Parker Industries was the result of everything that he had worked towards for his entire life. All of those years spent photographing his own exploits to sell to Jameson and the Bugle for pennies on the dollar while struggling to pay for Aunt May's mounting medical bills had done nothing but fuel his want for something more. Being Spider-Man didn't pay the bills, and he had a family to support now. A family waiting for him at home -- a wife and a child who depended on him like the people of New York had for all of the years that he had donned the suit. The stability had been good for him. Life had settled into a sense of routine, or as much of a routine as was possible with a rowdy two-year old. The bills were paid on time, there was never an eviction notice stapled to his front door, and MJ didn't have to worry about late night calls from local emergency rooms anymore.

Peter had left the lab in such a rush that day that he had neglected to leave his lab coat hanging on the back door of his office like he normally did. The white fabric still hung loosely over his shoulders as he piled into his rusted out Civic (the one that he refused to replace, despite MJ's constant reminding that he could afford something with power locks now). Though he was always excited to get home after a long day of crunching numbers and testing polymers, today was different. He needed to get home. The sense of urgency allowed him to be a little heavier on the gas pedal each time a traffic light flickered from red to green, edging the number on the odometer a little over the speed limit with every street sign that flew past the window. The old Civic could only go so fast, but Pete was ready to test its limits.

After what seemed like an eternity, he pulled into the driveway of the familiar brownstone and parked the car in his space, a sense of relief washing over him that the building was actually there. Ludicrous, of course, given that he'd signed papers with MJ to buy the place two years ago. Where would it have gone? Still, his steps were hastened as he jogged to the front door, pushing it into the foyer as the smell of Mary Jane's favorite candle washed over him. "Honey, I'm home," he yelled into the empty space, ears perked up for the sound of feet against the hardwood. "Annnnnd, I forgot to pick up the dry cleaning. I'm sure we have enough clothes to last us until next week though, right?" Leave it to him to be able to pull off a dual identity as one of New York's most recognizable superheroes for years, but not remember his short to-do list.

Mary Jane wouldn't say she had mastered the art of multitasking between cooking dinner while also watching their wild and free daughter, but she would say she was pretty darn close to it. That day found her and little May in the kitchen; the child was busy with scribbling large colorful circles into a coloring book, and MJ was keeping a careful eye on the meal she was creating. She took great pride in being able to cook, and it always reminded her of past evenings when she'd made something special for her husband. ...granted, half the time he'd disappear into the night once his Spidey senses had kicked in, only to return when the food had long-ago gone cold, but she tried not to think about those things these days. All of that was in the past. Mary Jane finally got what she wanted - a perfect happily ever after with Peter. No Spider-Man, no false sense of responsibility or guilt, it was just them. The three Parkers.

At the sound of Peter's voice, Mary Jane picked May up from her little kiddie table, "Daddy's home, baby girl. Go say hi to daddy!" The child didn't need further encouragement before her little feet were moving forward in haste. "Daddy daddy daddyyyy!" She called. Mary Jane wasn't far behind her because from what she could remember, all day long she'd felt this... desperation to see him, to hold him, to kiss him. She was worried for him in a way that she hadn't been worried for awhile. She didn't have to fear for his life anymore, so why the anxiety? Seeing him now made her feel a rush of relief, but she waited until daddy and daughter had their little moment.

"Oh, Peter, welcome home!" She finally moved forward once May had gotten distracted with one of her near-by toys. Mary Jane wrapped her arms around him, holding on tight and not wanting to let go. Maybe it was a strange reaction, but there was something inside of her that made her feel like... like this hadn't happened for awhile. "I missed you." She finally pulled away a little, just enough to be able to tilt her head up to look at him with a smile. "We both missed you. How was your day? Did everything go well?" She sighed contentedly, feeling at peace now that he was home. This kind of life may have seemed mundane and monotonous to most, but it was all she had ever wanted with the love of her life. And finally, it was theirs. Perfect in every simple detail.

