Chapter Text
It had been a week since MJ bumped into May. Since then, she’d been over almost every day. MJ couldn’t lie, she really valued having May around during the day instead of being alone all the time. Of course, May had a job so she wasn’t there 24/7, but even an hour was better than nothing.
She wished more than anything that she had May around the second she found out she was pregnant. Not only was the woman a friend, but she was also a second mother and had been for over a decade.
Today was a good day, in that MJ had managed to Ellie to sleep fairly quickly, she was able to shower and make herself an actual meal and Cindy had visited for a while. Now here she was, folding Ellie’s washing while the TV played quietly in the background.
With a final huff, she blew her hair out of her face and put the final piece of folded laundry down. Just as she put it down, there was a knock at the door. She stood up and walked over, expecting it to be May coming over.
Her tired eyes were suddenly much more awake when it wasn’t May on the other side of the door. This was the last person she expected, the last person she wanted to come over. She looked them up and down and resisted the urge to burst into tears. “Peter?”
“Hey,” He gave her a small smile and shoved his hands further into his pockets.
“What-what’re you doing here?” She breathed out, closing the door to her apartment more so he couldn’t see in and leaning against the wooden frame. “Not that I- Oh my God, I just can’t believe you’re back.”
“Just for a few days,” He bit his lip. “I just wanted to catch up with you.”
“Yeah, yeah, let’s go- let’s go get coffee or something?” Michelle squeezed her way out of the door.
“No,” Peter shook his head and ran a hand through his newly short hair. “I’m really tired from the flight. Is it okay if we just stay here?”
Michelle froze, her mind immediately going to the baby storm that was her apartment. The laundry on the couch, the baby swing in the corner, the play mat right in the middle of the living room. The bottles and breast pump discarded in the sink, waiting to be washed.
Then most importantly, a literal baby sleeping in her bedroom.
“Yeah,” She cleared her throat. “Yeah, of course, just um- sorry it’s really messy.”
“It’s fine,” Peter laughed and shrugged, following after her as she rushed back inside.
Peter took off his shoes at the door and Michelle used those few precious seconds to throw blankets and towels over anything and everything baby related that was in plain sight. Ellie’s favourite teething toy was thrown behind the couch, one of her shoes ended up under an empty mug.
Michelle walked into the kitchen and turned the kettle on, throwing some other dirty dishes on top of the bottles in the sink. She stared down at the bench, her eyes wider than ever before, realising that this lie was unravelling right in front of her and there was nothing she could do about it.
“Are you okay?” Peter asked as he walked into the kitchen. “You seem a bit stressed?”
“Oh you know,” She gulped, looking up at him. “This full-time job thing is a lot.”
Peter hummed, picking something up off the bench and tossing it in the air. “Why aren’t you there now, it’s Tuesday?”
“Day off?”
“I see,” Peter replied as the kettle began to whistle and Michelle hastily made them both tea. “How did she take the pacifier by the way? Some babies don’t like it at first.”
“Oh, Ellie was fine, she really likes--” She stopped, her breath catching in her throat as she turned her head away from him. Michelle sucked in a breath, her finger running up and down the handle of her mug as her hair tumble down, shielding her face from Peter. Tears welled up in her eyes and a lump formed in her throat. “I was gonna tell you, I promise.”
“Yeah, when? I found out from May, and she only found out last week,” His voice was soft but Michelle could still feel the disappointment in it.
“I didn’t want to hold you back,” She replied with such emotion Peter had never seen from her before.
Peter sighed, moving closer to her and pushing the hair out of her face, brushing it behind her ear in a way so gently that Michelle wasn’t sure if it had even happened. It was the first time she’d felt Peter’s touch in over a year and this time she didn’t stop herself.
MJ collapsed her body into Peter’s, wrapping her arms around him and burying her head into Peter’s neck. His hand came up to hold her head and his other hand rubbed soothing circles into her lower back. A kiss was placed on the side of her head as she sniffed. “I missed you so much, Peter,”
“You have no idea how much I missed you, Em.”
“I missed me too,” She attempted to joke but her crack betrayed her. With a croak and a barely audible voice, she added, “I needed you,”
“You know I’d drop everything for you.”
