All The Stars Align

“It’s time for bed, Pete.” Tony said to Peter after he was still hanging out in the fort.

It was already past ten at night and Tony still had to wrap a bunch of presents and put them under the tree and so did Pepper and probably everyone else too but they needed Peter to go to bed for that.

“Steve said if I beat him at this game then he’ll carry me up.” Peter explained as he drove the plastic wheel that hooked up to the tv.

Tony sighed. He knew he shouldn’t have given Peter a bunch of sugar and cookies after dinner and then let him get all hyper before bed but it was Christmas Eve. His first Christmas Eve with his kid and it had been so much fun.

Even after the whole Santa incident happened, they all ate and spent the night playing in the fort together while Tony got to cuddle with Peter for a total of fifteen minutes on the couch.

“Yes! I beat you. Carry me.” Peter lifted his arms up at Steve but Tony was pretty sure that Steve let him win on purpose just so he got to carry his kid.

Steve lifted Peter up into his arms and Peter wrapped his arms around Steve’s neck and laid his head on Steve’s shoulder. He was actually really tired from everything but mainly from the sugar crash.

“It's time for everyone to go to bed.” Steve said to Peter once they got into the elevator and headed up.

Peter nodded against him. “Uh huh. But first we have to put cookies and carrots out.”

Steve stopped walking when Peter said that. Even Tony and Pepper were looking at Peter confused. “But I thought you didn’t want Santa to come tonight?” Tony asked.

“I don’t. But me and May always used to put it out. Every year.” Peter kicked his legs a bit so Steve put him down and then Peter ran off towards the kitchen.

Everyone followed him in and watched Peter count out the carrots and then placed a bunch of cookies on the plate. “Is that all?” Tony asked but Peter shook his head.

“No. The glass of milk.” Peter said then opened the fridge and poured a glass of milk. “Now I’m done.”

Peter walked back over to Steve to finish off the bet.

“Alright, bud. Let’s go up now.” Tony said. It was already getting late and they weren’t even up the stairs yet.

Peter laid his head back on Steve’s shoulder and shut his eyes. It was relaxing to be carried when he was awake because it was like getting rocked to sleep. He liked it a lot.

“On the bed?” Steve asked and Peter opened his eyes to see that they were already upstairs.

“In the bathroom.” Tony answered for him as Pepper sat on the edge of the bed.

Steve walked into the bathroom and placed Peter on the floor. “Alright, Peter. I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Sleep well.”

Tony walked into the bathroom as well. He watched Peter pull Steve’s hand back towards him. “You have to help me now.”

“Nope. That wasn’t part of the deal, Pete. Say goodnight to Steve and thank him for carrying your lazy butt up to bed.” Tony walked over to Peter and pulled him away from Steve.

“Bye Steve.” Peter waved and then Steve was gone. Peter gave Tony his puppy dog eyes. “You help me.”

“No, bud. You’re a big boy and can shower by yourself.” Tony teased and started the shower for him.

“Are-are you going to fall asleep with me?” Peter asked since he didn’t want to go to bed by himself.

“I am. So hurry up and shower.” Tony patted his butt and left the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Pepper was sitting on the bed and waiting for him so Tony grabbed some pyjamas for Peter while he spoke, “I’m gonna stay with him until he falls asleep otherwise it’ll be hours before he goes to bed.”

“Alright. I’ll wrap some presents while I wait for you. Did you get his stocking?” She asked him.

“Yeah. It’s the same one that used to be up in our house in Malibu. Remember?” Tony asked with a slight hint in his voice. He missed her so much. Missed her being his and dating when he could kiss her whenever he wanted to.

Pepper smiled but looked down. “How could I forget?”

Tony hummed. “Little did I know back then that I’d have my own kid in just a few years time.”

“I’m happy for you, Tony. He’s good for you. As you’ve heard us say a million times.” Pepper laughed weakly along with Tony.

“Yeah. Well, I’m just gonna go give this to him so he doesn’t walk out naked and flash you.” Tony grabbed the pyjamas and opened the bathroom door. “Pete, I’m putting your pyjamas- what are you doing? Are you using my shaving cream?”

Peter opened the shower door and peeked his head out. He had shaving cream rubbed all over his face like a face mask and all over his chest and arms.

Tony bursted out laughing. “Pete, what’s going on?”

Peter shrugged. “I like the way it puffs out when it comes out and it’s funny to watch it rinse off.”

“How much of it are you using? You don’t even need to shave anywhere.” Tony didn’t understand Peter most of the time.

“It’s fun. I like it. Can you teach me how to shave my legs?” Peter asked but when Tony stared at him and didn’t answer, he asked something else. “Can you teach me how to shave my underarms?”

“You don’t have any underarm hair, Peter.” Tony rolled just eyes and reached his hand out. “Hand me the shaving cream.”

“No. Not until you teach me how.” Peter argued and Tony really didn’t want to lose his Christmas Eve patience.

“I’ll teach you when you grow some hair on your body but until then, hand me the shaving cream and my razor.” Tony held his hand out so Peter went to grab both things and handed them to Tony. “Thank you. Hurry up because I’m tired.”

Tony walked back out of the bathroom and placed the shaving cream and razor on the dresser. Pepper was laughing at the conversation that she no doubt heard.

“I’m telling you, it’s always something with him. He’s playing in the shower and rubbing my shaving cream all over himself.” Tony sighed loudly and threw himself onto the bed.

“Maybe he was actually trying to shave.” Pepper tried to reason but Tony was laughing.

“Impossible. He doesn’t know how and he doesn’t have one strand of hair anywhere on his body but his actual hair and his eyebrows.” Tony said and sat back up. Maybe that was too much information to tell someone about his kids body but actually, he didn’t care. He trusted Pepper plus it was kinda obvious.

