Peter fiddled nervously with the end of the plastic surrounding his flowers. He knew it was risky to continue to do this, but he really just wanted to prove himself worthy of a chance. When the elevator chirped to let him know he had arrived, he let out a deep breath before exiting.
He looked around the lab, unable to see Toni anywhere in the space. “Ms. Stark is on her way,” FRIDAY’s voice rang throughout the room. “She will be down momentarily.” He chewed on his bottom lip (a bad habit of his) as he nodded to the AI before he walked towards her desk. It was as messy as always, half-finished projects, papers, and tools covering the massive surface. There was, however, a smaller stack of papers near the center of her desk, and Peter took the opportunity to set the flowers gently on top of them.
He heard the soft sound of the elevator, and he immediately scampered away from the desk, moving to his own similarly messy one. He shoved his backpack underneath it before sitting down on the stool that he sometimes put his feet on just as the elevator doors opened.
Toni walked in, her long hair pulled into a messy bun at the nape of her neck, wearing a worn ACDC tee-shirt and messy jeans. She walked quickly into the room, heading over to a project in the back and completely ignoring her desk. “Kid?” she called.
Peter, who had been frowning as she missed his flowers, jumped up at the sound of her calling him. “Y-Yeah?” he stuttered, clearing his throat and quickly moving towards her. “I’m r-right here.”
She turned to him and gave him a smile, the oil stain on her cheek doing nothing but adding to her beauty in his eyes. He smiled back, probably a bit too widely, as he came to stand beside her. “Hi,” he said nervously as his cheeks erupted into a bright blush. He was mentally kicking himself for appearing like a stupid high-school girl with a crush, and he only flushed brighter when that small voice in the back of his head chirped But you are one.
“Hi, kiddo,” she said casually, slipping her hands into the back pocket of her jeans and rocking back on her heels. Peter tried exceptionally hard to not look at her hands. “Say, what are your thoughts on disintegration?”
“Well, we have several natural things that disintegrate over time, but they often are organic in nature because of enzymes that break them down,” Peter replied.
“True, but what about non-organic?”
“There haven’t been any studies of non-organic substances disintegrating,” he said, frowning. Toni smirked, and Peter felt his heart flip dangerously in his chest.
“Yet.”
After their conversation, Toni had gone into depth about how she was looking into creating a disintegration-based weapon. She said if it was successful, it would be extremely beneficial for all major cities, especially after various disasters. Peter had nodded along, understanding her points and the research she had already started.
They had spent the entirety of the afternoon as well as a large portion of the evening studying the effects of the disintegration. It was very intellectually stimulating for both of them, as they continued to bounce ideas off of one another without having to explain in great detail what they meant. By the time they had decided to take a break, they had managed to make a small, handheld weapon that could disintegrate small portions of objects.
Toni sighed as she sat herself down at her desk chair, rolling her neck to get the kinks from the days work out of it. Peter sat on the stool near her desk, chewing on his inner cheek as he watched her get comfortable by putting her feet up onto the edge of her desk. “What do you want for dinner?” she asked, looking through the results of their latest attempt with the ‘disintegration ray’ as Peter had dubbed it.
“Huh?” he asked softly, the tips of his ears turning pink.
“It’s almost seven, kid. I figured I’d get you dinner before I sent you home to May. She’s working anyways, isn’t she?” Toni asked, not even looking away from the file.
“O-oh…” he said softly, slightly surprised that she remembered May’s schedule as well as his own. “I-Uh. Yeah, she’s working until ten tonight.”
“That’s what I thought, so what do you want for dinner?” she asked again, looking over the edge of her file at him.
“Um… Pizza?” he asked, smiling nervously. She grinned before returning to the file. “Fri, order the usual.”
An hour later, they were back to working on the disintegration ray with stomachs full of the best pizza in New York. They stayed working until nine-thirty when Toni had stood up and returned to her desk to file away another attempt. “Alright, kid,” she said after putting the page in with the rest, “let’s get you back home before your aunt kills me. FRIDAY, tell Happy we’re ready.”
Peter smiled at the comment, cleaning up their mess before going to grab his backpack. When he turned back around to face her, bag slung over one shoulder, he paled instantly at seeing her holding the small bouquet of flowers he had entirely forgotten about until now.
She turned to look at him, raising one perfectly shaped brow. “Peter…” she started slowly.
