Comfort of Home


Summary: Just a little something to start off Comfortember 2023.

Notes: Whumptober: No. 30: "It's okay, just to say, 'I'm not okay'."

Comfortember: 1. Safe, 2. Sweater Weather, 13. Baking.
Cozytober: 7. Cuddling with a Loved One, 14. Baking cookies
Flufftober: 2. Family, Friends, and Loved Ones, 13. Wrong (...)


Nothing Bad Happened standalone universe. Everyone is aged up here, because it's been quite a few years since high school...


Peter Parker paused outside the door of his apartment with a shiver. He closed his eyes and took several cleansing breaths, trying to relax a little and not take his stress, and fear, and bone-tiredness home with him. He wanted to greet his family with a smile, and not drag them down, too. It sounded quiet in there, and smelled amazing. Was that baking bread? And something sweet…

He palmed open the door lock and walked in, pausing to put his bag and his jacket (which was somehow still just as cold as when he'd put it on ten minutes ago) in the entryway closet. He was surprised there were no little feet stampeding towards him. Usually his kids pestered Karen constantly about when he'd be home, and were waiting at the door when he got there.

"Hello?"

Instead of two curly-headed munchkins, a taller version of them appeared in the doorway.

"Hey babe, how was your—hey, are you okay?"

"Hey, Em." He pulled her into his arms and leaned into her supportive frame. He pulled back to give her a quick kiss. "Where are the girls?"

"Don't you remember? Happy and May took them to the zoo this afternoon. They should be back in 20 minutes or so."

Peter frowned. How had he forgotten that? But it had been unseasonably cold and windy this afternoon. Had they—"Did they take warm enough coats? It's freezing out there today."

MJ ran her hands up and down his arms and then cupped his cold cheek. Now it was her turn to frown. "Peter, you're freezing. And yes, I sent them with sweaters and their winter coats. They were just excited to get out."

She took his hand and led him into the main living area and then to the couch. She pushed him gently with both hands and he allowed himself to fall backwards onto it.

"Actually, I was thinking about a hot shower or something; I swear I've been cold all day…"

"Well, unfortunately, there's not time for a shower yet , because everyone's gonna be here for dinner in like 20 minutes, remember?"

"Oh, right." How had he forgotten that, too?

"But you're in luck, because I pulled out our fall sweaters and winter clothes, and washed everything this morning. And a few of yours are just coming out of the dryer. Give me one minute."

She returned with his warmest, fluffiest sweater, hot from the laundry. He pulled it over his head with a happy sigh, and then hummed appreciatively when she sat down on the couch with him and wrapped her arms around him, snuggling up against his side.

"I thought everyone was coming over," he said, not protesting at all, but a little confused.

"Not for 15 minutes. And you look like you could use some love. What happened?"

Peter sighed, letting himself melt into MJ and finally face the thoughts swirling in his head, especially since the kids weren't home.

"Just a really busy morning at SI. Lots of headaches. Lots of stupid people, and somehow I'm always the one who gets nominated to deal with them."

"Mmm, cause Tony lost his ability to be tactful, if he ever had that, like five years ago, and Pepper has better things to do?"

"I guess," Peter said grumpily.

"Also, because you're so good at it, sweetheart," MJ coaxed, pressing a kiss to his neck."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"When's the last time I did that?"

"I guess you're right," he said, huffing softly in amusement.

"What else?" she asked, leaning down a little to nudge her head under his chin. She knew that a rough day at the Tower wouldn't usually affect him this way.

Peter felt his heart speed up and he carefully took a deep breath. "Um, I was just about to finish going through the intern projects for R&D when Karen alerted me to a situation a few blocks away, so I ended up going out as Spider-man instead."

MJ didn't interrupt, but snuggled impossibly closer. She smelled a little bit like chocolate, which definitely helped.

"The brakes had gone out on a bus, and it was headed downhill. The bus driver didn't really have any good options until I got there. Which was quickly, thankfully." He sighed, and MJ worked her fingers lightly into the hair at the base of his neck.

