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Tweak says, "and the half blood prince"

ᴡᴀɴᴅᴀ (

hexx) wrote in

avengers_logs,
@ 2019-08-06 07:45:00

Who: Peter Parker & Wanda
What: The Peter Tingle is improving! But he picks up on something complicated and asks her about it
When: Before the floods
Where: The Sanctum
Rating: Green
Status: Complete

While the room he and Wanda had found in the Sanctum was quiet, Peter’s senses were loud - or the Peter tingle as his aunt in those memories had dubbed it. He’d been working on fine-tuning his short-range foresight for a few weeks now, but the dreams of Beck had given him a new kind of urgency. The man had taken all of Peter’s vulnerabilities and twisted them until he and his friends had almost died. Even if Peter had no idea where the man was in this universe, he wanted to be ready if Mysterio and his crew ever struck again. He was lucky in this dimension - he wasn’t alone. Not only was Tony alive, but the rest of the Avengers were around, and Wanda was too. He’d know where to find her if things ever got bad.

“That one was...to the left, I think?”

Peter had his eyes shut as Wanda sent psionic waves towards him, trying to feel out from which direction his spidey sense felt the energy coming from. He could read these extended parts of her power to the point where it was becoming recognizable, but there was something else. A buzz that occasionally got louder than the others, and it was almost like the epicenter for that particular warning signal was Wanda herself.

“Are you - sorry,” Peter broke in, opening his eyes. They’d been practicing for an hour now, and so were due for a break anyway. “Are you okay? I’m just getting a weird-” He gestured to Wanda, frowning - he couldn’t work out what the conflicting alarm bells meant. She looked tired now that he thought about it, and that had his concern kicking up a notch.

“A weird vibe? Not a bad one, just…” Okay, it was a little bad, but Peter didn't know how to put it. “Complicated?”

The Sanctum was a good place to work on cognitive types of abilities - Wanda always found it comforting, like she meshed well with the curved ornate details of the furniture and the decorative details of the gothic design. Peter was improving so much too - apparently he had received another memory download, and not long after the last similar experience. Wanda did not envy him - so much clutter in the mind had the potential to be dangerous, but luckily, the mind was overall a resilient sort of beast. She knew that well.

“Yes, you were correct,” she confirmed, but then she straightened up a little, shoulders rolling, when he continued on with his observations. The tendrils of red energy flowing about her hands dulled and faded, as did the scarlet tint to her irises as her powers calmed down.

Hm. She knew exactly what that was - though she couldn’t help but feel a little proud, since the fact that he even picked up on the complicated nature of her pregnancy meant that his ‘Peter tingle’ had fine-tuned significantly. “Oh, yes, it’s - well, I will explain. How about a snack?” she suggested. “We can take a break in the kitchen. I just dropped off a peach strawberry pie.”

Hopefully Wong hadn’t devoured the whole thing yet.

For as bad as Peter was at sitting still for too long, it’d been surprisingly easy in this setting. Maybe it had to do with how much he trusted Wanda - and Dr. Strange by extension, too, because this home was his - but the rampant anxiety running through him had eased up for the first time in days. Some of it lingered now for Wanda, though, because his hunch was right. Something was up, and he only hoped the news wasn’t the awful and unfixable kind.

“Definitely,” he agreed, stretching and then following her into the kitchen. He went to the cabinet to get some plates out for them, figuring he’d leave the demon fridge to Wanda. The appliance was buzzing at his spider senses along with Wanda herself and the Sanctum itself, but he could differentiate between the sources better than last time he was here. And what was coming from Wanda was a muddled mess of fog he couldn’t work out.

The fridge gave a small rumble as Peter neared it to grab some silverware, and he jumped a little. “Oh. Excuse me, sir. Or ma’am. Or whatever you like to go by?” Being polite to a haunted fridge would get it on his side, right? Peter looked over at Wanda with a sheepish shake of his head. “So...are you all right?”

Wanda actually giggled a little. “We are unsure of the demon’s gender - it will not reveal that info, or its name, despite the conversations I have had with it.” The fridge rumbled again, perhaps in agreement with that assessment. Stephen had once said that demons did not like to reveal their names because that information was powerful, and made it all the easier for banishment. She supposed that was logical and she never pushed the fridge-guest too hard for its proper name. It seemed fine there and wasn’t really hurting anything.

