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One
They had agreed they weren’t going to do anything big for Valentines Day. Peter could stretch a budget but the holidays had rinsed him, and it was looking as though Riley was close to growing out of her shoes again. On the other hand, MJ was so booked up with shoots and meetings to discuss contracts that she wanted something quiet and low-key, promising that she’d encourage him to go as all put as his ‘cheesy heart desired’ for their anniversary in a few months.
It was a compromise he was willing to accept, hiding the fact that he’d already gotten her a gift for the day.
“Don’t be mad.” He said as MJ walked back out of Riley’s bedroom after dealing with a ‘difficult put down’.
It might make him a bad parent and a bad boyfriend but he was willing to pay his kid off to get a couple extra minutes to prepare the lounge. Riley had been totally on board – obsessed with the idea that she could help with a ‘romance evening’ like she’d seen in the movies. Though the evening Peter had planned involved significantly less spaghetti and meatballs which seemed to greatly disappoint her.
She’d even diligently put her toys away without much prompting from Peter and drawn them up some place mats to decorate their table with. Adding just a little extra something to the dining table with it’s tea-light in the centre. A thin, black velvet case sat next to the flickering flame.
MJ looked from him towards the table, no shock on her face, just a knowing smile like she’d expected nothing less from him.
Was he getting predictable?
“I thought we said nothing big?” She asked, moving towards him and wrapping her arms loosely around his shoulder.
Peter smirked, hands resting on her hips. “That’s why I only used the little candle.”
MJ bit back a laugh, trying to level him with an unimpressed glare but he could see amusement flickering behind her eyes.
“You’re a dumbass.” She whispered, shaking her head.
“So mean to me when I got you a present and everything.” Peter chuckled, dipping his head to catch her lips. Her hand curled into the hair at the nape of his neck.
The kiss deepened after a moment, Peter walking her back until the back of her legs hit the arm of the couch. His table set-up slowly vanishing from his mind until MJ pulled back, her pupils wide and a teasing smirk at the corner of her lips making him want to pull her back in but she stopped him.
“You know your self-confidence has gone through the roof if you think this is a gift.” She said.
“You say that now but you stuck around for it.”
MJ sucked a breath in as she shook her head. “I stayed for Riley. You were kind of just... there. I made do.”
“Mean.” He murmured, kissing her once more before drawing back with a grin the second she started to press into him again.
Two could play at that game after all.
He walked back towards the table, picking up the thin box and passing it over to her. MJ held it in her hands, looking from the box and then up to him, her whole demeanour softening from her playful antics to a more sincere smile, silencing questioning if she could open it.
He nodded.
Carefully, she lifted the lid to the case, her mouth opening and a quiet ‘Oh’ escaping as she looked over the necklace inside.
Really, it wasn’t anything special. Nothing extortionate or expensive like he knew she’d worn at her shoots, but there was just something about it that had reminded him so much of her that he couldn’t walk away from it.
He’d found the necklace while doing last minute shopping for the holidays with May. He was waiting for his aunt to try on a few things in the small cubicle at the back of the thrift shop, waiting by the counter and just looking over the jewellery they had in while Riley pawed through the books. He didn’t have any intentions, though all the preparations for Ned and Flash’s wedding had certainly planted ideas that he felt were too soon to act on.
The shine on some of the rings had just caught his eye. That was all.
Anyway.
They were too far out of MJ’s tastes for him to consider the idea longer than a second, forcing himself to avert his gaze before he thought too hard on what the ‘perfect ring’ might look like. As he did, his eyes landed on the black pendant.
They had already done their little version of Christmas. Helen had managed to convince Peter that it was only fair that he finally bring Riley out to her for the holidays. She said that he and May were welcome too. He thought it was meant to be a peace offering but it felt pointed.
Regardless, he figured he could give Helen the benefit of the doubt. Riley could get a slight taste of the big fanfare Christmases that her mom had loved so much growing up. Gwen had been really excited about getting to make the stockings for Riley, filled to the brim with chocolates, candy and useless tat that she’d throw away after a week but apparently were her favourite toys of that day, a tradition Peter had tried to carry on for her. Helen was the originator of it though, she was the expert and Riley deserved to have that little bit of closeness.
May agreed to come to mediate any possible fights and so that he wouldn’t have to make the drive with Riley alone.
He hadn’t invited MJ. They may be making strides in their relationship as they’d started to discuss her moving in, but introducing her to Helen felt something neither of them were adequately prepared for.
The gifts MJ had given Riley, May and he were sat in a bag with all Riley’s other gifts, ready to be taken to Helen’s. The gifts they’d given her return were apparently sat under Gayle’s tree with Leah’s watchful eye making sure no elves tried to snatch them away.
And a small flower pendant, made from delicate glass with petals so thin they looked as though they could snap the slightest pressure, tinted yellow and held together by a small black dot of glass and strung on a silver chain, sat in the case of a thrift shop while Peter wondered if the collection of books had been the wrong thing to give as thoughtful as they were.
He couldn’t change what he’d already given, but after seeing the necklace he couldn’t get the idea of it out of his head. How neatly it would lay against her sternum. He thought about how well that small little pendant seemed to reflect the feeling her smile gave him – bright and impossible to ignore.
It had been too late for Christmas but it night be the first time he’s been prepared months in advance for Valentines day.