“I know what you said, but,” he quickly said before she cut him off.
“Peter,” she started, setting the flowers down on the desk once more, “we’ve talked about this.” Peter's head dipped down, hanging in disappointment as he returned to practically gnawing through his bottom lip. “I’m too old for you,” she said, walking up to him with her hands in her pockets once more.
“No, you’re not,” he argued weakly. This had to be the third or fourth time they’ve had this exact conversation, and Peter was beginning to think he was like a broken record.
“Peter, I’m old enough to be your mother,” she said with a sigh. “I’m older than May.”
“I don’t care,” he said, raising his head slightly to look into her eyes. She was frowning again, the stressed furrow he usually saw while she worked on a project coming in between her brows.
“Peter, you should be dating girls your own age,” she said with a sigh. “How many times do we have to talk about this?”
He shrugged slightly, looking back down at his feet. “I…” He just wanted a chance. A chance to make Toni happy.
She sighed, reaching out and lightly resting her hand on his arm. “Peter, look at me,” she said. He didn’t look up, fighting the tears that were threatening to fall from his eyes. He kept his eyes trained on his feet until slightly rough fingers were pressing gently under his chin, tilting it up to make him look at her. “Peter-”
“I just wanted to get you a birthday present,” he said softly, frowning at her.
“Mr. Hogan is here to take Mr. Parker back,” FRIDAY spoke suddenly. Peter pulled away from Toni, pushing his hands deep into his pocket.
“Bye,” he said softly, going to walk around her. He stopped though and turned his head at the last second, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. “Happy birthday,” he said before quickly leaving her space, going into the elevator and hitting the ground floor.
Toni didn’t even have time to react. She blinked again, slowly sitting herself down in her chair. “Fri?” she called after a moment.
“Yes, Ms. Stark?” the AI asked.
“What’s today’s date?”
“Today is May 29th, 2018,” the AI responded. “Happy birthday, ma’am.”
“Where’s Toni?” Happy asked as Peter climbed into the car.
“Working on another project,” Peter said softly, buckling himself into the backseat.
“Of course,” Happy sighed, shaking his head. “Well, let’s get you home, kid.”
It was a quick and silent ride. Peter continued to stare out the back window, trying to ignore his teenage heartbreak once again. By the time they pulled up in front of his apartment, he all but launched himself out of the backseat. He said a quick goodbye to Happy before slamming the door and running up the front stairs, ignoring the man’s shout. The tears he had been fighting since he talked to Toni were breaking through, slipping down his cheeks as he unlocked his front door.
“Peter?” May called from the living room.
He wiped quickly at his cheeks as he locked the door behind him. “Yeah, it’s me,” he called back, glad that his voice didn’t crack and betray him.
“Did you eat?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said as he turned and began walking to his room.
“Why don’t you sit with me a little bit? Tell me about your day?” she asked, turning around to smile at him from the couch.
“I’m really tired and have school in the morning,” he said quietly, ignoring her eyes. “Can I just tell you tomorrow?”
“Did something happen at Toni’s?” May asked, frowning as she stood up and came towards him.
“No, just was working on a project. I’m just tired,” he lied, looking up at her when she stopped beside him. She frowned at him, not one hundred percent sure about his answer, but she nodded slowly, deciding not to push tonight. He gave her a slight smile, kissing her cheek. “Night.”
“Good night,” she said softly, watching as he quickly hid inside his room.
Once he was in his room, the dam broke. Tears began falling down his cheeks in rivers as he dropped his bag on the floor and lied down on his bed. He hid his face in his pillow, muffling his cries as the pent-up emotions poured from his body.
Toni frowned into her glass, sipping the amber liquid slowly. She stared at the flowers now sitting on her kitchen island. They had wilted slightly since they had been without water, but they were beginning to perk up a bit now that she had set them inside of a vase with plenty of water and even some sugar for food.
She looked away from them after a few moments, downing the last of the liquid in her glass before standing and going to refill it. With another, fuller glass, she walked back over to the flowers. Toni played with the edges of the card that had her name written in messy print. She hadn’t even read it yet. Too nervous to read the words hidden inside.
As she nursed the drink in her hand, she looked away from the card and back to the flowers, lightly tracing along the petals of a rose. She sighed before suddenly throwing back the rest of her drink, nearly slamming the glass on the counter as she grabbed the card.