She did know that, but she didn’t want him to. Michelle stayed in his arms until she felt like she could breathe properly again. Even then, she didn’t let him let go. They had a year's worth of hugs to catch up on and Michelle wasn’t complaining.
All the times that Michelle could really do with one of these hugs flickered through her mind like a badly cut film strip. There was her, clutching the positive pregnancy test in the bathroom of a dirty drug store, her in a ball against her door, sobbing for her unborn baby and the world it was being brought into. Her after throwing up for the fourth time in an hour on a particularly bad day.
Then there was her, minutes after giving birth and holding her tiny daughter in her arms, wishing she could look to the side and see Peter’s beaming face like she always used to be able to do.
But he was here now, and everything was okay.
Michelle wanted to ask Peter all about England and what he’d been up to, anything to move on from this moment of weakness but she didn’t have the chance to. Ellie’s cries echoed through the apartment and MJ swore while untangling herself from Peter.
She all but ran into the room, scooping her daughter out of the cot and wrestling her arm out of her baggy shirt and letting fall down to her stomach. Peter had followed her, leaning against the door frame of her room while Michelle had her back to him.
When she turned around, Peter put a hand over his eyes, a blush coating his cheeks. Michelle rolled her eyes. “A decade of friendship and you think I give a fuck about you seeing my boobs? Which by the way, are currently feeding my child, not on PornHub.”
“Sorry,” Peter took his hand away before his eyes flickered down to Ellie.
His face immediately softened, his eyes never leaving the tiny human’s face. The fact that said baby also happened to have been made by his best friend never left his mind. Needless to say, it was a lot to take in.
The instinct to protect Ellie at all costs hit him like a truck. His breath was knocked out of his chest as he looked back at Michelle who had been watching him the whole time. She gave him a small smile before pulling her shirt back up and resting Ellie's head on her shoulder.
Peter had never seen her act like this before. He was used to the careless MJ, the throw caution to the wind MJ, this MJ was the exact opposite. He’d never seen her handle something so carefully, except it wasn’t just something, it was a baby, her baby.
“MJ,” He broke the silence, “Can I ask who the dad is?”
“Harry,” She scowled, muttering the answer as she pat Ellie’s back while bobbing up and down.
“So-- prom?”
“Mhm,” She hummed. “Before you ask, yes he knows, he took a job in Ibiza a month after I told him but I don’t care, he pays child support.”
Peter nodded and watched MJ burp, Ellie. With a sigh, Michelle kissed her head before leaning her cheek gently on her daughters. Her eyes shut as she swayed back and forth before eventually looking at Peter again. “Do you want to watch a movie with us?”
That’s how they ended up with the three of them on the couch, Peter sitting in the corner with MJ tucked into his side, Ellie on his chest. It was strange and awfully domestic. One of his hand was tangled in the ends of Michelle’s unkempt hair while the other was on Ellie’s back, almost holding her there in case she fell. Which would never happen, but just in case.
They had talked for a while, Michelle telling him all about what her year had been like and Peter felt guilty. MJ had been here, occupied with being a mother, while Peter had been across the world having well, having the time of his life if he was honest.
It wasn’t that he pitied Michelle because being a mom wasn’t a burden at all and even though Peter had never pinned her as the type to even want kids, she didn’t seem to mind being a mom at all.
But being a mom wasn’t easy, and while she wasn’t doing it alone he couldn’t help but feel bad he wasn’t there to help. Even if that just meant doing a load of laundry for her. Then again, Michelle had kept it a secret from him to stop him from doing that exact thing, she knew him too well.
Michelle’s breathing had transformed into a steady rise and fall that was almost in sync with Ellie’s. Peter found himself sub-consciously doing the same. Her eyes had closed, her eyelashes resting over her cheeks and her lips parted ever so slightly.
A tendril of hair fell into her face, causing her to scrunch up her nose as it tickled her. Peter smiled softly, brushing it away. Michelle nuzzled her head further into his side in return.
He was just about to change the channel when her front door opened. Peter watched as the woman who more or less disliked him walked into the apartment, her jaw falling to the floor as her eyes settled on him.
“Hi, Ms Jones,” He whispered, not wanting to wake either of girls.
