- How's it going, folks? It's still hard to believe Russia has actually declared war on Ukraine for a myriad of dumb reasons that don't make sense to the rest of the world. I just hope this conflict ends soon before any more people gets needlessly hurt.
Take your time reading.
...
"Thanks, FRIDAY. I'll go find him now."
Darcy dropped her bags off in her room before she promptly left. Her stuff could be unpacked later. Right now, she just wanted to find her boyfriend first. The brunette woman had been in New Asgard for the last two weeks, working with Jane to finalize their research. All of their hard work over the years finally paid off last week and they were able to find what Jane was searching for most of her life.
Of course, they couldn't have done it without Peter's help in upgrading their equipment. The famous astrophysicist asked her to thank him once she got back to the Avengers Compound...and Darcy was more than happy to do so. She just needed to find Peter first.
It was late in the afternoon and most of the others weren't in the building. FRIDAY informed her that Captain Marvel had headed back out to space to resume her peacekeeping duties. The Black Widow was the one who picked her up in New Asgard on the Quinjet. Not long after they got home, Natasha accompanied Hill as she left to go meet Sharon Carter in an old SHIELD safehouse. The Scarlet Witch was in the nursery, entertaining her children by reading a storybook to them. The little boy and girl obviously couldn't understand the words yet but they enjoyed listening to their mother's comforting voice.
According to FRIDAY, Peter was working in his lab right now. Darcy stepped into the elevator and waited for the A.I. to bring her down to the next floor. When the metal doors slid open, she walked to the end of the hall and made a turn to the right. Her eyes brightened with joy once she entered the lab and saw Peter working away at his desk. A holographic image of what looked like the suit Natasha wore on missions was being projected in the middle and he seemed to be changing the design a little bit.
Darcy did her best to remain quiet whilst sneaking towards her boyfriend from behind. When she got close enough, her hands reached out to cover his eyes. "Guess who?"
Spidey chuckled and set the stylus down on the table. "There's only one woman I know who has that lovely voice. Welcome home, Darcy."
The beautiful intern smiled as he turned around and took her into his arms. She pressed her lips against Peter's for a tender kiss. When they eventually broke the kiss, Darcy leaned her forehead against his.
"I missed you. Brunnhilde and Hela send their love by the way. They really want you to come see them again soon."
"Don't worry, we're all planning to visit New Asgard in a couple of weeks. How's Jane?"
She took a step back but held onto both of his hands. "Tired...but happy beyond words. While you and Wanda were visiting Natasha's family last week, we were finally able to find concrete evidence for what Jane has been trying to prove for so long."
Peter couldn't stop himself from grinning in excitement. "You two found an actual Einstein Rosen bridge?"
"Yeah...well, only a small one but the bridge remained stable long enough for us to scan it and record most of the necessary data. We were so overjoyed that she and I literally started crying."
"Having all of your hard work and efforts pay off after so many years...I'd be more concerned if you two didn't shed a single tear."
Darcy giggled. "That's true. We couldn't have done it though without the help you gave in upgrading our equipment. Jane wanted me to thank you for her so..."
She leaned forward to kiss Peter again, this time with a bit more passion. The way her tongue was delving into his throat made it a little hard to breathe but it also felt good. He held Darcy close with one arm around her waist. His other hand reached down to playfully fondle her denim clad butt, switching from the left cheek to the right every few seconds.
The brunette woman moaned against his lips, loving the firm yet gentle massage Peter was giving her ass.
"Cheeky boy...in all seriousness though, thank you."
The young Spider smiled. "Anytime. I hope you two didn't overwork yourselves."
"Don't worry, I made Jane get some rest whenever she was about to push herself too hard. She told me before I left that she was planning to take a nice long nap." Darcy said before she nodded towards the holographic image of Black Widow's suit. "What are you working on here?"
"Yelena asked me to make two more of the same suits that Natasha wears. I was just changing the design a little bit. She was very insistent that I don't make it look like hers."
"Yelena? Oh, that's the name of Natasha's sister. Wanda told me she was pretty with a snarky sense of humour."
That was a fairly accurate description of the younger Widow. "More or less. Their mother, Melina, is quite beautiful too. Wanda made a joke about how good looks must run in their family."
"Beautiful, huh? Were you checking out their mom?" She teased.
"No. It's just the first thing I noticed about her when we finally met each other. She's also very kind. Melina treated us well during our stay with them."
"And their dad? What's he like?"
"Alexei's a friendly guy once you get to know him, reminds me a lot of Volstagg." Peter said. "I did have to fight him though shortly after we met."
Darcy looked confused. "Why? Did he not like the fact that you're dating Natasha?"
"Actually, Alexei said he was okay with her and I being together. He just wanted to see how strong I was and how well I could handle myself in battle."
"Oh...so who won?"
