Christmas Day - Avengers Compound, Upstate New York
“Spiderling, if you are not down here in five minutes we’ll be starting without you!” Tony called. Well, actually, he just had FRIDAY broadcast it through the entire Compound. That way Peter would absolutely, definitely, without a doubt hear it.
“Calm down Tony. Its only 7. Let the kid have a lay-in.” Rhodey complained from his spot laid out on the sofa, arm flung over his eyes in a valiant, but failing, attempt to block out the light.
“And, its his first Christmas with us.”
“God, you are such a child sometimes.”
“Sometimes? I thought he was all the time.” That was Clint, always up for annoying Tony. “Tony, not even my kids are up yet, though with your broadcast I bet they are now.”
“Tony, sit down.” Steve broke in, “Peter will be down when he is ready. He’s probably just phoning his aunt. After all, he can’t spend Christmas with her as she’s working.”
“I hate it when you go all Captain Righteous on me.”
Steve went all ‘Captain Righteous’ on Tony. By sticking his tongue out and blowing a raspberry. Tony mimed being stabbed in the heart and staggering back, right into the form of Peter who had run into the common room.
“Sorry, sorry. I was just phoning May. You didn’t need to wait for me, really you didn’t. I’m just a guest and I don’t want to disrupt any traditions you lot have.”
Peter’s earnest face would make even the worst criminal sorry and he was faced with a room of Avengers and Co, all of whom suddenly told him that of course they weren’t waiting for him, it was just Tony overreacting as normal, they were still waiting for the Bartons don’t worry, and he wasn’t a guest – he was family.
That last made Peter tear up and suddenly they were confronted with a teary, emotional Peter. They weren’t quite sure what was worse.
Thankfully, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes were saved from an emotional Peter by the Barton children and wife entering, making quick work of the space that Clint had reserved around him as Lila and Cooper fought over who got to sit next to Aunt Nat. Lila won.
“Come on, sit down.” Tony told him, gesturing to a space between him and Rhodey. “Then we can start with the presents.”
“Rhodes was right. You really are worse than a child.” Bruce said, taking a sip of his herbal tea.
“I like presents. Sue me.”
“Put the overgrown man-child out of his misery. Coop, you’re on present hand out duty.” Clint said, pushing his oldest son off the sofa a little.
Cooper quickly and efficiently handed out all the presents, stacking each person’s gifts in neat piles in front of them. Peter was impressed with his organisation and wondered how much he’d need to pay Cooper to tidy his room for him.
Tony, meanwhile, was bouncing lightly but enthusiastically on the sofa, rattling Rhodey enough that he ended up leaning over Tony to near sit on him and make him be still. Nat rolled her eyes at Tony’s behaviour.
“Oooh, my pile’s the biggest.” Tony boasted, only to find multiple pillows thrown in his face from Steve, Clint, and Nat.
Peter was staring at his pile in astonishment. He was expecting just a couple of presents. From Aunt May, and Ned, and maybe - wishful thinking he’d thought – from Mr Stark. But he had over a dozen of them. He sorted through them, reading the labels. Mr Stark. Captain Steve. Miss Nat. Mr Hawkeye. Mr Rhodey. Wanda. Vision. Even one from Thor (he inwardly squealed at that one, Iron Man might be his favourite superhero but Thor was a very close second). To his embarrassment, he felt himself welling up. He hadn’t expected this at all.
When Mr Stark had offered to have Peter over for Christmas when he’d heard that Aunt May was working the entire week, Peter had been thrilled. Christmas with the Avengers! How cool was that! The fact that this was his life was still a pinch-me phenomenon for him. How had he, Peter Benjamin Parker, a poor orphan from Queens, gotten to the point that he was having Christmas with the Avengers? Even as Spider-man, he was just the Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-man (with the hyphen thank you very much) and no-where near the league of the Avengers. What even was his life?
“You okay there kid?” Mr Stark asked, looking up from examining his present from Happy with mock disgust (every year Happy bought Tony the boxset of Downton Abbey and every year Tony added it to a shelf never to be touched again).
“I, it’s, just, I.” Peter stuttered. “I didn’t think you’d all get me presents.”
“Why wouldn’t we kid?” Tony said, genuinely surprised.
“But I’m just Peter Parker from Queens.” Peter was lost.
“Oh kid, come here.” Tony pulled Peter into a hug, shocking both of them with the uncharacteristic sentimentality. “You’re not just Peter Parker from Queens. You are Spider-man, the little guy who rescues cats from trees and helps little old ladies home with their shopping. You’re Peter who’s smarter than me and Bruce-“ Tony held up his hand there to stop the noise of disbelief coming from Peter, “you are, plus you’re kinder and more righteous than Captain Righteous over there which I never thought was possible, you are so bloody nice that you’ve stopped me from destroying the little bastard who thinks its funny to bully you because he’s a kid and deserves second chances. Pete, you’re the best of any of us ‘heroes’ in this room because you’re you. You’re Peter Parker. So of course we would all get you presents. Plus it means I can get away with buying you a car and Aunt Hottie can’t tell me off."
“Mr Stark!” Peter exclaimed, laughing a little through his sobs, “thank you.” He whispered in Tony’s ear.
“Don’t make me repeat it. I have to keep up the image that I don’t have a heart.”
“Pep proved you wrong there years ago.” Rhodey butted in.
“I thought something was wrong there for a bit.” Clint said with a smirk aimed directly at Tony, “you were being nice, nicer than you normally are even to the kid. Then you went straight back to being Tony Stark.”
Tony threw the cushion right back at Clint, triggering a cushion fight that ended when Tony went to throw Peter – in Tony’s defense, he knew that Pete would land upright, kid was a freaking gymnast.
“Thank you Mr Stark. Really” Peter said as they sat down for their roast dinner with all the trimmings.
“Don’t mention it kid. Like, seriously, don’t mention it.”
So Peter tucked into the largest Christmas dinner he’d ever seen. And, although Aunt May was at work, he still felt like he’d spent Christmas with his family. And how utterly scary was it that he considered the Avengers his family?
What was his life? Really?