Michelle’s mom was about to reply, probably something snarky but when she saw a sleeping Michelle she softened. As much as she thought Peter was a bad influence, he was probably the person Michelle trusted the most in this world, and who was she to take that away?
She smiled gently, “It’s nice to see you again, Peter.”
Honestly, it really was. She almost missed the dorky boy’s bad puns and drunken phone calls. Kicking off her shoes, she went and sat on the other end of the couch, Peter’s eyes following her. With a sigh, she looked up at him.
“How’d you find out?”
“May told me,” He bit the inside of his cheek. “I booked a flight as soon as she told me.”
“Right, well,” She sighed. “I haven’t seen her sleep that peacefully in months, so thank you.”
Peter only smiled small and nodded, letting her stand up and continue on her own business. If all he could do is let Michelle rest for once, then so be it. For the minimal time that he would be here, he was going to do whatever Michelle needed, whether she knew she needed it or not.
The next day, after Peter had helped MJ clean up the apartment and made her family dinner, he stayed the night. He felt bad for not spending time with May, but she told him it was fine, that she’d spent enough time with Peter since he was born. Of course, she’d missed her nephew, but she understood that he wanted to be with MJ right now.
He’d woken up once during the night when Ellie woke up crying. Michelle seemed to expect it, she was already awake before Ellie was. Peter stayed quiet while he watched Michelle look after her, his eyes eventually drooping and his body putting him back to sleep before she was even half finished.
He managed to convince Michelle to go out for lunch with him like they used to do. Only this time, Ellie would be coming too, of course. After a twenty minute lecture about all of Ellie’s needs from MJ, he was finally allowed to watch her while MJ showered and got dressed.
She stumbled out of her bedroom with her shirt still being tugged on and shoes in hand, barrelling questions about how Ellie was, if she was even still alive. Peter made her put on her shoes before handing Ellie back, Michelle holding her daughter close and pressing kisses to her small head.
They walked to the usual cafe they always went to, Peter feeling slightly weird stepping foot in there after so long. MJ almost felt the same, she hadn’t been there since she started showing, too afraid to see anyone she knew.
Peter pulled out a chair for MJ, laughing when he realised they were in the same spot he told MJ he’d gotten into Oxford. Michelle furrowed her brows at him when he sat down. He shook his head and fiddled with a sachet of sugar.
She leaned over and got Ellie out of her pram and pulled her close into her chest. There was a breath she didn’t even know she was holding released as Ellie grabbed a section of Michelle’s hair, tugging slightly. MJ didn’t mind, it was just a reminder of her daughter.
“It’s really weird seeing you with a baby,” Peter said, breaking the silence after studying the both of them. “You never cared about anyone and now you’ve got a baby that I can tell you’d die for and I still can’t wrap my head around the fact she’s actually yours. Like, she’s not going anywhere.”
“I still can’t wrap my head around it either and I grew her for nine months,” MJ laughed slightly. “I just- I do sometimes think about what my life would be like if I didn’t get pregnant. I wouldn’t say it would be better but there are things I’d dreamed of doing that was so close to becoming a reality and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do them now. I wouldn’t exchange Ellie for anything, though.”
“Michelle you’re the smartest and most motivated person I know, I wouldn’t put it past you to found a country or something, even with Ellie. I--” Peter sighed, tapping his fingers on the table. “I’m just still kind of hung up that you didn’t tell me.”
“In my head, it was the best choice, for-for-- well not for me, for you. Well, you not knowing just meant I was still more than Ellie’s mom to someone, it kept the dream alive I guess,” MJ muttered, watching as her daughter fisted the necklace Peter gave her, the gold glinting in the light as Ellie’s small fist waved around.
A small smile erupted on Peter’s face as he noticed the necklace. “You and I both know that you’ll figure out a way to conquer the world if you wanted too.”
The breakfast was nice and the same staff from when they were regulars were still there, their eyes widening in disbelief when they saw Peter, and growing even bigger at the sight of MJ with a baby. Michelle wouldn’t lie, the familiar feeling of screwing with people’s heads was most pleasing to her.
Peter and Michelle were walking around the streets of Queens that had almost become distant memories to both of them. They passed the deli they got sandwiches from every day after school and Peter let out a breathless laugh.
