Tony & Pepper & Peter
"Thank you for coming, I didn't mean to bother you, but I don't know what to do anymore," Tony sighed as he closed the door behind Pepper. She struggled to get rid of all her warm layers. The winter in New York was especially harsh this year, and she was already dressed in home clothes and enjoying a winter evening in the comfort of home with a cup of hot tea when Tony called her to see if she had time to stop by. And Pepper agreed, of course, because she couldn't resist them. She cared about them. It's only been a few months since Mary left, and Stark's men weren't too well.
"Tony, you know I'll come anytime," she said with a small smile that grew slightly sad when she looked at him properly. "You look tired," she whispered.
"I can't sleep," he muttered, taking a paper bag from her. "What did you bring for us?" He asked, hoping it would change the subject.
“Christmas candy, but unfortunately only bought one. There is no time for baking for me," she replied. It bothered her a little. Christmas was her favorite time. She remembered how she always baked several kinds of candy with her mother. But it was long gone. She decided on a career and was good at her job. Plus, it wasn't worth baking when she lived alone.
"I'm sure the little bat won't mind," Tony laughed and walked into the kitchen.
"And where is he, anyway?" she asked curiously as she followed him.
"He's sitting on the couch, looking like you took his favorite toy," he said anxiously. He wanted nothing more than to see his son smile again. To be the happy child he used to be before Mary left them.
"I'll go say hi to him, and you can put the candy on the plate," she said in a bit of a working voice, so there was no room for protest, but Tony had no plans to do so. He knew Peter would love to see a redhead.
Pepper's heart broke to pieces again when she entered the living room and found little Peter sitting huddled in a blanket wearing pictures of animals, staring absently at the television. She walked carefully to him and sat even more carefully beside him.
"Hello, baby," she said softly.
Peter didn't say anything, he just snuggled up to her and Pepper wanted to cry. He didn't deserve this. Not one of them. She looked away from him, or she would have cried for real-time, and she was unpleasantly surprised to notice that there was not a single ornament besides the Christmas tree. It looked exactly like every other day. Pepper knew they still had a lot of pain after Ton's beloved wife and Peter's mother left them, but that just couldn't do.
"What if we put a Christmas fairy tale there?" She suggested, noticing that there was a fairy-tale running on television that Peter might be watching all the time. At least every time she was here.
The brunette just shrugged, which Pepper took for granted. She knew now that she couldn't take the pain they felt, it could only have taken time, but at least she would make sure they had a magical Christmas. And who knows, maybe they'll stop thinking about the woman who left them without blinking.
"Jarvis, could you please turn on the Arthur Christmas?"
"As you wish, Miss Potts," he replied in his robotic voice.
"Pepper brought candy, little bat. Apparently, she wants to be up all night with you on a sugar rush," said the incoming Tony. He placed the plate on the table, right in front of his son, who reached for the sweets immediately. "Like a glue fly," Tony muttered more or less to himself, but Pepper heard it anyway and had to laugh.
"I hope you have more Christmas decorations because we have a lot of work to do tomorrow," Pepper said to Elder Stark. He was now sitting on the other side of her.
"There's something in the garage," he said as he stuffed himself with candy. Like father, like son.
"Great, so we have a program for tomorrow," she told them contentedly, crawling under Peter's blanket.
"Are you staying?" The boy finally said.
"Sure, who else will make sure you don't turn it into a house of horrors here?" She asked seriously as if it were the most important thing in the world. But the corners of her mouth twitched a little.
Peter stared at her for a moment, then something happened that hadn't happened for a long time. He laughed. It was a real childish laugh. Giggle to be exact. Then he snuggled up to her again and watched with a smile the fairy tale she had chosen.
"You're our Christmas miracle," Tony whispered to her, causing her cheeks to flush.
Pepper was beginning to think that they were more like her miracle.