“Well, he’ll get there eventually. He’s just a late developer.” Pepper rubbed Tony’s knee.

Tony felt his stomach flutter from the action. “Um… yeah. One day hopefully not soon.”

Just then, Peter walked out of the bathroom with the towel wrapped around his shoulders and Tony was scared that he was going to flash Pepper but he was wearing his pyjama pants. “Where’s my toothbrush?”

“Where did you put it last?” Tony asked him.

Peter thought about it. He was walking around while brushing his teeth this morning so it could be anywhere- “It’s in my other room. Can you get it, dad? Please.”

Tony knew this game could go on all night so he got off the bed and went to go grab the freaking toothbrush.

After he left, Peter dropped the towel and climbed into bed. “Let’s both pretend that we’re sleeping so when he comes back he’s gonna be confused.”

Peter crawled onto the bed and curled into a ball so Pepper got onto the side of the bed where Peter’s bed rail was and laid down.

Peter was shaking the bed with his held in giggling which was making Pepper laugh as well because of the situation. She wondered what Tony actually dealt with on a daily basis.

Tony walked into the bedroom and paused. “Okay, I got your- what is this?”

He didn’t know what he was seeing. He smiled because it was adorable, his kid obviously made Pepper pretend to sleep and the fact that she actually did it melted his heart.

“How did you guys fall asleep so quickly? I guess I’m all by myself so maybe I’ll sneak downstairs and open up all of the presents by myself.” Tony walked over to his side of the bed where Peter was on and grabbed his ankles then yanked him down the bed.

“Ahhhhh!” Peter let out a high pitched scream that had Pepper laughing and sitting up. Tony turned Peter on his back so he was at the end of the bed then he leaned over him and pinned his arms to his side so he could blow raspberries on his exposed stomach.

“D-ad! Ahh! S-s-stop it!” Peter laughed out and tried to kick his legs but there was nowhere to kick them.

Tony lifted his head up but he was still leaning over Peter, holding onto his arms. “Did you say stop? I can’t quite hear you over the raspberry monster.”

Peter laughed out his answer, “Y-yes!”

“Okay, fine. I’m full anyways.” Tony pressed a quick kiss to Peter’s cheek and stood up fully. “Go brush your teeth and put your shirt on or he’ll be back.”

Peter quickly grabbed the toothbrush and ran into the bathroom so Tony turned to Pepper while he was pulling the blankets down. “It gets him to do stuff without me dragging him and physically doing it for him.”

“That was probably the cutest thing I’ve ever seen and it makes me want to hack into FRIDAY and watch you guys on a daily basis.” Pepper admitted.

“Oh, it’s not always like this. Especially night time.” Tony told Pepper while they both waited for Peter to come out of the bathroom. Tony got off the bed and grabbed the stocking that he left in his closet and walked back out with it the same time as Peter walked out of the bathroom.

Peter walked over to him and tried to look at what was in Tony’s hands. “What’s this?”

“It’s your Christmas stocking.” Tony explained as he led Peter over to the side of the bed so he could climb in.

“I wanna see it.” Peter tried to grab it from Tony’s hands but Tony didn’t let go.

“Good night, Peter. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” Pepper said to him but Peter ignored her because he was too focused on his dad.

“Say goodnight, Peter.” Tony warned him so Peter quickly said goodnight to her and then she left. “Here.” Tony handed the stocking to Peter and got up to turn the bedroom and bathroom light off then he got back in bed as if he was going to sleep.

“It goes at the end of your bed.” Tony grabbed the stocking from Peter and tossed it to the end of the bed then laid back down and pushed Peter into a sleeping position with him.

He wanted to get Peter to bed as quickly as possible so he could leave. “I wonder what we were doing a year ago today.”

Tony hummed. He often thought about that. “I know I was working in my lab, going on hour fifty while you were sleeping in your bed.”

Peter turned so that his back was up against Tony’s side. “No, I always slept with May on Christmas and like every other holiday. If she wasn’t working.”

Peter thought about how this was going to be his very first Christmas without May. It was hard to think about since they’ve spent every single Christmas together since he was three years old but he knew he’d be okay. He had Tony with him and he had his new family with him as well.

Tony wrapped his arm around Peter and tugged him close to his chest. “Now you have me.”

Peter smiled at that and turned around so he could press his head against his dad's chest. “Yeah. Now I have you.”

Tony kissed him on the head. “Do you want me to put the rain sounds on so you fall asleep?”

Peter shook his head. “No. I like listening to your heartbeat.”

“Alright, bud.” Tony smiled at that. He knew Peter found comfort in his heartbeat at times which he thought was still a bit creepy that Peter heard it.

It took about fifteen minutes for Peter to fall asleep. He moved away from Tony and fell asleep with his back to him. Tony waited a few more minutes just in case and then slowly got out of bed and left the room to go find Pepper.

He walked into her bedroom where she was wrapping some of the presents.

“That was fast.” She said to him.

Tony sat down on the floor next to her. “Yeah, he’s exhausted from today.”

She hummed. “Is he going to stay asleep?”

“I don’t know. It always depends but probably.” Tony said then got up to go get his presents to start wrapping them.

It was nice to spend one on one uninterrupted time with Pepper. He felt like it’s been so long since they’ve had that and he missed it a lot.

He loved giving all his time and attention to Peter but it was also nice to have a grown up conversation once in a while that didn’t consist of talks of lego, Star Wars or any of the other million topics that he and Peter talk about.

By the time he went to bed, it was just past four in the morning and he had no idea what time Peter would be getting up at.

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.
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Peter woke up to something heavy by his feet.

He tried to kick it away and then heard crinkling so he sat up and blinked away the bright light coming through the window. He rubbed his eyes, sitting up and reached down to grab what was by his feet. It was his stocking from last night but it was filled up now.

