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Miguel had studied everything about this new life. All the important information about the Miguel O’Hara he had replaced. The dates and numbers. Where he worked and all the routines he could find.
Including Gabi. He hadn’t had a child before, so it was a learning curve that he was trying to catch up on. Her school schedule and her teacher's names. Soccer, Girl Scouts, and a Biology club through the school. Not to mention getting to know her.
It didn’t matter if he could rattle off important dates and classes to her. He had to be just like her papi. She noticed when he didn’t react right.
After a long day of being Spider-man and working for both worlds, Miguel was tired. Half dead on his feet. So tired, he had gotten take out for dinner. Just some burgers and fries. Something any kid should have been excited about. But Gabi was just picking on her fries, only having taken a single bite from the burger.
Looking up from his own, Miguel raised a brow. Shouldn’t she be happy? She was getting a treat by any kids’ standard.
“What’s wrong, Gabi? I thought you liked hamburgers?” She wasn’t a vegetarian. He’d checked into that when he went looking for records of food allergies for them both.
Looking up, she shrunk back a little and shook her head. She looked like she’d been scolded.
“I do, papi,” she mumbled around a fry. “But they gave me pickles.”
“Just pick them off. You can’t just have fries for dinner,” he told her.
Gabi wrinkled her nose and looked down.
“I can still taste the pickles. You said I don’t have to eat pickles.”
Miguel watched her for a moment as she picked at her burger. He had studied everything he could, but there were always going to be things that weren’t written down, things he couldn’t know without living this life.
She needed to eat more than just french fries. But he was too tired to cook a whole meal. That was the whole reason he went to some crappy drive through on the way home. It wasn’t her fault that he didn’t know to ask for no pickles. And she needed to eat.
Getting up from the table, his muscles screamed at him for moving. He wasn’t even sure if he was going to be able to move in the morning. But he was a father now, and Gabi deserved at least as good a father as she had before. Better even. And he would move every Earth if he had to to give it to her.
Shuffling to the fridge, he looked at what they had. He really needed to go shopping soon. Juggling three lives was hard. Looking at the jar of jelly in the door, he hummed. Kids loved peanut butter and jelly, right? And she didn’t have any allergies in her records. If it was in the fridge she must like it. He hoped.
“How about a PB&J, Gabi?” He offered, holding up the jar. When she beamed he grinned a little. It wasn't the best dinner, but it was something she was excited about. Miguel would take the win.
Grabbing the peanut butter, he reached for the bread. Only to find an empty bread box. Right. He used the last of it this morning when he was packing Gabi’s lunch. Shock, he was an idiot. But now he’d gotten her excited. What was he supposed to do?
With Gabi still watching him, he looked around the kitchen for something to use instead of bread. His eyes fell on the half used pack of tortillas, and he smiled.
For a brief moment, Miguel thought about making sandwich wraps for his brother Gabri when they were kids. Filling it up with whatever they could find. Sometimes, with things that didn’t make sense. Just to see what they tasted like. Miguel would always make sure to eat the worst of the two. No matter what happened, he would always take care of his family. Make sure they had what they needed.
Holding up the bag, he grinned. At least as much as he would allow himself to hide his fangs.
“How about a peanut butter jelly wrap? A fat one.”
Gabi giggled enough to cover her face.
“Okay! Can you put sugar on the peanut butter?” She asked, giving him her best puppy dog eyes.
“You want sugar with your sugar?” He asked, raising a brow. But all the same, he did grab the jar to spread just a little over the peanut butter side. This was a treat after all. He could indulge her a little more. Isn’t that what a good father would do?
Sugar before bed was a bad idea. For a moment, Miguel thought he was going to have to web Gabi to the bed to get her to lie down. At least she would sleep in tomorrow. A rare day off for them both. He’d been planning for it for weeks now. Ever since Gabi not so discreetly reminded him her birthday was coming up.
Sitting down on the sofa, Miguel pulled out a set of holos. Swiping through the images, he leaned back, sinking into the cushions with a long, tired sigh.
Watching Gabi, his daughter, grow up hurt. All the things he’d missed. Birthdays, first steps, soccer games. But that was no one’s fault. Miguel wasn’t really her father. That Miguel had died not too long ago.
