Leave it to New York to be it's coldest in January. The one month when crime seems to spike, causing a certain spandex-wearing hero to work extra hours.

Pulling open the window, moving into the room, and stumbling in with a silent curse, Peter cursed to himself. The lenses on the suit never had worked well in his apartment. He fumbled for the light switch, mumbling about putting a lamp near the window for his sanity. Soon enough, he found the small lever, flicking it up. The room filled with light, a sigh of relief leaving the man.

"Thank God, I was starting to think I'd have to ask Karen to turn the lights on.." He shook his head, pulling the red and black mask away, revealing a pale face, framed by a mop of messy brown curls, damp with cold sweat.

That night, in particular, had been a rough one. If he was counting correctly, it'd been three robberies, five muggings, and two murders stopped, all within two hours. He'd planned on being home two hours earlier. The room was surprisingly clean, dirty clothes all in one hamper instead of thrown across the room, clean clothes folded up in the dresser, bed made with what seemed to be freshly cleaned sheets and blankets. There wasn't a single bit of trash in sight, the can had even been cleaned out.

He rolled his eyes, spotting a note on the bedside table.

"Tony and I dropped Julien off at eleven. He was getting tired and we figured it'd be best. He should be tucked into bed.
P.S - Your room was a disaster. I did some tidying for you.
- Pepper"

He set the note back on the table, phone lighting up in sync. There were only two notifications, one reading, "Two missed calls from Wanda," the other being a text.

"Shit... She's gonna kill me, isn't she?" he asked, opening up the message.

Yesterday 7:15 PM
Peter : Text me when you get this.

Yep. He was screwed. Something important had probably happened, and he'd missed it.

Today 12:33 AM
Peter : What's up?
Read 12:33 AM

Within moments of hitting send, the small read receipt had popped up below his message. What on Earth was she doing awake? Didn't she have work in a few hours?

Peter : Woah, someone's up late.
Read 12:33 AM

Wanda : I couldn't sleep. Aren't you up a little late, too?

Peter : I was on patrol. I just got home.

She couldn't sleep. That explained it, barely. Had she been worrying about him all night?

Wanda : Patrol? What about Julien? You didn't leave him home alone, did you?

Peter : No! What kind of dad would I be if I left Julien alone? He's with Tony.
Read 12:34 AM

If she hadn't been mad at him before, she certainly would be now. He knew perfectly well that she hated it when he left the kids with Tony. In her defense, he couldn't really blame her, either. He sighed, collapsing back onto the bed.

So far, the last four hours had consisted of stressed pacing down the hallways, making thirteen cups of tea total, re-watching the same three episodes of Pretty Little Liars, and tucking Beth in seven times. Wanda was anything but upset at her little girl's restlessness. She'd learned over the years that when she was stressed out, Beth tended to get nervous, too. Every time she'd gone to tuck her in, it'd be the same conversation.

"You have to go to sleep, dear. You have school in the morning."

"Why do I have to go to school? You don't have to go to work tomorrow!"

"I have Wednesdays and Thursdays off to spend them with you when you get home, you know that, Beth," the statement would be followed by an honestly pathetic attempt at a puppy frown, lower lip puffed out and all.

Just like her dad.

"But I don't want to. I gotta take care of you.

Wanda would laugh and shake her head, "Now, what makes you think I need to be taken care of?"

Beth would follow up with a very valid argument, saying that she knew Wanda was stressed out, and then point out all her little nervous habits. She'd press a kiss to her forehead, turn the light off, wish Beth good night, and close the door with an, "I love you, Beth," and that'd be it. For the next half an hour she'd be child free until Beth found her way out again. It seemed that this last time would be it, having not heard a single peep from the girl's room since.

She returned to the couch, laying down to hopefully, move on to the next episode of the show she'd been watching. Or, re-watch the first. Whichever seemed more appealing. On the counter, her phone gave a soft beep, a notification signaling that she'd gotten a text.

Peter : I was on patrol. I just got home.

Of course. Peter had gone on patrol. That explained his absence much better than a sudden kidnapping. His disappearance had been the exact thing worrying her. He normally had his phone on him 24/7.

Wanda : Patrol? What about Julien? You didn't leave him home alone, did you?
Read 12:34 AM

Peter : No! What kind of dad would I be if I left Julien alone? He's with Tony.

Tony? Why the Hell was Julien with Tony? Peter knew well that she didn't like leaving either of the kids with Tony.

Wanda : Since when are we trusting Tony Stark with children?
Read 12:34 AM

Peter : Well... Ned's with Betty, Scott was busy with Hank, and Clint's already got his four..
Peter : To be fair, Morgan was there too!

As if that helped. Julien and Morgan had never gotten along well together. She'd always gotten along better with Beth.

Wanda : Morgan's sixteen, Julien's five.
Read 12:35 AM

Peter : So? Beth is five, too.

Wanda : Beth's a girl, Peter. They click better.
Read 12:38 AM

It took a few minutes for a read receipt to show up. He always did get annoyed when she brought that up. Ever since the twins were born, he'd imagined Julien would get along with Morgan like he did. It was obvious that he loved the twins with all of his heart, though.

Wanda : That's beside the point, though. We haven't seen each other in forever besides dropping the kids off. I don't have work tomorrow. Do you want to go to the cafe on fifth to get lunch tomorrow?
Read 12:38 AM

Peter : I mean... Yea, OK. I'll meet you at noon.