She carefully separated the back of the envelope and pulled out the simple card. On the front, all it said was “Happy Birthday” in cursive, the font a soft shade of pink. When she opened the card, she wasn’t surprised to see the small, cramped handwriting filling the sides.
On the right, the card’s pre-printed “Have a Fabulous Birthday” was in the center, and underneath it, she studied Peter’s hand-writing. She smiled as she saw the slight wobble to the letter, knowing he must have been nervous and maybe even shaking when he wrote it.
“I know we’ve had this conversation before, but I wanted to get you something for your birthday. I understand if you don’t like it or want it, but I just wanted you to know that I didn’t forget. I wrote down what all the flowers mean on the left, and I hope that helps to explain everything. Love, Peter.”
She sighed softly, a small smile turning up the corner of her lips as her thumb gently traced the signing of his name. Turning her gaze to the left side, she began reading each flower’s meaning, originally having no idea that he had specifically chosen each one.
“Amaryllis - Splendid Beauty; Used to indicate worth beyond beauty
Aster - Patience; Used to indicate a love of variety; Also elegance and daintiness
Carnation - Pride, Beauty; A red carnation is used to indicate love, pride, admiration; A white is used to indicate innocence and pure love
Daffodil - Regard, Chivalry; Used to indicate rebirth, new beginnings, eternal life; Also unrequited love
Gardenia - Purity, Sweetness; Indicate secret love; Tell the receiver ‘you are lovely’
Hydrangea - Heartfelt Emotions
Lilac - Youthful Innocence, Confidence; Purple lilac is used to indicate first love
Lily - Purity, Refined Beauty; Lily of the Valley is used to indicate sweetness and purity of heart
Orchid - Exotic Beauty; Used to indicate refinement, thoughtfulness, mature charm; Also proud and glorious feminity
Sunflower - Pure Thoughts; Used to indicate adoration, dedication; Also used to make a dedication of love
Rose - Love; Red Rose is used to convey deep emotions - love, long, desire”
Toni sighed heavily; “This damn kid.”
She smiled to herself, closing the card and setting it on the table. She carefully traced the petals of a rose again, noting just how many roses were in the bouquet. She stood there for a moment, simply looking at the massive amount of flowers as the meaning behind them all continued to circle in her head.
Shaking her head, she picked up the vase and card before walking to her bedroom. She set the vase down on her side table before resting the card against it. Her lips curled up into a small smile as she turned into her bathroom to get ready for an early night for once.
After showering and changing, Toni climbed into her bed. She moved until she was comfortable, lying on her side and staring at the flowers and card once more. Lying there for a moment, the words written inside of the card began to repeat in her head along with Peter’s own spoke ones before he left. With another sigh, she turned away onto her side and closed her eyes.
Waking slowly, Peter opened his eyes with a soft groan. He shifted, clothes dragging on his sheets, and he sighed as he looked down to see he had in fact fallen asleep fully dressed even with his shoes still on. He kicked his shoes off before pushing himself into a sitting position, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
He reached for his backpack on the floor, digging through it for his phone. The brightness caused him to groan softly before he almost immediately dropped it as low as possible. Blinking to adjust, he saw the time reflecting back at him: 3:23 am.
With a sigh, Peter flopped back onto his bed, unlocking his phone before frowning at the notification that he had gotten a message. He tapped the app, assuming it was Ned, but he was surprised when he saw it was sent at 2:43 am.
A picture of his flowers sitting in a simple clear vase with the card he had attached to it resting against the glass filled his screen, and he could tell by the lamp next to them and the lack of papers that it was her bedside table. He blushed as a smile began to pull at his lips, and he read the short text underneath it: Check your window sill. ~TS.
Peter sat back up, looking to his window before frowning as he saw an odd shape sitting there. Feeling his heart leap into his throat, he stood and went towards his window, opening it carefully and picking up the single flower sitting there.
It was a single blue rose, something he’d never seen before. There was a cap on the cut end that had water in it, keeping the rose alive for however long it took him to find it. He turned it carefully in his hands, smiling down at it before noticing the small tag tied to it.
Returning to his bed, he turned on his own bedside lamp to read the small note. “Thank you for my birthday present. Love, TS.” Peter smiled widely at the note, gently untangling it from his rose, and that's when he noticed the note on the back.
“A blue rose means ‘I can't have you, but I can't stop thinking about you’.”