Bonding Time and Revelations
"So...how exactly did you find out about mom's birthday? I thought she never told anyone."
Wanda looked at Peter and chuckled. "She didn't. Not even Clint knew and it took her two years just to tell him how old she was."
"I guess that makes sense. She does have her secrets, but still. Why did she keep that from Steve?"
"Come on, Pete. If your birthday was on April Fools, you wouldn't go around saying it to people, would you?"
The young Avenger cringed. "No."
"And why wouldn't you?"
"Because everyone would prank me."
"Exactly. Your mom's a smart woman. Always has been. Clint likes to tease her and joke with her, but, she also lives in a tower with Scott, Sam, Bucky and Tony. They'd drive her crazy if they knew."
Bucky began to place bottles of pasta marinate in the cart. "But you wanted to know how we found out about her birthday. Well, Nat has a habit of talking in her sleep. Steve heard her have a lengthy conversation with whoever she was dreaming about - probably him - and kept saying that April Fools was the worst birthday anyone could have."
Wanda chimed in. "This only happened a few weeks ago, so we've had plenty of time to prepare. The plan was to get Natasha out of the tower for several hours today, so we could set the party up and surprise her when she got back."
Now it was making more sense. Peter nodded and thought about the mission that his mother and a few other Avengers had gone on. "The mission in Russia was a way to keep her away long enough for you to deck the place out."
"Exactly!" Wanda turned to Bucky and poked him on the side. "I told you that we should have let him know the start."
"Yeah, I guess so. No hard feelings, Pete. We would have told you, but seeing as how you're Nat's son and everything..."
The boy waved his hand to dismiss the apology. "No harm done. You were smart to keep this from me. After all, everyone knows that it's hard to lie to mom and get away with it. She can see through a lot of bs. It's pretty lucky for you that she didn't figure it out."
Wanda grinned at that. Natasha was usually adept at seeing through deceit, but as they expected, Steve had kept her on a romantic high for the last two weeks, and they were able to use that to their advantage. "Oh, yes. Lucky indeed."
Bucky looked down at his watch. "Okay, they'll probably be back in eight hours or so. That gives us plenty of time to make the food."
Peter's eyes lit up at the mention of food. "So we're not going to just have snacks for the party?"
"Of course we're going to have snacks. We're not savages, but we're also going to have food, too. Natasha loves enchiladas, so we're making that and a few other things."
"Oh, she'll love that. I can't remember the last time she had homemade enchiladas, but Vision shouldn't help with that."
"Way ahead of you. We all know how bad he is at cooking."
"Yes, I remember a few years ago, how he tried to cook paprikash to make me feel better. While the gesture was sweet...the taste was unfavorable." Wanda wrinkled her nose as the memory came back to her.
"Poor Vision," said Peter, a rueful grin on his face. "He really can't cook to save his life. But he's really good at desserts! Remember the cherry tarts he made for Mr. Stark's birthday? Those were really good."
Bucky thought for a moment. "You know, I forgot about that. Hey, maybe he can help you make the cake, Wanda."
"That sounds like a plan to me. He'd probably have a good time doing it, too." Wanda grabbed a bottle of bacon bits and put it in the cart, giving Bucky a stern glare. "This time, I'm expecting you not to eat these before I make the salad. Understood?"
"I make no promises."
Wanda raised an eyebrow at Bucky's and playfully nudged him, whispering in his ear. <"Vy narushitel' spokoystviya."> You are a troublemaker.
The solder just looked at her, raking his eyes down her body and replied in a seductive tone. <"Da, no vy lyubite yego, kukla."> Yeah, but you love it, doll.
Peter eyed the two lovers warily, feeling a bit like a third wheel cockblock. "Ah, just to remind you guys, we're in public and I'm a child."
"Tsk, you had to spoil the mood." Wanda stuck her tongue out at Peter and held up the grocery list again. "Okay, so all we need is my shea butter lotion and Thor's Poptarts."
"I have never understood Thor's obsession with Poptarts. It's kind of weird." They turned down the cereal aisle and began searching for the Poptarts.
"The Poptarts obsession is nothing. You should have seen how Bucky was when he first came out of cryo. The one thing he wanted more than anything in the world was cereal bars." Wanda made a gagging sound rolled her eyes up in her head.
"Cereal bars are amazing," Bucky said with a pout. "You're just too picky about trying new things."
"And you're like a human trash can when it comes to food. Like those disgusting deep fried banana twinkies you bought from the store the other day."
"Hey! Those were really good. Don't hate them if you haven't even tried them."
"Are you kidding? Just the fact that you like twinkies is embarrassing enough."
"What's wrong with twinkies?"
"More like what isn't wrong with them? They're not really dairy products; there's no milk or anything in them. Just fake white stuffing and who knows what else. I don't understand how you can put those things in your mouth."
Bucky waggled his eyebrows. "Well, I can think of other things I'd like to-"
Peter yelped and put his fingers in his ears. "Okay, no thanks! Lalalalala! Please, stop!"
"Oh, Pete. You're such an innocent baby," cooed Wanda and she pinched his cheeks.
"No, I'm not!" Came his indignant reply. "You guys are my friends...well, Wanda is my friend, Bucky, you're more like a weird uncle or something. I know you guys are dating and you do...certain couple related things, but I already hear that kind of talk from mom and da-uh, Steve. So it's just really weird."
Wanda and Bucky noticed Peter's near slip of the tongue when he almost called Steve his dad. "Pete, do you think of Steve as a father?"
"...yeah." The teen ducked his head and blushed. "I mean, even before he started dating mom, he always treated me like I was special to him. When mom adopted me, it was the best day of my life, but when Steve started dating her, I actually began to feel like we were a family. I still do, more so, even. I just don't know if he thinks that about me..."
There were tears in Wanda's eyes and she took Peter's hands in hers. "Pete, that is wonderful and believe me when I say that Steve feels the same way. I've seen the proud look in his eyes when he sees you with Natasha, whether you're just being silly or having a serious talk. I've also heard the usually quiet whispers in his mind that come to the surface when he's around you. He loves you."
Bucky came beside them and placed a kind hand on Peter's shoulder. "Yeah, kid. You haven't heard the things that comes out of his mouth about you. He thinks of you like you're his own flesh and blood and he damn near brags about you than Tony. I see the pride in his eyes when he looks at you. You may not be his biological son, but he sure treats you like you are."
Peter wiped his eyes and laughed happily, pulling Wanda and Bucky in for a hug. "Thanks."
"Anytime," said Bucky and he rubbed Peter's back comfortingly. "And you know what? You should tell Steve what you just told us. I think you guys are due a bonding moment, especially after what's going to happen ton-"
Wanda smacked Bucky's backside and shushed him. "Uh-uh! Let him find out on his own!"
"Right." Bucky cleared his throat and pointed to the shelf. "So, Poptarts. There they are!" He picked five boxes and dumped them in the shopping cart while Peter just stared at him and Wanda.
Evidently, something else was set to take place at the party and it was so important that it needed to be kept a secret from Peter. Well, he could live with that. He had a feeling that this night was going to one to remember.