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There were few times in Peter’s life which left him truly speechless; so few, in fact, he could easily count them on one hand and still have a finger left over to salute the villain of the week. However, this was not one of those times.
“No! Absolutely not!” Peter stood in the doorway, blocking his friends from entering with his body, while waving his arms over his head in an attempt to emphasize the words. It didn’t help, because, of course, his friends were quite immune to his theatrics at this point. He glanced to where Matt stood to his right, being far too quiet. “Well? Tell them.”
Matt only sighed and pushed their apartment door open further as an invitation before taking a seat on the couch. He didn’t so much as flinch at the glare Peter was boring into the back of his head, though Peter knew he was aware of it. Apparently, Matt was also immune to his theatrics, which normally would have Peter over the moon at the reminder of all the years they’ve spent together. Right now, that familiarity only served to sour Peter’s mood. How dare anyone ignore him!
Misty wasted no time shouldering her way past Peter first, and was quickly followed by Danny, Jess, and Luke, who carried a box covered with a blue towel. Were they that codependent, they all had to come? Peter bit back the retort, opting to slam the door and stalk to stand behind Matt with crossed arms.
He pointedly ignored the box in Luke’s lap.
Peter glared. Jess glared back. And Matt leaned towards the box.
Because, their friends were assholes, and Misty, Jess, and Danny took the chair and loveseat- leaving Luke and the damn box the couch. It was calculated, of that Peter was sure.
Jess kicked her feet onto the coffee table casually, like this was just another hangout and she was waiting for Peter or Matt to retrieve a board game or throw a movie on. Except, this was anything but a casual social call and she was focused on Matt- her eyes refusing to meet Peter’s.
It was a lost cause, Peter was well aware of it; it was over the moment Matt showed any interest. How could he say no to Matt?
“No.” Okay, it was easy to say. While standing behind Matt. “There is no way we-”
Matt turned to look up at Peter, something he only did when he wanted to use his face as a weapon, because how could anyone say no to /that/ face. The day Matt learned Peter was weak when his bottom lip jutted out ever so slightly tipped arguments to his favor by an unfair ratio.
Peter couldn’t say no to Matt. So, he looked across the room, when he found no one willing to meet his indignant glare he threw his arms up again, this time in defeat. It didn’t mean he was going to give any of them the pleasure of saying yes.
Misty snorted, breaking the tension. “I thought Matt would be the one putting up a fight.”
Matt shrugged, too enthralled by the contents of the box to respond. When he reached into the box, there was a sudden flurry of movement and a distinct, but tiny, meow.
Luke’s grip tightened on the box, pulling it ever so slightly closer to his chest. “Maybe we could-” He was cut off by a look from his wife.
Okay, that just wasn’t fair. And Peter was about to say just that when Matt gently pulled two kittens from the box and shoved one towards him. And THAT wasn’t fair.
Taking the offered kitten was as good as saying yes, but Peter took it anyway, because Matt’s damn lip jutted out and the kitten looked at him and mewed. Not fair. But, he held the tiny thing against his chest and rubbed tiny circles along soft fur.
“So,” Jess said as she stood, “there are five of them. The vet said they’re about four weeks old and-”
Peter tuned her out as she rattled off information about feeding and meds, too entranced by the tiny kitten in his arms. Matt was in a similar state, but nodded along with what Jess said even if he wasn’t actually listening.
Maybe it wouldn’t be terrible fostering a litter of kittens.
“Thanks, guys,” Danny spoke up, remaining seated despite Misty standing to join Jess.
Misty fixed him with a tired stare, “Hopefully my wonderful husband won’t bring home any strays for a while. I’m just glad Lucy was sleeping, could you imagine having to take them away from her?”
Luke, suddenly looking very sheepish, pushed the box off his lap an onto the couch between him and Matt. “Yea…”
Matt returned his kitten to its siblings and reached in to pet the others. “I don’t mind, it’s only for a few weeks anyway.”
“If we can find them homes,” Peter reminded him.
Jess rolled her eyes. “We’re going to probably take one. Someone,” she glared between Danny and Luke, “thought I would be swayed to foster them if Danielle asked me. I had to bribe her with the promise of a kitten once they were ready to be away from their siblings.”
“Sorry,” Both Danny and Luke said at the same time.
Peter would ask them the details later, but for now he resigned himself to several weeks of kittens invading his life. Thankfully, new, younger, heroes were starting to alleviate their burden, which let their friends have the time and stability to have children. Get married. Foster a litter of kittens when their friends with children were too busy to do so.
Peter looked down at Matt, watched him play with the two kittens who were awake. This would be a big step for them, bigger, perhaps, than moving in together had been. They’d never had a pet. Or talked about it. Because the future was an uncertainty, something to ignore until you got to it, because life was unfair and cruel, and they both were all too familiar with loss.
Yet… watching Matt light up, smiling without a care, relaxed- It all hit Peter at once. There was no reason to fear the future, to not want to plan. No reason to ignore what his heart kept telling him he wanted. Needed.
Silly, how a pile of tiny kittens could put the world in perspective.
Later, once their friends left, and the kittens were locked safely in the bathroom, they went out to buy supplies. Jess brought the basics she picked up at the vet, but they still needed litter and more food- and toys. And a kennel for when they weren’t home.
They walked down a row of shops on their way home, loaded with bags full of kitten supplies. Shops they walked past a million times before. This time, however, Peter’s eyes lingered on the window display of a jewelry store, for once letting himself think of the future.