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Tony hummed a Christmas tune as he straightened his tie in the mirror. He heard his phone ring from the table beside him, and he took one last glance at himself before turning away to see who needed him now. Today was always a busy date every year, and he was sure Pepper wouldn’t rest easy until the whole thing was behind her, which meant that she and Happy had already called and messaged him a million times today to make sure he was getting done all the things he needed to get done as well.
It was Christmas Eve and the annual Stark Industries Christmas dinner was taking place that evening. Tony didn’t particularly look forward to the dinner each year, especially now that he was staying away from the adult drinks, but this year he was kind of excited. This year the Parker's were coming along and Tony was practically giddy to show off his young protege to anyone and everyone in attendance. Not to mention the small gathering they had planned for after the dinner. Peter and May were coming back to the tower to exchange gifts and have a holiday movie night with the rest of the team. It would be the perfect Christmas Eve.
He picked up his phone and checked the caller ID before answering, frowning when he saw it was not in fact Pepper or Happy.
“Hey May, you guys heading over here soon? We’ll be leaving for the venue at about six,” he reminded casually as he snapped his cufflinks into place.
May sighed, long and sad, “Tony, Peter is sick.”
“What? Since when?” Tony knit his brows trying to recall if the kid was even able to get sick since being bitten by the spider. He certainly seemed fine the day before when they had been working in the lab together.
“Since this morning apparently. Little bugger tried to hide it from me because he didn’t want to miss the party. He was doing a good job of it until he threw up all over the living room rug just now.”
“I’m fine, May! Please let me go!” Tony heard the kid’s muffled voice from behind her. Even from the other end of the phone, the kid sounded miserable.
“I’m sorry, Tony. We’re going to have to miss tonight.”
Tony sighed, his own disappointment sinking in, “It’s alright, May—”
“May!” Another whine came from the phone, and Tony’s heart squeezed. He heard footsteps and the soft click of the door.
“Sorry, Tony. He’s beside himself,” she spoke softer, obviously out of the room now, “He was really looking forward to tonight. It’s all he’s talked about since the start of December.”
“I know,” Tony pinched the bridge of his nose with the hand that wasn’t holding his phone.
“Listen, Tony, he’s trying to get out of bed again, I’ve got to go. Have a good party, okay?”
And with that, the line went dead, the phone still pressed tightly against his ear. He pulled it away, staring at the blank screen for a moment. Without another thought, he yanked his freshly tied tie, pulling it off swiftly, and exited his room.
It was May who opened the door, so Tony assumed she was able to convince the sick boy that he needed to stay in bed.
“Tony?” May looked exhausted, still in her scrubs from the day, and ponytail hanging far more loosely than it probably had when she had put it up that morning. She glanced at her watch, “The dinner starts in twenty minutes, what are you doing here? Please don’t tell me you plan to take him anyway, Stark. I swear I don’t care what sort of text he may have sent you, he is in no shape to be going out into the cold tonight!”
Tony held up a hand in surrender, “Jeez, May, we’ve been co-parenting for months now, do you really think I would go against you on this?”
She looked him up and down, “No, and by your choice of outfit it doesn’t look like you’re ready for a fancy Christmas Eve dinner either.”
He had changed into his sweats on the way over to the apartment, Happy only questioning briefly why he had been directed to drive towards Queens, the exact opposite direction of the ballroom.
“Didn’t you hear? Christmas Eve got changed to a pajama party,” he smirked, gesturing to his outfit, “You better get a move on Mrs. Parker, dress code is being strictly enforced.”
“Mr. Stark?” Peter’s head popped out unsteadily from behind his bedroom door, hair dishevelled and nose as red as Rudolph’s.
“Hiya, Pete, glad to see you got the memo about the attire change for the evening."
“What are you-” the boy looked like he was seconds away from toppling over, and Tony shoved the brightly wrapped boxes he had been carrying into May’s arms before stepping over to the boy and steadying him.
“We need to get you off your feet, Underoos. Now I know you have something personally against that bed of yours, but I bet we can convince May that the couch is just as good if you promise to actually rest, huh? That sound good?”