When he saw what was to happen to his counterpart in this universe, he saw an opportunity that he couldn’t pass up. Gabi needed her father. And didn’t this Miguel deserve the happiness of a family? Somewhere where he didn’t have to be Spider-man or worry about the Multiverse. Here he was just Miguel O’Hara. Gabi O’Hara’s father. That’s all he ever wanted. And all the headaches that came with it.
Like now, as he tried to plan a birthday for a little girl he was still learning about. And he had to do it alone. Unable to even ask Gabi what she wanted after she reminded him of all the ‘surprise’ birthdays he's done. Of course, he was that kind of father.
Scrolling through memories that weren’t his, Miguel smiled. Baby Gabi in a much too large party hat. He could barely see her through all the cake and frosting. A repeating loop of her first steps. To him no less! Or at least the other him. Birthdays, her first soccer practice, and her first win. School science fairs. There were so many memories.
But now it was his turn to make a big one. He would throw Gabi the best birthday party. One that she would remember forever! It had to be big. He’d need to invite all of her friends. But he didn’t know who was who yet. Should he just invite her class? What about her teammates from soccer, the scouts, and her club? It wasn’t like he couldn’t afford it, but would that be overwhelming for Gabi? Would they think they were showing off and bully her for it?
Miguel was up most of the night thinking about what to do to make the perfect party for Gabi. At least he had Layla to help with some of it, like designing the invitations.
Crawling into bed, Miguel was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. He was really looking forward to a lie in while Gabi slept off the sugar.
Now, if only the world would work that way.
Safely nestled into his bed, protected from the early morning sun, Miguel enjoyed a rare lie in. Until a bright light invaded his room.
Yelling in pain, he quickly covered his eyes, trying to protect them from the painful light. He never used full lighting, not when they hurt and felt like they were trying to blind him. Struggling to right himself with one arm over his face, Miguel flailed and fell out of bed, grasping for anything to hold on to. But the only thing his hands found was his blanket to tear into with sharp claws. Again.
Gabi laughed brightly, unaware of what she’d done as she jumped up onto his bed to lean over to look at her father.
“Morning, papi! Are you ready for our shopping day?” She chirped, bright as ever.
Groaning, Miguel looked up at his daughter, trying to get his eyes to adjust. At least she was covering the overhead light at this angle.
“Good morning, Gabi,” he mumbled. He wanted to yawn, stretch, and try to wake up, but he couldn’t do that with her in the room. Couldn’t risk her seeing her claws and fangs. Miguel wouldn’t risk this life.
Bouncing a little on the bed, she flopped back on it, not hearing how her papi hissed when the bright light pierced his eyes again.
“You gotta get up, papi! You promised we’d go out today!”
For one brief moment, Miguel almost regretted that promise, desperate for just a little more sleep and the lights to dim down. But that was his daughter on the bed. The family he had always wanted.
“I know, mija,” he yawned, careful to hide his fangs from her.
“Didn’t mean to oversleep. Let me take a shower and get some coffee, okay? We can go out for breakfast.”
Gabi let out a high pitch squeal of delight that briefly had Miguel’s head swimming.
“Hurry up, papi! I’m going to go get dressed.” Jumping off the bed she rushed to the door, grabbing the frame to stop herself and turn out again.
“Can we go to the bakery with the nice lady that made me hot chocolate?” She asked with pleading eyes.
Hot chocolate? Miguel internally groaned. He had no idea who or where that was. But it’s what Gabi wanted.
“That sounds good, Gabi. Do you remember where they are? Your dad’s drawing a blank,” he told her as he struggled to his feet. Hopefully, she’d just assume he was too tired. Please let her assume he was too tired.
She tilted her head and gave him a confused look.
“The one next to the old soccer field?” She reminded him.
“From before I joined the school team.”
Oh, well, that was mostly useless information. But he could probably figure that out.
“Right! We can go there. Go on, let me shower!” He waved a hand and shooed her off as she giggled. Grabbing a change of clothes, he briefly looked at his watch.