And now, MJ’s hand hovering over the pendant with a private smile that he wasn’t sure even he was meant to see as she looked down on it, he’s glad he waited to give it to her until he could see her opening it.
“If I get this, then who were the lilies for?” She asked, voice light and joking. Peter frowned, confused for a moment as he cast his eyes to the bouquet of red roses that sat in a vase on the counter.
Cliché, sure, but Valentines Day felt like the perfect excuse for being a little cheesy, even if MJ was adamant that it was Peter being himself.
He was fairly certain that it was hard to mistake the two though. He only ever got lilies for-...
Oh.
“They were in the sink when I left for work.” MJ elaborated, tilting her head to the side.
Old habits and the attempt to build new ones clashing together.
Peter ducked his head.
“If they were for May that is very cute.” She teased, nudging his shoulder.
“No, they were for-...” The words caught in his throat. He wet his lips, trying to think how to explain himself without shifting the mood too much.
They’d talked about Gwen before. They’d had to. She was tied into the reason why Peter was the way he was now. She was the first person he’d truly loved and stories about her slipped out because there weren’t very many times that Peter didn’t want to talk about Gwen if the opportunity arose, and as his relationship with MJ grew, he knew that he could because she understood.
Gwen hadn’t just been his wife. She’d been his best friend.
His visits to her on Valentines Day weren’t necessarily sad, just... something he had to do. He didn’t normally bring Riley with him on these visits. They’d together the weekend following with May by their side when he could answer her questions and the brevity that her patience sometimes allowed them. February 14th was just for he and Gwen. He’d catch her up on what she’d miss, apologise again, sit with silence of her loss and indulge memory for a while.
MJ watched him closely. It took her a moment then her eyes widened, nodding. “Got it. Sorry.” She said, leaning back as if to move away from the conversation completely to not try and overstep the lines Peter had set by not mentioning it sooner.
“No. You don’t need to apologise. I’ve just never had to... explain it, I guess?”
“And you still don’t if you’re not ready, Pete. I get it.” She said a little softer this time. She reached across and took his hand, squeezing it. His heart was in his throat. The blockage the only thing that stopped him from asking a question that normally got posed with the help of a ring instead of a necklace.
Unsure how he got lucky enough to have met someone who understood him so well.
“Help me put this on?” She asked of him instead. He wasn’t conflicted at all about this part.
Two
Peter's eyes were on the floor, mentally rehearsing his speech over in his head. Introducing himself to a new cohort of Freshman was less daunting than speaking in front of his best friend’s entire family, despite how much Ned, Mrs. Leeds, MJ and May had all assured him that it’d be okay.
Flash had kindly reminded him that his speech was hardly the focus of the day and would immediately be upstaged by Flash’s own speech as he attempted to start his marriage as he meant to go on – with the last word.
Knowing that his speech wasn’t going to be the last one heard soothed Peter’s worry a little, but the extra rehearsal time as he walked through the halls of the hotel weren’t to be wasted.
“Pause for laughter.” He muttered to himself, a ringing in his head screaming out. Without looking up, Peter lifted the box in his hands higher above his head as two of Ned’s younger cousins sprinted along the halls, one crashing into his legs with a mumbled apology and a quick recovery.
“And someone will laugh. Definitely. Yeah. You’re funny, right? It’s a good speech. Great even.” He said, trying to psych himself up more. His eyes only lifting from the pattern of the horrendous Hotel carpet to check the numbers on the doors, walking until he reached the very last door at the end of the hall, music blaring out through the door.
He paused outside, trying to place the familiar tune. Inside there was low chatter, if he closed his eyes he could pick out the sound of three heartbeats inside the room – one he had woken up next to before they’d separated for the morning.
The day had been as hectic as he’d expected. So many members of Ned’s family scattered throughout the building, pulling him into conversation as he tried to get ready. The attempts to keep Riley’s dress clean after she decided she wanted to get into it a solid two hours early only soothed by the promise that Ned’s aunties would keep an eye on her as she played either the other kids. The timings being adjusted and people asking him questions he didn’t have the answer to, and the florist getting the room numbers wrong, delivering all the flowers – bridesmaid bouquet and the other groom’s boutonniere to Ned’s room rather than Flash’s.
Throughout it all, Ned had been grinning from ear to ear. He’d been jovial and polite, accepting kisses to the cheeks and warm hugs from anyone that offered, jumping in to help with other last minute preparations and still having enough energy to chase Riley around the room. All the attention and even the small mistake with the flowers not mattering because ‘it’s a good day’.
Upcoming speeches and overexcited eight year olds aside, Peter had to agree.
Hoping that the good cheer had spread to this part of the hotel and Flash would be more relieved by his arrival than upset that the flowers had been delivered to the wrong room, he adjusted his hold on the boxes and knocked on the door.
A moment passed.
The door cracked open, revealing MJ, Peter’s heart thundering in his chest. He wondered if she could hear it. In his own ears it sounded just as loud as the music they were playing inside the room.
He tried to speak, but his mouth was dry, eyes running up and down her once then twice then a third time as he tried to take it all in. The neckline, the green satin against her skin, her hair pinned so carefully with a few strands framing her face.
Peter was certain that he’d seen practically every one of MJ’s shoots by this point. After meeting her, he’d spent an embarrassing amount of time on her Instagram, and she’d show him a lot of the proofs from her favourite shoots, the weird outfits she’d worn throughout the day, he’d get selfie of her in her makeup when she was away on location. He’d stop by stands if he saw her on a cover.
