Peter gently knocked on the bathroom door that led to his little sister's room, it was seven hours before his party and he was going to take Pietro up on his advice and talk to his little sister. He wanted to know what was going on with her, what he was sure he was doing wrong.
"Princess, can I come in?" he asked.
He was met with no response but he could hear her shuffling around in her room.
"Princess, I can hear you moving. I'd like to talk to you....please?" he asked softly.
He heard a light sigh from the door and heard the lock untwist before it opened up towards him "H-hi," she whispered.
Her eyes were red and bleary, her hair was unruly, she looked even smaller at the poofy state of her long hair. She was wearing one of his science t-shirts that said NASA across the front, he had several of those, so he'd been happy to give it to her. She moved to the side and motioned for him to step into her room, which he did. He ended up sitting cross-legged in the middle of her bed in his sweatpants and t-shirt, she was looking at him a little funny. When she sat down across from him, in a similar position, he leaned forward a little bit and kissed her forehead, it was a habit he'd formed during the past month and a half. Every time he greeted her, it was followed by a kiss to her forehead or to the top of her head, whichever was easiest at the time.
"Y-you wanted to talk to me Petey?" she asked.
"Um yeah....did I do something wrong?" he asked.
She looked at him confused, "W-what?" she stuttered.
"You've just....you haven't spoken to me much...like at school or at home. When I'm around, it's like you're trying to avoid me. Did I do something wrong? Because If I did I'm really sorry princess, and if you tell me what it is I promise I'll fix it." he quickly blurted, he really wanted her to forgive him for whatever he did wrong.
She quickly shook her head, "You didn't do anything Petey, I promise."
He gave her a confused look, "Then why? Why have you been avoiding me?" he asked, his voice cracking.
"I-it's complicated..." she whispered.
Peter frowned what was so complicated about it? "Can you please explain it to me then? Because before school started we spent so much time together...it was nice, but lately it's like you don't want me around any more. I-I'm worried about you princess." he replied softly.
"I-I'm sorry Pete, I didn't mean to worry you or make you feel bad....It's just...." she took a deep breath, Peter noticed her picking at the hem of her t-shirt, "School's a-a lot...and I didn't want to worry you because you have a lot on your plate...You have all your friends and a girlfriend plus your internship with Mister Stark and after school activities. I didn't want to push my problems onto you b-because you have enough to worry about."
"I'm you big brother princess, it's my job to worry about you. It's my job to be there for you when you need me. Is something going on at school?" he asked.
"N-no nothing's going on." she replied quickly, shaking her head.
"Because you can talk to me princess. Anytime you need me, I'm there it doesn't matter where or when. You're the most important thing to me, nothing will ever change that. You have people in your corner, princess, and I don't mean just me." he pressed his forehead against her's, so she had to look him in the eyes, "You have all of us. Wanda and Pietro, Kate and Lena, Nat, Mister Stark, Pepper, everyone. You don't need to fight your battles alone princess, you have people who can help you." Peter gently touched her arm, his finger lingered on a fading bruise that was right below her elbow, he saw a few other ones on both of her arms, "If you want to tell me what's going on, you can. I promise you no one will be mad or angry with you princess. We want to help, please tell me what's going on with you. Is it Brad again? Mister Stark can fix that problem really quickly if you want, I can fix that problem." he replied, if it was Brad he'd definitely fix that problem with or without Mister Stark's help.
"It's not Brad...I promise. He uh he doesn't bother me really....he for the most part leaves me alone." she replied, slightly stumbling over her words.
Peter felt his sense tingling a little at her words, he felt like she wasn't telling him the full truth, "Then what's going on princess?" he asked.
"Everything is okay Petey, I just was in my head....I-I'm sorry I made you feel bad. I'll try not to do it anymore."
Peter started her in the eyes and sighed, "It's okay princess, just please tell me if something is happening."
"I will Pete, promise." she whispered.
Peter adjusted himself to where he was sitting a little closer to her, they were now side by side. He quietly slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him to where she was safely tucked under his arm. She sighed a little and laid her head on his shoulder.