“Mr. Stark, you’re supposed to be,” he paused to let out a rough cough that had both Tony and May wincing, “at the dinner,” he finally finished hoarsely.
“Yeah, uh-huh, change of plans, kiddo,” the man continued to guide the teen toward the couch.
“But- it’s your dinner, Stark Industries, your name’s right in the title, you have to be there! Pepper will-”
“Pepper knows I’m here,” Tony cut him off, “She can handle it for one year. Besides, the only reason I was looking forward to today was that it would mean I got to spend Christmas Eve with you. Screw those washed-out businessmen, I’m spending Christmas Eve with my kid.”
“But!”
“Shh,” he held up his hand, “Now, I believe May needs to go change into appropriate attire, while you and I decide on a movie for the evening. What do you say, May?”
She was still in the kitchen, leaning against the island looking fondly at the pair, “I suppose I’ll be right back then.”
Tony nodded, sending a smile her way before turning to the kid, “So what will it be, kiddo? Please don’t say Star Wars again.”
He rolled his eyes playfully, though in reality, he would have sat there watching paint dry if it was what his kid wanted.
Peter shook his head, “It’s Christmas Eve , Tony, we have to watch a Christmas movie, it’s the rules!”
“My mistake,” he smirked, squatting down at the TV stand to look through the DVD options, “We Netflixing it, or one of these?”
Peter snuggled further into the couch, and Tony threw him a blanket from the basket beside the TV.
“May and I usually watch A Christmas Story on Christmas Eve,” Peter explained, nuzzling into the soft blanket.
“We don’t have to watch that one if Tony would prefer something else, Peter,” May added, emerging from her room in comfy clothes and brushed out hair.
“I happen to love A Christmas Story ,” Tony replied, shaking his head when May shot him a look that said he would have agreed to anything. She often teased him about how soft he was with the kid, and Tony knew it was true. Too bad he didn’t care.
“Tony, I’m guessing since you skipped your party you haven’t eaten anything?” May went back into the kitchen, clinking pots together as she spoke, “Now, I’m not going to lie, all we did was heat up a can of soup, but I’m sure I have something else in the freezer that I could defrost-”
“Soup is perfect, May,” Tony assured, sitting down next to the spider-kid once he had popped the DVD into the player. “Bring another bowl for the kid as well.”
“I already had some, Tony!” Peter whined as he wiped his nose with the back of his hand.
Tony grimaced, fishing a tissue out of his pocket and handing it to the kid, “And I bet you're still hungry, hmm? I know you threw up a little while ago. We should try to get something else into that stomach of yours.”
“I only threw up because all the phlegm in my throat was making me nauseous,” the boy felt the need to clarify, “If I have to eat something I’d prefer a bowl of ice-cream,” he countered, accepting the tissue and blowing his nose loudly.
“One more bowl of soup, then I’ll get you some ice-cream,” May instructed, carrying over a bowl for both boys, “I even picked up a tub of the candy cane ice-cream you love so much.”
Peter smiled, accepting the soup, while Tony set his bowl down on the coffee table, grabbing the tissue box in the bathroom and placing it next to the kid before returning.
“Can we put on the Christmas tree lights?” Peter requested after he slurped down his final spoonful of soup.
Tony crouched down to fulfill the request while May carried the empty bowls into the kitchen, swapping them for three bowls of ice-cream and returning to the living room where they had just started up the movie, lights dim except for the faint glow of the Christmas tree.
“This is cozy,” Peter murmured, snuggled between aunt and mentor with his bowl of ice-cream cradled in his lap as the movie began to play.
They hadn’t yet made it to the infamous tongue stuck to the pole scene before Tony glanced down at his kid and noticed him snoring softly, head resting comfortably on his aunt’s shoulder.
May smiled, “He needed a rest,” she noted, brushing his bangs out of his face, “He’s been fighting it all day. Wouldn’t even take those super-strength meds you gave me to keep on hand.”
“He can be stubborn when he wants to be,” Tony agreed, causing May to snort.
“Understatement of the century.”
They both smiled, then Tony pressed his palm to the boy’s forehead, “He feels a bit warm. I’ll try to get him to take them when he wakes up.”
“He’s a far better listener to you than he is to me, so you’ve got a pretty good chance.”