Peter pulled it onto his lap and started looking at everything that was in there. He smiled at what he could see at the top which was a bag of skittles and then he turned to his dad who was facing away from him. He tapped Tony on the arm to try and wake him up.

“Dad? Wake up. Dad.” Peter sat up on his knees and got up to lean over Tony’s side. “Wake up.”

Tony groaned, pushing Peter off of him and opening his eyes. “What, Pete?”

Peter shook him again. “It’s Christmas, dad. Get up.”

Suddenly Tony remembered so he sat up and looked over at Peter. “Oh yeah. Merry Christmas, Pete.”

He turned his head to check the time on the nightstand table and saw that it was 7:30am. Perfect time to wake up. A solid four hours of sleep.

Tony got out of bed and quickly went into the bathroom to go pee and brush his teeth and to change into something a bit more decent that wasn’t his tank top and pyjama pants.

When he was done, Peter was still sitting on the bed. “Do you need to go pee before we go downstairs?”

“Yeah. I’ll be quick.” Peter jumped off of the bed and slipped past his dad to quickly pee so they could go downstairs.

On his way out of the bathroom, he grabbed his stocking and ran to hug Tony. “Mmm, thank you.”

Tony hugged him back. “Aw bud, you didn’t even open any of your presents yet.”

“I know but I just… thank you.” Peter hugged Tony a little tighter then let go of him and ran down the stairs.

Surprisingly, everyone was already there which he loved because it was nice to come down to a full living room.

Pepper was sitting on the couch talking with Natasha with a blanket wrapped around her and a mug in her hands. “Merry Christmas, Peter.”

Peter smiled shyly at her. “Merry Christmas, Pepper.”

Everyone started saying merry Christmas to him but he felt really shy. Peter turned around and walked back over to his dad so he could bury his face in his chest because for some reason he was feeling really shy.

“Why don’t you go open your stocking?” Tony asked him as he led Peter over to the couch and pulled him down beside him.

Peter slid down to the floor by his dad's legs and dumped out his stocking. It was filled with cute little things like mini soaps, chocolate and lots of candy.

He then climbed back onto the couch to hug Tony but then he saw the tree and all the presents under it and he smiled widely. “Woah. That’s a lot of presents from before.”

Steve walked over with a cup of coffee for Tony in one hand and a plate of pancakes in his other hand for Peter. “Yeah, we had Santa drop them off a block away.”

Peter looked up at Steve but he didn’t want to think about evil Santa so he got up and walked over to the tree so he could give his dad one of the presents he got him. “I want you to open this one first. Me and Steve and Bucky went to the mall to get it for you.”

“Me first? Alright, I’ll start us off.” Tony grabbed the present from Peter and started opening it. He had absolutely no idea what Peter got him but he could definitely tell that Peter wrapped it since it was horrible wrapping but he loved it even more for that reason.

Peter was smiling widely next to him the whole time so Tony opened it faster and saw that it was a personalized coffee mug that said Peter’s IronDad on it.

“I love it, Pete. I’m gonna use it for every single one of my coffees now.” Tony pulled Peter against his chest and pressed a kiss to his temple. “Thank you, bud.”

“Yeah.” Peter said and hugged Tony back but then Tony was letting him go and pulling Peter to his feet.

He led them over to the tree where everyone was huddled in front of already. He reached over and grabbed one of Peter’s presents from him and shoved it into Peter’s arms.

Peter started ripping the wrapping open and then held up a lego set that was over 5000 pieces. It was from a limited collection. “No way! Dad! How did you know I wanted this?”

“I just knew.” Tony shrugged.

Peter threw himself into Tony’s arms again but this time he sat between his legs with his back leaning against Tony’s chest.

Steve grabbed a present and reached over to Peter to hand it to him. “This one is from me, Peter. I hope you like it.”

Peter excitedly started opening the present and then turned it around so he could see what it was. Tony was watching him and trying to see it as well and then he saw that it was a drawing of him and Peter on the couch downstairs cuddling together.

Peter smiled at it then cranked his neck to look at his dad. “Look. It’s us, dad.”

Tony loved it so much. It was amazing and held so much love to it because he was awake in the picture but he didn’t even realize at the time that Steve was drawing them.

“Wow. That’s amazing, Steve.” Tony said to him and then Peter was crawling away from him to give Steve a hug.

“Thank you. I love it.” Peter hugged Steve and then sat with him, leaning up against his chest like he had been doing with Tony.

Tony tried not to let his jealousy show that Peter was sitting with Steve and not him.

Peter grabbed the present for Steve that he got him and leaned up against him while Steve opened the present. “Is this what I think it is?”

Peter nodded. He got Steve paints, paint brushes and a canvas. “Do you like it?”

“I love it, Peter. Thank you so much.” Steve hugged Peter tightly.

“Here, this is from me to you.” Rhodey passed Peter his present and sat back as he watched Peter open it.

Tony wished Peter was sitting with him instead of Steve especially on their first Christmas but he didn’t want to say anything. He was starting to get fidgety too.

Pepper seemed to notice it so he went and sat down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. He felt his stomach flutter at the action and gave her a smile.

Peter pulled out a black tiny box and looked at it confused but Tony immediately knew what it was. Peter turned it over in his hands but he couldn’t figure it out. “Come here and I’ll show you what it is.”

Peter left Steve and walked over to Rhodey who was sitting in a chair. Rhodey grabbed it from Peter’s hands and twisted the top. “You see this? You twist it and then the red dot appears inside. Take it out.”

Peter reached in and grabbed the dot but it was some kind of blinking pen tip. “It’s a tracker. You attach it onto anything and you can track it wherever it is in the world.”

“Woah. That’s so cool. Thank you. I’m gonna attach it onto my dad.” Peter grinned at Rhodey after pulling away from their hug and turned around to go sit next to his dad again. “Look, dad. It’s a tracker.”