But the fridge at least opened for her when she asked nicely (in Latin), and she removed the pie to cut her and Peter two slices - a larger one for him, since he was still a growing boy. Okay, and a big one for her as well because she was eating for two. “I’m alright, I just - “ The last thing she wanted was for her friends to be afraid of her (though it wouldn’t be anything new; people were always afraid of her) or treat her ‘delicately,’ so she hadn’t told many others yet. Eventually she would have to, when she began to actually show.

“Vision and I went on a mission to stop some Cthulhu cultists from opening a portal - they didn’t know what they were doing, and the magic they were messing with was dangerous. I closed the portal but before it closed all the way there was...something that latched itself to me. I didn’t know it, of course, Vision and I just got home and...um...”

Well, fast forward that part. Poor Peter didn’t want to hear about her sex life. “I actually became pregnant - we are still not sure how, the mechanics, but it seems due to...force of will and the influence of a demon hitchhiker. Anyway, um - that is likely what you sense.”

“That’s okay. Who needs labels, right?” The fridge gave another rumble when Peter spoke, and the response seemed thoughtful rather than the ominous clattering he remembered from last time. It was a little bit of progress, maybe, in his quest to befriend anything that breathed. Which was maybe an oversight based on how things had gone with Beck in the other universe - horribly was one word for it.

When Wanda started talking, Peter was glad he hadn’t taken a bite of his pie yet - mostly because he probably would have choked on it. Vision being able to procreate at all was the first shocker, and the demon accompaniment was the second. And if it was a rollercoaster of emotion for him, he could barely imagine how Wanda was feeling.

For once, Peter fumbled for something to say. He didn’t want to blurt out the first thing on his mind (which was holy shit are you kidding me how is any of that possible), and so he waited at least ten seconds before letting his thoughts bubble over. "That's - I mean, scientifically, that’s like…”

A miracle. A demon-driven miracle, but the hows and whys were less important to him than how Wanda was coping with it. “That’s crazy. And - and kind of really, really scary.” To put it lightly. “Are you going to be okay and safe? And your baby too? Dr. Strange - he must be trying to help, right?”

He didn’t want to ask if Wanda wanted this - not when that felt too personal and private - but he knew how much she and Vision meant to one another. Based on what had happened in the other universe, it was incredible that they were together at all, let alone that they could really start a family. It didn’t seem fair that news that might’ve brought happiness otherwise had to be all mixed up in worry.

Scientifically, it didn’t make any sense and should not have been possible - but physically, it was happening, so Wanda was doing her best to prepare for it. Once the second and third trimesters hit though, it might feel a little more real. Her few pregnancy side effects thus far had just been really annoying - no ‘glow’ about her, or shiny hair and nails, just a lot of feeling (and looking) like microwaved crap.

“Stephen is helping me, yes,” she confirmed, going to sit at the table. But not before she put the tea kettle on to make them two cups - it was ginger tea, thanks to her ever-present nausea and the time she’d spent at the Sanctum lately (though Stephen was always good for multiple flavors of tea regardless). She pushed a chair out for Peter to sit as well. “He is trying to find a spell to remove the demon so the baby is safe - whatever it is, we are working on it together.”

Otherwise, she was actually....pleased about the revelation. “Likely it happened because of force of will anyway, so - Vision and I had just talked about children recently. We were disappointed it wouldn’t ever happen for us. But now it is, and even though it’s a little sooner than I anticipated we both are excited about being parents. You will have to teach him or her all about swinging from buildings and being a spider,” she grinned.

“He’ll figure something out,” Peter said earnestly, hoping that much was true - but Dr. Strange was one of the smartest people he knew, and between he and Wanda there had to be a solution somewhere. “And - um, I don’t mean to play the devil’s advocate here-“ Hah, hah. “But - maybe there’s a reason? For whatever’s mixed up with the baby?” He didn’t know what that reason could be, but sometimes there were the smallest silver linings to even the scariest things. “Whatever happens, you’re going to be amazing parents. That kid is going to be the luckiest to have both of you.”

After spending plenty of time with Vision in the lab, Peter had found that the android had more compassion in him than most humans put together - and Wanda possessed that same quality too. And if the baby had been created out of sheer force of will? There wasn’t anything Peter thought they couldn’t do.

