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It's a chilly day in New York when James Rhodes and Peter Parker walk through the streets searching for the ugliest Christmas decorations they can find.
For all the years Rhodey has known his best friend, Tony never spends time thinking about putting up a tree or buying decor. Rhodey just notices everything materializing all around the house, and swiftly disappearing once the season is over, never seeing the same decoration twice. This year, however, the Colonel is lounging in the living room when Tony’s kid asks them if he can help decorate the penthouse. He sees the way Tony’s demeanor changes, agreeing immediately and jumping to clear his schedule for the rest of the evening because Peter just asked.
It’s a change in his best friend Rhodey hasn’t gotten used to seeing, and it serves as underlying proof of how much the boy matters to him. Plans quickly change, as Tony is called into an emergency meeting he can’t get out of. He looks more disappointed than Peter, who only shrugs.
Rhodey suggests he goes out with him instead.
Ever since he met Peter back in September, the kid has warmed into his heart, much like he has into Tony’s. The two haven't spent a lot of time together though, so he is looking forward to meeting more of the kid his best friend adores. Peter agrees, offering him a big smile.
“We’re going to find something ugly,” the kid says with a mischievous glint in his eyes, and they get ready to go out.
Before leaving the tower, Tony bundles Peter up in two cozy coats, gloves, and a hat. It’s funny, Rhodey thinks, it isn’t that cold, but as they step outside, he realizes Tony’s newly found parental instincts are right. He chuckles. Peter's nose quickly turns a rosy pink, and he playfully hides his mouth within the coat's collar.
“Are you planning on spending the holidays here, Mr. Rhodey?”
“I am. I always take this time off to be with Tony.” Over the years, home has always been where Tony is, which meant spending all the important holidays with his best friend. For years, it meant California, then upper New York. Rhodey likes the tower best, it feels the most homey of them all. “Will you spend it by the tower? Do you have plans with your aunt?”
Rhodey quickly discovered that May Parker is the legal guardian of Peter and not Tony’s biological son, as he initially supposed. In his mind, however, Peter continues to be Tony’s. It’s been hard trying to separate the facts, not like he’s tried that much, he quite enjoys it. Tony does act like the kid’s father for what he’s seen.
“Tony invited us, so we’ll be there!” Peter cheers. “It’s usually just my aunt and I, this is going to be fun.”
Rhodey perks up, he likes the idea of spending the holidays with his family. Truth to be told,, Tony and Pepper are the only family Rhodey has left. He thinks that includes Peter now, too, with all the dinners they’ve shared and the casual texts the kid sends him on the daily.
He sort of misses when his family was bigger, about the days he had a mom and a Nana looking out for him and the distant relatives he would meet on special occasions. But mostly he thinks about the Avengers. He misses Nat the most, he’s known her the longest and often was his partner in crime to make Tony’s life easier. And he thinks about Sam, too, the only one in the team who would humor him in his extensive healthy eating and jazz talks and would go with him to new openings in the city. They still text sometimes, though is not the same, Sam usually checks up on him and asks him about his legs and his progress.
He can’t make himself miss Steve, not after what he’s done to his best friend. But he sort of– understands. He’s not admitted this out loud, but he thinks he would’ve done the same thing to protect Tony and more. He still is going to miss the void of their presence during this season.
Rhodey feels a hand wrapping around his arm— Peter’s way of getting his attention. Peter points to a small boutique across the street, where three skinny reindeer with comically large eyes and red illuminated red noses stand proudly in the store window. They look dreadful, undoubtedly tacky, and most likely, overpriced.
It's not much in terms of beauty, but some might call it eccentric.
Rhodey grimaces, “I bet we can find something uglier inside. C’mon.”
The bell above the boutique door jingles as they enter, greeting them with an overwhelming assault of glitter and the scent of pine. It’s a luxurious furniture store that features a wide collection of Christmas decor, most of it defying the conventional standards of holiday aesthetics. It’s not all bad, some of it goes from the classic reds and greens, as well as unexpected colors like pink and orange.
They find a wide variety of overpriced Nutcrackers with different personalities. Among them, a vampire Nutcracker and one fashioned to look like William Shakespeare catches their attention.
“Five hundred dollars?” Peter splutters, his initial excitement dampened by the price tag. Rhodey shrugs, he’s lived enough years to know rich people are crazy.
“We can continue looking for ugly cheap things.”
They decide to explore a department store at the end of the street, slightly crowded yet warm. The store showcases two entire floors of Christmas decor, ranging from patterned cutlery to plush cushions and towering 14-foot Christmas trees. On the first floor, an arrangement of ceramic dogs, each adorned with decorative hats calls their attention. Peter picks one who resembles Tony, and he laughs. There’s some Avengers-themed decor, though Rhodey doesn’t understand why. A Hulk figurine is disguised as the Grinch and Captain America’s shield is proudly positioned as the star atop one tree.
Peter selects a set of Iron Man-themed ornaments, intentionally avoiding those featuring the rest of the team.
“Don’t worry, I made sure to bring War Machine, too.”
Rhodey, on the other side, notices a collection of Elegant Ladies’ Ornaments, some lean and tall figures of girls styled in different outfits and hairstyles. One stands out— a red-haired lady in a black dress who looks just like Pepper.