He was proud of her. Sue him.
To this day, he wasn’t sure he would ever be able to come to terms with how beautiful she was.
He wasn’t sure he wanted to.
Especially when his stunned silence brought a smile to her face. Dimples forming in her cheeks and brow raising at him as she tried to reign it back in.
Peter’s heart continued to beat rapidly.
“Was there something you needed? Or did you just come to stare?” She asked after another moment of him gawking at her.
He lifted the box a little higher, his eyes making another trip over her face and dress. The worries of his speech and the busyness of the day suddenly absent from his mind, focusing solely on her and how many photos he was going to need from the photographer of the three of them together – more than happy to excuse himself from the shot if it meant borrowing the camera to capture Riley and MJ together in their dresses.
Wondering how quickly the festivities might exhaust Riley so they could have a good excuse to start heading home.
“Pete?” She prompted, his eyes being forced back up to meet hers before his mind could wonder any further. “Are those for us?”
“Yes! Yeah. The florist got the rooms wrong.” He explained, glancing down to the box and the bouquet balancing on top of it.
“Thank you!” She said, reaching forward to grab both the bouquet and the box with Flash’s boutonniere from him. Peter took the opportunity to look over her once again. “You gonna pick that jaw off the floor anytime soon?”
“You look really pretty.” He said, unable to help himself. Her smile fond. His heart still going. If it wasn’t for the fact that he could still see the ugly pattern of the carpet that he’d memorised more than his speech on the way here, he might have thought that ground had given way and he was swinging in the air.
She made him feel that way a lot.
“Thank you.” A beat. Her eyes looking down his plain white shirt, tucked into his pants, his suit jacket somewhere back in Ned’s room for safe keeping. Her tongue darting out to wet her lips. “You look pretty too.”
Peter’s smile started to shift to a smirk, but as if sensing where his mind was going, MJ gave him a small shake of her head.
“How’s Riley?” She asked, her grin spreading even further. Peter’s mirrored it. He’d been a little cruel and withheld pictures of Riley in her dress from MJ, solely because he wanted to see her reaction in person.
Flash and Ned had outdone themselves with the choice.
Headband in her hair, and poofy floral skirt that Riley kept flicking out and twirling around, she looked like a fairy from a kids book. She looked adorable.
She looked like her mom.
Riley’s excitement about her duty in the ceremony and her attire was infectious. He knew that MJ was going to melt when she saw her.
“Excited.” He told her, MJ swatting his arm when he didn’t give her anything more to go off of. He figured it was just the smallest dose of revenge for keeping her outfit a secret from him the last few months.
Her presence must have been missed from Flash because he called out to her, asking who it was at the door. His tone far too relaxed for Peter’s liking, considering how stressed he’d been with preparations especially following the RSVP from his parents.
Now it sounded as though Flash didn’t have a care in the world.
“Peter.” MJ called back over her shoulder. “He’s just dropping off the flowers.”
“Yeah? Tell him he needs to wait until after the ceremony before he can start hitting on the rest of the wedding party.” He snarked.
Peter snorted, but he’d take that to his grave, even if MJ ratted him out the second the door was closed.
“Little too late for that, bud. We might have-“ He started to shout, leaning forward on his tip toes so that the words carried past MJ’s shoulder.
“Not on my wedding day, Parker. Please.”
Three
Peter's first wedding had been in a courthouse. It was a day of rushed excitement that even Helen’s stern lecture could not ruin. Gwen had worn a short white summer dress that she’d had for years, Peter had worn the only suit he owned. He gave her May’s ring.
He replaced one of the buttons on the jacket with one he’d stolen from a jacket of George’s that Helen still hadn’t packed away. He figured since he wasn’t able to save her dad, the very least he could do was bring a small bit of him to their day.
Gwen cried when she realised.
May was their witness, Ned and Flash were waiting at a bar, not realising they were about to attend their friends’ ‘reception’. It was as rushed and chaotic but it was perfect. It was so wholly theirs that even disapproving glares and mutters that they were too young or murmurs about ‘thinking it through’ hadn’t deterred them from following through.
He didn’t fit into the suit anymore, but it was still in his closest with it’s one mismatched button.
When Peter got married for a second time, a lot of things were different so much of it was new.
A new suit, new rings, a new location, a new experience. Everything from the extra preparations down to the weather left Peter feeling like he’d never done this before.
There was still the same excitement though. His stomach bursting with the same butterflies when MJ stepped out in her dress. Her hair pinned back with not a single strand hiding her smile.
The same worry starting to brew that there wasn’t enough oxygen in his lungs to say what he needed to because she had taken his breath away, but somehow he managed to find it in him to whisper to her ‘you look beautiful’ because it couldn’t be left unsaid.
It was new and it was different, but it all felt so familiar with how much love was spread throughout the day from the family friend who’d let them use their garden, the help MJ’s family had offered to help with the few costs of it all and in the grass stains that MJ got on her dress as she sat with Riley at the end of the garden while music blared from inside the small gazebo.
As Peter approached, he could hear them murmuring softly. Nothing of importance. Just talking about the nearby flowers and which would look best. With another step closer he could see over their shoulders at a small chain their were weaving together into a crown. Picking at the weeds and MJ’s manicure being used to stab a hole into the stem.