"I couldn't decide if I should try to stop the bus or move the car that was in its way. I made the wrong choice. I should have stopped the bus. Even if I hadn't been able to stop it quite in time, the impact would have been negligible. But there were car seats in the back of the car, and I couldn't help but picture Mila and Josie. I went for the car instead."

His voice crackled slightly, and he felt his eyes burning like they'd like to cry. Not now though. There would be time for that later, when his girls were tucked into bed and he had more time. If he started now, he might not be able to stop.

"Oh, honey, no. You did your best. Did something bad happen?"

"Almost. I mean, kind of. I got the car out of the way, and there weren't even kids in the back, thankfully, but because the bus was still going, it hit another car in the upcoming intersection, and that driver ended up going to the hospital with some pretty bad injuries. I stopped the bus after that, but it took a little time, and all the passengers were completely freaked out."

"But Peter, you're okay. They're okay, or they will be?"

There was a question in her pause, and he nodded reluctantly.

"You can't save everyone. You know that. You still did a great thing today."

"But what if it had been our kids in that first car? Or in the second one, that I let the bus hit, because I acted emotionally instead of logically?" His voice was biting in his own ears. He could hear the self-loathing, and knew MJ wouldn't let it fly.

He was right.

"Hey." She sat up, pulling away from him. "Stop that. You know you did your best. And it wasn't our kids. They're safe. And lots of other people are safe because of the things you do every day."

"They're not here though. What if they aren't safe?" he asked, knowing it was his emotions speaking and not his head.

"They'll be here in just a few minutes. You know you can pull up May or Happy on your phone and see exactly where they are. We're all okay, Pete, but we need you to be okay, too. When's your next session with Dr. Martin?"

Peter thought about her question. "Monday?"

"Good. That always helps you clear your head." She brought her hands up to his cheeks and pressed her forehead to his briefly.

A timer went off in the kitchen.

"We can talk about it more later tonight if you need to, but right now, I need a cookie tester. You up for the challenge?"

"Did I smell chocolate and pecans?"

"Yep, your favorite."

"And homemade bread?" he asked a little doubtfully. MJ was way better in the kitchen than his aunt had ever been, but that seemed a little ambitious even for her.

"Ha. As if. But those frozen rolls you thaw and let rise taste just as good," she said, leading him towards the kitchen, "especially with my grandma's potato soup recipe. It's amazing what I can get done when I can get articles to my editor early for once. May picked the girls up at like 10, and they didn't end up needing me at SI today, either. So I just got to stay home and play house all afternoon. Weird, but kind of nice, especially in this weather, and since we had dinner planned with everyone."

She pulled a sheet of cookies out of the oven and put another one, this one with little balls of dough all over it, in its place. Peter breathed in the rich smell of the soup and the heavenly-looking rolls, which were cooling on the counter. Talk about comfort food on a day that he could really use some.

"This is all amazing, Em. It feels like Thanksgiving, seriously."

"It's all simple stuff, but it should hit the spot for anyone who's been out in the cold all day. You know, everyone but me," she said smugly.

He laughed and leaned in for a quick kiss as she carefully handed him a hot cookie on a paper towel. There was nothing like fresh out of the oven.

Just then the door chimed, and Tony and Pepper were soon crowding into the kitchen as well, oohing and awing over MJ's kitchen skills.

"How did you turn into the best cook of all of us?" Pepper demanded, looking like she just might cry happy tears as she shared a quick cookie sample with Tony.

"Oh, you get kinda bored staying home with rugrats so much of the time. I can only write so much, so I decided I should try to enjoy something that we needed to do anyways. Everyone likes to eat."

Peter's brow wrinkled. "We can always send them to daycare more, Em. I don't want you to be bored. Or I can stay home more often, too."

She rolled her eyes. "We've had this conversation like 12 times, loser. I'm happy with what we're doing. I didn't have kids just to let someone else raise them most of the time. They're only little for a while, and I get plenty of other work done on their two daycare days. And you stay with them anytime I need or want to do something else. We're good. It's a perfect arrangement, and I feel lucky that we can make it work."

