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“I want to make cookies!” Peter, Harley, and Morgan were sitting in the living room. Morgan was sitting at her tea party table, stuffed animals in the three other seats. Harley was lounging on the couch, throwing a pillow up and down. Peter was sitting on a chair, some of his homework on the coffee table in front of him.
“Cookies, Mo?” Harley asked, sitting up, putting the pillow aside.
“Yeah!” Morgan said, hopping up from her table. “It’s almost Christmas. Baking cookies is Christmas Time fun! That’s what mommy says.” Harley chuckled and smiled at the girl he affectionately referred to as his little sister. Then he glanced at Peter, who had put his pen down.
“What do you think Parker?” Harley asked. “Think it’s time to bake some cookies?”
“I don’t know,” Peter said. “Mrs. Stark said..."
“Not to not make a mess.” All three kids intoned. Harley glanced at Morgan before looking back at Peter.
“Boo!” Both Harley and Morgan shouted. Peter rolled his eyes. Morgan ran over to Peter and pulled herself up into his lap.
“Please Petey?” Morgan asked, pouting.
“You’d be just cruel saying no to a face like that,” Harley said with a smirk. Peter shot Harley a look before glancing back at Morgan. She pouted even harder and stared up at him with the biggest doe eyes she could muster.
“Okay,” Peter said and Morgan cheered. Peter chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “But you’re driving Keener.” Harley rolled his eyes.
“That’s because you can’t drive.”
“Can so!” Peter stood up, hauling up Morgan with him. “Right Mo?”
“Uh huh!” Morgan said, wrapping her arms around Peter’s neck. “Daddy’s teaching him.”
“Yeah Keener,” Peter said with a smirk. “Did Mister Stark teach you how to drive?”
“Well I ain’t afraid to call him Tony,” Harley said heading towards the door. “Now, come on slow pokes. We’ve got some ingredients to buy.” Peter glanced at Morgan and she nodded. Peter chuckled and then they headed towards the door.
“Chocolate chip?”
“That’s kind of boring.”
“But delicious!”
“Ugh.” Peter and Harley were standing in the baking aisle. They had been debating what type of cookie to make. Morgan was standing in between them, staring up at them, an impatient look on her face. She tugged on Harley’s jacket and he glanced down at her.
“I have to pee,” Morgan whined. “And I’m hungry.” Harley sighed and glanced at Peter.
“Just pick something,” Harley said, an irritated tone to his voice. “I’ll take Morgan to the bathroom.” Peter nodded and then Harley scooped Morgan up.
“Any cookie?” Harley sighed again.
“Peter, I literally don’t care anymore,” Harley said with a slight groan. “Just get the ingredients so we can go.” Peter frowned at Harley’s comment.
“Harley,” Morgan whined. Harley then turned and walked away with Morgan. Peter sighed and shut his eyes for a second. This excursion for ingredients was becoming more stressful than necessary.
“Excuse me.” Peter’s eyes opened quickly when he heard someone spoke. A woman, a few inches taller than him, was standing in front of him. He moved aside, assuming he was in her way. “Oh no. I just...I don’t mean to step in, but I heard you arguing with your siblings.” Peter’s brow furrowed. This woman was eavesdropping on their conversation? “You know, you really shouldn’t argue in public. Especially in front of such a young little girl.” Peter didn’t say anything, shocked by what the woman was saying. “Maybe you should save the baking for your parents and just stick to cookie dough.”
And then she walked away.
Peter stood there shell-shocked. He was from New York City and yet he had never experienced anything like what had just happened. But he thought of how he and Harley had been acting. Had it come off as aggressive? Had it come off as fighting? The nosy woman sure thought so. And was it bad that they were doing it in front of Morgan? Peter felt sick worrying that maybe he wasn’t setting a great example for Morgan. That upset him more than anything.
“Peter?” Suddenly Harley was in front of him, shaking his shoulders gently. There was a look of concern on his face. “You okay?”
“Huh?”
“You’re just standing here,” Harley said. “Have you moved since we left?” Peter shook his head. Morgan tugged on Peter’s pant leg and he scooped her up.
“Petey,” Morgan said, a softness to her voice. “You’re making that face Daddy makes when his chest starts to hurt.”
“Sorry Mo,” Peter said, kissing her cheek. “Some lady just made a comment to me.” Harley tilted his head, an odd look passing over him. “It’s fine.”
“It’s not,” Harley said. “It clearly upset you. No one gets to do that. Right Mo?”
“Right!” Peter sighed.
“Can we just get the ingredients and go home?” Peter asked quietly. Harley wanted to argue, that no, they could not just leave. Because it pissed him off to know that some stranger had upset Peter enough to leave him in such a state in the grocery store.
“Can we make chocolate chip cookies with M&Ms?” Morgan asked.
“Sure Mo,” Peter said. He turned towards the shelf, to begin grabbing the items. Harley stood there, not really moving, just watching Peter. He had so much he wanted to say. But he knew Peter wasn’t confrontational. At least not in the same way he was. Harley didn’t let anyone talk to him in a negative fashion, whereas Peter seemed to just put up with it. Sometimes it was odd that they get along; Harley was the abrasive one, Peter was the polite one. And yet Tony, and eventually Morgan, had made them friends and even family. So, while he didn’t like that Peter probably didn’t stick up for himself, he was more upset that someone had upset Peter.
