Growing Up

25 Years Old

Peter woke up to an empty bed. Frowning, he sat up and looked around the bedroom, but it was just as empty as the bed. Rubbing his eyes, Peter slowly got out of bed and pulled on a pair of sweat pants before meandering down the hallway shirtless and still half asleep.

It was in the kitchen that he found what he was looking for. With a dazed smile, Peter wrapped his arms around his wife and nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck. 

"Good morning, birthday boy," Michelle said softly, kissing his cheek before returning to her pancake making.

It was a strange sight to see MJ making breakfast. Usually, she read while he was left to make breakfast. If it was Tuesday, the hired staff would make breakfast for them between cleaning the penthouse where his parents lived and their floor.

"Morning," Peter replied groggily, curling closer to her.

Michelle poured the last of the pancake batter into the frying pan then wiggled out of Peter's arms much to his disdain. Moving around the island, Peter took a seat and watched as she washed the mixing bowl and grabbed two plates. 

"We should leave in an hour if we want to be on time for your birthday party at the Compound," Michelle told him.

Peter nodded, grinning as she passed a plate of pancakes and a fork. Shortly after, Michelle took a seat beside him and they ate together in silence. Once they were done, Peter grabbed both plates and washed them while Michelle went to take a shower and get ready.

* * * * *

An hour and fifteen minutes later, Peter and Michelle were pulling into the Compound.

Peter didn't bother knocking. As soon as he stepped through the door, he was greeted by the sight of chaos: Clint and Sam were arguing over the last Wii remote, Steve was tying balloons to various chairs and furniture, Tony and Rhodes were stacking presents in the centre of the living room, and Scott happily shouting a greeting at them with Cassie grinning beside him. 

Grinning, Peter scooped Cassie up in his arms and she hugged him tightly, albeit not for long. At Scott and Cassie's loud greeting, all the others turned and yelled too. 

"Happy birthday!"

As Peter shut the door and moved towards the living room, Michelle walked into the kitchen and handed something to Natasha and Pepper.

Snatching the Wii remote out of Sam's hands, Peter sat down beside Ned and started the game. Sam rolled his eyes, kicking Peter as he sat on the couch, but Peter ignored him.

It wasn't long before Natasha, Michelle, Laura, and Pepper announced the food was ready. The Wii game was paused and everyone crowded into the kitchen. It was a tight fit, but they were all determined to at least eat in the same room and so they did. They only waited until the kids had finished eating before pulling out the cake, but Peter seemed just as eager.

As Pepper set the cake in front of him, Tony lit the candles and the team began singing happy birthday. They had barely finished the song when Nate (who was sitting on Peter's lap) blew out the candles for Peter. 

"Nate!" Lila protested, "Peter was supposed to blow those out."

Peter laughed as Nate's face got red and he tried to apologise. 

"It's fine, Nate," he said, "I hope your wish comes true."

Pepper handed Peter the knife and he cut the cake, letting Nate pass it out as he cut the pieces. 

After the cake came the presents. This time, they did wait until everyone had finished eating before moving back into the living room and sitting down. Peter looked at the pile of presents in front of him, not sure where to start. There was little time to think about it though as Cassie quickly solved the problem.

"Mine first!" she declared, pushing her gift into his hands.

With so many presents, opening them took a while. Eventually, there was only one left. Michelle smiled as she held out the gift bag for Peter to open and the room fell silent. Opening the gift bag revealed a small box, much to Peter's confusion. He pulled it out, setting the bag aside, and opened it. Inside was a card. Further confused, he glanced at MJ, but she just smiled at him. 

He opened the envelope and pulled out the card. On the front, 'Congratulations!' was written in cursive with a clip art gift box. It was an odd thing for a birthday card to say, but Peter didn't comment on it as he opened the card.

Something fell out. Setting aside the card, he grabbed what had fallen and turned it over, realising it was a picture. He looked at it closely, but he wasn't quite sure what he was looking at. Some sort of strange thermometer with two pink lines. Turning back to the card, Peter read the short note Michelle had scribbled inside.

Hope you know how to change a diaper, but if not, you have a few months to learn - Michelle

Peter looked up at Michelle with wide eyes. Her smile had grown exponentially since the last time he had looked at her and she nodded, answering his silent question. Lunging forward, Peter wrapped her up in a tight hug as tears began to well up in his eyes. 

"Best present ever," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her temple.

Michelle laughed and pulled away, wiping the tears (which she had expected) from his cheeks. 

"Don't leave us hanging," Sam grumbled.

As Peter pulled away from MJ and grinned at everyone in front of him, his eyes stopped on his dad. 

"I'm gonna be a dad."