A (Really) Early Morning
Chapter 36: A (Really) Early Morning
Sirens wailed in the streets below, but for the first time in the past few months, Peter decided to not follow them as he was too tired and can't take any more. New York was always in need of saving, but even Peter need a break now and then. He was sitting on the balcony of his and Cindy's apartment. His bones were aching from the action they went through, every fiber of his body felt tired from lack of sleep and his heavy eyelids dropped to cover his eyes. Before it was too late, Peter hauled himself to his feet and gently opened the door. Any longer and he would have ended up sleeping over there.
Cindy was, as expected, fast asleep on their bed. His eyes were on her as he walked into their bedroom. She was on the far-right side of the bed, turned on her side with her face tilted towards him. Her arms were stretched out in front of her, hands resting on Peter's side of the bed, right where his chest should be. Half of her face was covered by a pillow, but the other half of her face showed a small, dreamy smile on her lips where Peter can see easily. Tired as he was, he stayed in the same location he was standing on just to take in how beautiful and peaceful his wife looked. It wasn't until his bone-tired legs nearly sent him backwards back out the balcony. However, Peter quickly regained control and closed the door as soon as he got close to the doors of the balcony. He pulled off the mask, ran a hand through his hair, and then proceeded to pry off the suit. It was a tedious process, as the suit was completely wet from the rain New York was having now.
When he finally stripped himself of his costume, Peter pulled on a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and a white undershirt. He took a deep breath and looked briefly around the room.
Not too far long ago, Peter might have let himself rest at this point, but he did not. Before he could do so, he passed the bed and headed towards another room across the hall. Much smaller than the one he and Cindy shared; this room was lit by a starry lamp in the corner. Peter shuffled, eyes half open, to the two cribs in the center of the room. Andrew Parker and Alice Parker, the twins inside of them, were lying on their stomachs, their faces to the side just like their mother's. Peter leaned against the bars of their beds and smiled at his son and daughter. They laid surprisingly still, and Peter had to put his hands on their backs gently to reassure himself that his babies were breathing. Once he was satisfied that they were alive, Peter watched over them for a few more minutes before shuffling back to his and Cindy's room. Their bed never looked so inviting. He flopped himself down on his stomach beside Cindy; his arm wrapping around his waist.
"Peter..." Cindy mumbled, though she was mostly asleep. She pressed her nose against his cheek.
"Mmmph..." Peter pulled her closer to him, kissing her lips lightly. He sighed and finally closed his eyes. He was just about to slip into the darkness and fall asleep when...
"Aaaaa!" a little voice cried out, followed up by another one.
Peter sat straight up, bringing Cindy along with him.
"Andrew...Alice," he gasped. Although this wasn't the first time they have been woken by their daughter's cries. Cindy rubbed at her eyes. She put her arms around Peter's shoulders and lowered him back into the pillows.
"I got them," Cindy said as she kissed Peter's forehead and got up. "Go back to sleep Peter."
"But-"
"You've done enough for today. It's my turn now."
Peter didn't argue with his wife's logic as he was too tired and immediately fell asleep. Cindy then followed her son and daughter's intensifying wails. It was a new kind of siren, not a police siren, which was grabbing Spider-man and Silk's attention lately.
"I'm coming Andrew...Alice," she mumbled to them, crossing the hall. "Mommy's coming..."
Andrew and Alice were sitting up, hands in the air, fingers grabbing at the darkness. When they saw their mother, they cried even more, just to make sure that they got their mother's undivided attention. They reached for her. Cindy smiled empathetically at them and Andrew and Alice's tear-filled eyes looked back at her, as if to say, "How can you smile a time like this?!"
"Come on Andrew, Alice," she said as she was picking them up one at a time. They burrowed into their mother's nightgown that she was wearing, their cries muffling. Cindy pressed her lips against each of their heads, stroking their hair and bouncing them lightly. "What's going on Andrew, Alice?" She lifted them up, holding their foreheads against hers and looking into their watery eyes. "What's wrong you two? Doesn't seems like you need a diaper change...you hungry?"
Andrew and Alice slowly stopped shrieking and began to sob quietly. Andrew reached his tiny hand up and grasped his mother's ear while Alice was holding onto her mother's arm. Cindy smiled at her children's actions.
"I'll take that as a yes then," she laughed. Andrew and Alice blinked at her, their sobs coming out helplessly. Cindy hugged their heads into her chest and tip-toed down the hall to the living room. The motion seemed to calm them down; their crying had become significantly quieter until soon they weren't crying at all. Andrew had let go of Cindy's ear and was now holding onto her pinky with both of his hands while Alice did the same as well. Cindy rubbed her thumb over their tiny fingers and they walked into the living room. As Cindy sat down on the couch, she temporarily let them go, sat them down on her lap, and began to unclip the sleeves on her nightgown so she can properly nurse her famished children. As Andrew and Alice were drinking their fill from her breasts, Cindy gazed at the full moon outside, thinking about her daily life now.
After the birth of Andrew and Alice, Peter and Cindy had fallen into a routine where they would follow a schedule of who gets to take care of them while the other goes on patrol/work in New York. It would start off like this: Peter would take Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays while Cindy would take Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. On Sundays though, they would take care of them together.
As how they would take care of them, Peter would go to work while Cindy would stay at home to take care of them and vice versa. Then on Sunday, they would stay at home to take care of them.
Andrew and Alice finished their meal with contempt sighs, telling Cindy that they were done. She smiled with a yawn and clipped the straps back on.
"Better?" she asked. Andrew and Alice looked at her with big eyes. They seemed wide awake, while Cindy was on the verge of falling asleep. She smiled at her children's answer. "Seems like it," she thought as she was rocking them. Then she got out from the couch and started to carry them back to their cribs.
As Cindy laid Andrew and Alice into their cribs, she gave them a kiss on the forehead. "Good night you two," she said before she proceeded to head back to her and Peter's bedroom, seeing her husband asleep.
She then soon tucked herself into the bed as well, wrapping her arms around Peter and cuddling with him as she fell into dreamland, not knowing what will tomorrow will bring.