“Harley,” Morgan said, getting his attention. “Petey says we have all the stuff.” Harley nodded and followed after Peter and Morgan. When they reached the checkout lines, Peter stopped abruptly. Harley was about to say something, until he followed Peter’s gaze. He could see Peter staring at a woman, who was loudly talking on a cell phone.
“That her?” Harley asked, glaring at the woman.
“Harley.” Peter’s response was enough for Harley. He walked right up to the woman, Peter and Morgan quickly trailing right behind him.
“Hey lady,” Harley said, interrupting her. The woman gave Harley a look and then rolled her eyes. “You can hang your phone up, since you felt like inserting yourself in our business.” The woman huffed and rolled her eyes again before ending the call.
“I see your brother didn’t pass along my advice,” She said snippily. “Is this attitude really the kind of example you want to set for the little one?”
“He doesn’t have an attitude!” Morgan shouted, glaring at the woman. “And you made my big brother sad!”
“Which makes her other big brother mad,” Harley said, glaring at the woman. “How we interact with each other is none of your damn business. So do everyone a favor and butt out lady.”
“Yeah!” Morgan said. Peter glanced at Harley and Morgan, a small smile crossing his face.
“You picked the wrong family to mess with ma’am,” Peter said. “And maybe if you had a loving family, you would understand that arguments mean nothing in the long run. So mind your business next time you think you should speak up.” The woman’s mouth dropped open. Then she spun on her heel and walked away.
“Damn Parker,” Harley said with a chuckle. “I didn’t think you’d put her in her place.”
“Couldn’t let you have all the fun,” Peter said with a smirk. “And thanks for sticking up for me. You too Mo.”
“Anything for my brothers!” Peter and Harley chuckled before heading towards the checkout line, Morgan already talking excitedly about the cookies they were going to make.
The kitchen was a mess. A total disaster. But none of the three kids in the kitchen cared. They were all laughing, while snacking on their attempt at cookies. It hadn’t gone at all as they planned, but that didn’t matter to any of them.
“What on earth?” Their laughter immediately died as they heard Pepper’s voice. They all looked up from where they were sitting to see Pepper and Tony standing in the kitchen doorway.
“Oh boy,” Tony muttered looking around the room. He looked at his three kids, a sigh escaping his lips. They all seemed to have some sort of flour and cookie dough on their clothes and hair.
“Harley let Morgan pour the ingredients in!”
“You were in charge of the mixer!”
“Boys,” Tony said, stopping them. “Now is not the time.” He glanced at his wife, still seeing the horror on her face.
“You had two rules,” Pepper said, trying to stay calm. “What were my two rules?”
“Keep Morgan out of trouble,” Peter said, glancing at Morgan. She smiled brightly at him and he chuckled.
“And the other one?”
“Don’t make a mess,” All three kids said at the same time. Pepper huffed and looked around the kitchen. Clearly, they hadn’t followed that second rule.
“Would it mean anything if we said we saved you guys some cookies?” Harley asked. Tony covered his face, sometimes not understand Harley’s sensibilities. Pepper huffed again and walked over to them. She scooped Morgan up.
“Mommy look!” Morgan said, holding up the half-eaten cookie in her hand. “We made cookies!”
“I see that baby,” Pepper said. “You also made a mess of your clothes. I think someone needs a bath.” Morgan nodded, before kissing her mom’s cheek.
“Don’t be mad at Petey and Harley,” Morgan said. Pepper sighed and then looked at the two boys. Then she glanced back at her daughter, who was smiling and happily munching on a cookie.
“Clean this up,” Pepper said with a sigh. “And no more baking experiments while we’re out.” The boys nodded and Pepper walked out of the room with Morgan. Tony walked over to Harley and Peter and, looking around the room.
“You two are lucky Morgan’s cuteness always works on Pepper,” Tony said. “Now you heard the boss lady. Keener, you know where the cleaning supplies are.”
“Only a real troublemaker would know where the cleaning supplies are,” Peter said with a smirk. Tony snorted and Harley rolled his eyes.
“Shut up Parker.” Harley said. “I’m not the one DUM-E follows around with a fire extinguisher.” Harley then left the kitchen, in pursuit of cleaning supplies. Tony wrapped his arm around Peter’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry kid,” Tony said with a smirk. “DUM-E does that to me too. Sometimes I think Rhodey put him up to it.” Peter snorted and Tony just ruffled his hair, some of the flour lifting off his curly hair. “You three sure did make a mess.”
“Yeah,” Peter said, looking around the kitchen. “Mo wanted to make cookies and it just got a little wild. I hope Mrs. Stark isn’t too upset.” Tony chuckled and shrugged.
“Did you three have a good time?” Tony asked. “No trouble?” Peter thought back on the day, on everything they had been through in those few hours.
“None whatsoever,” Peter said with a smile. Tony smiled back and hugged Peter a little tighter. He pressed a kiss to the side of Peter’s head.
“Then she’ll forgive you both,” Tony said. “That’s what family does. They drive each other crazy and sometimes make huge messes. But they also love each other and that means more than anything.”
“Thanks Mister Stark.”
“Anytime kid,” Tony said. “Now clean up. We’re going to need to order take-out tonight.”
“Can you order Chinese?” Harley asked, coming back in.
“Pizza would be better.”
“Oh, be quiet Parker.”
“Boys, clean this mess, now,” Tony said. “And we’re getting whatever Pepper wants because of what you did to her kitchen.”
“I thought he always said Pepper wasn’t the boss of him,” Harley quipped.
“He’s not stupid enough to say that Keener.” Tony just chuckled and walked out of the kitchen as the boys continued to bicker, a smile on his face.