In the distant light from the gazebo, Peter could see Riley’s earlier enthusiasm had drained. Whether it was the excitement of the day tiring her out or a different sort of melancholy creeping in, she looked deflated, ready for her bed despite a prior decision to extend her curfew for the festivities.
“Wondered where you two got off to.” He said, sitting down beside MJ.
“My feet were hurting. Riley let me sit with her.” MJ explained. It was more than likely a lie. It was probably an excuse that she'd made up so that Riley wouldn’t feel as though she was being checked upon or making some sort of a scene.
Peter hadn’t been sure how much this day might effect Riley. She hadn’t been a glimmer in their eyes when he and Gwen had gotten married. Most of the memories she had about Gwen were from pictures or other people’s stories, he didn’t know whether she was old enough to connect a wedding and what it meant and symbolised to a piece of her mom’s history. He hadn’t shied away from the conversation. They’d talked about what it would mean and made sure that Riley felt included in every step of the journey, explained that MJ wasn’t replacing anyone, that love didn’t work that way.
She had seemed excited. Even before proposing, the concept of a wedding had her bouncing up and down, thinking it was something magical. Her time at her uncles’ wedding only solidifying that.
Riley hadn’t said a word about it throughout the day, but now Peter wondered if the shine had worn off. Peter had tried his best to talk through it, but it was hard to explain to a child that even on the happiest of days there could still be an inch of sadness lingering.
The feelings didn’t cancel each other out. They were messy and overlapped. Waves that crashed into one another.
Helping her weather the storm was MJ. Together they sat on the grass as dusk began to creep in and dew started to settle on the ground, ruining the white skirt of MJ’s dress and seeping through the chiffon of Riley’s.
It was funny to Peter, when people thought Spider-Man was some great hero, funnier to him than when the likes of Jameson used to find any reason to slander him. They saw him do all the things he did, the theatrics of the suit and assumed it was his powers that made him great.
The reality was that Spider-Man wouldn’t exist without the people around him. It was everything Ben had taught him, May’s kindness and hope, Gwen’s tenacity. It was his family’s continual belief in him.
It was MJ, sitting on the grass in her wedding dress while the party continued on behind her so that Riley wasn’t alone during a confusing time. She didn’t have the words Riley needed – Peter wasn’t certain there were any – but she cared and she was being there in a way that she could.
Peter loved her for it.
“She’s making me a crown.” MJ said, her hand sliding over his knee and squeezing gently. He could feel the metal band on her finger through the fabric of his trousers. A foreign sensation that he was still getting used to anytime they held hands, but one that felt right.
“She looks like a princess. She needs one.” Riley shrugged, “MJ’s making me one as well so we can match.”
Peter nodded. Letting them continue to work and acting as an extra pair of hands to pick at the flowers they needed, earning a small huff of amused exasperation when he offered out blades of grass instead of flower stems to Riley.
The music from the tent further up the garden continued to play on. Chatter mixing in to make a warm white noise that reminded Peter of falling asleep on the couch at Christmas.
“You know you can tell if someone likes butter with these flowers.” Peter hummed, plucking up one of the nearby weeds and twirling the stem of a buttercup between his fingers.
Riley looked over, watching her dad’s interest in the flower with apprehension.
“No way...”
“Yup. Your mom taught me the trick. You take the flower and you hold it under someone’s chin. If their chin goes yellow then they like butter.”
“That can’t be true!” She said, glancing over to MJ who just shrugged.
“Your mom wouldn’t have lied to me.” He laughed, holding out the flower for her to take. “Test it out on me. You’ll know if I’m lying that way.”
Riley sat up on her knees and reached across to take the stem from him. She leaned over MJ’s lap, holding the little flower up under Peter’s chin and squinting until she gasped.
“It’s yellow!”
Peter grinned. “And I love butter.”
“Does it work on everyone?” She asked, sitting back on her heels, staring down at the flower in awe. More awake and expressive than she’d been a few moments ago.
“Why don’t you go find out?” He suggested, nodding his head up to the tent. Riley looked from the flower to MJ, checking she was okay ending their fun before scrambling up and running towards the gazebo, Leah’s name being shouted from her lips.
It was just a flower. Something small. Something tiny to make her part of the day. Like a mismatched button.
Peter reached over MJ and picked up the discarded flower crown that Riley had been working on. He tied it loosely before setting it on MJ’s head, his wife unfazed by his antics and watching his movements with an amused smile.
People had warned him that the day might go by too quickly for him to take it in. A few women at work had told him even with a small wedding he’d be too busy trying to appease everyone, speak to everyone, he’d barely get a moment to himself, let alone time just with MJ, but like they always did, they’d found a way.
“Hi.” MJ grinned at him. A light in her eyes, that hadn’t shifted since the moment she woke up this morning, drawing him in closer. His own hand going on top of hers and his own smile widening as he felt her ring pressing into his skin.
“Hey.” He whispered back. “She’s right, you know, you look beautiful.”
MJ’s eyes danced across his face. Her expression taking on a shape that might be considered ‘sappy’ if it were on his face, but on her was pure and adoring.
Peter wasn't sure if he deserved it such a gaze directed his way, not from someone like MJ, but he’d certainly try to earn it.
“You had a good day?” She asked.
“It’s perfect.”
It was theirs.
