Accidents Happen

Chapter Twenty-two-Maybe

Michelle couldn't stop thinking about weird it felt to have something growing literally inside of her.

And she did that, she tuned out the show currently playing on the TV, only half-listening to Ned and Peter's conversation. They had some sort of decathlon team bonding session going on today at Ned's place, and unsurprisingly, they were the first ones there.

Instead of interacting with her two friends, her attention was on her bump, shirt riding up a bit, exposing the stretched skin. She mindlessly traced circles there, marveling at just how surreal all of this was.

She sat like that for a while, running her fingers experimentally over her stomach, back and forth. She'd apply slight pressure here and there, not entirely sure what she was doing, mostly doing it out of sheer boredom.

Every so often, she'd feel it move, doing somersaults in there or some shit. Sometimes, it'd move to where it was pushing right against her bladder, and she'd have to readjust so that she wouldn't pee all over the Leeds' couch (she figured they wouldn't be too happy about that).

When her finger pokes a particular spot though, she's startled when something pokes back. There's a small movement, on the other side of her skin; a foot, a hand, an elbow.

Okay, she doesn't know what it is, but she knows it's definitely something.

She does it again, poking a bit more gently, resting her finger in the same spot.

And again, it pushes back, the tiny outline of a tiny little limb appearing for a brief moment.

It's... weird.

But also amazing.

She's felt the baby kick before, obviously. She's been doing it for a couple of weeks now. But up until now, Michelle had never seen it actually happen. Now that it's visible, now that it's right there in front of her, it's so much more real than it ever has been.

"Woah..." She mutters, almost inaudibly.

Though, Peter with his impeccable hearing, doesn't miss it. He immediately looks to her, his eyes wide in question. "What?"

"Guys, check this out!" Both Ned and Peter flock to her, eager to see what she's talking about.

She shows them the little party-trick, poking her belly in the same spot, watching as their faces scrunch in deep concentration, holding their breath in anticipation. Right on cue, the little hand, foot, elbow, whatever it is, pokes her in return.

They echo her surprised gasp from earlier, jaws dropping slightly as their wide eyes fixate on the movement.

"Sick," Ned whispers as if speaking any louder would scare the baby into stillness.

Michelle looks briefly to Peter, who seems to be frozen in place, a bit farther from her than necessary, his expression a mixture of awe and a hint of unease. "Yeah," he mutters under his breath. "Cool."

Michelle looks up at examines her boyfriend's face, which is too focused on his unborn daughter to notice anything else. He looks frantic, but also... calm, if those two things can even go together.

Then she looked over at Ned. His innocent cheerfulness was present, as always, but there was also something she couldn't quite detect. He was excited? Nervous? Elated?

"Do you wanna feel it?" Michelle looks at Ned while she asks him the question. For once, she doesn't seem as confident as she normally does, her tone having a hint of a shy edge to it. He had asked before, and Michelle had finally decided that she would be okay.

Ned answers quickly. "Um, yes!"

"Okay, c'mere." She takes hold of his hand, putting it in the center of her stomach. She pushes down experimentally, resisting the urge to laugh at the way Ned mumbles how weird it feels, an elated laugh escaping his lips.

He retracts his hand after, jaw dropped and eyes wide in wonder and disbelief. "That's so crazy!"

When she makes eye contact with Peter, her head spins and her heart flips. Then he flashes her one of those smiles... one of those f*cking smiles that she swore could actually make your day better. So she smiled back, though it was weak.

"Can I feel?" he asked timidly. He had felt it before, but still, he knew the rules of his girlfriend still applied (for the most part).

Michelle meets his eyes looking into them. "Of course."

It's almost as if they're the only two people in the room now, as Peter moves to her. Wordlessly, she reaches for his hand, gently placing it where Ned's had been moments before, though this time, she feels the new way her face heats up. She was... nervous? Excited? She didn't know anymore.

Peter holds his breath as he feels the bump, keeping his hand utterly still as he waits.

Nothing happens.

It's not really the baby's fault that she's not kicking anymore; could be stage fright or something, but that doesn't make Michelle any less disappointed. Still, she's determined. "Hold on..." She mutters, brow scrunched up in concentration, taking Peter's hand in hers and moving it across her belly, gently pressing here and there in order to coax the fetus out of hiding.

"It's fine—" Peter starts, sounding disappointed. He was terrible at masking his emotions. Suddenly, a wide grin breaks across his features, interrupting him as a puff of air escaped his lips, and he feels the tiniest foot kick back at the pressure of his hand.

Michelle doesn't try to fight the smile that's pulling at the corner of her mouth. Peter doesn't try to shake his off either. Sure, he had felt the baby move previously, but not like this.

Having Peter this close to her, she can see every detail in his enamored expression, and it pulls at her heartstrings, playing John Keats 67; all he has to do is look back up at her, excited twinkle in his eye, and her beats-per-minute hits an all new high.

Another series of insistent kicks push against Peter's hand, and his smile grows even wider. He snorts when a particularly hard nudge elicits a few curse words in response from Michelle. She shoots him a warning glare, but she can't stay annoyed. Her eyes soften immediately upon meeting his again.

"Um, hey guys... still here," Ned clears his throat, waving his arms dramatically.

At that moment, Michelle wants to kill him.

But she doesn't get the chance, the buzzing of the boy's phone giving him an out. "Ooh, sh*t, Betty's here. I gotta go let her in. Not that I don't hate to leave... whatever it is going on here." And without

another word, he bolts out the front door, neither one entirely sure if it's out of fear of Michelle or excitement to see Betty.

Michelle suspects it was both.

It's then that Peter realizes that his hand is still resting on top of Michelle's stomach, and he quickly retracts it, as if he'd just touched a hot stove, muttering an apology, the tips of his ears turning a cute shade of pink.

Michelle smiled at him, her stomach feeling strange as she pulled her shirt back over her stomach. It wasn't the baby moving, and it wasn't nausea. It was something that Michelle had really only felt a few times in her life.

Butterflies.

It was in that moment that Michelle realized something truly amazing. She never thought it would happen to her, of all people. It only happened to the feeble minded and the weak. Not bitter Michelle who never talks to anybody. Not the irresponsible teenager that got pregnant at sixteen. But it did happen to her.

Michelle Jones is in love with Peter Parker.

Maybe.