Peter is almost asleep when he crawls through the hatch – Tony calls it the Spider Door because it's just like dog door, only for the Spider-Baby. Don't make that face, I thought you love corny puns – that leads directly to the penthouse of the Tower. He has spent the entire day patrolling, and while he's very happy that he could help so many people, he's ready to fall into his bed, face first, not even taking off the suit, and sleep for hours – nay, days.
His super-metabolism has another plan, though. The rumbles of his stomach are so loud, it's actually embarrassing. With his last bit of energy, Peter pulls his mask off and drags himself into the kitchen to raid the fridge for leftovers. But, apparently, he isn't the only one looking for a late-night-snack (or full-sized meal, in his case).
"Oh, hi Miss Potts," Peter greets her while suppressing a yawn. "I didn't know you're still up."
She gives him a small, but genuine smile. "My workday never ends. That's probably the reason Tony dumped the company on me." Peter laughs at the humor in her voice, and she smiles into her steaming cup while typing something in her StarkPad, a plate with very healthy-looking veggies to snack on next to her. How can she look this professional and put together while chilling in a kitchen wearing sweatpants? "We put some dinner for you in the fridge. Enough to feed a small army."
"Awesome, thank you so much!" He grins and leaps to the fridge, already way more exciting for his meal. May is visiting an old school friend in Nebraska, and Tony has offered to let Peter stay at the Tower during her time away. Given that it's his summer break, Peter spend most of his time in the lab with Tony anyway, so it works out pretty well. Pepper has been equally excited about the idea, especially because she always says that Peter has a calming effect on the genius – and he needs that right now. Their wedding, their actual wedding, is less than four weeks away and, of course, Tony is panicking, even though he would never admit that.
However, he isn't the only one. Pepper is acting strange, too. She's unusual moody and stressed, which is totally un-Pepper-like. She managed events way bigger than their relative private wedding. She dealt with crisis that had other people in tears without breaking a sweat. Something like this shouldn't stress her so much. But it's probably different because it's her own wedding. Peter knows that Tony worries about her. Although he's joking that his bride is about to get cold feet and blow the entire thing off, he actually has three back-up plans to elope with her if the pressure gets too much.
Peter pulls out the dinner – a gigantic bowl of pasta – sneaks a noodle into his mouth because he just can't resist, and puts it in the microwave, setting the timer to two minutes. As soon as the countdown starts, two minutes seems like an eternity. The boy is positive that he's going to starve before his dinner is warm. He closes his eyes in annoyance, debating if he should just eat it as ice cold as it is right now, and listening to the low drum of the microwave, Pepper's fingernails against the StarkPad, the three heartbeats, the –
His eyes fly open at once. Three heartbeats? What? That can't be right. It's only him and Pepper in the kitchen, no one else. A mistake. He has to be mistaken, after all, he's tired and very hungry. It's probably just an echo or something. Determined to prove himself wrong, Peter listens again, absolutely sure that he's going to hear two hearts.
There are still three heartbeats. His, Peppers, and one that isn't as strong as the other ones, but definitely there. And it's coming from Pepper's direction. The realization hits him like a train. He whirls around, completely forgetting about his dinner, and stares at Pepper. Of course, she notices him, and gives him a confused stare. "Peter? Is everything okay?"
He can't answer. Instead, he steps closer as if he were in a trance. The small heartbeat is getting louder, undoubtedly coming from the exact same spot Pepper is in. "I..." Peter doesn't even know how to end that sentence. How do you end a sentence like that? What do you even say in a situation like this?