Four
They’d left it until the last minute. That was definitely Peter’s fault. Spider-Man was dictating a lot of his life again and he knew he was slipping. Things probably would have gone catastrophic if it weren’t for MJ and Riley bringing him home and even then he’d missed breakfasts, dinners and bedtimes.
He had nearly missed the store’s closing time, barely making it through the door and over to the floral display before they shut. There was an abysmal range of flowers left. The stand ransacked from people who’d gotten there sooner than them. The promotional placard hanging above the display mocking him with the reminder that he could barely keep his act together enough to celebrate the most important people in his life.
“Kiddo. You pick the flowers; one for May and one for your mom, okay? I’m going to grab the other bits real quick.” He ordered Riley before starting to dart away, not wanting to keep the store employees longer than they had to.
They were already getting a few choice looks from the staff for rushing in so near to close.
“What about MJ?”
Peter kept walking towards the greeting cards, half distracted by his mission. “What?”
“Can I get her some too?”
He stopped, turning to look back at Riley who was hovering by the flowers, thumbing the petals of one bouquet as she looked over the rest.
Mother’s Day had been a tricky conversation the first year MJ spent it with them. Peter saw MJ as a parent to Riley, he knew that Riley saw her as a guardian too, but he didn’t want to push anything, letting Riley decide if she wanted to include MJ in the gifts or their plans. In the end, she hadn’t. Peter and Riley went the cemetery with May and then a late lunch. MJ took her own mom out for food.
MJ hadn’t been upset about it. Not openly. Peter worried regardless. It was difficult, trying to strike a balance between what he thought they should be doing and the way Riley viewed it all.
May reminded him that things took time. She reminded him that Peter had shown May the Father’s Day card he’d made for Ben during their first year living together, hesitant and afraid that it might be rejected or tarnish what his dad had meant to him. The card didn’t change anything but he was young, confused and grappling with grief, growing up and adjusting to a new family, he had questions.
She reminded him that Peter that it took him a few more years on top of that before he would give her the cards he’d made in class without feeling the need to preface that it was for ‘Aunt May Day’.
She reminded Peter that MJ and Riley would find their own way to celebrate their relationship. It might be on Mother’s Day, it might be something else, but it’d take time and it’d take trial and error.
He’d kept that in mind, but made a plan for himself. After getting home, Riley eagerly recounting their day to MJ and confirming that she’d been right and May had loved her gift, Peter ushered her into bed. Then they ended the evening with dinner and a bath. MJ tucked up against his chest, Peter whispering his thank you’s to her, refusing to let her efforts go unappreciated.
Up until now, he had thought that this year would be much the same.
MJ might have an ‘official’ title of Step-Mom that Riley could use to explain her, but she hadn’t asked to do anything for her and Peter was hesitant to push. Last year’s plans remained, communicated by their calendar more than any actual conversation.
“If you want yeah, I think she’d like that.”
“What’s her favourite?” Riley asked, looking over the sparse selection of flowers.
Peter looked back at the aisle behind him. All his impatience leaving him and walking back over to her. He scanned over the available bouquets, he didn’t think they’d have sunflowers in but he was hoping that they’d at least have something bright and yellow that could pass as the bare minimum, pressing his lips together when he didn’t see them.
MJ would pretend that whatever Riley gave her was perfect. In her eyes it probably would be because of who they’d come from and what it meant for her to be included in the day.
Peter was pushing his own insecurities on to the issue, he knew, but he didn’t want the first time MJ was given a gift on Mother’s Day to be rushed or last minute. He didn’t want it to come across as thoughtless just because he had been losing his balance again.
He chewed his lip. An announcement coming over the tanoy that the store would be closing soon.
“They don’t have them.” He admitted in defeat, trying to think of a suitable replacement.
“Oh.” Riley replied, looking over the selection again, pulling off the petal she’d been fiddling with before hanging her head to look down at it.
“Do you want to go look somewhere else for them?” He asked after a moment, “We might not be able to find them exactly, but we can find something close or maybe some colours you like more?”
“Do we have time?” Riley asked.
A weight dropped in Peter’s stomach, a reminder of how attentive kids really were, how much she’d picked up of his rushing of late and how she’d decided wherever Peter had to be was more important than this.
Because that’s how he’d been acting recently.
“Definitely. Just... Let me make a call. You start picking out the cards, okay?” He said, pulling out his phone. He was meant to be following some shipments tonight after patrol and he was already running late, but he’d earned himself more than a few favours throughout the years.
This felt important too.
“Actually...” She started to say, slowly like she wasn’t sure if she was allowed. “I made one at school.”
“Yeah?” He answered. The weight lifting just a fraction and replacing with something lighter. Warmth spreading through him.
“Yeah.”
“Then she’ll love it. Can you pick Aunt May’s card for me?”
Five
Peter was sat on the couch staring at his slides for his first period tomorrow. Normally, he would just stick to his tried and true, maybe throw on some Bill Nye, find some way to make it fun to really drive the point home if they weren’t getting it but his class was being audited.
Again.
At this point, Peter was fairly sure that the new principle had it out for him. It might have been half deserved considering Peter had made it relatively clear that he was disappointed with the hire. Flash was obviously a better candidate but the school board had overlooked him.
Again.
While he might have been willing to accept that, and ultimately started looking for positions elsewhere as a result, Peter was still a little bitter.
