Oh Mother
Ramona knew she never had to ask her mother her opinion, she’d give it to her whether her daughter wanted to hear it or not. Despite the college student's hair being blue for months now and her mother seeing several pictures of her since she dyed it, the first thing out of her mouth after Romona answered the door was, “Oh well…it certainly is blue… Sweetie, do you honestly think you’ll get a job with it like that?” Ms. Stirling asked, her voice dripping with criticism before even a hello. Not that Ramona was surprised, but she hoped her roommate hadn’t heard anything, the two weren’t close. So the idea of Peter hearing her get condemned by her mother was embarrassing. If it was anyone else the girl would have no problem standing up for herself, but instead biting back a sigh the younger woman just smiled back and answered “I have a job, Mom. At Nelson and Murdock, remember?”
Pretty much as soon as she was away from the prying eyes of her parents, Ro had decided to stop holding back. Sure part of that was because she’d almost died and got freaky superpowers, but the girl decided to live without regrets after that. Aside from dying her hair, she’d also finally gotten the piercings she wanted and even a few tattoos. Of course she’d taken the piercings out and hid her new ink under a sweater now. Living without regrets didn’t mean getting into another screaming match with her mom. She was already angry that Romona had switched majors, straying from The Stirling family way. Not to mention the tiny fact that the only person she could get to be a roommate was a guy after she broke it off with her perfect match of a fiancé who was also hand picked for her. Just as Romona felt like she was going to drown in everything that was stacked against her, her mother answered her.
“Right, then tell me why again you haven’t moved yet?” The older woman dropped her voice presumably so her daughter's roommate wouldn’t hear but Peter chose that moment to leave his room smiling, armed and dangerous.
“Hi, you must be Ms. Stirling, Mona’s said a lot about you, and I’ve gotta say your string bean casserole recipe is amazing.” And just like that, Sophia Stirling had fallen prey to what Ramona had deemed The Parker Charm. She’d mostly seen it used on their classmates, and had rolled her eyes at his antics before, but right now she had no complaints. Soon enough Peter was invited to Dinner and all judgmental comments, at least the ones aimed at Romona, were put on pause as the senior of the Stirling women probed Peter about his life. Unbeknownst the pair she was scoring him on how suitable a match he was for her daughter. All they both knew right now was that she owed him big time for the save, but really the trouble had only just begun.
“So, Peter, How did you and my daughter meet?” Ms. Stirling asked as they sat in a stuffy overpriced restaurant and Romona wished for any excuse to be anywhere else. She’d even take a fight with Kingpin over this. Still, it was somehow better with Parker there with her.
“Through Harry, actually. He’s my lab partner, I was looking for somewhere closer to campus and Mo- Romona needed a roommate, and the three of us have been friends ever since.” Peter said, and Ro had to admit he was a saint when it came to dealing with parents. Especially since that was definitely sugar coating it to say the least.
Sure, both of them were friends with Harry, but her and Peter had a rocky start as roommates and never really spoke besides the occasional snarky commit or teasing each other in passing. She’d admit to usually starting it but he was never a stranger when it came to a quick comeback. Nevertheless, they were respectful of each other's spaces and even shared food if the other made too much.
“Your friends with Harry? Romona, why didn’t you say something? If you're friends with the Osborn's boy there's nothing to worry about. And here I thought you were some punk off the street!”
“Peter’s even working for Mr. Stark, so nothing to worry about, Mom.” It was then that Peter exchanged a look with Romona, and as if her prayers were answered, Ms. Stirling's cell phone rang. With barely much of a goodbye she was off to handle something for work, then visit Romona’s older brother while in the area. She paid the bill and then some, even going as far as to order them dessert before leaving.
After a long silence, it wasn’t surprising that Peter was the one to break it as Romona chugged the overpriced wine her mother had left on the table.
“That was… intense” He spoke in a light tone that the girl with sapphire colored hair appreciated as she even let out a small laugh.
“Friends, huh? I’m sure that’d make Harry happy.” Another big sip of wine and to her surprise Peter looked around before pouring himself a glass and promptly making a face after tasting it, causing them both to snicker.
“Despite the rough start, I’d like to be '' and there was that damned smile again that Roman had an impossible time saying no to.
“I do owe you one, so I guess that more than earns you a second chance, Parker. You’ve gotta stop calling me Mona around my mom though.”
“I thought I wasn’t supposed to call you that at all?” He asked with a bit of a smirk and Romana took another big sip of the wine, but it seemed to do nothing about the butterflies in her stomach. “But, I’ll take it so long as you call me by my first name.”
“Fine… Peter. Thank you, again. Harry probably mentioned how my family is before… I owe you, I’m serious.”
“Don’t mention it, Mona. Hopefully from now on we can be a bit more friendly.”