Chapter Text
Peter could still remember the day that they had told him very clearly.
“You guys are acting mysterious, what’s going on?” Peter had eyed both Pepper and Tony as he himself and May waited for an explanation as to why they had been called to the compound for a surprise.
Pepper and Tony shared a look before Tony cleared his throat and started talking, “Well you see Peter, I- No. I mean we have a surprise for you.” He handed Peter a paper bag which Peter was eyeing suspiciously. “It’s not really in here, but you know...” Tony trailed off while gesturing at the bag. “Just open it.”
Peter opened the bag and immediately recognised what was inside. “A new suit? Mister Stark, the old one is working just fine! Besides, this isn’t really a surprise? I don’t-”
He got cut off by an exasperated sigh from Tony. “Just take it out kid.”
Peter did as he was told and noticed it was indeed another one of his suits, but he was sure he wouldn’t be able to fit in this one. It was a tiny version of his own suit, a little bit bigger than his forearm. The thing also looked more like a onesie than like an actual suit. Peter squinted at it as he held it up in the air, not quite sure what to make of it.
“I don’t get it.”
Tony rolled his eyes at that, but May gasped as if she had finally made a connection in her head. She placed a hand on Peter’s shoulder, but she wasn’t looking at him. “Are you really?” Her question was filled with excitement and directed at Pepper, who returned May’s big smile and nodded. Peter still didn’t get it.
“Geez kid, for someone as smart as you you’re really thick headed.” Pepper gave Tony a stomp on his shoulder for the comment before she turned around to Peter and offered him a warm smile. “The suit isn’t for you Peter, you obviously wouldn’t be able to fit in it,” She held his gaze and saw something click as she spoke out the last words, “but somebody else may.”
“Wait-” Peter cut himself off as he turned his head to look back at the suit and then back at Pepper again. “You’re pregnant?!”
“And the fifty million dollar question goes to Peter Parker!” Tony exclaimed sarcastically, even as there was a fond smile displaying on his face. “You’re gonna be a big brother, kid.”
Peter wasn’t quite sure what to say to that so the first thing he did was hug Pepper who gladly pulled him closer. “I guess some congratulations are in order, huh?”
Pepper smiled at Peter’s words and nodded, “I guess so.”
Peter took a step back so May could give Pepper a hug and he could turn to Tony. Tony just rolled his eyes and pulled Peter in a hug which he gladly accepted. “Congratulations Mister Stark. Do you guys know the gender yet?” This had appeared to be a somewhat sensitive subject.
“No, because someone wants it to be a surprise.”
Pepper rolled her eyes. “We are not having this discussion again Tony, we will see whether its a boy or a girl when they will arrive.”
Peter couldn’t help but smile at the two adults talking, and if he was blinking back a few happy tears at the news then nobody needed to know that.
It seemed that May had finally had enough of Peter’s nervous tapping of his feet. She threw him a look that made him stop at once, but when she looked back at the road he immediately started biting his own fingernails. He just couldn’t help it, okay? It wasn’t every day you were going to meet ‘a new member of the family’ as May had put it. They were currently in the car on their way to the Stark residency. Pepper had given birth early last night and not soon after Tony had given May and Peter a call to stop by that morning.
Tony’s eyes were red rimmed, as if he had been staying up all night crying, but Peter couldn’t remember the last time he had seen him this happy. “Hey, I’m glad you could come over on such short notice.”
May gave him a warm smile, which wasn’t an usual occurrence, while putting a hand on Tony’s arm. “Of course Tony, we wouldn’t miss it for the world.” She threw a look at Peter who was still exhibiting at least twelve different nervous ticks. “Besides, I don’t think Mister Nervous over here would have survived if we would have had to wait any longer.”
Peter glared at his aunt but Tony just let out a small chuckle before wrapping his arm around Peter’s shoulder and pulling him inside. The bundle of nerves in Peter’s stomach had now transformed into butterflies- No, bees , buzzing around and making him feel like he could throw up at any moment. He wasn’t sure why he was so nervous, but the anxiety had been eating away at him ever since they had got the call.
“You got nothing to worry about kid, she’s perfectly fine and the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” Ah, so it was a girl. Peter could see a smile spreading across May’s face but decided not to comment on it, unsure whether anything would actually come out of his tight throat anyway.