"Pete?" she whispered.
"Yeah princess?" he replied softly, pressing a gentle kiss against the top of her head.
"Why didn't you tell me you were being bullied?" she asked.
Peter tensed a little, "Wh-I'm not being bullied." he blurted.
"You can't lie to me...please tell me the truth. Petey, why didn't you tell me?" she sounded hurt.
"Princess..." he started, but pausing when he realized how hurt she was by the action.
"You always say we keep no secrets but yet you couldn't tell me about him?"
"I thought you'd see me differently. How can I make you feel safe and protected when I don't protect myself?" he whispered.
"That doesn't matter, not to me. I know you'll always be here for me. You're the strongest person I know....That doesn't change because he bullies you Petey." she replied, her fingers linking through his.
Peter sighed guiltily, "I'm sorry....but don't worry about it I can handle it."
"Why does he call you Penis Parker?" she asked.
"You heard about that?" he asked.
"Yeah....once he found out that we were related, he said some very mean and dirty things about you. He doesn't like you Petey."
"Don't listen to him princess...and I don't know why he calls me that. Does he bother you?" he asked, tracing an absent-minded circle on the back of her hand with his thumb.
"Not really, he's in my gym class and at my lunch period. Wanda and Lena keep him in check during gym. He likes to flirt with Lena, she doesn't like it.....he's not very smart." she replied, laughing a little as she mentioned the boy's mistake of flirting with Yelena constantly.
Peter chuckled a little, that really did sound like the bully, "No he's not princess. Pietro said he was talking to you earlier this week, was he hurting you?"
Penny shook her head, "No, he only really calls me Tiny...or Pint-sized Parker. Nothing I haven't heard before. I know I'm small, not a lot of thirteen year olds are under five feet tall. It's not new news to me that I'm tiny. Wanda says small people often carry a lot of dynamite."
Peter grinned a little, "You got that right princess."
"Sometimes he makes fun of how I'm a grade ahead, says it makes me a freak..." she replied.
"Princess, I'm sorry...I can get him to stop. It's one thing for him to mess with me but you're off limits and if he won't listen to me, he'll listen to P."
"It's okay Pete..I've been told that I'm a freak since the fifth grade. I was nine when I started and I turned ten right before it ended....people found it weird. I graduate at sixteen and start college at sixteen, people will always find it weird Petey. I'm used to it." she replied with a shrug.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"He's not like the others...people used to push me around and make me fall, at least he doesn't do that."
"I guess so, but I can still do something if you want."
She shook her head again.
Peter decided he was going to get Pietro to stop it for him, Flash never listened to him in the first place. Peter didn't want her to think that she had to deal with this alone, like he did. Pietro had put a stop to all physical bullying he faced almost two years ago. Flash and his friends used to beat him up, quite frequently, if he was being honest. Pietro had stopped it. Peter didn't know what he did, but one day they just stopped. Flash only really made his back-handed comments now and then, and Pietro always seemed to be around. Even though the ash-blond was goofy and for the most part a happy go lucky guy, he could be a little off-putting when defending those he cared and loved. Pietro had very quickly adopted Peter as his little brother after meeting him, Wanda had done the same soon after. The twins saw all the younger people in the compound as their siblings, they liked the idea of a big family. Pietro was specifically partial to the younger boy, who in the eyes of everyone else didn't seem to be particularly concerned with his own personal safety.
"I'll let you know if I need you or someone to do something." she replied softly.
Peter frowned, "I still don't like it...Princess?"
"Yeah Pete?"
"Where did you get those bruises?" he asked.
"What bruises?" she responded quickly, she sounded like she was trying to deflect his question.
"The ones on your arms," he replied, he gently brushed his fingers against one of them.
"Uh umm...I did them?" she replied, bit it sounded more like a question than an answer.
"Are you sure princess? These are definitely too big for you to cause them, has someone been pinching you or something? These look like finger marks." he replied, lightly trailing his fingers down them.
"I didn't think you'd believe me," she mumbled lightly, but Peter managed to pick it up with his enhanced hearing, "Lena took care of the problem for me...it was Chris."