They consider buying a black Christmas tree for three full minutes before the Colonel shakes his head. “No, that’s too much.”
“Mr. Rhodey.”
“I’m doing this more for Pepper’s sake, kid.” Peter seems to consider this for a moment before he agrees. They’re both wearing huge goofy grins on their faces, and it's the most fun Rhodey has had in years.
“I say we compromise. We buy the frosted tree, but we also buy the Pepper ornament and Santa on the beach.”
“Deal.”
In the end, they buy the biggest pre-lit spruce tree with actually lovely decor and a collection of patchwork Christmas sweaters to match.
Nestled on a street corner, the coffee shop greets them with its sweet aroma. Unfortunately, his favorite outdoor seat is currently unavailable from the cold, so they opt to settle inside by a window. Rhodey eases into a chair, giving his legs a deserved rest after hours of walking until the early hours of the night.
When they get to the coffee shop Peter strips from his two coats and a hoodie, taking off his gloves. Underneath, a familiar green-knitted sweater catches Rhodey’s eye— it’s one he’d gifted Tony during this season a while ago. Rhodey smiles. A waitress approaches to take their order, breaking the silence that has settled.
Tony meets them there, wearing his signature businessman attire beneath his coat, not even trying to be discreet. The moment he lays eyes on them, he instinctively heads toward Peter, arms outstretched. It’s a subconscious reaction, a normal display of affection Rhodey has noticed, and one he enjoys seeing happen every time. Peter’s face lights up, adjusting his posture to nestle into the engineer’s arms, releasing a contented sigh.
“Hey bud, did you have fun shopping with huggy-bunny?” Rhodey shoots him a glare. “Have you ordered already? What are you guys drinking?”
“Hot chocolate,” Peter replies at the same time the waitress returns with his steak sandwich and Rhodey’s salmon niçoise salad, which both Tony and Peter eye skeptically, both facial expressions identical. Tony takes the seat next to Rhodey, and as he does, he places his hand on Rhodey’s shoulder and gives him three pats.
“What about you, buttercup? Let me guess, something exuberant like a chai tea. ”
“I do like chai teas,” he retorts, tony rolls his eyes.
“God, you’re such a hipster,” he points at Rhodey’s mug. “So what’s that?”
“A vanilla latte,” Rhodey answers with a hint of amusement, listening to Peter’s chuckle.
The next morning, Peter and Tony start decorating the penthouse under Rhodey’s supervision.
FRIDAY starts playing a Christmas playlist Tony has curated while Rhodey watches them navigate the tasks of putting up the Christmas tree. A string of lights is tossed around the tree with enthusiasm, apparently, the integrated lights weren’t enough for Tony. The tree is so large that Tony disappears for a few minutes, only to return with a small stair so Peter can reach the top.
Rhodey stands in the kitchen, putting on the kitchen counter all the ingredients he’d bought this morning to bake gingerbread cookies from scratch. He meticulously measures the sugar and the spices, takes out the baking sheets, and preheats the oven. Just as he’s about to start mixing the dry ingredients for the first batch, Pepper joins him, extending him one slightly ridiculous apron.
In the distance, Rhodey catches the sound of Peter’s laughter. Looking up, he spots Tony playfully towering over the kid, enveloping him in a bear hug. It seems like Tony has noticed the weird looking Iron Man ornaments, Peter unsuccessfully trying to get away from Tony’s good-natured threats.
“Oh, you don’t escape from this, Parker! I’m gonna make you take them down!”
They fall onto one of the couches, and Peter shrieks. Pepper looks at them adoringly.
Most of the decorations are up when Rhodey starts the second batch, already having made big pieces of cookie to try to build some gingerbread houses later. Tony saunters into the kitchen, holding a Santa Klaus-shaped mug.
“What is happening here, Remy?”
“What does it look like?” Rhodey responds, effortlessly breaking an egg with one hand and daringly raising an eyebrow in Tony's direction.
“You wanna help? I’m making the frosting!” Pepper offers.
“Ask Peter, he’ll totally love that idea,” Tony pours himself a cup of coffee. “I’m surprised you haven’t attracted the little cookie monster already, with his crazy smelling super-powers for sugar.”
Tony dips one finder into the batter, Rhodey pushes him away. Turning his attention to the living room, he sees Peter placing five boots by the fireplace, each engraved with a letter – T, P, R, P, and M – representing the family members.
“I’m just waiting for them to be finished!” Peter yells from the distance, having heard them. “I still need to figure out where I'm gonna put two glow-in-the-dark elves.”
“This is ugly enough as it is!”
Later, as they finally settle to try to build a gingerbread house together, the elevator dings, and May Parker steps out greeting them cheerily. Taking in the surroundings with a quirked eyebrow, she casts a glance at Tony, who simply sighs and playfully points at their kid. In response, Peter cackles and rushes to give his aunt a warm hug.
A thought hits him, it is moments like this that make him feel like he doesn’t need anything else but the very people in this room to feel at peace. He realizes how precious his family has become, from his extremely impulsive best friend and the world's most fearless businesswoman to people like May, with her sweet scent and never-ending smile, and, of course, Peter. The kid who has tied them all together.