Peter Parker ||

It was a stupid idea. Truly, undeniably stupid. But Peter remembered it. He remembered the offhand comment his girlfriend had made weeks ago, something she had said jokingly without giving it a second thought. At the time, Peter had laughed along with her, certain it was just another ridiculous idea that would disappear from both of their minds by morning.

A while ago, she had mentioned how funny it would be to have a birthday dinner where the food was served somewhere completely ridiculous—like across Peter's stomach. It had been nothing more than a joke, something she had said while the two of them were messing around and talking about strange birthday ideas. Peter hadn't thought much of it then. Apparently, though, his brain had decided to file it away under things Peter Parker will remember at the worst possible time.

Because now, on her birthday, Peter had actually decided to do it. While she was out, he'd prepared everything as carefully as he could, turning the kitchen into the strangest birthday setup imaginable. Plates, drinks, decorations, and an unnecessarily complicated arrangement of sushi were all ready. And right in the middle of it all was Peter himself, sprawled across the kitchen table in nothing but his boxers, with neatly arranged sushi rolls positioned across his torso.

The longer he lay there, the more questionable the entire plan became. Was it ridiculous? Absolutely. Was Peter beginning to regret every single decision that had brought him to this exact moment? Without a doubt. He kept wondering whether he should get dressed, move everything onto an actual plate, and pretend none of this had ever happened. Unfortunately, he'd already gone too far to back out now.

The real problem was that this was supposed to be a surprise. Peter had imagined her walking into the kitchen, immediately understanding the joke, and laughing until she couldn't breathe. In reality, he had no idea what her reaction would be. She could laugh. She could stare at him in complete disbelief. She could turn around and walk straight back out of the kitchen without saying a word.

Every little sound from outside the kitchen made Peter freeze. Footsteps in the hallway had him staring toward the doorway, his entire body suddenly tense. He tried to convince himself that everything was fine, that this was romantic in some strange, deeply questionable way. After all, he'd remembered something she'd once joked about and had gone through all this trouble just to make her birthday memorable.

Then he heard the unmistakable sound of the front door opening. Peter's eyes widened. She was home. There was no time to change his mind, no time to rearrange the sushi, and certainly no time to explain himself. So Peter Parker could only lie there, surrounded by birthday decorations and sushi rolls, waiting for his girlfriend to discover the world's strangest birthday dinner.