Spidey shrugged his shoulders. "I did. I had to pull my punches so I wouldn't accidentally kill Alexei. The old man did put up a good fight though. He might look like a heavy bearded dude but he's about as strong and fast as Captain America."
"...For some reason, I'm picturing Alexei to look like an unkempt Santa Claus." She muttered.
Peter laughed at that. Her idea of what Natasha's father looked like was not far off the mark. Simply put Alexei in the classic red Christmas suit and his resemblance to the image of old Saint Nick would be pretty close.
"Peter?" Karen's voice chimed in, getting both of their attention. "The suits are ready to be built. Shall I commence their construction through the fabricator?"
"Go ahead. I'm already done with the design changes."
"Understood. Beginning suit construction...estimated time for completion is two hours."
He gave his A.I. partner a grateful nod. "Thanks, Karen. Let me know when they're finished."
"I will. Perhaps you should take a break now. You've been working in the lab for most of the morning." Karen suggested.
"Good idea. I should go check on Maybelle and William anyways. Do you want to come with me?"
Darcy smirked as she wrapped her arm around Peter's. "Do you even have to ask? I haven't been able to hang out with the cute little tykes for almost two weeks. I can't wait to see how much they've grown."
...
"If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk. When you give him the milk, he'll probably ask you for a straw. When he's finished, he'll ask for a napkin."
Both Maybelle and William giggled at the funny illustration of the small mouse dressed in overalls, laying against an empty cup with a full belly and cookie crumbs around his mouth.
Wanda just grinned at their adorable laughter. "The mouse does look kind of silly, doesn't he?"
The little girl babbled something as she put her hand on the picture. Her mother nodded along to show that she was paying attention to her indecipherable baby talk. Flipping to another page, she read the next couple of sentences out loud.
"Then he'll want to look in the mirror to make sure he doesn't have a milk mustache. When he looks into the mirror, he might notice his hair needs a trim. So he'll probably ask for a pair of nail sci-"
The Scarlet Witch stopped halfway through the word when the door was pushed open. Much to her delight, Spidey was the one who stepped into the nursery. Maybelle and William were happy to see him too. The infant boy reached out for his dad with both of his small hands. Peter gently took his son into his arms, making him laugh as he was lifted off the floor.
"What's up, little man?" He gave William a kiss on the cheek. "Are you having fun reading with your mom and sister?"
Wanda ruffled her daughter's short hair. "We're having a good time. They seem to really like this book and the last one we just read together. How's your work going?"
"I'm all done. Only thing left to do now is wait for Karen to finish building the suits through the fabricator. Before I forget though, I've brought along someone who's eager to see you all."
"Who is it?"
Darcy walked into the room and greeted the Scarlet Witch with a warm smile. "Hi, Wanda."
Her friend looked pleasantly surprised. "Darcy! Welcome home. When did you get back?"
"Just now. I still have to unpack my stuff but I wanted to come see you all first."
She then looked at the baby in Peter's arms and playfully tapped his nose with her finger. "Hey, William! My goodness, you and Maybelle have grown so big! What have your parents been feeding you two?"
The boy giggled as he grasped onto Darcy's finger. Maybelle actually waved hello at the gorgeous brunette woman on her own without any help from her mother. Wanda and Peter shared an astonished look with each other. Their daughter must've remembered the gesture was used to greet people in lieu of words. With her other hand, Darcy waved to the little girl. William finally let go of her finger in favour of snuggling close to his father.
"How is everyone in New Asgard?" The young Sokovian mother asked.
"They're doing well. The Asgardians are happier and healthier than ever, thanks in no small part to Brunnhilde's leadership. She and Hela have recently begun construction on two more new houses in the east end of town."
Peter smiled as he placed William back down next to his twin sister. "That's good to hear. Any news on when Thor is coming back?"
She nodded her head. "Jane got a message from him five days ago. He and the other Guardians will be returning to Earth in two weeks."
The young Spider wondered for a moment if the God of Thunder actually stuck to the strict diet plan that Lady Sif and Jane designed for him the last time he was here. He hoped that was the case. Otherwise, Thor would be in for a very harsh scolding from the two most important women in his life upon his return.
"Anyways, I better go unpack my things. I'm still kind of jet lagged so I'm going to take a quick nap afterwards. Wake me up when it's dinner time, okay?"
"Will do. Do you need help unpacking your stuff?"
Darcy gave Peter a quick kiss. "No, I'll be fine. Thank you though."
Waving goodbye to the kids and Wanda, she left the nursery and closed the door behind her. Spidey took a seat next to the Scarlet Witch on the foam puzzle mat before he lifted Maybelle onto his lap. Their daughter let out a quiet squeal of joy from the sudden movement. William looked expectantly at his mother whilst holding the book they'd been reading earlier.