Williams’ vendetta against Peter could also have to do with the limited budget they had for subs and the guy’s drive for consistency for the students’ sake. Something which Peter strived for himself but his track record didn’t always support.
Perhaps. Just perhaps the scrutiny over his work ethic might be fully deserved.
His classes and their test scores spoke for themselves though. He was a good teacher. He knew that. A verbal warning about his tardiness and previous habits would feel more appropriate rather than the hawk-eyed attention his classes were getting and the near constant appraisals he was having. It felt personal and he knew the makings of a grudge. He’d suffered through the effects of enough of them.
This wasn't a fight he could win on the fly like he would in the suit though. His impulsively and quick thinking wasn’t needed now. Frustratingly, he needed to play by the rules that Williams was setting, and that meant staring at his laptop screen as a war waged in his head over which was better: a plan he knew would keep the kids engaged or one that ticked all of Williams’ stupid little boxes.
He groaned, tipping his head to look up at the ceiling. The sound of keys jingling behind him pulling his focus and straining to try and see over the back of the couch until MJ appeared in his vision, bending over to press a quick kiss to his lips. The angle awkward with how she was bending over him, upside down (and decidedly less romantic than when they’d attempted something similar with him in the suit) and over in a second as she rushed around the couch to get her coat.
“Woah, woah, woah. Where are you off to?”
“We’re out of flour.” She said, checking the pockets of her coat for her purse.
“I bought you some on my way home.” He replied, nodding towards the kitchen and slowly putting his laptop to the side to focus on her.
“Oh.”
MJ liked baking. She was better with flour and eggs than she was cooking, she admitted that herself, but since moving in with them it was mostly an activity that she did with Riley. The two of them using it as the opportunity to bond away from him. Peter had been forced to learn how to cook, but baking required too much patience, too much time for him to commit to that. As soon as a mixing bowl was pulled out, he knew that they wanted some time alone and kept his distance.
The upcoming bake sale at Riley’s school had timed itself quite nicely with Peter’s current work stress. It kept Riley occupied giving him time to focus on his work without feeling bad and it helped her feel included on this part of her school life, in turn, helping MJ feel a little more apart of things despite how a few of the parents whispered about her at the school gates.
However, the last couple days she’d been fixated on it though burning through eggs and new batches of cookies even after Riley had gone to bed. He hadn’t mentioned anything because the testers she supplied him with kept him going through the long nights but he couldn’t help but think that she was working as if she had something to prove.
Which might make sense if he thought she cared about any of the bitter gossip a couple of the parents indulged in, but he knew she didn’t. She found it funny usually.
It was rare that she was ever hurt by it.
It was even rarer that Peter didn’t know what was going on in her head.
MJ set her coat back down. Her movements mechanical and slow like she was relying on the walk to the store for something else.
Peter sat forward, his forearms braced against his knees as anxiety began to lick at his stomach, wondering just how distracted he had been for him not to notice just how bad this was getting.
“Can we talk about it?” He asked gently, watching as she closed her eyes and took a breath. He wanted to get up and ground her the way she so easily did for him, wanted to wrap himself around her and push away whatever was eating at her like he should have been already.
He knew what he wanted wasn’t necessarily what she needed and waited for her to come to him.
“I’m late.” She said, looking over at him and watching him.
He waited for elaboration, giving her the space to process but she said nothing. The silence dragging out and a fierce competition happening his stomach as he tried to subdue his anxiety to focus on her until it clicked in his head what she meant.
“Oh.” He said, leaning forward more.
“I thought maybe it was stress or just... you know.... Figured it would come eventually but.” She took a breath, “I’m late and I don’t I think I can ignore that anymore.”
“So the baking was...?”
“Trying to take my mind off it and see if that helped?” She said with a weak laugh, Peter holding out his hand to encourage her closer to him. Like a magnet, MJ immediately came towards him.
“And it didn’t?” He guessed, knowing he was dragging out the conversation so that he could wrap his mind around the possibility they were discussing, attempting to restrain the immediate excitement he could feel brewing. It was buzzing under his skin, reminding him of how he’d felt when Gwen had told him the exact same thing.
Family was important to him. It was everything to him, and the idea of expanding it with MJ, as terrifying as he knew it could be, was something he was always going to hope for if that was what she wanted too.
They’d talked about it before they got married. Briefly. It wasn’t as long as it should have been – a joke that had turned into a question. Tentative answers they’d promised to discuss closer to the time.
It came up a few other times in an abstract sort of way – passing baby clothes in a store and pointing out the ones they’d buy for their kid, the raised eyebrow he was shot when she caught him staring at her playing with Riley or Leah a little too long, the smirk he’d sent her when he caught her doing just the same when they dug up some old home videos to show Riley on her birthday. Or the way MJ had a trajectory planned out for her career that included projects she could take on ‘should she ever need to step away from the camera’.
“No.” She said, leaning into him, resting her head on his shoulder. He rubbed at her arm, feeling some of the tension begin to leave her.
“So it’s time to take a test.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay...” He breathed. “You take a test and we figure it out from there. We got this.”
MJ nodded against him, but didn’t make any other movements. He pulled her tighter against him, letting her burrow closer to his side.
It was quiet between them again. MJ’s hand sliding across to rest on his thigh.
“I am excited.” She murmured.
A beat.
“I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Just in case. I-I still don’t, but it’s a nice thought. As annoying as she was and still is, Gayle made my childhood. I know she liked having someone to boss around too, and the idea of giving Riley that... and of growing a little person. Doing this with you. That’s exciting.”