Tony looked at it. “I can see that. Wow, Rhodes. I like it.”

“Well it’s not for you so too bad.” Rhodey teased but then held up a present. “Pete, can you hand this one to your dad.”

Peter stood back up and handed the present to Tony and sat down on his leg but Tony slid him off so he was sitting between his legs. “What is it?” Peter asked.

Tony unwrapped the present but he stopped once he realized what it was. “No. You did not. How did you do this?” Tony quickly opened it up and felt some severe nostalgia hit him.

“I wanna see it.” Peter tried to grab it out of Tony’s hands but Tony held it away from him as he looked at Rhodey who had a smug smile on his face.

“How did you finish this? This is like… thirty years old.” Tony looked at the device again but Peter was trying to grab it so he couldn’t look at it now.

“Peter, stop. You’re not allowed to touch this ever.” Tony held it up but held Peter’s hands away from it. “You can look but no touching.”

“What is it?” Peter asked.

“It’s a laser.” Tony explained. “Rhodes and I started to build it back at M.I.T but we never got to finish it and now he finished it for me.”

Peter tried to grab it from Tony’s hands still. “Woah, I can’t see it.”

“You don’t need to. Thanks, man.” Tony said to Peter and then to Rhodey.

“Can I see it, Tony?” Natasha asked so Tony passed it to Sam on his other side who passed it to Natasha.

“Hey, I wanted to see it.” Peter whined and went to crawl over to Natasha to grab it but Tony stopped him.

“Go open another present, bud.” Tony pushed Peter towards the tree so Peter crawled over there and grabbed a present then went to go sit with Tony again.

Peter started to open it. It was kinda heavy and really big so he had no idea what it was. He ripped all the wrapping paper off excitedly and then looked at what it was.

It was in a big black picture frame but it wasn’t a picture. It had a date at the top with a single quote.

The day I met you was the day all the stars aligned
-Love Dad

Peter ran his hand over the glass. Inside was an image of all the stars in the sky with the most important date on the top. The first day that he met his dad.

“It’s what the stars looked like on the first day we met each other.” Tony explained and then Peter was putting the frame to the side and turning around so he could hug his dad. “You like it?”

“I love it so much. Thank you, daddy. I love it.” Peter didn’t know why he felt like crying. He loved it more than anything.

“Aw, bud. I’m glad. I love you too.” Tony patted Peter’s butt and then Peter was sitting back down between his legs again with Tony’s arm around his chest.

“Well, I don’t know if I can beat that but I’ve got you something, Peter.” Natasha grabbed a present and slid it over to Peter.

Peter picked it up, letting go of Tony’s hand so he could open it. It was another black box but it was a lot bigger than the one Rhodey gave him. He opened up the lid and then his eyes went wide at all the knives that were inside. “Woah! You got me a knife set?”

Tony quickly shut the box and grabbed it away from Peter. “Did you actually get him knives for Christmas?”

Natasha nodded her head proudly.

“You couldn’t have given him, I don’t know a teddy bear maybe? Or have saved this for a future Christmas present a few years from now.” Tony wasn’t actually mad. He wouldn’t be giving Peter the knives anytime soon, maybe in five years when he’s older but he still wasn’t mad.

“I love them, Nat. I can’t wait to use them.” Peter grinned and crawled over to her to give her a hug.

“Let me know when you want me to teach you my little ребенок паук.” Natasha said to him causing Peter to giggle at the funny Russian nickname.

Peter then went under the Christmas tree to grab another present for his dad. “Open this one.”

Tony wrapped his arm that wasn’t around Pepper and took the present from Peter. He unwrapped it and held up a black T-shirt that was also custom made. It had a picture of the two of them on it, it was a selfie from Miami and words that read, World’s Best Dad.

“Aw, buddy. I love it so much. Oh, it’s so soft too. I might have to wear it to bed night.” Tony rubbed it on Peter’s face and then pulled Peter against his chest. “Thanks, Petey.”

Then Pepper was handing two presents into Peter’s hands. One was small and the other was really big. “Open the big one first.”

Peter placed the small one on the side and started to open the big one. He opened up a chemistry science kit and held it up to read it. “Woah! It has the tiny bottles like from my old web shooters.”

Peter excitedly placed it on the floor and sat up a bit to start opening it but Tony stopped him. “How about you open it later today, kid. You’ll lose some of the pieces.”

“Oh.” Peter sat back up on his knees so he could lean over his dad to hug Pepper. “Thank you, Pepper. I love it. Can you play it with me later?”

Pepper cupped his cheek. “Of course I will, Peter.”

Tony wanted to coo at how cute they were and he couldn’t be happier with them getting along but he didn’t want to say anything about it so he picked up the box and then laughed once he saw the label. “This says sixteen plus, kid. Sorry but you’re gonna have to wait two years.”

Peter frowned. “No. I can still use it. I’m sure your lab is one hundred plus but I still go in there.”

Tony laughed at Peter’s come back. “I’m just joking, kid. You can still play with it.”

“Open the other one now, Peter.” Pepper said and leaned closer to Tony.

Peter picked up the box and started unwrapping it. It was a jewellery box. He opened it up and saw the beautiful necklace that was there.

“Is that…?” Tony asked her and Pepper nodded.

Peter picked it up and ran his hand over the chain until it reached the pendulum. It was a circle with a triangle inside and a bunch of groves all around it. Peter recognized the design.

He looked up at Pepper. “Is this like dad's arc reactor?”

Pepper nodded. “Yeah, it actually used to be your dads but I got the chain changed and sized so now it’s yours.”

Peter looked down at it again and smiled. It was so beautiful and his dad used to wear this. He looked up at Tony to show him. “Look. You used to wear it.”

