Chapter Text
The divorce papers have been sitting on his new kitchen counter for three days.
It’s cruel, Peter thinks, that he and Gen are finalizing their divorce right around Valentine’s Day. The drugstores are filled with candy hearts and love letters and gifts for your significant others, and Peter is weeks away from finalizing a divorce he should’ve seen coming much sooner than he did.
He’s tried throwing himself into new routines. His new apartment is down the street from a gym, which he joins on a whim to get the aggression out.
There’s a park down the street he’s gone running in a few times, the cold Winter air harsh against his face as he runs until his legs ache and his lungs beg for a break.
And then he immerses himself into being a dad. Nora, his entirely too bright for her own good 8-year-old, has taken the divorce in a way that Peter can only describe as worrying.
Because she’s been so mature about it. Like it’s a part of life, like every kid lives through their parents getting divorced and suddenly their lives change between split houses and two holidays.
He alternates weeks with Gen on the custody agreement. It’s what worked best for both of them. Gen, an interior designer downtown, treats Nora to lavish days in showrooms and living in Chelsea by the river, where Nora always returns with stories upon stories of her mom’s clients and everything they do in a week full of activities.
Peter treats her to quiet, tree-lined streets of the Upper West Side and the proximity to Central Park, his work in an advertising agency just blocks away. He takes her to Rangers games and plays baseball in the league in the park, and their weeks are filled with dirt and roughhousing and the happiest memories in the darkest of times for Peter.
It’s the best of both worlds, Nora always declares, her school somewhere in the middle of both of her parents residences.
Peter arrives at Nora’s school on Monday, lining up along the fence with all of the other parents. He’s cleared his evening schedule for the week, rescheduled late work meetings just to make sure that he’s there for Nora on time and she receives all of his attention.
She comes skipping out of school with her friend, Ella, waving enthusiastically when she sees him. Peter smiles and waves back, and as she runs over and wraps her arms around his middle, Peter feels himself relax.
“How was school today, kiddo?” He asks, reaching for her hand as they walk back towards the subway. “Did you learn anything new?”
Nora skips alongside him, nodding. “We learned lots of things, Dad,” She says quickly, peering out into the street. “But I need help with my math homework tonight when we get home.”
Peter nods, slowing down on the steps down to the subway for Nora to catch up.
“Did you have a good time with your mom this week? Do anything fun?” He asks, putting their subway cards through and walking through the turnstiles.
Nora thinks about it for a moment, standing on the platform in front of Peter as she turns around to look at him. “We went to see Mom’s new office and went to the park a lot because Mom says we need to be outside now.”
Peter smiles, grabbing Nora’s hand as the train pulls up. “She’s right, kid. The weather has been nice and you shouldn’t be cooped up inside all day.”
He leads her onto the car, letting her sit down as he stands in front of her. Smoothing her hat over her head, Peter watches as she leans back against her backpack, sighing. “Dad, did you and Mom go on dates when you were married?’
Peter feels his cheeks flush as he ignores the woman beside Nora smiling behind her book, eyes shifting back to his daughter. “Yes, Nora, Mom and I went on dates,” He says, reaching out to adjust her hat. “It was just hard when you got older and were more involved in things and we both more going on at work.”
Nora nods, swinging her legs off the edge of the seat as she looks around the subway. There’s a group of high school girls going home together, a couple in the back with shopping bags on their laps, and beside Nora is an older woman who’s been listening to their conversation, masking her nosiness with her book.
Peter, who suddenly feels suffocated by the subway, has never been so relieved when the train comes to a stop and Nora takes his hand, her long legs working quickly to keep up with him as they walk up the steps and onto the quiet streets.
“I think Mom and Kevin are going to go on a romantic date tonight since I’m with you,” Nora says after a moment, breaking free from her father’s grasp to adjust her backpack on her shoulders. “Mom was talking about going to that fancy restaurant near her house.”
“Who’s Kevin?” Peter asks, looking down at Nora as he grabs his keys from his bag.
Nora looks up at him, furrowing her eyebrows. “Mom’s new guy friend,” She shrugs. “That’s what she calls him when she talks about him, but I think he’s her boyfriend.”
Peter nods, opening the door to their apartment building. “Have you met him? Do you like him?”
“He works in the building where Mom’s office is. And he’s nice,” Nora nods, leaning against the wall while Peter checks the mail. “Are you sad she’s dating someone?”
Peter sighs, pulling the mail from their box and shutting the door, locking it. “Not at all,” He says, glancing up from reading what they got. “If she’s happy and you’re okay with it, then I’m fine.”
Nora nods, pressing the button for the elevator. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
Chewing on the corner of his lip, Peter shakes his head. “I do not.”
“Do you want one?”
“Nora,” Peter says. He sets the mail down on the bench, helping Nora hang her things up. “I am perfectly happy with the way things are right now, okay? You are the most important thing to me, and we don’t have to worry about anything else.”
Nora contemplates it for a moment, straightening out her dress as she nods. “Okay, fine,” She relents, moving past Peter and into the kitchen to get a snack.
Peter tosses the mail onto the counter next to the divorce papers, the same papers that are now haunting him further hearing that Gen has already moved on.
He pulls them out of the envelope while Nora settles on the couch and turns on a show, hesitates, and then signs them.
It’s official. Peter Kavinsky is a single man.
—
Peter and Gen moved to New York City on a whim.
It was an opportunity with a prominent interior designer that Gen felt she couldn’t say no to. Peter, fresh out of college and eyeing a job in advertising, followed her in hopes of starting his own career there.
Gen kept them afloat until he landed a job with an advertising firm four months later.