“Touch me again and I’ll cover your entire floor in LEGO while you’re sleeping.”
Peter laughed, bumping into her as they walked down the street, only this time, MJ stumbled over her feet, sending her sandwich flying to the ground.
They both stalled, Michelle, staring at the now crumpled paper in her hand, a paper which was once wrapped around a sandwich that was now all over the ground. A scowl erupted over her face, the concrete would never enjoy the collection of lettuce and tomato as much as she would.
His face paled as he looked up at Michelle, her gaze still pointedly on the colourful mess of various vegetables on the footpath. The whole day, Michelle barely spoke except to let Peter know she was hungry whenever she felt like looking up from her book.
Her fists clenched along with her jaw, slowly, she turned to look at Peter. Michelle’s eyebrows raised, her eyes burying him six feet under. “You’re dead, Parker.”
Without another word, Peter took off down the path, going as fast as his feet would carry him. He could hear her going after him, her oddly long legs giving her an unfair advantage. He stopped outside their apartment complex, slamming the entrance and getting to the elevator as quickly as he could.
Peter jabbed his finger into the up button as quickly as he could, cursing under his breath when the stupid moving box was taking far too long to get to him. He heard the entrance door open and shut and Peter debating making a run for the stairs but it was too late.
MJ walked right up to him, shoved his sandwich into his face before taking a bite out of it. Peter grimaced at the feeling of mayo slathered over his cheek, Michelle gave him a shit-eating grin.
Peter was about to remind her of the memory when a sickly sweet voice came from behind them.
“Peter? Michelle?”
They paused, both of them whipping their head around to see none other than Liz Allan picking up her pace in their direction. It only took a glance at her annoyingly skinny jeans and tiny waist for a frown to cover MJ’s face. She’d managed to go a year without seeing anyone from high school, why now?
This is why she didn’t leave the house.
She wanted nothing more than for the ground to swallow her whole when Liz’s eyes landed on Ellie. Liz gawked at her daughter and Michelle had the sudden urge to step in front of the pram and rip Liz’s expensive extensions off her head.
“No way,” She laughed. “I haven’t seen either of you in months! I thought you guys were in England?”
“Peter is, I still live here.”
“Visiting,” Peter laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.
“Tell me that’s not yours,” Liz laughed, her eyes flickering between Ellie, Michelle and Peter.
“She,” Michelle spat.
“Right, so, more than just friends huh?”
“Oh no-- that’s-- Ellie isn’t mine. Michelle and I aren’t- no, ew, no way,” Peter stuttered, his breath hitching at the idea of being the one who got MJ pregnant. At Michelle’s raised brows he paled even more. “Not that I- you’re really pretty, I would so have-- just, yeah.”
“Right,” Liz paused, eyeing the both of them before fixing her gaze on Michelle. “So, it’s yours?”
“She’s my fucking daughter, not an object, Elizabeth ,” Michelle grit her teeth, tilting her head and glaring.
“Alright, jeez, she’s cute I guess,” Liz shrugged before looking at Peter and placing a hand on his arm. “It’s so nice to see you, Peter, how long are you home fore? We should catch up.”
Peter moved away from her touch, stepping closer to Michelle. “Yeah, sure.”
MJ almost gagged at the way Liz practically undressed Peter with her eyes before giving them both a smile that neared a cringe. “Well it was crazy bumping into you guys, never pinned you as the mom type Michelle, you were always just so-- emotionless. See ya!”
Michelle’s knuckles turned white at her grip on the handles of the pram, Peter was scared she was going to bend the handle in half. He grabbed one of her hands, intertwining their fingers before poking her cheek. It was a bold move, considering he wouldn’t past Michelle to bite his finger off.
“I can’t believe you got me to leave my apartment for the first time in forever and we see Liz fucking Allan. What did we ever see in her?”
“Her lips.”
“Hm,” Michelle mused. “And her legs.”
“She’s got really nice lips,” Peter sighed.
“Alright calm down before you get a boner in the middle of the street.”
“Sorry, she just has-”
“Yeah, I know she gives good blowjobs you never shut up about it, now take me home.”