"Whose Chris princess?" he asked.
"He uh is one of Brad's friends...he's in my geometry class and my technology class."
Peter was now sitting up a little more so he could get a better look at her. How did he not realize someone was bullying her? "He was hurting you?" his voice broke, he felt guilt settling in a little deeper.
"Not too bad it's....it was just pinching, leaving little bruises just because he could. He's done worse..."
"Like what?"
"He and Brad used to gang up on me....they used to lock me in the closets of at school o-or at home. Aunt Lisa got permission for me to get rides on the bus to his middle school after my classes ended when I was younger. She had a job and said that I was too much trouble to come and get. I was allowed to watch their sports practices. Brad was put in charge of me...he and Chris used to lie to their coaches and say I had something to occupy me, but I was usually locked in the closets or in one of the lockers. When Chris came over they used to push me down the stairs or they'd throw stuff at me...." She reached up and moved her bangs, revealing a small scar on her forehead, it was almost a perfect right angle, "I got this one after Chris threw his English back at me in seventh grade. Pinching is -erm was nothing." she corrected.
Peter kissed the top of her head again, "You tell me if he starts it again. I'll handle it." he replied, frowning at her newest revelation.
"I'm not worth getting into trouble over Petey." she replied quietly.
"You're worth everything princess," he replied, gently hugging her a little tighter, "You're worth everything." he repeated.
She hugged him back, "So are you Petey...I'm sorry for avoiding you..."
"It's okay, but please talk to me if you feel that way again." he replied.
She nodded before jumping off the bed and running over to her desk and pulling a manilla envelope out of the desk, "I wanted to give you this....it's for your birthday. I know Mister Stark already gave you those sneakers from me, but I-I wanted to make you something instead."
Peter smiled and took the envelope for her, "Because it's more personal?" he added.
She grinned a little, "Yeah...." she replied, nodding her head.
They had started the habit of giving each other a homemade gift when she was three; but the habit existed before that. Their mom loved homemade gifts because she felt that it was more personal, that it gave the gift a more meaningful effect. She always gave him homemade gifts for his birthday. Peter had kept both the two Penny had made him before their dad died, he had kept the tradition alive after his wife died. The first was a drawing of them together, it was a little sloppy and it was misspelled a little but it meant a lot to Peter. The second one was a macaroni house she'd made in preschool, it was painted different shades of blue and had two small green hand prints on each side of the roof. One side had her name painted on it and the other had his name, both meant the world to him. He also had the ones he'd made her, her aunt and uncle didn't want them when they took her. The child services lady seemed to agree with them when they said they felt it would have been too difficult for the five year old to handle. He kept the sippy cup that had been made with a picture he drew for her, the hand turkey that had looney toon characters on it because it was her favorite show when she was little, the bracelet he'd made at summer camp when she was three, the family portrait he'd drawn when she was two that declared her as the world's best little sister, and lastly the painted baby onesie that May had taken him to paint for her first birthday. He was smiling largely when he pulled out the painting she had made for him. On the bottom was Happy Birthday Petey in calligraphy, it was a painted version of the picture of them at the beach. He set it next to him and jumped up and hugged her before spinning her around. After setting her down on the floor again, he ruffled her hair again, making it poof out a little more.
"D-do you like it?" she asked.
"Like it? I love it Princess, I think this is one of my favorites....I still have the ones you gave me when you were little." he replied, tracing his fingers lightly over the writing on the bottom.
"Really?" she asked, she looked excited at the possibility of him liking it.
"Yeah...I have the ones I gave you too, didn't want to get rid of them. Aunt May and I made a box that has your name on it, full of things that are yours that we decided to keep just in case. I have it somewhere in my closet, I'll have to get them out for you." he replied quietly.
She smiled and hugged him tighter, "Thank you." she replied.
He ruffled her hair and grinned at her, "No need to thank me princess."