When they walked into the living room Peter immediately noticed three things, 1) Pepper had claimed the couch as her own and was laying on it, looking absolutely exhausted, 2) the room was a mess, stuff had been thrown literally everywhere, and 3) Pepper was cradling a small bundle in her arms while wearing the biggest smile Peter had ever seen on her face. She had looked up when they walked in, motioning for them to come closer while careful not to disturb the probably sleeping baby.
Peter had frozen in his tracks, but May was already pushing him forward. The weight of Tony’s arm was removed from his shoulders as he went to get them both something to drink, and Peter found himself wishing it was still there so he could use it to keep himself grounded. May seemed to notice his nerves once again however, and placed a comforting hand on his back. He offered her a small smile which she gladly returned.
In the time that they had made their way over to the couch Pepper had managed to move herself in a sitting position. She patted the space on the couch next to her as to tell Peter to sit down which he gladly did. Tony had already returned with a cup of coffee for May and some orange juice for Peter, and was now making himself at home on the other side of Pepper. Peter wasn’t quite sure what May was doing, because all he was now focused on was the little bundle of life buried in Pepper’s arms. He couldn’t actually see a face because the baby seemed to be wrapped up in a tight blanket, but he did see the fabric moving up and down in a slow breathing pattern.
Pepper seemed to have noticed his intense gaze as she too offered him a smile. “You want to see her?” It was an irrelevant question as she was already moving her arms so that Peter could take a look at the baby’s sleeping face. He almost started crying on the spot. The little girl was the cutest thing he had ever seen. She had a little button nose, puffy cheeks, unnecessarily long eyelashes for a baby, and there was already some dark brown hair growing on her head. Peter couldn’t help but let out a gasp in surprised as the girl yawned softly only to snuggle back into her blanket. “She’s so tiny.” His voice came out all weird ans squeaky but he ignored it. He observed her some more with wide eyes before stating that he had never seen a baby this cute before. Pepper and Tony both let out a chuckle at that.
“What’s her name?” May asked from somewhere behind Peter. Tony slapped a hand to his forehead as if to punish himself for his own forgetfulness. “Right! Peter and May, meet Morgan H. Stark. Morgan, meet Peter and May.” As if on cue Morgan opened her little eyes and locked them onto Peter’s. Peter himself could only stare back in awe as the little girl’s face morphed into something akin to a smile before closing her eyes again.
“Do you want to hold her?” Pepper’s question made Peter come out of his stupor as he looked at her with wide eyes. “I couldn’t possibly! What if I drop her? Or what if I hold her too tight? I could crush her or wake her up or she could start crying, and I don’t know what to do when babies start crying! Do I hold them or put them back down, or should I-”
“Peter, you’re rambling again.”
“Right, sorry. I’m just nervous I guess. I mean, I do wanna hold her. I do! I just don’t want to accidentally hurt her, because, you know. I don’t-”
“Jezus , just hold the kid, kid. You’ll be fine.”
Tony’s statement sounded more like a demand than an offer, so Peter carefully moved his arms so Pepper could place Morgan in them. She adjusted his hold a little, making sure he was supporting the baby’s head, and leaned back while taking a look at the two. Peter looked completely starstruck as Morgan snuggled more into his chest. He made sure to support her little body while staring at her face.
“Hey May, could you send that to me?”
Peter looked up at Tony’s words to see May’s phone camera trained on him, his cheeks quickly turning a deep red. “May!” he whisper yelled as to not disturb the baby in his arms, “Did you take pictures?”
May scoffed, “Of course I didn’t take any pictures, I thought you would know me better by now Peter. I took a video.”
Peter groaned, a little bit too loud apparently, because Morgan was startled awake and her face screwed up as if she could start crying at any moment. Peter quickly went to rock her gently in his arms, whispering quiet affirmations that everything was alright and that she could go back to sleep. His whispers and the rocking eventually lulled her back into sleep at which he let out a grateful sigh. A hand was placed on his shoulder and when he looked up he saw Tony looking down at him with a fond smile.
“I told you kid. You’re a natural.”
When Peter looked back down at the sleeping child in his arms he couldn’t help but let a smile of his own creep onto his face, nerves from earlier totally forgotten. Morgan had been added to the small list of people he would kill for without hesitation, not that anyone needed to know that.
Peter could get used to the newest member of the family.