“Yeah, baby. I did. I actually thought I lost it but it looks like Pepper had it the whole time.” Tony looked over at Pepper but she was too busy smiling at Peter.

“I know your dad already gave you a necklace but I wanted you to have one from me as well.” Pepper told Peter and then Peter was throwing himself into her arms again.

“Thank you thank you thank you. I love it so much.” Peter sat him on his dad’s upper thigh so he could hug Pepper properly.

“Aw sweetie, you’re so welcome.”

Peter pulled away and Tony slid him back down between his legs so he wasn’t sitting on his one leg.

Pepper then handed Tony a present. “This one is for you.”

“Oh.” Tony grabbed it from her, already feeling his stomach her that fluttery feeling every time Pepper does something. He opened it up to reveal a black box with an engraving on the front. He then opened the box to see a silver watch. “Pepper.”

He gently touched it and then immediately thought back to a conversation that they had years ago when they were still together about this watch and she actually got it for him.

“I wanna see.” Peter tugged Tony’s hands closer to him so he could look at it. “Dad. Let me see.”

Tony looked up at Pepper with wide eyes as he let Peter see it. He looked back down at it and ever so carefully pulled it out. “Wow.”

She smiled at him. “Do you remember what we said?”

Tony nodded his head while he was trying to look at the watch but Peter was getting his grubby hands all over it.

“You said you wanted the watch but only if I gave it to you.” Pepper said and smiled at the memory with Tony.

“Yeah. I didn’t want it unless it came from you.” Tony added and then put it on his wrist. He held it out in front of him and turned his wrist to look at it.

“Let me see it.” Peter grabbed Tony’s hand and looked at the watch then to everyone’s surprise, he licked it.

“Peter.” Tony asked in surprise. “Why did you lick it?”

Peter looked at him innocently. “I’m trying to tell if it’s real or not.”

“That’s not… that’s not how you tell if it’s real or not, Pete.” Tony didn’t understand his kid no matter how hard he tried.

Peter shrugged his shoulders and leaned back against his dad's chest. Everyone was exchanging gifts with each other at the same time as they would look over at Peter and Tony to see what they were doing.

Tony liked that not all eyes were on them and that they mainly focused on exchanging gifts with each other.

He poked Peter in the side, “Can you go bring over Peppers presents?”

Peter nodded and crawled over to go get the presents from under the tree. He always sucked at getting gifts for people so Tony had helped pick everything out.

He handed the first one to Pepper and cuddled back in his dad's arms. “That one is from me.”

“Oh let’s see.” Pepper opened up the first gift and then smiled when she saw the set of earrings. “Oh Peter. I love them. Thank you so much, honey.”

Peter sat up to hug her and then grabbed the earrings from her. “See, they’re suns. Dad helped me but I picked these ones out by myself. Do you like them?”

“I love them so much. Thank you.” Pepper ran a hand over Peter’s cheek and smiled at him.

Peter sat back down and leaned his head against Tony’s arm from where he was being held by his leg between his legs on the floor.

“Open mine now, Pep.” Tony handed Pepper his gift. He put a lot of thought into it like he did every year but this year was special.

She opened up the gift and held the wrapping paper then she carefully opened up the case and covered her hand over her mouth. “Oh my god. This is so beautiful. Tony, I…”

Pepper lifted the necklace out and held it in her hand. Peter was grabbing her hand and pulled it closer to himself so he could see it too.

Pepper showed it to him. “See, isn’t it beautiful?”

“Don’t lick it.” Tony jokingly warned him.

“Yeah. I think so.” Peter answered Peppers' question.

The diamond was in a raindrop shape with a small diamond on top of it. “I love it so much, Tony. Thank you.”

Pepper leaned over and pressed a kiss to Tony’s cheek and pulled him in for an awkward hug because Peter was in the way.

Tony would need to cross his legs if Pepper kissed him again. He knew his face was red so he just smiled at her and wanted to change the subject before he kissed Pepper back but on the lips.

“Go get another one, bud.” Tony pushed Peter off and then Peter was crawling over to the Christmas tree and bringing two presents over.

“This one is for you.” Peter handed his dad his present and crossed his legs in front of his dad. “Open it.”

Tony felt how heavy it was so he wondered what it could be. He carefully opened it up and put it on the floor so he could open the case that it came in. He felt his eyes widened as he looked at it. “Peter. Oh my god.”

Tony pulled the glass Plaque out and smiled. It had an engraving of a small picture of the two of them in the counter hugging and then there was an engraved message on it.

Dear Dad,

I know we never met the way it’s supposed to happen, me being a baby and all but I think I like it better this way. I always think about how life would have been for me if certain things never happened but I can’t ever think of a scenario where I’d be happier. I’m so glad that we met and I thank the stars above us every single day for that.

I know I can be difficult for you sometimes and I try not to be but it just happens. I don’t ever wanna spend a day without you by my side because I love you so much.

Thank you for everything that you’ve done for me. From catching my tears to letting me wipe my snot on your shirt and sometimes your pillow. I can’t wait for all our adventures and memories together. I love you so much.

Love,

your baby boy, Peter.

Tony hugged the plaque to his chest and looked up at Peter with tears in his eyes because he loved his baby boy so freaking much it hurt so badly.

He reached an arm out and pulled Peter against his chest after gently placing the plaque on the side so he could squeeze his kid. “I love it so much my baby boy. And I love you so much.”

Peter hugged his dad back and smiled. He was glad that Tony liked it. It made him happy since it came from the heart.

“Okay,” Tony pulled away. “open yours now before I cry.”

Peter grabbed his present and started to rip it open. He grabbed the giant pen-like thing and held it up. “Is this a laser like what you got?”

Tony laughed. “No way. Press the top button and hold it up.”