It was Tony’s turn to laugh, “I don’t know about that, he’s stubborn for me too.”
May nodded, “Thanks for coming tonight, Tony. He was a mess at the thought of missing out on his Christmas Eve with you. I do hope that Pepper really is okay with you missing your night together.”
Tony shook his head, “Pepper was going to be busy tonight anyway. She was happy that the kid was coming to keep me company. Besides, you know she loves Peter as much as us. When I told her that he was sick and how upset he was, she didn’t give it another thought.”
May looked at him tenderly, “Well it means the world to him. You know he looks at you like you hung the moon. He doesn’t have many people in his life who would drop everything for him like this.”
Tony cleared his throat, “I would though, May. Every time.”
“You’ve certainly proven that, Tony Stark.”
They became quiet after that, only taking their attention off the TV briefly when May went to make each of them a cup of tea. By the time the credits rolled on the movie, Peter started to stir, blinking up at the adults blearily, “Time’s it?”
“Just after eight,” Tony informed, sitting up when Peter lifted his weight from where he had ended up leaning on Tony, “How are you feeling?”
Peter swallowed hard, moving his limbs around tentatively, “Not...bad.”
“Mhm,” Tony glanced at May who raised her eyebrow, “How about some of those super meds now, huh?”
Before the sentence was out of his mouth, Peter was shaking his head, “I’m fine, Tony, really.”
He was still being stubborn, not willing to admit just how bad he actually was.
“C’mon kid, if you take care of yourself tonight, you’ll probably feel a lot better tomorrow. We have to get you better in time for Santa, don’t we?”
Peter raised an eyebrow at the man, “I haven’t believed in Santa in years, Tony,” he croaked out, attempting to look annoyed, but it definitely wasn’t working for him.
“How about this,” Tony massaged the kid’s shoulder, “You take the meds without fuss, then we can open those presents I brought? Now I know you don’t feel up to it right now, and we both know those meds will help fix that problem.”
Peter glanced behind them at the stack of presents still neatly piled on the kitchen counter. He sighed dejectedly, “Fine.”
Tony turned to May, “Jeez, you’d think I was offering to pull his teeth out if he agreed. It’s presents kiddo, I’d say that’s a pretty fair trade.”
“You didn’t go over the top, though, did you, Tony,” Peter raised his eyebrow, “On the presents I mean?”
“May?” Tony questioned his co-parent.
“Don’t worry sweetie, I approved the gifts.”
The Parker’s were notorious for refusing the nice things Tony often offered to them, but it seemed the message was finally starting to stick, and he was making a real attempt at being less extravagant. That didn’t mean that he didn’t still try to spoil the kid as much as they allowed him, but he also tried his hardest to respect their wishes and rein it in at least somewhat. Pepper had suggested he get May’s opinion on the gifts this year, and in the end, coming to an agreement hadn’t been as hard as either of them had expected.
Peter swallowed his meds easily, wincing slightly as they passed his raw throat on the way down, and soon the three were sitting around the glowing tree with a pile of presents in front of them.
“Why do I have so many more presents?” Peter noted when he was surrounded by six boxes to May and Tony’s two.
“Because you’re the kid, kid,” Tony smirked, ruffling the boy’s hair.
“Yeah and because reining in Tony Stark is as hard as you might think,” May gave a pointed look.
“Hey, you agreed I could spoil Peter a bit as long as I didn’t get you anything!” Tony held up his hands in defense.
“And what do these two presents look like to you?” May gestured to the boxes sitting in front of her.
“We co-parent together! I couldn’t not get you anything ,” the man practically shrieked, “And one’s from Pepper!”
May just shook her head, “You’re quite a guy Tony Stark.”
Peter opened each of his gifts excitedly, noticing with each present just how much Tony had gotten to know him since they had first met. Finally, he pulled open the last box, gasping when he saw the large Lego set.
“Tony this set costs like five hundred dollars!” he shrieked, but it was oh so obvious he was masking his excitement all the same, “May, you said you reined him in!”
“It was either this or a car, Hun, what would you have steered him towards if you were in my shoes?” May smiled at her nephew.
