Under Johnny and the others’ careful setup, the lounge of the Baxter Building was already full of party energy.
The invited Avengers, along with Gwen and the rest, arrived one after another.
Peter was deep in scientific conversation with Reed, Tony, and Pym, soaking up every word.
Reed and the others clearly thought highly of the smart kid.
Tony even floated the idea of Peter working at Stark Tower after graduation.
Harry was in pure fanboy mode, circling Steve and firing off questions.
Steve answered every one of them with patience.
Ben kept coming out of the kitchen with fresh plates of snacks.
“Hey, sister-in-law, I found another one!
Photos of brother right after he was adopted.”
Johnny kept running back to his room to dig through his collection.
“And this one— the cute outfit Susan bought for him… Oh my god, he only wore it once.
Susan and I had to change him into it while he was asleep.”
Gwen sat to the side, flipping through the album.
Her fingertips traced the photos that followed Wayne from childhood all the way to now.
Sometimes she smiled in amusement, sometimes the smile turned soft and warm.
“Uh… Mr.
Storm?”
“Just call me Johnny, sister-in-law.”
Johnny raised an eyebrow and twitched the corner of his mouth.
“In the future your kids with brother are gonna have to call me Uncle.”
A pretty blush climbed Gwen’s cheeks.
She didn’t argue.
Her voice just got smaller.
“Okay… Johnny, where’s Wayne?
Is he still not up?
Maybe I can go wake him?”
Gwen could barely remember the last time she had set foot in Wayne’s room.
She didn’t come to the Baxter Building often.
She and Susan hadn’t reached open hostility, but being around each other still felt awkward for both of them.
It wasn’t only Susan who could see Gwen’s hidden intentions.
Gwen could see just as clearly that Susan’s intentions weren’t pure either.
Still, Gwen believed she would be the one who won in the end.
She stood up and carefully set the album aside.
She couldn’t help wondering if Wayne’s room had changed, if he was secretly keeping any special books… or maybe photos and pictures of her.
The thought made her face burn even hotter.
She shook her head and the corners of her mouth curved into a quiet, beautiful smile.
Johnny, on the other hand, had frozen in place like he’d been hit by a stun blast.
The second he realized Gwen was about to go wake Wayne, he scrambled over and blocked her path.
“Ahem… that is… brother has a terrible sleeping posture.
He definitely wouldn’t want you to see him looking ridiculous, so… you know?”
Gwen really wanted to say she didn’t mind, but she also didn’t want to make Wayne uncomfortable.
“Uh… okay?”
Johnny let out a quiet breath of relief.
Brother, this is as far as your big brother can cover for you.
He didn’t know exactly what had happened between Wayne and Susan last night, but he knew Susan had slept in that room.
If Gwen walked in on that scene there would be no explaining it.
…
Thor walked over carrying a case of beer, flipped on the big virtual screen, and dropped onto the sofa to enjoy the post-victory celebration.
Hulk followed with an entire box of burgers, sat down hard enough to sink the cushions, and started stuffing them into his mouth one after another without a care in the world.
“Hey, big guy.”
Thor nudged him with an elbow and held out a can.
Hulk pinched the beer between two fingers, examined it from every angle, then tossed the whole can into his mouth and started chewing.
“Wait, Hulk!
Not like that… well, okay.”
Thor watched the whole can disappear down Hulk’s throat and could only shrug.
Bored, he asked, “Speaking of which, where’s Banner?”
The second the name left his mouth Hulk’s fist shot out on pure instinct and launched Thor clean through the glass wall of the Baxter Building.
A few seconds later Thor flew back in, completely unharmed.
“You like Banner, not Hulk!
Hulk hates you!”
Hulk glared at him and threw the half-eaten burger aside.
“Brother doesn’t hate Hulk!
Hulk likes brother!”
To Hulk, every single one of these people preferred Banner.
Only Wayne looked at him the exact same way he looked at everyone else.
That felt like real respect.
He had forced Banner down and come out today because he heard them say it was Wayne’s birthday.
Hulk didn’t really understand what a birthday was, but he knew it was important to brother.
Thor wasn’t about to take that lying down.
He gripped Mjolnir and lightning started crawling over his skin.
“Hey, hey, hey!
You two!”
Janet dropped the gift she had been holding and flew between them.
“Easy, big guy.”
“Thor, put the hammer down.”
Tony and Steve stepped in, one in front of each of them.
“Today is Wayne’s birthday.”
Reed walked over as well.
“Do me a favor and don’t wreck the Baxter Building.”
Ben and Johnny moved up behind Reed for backup.
Thor scanned Steve and Reed, then glared at Hulk one more time.
“For brother’s sake, the Son of Odin will let this go!”
Hulk also cooled off.
“Hulk doesn’t want to make brother angry.”
The two of them turned their backs on each other.
Tony and Steve exchanged a helpless look.
“So lively already?”
Everyone turned at the familiar voice.
Wayne walked out with a toothbrush still in his mouth; his pajamas rewrote themselves into casual clothes as he moved.
“Brother!”
Hulk’s face lit up.
He strode over and scooped Wayne into a full bear hug.
“Hey, Hulk.”
Wayne patted the massive arm, signaling him to put him down.
It didn’t hurt, but being lifted in front of a crowd still felt awkward.
Hulk set him down and immediately shot Thor a smug grin.
What the fuck was this big green mountain looking so proud about?
Thor pointed Mjolnir at him.
“You beat me to it!
The God of Thunder challenges you!”
“Hey!
Are you two ever going to stop?!”
Johnny shoved himself between them, thoroughly annoyed.
“That’s my brother!
Not yours!
Listen to me, you bastards!”
Wayne ignored the three of them completely.
The toothbrush vanished from his mouth in a blink.
A body that already surpassed most gods didn’t actually need brushing or bathing, but skipping the routine still felt wrong to him.
He also refused to just rewrite reality with the Bio-force field for something this small.
Life needed a little ritual.
“Hey.”
Wayne turned.
Gwen tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and walked up to him.
“Happy birthday.”
For a second he didn’t know what to say.
A flicker of guilt crossed his eyes.
That was the exact moment Susan walked out of his room.
The entire lounge froze.
Gwen wasn’t the only one staring.
Every single person in the room had gone completely still.
Susan leaned against the wall for a moment, then made her way to the kitchen like nothing was unusual.
She started making coffee while quietly watching everyone’s reactions from the corner of her eye.
She was doing it on purpose.
With her enhanced body the leftover discomfort had already almost disappeared.
Mouths hung open in perfect unison as every gaze bounced back and forth between Susan and Wayne.
Wayne himself looked briefly lost.
He met Gwen’s eyes and saw them already turning wet.
Even the invincible Superman looked stunned.
But he knew the truth.
Gwen hadn’t done anything wrong.
Neither had Susan.
The tight feeling in his chest didn’t change the fact that actions had consequences.
Gwen had the right to know.
He couldn’t hide it, and he had to take responsibility for Susan.
That was simply what responsibility meant.