She seemed like she was about to respond when they heard a knock on the door. Peter opened it since he was the first to get there to reveal Pietro. Pietro reached over and ruffled Peter's hair making him grumble about how he'd gotten it to lay down before coming to see his sister. Pietro snickered a little at seeing the thirteen year old's messy hair; he ruffled it a little before throwing Peter over his shoulder. Peter squeaked in surprise before telling Pietro to put him back.
"Pietro?" Penny called quietly.
"Yes princessa?" he asked coyly.
"Why did you do that?"
He grinned, "Well now that you and Peter have made up I need to take him."
"Pietro leave me here, we're not done." the brunet groaned, frowning at the ash-blond.
Pietro shook his head, "Wanda said to remind princessa to get a shower because the weather would make her hair frizzy. Which it has, it looks beautiful by the way princessa," he replied, half-teasing but the pair could tell he was honest, he had a large grin on his face, "but my sister said frizzy, puffy hair especially when it is curly is hard to style. And I will not leave you here little brother, the tin man sent me to get you." he announced.
Penny nodded, "Okay...have fun Petey."
"I will princess see you soon, and I don't think Mister Stark meant for you to carry me, please put me down." the boy replied, tapping on Pietro's back.
Pietro shrugged and walked out of the room, Penny giggled a little at her brother announcing his displeasure of being carried around like a sack of potatoes by the seventeen year old. A half hour later, she walked back into her bedroom, her hair was wrapped up in a towel on the top of her head, she was wearing a large oversized t-shirt that looked like a dress on her. Her dress was already in Wanda's room, the redhead head offered to help her get ready for the night and she gladly accepted. She'd never been to a party like this one and she didn't really know how she was supposed to look, it made her anxious. She wanted to look good and not make a fool of herself, which she felt like she did that a lot. She was a blubbering, stumbling mess half the time and the other half she was too quiet; she didn't know what was a good mix between the two. She opened her phone to see the message from Wanda saying to come to her room when she finished getting her shower, so that's what she did. She grabbed the small shoe box and the hair pins that she was going to wear for the party and tucked them under her arm before shutting the door to her room and walking down the hall to Wanda's room. The door was already cracked and she could hear Wanda rustling around in her room.
Wanda looked up at her and smiled a little when she walked it, "Hey peanut." she greeted.
Penny smiled back at her, "Hi Wands."
The girl seemed to smile a little brighter at her calling her the nickname she heard the others use, "Just sit on the bed for a second if you want, I need to finish my make up right quick if that's okay?"
Penny nodded her head, "That's okay, take your time."
Penny sat the shoe box next to the one that was holding Wanda's strappy black heels and sat on the girl's bed before tucking her feet under herself. She watched Wanda finish up her make up, she had done a black smokey eye with dramatic eyeliner and red glitter. It made her light green eyes pop a little, Penny was a little envious of how pretty the older girls were. They were all beautiful in their own ways. Wanda was tall like Yelena for her age, she had pretty reddish brown hair that looked a little more red when the light hit it a certain way. She also had pretty light green eyes that had flecks of topaz in them that seemed to glow a little when she was really excited about something. Her nose scrunched a little when she smiled or when she was happy, Penny found her pretty. Yelena was pretty too, she had pretty blonde hair and green eyes too; but hers were a different type of green. They were the type of green that looked gray at first but if she wore something with green in it, her eyes looked more green than they were. And then there was Kate, she had long -but not as long as her own- wavy deep brown hair that always seemed to look perfect even when it was in a messy ponytail or bun on the top of her head. She had striking blue eyes that looked like they held oceans in them, it was one of her most prominent features. She also had a smile that spread throughout the room, it was infectious, everyone couldn't help but smile when the brunette was smiling or laughing. Miss Nat was pretty too. Penny loved her fiery red hair and her bright green eyes. They reminded her a little of her mom, well the pictures she had seen of her mother. So she was a little envious, but not in a bad way, she just wished she looked like them. While she told her brother it didn't hurt her to be called tiny or Pint-sized -and it didn't- it was a constant reminder that she was short, too short. Everything about her was small, her height, her feet, her hands, her nose, everything. The only thing that was considered big about her was her eyes and her hair that always seemed to want to do whatever it wanted.