“Lyla,” he asked quietly as he started to get around for the day, “can you find what field Gabi’s talking about? And the nearby bakeries?”
“Yes, Miguel. I already found three bakeries in walking distance from that field.”
“Three?” He groaned.
“Any way to narrow those down a little?”
“The other you only spent credits at one of them.”
“Lyla, you’re amazing!” At least one thing was going to go right today!
He still took Gabi to the wrong one first. Luckily, she laughed and dragged him off to the right one a few blocks away. It seemed the old Miguel pretended to get lost a lot. Or he never wanted to admit when he was lost, thought Miguel as he walked into the small bakery, holding his daughter’s hand.
Inside was warm and smelled like warm sugar and spices Miguel didn’t think he could guess. He wished he could keep that smell in a bottle.
Gabi wasted no time rushing up to the counter to greet the elderly woman like she was her own grandmother.
Something that made Miguel smile fondly. She certainly didn’t get that from him, but he enjoyed how excited she got while they went on about what was on offer today. Whatever she wanted, he’d buy it. But just a coffee and a cinnamon roll for him. Mostly, he just wanted the coffee.
Sitting at a table by the window, Miguel did his best to look more awake than he felt. He sipped at his coffee while Gabi went on about how excited she was.
All the stores she wanted to see and already asking to go somewhere for lunch. Of course, she wanted to see everything. But Miguel couldn’t blame her. It was hell to have time for his daughter. They both had packed schedules. He had been looking forward to this as much as his daughter. He just didn’t have her energy!
Breakfast was a bouncy affair while she talked, but he wouldn’t stop her or discourage her from getting excited.
“Papi! Papi!” Finishing her pastries, she tugged at his shirt, crumbs on her face.
“Papi! Can we ride the bus to the mall? Pretty please!” She begged, still tugging on his shirt repeatedly.
He raised a brow at that. Grabbing a napkin, he gently brushed off the crumbs.
“Why would you want to ride the bus? A cab would be a lot faster. We’d have more time to look around.”
Yet she was undeterred.
“Please? We can see more things on a bus! Sometimes our coach tells us about the cool things he sees when he takes the bus!”
He spent a lot of money to put Gabi through school. None of the teachers should need to take the bus, he thought. But he’d keep that thought to himself.
“If that’s what you want, princesa.” Cleaning up, he offered a hand to his daughter and headed out to find the nearest bus stop. He hadn’t been on a bus in years. He wasn’t sure he could even remember how they worked. But anything to make Gabi happy.
Finding a bus stop was a pain. Figuring out which bus they needed was worse. The first bus he put them on took them halfway to the other side of Nueva York. They let off near an entrance to Downtown. Not somewhere he wanted to take his daughter. He didn’t let go of Gabi’s hand until they got off at the right stop.
Not that she seemed to mind. Holding onto her daddy’s hand, she watched the city go by, gushing about even the smallest things. She made friends with everyone on the bus, despite Miguel trying to gently get her to leave them alone. Not that anyone seemed to mind while she greeted everyone excitedly.
Miguel waved apologetically, which was met with laughter or simply waving him off. Gabi had a way with people he never would. Something he was proud as punch to see. Knowing she would go on to do great things as she grew. And he couldn’t wait to see it.
Walking into the mall, Miguel didn’t have a chance to even think about where to start before he was being pulled hard enough to make him stumble as Gabi rushed off to look into the window of a nearby toy shop.
In the window was a large doll house with dolls posed outside like they were having a party. Gabi nearly had her face pressed against the window while she took it all in.
Miguel rolled his eyes and smiled while he watched her. Her toy room didn’t have enough space for something that huge. He had a feeling it would end up taking over the living room.
“Want to take a look around,” he offered, holding out a hand for her.
With a gasp and a bright smile, Gabi nearly dragged him through the doorway to see everything they had.
Gabi knew her birthday was around the corner, so she knew not to beg. All the same, she would coo or stare longingly at plenty of toys in the shop. Looking in every corner of the store, she would pick up a few things and look at her papi with pleading eyes. But one look was all it took for her to put them back.
