RP One Shots

Trouble in Paradise (part 6)

Green or red? Pietro could not decide between the two. He was going out to lunch with Jace and he didn't know what to wear. He had two short sleeved button up shirts, and he had no idea which shirt to wear. Red or green? Or neither... He grabbed a gray polo, put on a nice pair of jeans, and his sneakers. That was good, right? It would have to be.The father to be walked out and down to the garage. Jace was leaning against the driver's side door of the Audi. Or, as he had recently learned, Nora.

"Ready to go?" Jace asked. He had white skinny jeans on, a brown belt holding them up, a 3/4 fitted button up denim shirt, and a pair of brown boat shoes. His sunglasses sat over his eyes and his hair was spiked up. He knew how to clean up. Pietro had never seen Jace dressed up like this. It was interesting.

"I'm ready." The two got into the car, top down. Pete slipped on a pair of sunglasses and slid his hand through his hair. Not to sound egocentric, but he knew they looked good. The two drove through the city, wind whipping through their hair. Pietro had no idea where in the world they were going to eat. All he knew was he needed to wear something nice. A radio came onto the DC station it was always set on now. Saph used Nora anytime she went out in the morning, just to listen to Steven on the air.

It wasn't long before the pair pulled up to The Mesa Grill. There had been talk of this place. Some man on the food channel on TV opened it up. It was supposed to be really good. Jace led the way in, got checked into their reservation, and were lead to a table in the corner. The both ordered an ice water and were left with menus. There was a box on the table. It was wrapped in red paper. It wasn't huge,but it wasn't tiny either. Jace didn't seem to even notice it was there, so Pete just ignored it. Things were quiet for a few moments. Jace was the first one to speak.

"Do you like tuna?" Pietro's eyed widened slightly. He glanced up, a little confused by the question.

"I guess....." Jace had never even looked up. He just nodded and scanned over the menu. The waiter came back by and took their appetizer and lunch order. After a few more minutes of awkward silence, Jace pushed the box towards Pietro. "What is this?"

"A gift for you. You're a first time parent. I remember what I was in your place. Having all this stuff in one place would have been awesome. Even when we first had RJ and Shas, stuff like this was great to have right on hand." Pietro poked through the box to see what exactly was in it. Lifesavers, tissues, coffee, five hour energy drinks, first aid kit, new dad survival guidebook, camera, Ibuprofen, earplugs, air freshener, scotch, hand sanitizer, trail mix, a few movies, a baby blanket, lotion, a couple pacifiers, and a children's book were inside the box. All things he would not doubt need to survive his first child.

"Thank you. So much." He flipped through the children's book and smiled softly. Brown bear brown bear, what do you see...... "I cannot thank you enough."

"You're welcome. I figured you would need it. You're stepping into the unknown. A pretty permanent unknown. I want you to know that even though I am beyond comprehendable words for how upset I am, this isn't your fault. There isn't anything you could do to prevent this.So, I want to be here to help."

"You're wife told you to play nice with the man who got your princessa pregnant, didn't she?"

"Yep." Jace nodded. They both laughed. "Seriously though. I am here to help. Any questions or concerns, I'm an open book." Their plate of tuna nachos came then,as did refills on their waters. The two ate in peace. Wow, they were good....... The plate was empty in no time. Hurray for Bobby Flay and his nachos.

Pietro thought long and hard about what Jace said. Questions.....concerns...... What was he worried about? He was worried about everything and nothing all at the same time. He didn't know the first thing about being a parent. He needed to know everything. But,because of that, he couldn't think of a single thing to ask. There was no one thing in particular that he was concerned about. Oh......Maybe there was.....

"Is it true that I'm not going to sleep?" Again, Jace laughed and nodded.

"Very true. The kid isn't going to be on a steady sleep schedule for a longtime. Especially when he or she is real little. Everest, or Arlo,will always be waking up for food or to be changed or just out of restlessness. Say goodbye to your bed buddy." Pete chuckled kind of anxiously. Oh joy.

The two got down to teaching/learning the basics. Jace explained the timeline of things. When he or she would start being able to hold their head up on their own, when they would start rolling around and crawling and walking. When first words and the ability to eat real food would come. He even explained the best way to hold a baby, and what to not do when holding one. There food came sometime in then.The pair just bonded over lunch. Pietro fell in love with the lamb he ordered. He also began to fall in love with the idea of being a father. Yes, he had been excited before, but this was something else.This was genuine love of an unborn child. Love he never felt in this capacity. Well, except for his sister.

"So,question for you." Jace started after slicing through another strip of his steak. "How in the world did you come up with the name Arlo?" Pete smiled a little. He was really happy when Rose agreed to the name.

"It is Sokovian. It means hero. I don't doubt that he, if it is Arlo,will have special powers. The only thing is that they might decide not to fight like us. But, that doesn't mean he can't be a hero. We want him to be a good person, just because it is the right thing to do. Whether that be ending an invasion, talking a friend out of suicide, or saving himself from maybe a bad habit he picks up.Everyone can be a hero in their own way....... Plus he's grow up in a family of superheros. It only seemed fitting."

"Bad habits. Like sacrificing your life and making everyone believe you're dead?"

"I saved Barton and a woman's son. It wasn't a bad idea. Plus, I walked it off." Pietro smirked. Jace smiled back. This kid wasn't too bad.

The two both picked something to take back to the girls. A bottle of dessert wine for Saph and churros with different dipping sauces for Rose. Jace covered the lunch check, and the two strode out and made it back to Nora.

"Thank you for that." Pietro said once they were about halfway home. "I needed it."

"You're welcome kid. Just glad I could do something."