Peter launched towards the man, wrapping his arms tightly around his middle, “Thank you, Tony. I love it all!”
Tony patted his kid’s back, returning the squeeze just as forcefully, “I’m glad, kiddo. Now you better not be wiping your sick little nose on my shirt back there!”
He pulled apart, still smiling, “I think the gnome is still my favourite though.”
“Yeah Tony, that gnome threw me off too. It’s not exactly a gift I would have expected you to buy,” May agreed, glancing at the small plush in Peter’s arms.
“Maybe because it’s only like twenty dollars,” Peter joked.
“I know, I know,” Tony waved them off, “I saw that little guy sitting in the store and it just screamed ‘Peter’. Pepper agreed when I asked her!”
“Well, I love him,” Peter smiled, hugging the little plush close, “I think I’ll name him Figgy.”
“Figgy?” May chuckled lightly.
“Yeah! Like Figgy pudding!”
“That’s great, kiddo,” Tony smiled, squeezing his neck.
Peter gave a congested giggle, “You have to open mine next! May’s gift is boring, she just got you a sweater or something—” he paused long enough for May to sigh an exasperated Peter! , “But you’ll love mine!”
Tony laughed as a thin, clumsily wrapped parcel was thrust into his hands.
“You know you didn’t have to get me anything, Pete.”
Peter rolled his eyes so hard Tony thought it had to have hurt, “Yeah, okay Mister five hundred dollar Lego set!”
Tony shot a cheeky grin, “Okay, okay, touche.”
He carefully ripped open the colourful paper, smiling softly when he saw what was inside.
“A coupon book?” he grinned, flipping carefully through the pages to read coupons such as ‘ Peter will make you any sandwich of your choosing’ and ‘ Peter will laugh at three of your unfunny jokes’ to ‘actual intern for a day’ and ‘organize the lab’s supply closet’.
He then picked up the material sitting under the book, carefully unfolding a t-shirt. On the front, it read ‘ It’s not a DAD BOD it’s a FATHER FIGURE’.
Tony let out a soft chuckle.
Peter watched intently as the man examined both his gifts, “I know they’re kind of dumb,” he spoke, suddenly feeling unsure with his choices, “I mean I made the coupon book because May said it was a good idea, and you have everything, but then I started to panic because I mean you’re still TONY STARK and how can I gift Tony Stark a measly coupon book like some five-year-old? So then I saw that shirt, and you loved the Duck/Rabbit shirt that I got for your birthday so much and I thought you might get a kick out of this one. And the shipping cost to get it here on time was crazy, but it seemed so perfect I just had to. I mean you sort of are like a father figure, like it sort of feels that way at least. You and May are always joking about co-parenting and—ah this was a dumb idea, forget everything I said it’s just the fever talking! Don’t worry, May got you a nice sweater that you’ll love!”
“Kid!” Tony tried his best not to outright laugh at his poor boy’s anxious rambling, not taking a breath, despite his voice sounding more and more congested with every word. Finally, he closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms tightly around the boy, “Pete, I absolutely love it. The shirt and the coupons. This is the best gift I’ve ever gotten.”
“You’re just saying that,” Peter mumbled into the man’s shirt, “You probably think I’m off my rocker.”
“Excuse me, it’s my gift and I get to choose how I feel about it, and I’m telling you, I love it. ”
May smiled, resting her hand on the teen’s shoulder where he was still wrapped in his mentor’s arms, “I told you he would, sweetie.”
Peter pulled apart, surveying the man’s face, “You know, it’s really hard to buy for you, right? It puts a lot of stress on a person.”
They all laughed.
“That’s why this gift is extra special,” Tony replied, keeping his arm wrapped around the boy’s shoulder, “I know it came straight from your heart.”
“You’re not mad I called you a father figure?” Peter blinked at him shyly, before nervously flicking his eyes to May as if they had already discussed this very thing.
Tony exhaled, “It’s definitely not a title I ever thought I’d have,” he admitted, “But you’re not wrong, somehow we’ve managed to get to that point, haven’t we?”
“Not if you don’t want it,” Peter’s gaze fell to the floor.
