A Beautiful Thing (Spideychelle) UNDER EDITING

Candles and conundrum

Peter POV

Today was Saturday, the day of the party. MJ was still asleep but I knew she was no longer bed bound when she woke up and although she tired pretty quickly she  could now walk with crutches which meant that Pepper and I were free to set up the living room, however, we wanted without the confinements of a small room filled with monitors and computer screens. We were going heavy on the balloons and banners. We wanted her to feel love and we were going to stop at nothing to achieve our goal. Even if that meant getting up at 6:30.

"I can't believe you're actually helping me do this," I say to her making sure to express my gratitude

"Look, there are not many chances I get to do something like this with Tony so I'm gonna take every time I can" she answers.

"I think we're pretty much done" I reply, looking around at the room.

Balloons lined the walls while banners covered every door frame. There were fairy lights strung from the ceiling and we had covered the coffee table with red wrapping paper as we attached a metal 1 and a metal 6. We open the curtains and see it is a beautiful day. It looks truly magnificent from all angles as the sun slowly rises above Stark towers. Pepper and I share a glance as if to say "yeah we're awesome"I hear the oven beep which signals that Pepper's cake is done baking.

"I'll ice it later, you're on breakfast you can have it for lunch," she tells me still smiling.

The clock buzzes 8 am as we begin to wrap presents and before we know it shes awake. I had been waiting around the corner for the moment her eyes open and now, I rush in there to greet her with a smile on my face as I always did, only this time there was going to be something epic to follow

"Hey loser," she says, not suspecting of anything different going on.

"Happy birthday" I tell her waiting for he reaction

"Ah yeah happy birthday to me" she laughs not really treating it as something massive.

"Come on, I'm going to make you breakfast"  I exclaim

"Ahh Peter, I said I didn't want you to make a fuss" she sighed

"Come on grab your crutch" I repeat urgently as I might burst with excitment. She rubs her eyes and yawns before reluctantly getting out of bed and following me down to the kitchen. "Alexa play Panic! At The Disco" I chuckle as I start to get out milk. "You like pancakes right?"

"Yeah, obviously who doesn't like pancakes" she retaliates playfully as she begins to lossen up about this birthday thing.

We start to sing to the music, laugh and tell jokes while I try not to burn the panacakes or drop them mid- flip. I'm not a chef by any means but the pancakes did taste good and drizzeled with nutella they were pefection. In fact this whole day was perfect, we were laughing, joking more than we had ever done before. Once we were done eating we wash up together, flicking water and bubbles at each other while we go.

It is about ten whenn we finally make our way into the lounge. After a few tries, I finally get her to close her eyes and when she opens them I photograph the look on her face. And I'm glad I did because her smile in that moment is the manfestiantatian of joy.

"What is all this?"she spoke, rather taken aback by the situatian

"Is it to much, is it the balloons, its the balloons, I knew there was too many" I ramble, stoped only by her arms being thrown around my body in a hug

"Its bloody perfect" she gggled.

Michelle POV

I couldn't believe my eyes as I looked around the room. It was amazing. I had to do second takes and pinch myself multiple time as we made our way to the sofa which was covered in red fairy lights. I see Pepper enter through the double doors with a smile on her face and a present in hand.

"You like it?" she asks me, sitting on the other sofa

"Love it, I don't know how you guys put this all together"

"So Peter didn't mess up breakfast?" she remarks as Peter rolls his eyes.

"Time for presents" Peter declares before Pepper can get in anything more about him

I unwrap Peppers first, pulling off the white bow and attaching it to myself. It is wrapped neatly but I tear my way into it, wanting to get what was inside. Books, lots and lots of books. The first read "Percy Jackson and the Lighting Theif" the second set read "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone." I thank Pepper, knowing that these will keep me going for a long time. This is already a vast improvement on previous years as normally I have to say thank you for makeup and hair ties. At least she has actually put thought into the gift. Peter hands me the next gift.

"This is from Ned," he tells me.

It is smaller than the book sets Pepper gave me but wider. I unwrap it, intrigued of what it may hold but as I rip away the paper I can clearly see what is inside. My old sketchbook! The one I left on top of the tower, he had gone back to get it. My sketchbook filled with portraits of people in detentions and a half-finished landscape of Paris. I vocalise my happiness and start to flick through the pages until I find the one with sad-faced Peter. I show it to Pepper who thinks it is rather hilarious all the hile Peter is trying to snatch it off me.

Next comes Peters Present this one is not wrapped, just in a blue bag. I look at him and he stares back at me guiltily clearly communicating his inability to wrap gifts. I reach in and pull out a little black box. Opening it, I see that it holds a beautiful crimson locket in the shape of a heart. It has had bits of the paint scratched away into a spiral pattern so it resembles a web.

"It's supposed to resemble a heartbeat, I know its not much but-" he mutters in his staple safe deprecating tone.

"Peter, I love it" I exclaim while I stare at it gleaming in the sunlight. I put it on clipping it around my neck and watch the pendant fall down my chest. "I'll wear  it till the day I die"