Wanda finished up her make up and looked at the thirteen year old who was seated quietly on her bed, she was quiet. She was watching her with a far off look, Wanda was trying her best to keep her powers to herself but the thirteen year olds thoughts were loud. She found it sweet that the girl was thinking about how pretty she and the other girls were. The thirteen year old seemed to have a lot on her mind as she mentally listed the qualities she found pretty about everyone else. However, Wanda didn't like it when she started comparing herself to them. How she seemed to downplay her brown eyes against their green and blue ones. How she seemed to not like the fact that she had a smaller frame, Wanda didn't like any of the new thoughts pushing their way into the younger girl's mind. She frowned, she found the thirteen year old to be pretty as well, but it was a young beauty. She hadn't had the experience of a break out yet, like Wanda had when she was thirteen, Wanda grimaced a little at the thought of those memories. She had soft big brown eyes that seemed to hold a kind of light in them that Wanda had only seen in Peter before, it was a comforting light. Her big brown eyes were beautiful, they were a deeper brown that Wanda had seen before much like her brothers. Wanda was personally a little envious of the thirteen year old's long curly hair. While Wanda's was slightly curly in itself, it took a lot of work to make the curls more defined, the thirteen year old didn't seem to have that problem. She still had chunky ringlets when her hair was sopping wet and like Peter's it was incredibly soft.
Wanda sat down next to her on the bed, "You're thoughts are pretty loud today Peanut." she told her softly.
The thirteen year old looked at her wide eyed and blushed, "I-I'm sorry..."
"No need to apologize, thank you by the way....You're pretty too Peanut, don't forget that. Just because you don't have blue or green eyes like mine and Kate, or have Lena's blonde hair or height doesn't mean you aren't pretty. You have some of the prettiest eyes I have ever seen peanut, they are warm and inviting, they have a light in them. You have this cute little button nose that scrunches up when you laugh and a very pretty smile that can envy Kate's."
"You think so?" the brunette asked, tilting her head to the side.
Wanda nodded, her lips slightly pursed, "I know so, so let's put those thoughts to the side, yeah?"
Penny nodded her head, flashing her a small smile, "Yeah."
"Good, we have a party to get ready for which starts in four hours by the way."
"Really that long?" she asked.
"Trust me peanut, it will feel like a lot less than that once we start doing stuff. We need to dry and style your hair, which I figured out a way to dry it without a blow dryer, but it will take the same amount of time. We both need to get dressed, I need to do my hair, Nat and Pepper want pictures of all of the girls before the party, and if you want I can put some make up on you to cover up those bruises on your arms....You wanna tell me where those are from?" she asked.
"Do I have too?" she asked, her face falling slightly.
Wanda could sense that she didn't feel like talking about, she pursed her lips a little, "Not if you don't want to Peanut, but you can when you're ready."
"Thank you...it's nothing to worry about....I can see you worrying Wanda," she offered when Wanda was about to deny it.
Wanda nodded a little, "Lets get your hair dried." she announced.