Peter did as he was told and then a holographic picture of him and his dad appeared in front of him. “Hey! That’s us!”

“Yeah, it’s us in Miami.” Tony smiled at it. It took him a long time to design and build that pen hologram because he had to make sure Peter didn’t come down and see him working. “Click it again.”

Peter clicked the button again and the hologram was changing to a different picture of the two of them. He pressed it again and another one popped up.

“It works better in the dark. We’ll try it tonight but there’s fifty of my favourite pictures on there.” Tony explained to Peter who was excitedly clicking through the pictures.

“I love it so much, dad. Hmmm, I love it!” Peter hugged Tony with one arm so he could continue clicking through the pictures.

“How about you save the rest for later and go open your other presents.” Tony gently grabbed the pen from Peter and then he was crawling over to the tree and bringing back over two more presents. “Another one for me?”

“Uh huh. But I’ll go first.” Peter said then started to rip open the present.

He pulled out a bracelet once all the wrapping was off and wondered how much jewelry everyone got. This one was different though. It was almost like rubber and it was practically invisible.

Tony carefully grabbed it from his hands and then it was glowing a light blue for a second then it went back to normal. “Woah! How did you do that?”

“I activated it.” Tony explained then put it on Peter’s wrist. “It’s a tracker. Kinda like what Rhodey gave you. It lets me see wherever you are at all times. It always monitors your heart rate so I can check them no matter where you are at any time.”

Peter frowned. He looked at the bracelet on his hand and saw how it was almost invisible on him and it barely felt like anything was there.

“It’s also waterproof so you can shower with it on or go swimming or whatever you want to do.” Tony wasn’t sure if Peter liked it or not. To be honest, he didn’t care whether Peter liked it. It was staying on him either way but he just hoped Peter didn’t try taking it off.

“I’ve never had a bracelet before.” Peter admitted and then sat on Tony’s thigh and wrapped an arm around his dad. He didn’t know how to feel about it just yet. “Thank you anyways.”

“What do you think?” Tony asked him curiously.

“Um, I don’t know. I guess I’ll keep it on anyways.” Peter examined the bracelet some more then handed Tony his gift. “Open yours now.”

Tony happily took his present from Peter and started to open it up. He started laughing when he saw what it was. “Oh Peter. I love it already.”

It was a book that said Why I love my daddy with a daddy bear and a baby bear on the front.

“It’s so cute, Petey. Thank you. Now we have a bedtime story for tonight.” Tony joked and pressed a kiss to Peter’s cheek.

Peter laughed. “No, I just thought it was cute. All kids get this for their daddy’s when they’re younger and I never got to so I am now.”

“Aw baby. It’s perfect. I love it so much.” Tony squeezed Peter close to him tightly and reached over for another one of Peter’s presents. “Open yours.”

Peter ripped into it and saw that it was pyjamas. He held them up and smiled when he saw that they were Iron Man onesies. “Ah! An Iron Man onesie so now I can look exactly like you.”

Tony smiled at seeing Peter’s excitement.

“Can you put your suit on and I put this one and then take a picture of us?” Peter asked with so much excitement in his voice.

Tony could just imagine how cute that would be. “Yeah, how about we do that after this?”

Peter grinned up at him. “Okay.”

The rest of the time gathered around the tree and opening presents went by fast and then it was over before Tony knew it.

He loved watching his kids face light up when he opened his presents. Peter ended up getting a bunch of science experiment kits from everyone, crystal making, and robotics. Peter was in love with all of them so Tony knew that the penthouse was going to look like a giant lab by the end of the night.

Bucky had got Peter and Tony a giant enlarged picture of them that was from the earlier days that Tony planned on putting up immediately.

After everyone had exchanged gifts, Steve and Bucky had moved into the kitchen to cook lunch. Well, Steve was going to cook lunch while Bucky watched.

Peter tugged on Tony’s arm. “Can we go do the thing now?”

“Alright, kid. Let’s go.” Tony wrapped his arm around Peter’s shoulders and then they were walking towards the elevator to head down to the lab.

“You go change while I get suited up.” Tony and Peter both went in opposite directions. As Tony was suiting back up, he realized how much he missed being in his suit. It’s been way too long but at the same time he doesn’t want to suit back up to go on another mission.

Peter went into the corner where the couch and carpet was then started pulling off his pyjama pants and his shirt. He tossed them onto the floor and then picked up his onesie and tried to see how it was going to work out.

He had to unzip the front and then step into it but when he went to do that, Dum-E appeared behind him and touched his butt. “Hey. Go away.”

Tony walked over to Peter already suited up. “What’s taking you so long?”

Peter looked up at his dad and remembered just how tall he was in the suit. “Dum-E touched my butt.” Peter pointed at the robot who was going for his butt again.

“Hey! Get out of here, Dum-E. What do you think this is?” Tony yelled at his creation but it was still funny to him because of Peter’s face.

Peter watched Dum-E drive away but he felt a bit bad. He looked sad. He quickly put on the onesie and was careful as he zipped it up then he put the hood on and looked at Tony.

“Look at you. My mini Iron Man.” Tony cooed at the sight. Peter’s curls were popping out from the hood and it made him look five years younger.

Peter lifted his arm up and got into the signage Iron Man pose.

“FRIDAY? Are you getting this?” Tony asked because he didn’t have his phone on him and he needed this saved forever.

“Yes, Boss. I got everything from the time you came down.” FRIDAY responded cheerfully.

“Alright. Let’s go up and surprise everyone.” Tony couldn’t wait to see everyone’s faces. That would be exciting.

The elevator doors opened and both of them were walking out. Tony in his Iron Man suit caught the attention of everyone immediately but then once they saw Peter dressed in a matching outfit, they all started to make their way over.

“Look at you.” Pepper cooed at Peter once she was standing in front of the two. “You guys look identical.”

