Chapter Text
The silence of the basement kitchen is deafening, only filled with the sounds of teenagers chewing pizza and sipping soda. So Tony decides to do one of the things he's best at- start talking.
He clears his throat loudly and all eyes turn towards him. "So! What do you guys want for Christmas?"
Blank stares are his answer.
"Aw, c'mon," he groans. "Don't tell me you've never done Christmas before. Wait, unless you're Jewish. Are you Jewish? Sorry, rude of me to assume."
"We don't celebrate any holidays," Ben is nice enough to explain.
Tony blinks. "What, seriously? None at all?"
"Mom makes dessert on our birthday!" Klaus provides cheerfully.
Every time Tony thinks he's learned every last shocking fact about these kids, he's surprised by something new. "Alright. Well then, do you want to celebrate Christmas this year?"
A beat of silence, then there's hesitant nods and shrugged shoulders. It's a yes, but they're too afraid to say so outright. Or in Five's case, don't seem to care all too much, though Tony notes the way he observes his siblings and goes with whatever they seem to want.
"Okaaay. You're probably all a bit too old for Santa Claus but Christmas is still all about gift giving, so!" He claps his hands together. Next to him, Pepper pulls up the notes app on her phone, a small smile on her face. "What do you all want?"
Klaus smacks his good hand on the table, making Vanya jump and Diego glare. "I want a cat!"
"Awesome! What kind?"
"I don't know, but his name is Oswald." He's practically vibrating with how excited he looks.
"Great name. What else?" Silence, save for Klaus's leg bouncing on the stool. "Anybody? Any ideas? Nothing?" Wow, these kids are clearly not used to being asked what they want, geez.
Surprisingly, Vanya speaks up next.
"Action figures?" she squeaks meekly.
"Nice, nice. Any specific ones in mind?"
She sits up straighter and actually looks Tony in the eyes, for the first time ever. "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."
"Whoa, throwback! Awesome."
"I thought we were too old for toys," Luther says, though it's more of a hopeful question than an actual statement based on the excited glint in his eyes.
Tony smiles. "You're never too old for fun."
"If that's the case, then I want Monster High dolls!" Klaus declares.
"Klaus, you can't ask for more than one thing," Allison scolds, doing her best impression of a patient mother but sounding more like an irritated older sister- which, Tony supposes, she sort of is, despite them all being the exact same age.
"You can ask for as many things as you like," Pepper politely assures.
"Really?" Now she sounds more her age.
"Really," Tony says.
She immediately starts counting on her fingers as she speaks. "Okay, then I want makeup, fashion books, acting books, a tea set-”
“Whoa, slow down!” Tony laughs. “We’ll get to everything, don’t worry, but give your other siblings a turn.”
She looks a little irritated, rolling her eyes, but she relents.
“Okay, how about you, Luther?”
“Um.” He stops to think for a second. “Model airplanes. The kind you build yourself.”
“Rad. Ben?”
“Lord of the Rings! The books, not the movies.”
“Nice, nice. Diego?”
“Knives,” he states flatly.
“You already have a whole collection of knives,” Allison teases.
He shrugs. “Yeah, w-well I want more.”
Tony’s a bit apprehensive about that one, but whatever. “Alrighty then. Five?”
“No thanks.”
“C’mon, Fivey!” Klaus whines. “Tis the season!”
“Yeah, you’ve gotta want something,” Ben agrees. Vanya nods as well.
He acts aloof, but Five is pretty quick to cave to his siblings’ wants. “Ugh, fine, I guess I could use some more theoretical physics textbooks. And a chalkboard,” he muses, suddenly seeming younger than he acts.
They go around a few more times, gathering up a good list of potential Christmas gifts (Tony plans to get them everything they want, no matter how expensive, and then some. They deserve that joy. Even if he’s going to buy them a ton of new clothes and stuff for their new rooms once they get back to New York), until the conversation melts into laughter and jokes and teasing. Normal sibling behavior.
Tony is proud of his success.
-----
Christmas 2012
- Klaus: A cat, monster high dolls (ask which ones), walkman & cassettes (Backstreet Boys, Gloria Gaynor, Britney Spears, ABBA, Queen)
- Vanya: TMNT action figures, non-classical violin music sheets, music theory books
- Allison: Makeup, fashion books, acting books, tea set (antique?), plush animals
- Luther: Model airplanes, vinyl records (Madonna, Janet Jackon, Duran Duran), books on space
- Ben: Lord of the Rings box set, CDs (My Chemical Romance, The Used, The Cure), Wii U & games
- Diego: Knives, superhero action figures (Captain America), comic books
- Five: Theoretical physics textbooks, chalkboard