uncle Ben had loved his family so much.
His uncle had been a firefighter, then when he retired he became a police officer. He was a good man who wanted to give back to his community.
Jason wasn't a firefighter or a police officer. He said he handled real estate, and that's why he had so many apartment buildings. But, unfortunately for Jason, Peter wasn't born yesterday.
Jason was still a good man, and he did good, just... not in the same way as Uncle Ben. Peter assumed he was running with that crime lord, Red Hood. In Peter's opinion, he sounded a little scary. Who wouldn't think that when he first appeared with the flourish of eight severed heads?
But the Red Hood guy (crime lord? Anti hero? Vigilante?) Also actively tried to help Crime Alley— where Peter was currently squatting, so he consequently cared for.
Peter trailed behind Uncle— Jason, just Jason. His spidey sense adored the guy, and he knew all the cheapest places to get groceries. Also, everyone steers clear of him. No one's ever so much as attempted to mug him, which is a genuine accomplishment in this place.
"So, how long are you plannin' to follow me, kiddo?" Jason asked around a smirk, turning around just as Peter lost his cover.
Seriously, how does this guy do that??
Peter gave an exaggerated frown, running to catch up with Jason's long strides. "Seriously, how do you do that?? Are you sure you're a normal guy?" Peter gave a skeptical look, but fell into step with with his not-uncle.
"You follow me every Saturday. Are you sure you're a normal kid?" Jason gave him a skeptical look back, but otherwise slowed down for Peter.
"Hey! You always find the best prices for groceries, I need your tutelage." Peter gave a small, teasing grin. It really was like arguing with his uncle.
Jason reached out, ruffling Peter's hair. Peter batted him away, sticking his tongue out. "Ok, but in return, I need some help with my computer. It ain't workin' again. I'll pay ya'."
Peter raised an eyebrow. "You're seriosuly terrible with tech." Just like his uncle.
Jason swatted at him playfully.
Peter wasn't sure if, or how, Jason knew he was homeless, but he always helped him buy non perishables that didn't need a refrigerator or to be cooked. He was thoughtful like his uncle, in that regard.
It was... nice. Being able to shop with his Uncle. Or, well, Jason. (He really needed to start enforcing that distinction before it backfired on him.) Aunt May had been a terrible cook, so Uncle Ben did most of the cooking. He taught Peter most of everything he knew, too.
Peter thanked his uncle Jason for the help shyly, promising to make it up to him by fixing his computer for free. (Jason never let him do it for free.)
Jason watched the new Alley kid, Peter Parker, walk away. From what he'd heard, he was a skittish teen who knew his way around the shadows. A little naive, but otherwise he held his own. And, for some ungodly reason, he'd taken a shine to Jason. Not Red Hood, not Jason Todd-Wayne, just Jason the apartment guy who knew where all the good sales were.
Peter looked at him sometimes like he hung the moon, and other times with bitter nostalgia. He was about 94% sure Peter was an orphan, so maybe Jadon reminded him of a parent? Or at least someone who wasn't around anymore. It was hard to tell, with how the kids had no records, and getting him to talk about his past was like pulling teeth out of a Super.
Jason let Peter turn the corner before he started to follow. Ducking into alleys and staying a healthy distance away, Jason just wanted to make sure the Kid got back to his squat ok.
Except, just a couple minutes from where Peter was staying, he was suddenly dragged into an alley. No one looked or noticed, but Jason did.
Jason did, and he was fucking pissed.
Grabbing his spare gun, Jason rushed to help his kid Peter.
—
Peter was getting mugged for his groceries. Which wasn't desirable, as his stomach was an endless pit the consumed enough for a family of six, so he was ready to knock a guy out then head back to his place.
Except... then his uncle came rushing in, telling the man to "get the fuck away before you get hurt".
His Uncle always came rushing in like this in his nightmares. Unarmed and with that limp he got from a burning beam falling on him with he was younger and a firefighter. He would rush in, yelling and unarmed, trying to save his dumbass nephew from getting shot.
He would always get shot, he'd fall, the mugger would run away, and he'd bleed out in Peter's arms.
It was his nightmare that repeated every so often, typically joined with a nightmare about May and Tony's death, too.
Except this time... his uncle had the gun.
Jason had the gun.
"I said, back the fuck away before I blow your brains out." Jason snarled, his finger flexing over the trigger in warning.
Peter stared, his mouth filling with cotton and everything going mute.
His uncle was pointing a gun at someone, ready to shoot.
His uncle was holding the thing that killed him.
Peter felt ready to throw up.
The would-be-robber dropped his knife, running away. But Peter's eyes never left his uncles hands, in the smooth and familiar way he operated the gun. How ready he was to shoot someone with it.
Its not... Peter knows, second amendment and all. It's a person's right to own a gun. It should be for protection, but it could just as easily end someone's life.
It ended his uncles.
As a police officer, sure he owned a gun, but it was always kept firmly locked up. He'd never even seen his uncle in the same room as a gun, much less holding one.
It was wrong.
"Pete, hey hey, you're ok, Peter?" His uncle kneeled in front of Peter. When had he ended up on the ground?
He continued to stare at the gun. His uncle took the hint and tucked it away with a practiced motion.
Peter's eyes watered, and he leaned over, expelling the hot dog his uncle bought him earlier. His uncle rubbed his back as he threw up, comforting him, albeit a little awkwardly.
When Peter looked back up, he saw his uncles blue— green eyes, his white and black hair, and the unfamiliar 'J' shaped scar marring his cheek, and remembered.
'This isn't my uncle.'
'This isn't my home.'
And the worst part? He felt sadder about his uncle than his home.
He had nothing to go back to, after all.