Title: Never Let Go
Fandom: Avengers (Younger Avengers continuity)
Pairing: Carol Danvers/Peter Parker
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers or Spider-Man, however Ben and Amelia are mine.
Author's Notes: December 2, 2011 is Obi-wan "Ben" Danvers Parker's birth day so this is a birth day/birthday fic. Amelia is Ben's younger sister (bday June 21, 2013). Ben inherited his mother's powerset and Amelia has her father's.
Obi-wan Parker was born in the evening. In the night. After 10PM. After a long day. A very long day.
A really very long day.
Carol laid back in the hospital bed, holding the baby tight to her chest. Her baby. Their baby.
"Our baby." Her voice was barely above a whisper and full of wonder.
Peter nodded, the same big goofy grin he'd had since he'd first seen his son still plastered on his face. "Our baby."
Carol felt pure happiness for a split second. Then her chest tightened and she felt pure terror. "Oh, God, Peter. I don't know how to do this."
"Well, luckily you've got me!" Same goofy grin, now trying to be reassuring as well. She was unconvinced.
"Do you know how to do this?"
"No. But we'll learn together."
She met his eyes bright with promise, her own were wide pools of vulnerability. "I'm scared."
Peter pretended to be shocked. "Carol Danvers are you telling me after everything you've done in your life, everything you've stood up to and fought for, this is what scares you? A tiny defenseless little baby?"
Carol swallowed. She looked from Peter to the baby and his eyes followed hers. Ben made a face in his sleep as if he knew they were watching.
"Yes," she answered simply.
Peter leaned over, careful not to smoosh the baby, and kissed her forehead. "I love you, Caroly." She smiled and let out a raggedy breath. Peter's goofy grin returned and he touched a finger to his son's cheek. "You, too, Benny."
Ben's first birthday had an Iron Man theme. This was the clever plot of his father; Tony couldn't complain that Ben had never had an Iron Man Themed Party. . . but he was too young to remember it. There are pictures, of course. A whole album full in the Parker-Danvers picture library and one hangs in the staircase gallery of Avengers Mansion.
The first birthday Ben did remember was his fifth. It had an outer space theme and took place at a bowling alley. There are pictures of that, too. It was his most crowded party because in addition to the Avengers Baby Boom (it was just before Clint and Bobbi split up so even baby Bobby was there) his school required them to invite the whole class if they invited anyone. Ben recognized the event whenever he looked at the pictures, but it's what happened afterward that stuck in his mind.
There was snow on the ground that year, as happens a third of the time when one has a birthday in the northeast in December. The crowded party had left Carol more than a little overwhelmed so she was walking Ben and Amelia home to decompress. She didn't realize what was happening until suddenly both kids were soaked and red and Amelia was screaming like her arm had been cut off. Carol scooped her daughter up, checked to make sure all her limbs were still attached and looked at Ben in bewilderment.
"What happened?"
"We were playing." It was a favorite game, usually played at home with pillows or in leaf piles, but he thought the snow bank was just as soft. It was a game Daddy made up and Amelia loved to fling herself around. It wasn't bad. Right?
"In the snow?" Ben nodded, his expression poised between worry and confusion. Carol sighed and rubbed Amelia's back. "Your sister's not dressed to play in the snow. She's freezing."
Ben frowned. "I'm not cold."
"I know, honey. But you're special." She kneeled down to his level, still holding Amelia. "You and I don't feel cold or hot or wet the same way other people do. But Amelia and Daddy and everybody else does so we have to be careful to remember when we play. Okay?"
Ben looked like he wanted to cry. "I'm sorry, Amelia." He frowned at his mother. "She can have my coat."
"Your coat is just as wet as hers. It's okay." She nudged her daughter. "Right, Amelia? Tell Ben it's okay."
"Ben, it's okay," repeated Amelia. He gave her a hug and Carol stood.
"Okay you two, let's get some hot chocolate."
Ben took Amelia's hand and made a point of walking carefully around any snow as they left the park. He put himself in the way of water drops from icicles, bigger kids running and any other perceived dangers for the rest of the walk home. And the rest of his life.
He didn't want a party for his nineteenth birthday. He didn't want decide who to include or exclude or who would want to be included or excluded. There would be enough awkward with the holidays coming up. Usually his birthday was the bridge between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the beginning of the season. . . when people wanted to celebrate and here was a good excuse. But this year he didn't want that and he didn't even want to know if the rest did.
"I like this," said Peter as they were seated at the table. Ben had decided on a snazzy sushi place. It was sophisticated and different. He wasn't feeling nostalgic this year, either. "Just the family." Unless that counted.
He smiled. "Me too." Carol nodded but Amelia hesitated. Peter touched a finger to her nose.
"That wasn't a judgement, Amelia."
