Entangled

"Please! Pleaseeeee!! You guys are the only ones available! Gwen and Miles are out! Pavitr can't, and if I ask Miguel again, he'll eat me! Please! You're the only two I can rely on! My MARRIAGE IS AT STAKE!" Peter B fell to his knees, hunching over Hobie and Arabella's stompers. 

"Do we do it?" Hobie asked, his arms crossed. 

"Hm…I don't know…what about our date night?" Arabella glanced down at Peter. 

"Oh god, please? Please, you guys, I haven't seen my wife in precarious positions in weeks. Please take the baby; I'll give you anything," Peter groveled, his hands clasped together.

Arabella touched her chin, turning to Hobie and then back to Peter. 

"Fine. But you have to get me those crab Rangoons people have discussed. I don't have them in my universe, and I would love to try some," 

"Wait…really?" Peter lifted his head, a broad smile on his face. 

"Yep!" 

"Oh, thank god, I already told M.J. I had a babysitter." They watched Peter lift from the ground.

"Our date is tomorrow, and we leave at 5. I don't have the time when we'll be back, but maybe by 10? Does that work? Please, ill bring double the Rangoons." 

"Yeah yeah yeah, well be there, might not be on time tho~" Arabella did a little wave at Peter, kicking his feet and returning to his dimension.

"We were gonna do it either way, right?" Hobie asked, his arm draping over her shoulder.

"Oh, of course, I was hoping to read her my manifesto, get her started in some light anarchy business, and maybe even get her started on her juggalo journey," Arabella chuckled to herself, leaning into Hobie.

"Great minds think alike. And he is going to regret ever asking us,"

Peter B. And M.J. stood together in front of their front door, Peter holding M.J. as she pulled on his suit.

"May? Mayday, no." M.J. cooed, ensuring her husband's tie properly fit around his neck.

"Gah, I knew they were going to be late," Peter groaned, bouncing Mayday in his hands to keep her distracted.

"Mhm, and that's why I set the reservation for 7:30 instead of 7." She said, taking the baby and grabbing a toy from a small drawer.

"Wait, really? You told me I had to be ready by 4…Wait, are we still going to the museum?"

"Come on, Tiger, you know I told you that because you take years to get ready,"

“Okay…fair…” Peter groaned, now much less anxious than he was before. And not too long after, there was a knock at his door. He opened it in a hurry and breathed out a sigh of relief. Arabella and Hobie stood next to each other, dressed a little more lax than they normally were. Hobie wore a shirt that said 'Trapped in a never-ending cycle' while Arabella had one that said' The cycle.'

"Oh, thank you, you're here! You're late," He opted for the door more and let them inside.

"We said we would be; luckily, M.J. told us the time you were leaving, so we decided to explore a bit," Arabella entered their home, Hobie trailing behind her with a hum.

"Oh, you guys scare me. But you're here, and we can leave! Got my web shooters-"

"Peter, we are not flying through the air with these outfits on."

"Don't worry; I can be careful! Okay, so there is a list on the fridge with everything you need to know for Mayday, and food is all stocked, please… don't teach her any words. I'm already worried she might've said her first word already, and I do not want it to be a curse word,"

Hobie chuckled, being handed the baby by M.J. "Don't worry 'bout it. Well, take good care of her, promise," 

"Oh yeah, no worries. Well, follow everything to a T," Arabella smiled, waving at Mayday, who laughed as she saw her.

"And thank you so much; there's money on the counter in a jar for any takeout or food you might want." M.J. waved the two goodbyes.

Once the door closed, they looked at each other and grinned.

"Liberty spikes?"

"Oh yeah, liberty spikes," Hobie held Mayday against his chest as she looked at him with a great eye.

"We're gonna bring this whole place down, kid."

"Come on, girl, say it with me. You gotta spell it out. An-Arch-ee!" Arabella held onto Mayday's hands as she babbled softly, trying to make the same mouth motions that Arabella was doing but failing as she kept laughing.

"Oh, she's way too cute; she takes a lot after M.J. instead of Peter, isn't that right, little one?" Arabella smiled, fixing Mayday's hair as it was all done in liberty spikes.

Hobie walked from the kitchen, holding up a jar of baby food. "You think she likes these? They cant make baby food more unappealing than this.."

"Well, if it looked appealing, then a lot more people other than people with babies would buy them. But with the rise of baby food prices, it could look better, no matter what you say. See Mayday? Capitalism and inflation are bad; yes, they are. And then we must start with consumerism in other parts of the economy, right little one?" 

Hobie watched Arabella entertain Mayday. He thought they were cute as he came over and showed MayDay the two jars.

"You hungry yet? What do you want?" 

Mayday looked at him, then the jars, and reached for carrots and peas.

"Ah, cultured girl, are you," He handed the jar to Arabella so she could open it while he put it up. He started to hear the sound of music coming from where they were. When he returned, he watched as Mayday and Arabella were crawling on the ceiling.

"I left for two minutes, and now you're on the ceiling? What happened?" 

Arabella caught Mayday and stood straight, dangling from the ceiling.

"Ah..well, I guess she doesn't want the carrots and peas. I tried giving it to her, and she started crawling up the wall. But I already opened it, so I don't know how baby food works here. I have a feeling she won't eat anything," Arabella dropped Mayday, seeing her land into Hobies arms.

"Hm…She seems like she's got a lot of energy; I got an idea…." Hobie smirked at her, holding her up.

"You wanna start your career as a delinquent?" Mayday screamed as if she understood anything Hobie said. Arabella dropped down from the ceiling and opened a window.

"Let's raise some…." Arabella paused, frowning for a moment. "Ah fuck it, let's raise some hell or something like that," Arabella webbed out of the apartment as Hobie webbed MayDay to his chest.