Miguel would be back when she was in class to buy everything she got excited about. His daughter deserved everything she wanted and all the love that came with it. And Miguel vowed to make sure she got it.
Gabi would take her papi around the whole mall, popping into almost every shop it held.
There was a sports shop that she spent a while in. Gabi had her heart set on a bright pair of soccer cleats. Her’s were fine. He had gotten her a new pair for the season. While she looked at some other equipment he had a pair put aside for her. They were her school colours, after all. And a matching soccer ball to practice with at home.
Finally, he managed to get her out when she started trying to kick one of the displays around.
“You know better, Gabi. Come on, there's still other shops yet. You still need a dress,” he reminded her as they walked out.
Which was met with a loud gasp as she saw the largest shop in the mall. Mannequins lined the windows in cute and frilly dresses.
“Papi!” She squealed and grabbed his hand as she darted off.
Miguel nearly lost her as she went looking through the racks of dresses that were much too long for someone so young. Trying not to panic when he lost sight of her, he rushed through the racks, ignoring the concerned looks some of the women gave him.
“Mija!” Looking around a large wall like rack, he found her fawning over a dress that looked like it was for a quinceanera. Crossing his arms, Miguel puffed out a sigh and grinned.
“You’re a little young for that, don’t you think, mija?” He teased her.
Pouting, Gabi put the dress back.
“It’s so pretty!” She cooed, still looking at the dress where it hung on the rack.
Looking the dress over, he briefly wondered if he could get it sized down enough. Probably not.
“I’m sorry, Gabi. I bet they have something even better that will actually fit you.” He offered her a hand again and smiled.
“Come on.”
And she was at least happy enough to keep looking. After one more fond look at the dress.
Walking through the store she found a small makeup section and tried to hurry over. The woman at the counter was quick to talk to her about what they were selling.
Thinking about Gabi wearing makeup made him crinkle his nose. She didn’t need to grow up yet. If she wanted makeup, was she thinking about boys already? The thought broke his heart. Miguel knew Gabi couldn’t be his little girl forever, but he didn’t want it to happen any sooner than it had to. Gently as he could, he tugged her away.
“You’re pretty enough. You don’t need any of that,” Miguel told her as he tried to hurry Gabi to the dress section of the store.
There were racks and walls covered in bright dresses. Long ones, short ones, and ones that looked like they were mostly made from lace and tulle.
And suddenly everything else was forgotten while Gabi fell in love with every dress there. She looked at every dress in all its detail, bouncing from rack to rack like a hummingbird.
And Miguel let her. Leaning against a nearby wall, he crossed his arms. The racks were shorter here, so he could see her dart around and gush about every dress. While she did ask him what he thought, he knew she wasn’t actually listening. Any time she asked, he just told her to try it on.
It was nearly three hours before Gabi found the perfect dress. A purple and pink dress with a fluffy tulle skirt with flowers around the hem and crawling up the skirt.
Gabi had tried on every dress she even remotely liked. About an hour in, Miguel realized she was just playing dress up, but he didn’t say anything. This was a day when they had nothing but time.
Instead of rushing her, he made sure to get a holo of every dress she tried on. Dancing out of the changing room and spinning on her toes like a little dancer.
Once the dress was purchased, carefully laid over his arm in a dress bag, he finally guided her out of the mall. He still had her presents to buy, including a matching tiara and a necklace, but he would wait for those.
After a long shopping trip, Miguel was starving, and a crappy over priced mall burger wasn’t going to cut it.
Luckily, Gabi was of a similar mind, and it wasn’t hard to figure out where to go out for lunch. Another pick from Gabi that took them across the city. At least this time, she agreed to a cab so they wouldn’t have to wait all day to eat.
It was a small Italian bistro Miguel wasn’t sure he’d ever seen before. Something that briefly worried him. When did she find it? Gabi was certainly not old enough to go adventuring on her own. But he didn’t have long to worry before a familiar face came from around the counter.
“Gabi! What are you doing here?” Cheered a man with shaggy blond hair as he rushed over to greet Miguel’s daughter.
Agosto, Gabi’s soccer coach. He supposed that explained why his daughter knew about this place. Though he was concerned, he was a teacher and a coach, but he worked a second job and needed to ride the bus? Something wasn’t adding up.