Peter hid his smile in her hair, kissing the top of her head, knowing that there was a ‘but’ to come.
MJ took a steadying breath.
“But it’s scary to think how much change we’re going to go through; I mean we’d have to get a new apartment, Riley would have to get used to being a sister, she’ll be going up to Middle School too.” She said, Peter pressing another kiss to her head to encourage her to continue. “We’ve been... stable so long, but what if it’s too much?”
All valid concerns.
There’s a gut reflex to make a joke and ask if she’d been reading parenting books again born from his mind starting to churn out his own anxieties. Babies were expensive. Very expensive. He had some of Riley’s old stuff tucked away in storage but the big stuff, like her crib, her high chairs, her stroller – he’d donated those years ago. He wasn’t exactly in a position to be needing them again.
They were already stretching things with the addition of Riley’s gymnastics classes. Apparently after years of watching her dad flip around on TV, and inventing games that had her climbing over the walls and ceiling with his help had led to an interest in learning to do the same.
Moving would dig into the few savings that Peter had, leaving them with a very small cushion to bounce off from. MJ’s salary was their biggest source of income and if she had to drop shoots or switch to her back-up plans they’d certainly a decrease there.
If he went for head of department he might get a little extra money to cover the loss, but... He bit back a sigh. That felt unlikely with how closely he was being watched. Even if he proved himself a good teacher in Williams’ eyes, the man clearly wouldn’t think he was responsible enough for promotion.
There was so much they could focus on right now. Concerns that he’d try his hardest to keep off MJ’s plate even if he knew they were best tackled together.
Right now they didn’t need to focus on that though. If there was one thing he’d learnt from having Riley was that things could be taken one day at a time. They weren’t short for support, and more importantly he and MJ weren’t the young grad students that he and Gwen had been.
The concerns were there but they could face them.
“We’ll figure it out. We got nine months before Riley has to be a sister. That’s a lot of time to explain it to her.” He explained, kissing MJ’s head once more. She shifted to look up at him. “It’s going to be different but she’s strong, and she’s still going to cringe and moan when I get teary eyed dropping her off at her new school. She’s still gonna have a whole village checking in on her and we do too.” He explained, starting to soothe his own concerns with logic.
“And the apartment?”
“We’ll figure out the money. It’s no-“
“That’s not what I meant.” MJ cut him off, sitting up properly. He frowned at her. He knew that sometimes their view of money clashed, but there wasn’t any denying that trying to get a three bed in their budget was going to be tight.
“You gonna be okay moving out of here? It’s where Riley grew up. You have a lot of memories here. We have a lot of memories here.” She pressed on.
Peter smiled tightly, his lips in a thin line. “And we’ll make more.” He promised.
It wouldn’t be as simple as that when the time came. He was too sentimental not to cling on to this place. It would mean saying goodbye to a lot more than memories, but was a necessary step if they wanted to grow.
MJ was still looking at him, concerned and worried, seeing right through him.
“I’m going to freak out at some point, yeah. Let’s get an answer first though, okay?”
Her mouth pinched, but she nodded.
“Want me to go get the test? You can put my flour to good use and mix us up another batch of cookies.” He asked, a hint of teasing to his words, trying to bring some levity to the conversation to remind them both that as scary as it was they’d figured out the hard stuff before.
“To celebrate?”
“If that’s what we want to do when the time comes. Otherwise, we just have more cookies.” Peter said, smoothing his hand down her back. MJ’s smile broke as she laughed, the sound dispelling Peter’s anxiety a little more.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Plus
MJ took a deep breath as she reached the final step. She needed a moment to collect herself before continuing down the hallway to their door. The doctor had said she might expect some breathlessness in the coming weeks as the baby begin to turn. After everything else she’d been through with this pregnancy – the vomiting, the constant fatigue, the stress and the worry – it’d felt like a little trouble breathing should have been the least of her problems. Practically a walk in the park.
With how winded she was from just a short walk around the block and a couple flight of stairs, she was regretting that line of thinking. With how thinly Peter was spreading himself the last few weeks to try and make up for her discomfort, prepping the house for the baby and still trying to get some time out on the streets, she knew that this little extra push was worth it.
He was exhausted and it was showing. He’d arrived home late last night, bleeding from his side and limping from straining an old injury. He was fine but it was from something he should have dodged. His long days both in and out of the suit catching up to him.
They hadn’t had anything planned for Valentines Day aside from takeout and a warm bath solely for the opportunity it would give Peter to relax but she was still fairly certain that were aspects of the day he would kick himself over not doing. MJ wasn’t going to have him lose anymore sleep than he already had by attempting to buy some flowers first thing so she’d done it for him.
She just had to remind herself that the brief burning in her lungs was for a good cause.
“I thought you were meant to be taking it easy.” Riley said as soon as she saw MJ coming through the door. Her chair scrapped against the floor as she rushed over to take the small plastic bag from her hands, frowning deeply as MJ avoided the hands trying to usher her into the chair she’d just vacated and instead went to put the flowers in some water.
“The doctor recommended that I do some light walking.” MJ countered, turning back to Riley who was still hovering, concerned and distracted from her half eaten breakfast.
“The elevator’s out.” She said, placing the bag she’d stolen away from MJ on to the breakfast bar.