"Speaking of the kiddos, where is my little dynamic duo?" Tony complained. From the moment Mila was born, Tony had been absolutely dumbfounded, and completely wrapped around her little finger. He was no better when her sister followed two years later.

"They'll be back soon. But right now," MJ said, "I need you to take care of your other kid. She grabbed Peter's arms and turned him to face his father figure and gave him a little shove. "He had a rough superhero evening, and could use a little wisdom, if you can find any."

Tony smirked, but Peter could see the concern in his face, too. "I'm fine," Peter muttered rebelliously, not wanting to draw attention to himself.

The heck you are , MJ's look said. "Pepper, keep me company while I throw the salad together?"

"Hey, I can throw a salad together, too!" Pepper said, full of mock indignation.

"Wow. Okay, you do the salad then," MJ said, trying not to laugh. "I'll get out the bowls and stuff and start taking things to the table. Tony and Peter can do the dishes later."

"Is Morgan coming tonight?"

"No, she's hanging out with friends tonight. Since when did my baby turn into a nearly-adult? It's not fair, I tell you."

"Seventeen's not so bad. She's still got a few good years in her," MJ joked. "You want her to have friends, don't you?"

"Yes! But also? No."

Their conversation faded into background noise as Tony steered Peter in to sit on the couch in the den, and settled next to him, turned a little sideways so he could see Peter's face.

"So, which pep talk am I supposed to give you tonight?" he asked, a little bit of snark mixed in with the gentle tone, trying to draw a smile out of Peter, and succeeding.

"Um, numbers 13 and 42: 'It's okay to make mistakes,' and 'You can't save everyone,'" Peter halfway joked. "With a healthy side of number 5: 'How to stop worrying about bad things happening to those you love?'" Peter's lighthearted tone cracked on the last word, and the tears came, whether he was ready or not. It had just been that kind of day. Week. Month? Whatever.

"Aw, kid. C'mere." Tony said gruffly. He held Peter while he cried through it, just the little bit of emotional release that he desperately needed. The prescribed reassurances followed quickly, and Tony had him laughing again in a minute or two. He was actually feeling calm by the time his girls got home and rushed him, peppering him with stories and questions and kisses and complaints. Kids were exhausting, but also wonderful, and he held them both close, breathing them in and thoroughly kissing their dark curls.

"As for that last one," Tony said, once the girls had greeted them thoroughly, and moved on to Pepper and MJ (and the cookies) in the kitchen, "I'm not sure what to tell you. I feel like my ability to love has grown with every new member of our family, but so has my capacity for worry. I think you just have to do the best you can, and not let it get in the way of enjoying the people you have while you have them, you know?" Tony's eyes were unfocused, probably thinking of others he had lost. His sharp gaze returned to Peter.

"I know that's what I had to do with Pepper, and you, and later with Morgan. I just have to not think about it with the munchkins, or I can't handle it either." He tipped his head to the side and smiled ruefully. "Pepper would tell us both to live in the moment and stop worrying about the what-ifs though."

"Pepper has always been the wisest of us," Peter nodded sagely.

"Hey, yeah. Why isn't she giving you this talk?" Tony complained.

"Because you're two peas in a pod," MJ replied from where she leaned against the doorway. "And because he internalizes all this stuff better from you than he does from any of the rest of us."

Peter and Tony shared a guilty glance.

"Aren't you guys hungry?" MJ asked. "My dad just got here, and we're all ready to eat. Chop chop, Sanford and Son."

"Hey, obscure nicknames are my thing," Tony complained, grunting as Peter helped him to his feet.

"Yeah, well, there are a lot of old TV shows on in the middle of the day if you're just sitting around at home. Who knew?" MJ said archly.

"My little housewife," Peter teased.

"Watch it bud, or no more cookies for you," MJ threatened. But she reached for his hand, wrapping it up in hers in their own top-secret-married-club configuration, and bumped her hip gently against his as they walked towards the dining area.

Hey, you better now? was the question.

He pulled her hand up and kissed her knuckles, smiling at her softly.

Yeah. Thanks to you, was the answer.