“Not to quote Kelly Clarkson, but my life would suck without you, kiddo,” he smirked, “I’m honoured if you think of me as a father figure because you want to know a secret?”
Peter looked up once more.
“I can’t help but think of you as a son.”
“Really?”
Tony nodded, “I think every single person in my life saw it before I did, but yeah, kid. At some point I stopped thinking of you as ‘the kid’ and you became ‘my kid’ in my head,” he admitted, then to lighten the mood he spoke once more, “And don’t think I won’t be using those coupons! I am definitely cashing in on my chance for ‘ one movie night movie of your choice’! No Star Wars for once, I can hardly wait!”
Peter let out a wet chuckle, laying his head on Tony’s shoulder, “Love you, Tony.”
“You too, kid.”
May smiled widely at the two boys, “Alright, alright, enough feelings for one night! My turn to open gifts!”
It was pretty late when the second movie of the night was finished, and Tony and May were nudging awake their very sleepy, and sick boy.
“May, I don’t feel good,” the boy whined, still half asleep.
“Oh I know baby, it always feels worse at night,” she cooed, cupping his cheek gently, “Just wake up a little bit and we’ll get you some more meds and get you back in bed.”
The woman suppressed a yawn, and Tony looked at her concerned, “May you’ve been up since 4 am, go ahead to bed, I’ll get the kid all settled and let myself out.”
May shook her head, “No Tony, he’s sick, I need to—”
“I’m perfectly capable of getting him comfortable,” Tony cut her off, “You, however, need your sleep if you plan to wake up with this one tomorrow morning.”
May sighed, “I suppose you’re right. If Santa is meant to come in the morning, I really will need my beauty rest.”
“Do you need me to go into the closet and lay out the Santa presents under the tree, Aunt May?” Peter asked cheekily, slightly more awake than he had been a minute ago.”
May only smiled, “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she stood up, kissing his warm forehead, “Goodnight, baby. Wake me up if you need anything in the night, okay? Try to sleep, Santa’s on his way!”
“You guys do know I’m not six, right?” Peter questioned when she clicked her door shut and Tony was helping stand him up and guide him to his own bedroom.
“I know that if someone doesn't believe in Santa, they don’t get any gifts. Better start believing, kiddo,” Tony raised his eyebrows.
Peter only rolled his eyes, but Tony knew that in his own way, he still loved that the adults kept up the charade for him, even though they very well knew he was well past the age of believing in the fictional man.
“Alright, buddy, crawl in,” Tony instructed, holding back the comforter for the kid to get in, “You must be far past exhausted at this point.”
Peter shrugged, though his cheeks were still flushed and his movements still sluggish.
Tony held out two more pills to the boy, “Time for another dose, I don’t want you waking in the night feeling gross. You need a good rest.”
Peter sighed, but accepted the little white capsules without fuss, grabbing the cup of water Tony handed him to wash them down with.
“Thanks for coming tonight,” Peter said shyly, pulling the covers up to his chin, “I’m sorry you missed your party because of me.”
“ Chose to miss the party,” Tony corrected, “and it wouldn’t have been any fun without you there anyway, believe me, I’ve suffered through enough of them to know.”
Peter shrugged, “Still.”
“ I’m sorry that you aren’t feeling well,” Tony countered, “it’s no fun being sick on Christmas.”
Peter sighed, closing his eyes as he wiggled his toes under the cold sheets, “It wasn’t so bad in the end.”
“Well, I’m happy to hear that,” Tony smoothed the kid’s fringe out of his eyes.
“Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?” Peter murmured, breath evening out quickly.
“There’s nowhere I’d rather be, kid.”
“Not even… the lab?” he breathed out.
“Not even the lab,” Tony confirmed, massaging the boy’s temple.
“Not even…..” he barely got out, very close to losing consciousness.
“Shhh, kid, I think I hear Santa’s sleigh bells, better go to sleep.”
“San’a?”
“Mm-hm” Tony murmured, focusing on the rhythmic movements of his hand.
“Don’ ell im imma ‘wake still.”
“I promise, kiddo, shh.”
Peter sighed contently.
Within seconds the boy was out cold, but Tony still stayed a bit longer, just to make sure there was nothing else his kid needed.