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Tony sat in the soft, buttery leather backseat of his Rolls-Royce and animatedly explained his ideas to Peter while Happy pretended to ignore them both as he navigated towards Greenwich Village.
“Mr. Stark, I’m, um, not sure all that stuff’s needed,” Peter answered somewhat hesitantly when Tony asked for his opinion.
“Too much?” Tony probed, raising an eyebrow at Peter and then glancing towards the front of the car. “What d’you think, Hap? Is the kid right? Too much?”
“Mmm,” Happy answered noncommittally, eyes focused on the road.
Tony snorted. “You’re probably right.” He sighed and leaned towards Peter, elbow on the armrest as he peered at the high schooler. “All right, your turn. What would you do if you were me and wanted to apologize to your boyfriend? Or I guess it’s girlfriend in your case, huh?” Peter shrugged and looked away, a blush staining his cheeks. Tony grinned. “Okay, fine, I’ll keep this about me. I’m good at that anyway.” He reached over and gently smacked Peter on the thigh. “Now, pay attention; this is about me, remember?”
Peter looked up from his exceptionally interesting lap and offered a small, innocent smile. “I thought this was about Doctor Strange?”
Tony winced. “Ouch, kid.” He shook his head. “Fair, though. You’re right. If I want to actually surprise him and express how sorry I am for missing his birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas–”
“You missed his birthday, too?” Peter asked, aghast.
Tony frowned. “Well, I forgot and worked through his birthday dinner. Probably wouldn’t have seen him at all if he hadn’t gotten tired of waiting for me and just portalled into the workshop with takeout.”
“Not one of your finer moments, boss,” Happy added, smirking when Tony ignored him in favor of Peter’s nervous fidgeting.
“But, then, I mean, if he showed up with dinner on his birthday then he wasn’t really upset, right?” Peter asked, frowning at Tony in confusion.
“Nah, he wasn’t - I think he expects it, honestly - but we also had Thanksgiving and Christmas plans and I pretty much backed out on each of them for some last minute SI crap that really could have– you know what, I’m not doing that right now.” Tony shook his head and let out a deep sigh. “Anyway, I’m not going to screw up this time. I haven’t seen him in almost a week but I’ll make New Year’s Eve special for us both even if he can’t leave the Sanctum for a party.”
“What does he want to do tomorrow for New Year’s Eve, Mr. Stark?” Peter asked curiously, looking between Tony and the back of Happy’s head.
“Huh.” Tony slumped in his seat and scrubbed his hand over his face. “Is that really tomorrow?” Peter nodded. “Good question.” He dropped his hand in his lap and offered Peter a rueful grin. “I think I might have messed up again.” He nodded towards the front seat. “That’s what you meant, isn’t it, Happy?”
“We’re almost to Bleecker Street,” Happy said in response as he made a left turn and brought them another block closer to the New York Sanctum.
Tony’s lips twitched and he turned back to Peter. “So, you coming in with me to say hi to Stephen?”
Peter shook his head. “Happy’s taking Aunt May and me out for dinner,” he waved towards the front seat, his face alight with excitement, “and he got us tickets to some Broadway show I haven’t heard of but Aunt May says I’ll like.” He grinned brightly. “I’ve never seen a show on Broadway before, Mr. Stark.”
Tony smiled and leaned over to ruffle Peter’s hair, much to the teenager’s annoyance. “That’s great, kid. Enjoy it.” He turned his attention to the front seat once more, a knowing grin on his face. “That’s why you asked to borrow the car after dropping me off, huh?” Happy flushed a light pink that Tony could see in the mirror and his grin broadened.
“You’re sure that was a no on taking him to the Maldives?” Tony asked, turning back around and raising his eyebrows at Peter. They were just a few blocks from the Sanctum Sanctorum now and he still had no idea what he could give Stephen to ask for forgiveness. “The jet’s pretty sweet. I designed it myself.”
“Umm.” Peter blinked and then made a weird, circular hand gesture. “What about his portals?”
“Right,” Tony nodded and sat back in his chair, “right, the portals. Don’t know how I always manage to forget about those.” He sighed as the car rolled to a stop just outside 177A Bleecker Street and slapped both of his palms down on his thighs. “Well, guess I’d better get in there.”
“He knows you’re coming, right, boss?” Happy confirmed, looking over his shoulder at Tony.
“JARVIS was supposed to send him a text for me when we left,” Tony replied and Happy nodded. Tony grinned at Peter. “Have fun tonight. Be good.” He got out of the car and was about to slam the door behind him when he leaned down and looked back inside. “Hey, Pete? Happy New Year.”
