Born For This | PETER PARKER

19

"AND THEN he swung us to the top of the Statue of Liberty to watch the sunset," Colleen says, trying to hide her smile but failing miserably.

"On top?" Steve repeats with a slightly furrowed brow. "Isn't that a little dangerous?"

"No, it's romantic," Clint corrects.

Colleen never would have envisioned herself sitting at a conference table with Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Captain America as she told them about her date with Spider-Man. Of course she wasn't the one to bring up the date since she doesn't like to put too much attention on herself. When Natasha asked how the evening went in front of Clint and Steve before their meeting was scheduled to start, Clint was flabbergasted that Colleen had kept the date from him. Even Steve was intrigued. So, here Colleen is, finishing up her story of how their evening went while Natasha, Clint, and Steve listen with genuine curiosity.

Mischief glints in Natasha's eyes. Sitting forward and tapping her nails against the table, she asks, "Did you two end the night with a kiss?"

Colleen's faces burns bright. "No."

"Oh, come on, you can tell us," Clint teases, leaning against the table. "Not even a little smooch?"

Colleen leans her elbows against the table and hides her face in her hands with a groan. "Do you guys enjoy embarrassing me?"

"A little," Natasha replies while Clint says, "Yep," and Steve says, "No."

Colleen drops her hands to the table and clarifies, "No, Peter and I did not kiss. After watching the sunset and stargazing for a while, we went straight back here and he went to finish an assignment for school while I had to change Emmett's diaper because Nat didn't want to."

Clint and Steve cast Natasha a look. She jumps to her defense. "I didn't realize he needed a diaper change."

"Sure," Clint quips, earning a subtle but effective smack on the back of his head.

•••

To say that Colleen is tired would be an understatement.

From all the nights spent waking up periodically to Emmett's cries to getting back late after her date with Peter, it is safe to say that Colleen is exhausted, drained, sleep deprived, and any other word that is used to describe how she feels as her eye lids droop and her body yearns for just a few hours of rest.

Some time after dinner but before bed time, Emmett starts crying. It begins as soft whimpers and progresses into a full-on scream. It hurts Colleen's throat just listening to him. She isn't sure what he needs; she checks his diaper, tries to feed him, carries him around, burps him, and even checks his temperature. Nothing manages to quiet him. The other kids only add to the noise and the headache forming behind Colleen's eyes. Sloan's singing some song from a Disney movie she watched with Natasha last night while Anna Beth and Ben argue about who knows what. Colleen's blood boils over and she sends them all to their rooms while she tries to get Emmett under control.

Peter makes an appearance in the middle of Emmett's scream fest. Colleen's bouncing Emmett softly as she walks around the living room with whispered pleads to hush. Peter immediately winces and covers his ears when he enters the kitchen to grab a snack from the pantry.