But before he could get too lost in thought, Gabi tugged on his shirt and brought him back to the present.
“We went shopping today! Papi even agreed to go on the bus! It’s just as much fun as you said it was!” She chirped before going into a full description of everything he saw. Miguel sighed with a fond smile and let her go on for a little bit.
When her coach glanced up at him, he nodded.
“Come one, mija. It looks like he has work to do. Besides, you were the one talking about how much you wanted to eat here. Let’s eat,” he tried, gently tugging his daughter to him.
Getting sat down, Miguel looked over the menu briefly before glancing at his daughter, who was still a little ball of energy and talking to her coach from across the room. But he didn’t seem to mind, so he let it go.
But he wasn’t the one who came to take their order. An old, bent woman came over, smiling warmly for them. Gabi took no time to greet her.
“Hi, nona!” She chirped and leaned over to hug the old woman.
Miguel let Gabi gab for a bit when nona seemed to encourage it. He had a feeling he knew where Agosto got his seemingly never ending patients. Something he admired but would never dare say aloud.
Ordering for them both, he wasn’t expecting to get hit with a rolled up menu. Holding up his hands, he tried to shield himself from an assault from an old woman. What had his life turned into?
“Gabi is a growing girl,” nonna scolded between smacks.
“You two would go hungry if that’s all you ate!”
Miguel tried to apologize, but he was struggling to get a word in. And why did he have to apologize!? Wasn’t the customer supposed to be right?
Miguel added an appetizer to get her to stop. He was pretty sure that wasn’t how you ran a business. But the worst part was listening to Gabi laugh at him! She could have at least taken his side!
Agosto wasn’t much better, hiding behind a serving tray. Miguel could see his shoulders shake. Honestly!
He at least tried to make it better by bringing over their starter and drinks with an apologetic smile.
“Sorry about nonna. She knows how hard the girls practice and she worries they don’t eat enough,” he explained as he sat the plate down that easily had enough for two orders on it.
“I appreciate that she’s looking after Gabi,” he said, taking a drink. Really, it was hard to be upset when someone had his daughter’s well being in mind. Not that he was particularly happy about it.
None of it stopped Gabi from diving into the starter while gushing with her coach again until he had to go help another table.
Sharing food with Gabi he listened to her talk about anything she could think of. She talked about what they saw, her classmates, and her school projects. Those were things he had an easier time talking with her about. Those were things he was familiar with. While they talked about what she was learning in science, he encouraged her and filled in a few gaps. At least until their food arrived.
Heaps of food! Miguel’s eyes went wide when nonna put two heaping plates of pasta on their table. There was no way a mere mortal could eat that much at once! But he and Gabi made their best attempt!
“Here we go! Eat up!” She happily chirped. Quickly doting on Gabi, she waved them off to enjoy their lunch. And dinner, and maybe even tomorrow's breakfast thought Miguel as he tried to figure out where to start with his pile of panini without knocking it over.
They both did their best, but in the end, the pasta won. Leaning back, they mirrored each other as they puffed and put their hands on their stomachs while they waited for them to settle.
“Did you leave room for dessert, mija?” teased Miguel with a cheeky grin. One that grew wider when she just whined for an answer. Hopefully, nonna would let them leave with doggie bags without making too much of a fuss.
Turned out the biggest fuss was Gabi.
Miguel stood off to the side with their take out boxes while his daughter gushed to her coach about her birthday coming up. He wasn’t even done planning yet, and she was raving like it was the best thing ever. It really put in perspective how much work he had ahead of him. This party had to be perfect, no matter what.
And he was doing his best. Miguel designed invites with Layla’s help to be sent out to all of Gabi’s friends, her teams, and classmates. Balloons and ribbons were bulk ordered and even a helium tank and glitter. Miguel really didn’t want the glitter in his house, but he knew that Gabi would love it, and that was really all that mattered. He could figure it out later. Much later.
It was a huge list of kids, so Miguel knew there was no way he was cooking for that many. So he ordered a catering service to help with that. Even with extra desserts and the promise of an ice carving. It seemed a little much, but he hoped Gabi would be excited.