"I think they want to continue the story of the little mouse." She said. "Would you like to read to them this time?"
The young dad reached out to gently take the book from his son. "Of course."
Peter held the book so that both his children could see the pictures. He cleared his throat and then began to pick up on where Wanda left off. Their baby boy was sitting comfortably on his mom's lap, with her arm placed securely around his waist. Wanda rested her head on Peter's shoulder as they all listened to him tell the rest of the story.
"When he looks into the mirror, he might notice his hair needs a trim. So he'll probably ask for a pair of nail scissors. When he's finished giving himself a trim, he'll want a broom to sweep up. He'll start sweeping. He might get carried away and sweep every corner in the house."
...
Later that night...
Jessica ducked down to avoid the slug that was coming at her. It missed her by a narrow margin and ended up hitting a stack of binders, sending papers flying everywhere. The robber aimed to shoot her again but swore out loud when he realized there were no more slugs in the chamber.
The raven haired woman grabbed a hardcover book and chucked it at him as he tried to reload his shotgun. It hit the robber square in the eyes, blinding his vision for a few seconds. Jessica charged at the man while his guard was down and clocked him in the face with a vicious right hook. The punch sent him flying off to the side before his head crashed against a concrete pillar and he fell down into an unconscious heap.
Jessica picked up the discarded shotgun and easily bent the muzzle downwards, rendering the weapon useless. She tossed it aside and turned around to check on her partner. Spider-Man was jumping around on the walls, dodging the bullets that came flying his way. The three remaining robbers were growing more frustrated by the fact that they couldn't even hit him.
"Man, you guys make stormtroopers look like sharpshooters." Peter quipped before he threw a couple of web grenades at their feet.
The explosives detonated a second later, binding the three men in ski masks to the wall behind them with thick layers of webbing. They couldn't move their arms and legs at all...leaving them unable to use their guns.
The private detective approached Spidey and gave him a pat on the back. "Nice work. Those web grenades of yours are really handy."
"You did pretty well yourself."
He pointed at the two bad guys that she beat up during the fight. Jessica just nodded towards another robber that was unconscious on the ground with blood pouring out of his nose.
"If you hadn't punched out that moron, he would've shot me while my back was turned. Are the police on their way?"
Spider-Man nodded his head. "Karen already called them. They'll be here soon."
"Good. We should leave before they arrive." She suggested.
He didn't argue and they jogged up to the roof of the bank. Jessica wrapped her arms around Peter before he leapt into the air and began to swing away from the building. There was a cold wind blowing through the air, making the private detective hold Spidey more closely for warmth.
"I didn't think bank robberies were a thing anymore. Most folks nowadays steal money by hacking online accounts or credit cards."
"Guess those guys were just really desperate...and stupid. I'll give them some credit for trying to rob a bank at this hour though. Response time from security is a lot slower than it would be in the day."
Jessica scoffed. "Meh, I guess. Want to call it a night? We've already stopped half a dozen crimes anyways."
"Sure...here's hoping Maybelle and William are still asleep when I get back home. " Peter said. "Wanda and I won't be getting much rest ourselves if they wake up from a nightmare again."
The raven haired woman still found it difficult sometimes to believe that her younger friend was actually a dad now. So far, Peter was proving to be a good father. The way he doted on his children was really sweet to behold. "Your kids, huh? I haven't seen them in a while. How have they been?"
"The twins are doing great. They're growing bigger and stronger everyday."
"That's good to hear. I'd imagine all of their aunts and uncles really spoil them."
Peter fired another strand of webbing at a secure anchor point. "You have no idea. Just the other day, Pepper sent over a giant Spider-Man plush for them. Maybelle and William can't stop playing with it."
She chuckled at the Stark CEO's sense of humour. "How big is the plush?"
"Large enough for the kids to sleep on. We put it in the nursery next to their second crib."
"Heh heh...that must feel weird for you, huh?"
"A little bit. Wanda keeps poking fun at me about it." He admitted before his lips curved into a grin. "...But if Maybelle and William are happy with the plush, then I'm happy too."
Jessica stared at Peter with a soft smile on her face. "They're lucky to have you and Wanda as their parents. What do you say to a drink when we get back to my place? I never did get to give you a toast for your children when they were born."
"Sure. Just one though...I'm still not much of a drinker."
The private detective jokingly rolled her eyes. As if she could ever forget that. Once they arrived at her apartment, she was going to fix up a nice tall glass of bourbon for the web-slinger. Jessica found it hilariously ironic that Peter had good taste in alcoholic beverages despite him not being a drinker.
...
- I think most people will probably recognize the children's book that Wanda and Peter reads to their kids just from the opening sentence. It's considered to be a classic storybook for children to read...at least in North America.
- I hope you enjoyed it. Till next time, friends.