Inheritance of ash

Unwanted answers

"I said I was sorry!" He laughed. "But... thanks, really. For helping."

"I wanted to," Wanda said, more softly now. "She means a lot to you. And—" she hesitated, "—this is a good distraction. So, what's the update?"

"Uh, we're still on for tomorrow. I've got the rest of the decorations mostly done, and MJ's helping me figure out the lights. I haven't told Kate or Pietro," Peter added quickly, "because I like having one secret plan that doesn't immediately explode."

"You made the right call," Wanda agreed without hesitation. "Kate once almost confessed a deep secret to a saltshaker because she thought it looked 'trustworthy.'"

"That tracks."

"I'll bring the cake over around eleven tomorrow. You sure you can get the common room free?"

Peter nodded, even though she couldn't see it. "Yep. Sam and Bucky are going out and do... something. Hopefully nothing that involves jail. Gonna force Clint to do archery practice with Kate, and Tony—uh, might still be secretly monitoring my every move. But I think I've earned, like, slightly more trust?"

Wanda snorted. "You really think so?"

Peter groaned. "Okay, no. But I told him I was going to May's today and he didn't install a tracker on my hoodie, so we're making progress."

"Tiny, tiny steps," Wanda said with a smile in her voice. "Alright. I'll bring the cake and a few extras. I may have added some... enchanted sparkles to one of the candles. Just one."

"That's either going to be beautiful or mildly terrifying," Peter said.

"Exactly."

They shared a quick laugh before Wanda added, "I'll see you tomorrow, Spider-Painter."

"Bye, Witchy Chef."

He hung up with a big, goofy smile on his face and turned back to find MJ and Ned staring.

"You guys are so weirdly close," MJ said, eyes narrowed.

"Wanda's awesome," Peter defended, shrugging.

Ned leaned forward eagerly. "So it's really happening tomorrow?"

"Yep," Peter said, already buzzing with nerves again. "We're doing it. Decorations, cake, whole thing. I mean... it's not her real birthday. She doesn't know her real birthday. But I just—I don't want her to go another year without one."

MJ looked at him for a long moment before nodding. "That's... kind of perfect."

"Yeah," Ned added. "This is gonna be great."

Peter smiled, trying not to let the swirl of excitement and panic eat him alive.

Tomorrow had to be perfect.

It just had to be.

⸻

Peter walked back in just before dinner, his backpack slung over one shoulder and his curls a little messier than when he'd left. The second Vicky spotted him, her whole face lit up.

"There you are!" she grinned, practically skipping the last few steps toward him before kissing his cheek. "I was so bored I actually tried teaching Bob 'roll over.' Like, full-on. I'm either a genius or really, really desperate."

Peter blinked in delight, his cheek pink from more than the kiss. "No way. Bob's been ignoring me for a week."

"Yeah, well," Vicky shrugged, "I had peanut butter. The true motivator of all things."

"How was your day?" she added, glancing at him with a casual softness. Her voice was light, but there was that hint of warmth she always saved just for him. "You disappeared."