Penny sat down on the vanity cushion that Wanda had motioned too, the red head's make up was still scattered over the table. Penny watched Wanda through the mirror, like she had a little over three weeks ago, it was hard to believe that they buried Aunt May that long ago. Wanda's hands started glowing the pretty deep, bright red color they did when she used her powers, but Penny also noticed for the first time that her eyes seemed to glow red a little as she used them too. Penny smiled faintly at Wanda in the mirror as the seventeen year old gently waved her hands over her hair, it started drying itself. A few moments later her hair was dry, it made her wish for the thousandth time that she had powers like the redhead. Wanda grabbed a comb and looked at the picture the two had printed out on Wednesday for the hairstyle Penny had found the prettiest, she divided her hair in a downward "V" motion before sectioning it out, she grabbed a small section that was close to her face and braided it into a small braid before repeating the step a couple inches lower then repeated the process on the other side of her head in a small spot. She started a large, loose french braid and slowly incorporated the smaller braids into it until she reached a certain point, she stopped adding sections of hair to the braid and finished it up. She adjusted it a little before setting it with hair spray and adding the small white floral hair pins to it. She took a picture with her phone and showed it to Penny who smiled largely at the sight, she was really impressed by the older girl's handiwork. She was a little surprised when she saw that they'd taken almost thirty-five minutes to do her hair, Wanda gave her a knowing smile before turning the cushion to face her. Twenty minutes later, Penny had her makeup done, she was a little surprised when she saw herself. Wanda had been light with the make up, but she found herself looking slightly older, more her age. She didn't have her baby face as much and she loved it, the neutral makeup suited her. She thanked the redhead, who smiled at her and lightly pinched her cheek before they started using the concealer and powder to cover the bruises on her arms. It didn't take too long and considering that she didn't really have hair on her arms it wasn't noticeable that there was makeup covering up the seven different bruises on her upper arms. Wanda let her choose whether or not she wanted to change in the bathroom or in the bedroom, she chose the bathroom, just in case the redhead came out of the bathroom before she finished getting dressed. After Wanda had helped her remove the bag that the cashier at the dress shoppe had put over the dress and hanger, she took it to the bedroom. Penny carefully took her t-shirt off and paused for a second, eying the fading greenish-purple bruise that was on her side from Brad elbowing her Monday. Chris had been out on Monday, leaving Brad to take it upon himself to try and deal out the usual amount of suffering the two liked to inflict. He'd elbowed her pretty harshly in the ribs, JARVIS had told her she'd bruised them when she got to her room and was inspecting them that day after school. She'd asked JARVIS to tell her the extent of the injuries when she was by herself, she didn't want the others to worry about them and to her surprise he'd listened to her and promised he'd only tell someone if it was a serious enough injury. She pulled her gaze from the mirror and grabbed the skin tone tights that she'd pulled out of her shoe box and pulled them on. She unzipped the light green dress and stepped into it, slowly and carefully pulling it up over her hips and waist before securing the straps onto her shoulders. The dress wasn't long like everyone else's, most of the other girls had chosen maxi dresses except for Kate, she'd chosen a sparkly jumpsuit that ended up matching Yelena's dress. The pastel green dress stopped about an inch and a half above her knee, it had small, delicate white flower inlays on it that she found particularly pretty; she loved flowers. She zipped it up the best she could before walking out to see if Wanda could zip it up the rest of the way. Wanda looked absolutely stunning in her long-sleeved form-fitted deep red dress, it had a v-neck that showed off some of her figure as well as a slit that stopped at her mid thigh. Its sparkling geometric shapes coloring it matched the dark red glitter she had used in her eyelids.
"Wow..." Penny whispered.
"What is it Peanut?" the redhead asked.
"Y-you look really pretty Wands...." Penny replied, flashing her a small smile.
Wanda smiled softly at her, "Why thank you Peanut, you look beautiful. Green is definitely your color."
"Thank you...can you zip it up all the way....I can't reach the zipper to pull it up."
Wanda walked over and gently moved her hair out of the way and finished zipping up the dress for her, "There you go."
"Thank you." Penny replied, flashing her a small smile.
"No problem, now we do lipstick or lipgloss....remember this when you start wearing makeup, always do your lipstick after you do your hair and change your clothes, that way it doesn't smudge."
Penny nodded and stored that information to the back of her mind.