Keys were hung on the hook by the door as he neglected to lock the jalopy parked in the lot, figuring there wasn't anything worth stealing in the Civic anyway. Peter could hear the resonating sound of her rubber soles against the hardwood floor even before he saw the flash of red hair tearing around the corner, kneeling down (with some complaint from his aging joints) to meet the impact of her body against his as the two-year-old rammed into his chest at full speed. The collision caused him to feign a fall backward against her weight, a broad smile encroaching on his features as he opened up to the embrace. "Jeez, Mayday. Mom's obviously been feeding you your Wheaties," he managed, breath knocked from his lungs from the squirming toddler who was attempting to climb onto his shoulders. "At this pace, you'll be ready for your stint on American Ninja Warrior before you graduate from kindergarten." The redheaded ball of energy giggled, burying her head into his shoulder as he placed a furtive kiss to the top of her head, hoisting her weight up easily and letting her rest over his shoulder. After all, his spider physiology had been somewhat more difficult to shed than the costume had been, and despite being out of the game for almost two years, he was still resting firmly on the laurels of his radioactive DNA.

May was still wriggling around as he linked an arm around her waist, swinging her off of his shoulder and back down to the ground. Her green eyes met his and she smiled brightly, the signature red locks that she had inherited from her mother falling haphazardly across her brow. "I colored you a picture," she offered, jerking her thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the kitchen, where her crayons were still splayed across the island. "Oh yeah? So, we're working towards art school now? That's... lucrative. I thought you wanted to be a whale trainer." Peter was unable to resist returning the same bright grin back to his daughter, arms crossing lazily across his chest as he looked up at his wife with an arched brow. "Better go get it. I need some new artwork in my office." The girl needed no further incentive, and she tore back into the kitchen to rifle through her drawings before he could blink.

That left the two of them, alone in the foyer. Before he knew it, she had pressed herself against his chest, his hands automatically encircling her waist to envelop her in the same way that they had thousands of times before. Peter dropped his chin to breathe in the soft lavender scent of her hair, allowing himself to get lost in the moment as if this was the last time they would be here - in this house, in this moment, in this life. Once she pulled away from him, he reached up to push a piece of hair behind her ear. "Aside from being the longest day ever - we got the deal done with Oscorp for $1.1 billion, and stocks went through the roof. Things couldn't have gone better... but I bowed out a little early, because it's family dinner night, and I felt like I needed to be here. Figured maybe you'd need some help with dessert." He dropped a finger to her chin, gently leading her lips to his in a kiss. "'Cause if there's one course I'm good at, it's dessert." Peter allowed himself to smile against her lips, allowing himself to soak up as much of the moment as he could before pulling back.

Mary Jane hummed a soft mmhmm against his lips, confirming that he was good at dessert. Before he could lean away from her, she glided her hand against the back of his neck so that she could kiss him further with a 'welcome home' kiss that could rival any other that had come before it. She was never ashamed of showing Peter how wholeheartedly she loved him - every touch, caress, and kiss was meant to declare how much she cared about him in her own passionate way. But unfortunately (for them) now wasn't the time to delve further into their love. When she heard little feet starting to pitter-patter their way back from the kitchen, she finally broke the kiss - a little breathless, a little flushed, lips slightly swollen, but there was a big smile on her face. "Save room for that dessert later tonight, Tiger. I have something very special waiting for you." She winked at him before her hands slid down his arms as she stepped back from him.

They met little May in the living room, and the child was waving a piece of paper in the air. She jumped up and down in excitement with that radiant smile on her face - she may have inherited her mother's vibrant red hair, but that infectious smile was all her father's doing. "Daddy, daddy! Here!" She kept jumping up and down, her arms flailing from side to side, making it difficult for either parent to grab onto the piece of paper. She giggled in amusement, and finally lifted the paper up to her dad so that he could get a good look at it. Mary Jane stepped up to place her hand against her husband's back, rubbing it from side to side as she peered at the picture-- nay, work of art-- that their daughter had created. It was just as she had suspected - a lot of colorful circles, but they were lovely circles. "Oh, that's beautiful, baby!" She cheered, a bright smile on her own face. "Did you know we had a modern day Picasso under our roof, Petey? Our little girl is--"

She cut herself off, "Oh, shoot, I need to go check on the food!" She smacked a sweet kiss on his cheek before she went rushing off to the kitchen. If she had burned anything while reminding her husband how very much she loved and adored him, she might just scream. Not that she needed to be insecure about her cooking, but with Aunt May joining them for dinner... well, it was safe to say that MJ had big shoes to fill. The older woman could cook and bake circles around her! "Hey, Peter!" She called out to him just as she was opening the oven to check on the homemade bread rolls she'd made - she might have been testing her limits tonight, so she was anxious to ensure that everything came out decently. "When is Aunt May coming over again? Did we say 6 or 6:30?"