With everything squared away and planned there was only one thing left to do. The cake.
It would look better if he called one of the high end bakeries in town. Probably tasted better too. But some part of Miguel knew that it would be more special if he made the cake himself. He could figure that out, surely.
Baking a cake wasn’t the hardest thing he’d ever done, but a tres leches cake was a lot harder than a box cake. He had to try three times before he got it right. If he ever had to separate eggs again, it would be too soon. But it was for a worthy cause, so he would make it perfect.
Decorating was another thing entirely. The frosting was fine. A bit lumpy, but he thought it looked pretty good! So he thought he could do something better than just writing her name on the cake. He worked with genetics and machines. He could do something as simple as decorating a cake!
Miguel couldn’t as much as pipe a straight line. And in his grand confidence, he started on the cake. Covered in flour frosting and, honestly, there was probably still glitter somewhere, Miguel stood over the cake, glaring down at it as if it would suddenly get in line if he got angry enough. To be fair, he was angry enough. This cake was for his daughter, for her birthday. Her first birthday with him. Everything had to be perfect. He needed to be the father she deserved.
Pulling out his phone, he ordered a proper birthday cake in just a few taps. He shouldn’t have wasted his time. Should have just let the professionals do it, like with everything else. This wasn’t the time to risk ruining things with a personal touch, he thought.
With one more death glare at the cake, he snatched it off the counter with every intention of enjoying the sound of it crashing into the bin. Until there was a familiar voice behind him.
“Papi? What’s that?” Asked Gabi as she tried to see around her father’s broad shoulders, shuffling around when she couldn’t see.
“Nothing, mija. Just cleaning up,” he told Gabi as she came around to see the mess her father was holding.
“No!” She yelled and reached for the cake.
“You can’t throw out a whole cake!” she told him, holding her little hands under the cake.
“That’s gotta be illegal!” she told him.
Miguel grinned and sat the cake back down on the counter.
“Is it now? I suppose we don’t want to get the Public Eye called on us,” he laughed.
“But what are the two of us going to do with all this cake, nena?”
Tapping her lip, she pretended to think about it for a moment.
“I think we need to eat it!” And just like that, she scurried off to get plates.
Laughing, Miguel grabbed a knife and cut two large pieces.
“I suppose there’s nothing else to do with a cake, is there?” Once both pieces were plated, he walked to the freezer to pull out a carton of ice cream.
“And you can’t have cake without ice cream, right?”
“Right!” Cheered Gabi before laughing.
It looked like their pasta leftovers would have to wait a little longer while they had cake and ice cream for dinner. That was probably the worst dinner they’d ever have together, but it was a fun night.
Finally finishing up what they could, Gabi helped clean up the kitchen. She was humming a song Miguel didn’t recognize, but he smiled to himself while they cleaned up. In moments like this, he knew he made the right decision. They both got what they needed, and everything was as it should be.
Putting the last of the dishes away, he had to steady himself when Gabi grabbed him and hugged him tightly.
“I love you, papi! You’re the best!” She told him and gave him a frosting covered grin.
Laughing, he lifted her up and kissed her cheek as he hugged her.
“Love you too, mija. But you still need to shower and go to bed.”
“Papi!” She squealed as he tickled her before she ran off.
It was a whirlwind to get everything set up for Gabi’s birthday when it finally came. Most of it would get done while she was at soccer practice.
But there was another tradition that came first.
Looking through his music selection, it wasn’t long until he found the song he was looking for. Las Mañanitas.
Looking at the cover art, Miguel’s mind wandered back. Back to when he was young enough his mother hadn’t had such painful thoughts about him. When she would wake him up early, singing to him before sitting him down for breakfast. It was one of the few happy memories he had.
Shaking the thoughts away, Miguel started the song and played it loud enough to fill their home. Crooning along to the music, Miguel gently knocked on his daughter’s door before opening it. Still singing along, he playfully swayed around before sitting on Gabi’s bed as she sat up, wiping the sleep from her eyes and giggled tiredly.
“Morning, papi,” she mumbled and flopped against him.