Wanda ended up settling for a red lipstick that matched her dress and Penny went for a light pink one that they both felt was mature for her age and matched her dress. They then finished putting on the last touches, Penny put in her earrings and a necklace and Wanda followed with her rings, several earrings (because she had three piercings), and her necklace. Then they put on their shoes, Wanda had smaller black strappy heels, she said she didn't want her feet hurting because she had decided to wear uncomfortable shoes. Penny had gotten some closed in white ones that matched the white flowers on her dress, they had a little pearly band that went around her ankle and tied together with a bow. She liked them because not only were they comfortable, but they gave her a good three and a half inches. When they finished getting ready they were met by Kate and Yelena in the hall. They both had large grins on their face as they were talking to each other. Kate had her hair pulled up in a neat ponytail, her long brown hair was slicked back a little to keep her hair from getting flyways. She looked beautiful in her jumpsuit, it really suited her. She looked comfortable in it instead of the one dress that Penny had seen her wear. Yelena looked stunning in her dress, her blonde hair was slicked back a little with the ends of it slightly curling out, she was sporting simple jewelry. Penny took notice that while they were talking to each other, that their pinkies were interlocked. Their hands were resting in between them and their thumbs were lightly touching. Kate had a light blush on her cheeks when they came over. Morgan ran over to them a few seconds later, the train of her dress dragging behind her as she collided with Penny's waist, hugging her. After Morgan gave everyone a hug, she was being balanced on Kate's hip as the group talked amongst themselves, waiting for the two adult women to come. Soon Natasha came over, she looked almost angel-like in her light purple dress, the dress was simple in a way, it wasn't too fancy but it wasn't too plain either. It was ruched a little at the sides, and fell asymmetrically at her midcalves, she was wearing light silver shoes that seemed to sparkle with the sparkly fabric of her dress. Pepper came out a few moments later holding a camera in her hands, her emerald green dress suited her well. It reminded the group of why she'd picked it out in the first place the previous day. Pictures were taken and thirty minutes later the party was starting downstairs.
The party had started, the guests included all the avengers and their families who could attend. Clint and Kate were the only ones attending for their family. Laura had called that morning saying that Lila and Nathaniel had caught the flu and she didn't think it would be the best idea if they came. Peter said everything was okay and even wished them to get better soon. Tony had instituted a two drink maximum for the guests over twenty-one, he didn't want people to get drunk at his kid's birthday and a couple of the team members didn't do well when people drank. Tony had soon figured out why Penny had stared at him one the first full day she was there when they went out to dinner that night, it was because he was drinking. He usually didn't drink, he'd stopped drinking for the most part for Morgan when she was born, only drinking at social events, it slowly dwindled down to maybe once or twice a month, but tonight he wasn't drinking. In all actuality the majority of the team wasn't drinking. Clint didn't drink because of memories of an alcoholic father, Sam didn't drink because he didn't like who he was when he did drink, Bucky and Steve were the only one's drinking because they couldn't get drunk. Nat didn't really drink anymore; she was slightly enhanced in a way, the red room had made her partially a super soldier. She had a slightly higher metabolism, she could heal a little quicker than most, but she was more agile and had more stamina than the average human, Yelena had the same abilities. The main reason she didn't drink was for Yelena, the red room had let the young widow drink on her missions, she'd almost completed her training and had gone on several missions where she drank. The younger blonde seemed to have developed a liking to the drinks, so Natasha didn't drink. She had developed a deal with her little sister, she didn't drink so the younger one wouldn't either until she was twenty-one. Natasha hadn't had a single drink in ten months, she planned to keep it that way; however that did mean that she took it upon herself to be working the bar. The redhead was fixing everyone's drinks for half the party, she was also cutting people off at the limit that Tony and Pepper had set. She took her role as the bartender very seriously. Bucky and Sam were playing pool in the center of the room, with Steve talking to them while he watched. Bruce was over at the bar talking to Natasha, Yelena and Kate were nearby listening in on the conversation and were hoping to find more ways to set the pair up. Yelena was very dedicated to this idea. Penny hung around Peter, who was wearing a blue suit, his brown hair was slicked back making it look straighter than it actually was. Penny had laughed a little when she first saw him, it was different seeing his hair not in its fluffy, curly mess that he struggled to get to do what he wanted; he looked handsome. He was sticking with her too, always making sure she was having fun while he talked with the others. He proudly introduced his little sister to those who didn't know about her or who hadn't met her yet; eventually Penny wandered off to find Wanda who was seemingly avoiding the crowds. Wanda was twisting a curl around her finger while she watched her brother fail in his attempts to talk to Betty. Ned and MJ soon appeared, Ned was wearing a black suit and a fedora, which Penny soon learned was his hat of confidence. MJ was wearing a simple black slip dress, she looked stunning, she was wearing makeup for the first time since Penny had met her and her curly hair was straightened and slicked back. Peter ran over to his friends and excitedly greeted them, soon the compound's teenagers and their friends were all in a group in the corner when Tony came over.