Her eyes clouded. "It wasn't but now it is." The others all looked at her with raised eyebrows and she felt instantly awful. She bit her lip and changed the subject. "When are classes over?"
"Next Friday. Then exams." Ben's voice was quiet but Amelia chose to take it as anxiety over school.
"You'll be fine."
Her reassuring grin was enough to break through his mood. He chuckled. "How do you know?"
Amelia shook her head as if this was the silliest question she'd ever heard. "You're Ben."
Dinner was pleasant and once Amelia had settled it was comfortable. Which was just fine by Ben. Amelia would roll her eyes but Ben was tired; pleasant and comfortable felt like a win. Like his dad, his wants were simple and like his mom, he always felt a little separate from the crowd. So. He was okay and he was happy with that.
After dinner they walked home. Carol and Peter were joined at the hip, as close as they had been when they'd first gotten together over twenty years back. They never got out of the "honeymoon phase" of their relationship; they'd agreed without acknowledgement to live there. And behind their parents, Amelia and Ben walked hand in hand, like they had when they were children, two against the world.
"Ben, take a picture of that building." Amelia halted, pointing at a nondescript building on a nondescript street a few blocks from their apartment.
"Why?"
"I like it." Ben peered at her, trying to discern what wasn't being revealed. Amelia's smile was perfectly innocent which meant the opposite. But he couldn't figure a reason not to agree and snapped a quick picture of the building. Amelia's smile grew and she ran to catch up with their parents; Ben was pulled along behind.
"Let's go in through the garage." Now Ben raised a suspicious eyebrow at his father but Peter ignored it and led the way inside. When they approached the corner where Peter's and Carol's motorcycles were kept, a third one came into view with a bright red ribbon on the handlebars. Ben's eyes lit up.
"Happy birthday," said his mother.
"Thank you!" He gave Carol and then Peter a quick hug and bounded over to check out the specs.
"Where's mine?" asked Amelia, as she had asked in response to Ben's birthday gifts every year since she was old enough to talk.
"You can open my presents!" answered Ben as he had all those years.
"Cool, let's go!" And she grabbed his hand again and dragged him toward the stairs.
"But. . ."
"You can fawn over your motorcycle later. It's yours!"
Ben rolled his eyes but acquiesced. Over the last week a small group of loved ones had given Amelia gifts for her brother and she'd stacked them up nicely on the living room table. She would have set the cake up, too, so his view would be perfectly festive from the moment he stepped inside but the pets would have devoured it. She was lucky, really, they'd left the gifts alone.
"Wait here."
Ben sat. The pile was small, but larger than he'd expected anyway. He picked through the pack - Dani, Anya, Aunt Jess, some cards from people out of town. Another card in Lindy's handwriting. Amelia, of course. A couple with no external signatures. Ginny's name made him pause. And then, oddly, Natasha.
"Ta-da!" Amelia reappeared with a cake full of candles. Ben pushed aside other thoughts and suffered through his family singing Happy Birthday. "Make a wish!" He obligingly closed his eyes and blew out the candles.
Amelia handed the cake off to her father, grabbed one thin gift and took a seat next to her brother. She nodded at the gift pile. "I don't really want to open them. Just do mine first."
He ripped the wrapping carefully, whatever the gift was it was as thin as paper and he didn't want to tear it. He found a glossy folder. Amelia started explaining before he had a chance to read it for himself.
"You get six hours every two weeks, however you want to use it. You have to arrange it in advance but you get priority over people who don't have a contract. It's for six months. That's all I could afford. But then that's the end of the school year and we'd have to reevaluate anyway, so. So. Right?" She grabbed the folder and pulled out a picture before handing it back. "I know it didn't look like much on the outside but see. . . the inside is stunning."
Ben's brain was processing it all when he finally made the connection. "The building you made me take a picture of."
"Yeah."
"You got me space in a photo studio."
She bit her lip. "Yeah. . ."
He placed the folder on the table and hugged her tight. She buried her face in his shoulder.
"I love you so much, BBB."
Ben smiled and gave her another squeeze. "I know. I love you, too." He let go and pulled back to see her tears. "It's the perfect present. Thank you."
She nodded and wiped her eyes. Peter and Carol returned and handed a piece of cake off to each of them. Ben placed his plate on the table and stood. "Let's watch a movie."
"What about your presents?" asked Amelia, still a bit teary.
"I'll open them later."She was unconvinced.
"You don't want to go for a ride or something?"
"I want to do a Parker-Danvers Movie Night. We haven't done that in forever."
"I think it's a great idea," said Peter. Carol nodded and the two moved the gifts into Ben's bedroom. Ben looked at Amelia.
"What movie?"
"What do you think, dorkasaur?"
She giggled. "Okay, Obi-wan."