"You better hold on," 

She clapped her hands, gripping his shirt tightly as he webbed after Arabella. They webbed through the streets, trying to find anything significant and noticeable, and since this was New York, they didn't have to travel far. MayDay screamed the entire way, holding her arms up as if she was enjoying a roller coaster, her spikes unmoving as they went through the air. Soon they dropped down to a clear billboard ledge.

"Oh, this is gonna be so good," Arabella smiled, digging into her pocket and pulling out shrunken bags. Making them human-sized, she set the bags down and pulled out spray paint and masks, even one that was MayDay size.

"What's the message, kid?" He asked MayDay, looking down at her as she squirmed in her webs. She pointed her finger to a big screen, a tiny scowl on her face. They all looked at it and saw that there was a croissant.

"What? You don't like the French? Good girl!" Arabella squealed, holding up red, white, and blue paint.

"No one said I couldn't curse in French, right?" Arabella spoke in French, making Hobie and MayDay eye each other slowly.

"You know French?" Hobie asked, putting MayDay on his shoulders and ensuring she was still.

"I know many languages; I'm only a polyglot."

"That's…hm," Hobie winked, making her roll her eyes as she stuck to their wall and climbed.

"What do we put first…MayDay, this is your debut; let us know." 

They didn't think much about her babbling but enjoyed seeing her somehow go along with what they were doing. Were they responsible adults? Well, as accountable as Peter, at least. Arabella and Hobie did most of the spray paint, webbing around each other while MayDay pointed in different directions.

It took a little while for them to have an entire art piece and a message across the board. Arabella shrunk one of the paint cans and showed MayDay how to hold it.

"Okay, girlie, go ahead and do what you want. Your signature needs to be known to the world," 

"She's an artist, yes she is" Hobie held her up above his head as MayDay stuck her tongue out as if to think hard. After a bit of movement from her, she clapped her hands together, showing that they were done.

They all stood back, looking at the piece in admiration.

"I think she did a good job on the direction."

"I got some pointers, but she got the idea," Hobie nudged Arabella softly, making her look at both of them.

"Ooh! Let me get a picture; I have the Polaroid. We need to get one with both of iff with her!" Arabella reached into her bag again, pulling out Hobies camera. She moved them so they were inframe and shot a picture, then one with her, then one with just MayDay.

"Perfect…" Hobie said, looking to Arabella and then down at MayDay. He leaned into Arabella, kissing her cheek as she played with MayDays hands.

"You think she'll eat the peas now?"

"If she's a true anarchist, no. But we can give her something else," 

The three spent some more time swinging through the air, they knew MayDay probably had seen so much of New York Already, but each time they jumped through the air, it was like a new moment for her. 

They caught pictures of her in the air, on the Empire State Building, and the Daily Bugle sign. They returned to Peters's place once they realized MayDay was getting fussy. They were finally getting her to eat her peas and carrots.

Hobie and Arabella sat in front of her holding one of her animal learning books.

"See? A butterfly doesn't make a sound, but it has an effect!" Arabella showed MayDay, who nodded while shoving food into her mouth with her hands.

"And a cow goes Moo, very kind creatures, I say myself," Hobie said, bending down to her height.

"Bit of a messy eater, isn't she?"

"All babies are, I think; I wouldn't know." Arabella flipped the page, "But it's worth stimulating the mind simultaneously. Okay, now this is a horse. A horse goes Neigh, but don't stand behind it, okay?" 

MayDay clapped her hands together, sloshing her food toward them. Luckily they moved out of the way. "She's so smart; okay now, this is a pig; what does a pig say?" Arabella glanced over to Hobie, a grin on her face. 

"You have the right to remain silent; anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law," Hobie finished the statement, grabbing a wet rag from the sink to clean MayDay up before they've her a bath.

"Exactly, and oink. They also do that." Arabella put the book down, unclasping her from the seat and letting Hobie clean her. They both teamed up, trying to get her into a small bath; it almost felt like they were fighting for their lives as they were splashed and nearly pulled in. Luckily they could wash her down and slip her into her spider-themed night clothes.

When she finally seemed a little more sleepy, Arabella set up some Spider-Man baby sensory video. Letting all three of them sit on the couch, MayDay in between them as Hobies arm was over Arabellas.

"She's so cute; I think…even if I could have them, I wouldn't want one. Not something I could look forward to, especially with the state of my own home.." Arabella curled her finger around one of May Day's loose curls.

"Yeah…besides, I care for the kids on the street. That's enough for me," 

"You think they trashed the house?" Peter chuckled, holding onto M.J. as they landed in their backyard.

"I would hope not, but they're good. A little chaotic.." M.J. smiled, brushing her dress down as they approached the front door. 

They heard sounds of music as they entered, setting their things down. M.J. removed her shoes and headed for the living room; Peter followed her.

"Hey, are you guys-"M.J. shushed Peter. He walked beside her and smiled. 

Mayday was snug between Hobie and Arabella, their heads leaning against one another as they all slept, the tv playing softly until the video ended. Peter rubbed M.Js's arm, finding the sight adorable, and took a picture before they slowly picked up M.J and got her into her crib.

Peter managed to get them both home, Starting with Hobie. Surprisingly they didn't wake up; knowing how Mayday could get, she probably tired them to the ends of the earth.

Since Peter was allowed in Arabella's universe, he could get her there safely, laying her on her white bedding before returning home. 

He came up to M.J. as she readied their bed.

"You know, they might be adults and ten years younger than us, but they're like kids to me,"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah! Hope she turns out like them.."

"You sure about that, Peter? Look what I found…seems like they sure are influences.." M.J. handed him one of the Polaroids they had taken. It was of M.J. in front of a now vandalized billboard.

"The French aren't real…eat the rich…at least kid-friendly?"