“I could definitely teach the baby the ropes,” Peter said, grinning a little as he settled down to take a bite of the pie - and then another. “I’ll have to figure out a kid-friendly way to spider around.” Especially with Morgan in the mix, who would probably be putting two and two together and demanding a swing around the city before long…and Tony didn’t need any more grey hairs than he already had.

“And hey, and if you need anything? Like anything at all? You can call or message me anytime. Even if it’s like a food run at 5 in the morning, or help with the whole demon thing…” Moral support, superhero support, any kind of support - Peter didn’t want Wanda to feel like she was alone in any of this. “I’m here.”

“Thank you,” Wanda said sincerely and, because her hormones were on a roller coaster from Hell lately, she suddenly felt a wave of emotion wash over her (and this wave was more like a tsunami), figuratively drenching her from head to toe. “I really appreciate it. I have been hungry a lot and I feel bad sending Vision out to the store so late...”

She sniffled, reaching for a napkin to wipe the tears and snot that were now leaking from her eyes and nose. Ugh. Leaky faucet and being constantly caught in a glass case of emotion (or whatever the phrase was).

“It’s just so nice of you to offer. Vision doesn’t even know what prickly pear ice cream is, and how could you not know what it is??” She blew her nose sadly (though granted, Peter probably didn’t know what prickly pear ice cream was either - most people didn’t).

Peter felt a slight flare of panic when the waterworks began, thinking that maybe he’d said the wrong thing or that the baby was having a dark demonic moment - but Wanda was just hungry. And pregnant. And probably hugely overwhelmed from every angle.

“It’s okay! It’s okay - I can find you prickly pear ice cream. New York’s huge, it’s gotta be somewhere.” He hopped out of his seat before he could think twice, very carefully hugging Wanda in a way he hoped was comforting right now. He didn’t want to crowd her, especially when there was a lot of sniffling involved, so he pulled back after a moment, giving a little pat to her shoulder.

“Stupid question, but how prickly are these pears? I’m kind of imagining ice cream with a bunch of thorns.” He thought about this for a moment and decided: “I’d try it.”

Wanda didn’t mind the hug - she took comfort in it, her sniffles and tears ceasing a little by the time Peter pulled back. “The skin is cut and peeled off the fruit,” she assured with a little smile. “Prickly pears are very good.” Not your standard ice cream flavor though, unlike chocolate or vanilla or strawberry, so no wonder Vision wasn’t having much luck. Plus he didn’t eat food, so he had no idea what territory he was wading into.

But it was okay. Peter would find her prickly pear ice cream. All was well in this hungry pregnant lady’s view.

The kettle whistled at them, so she got up to pour them both tea. “We can continue to work on your danger sense too,” she chuckled. “I can’t really go on missions for the time being, but I can still help with that. You’re doing so well.” It made her feel useful, and likely would be the perfect thing to do when she was the size of a beached whale.

“I’ll bring you a pint as soon as I can. Or maybe five.” The stress Wanda was under was a lot, and if prickly pear ice cream eased that even in the slightest way, Peter would gladly go on a scavenger hunt for it.

“I think I’m improving tons. I mean, I’ve got a pretty awesome teacher.” After that boatload of memories, this what was Peter needed. He felt like he was gaining more control and familiarity over his powers, and maybe if he was faced with a threat like Beck again things wouldn’t be so disastrous. Wanda’s insight wasn’t something he had in the other world, and it did nothing but strengthen him here.

“Oh, before I forget - let me know if you ever want my aunt’s number?” He might not have been able to tell May about this alternate universe, but he’d told her all about Wanda, and she was enthusiastic that he’d made another superhero friend. “She’s really easy to talk to, and she’s experienced in all this parenting stuff. I don’t think she expected to be raising me either, but she’s been the best mom to me.”

That was sweet - Peter obviously had a great mom figure to look up to, and he adored her like any son loved his mom (secretly, Wanda was hoping for a boy on her end). “I would love that,” she smiled through her insane preggo tears. Only seven-ish more months to go....

In the meantime, she would try to get some practice in with their resident Spider-Man, despite being not that much older than him (it mattered little; she’d still look out for him as a friend and a teacher). “Now drink your tea and let’s get back to work. We have time for at least one more run-through today.”

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