He proposed to her at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens on a winter night with a ring he spent too much money on given their financial situation. She cried, took a million photos and posted them all to social media, and eight months later they celebrated with their families back in Virginia with a wedding that Peter could only describe as a little too much, even for him.
Nora was a honeymoon baby, coming when they were fully underprepared. They scrambled to find a bigger apartment, stretched their rent further than they should have, and on the morning she was born, Peter swore he didn’t care about anything else.
They had the perfect life. A New York City lifestyle, Nora in a good school, both of their jobs flourishing. They looked at bigger apartments on the weekend and possibly even buying a place this go around, talked about adding to their family and maybe even buying a small condo at the beach for weekends, but never went through with any of those plans or dreams.
Gen picked up more hours at work, designing high profile clients’ apartments and businesses new office spaces, and Peter took care of the duties at home, quietly advancing in his own career with both new and old clients.
They saw less of each other, started fighting more, and finally Gen suggested divorce.
“I just think we’re at that point, Peter,” She said one evening after Nora had gone to bed as she watched Peter make lunches for the following day. “It’s obvious we’re going in different directions. This is what’s best for us, but it’s also what’s best for Nora.”
Peter folds the tinfoil methodically, sliding the sandwich into Nora’s lunchbox. “I don’t… we haven’t even tried anything else. How do you know divorce is the right option?”
And maybe he’s grasping at straws. Maybe he’s so desperate to not give his daughter a life like he had, maybe he thinks that he and Gen can do more.
But Gen was defiant. Shaking her head, sighing. “Peter, you and I both know that this isn’t going to get any better. Couple’s therapy, retreats, whatever,” She says, shaking her head. “Those things don’t work with us. And maybe it’s not what we wanted for our family, but I think deep down you know it’s what’s best for us.”
Gen gives Peter a moment to answer, and then walks over to kiss his cheek. “We can talk more about this tomorrow. I’m going to bed.”
Peter spent the next few hours on the sofa looking up divorce lawyers and new places for he and Nora to live, and when Gen served him with the divorce papers a week later and they sat down to tell Nora, Peter finally accepted that this was going to happen, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
He bought a new place just big enough for him and Nora, began his new life as a divorced dad, and prayed that no matter how bad things seemed, they were perfect for his daughter.
—
“Will you tell Mom that I say hi when you see her today?” Nora asks, jumping off the subway and grabbing Peter’s hand.
“Yes, I will tell Mom that you say hi,” Peter says, walking up the steps with Nora in tow. “You have dance after school. I’ll bring your bag when I pick you up this afternoon.”
“And you’ll do my hair in a bun like everyone else?” Nora asks, glancing up at Peter as they wait in the crosswalk. “Because you’re not always good at that, Dad.”
Biting back a smile, Peter pulls Nora’s hat down over her ears. “Yes, I will do your hair in a bun like everyone else,” He promises, grabbing her hand once more and crossing the street.
Nora stops just outside the school doors, turning back and hugging him. “I’ll see you right after school, right Dad?”
Peter nods, hugging her a little tighter and taking her and kissing the top of her head, watching as she turns and runs into school with her friends.
--
The lawyers office is formal and sophisticated and Peter glances at his phone, keenly aware of the time and how he has a meeting at work in a few hours.
“Hi, Peter,” Gen says quietly, walking in with her lawyer. Peter stands up, hugs her out of what feels like a formality, and sits back down. “Everything went okay this morning?”
Peter isn’t dumb, he knows that Gen is asking because she’s worried that he’s incapable of taking care of their daughter despite having done it for so many years, but he nods anyway and runs his fingers through his hair. “Got to school fine. And I’ve got her dance bag ready to go back at work. She says hi, by the way.”
Gen opens her mouth to say something, then stops herself. “Okay,” She says quietly. “Tell her I say hi. And that I miss her.”
Peter nods, lets the lawyers take over, and just under an hour later he and Gen walk out of that building separately officially divorced, the custody agreement signed off and all other agreements officially in place.
--
“I made a new friend at school today,” Nora says plainly, wincing as Peter pulls her hair up into a bun for dance. “His name is Max.”
Peter focuses on the bun, tying it off tightly. “Oh really? Is he new to school?” He asks, setting her tap shoes down on the floor in front of her.
Nora turns around, resting her hands on Peter’s thighs as she slips into her tap shoes. “Uh huh. He said he went to another school in the city.”
Peter leans down to tie her tap shoes, smiling, listening. “And I assume you’re being nice to him? Including him and letting him sit with you at lunch?”
He can hear the eye roll before he leans back up, smoothing the wisps of hair down on Nora’s head. “He has other friends from his soccer team or something. But yes, Daddy,” She sighs. “We’re friends now and he plays with me at school.”
Peter smiles, tapping Nora’s nose and kissing her cheek. “That’s my girl,” He smiles. “Go have fun at dance.”
Nora smiles and turns back to run into class with her friends, leaving Peter sitting in the lobby waiting.
He spends his time sorting through emails and tying up a few work obligations, and by the time he and Nora get home he has just enough time to feed her dinner, bathe her and get her in bed, falling onto the sofa in front of the last of the boxes he’s still working to unpack.
He unpacks the last box and breaks it down, storing it away in the closet in the entryway. There’s still cleaning that needs to be done, rearranging a few things and hanging a few more photos, but Peter looks around and feels a sense of home.
He listens to music and packs lunches for the next day, tidies up the mail and signs a few documents that had been lingering in his work bag for the last few days that he hadn’t been able to get to, and then turns to begin shutting the lights off in the apartment for the night on his way to bed.
As he falls asleep that night all he can hope for is that Nora continues to adjust to all these changes as well as she has, he never feels like he isn’t giving her a million percent worth of what she deserves, and somehow in the midst of all this chaos, Peter finds the strength to move on after everything they’ve gone through.