Peter beamed. “Happy New Year, Mr. Stark!”
Tony closed the door and smiled to himself as Happy and Peter drove away. Once they were out of sight, he hurried up the slushy sidewalk and let himself inside the Sanctum Sanctorum.
“Hey, Stephen! You here?” Tony called as the door shut behind him, wondering where he could find his sorcerer. He hadn’t been fully truthful with Happy - JARVIS had texted Stephen as soon as they left Stark Tower but whether or not Stephen had read the message, Tony had no idea. He’d been on an inventing binge since the evening of the Emergency Christmas Board Meeting From Hell that had caused him to miss the exclusive dinner reservation and ballet he and Stephen had originally planned.
“Tony?” Stephen stepped out of the small study to the side of the main staircase with a frown creasing his brow. “What are you doing here?” He walked briskly towards Tony, sharp eyes raking over his body in a much more clinical fashion than Tony would have preferred. “Are you okay?”
Tony closed the distance between them and pulled Stephen into a quick kiss. “I guess you didn’t get my text?”
“You texted me?” Stephen’s eyes widened in surprise and he reached around to stick his hand in his back pocket only to come up empty and make an embarrassed grimace. “Ah. I must have left my phone upstairs earlier when I came down to read.”
Tony chuckled. “It’s fine. I actually came over because I realized I never made it up to you for missing Thanksgiving and then I missed Christmas and, well,” Tony shuffled closer so he could wrap his arm around Stephen’s waist, “I thought I’d try and make it up to you for New Year’s Eve.”
“Oh.” Stephen’s lips twitched downwards and Tony got the sense that the other man was disappointed rather than relieved or grateful as Tony had hoped. “Is that all?”
“Well, yeah,” Tony replied, dropping his arm when Stephen gently stepped out of his grasp.
“I see,” Stephen said slowly, crossing his arms over his chest. “So you’re here because you don’t want me to be angry with you?”
“It sounds bad when you put it like that,” Tony answered, rocking back on his heels. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Yeah?” Stephen prompted, raising a curious eyebrow. “You want to try again?”
“I missed all our plans for holidays,” Tony started, “and I’m sorry and–”
“Tony,” Stephen interrupted, holding up a hand, “you don’t need to apologize for that. I’m not sure why you think I’d care if I’m being honest.”
Tony’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
“Truthfully, I thought you’d be more upset that I can’t go to Pepper’s New Year’s Eve party tomorrow night,” Stephen added with a shrug.
“Your expectations of me are too low,” Tony grumbled. “I don’t care about the party. I’d rather spend tomorrow night here with you in the Sanctum.”
“You’re definitely welcome,” Stephen offered, blue eyes warm. He held his arms open and Tony stepped into them, wrapping his own around Stephen’s middle. “I’m glad you’re here now.”
“Me too,” Tony mumbled into Stephen’s neck. He pressed a kiss to Stephen’s jaw and then looked up cautiously, a question in his eyes. “You’re really not upset about my missing the holidays? Even though I messed up all our plans?”
“Tony,” Stephen began, running his trembling hands up and down Tony’s back comfortingly, “it’s fine. I was a practicing neurosurgeon in a hospital for years, I honestly can’t remember the last time I celebrated a holiday on the actual day.” He pressed a kiss to Tony’s mouth. “Besides, it sounds like we’re going to get New Year’s Eve together so that’ll be special.”
Tony chuckled. “True.” He relaxed against Stephen, enjoying the warmth of the other man’s body and kissed him again, deeply this time. “That’s why I’m actually here.”
“Oh? It’s not because you’re trying to bribe me into not being angry with you?” Stephen teased and Tony rolled his eyes. “What? That’s what you said.”
“No, I said I wanted to make it up to you,” Tony began and Stephen started laughing. “All right, fine, I was trying to figure out what I could buy you or where I could take you but really I was just trying to find a way for us to spend time together.”
Stephen smiled, holding Tony close. “That’s more than enough, Tony.” He leaned down so he could brush a soft kiss against Tony’s mouth. “Time together is the best gift you could give me.”
“That’s so sappy,” Tony muttered but he could feel his cheeks flushing with pleasure at Stephen’s words.
“It’s true though,” Stephen replied, unrepentant and Tony chuckled before allowing himself to be guided towards Stephen’s cozy, private study where the two of them proceeded to show each other for the remainder of the afternoon just how much they appreciated time spent in each other’s company.