Peter held up his hand in the signature Iron Man pose. “You can’t even tell us apart.”

“Ha! Look at that. There’s two of them now.” Sam laughed and then Tony held his hand up with Peter.

Pepper pulled her phone out and started taking pictures of them and their matching pose. It was adorable and definitely had to be posted somewhere because it was too cute not to share with the world.

They both put their arms down simultaneously and stood back up fully. Tony grabbed Peter in one swift motion and held him against his side in the suit.

Pepper continued to take a bunch of pictures of them while Sam laughed and Natasha smiled, Tony knew they must look adorable if she’s smiling at their actions.

Peter wrapped his arms around Tony’s neck but it was kinda uncomfortable since the suit was hard and he couldn’t find a comfortable position. He knocked on Iron Man’s helmet, “Open up.”

Tony opened his face plate and smiled at his kid. “Can you fly me around the tower like this?”

“No, it’s freezing outside.” Tony went to put Peter on the floor but Peter clung to him.

“Please. If I put a jacket on? Please?” Peter gave Tony his puppy dog look that he knew always worked on his dad.

Tony thought about it. It would actually be kind of fun to do. He wouldn’t let anything happen to his kid and it’s been awhile since he’s actually flown so maybe it’ll be fun. “Alright. But only if you put boots, a jacket, a hat and mittens on.”

Peter looked like he was about to put up a fight but he thought better of it so he put his legs down and ran over to the mud room where everything was and started putting everything on.

His boots were a bit clunky though, “My boots are gonna fall off in the air, dad.”

Tony saw the onesie went over the feet so that should be fine. It’s not like they’ll be out there for hours anyways. “That’s fine. You’ll be fine like that.”

Peter lifted his arms up for Tony but he ignored him and started walking towards the balcony.

“This is so cool.” Sam laughed as he went to go open the balcony door but he couldn’t get it open. “Is it frozen shut or something.”

Tony laughed. “No. It’s baby proof.” He typed in the code and the door opened.

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Tony?” Pepper asked but it was too late. Him and Peter had already made up their minds.

“I know it is.” He flew up into the air and went to the other side of the balcony. “Climb up, Pete.”

Peter excitedly climbed onto the balcony ledge so that he was sitting on top of the edge with his knees pulled to his chest so he could look down.

They were really high up. He knew that, obviously he did but being on the edge was a bit scary now.

He tried to reach his hands out for his dad but Tony didn’t take him into the safety of his arms. “Dad, pick me up.”

“Jump to me. It’s just like if we were in a pool.” Tony explained but he kinda liked how scared Peter was because he didn’t want Peter to try this.

Peter reached for him again but stopped because he was too close to the edge. “I’m scared.”

“Do you trust me?” Tony asked him seriously.

“Yeah.” Peter said without a beat.

“So jump. I promise I’ll catch you.” Tony held out his arms so Peter ever so slowly sat up on his feet so he was kinda in a squatting position then he leaned forward and fell right into Tony’s arms. “See? I told you.”

Tony held Peter at arms length in front of him and then Peter shifted himself onto his hip. “I know. Now fly!”

“Alright. But I have to move you to my chest so it’s easier.” Tony held Peter against his chest and held him on my back with one arm. “You ready?”

“Yeah! Fly!” Peter yelled excitedly and then they were off. He felt the air blowing on his face and it was freezing but something about it made it so refreshing. He was laughing at the feeling he got in his stomach whenever Tony would spin them around.

“Do you want me to drop you then catch you?” Tony asked him but Peter immediately shook his head.

“No! Don’t drop me! That’s too scary, I like staying in your arms.” Peter clung onto the armour a bit tighter even if he knew Tony wouldn’t drop him.

“Okay, bud. I won’t.” Tony flew straight up so they were high above the city. He used to do that a lot just to clear his mind on rather stressful nights.

He stopped when they were at a certain height and lifted his face plate up then shifted Peter so he was on his hip again.

“It’s so quiet.” Peter pointed out. He laid his head against his dad's shoulder but it was hard and cold so he lifted it back up.

“Yeah. It’s peaceful up here, isn’t it?”

“Are we going to get hit by an airplane?” Peter asked seriously, looking around as if he could spot any.

Tony laughed at that. “No, baby. We’re not that high up. We might get hit by some birds though.”

Peter laughed and Tony felt his heart melt like he did every time Peter laughed. “Then we can fly with them.”

“If they would let us.” Tony looked over at Peter who was smiling at him already. He made a funny face which caused Peter to laugh some more. “You ready to head back?”

Peter shook his head. “I wanna stay up here forever.”

“Forever? That’s a long time and it’s kinda cold.” Tony transferred Peter to his other arm for no particular reason. It wasn’t like he was heavy because he weighed nothing to him while he was in the suit.

“Okay then forever when it’s warm out?” Peter asked with a smile on his face but Tony could feel him start to shake so he moved Peter so he was against his chest and started to fly back to the tower.

“Maybe, bud. We’ll see.” Tony flew down until they reached the tower then he landed on the balcony and let Peter slide to the ground. He then stepped out of his suit and opened up the door. “FRI, send him downstairs.”

The suit started walking towards the elevator to go back down to the lab while Peter hugged Tony since he was freezing.

Pepper was the only one in the penthouse and was sitting on the couch. She put her phone down and smiled up at them when the two of them walked into the room. “How was it?”

“So much fun! Dad flew me all the way into the clouds and it was so cold so we had to fly back down.” Peter jumped on the couch next to Pepper and started taking off his jacket and everything else.

“You look cold, here you go.” She placed a blanket over his shoulders and then Peter was moving closer to her to try and get some comfort.

Tony smiled at the two of them then walked over and sat himself down next to Peter. “Where is everyone?”

