Work Text:
"We good, bro?" Ned asked.
"Just one second." Peter requested, typing on his phone. He sent a group text to May and Tony that he was going to be out with Ned. He was supposed to go to May's afterward, but in case she didn't get the text and freaked out then at least Tony would be able to calm her down. May's phone was being a bit unreliable, so Peter covered his bases. Almost imediatly he got a reply.
Irondad:
Gotcha. Have fun, kid.
"Oh my God! You did it! You changed his name to Irondad? That's perfect." Ned laughed.
"I thought the name was funny." Peter shrugged. And it was funny and fitting. Ned had picked the perfect name for Tony. "So, you sure you want to help me?"
"Yeah, I mean, you're gonna be helpless and a mess, but I'll help." Ned nudged him playfully. "Where do you want to go?"
"I don't know...um, what do kids buy for their dads? I've...never had to...you know?" Peter sighed as they walked along the street, toward the mall.
"Well, it depends. Like, I got my dad this sweet waffle iron that's like a Falcon. He likes cooking and Star Wars so...you just got to figure out what they like. I got him a shot glass that said 'I drink and I know things' and that was good."
"Dad is sober." Peter shook his head as they entered the mall.
"Okay, then no Game of Thrones cups, that's fine. What does he like?"
"Lots of things, coffee, electronics, building things. But he can literally anything..." He frowned.
"Coffee? How about a mug and his favorite type of coffee?"
"Maybe." Peter nodded. "I did fix his coffee maker. Thor came over for dinner and broke it so I fixed it."
"That could be cool. And you can never go wrong with getting something you can both enjoy together. It's got a double meaning, you know? It's like saying that you think he'll enjoy something and that you want to spend the time with them."
"He likes movies and music and video games."
"Video games can be played together. We could look into those. Is he more of a campaign person or a multiplayer person?"
"Campaign." Peter answered.
"Then let's go find a sweet campaign and something that says 'dad' on it. You said he really seems to like being called 'dad' so, let's give him that gift."
"Okay." Peter felt a lot less worried. He had no clue how to shop for his dad, but Ned had a way about making it easy to go about doing.
"Who else is on your list?"
"Miss Potts and May, but I got them both things already. Miss Potts was surprisingly easy." Peter shrugged. He'd created an update for her phone to help her organize things better and gotten her a few books by her favorite author. May's shopping had been done in November and he'd gotten a few presents for Ned in November too. He'd had no clue how to begin shopping for Tony, Peter was super grateful to Ned for helping with that.
"So, where are you going for Christmas?"
"Tony and Miss Potts are coming to our place. May and I always stay up all night decorating ugly Christmas sweaters and watching Christmas movies, so Dad and Miss Potts can have her room. They don't know that we celebrate at midnight so...it'll be a bit of a surprise to them. May wanted me at home for Christmas and I really didn't want to miss out on ugly sweaters. Dad was cool about it."
"And Miss Potts was cool with that?"
"Yeah, I was surprised too. But she's been super cool about everything. She's really nice to me and it's been weird. I thought maybe she'd resent me because I'm not her kid, but she's really suportive and nice and she genuinly likes me to spend time with Dad. Sometimes she's a little awkward when we're alone, but she said she's never really thought of being a parent. She's new at it, but is trying to be you know cool about it. It's been nice. I think she's been talking to May about it. Since they started going out she's gotten less awkward. May said Miss Potts was worried about over stepping boundaries or something."
"She seems like a cool lady." Ned nodded.
"She is, but she's scary, bro. I'm pretty sure she could singlehandedly take down the Avengers."
Ned gawked. "I wanna meet her."
"I'll see if I'm allowed to have friends over." Peter promised.
"Awesome!" Ned grinned and patted Peter's back. "I'm really glad you have this, Peter."
"Me too, it's been so nice to have a dad. I just...wish I could have always had this."
"Well, at least you have it now. Let's go check out video games." Ned grinned.
From around the corner, Titania stepped out. She looked at the two retreating boys and nodded. "Okay." She closed her eyes, made a wish and vanished.
-
Tony leaned back in his chair and frowned. He should have had Pepper wrap the presents, they were a mess. There was no saving them. Not even the pre-made bows would make them look any better. "Is it too late to ask Pepper for help?"