"Kid," he called.
Peter turned around to look at him ,"Hey Mister Stark!" he greeted cheerily.
The billionaire groaned a little, "I keep telling you and your sister Tony is just fine," he replied.
Peter laughed a little and Penny nodded along.
"Anyways kid, it's time for the birthday boy to cut his cake, so kids it's time to join the rest of the party." he announced, pulling Peter behind him.
Peter had grabbed his sister's hand and dragged her along behind him towards the cake, making the others follow. After Tony had got Peter over to the center of the room where the cake was, he grabbed a microphone.
"Alrighty everyone," he announced, he waited a few moments before everyone turned to look at him. Peter tried to hide behind the man who wrapped his left arm around the boy's frame, keeping him in place. "I know I always throw great parties." A series of agreements quietly rippled through the room, "but there is one of the best reasons for this particular party. This kid right here." he announced, clapping Peter's shoulder, "Pete bud, you're great. A good brother to your sisters and a great friend to everyone you meet. You're intelligent, kind-I could go on and on- but we don't have the time...." he chuckled, "You're just an overall great kid. The best son I could ask for, happy birthday kid." he announced, holding up a glass of sparkling juice.
Peter blushed a little and thanked Tony for his announcement before hugging him and waving a little to everyone in the room. Everyone started singing Happy Birthday to the young spider who seemed to want to disappear under all the attention he was receiving at the moment. Tony had walked back over to Pepper, Morgan and Penny who were standing slightly to the left of the small platform that the cake was on. He wrapped his arm around Pepper's waist, he had a large smile on his face as he kissed her cheek and the top of the heads of both of the younger girls. Happy was next to MJ and Ned the three were standing next to the Stark family. Penny had grabbed his hand in an effort to make him smile a little and was giving him a small smile. MJ had a small, almost minuscule smile on her face as she watched the interaction between Tony and his family and Ned had a big grin as he clapped and sang to his best friend; he was probably the loudest out of everyone. Clint was standing next to Kate and Yelena with Natasha, the younger two of their group were in between them. Kate was standing in front of Yelena who had her arms snaked around her waist and linked together with her head resting on the brunette's shoulder. Bucky, Sam and Steve were in another area of the room. Steve had an arm draped over Wanda's shoulder and pressed a gentle kiss to her temple, and his other hand was proudly on Pietro's shoulder, he looked happy standing with his two kids. Bucky and Sam were holding hands, Pietro was the only one who seemed to notice their small amount of affection and he was grinning knowingly. After everyone finished singing to the spiderling, he started cutting the cake. Soon everyone had a piece of the marble cake and a scoop of chocolate cookie dough ice cream. The Stark family was seated in the center of the room; Pepper and Tony were quietly talking to Happy about something while the three kids made conversation amongst themselves. Peter was sitting on a white chair that had balloons tied to it, his arm was resting on the back of Penny's chair while she leaned against his arm. Morgan was sitting in his lap, half asleep, hugging his neck. Pepper was looking over at her three children and smiled softly while she watched Peter gently comb his fingers through Morgan's hair, while softly talking to Penny who was smiling at him. The party ended almost an hour and a half later, Ned and MJ went home and so did Betty and the rest of the academic decathlon team. Happy decided to stay the night and retired to his room on Tony and Pepper's floor. Penny was dozing off on Peter's shoulder and Morgan had fallen asleep in his arms after finishing her cake. Everything he'd gotten for his birthday had already been sent to his room by Stephen who portaled everything to his room when he finished opening them all. Peter adjusted Morgan to where she was resting on his hip and guided Penny over to the elevator and rode up with her to the floor with their rooms on it. After walking her to her room and saying good night, he took Morgan upstairs to her room and got her ready for bed. He said his good nights to Pepper and Tony before going to his room and changing into his suit and slipping out the window for patrol.
What Wanda did with Penny's hair-I wasn't sure if I described it enough^