“Morning, mija. Happy birthday.” Kissing the top of her head, he hugged her tightly and finished the song.
“Con jazmines y flores. Este día quiero adornar. Hoy por ser día de tu santo. Te venimos a cantar,” he sang, grinning while his daughter giggled some more.
“Come on, breakfast time.” Letting her up, he laughed when she chased him out of the room.
“I’m going, I’m going! Hurry up, breakfast is getting cold!” He warned her after she slammed the door behind her.
Getting her out to practice was never difficult, but this time she was trying to push him out the door while he was still trying to put on his tie.
“Just a moment, mija!” He laughed, giving up on the tie when she kept pushing. It was the weekend he could just leave a few buttons undone. Grabbing his wallet and keys, Miguel nearly fell on his face when Gabi yanked on his arm to get him moving.
While Gabi was at practice, and pretending she was totally unaware of what was happening, Miguel had a few hands helping set up decorations.
Spiders rushed to help set up tables and hang confetti balloons in pink and purple. Matching streamers were hung everywhere they could make them stick. The catering came through the same portal covering pink or purple glittering tables. The cake had its own table covered in edible glitter and flowers. There would be enough for everyone and then some. Miguel was grateful and did his best to tell them as such.
A Spider-man in a pink bathrobe laid an arm on Miguel’s shoulder and leaned against him.
“It’s looking great! But why’d you wait so long to ask for help? It’s not like we don’t know how to throw a party,” teased Peter.
Miguel gently nudged him off with a quiet laugh.
“I wanted to do it. It’s her first birthday with me,” he explained before looking the man over with a raised brow.
“Please tell me you’re going to change before the party?”
Peter tugged at the robe and shrugged with a grin. “I suppose I should. Most of us need to change,” he added, nodding to the Spiders still in costume.
“Appreciated. I want everything to be perfect for Gabi. She deserves the best I can give her.” Quickly catching some runaway balloons when the 39811 Spider ran out of hands. He didn’t see Peter's proud grin.
Once everything was ready, and everyone was dressed properly, the other guests started to arrive. The kids were already taking off to the games and the bouncy castle while Miguel went to get his daughter.
“Go on and get dressed, mija. You got that pretty dress last week, didn’t you?” He asked her as he went to get her first present. A matching tiara with shining stones and a long box with a gold necklace.
When Gabi came out, spinning on her toes, Miguel grinned as he leaned back on his heels.
“You look beautiful, mija. But I think you're missing something.” Holding up the headpiece, he grinned proudly at her excited gasp. Putting it in her hair carefully, he made sure everything was perfect before offering her the box.
“See if you think this goes with your dress. Papi doesn't know colours as well as you do.”
When Gabi opened the box she loudly cheered and danced on her feet, spinning in a circle as she clutched the box to her chest.
“Oh, it's perfect!” She squealed, nearly vibrating where she stood.
Miguel chuckled and held his hand out for the necklace. Carefully, he put it in and adjusted it just as carefully. He leaned back on his heels to look his precious daughter over. She looked just like a princess as she beamed at him. Everything was perfect.
“Preciosa. Are you ready to see everyone?”
When she nodded, he got up and offered a hand. Guiding her out, he waved to get everyone's attention that the birthday girl was there. Proud as punch, he held her hand while she spun around to show off her dress.
While most people clapped, there were a few excited cheers from her friends. And just as happy screaming from a tiny Mayday.
Gabi wasted no time rushing out to meet her friends and show off what her papi had given her before being dragged off to go play.
While she did that, Miguel got a soda off the table and did a bit of mingling himself. He did his part to talk with the parents there, wanting to make sure she always had good friends.
Everything had turned out just as he wanted, and his daughter was having a blast. This was everything he wanted. Hand on his hip, Miguel took in everything, proud that he could do this for his daughter. And he would for every birthday after. But before he could think about her next birthday, he heard her yell.
“Papi! Papi!” Running up to him from across the yard, she jumped up into his arms.
Lifting her up over his head and spinning her around, they both laughed.
“Thank you. Thank you! This is the best birthday ever!” She held him tightly and kissed his cheek.
“Anything for you, princessa. Anything at all.”