"I thought you wanted to wrap them for yourself?" Friday sighed.
"I'm regretting that now." Tony huffed.
"Wow...that's aweful. How can a genius be so bad at wrapping presents? It's literally just paper and tape."
Tony jumped to his feet and tapped on his watch. The gauntlet formed and he fired at the intruder, but instead of a repulsor blast, red confetti fell through the air.
"That was unexpectedly pretty. Man, my powers are really weird sometimes." Titania scratched her head. "I'm not a threat. I should have knocked in hindsight, but then you probably wouldn't have let me in. I'm here to help you. Do you remember me?"
"You're the woman from the bank, the cryptic one."
"Got it in one go." She nodded and frowned. "You and Peter are both ready now and I want to repay you for saving my life. I don't normally do this, not on this scale, but I will if you agree to some...rules."
"Do what?"
"May I sit? You might want to as well. It'll be easier."
Tony nodded and they both sat.
"Thank you. I am a mutant. My power involves wishes. I can see people's greatest regrets and their dreams and wishes, big and small. I also have the ability to grant them. For instance, I wished I could talk to you and I appeared here. Simple things like that are doable. I CAN effect the present, pretty well. But...more complex things like the past or future... It's like this, say someone regreted fighting with a loved one before they died and they wished they could settle things. I can't bring someone back from the dead, but I can give them the memory, give them the chance to go back in their minds to that moment and relive it the right way. It would feel very real and be remembered as real...but it's still a wish a dream. I can't actually FIX the past, but I can sort of give new memories and experiences."
"What does that have to do with me and Peter?"
"Your greatest regret is that you weren't there for him as he grew up. Your greatest wish is to have the chance to raise him, to be with him for all of his life." She stated, sounding completely sure. "I can give you that. Peter too wishes that he had the chance to grow up with you. I can do that. It'd be like spending a short time in an alternate reality. It'll feel real and be real, but it doesn't change what actually happened. It'll be like having lived two lives. The only problem is that I've done this before and some people refuse to wake up when I tell them to and...that can be...deadly."
"How?"
"When someone wishes they had a cup of coffee, I can make them have a cup of coffee, no problem, easy. But to give something this big...you'd be asleep, like a dream...like a coma. You're in control of when you wake up, but if you find you like the wish more than reality...well, some people choose not to wake up and the body can only take so much." Titania looked guilty. "I really should have warned her...but well, I was young and didn't understand just how powerful someone's perfect dream could be."
"So it'd be like a really real dream."
"Mmhm. You and Peter would both get to be in this same wish at the same time. It would really be both of you, because you share the wish. So you'd be able to be yourself and interact naturally...it isn't often wishes coinside, I had to make sure they did. I had to wait. I could give you twelve days, twelve days to experience Peter growing up. I just figured I'd speak to you first, see if you'd agree. Then I'd have to talk to Peter, his part would be a little...strange to him probably. Either way, with present wishes I usually just grant them, but for things that require dreams to 'change' the past or things that would alter the course of the future, I always ask. Things like that are...difficult on people sometimes. But I could do this and you and Peter would be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed three days before Christmas."
Tony stared at her. What the hell was his life and what should he say to this woman?
-
Irondad:
Underoos, swing by the place and stop inside. If your sixth sense goes off in any way, put your bag down on the sofa. If it doesn't, put it on the floor and sit down... We're going to have to talk about something.
"That wasn't a cryptic text at all." Peter frowned. "Hey, you think you can hide the presents at your place for a bit? Dad wants me at his place and I don't want to risk him seeing them."
"No problem, bro. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, it's cool. See you at school tomorrow. And thanks for the help." Peter hugged his best friend and headed outside. As soon as he was out of sight he swung quickly to the tower. He made his way to his dad's floor and climbed in through a window that Friday (kindly) opened for him. He made his way to the living room, but there was nothing, no trouble to be had. Just a familiar looking woman sitting on the sofa across from his dad.
Peter put his bag on the floor and sat next to Tony. "Hey, what's going on?"
Tony rubbed his face. "A lot, kid... Maybe she can explain it...from the top?"
Titaina sighed. "It's weird and I'm weird, but I owe you both one, so...here's what I'm able to do..."