“It’s a couple flights of stairs. I’m fine.” MJ promised her, happy that she’d taken the moment to herself outside the door. Though, with Riley’s hearing she couldn’t be sure that she hadn’t heard her huffed breaths. “You, however, are meant to be rifling through that bag to see if there’s anything for you.” She saved, waving her hand towards it, winking before she turned to the fridge to grab them both some juice.
There was a moment of hesitation before she heard the plastic rustling. Since hitting double digits in June, Riley had seemingly decided that it was time she start embracing her new maturity. Whether it was the subsequent announcement of MJ's pregnancy, an early surge or sisterly protectiveness or just the consequences of being raised by Peter Parker, she had started to worry about things beyond her years.
It was sweet in a way and eased the worries she and Peter had had over the course of her pregnancy that Riley might not take too well to having a sibling. Peter had found a few blogs that had listed horror stories of resentment, rivalry and jealousy, all of which had only served to help him spiral further. However, they didn’t want Riley’s acceptance and excitement over the expansion of their family to come at the cost of her growing up too fast. They were all doing their best to remind Riley that they were grateful for her concern, she was the kid in the situation.
It was a work in progress. One MJ hoped would become a little easier once Riley could show her care for her brother in more age appropriate ways like reading to him or playing with him.
For now, the best MJ had come up with was to task Riley as her co-designer for the nursery. They were in agreement that Peter’s artistic vision could not be trusted and MJ needed someone who could keep him in line with the painting while she laid down.
More than once she’d come back to them both covered in more paint than the walls were.
She counted it as a success.
“Okay, I’m heading out." Peter announced as he entered the room, not even glancing in the direction of the kitchen and starting to get his coat and satchel together. "You coming with me, kiddo?”
“Now?” Riley asked, looking down at her phone screen, surprised by how early her dad was trying to rush out. MJ made the decision for her by pushing forward another glass of juice across the counter.
“I need to stop somewhere on the way to school.” Peter explained. His mask faltered as he bent to stuff his satchel, a wince flashing across his face.
“No.” MJ cut in before he could rush out the door. If she couldn’t get him to sleep in any longer, she could at the very least make sure he had a decent breakfast before he went out. It wouldn’t fix the damage nearly twenty years of swinging had done to him, but it might help his healing along enough that he wasn’t having to hide a limp in his home or in his classroom. “You don’t. Sit down and have your breakfast.”
“I didn’t grab the flowers last night, I need-“
MJ moved to the side, showing him the bouquet of white lilies sat in a vase filled with water. He looked at them intently as though they might disappear if he didn’t give them enough attention before his focus slid over to her.
He was silent, but he accepted the cup of coffee she poured him. In a mug, not his thermos so he couldn’t run out the door with it. As he moved round the counter to place some bread in the toaster, he kissed her cheek.
Thank you.
“So you’re not heading out now?” Riley asked. She was used to the silent communication between her parents by this point. Practically fluent in it as they were themselves. They never used it to talk with her. Even years down the line, MJ was still conscious of making a mistake, slipping up somehow, knowing it was inevitable but wanting to avoid it nonetheless. Riley was too smart not to learn how to read between the lines though. She picked up on the conversations Peter and MJ had over her head and forced them to find a way to voice them.
She was, as always, their reason to do better.
“Nah, gonna have some breakfast first. Start the day off right. It’s the most important meal of the day, I taught you that, right? That’s a lesson we covered?” Peter said, taking a long sip of his coffee. MJ rolled her eyes when he cringed at the heat.
“Dumbass.” She muttered, kissing his cheek in turn.
Riley sat looking between them, her confusion shifting into mild disgust, her nose crinkling at the sight of them. MJ decided to be nice and not point out that the second Peter’s eyes focused back on to MJ, she could see Riley’s mask slip just a fraction out the corner of her eye.
Raised by Peter, Ned, Flash, May and herself, she’d learnt that teasing was just another way to show she cared – it meant she noticed enough to comment on it at all.
“Just because it’s Valentines Day doesn’t mean you get to be all gross.”
“It is actually the law that we’re gross. It’s the day of love! It’s what it’s for and guess what?! That extends to you too, Bug.” Peter laughed. He set his cup down, moving around to wrap Riley in a tight bear hug. The girl squirming and whining to get out of his hold before accepting it and leaning into it, a small smile at the edge of her lips.
“You going to wait around to get a lift to school with your old man?” He asked as he let her go, finishing off the show with a loud and wet kiss to the top of her head which Riley tried to duck away from with a scoff.
“Are you going to be embarrassing?” She asked, her nose crinkling in distaste.
Peter stood back, affronted by the accusation. He glanced over to MJ, gesturing back to Riley as if to say ‘are you hearing this’.
“It’s a valid question.” She shrugged, lifting her glass up to her lips. Peter scoffed, taking another step back.
“I thought we agreed that if you’re going to grow up too fast and stop finding me the coolest person ever that you can’t say that stuff in front of your brother. And you,” He said, pointing to MJ, “Can’t say it at all. Odds are already stacked against me being his favourite. You gotta give me at least a fighting chance.”
Riley pursed her lips and tapped her finger to her chin like she was considering his request. She looked over to MJ who shook her head with a smile. Riley’s face split into a grin, turning back to Peter and cheerfully telling him – “Nah! I’m still going to be his favourite.”
MJ had no doubts about that at all.