“They all went downstairs. I was waiting for you guys to come back so we could head down together.” Pepper put her phone into her pocket and sat up a bit on the couch.

“I want to take you in the fort again, dad.” Peter said, jumping up from the couch and already going over to the elevator.

The rest of Christmas Day was spent pretty much in the fort.

Peter had brought some of his presents down and was playing with them in the fort with Tony.

They ate dinner altogether and Peter refused to change out of his Iron Man onesie but it was fine. He looked cute in it and it was their first Christmas together so no one wanted to tell him to change, not that they cared that he was wearing it anyways.

“Dad, come in with me.” Peter said after returning from the bathroom. Tony had been sitting on the couch with Pepper and hadn’t gone inside the fort with him for awhile.

“Alright, bud.” Tony got up and prepared to crawl into the boiling hot fort that definitely wasn’t built for men his age. He had no idea how Steve fit.

Peter crawled inside and waited for Tony to come in after him. “Follow me to a new corner I made.”

That sounded a bit sketchy but Tony followed Peter anyways. “Oh wow. It gets even smaller to fit in here. Perfect.”

Peter crawled into the corner and laid down on his back. “It’s cozy, dad. Come lie with me.”

Tony was already having trouble breathing. He tried to lay down next to Peter but there was simply no room without putting Peter on top of him and he didn’t think he could handle that heat. “There’s nowhere for me to fit, Pete.”

Peter kicked over some of the blankets so there was a bit more room. “There. Now it’s perfect.”

Tony could beg to differ but he wasn’t about to so he sucked it up and laid down in the extremely uncomfortable spot next to Peter.

Peter turned to him with a smile. “Thank you for everything. It was our first Christmas together and my favourite one ever because I got to spend it with my dad.”

That was worth the kink in his leg that he was already starting to get. “Aw, Petey. This was my favourite Christmas ever too because I got to spend it with my son.”

Peter sat up a bit so he could put his head on Tony’s chest. “I love you.”

“I love you too, baby boy.” Tony pressed a kiss to Peter’s head and rubbed his back up and down.

“And… I love all my presents that you got for me. Thank you so much.” Peter felt himself start to get tired and his eyes start to shut but he needed to say that before he fell asleep.

“Aw, Pete. I love all my presents from you. The best gifts I’ve ever received.” Tony said but then he needed to correct himself. “Well, after you of course.”

Peter turned his head on his dad's chest so he could look at him. “I wasn’t a gift.”

“Yeah you were. The gods above sent you to me.” Tony said playfully but he was being 100% serious. He thanked whatever was up in the clouds every single day for Peter.

“You don’t believe in god.” Peter said, matter of fact.

“Maybe not. But I do believe that there is something else out there and I thank them for you.” Tony cupped the back of Peter’s head as Peter stared at him. He could tell Peter was exhausted but everything still processed in his brain.

Peter laid his head back down on Tony’s chest and mumbled out, “I love you.”

“I love you too, baby.” Tony kissed his head and then made a move to get up. “I’m gonna get out of here now but you can stay in until we head up for bed, alright?”

Peter reluctantly lifted his head off of Tony’s chest and sat up. “Alright.”

Tony smiled at him then crawled out of the fort. He was sweating by the time he got out because it was so freaking hot and muggy in there. He had no idea how Peter willingly stayed inside.

He sat down on the couch with Pepper and chatted with her for a few minutes. It was pretty late considering Peter woke up really early and Tony wasn’t that tired but he could still sleep so he planned on going to bed with Peter.

“I’m gonna put these away and then I’ll head up.” Pepper said, standing up and grabbing hers and Tony's mugs.

“Alright, I’m gonna get Pete.” Tony stood up and walked over to the side of the fort where Peter was on so he didn’t have to crawl back in there. “Pete, it’s time for bed, bud.”

There was no answer.

“Peter, come on. Let’s go.” Tony said again but still no answer. That scared him a bit because all he could think about was what if Peter suffocated in there.

Tony quickly pulled off the blankets on that part of the fort and bent down to his son's body. He saw Peter’s chest rising and falling so he was only asleep.

With a sigh, Tony ran his hand over Peter’s face, feeling how sticky and sweaty it was. “Wake up, bud.”

Peter let out a whine but otherwise made no move to wake up.

“Is he sleeping?” Pepper asked, walking over to them and looking down at Peter.

“Yeah, I’m just gonna carry him up.” Tony placed his hands under Peter’s knees and his back then lifted him up so that his head rolled onto Tony’s chest.

In his sleep, Peter cuddled closer to Tony and brought his hand up to his face to block the light.

“Merry Christmas, guys. We’re glad we could spend it with Peter.” Steve smiled at them as they were walking out then they all shared their goodbyes and went into the elevator.

“So, I know it’s last minute but I’m gonna ask Peter if he wants to fly to Miami tomorrow and spend New Years there.” Tony started, they stepped out of the elevator and headed in the direction of the stairs, “I was wondering if you thought about it. Do you wanna come with us?”

Pepper was silent for a few seconds so Tony thought that she didn’t actually want to go and was thinking of an excuse.

“I’d love to, Tony. What time would we leave at?” She asked him then they got to the top of the stairs, by her bedroom door.

Tony felt his stomach flutter. He loved her interacting with Peter and now she was coming with them to Miami as well. “Uh, not until late in the night. I’d still have to talk to Peter and pack and everything.”

“Alright. Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” Pepper smiled at him then kissed him on the cheek and went into her bedroom.

Tony stood there in shock with Peter still in his arms. He tried to shake his head to get out of the trance that he was in. He looked down at Peter and saw his peaceful sleeping face and smiled down at him.

Turning around and walking to his bedroom, he placed Peter on the bed and smiled to himself.

As far as Christmas’s go, this one was his favourite by far.