Hi! This is a Secret Santa for wolfypuppypiles! Sorry it's a little late, I had a bit of trouble figuring out what to write if I'm honest lol I've never written Tony Stark before, so sorry if he's a bit OOC. Also, I took a wild guess at how the spider sense works, so I also apologize if it's not exactly correct. l

Hope this was worth the wait! Happy holidays :)

There was something flying right at Peter's head.

He sidestepped, turning his body as a snowball hurled past his face and landed on the sparkling white ground a few feet away. Peter looked to his left; a group of teens were scattered across the street.

"Sorry, man!" one called.

"Tom, you missed by like a mile!" another laughed. Peter waved it off and carried on, pulling his scarf over his nose. He could see the subway entrance a few blocks down. All he had to do was bare the cold for a few more minutes before he could relax underground for a little while.

Something really big was heading straight for him. Before he could turn, a car honked. He staggered and lost his balance. As he crashed onto the snowy concrete, he stared in shock at whoever frightened him. It was a sleek black SUV with New York plates. A door popped open on the other side and snow crunched under the stranger's feet as they walked around the car.

Peter was tense, gloved fingers curling around the paper bag in one hand and the snow in the other. He eyed the back of the van, muscles twitching with anticipation. Somebody rounded the corner and stared at the teen.

"Of all the things that I figured would take you by surprise, a car horn? Really?"

Peter sighed, relieved. "Mr. Stark, hey." Tony pursed his lips, offering a hand and pulling the boy to his feet.

"What're you doing out here, kid? Shouldn't the snow storm and lack of life anywhere give you any hint that this wasn't a good idea?"

Peter chewed on his lip, smiling. "What about you, eh? Roads are closed, Mr. Stark. Pretty sure that means you can't drive on them."

"Don't get smart if you want a ride home." Tony snapped his fingers and walked around the car. Peter didn't hesitate. He yanked open the back door and began to climb in when Tony stopped him with a whistle. "Up here, kid."

Frowning, Peter switched doors and climbed into the front. Tony was turning on the radio. "I didn't know you drive," Peter said, looking at the man in awe.

Tony made a face. "I'm a grown man; I can drive a car."

"No, yeah, I know, but I…"

"Who do you think I am?"

"Well honestly, I thought you were more of a passenger than a driver."

Tony rolled his eyes. "I drive when I want to, like when Times Square is completely deserted and I'm not supposed to be on the roads. It's more fun that way."

"Okay," Peter snickered. He began unwrapping his scarf from his neck and pulling off his gloves.

"So, what's in the bag?" Tony asked, glancing at the paper bag at the boy's feet before returning to the road.

"The what?"

"At your feet—that bag."

"Oh, oh!" Peter grabbed the bag and held it in his lap. "Donuts. You want one?"

Tony heaved a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Don't tell me you came all the way out here just for some donuts."

Peter's cheeks flushed and he laughed sheepishly. "Ah no, not exactly."

"It's Christmas Eve Eve, about ten degrees below zero, and you're out here hitting up the donut shops. Look at you, you're hardly even dressed for that." Tony shook his head, slowing to a stop at a red light. "Honestly kid, what're you thinking?"

Peter sighed. He leaned his forehead against the window and stared at the snowy city as it passed. Tony alternated between watching the kid and the road, eyebrows scrunching with worry.

"Aunt May is having a… A day."

"A day like… Oh, that time of the-"

"No, no." Peter looked at him. "No, a day like… Like she woke up this morning and realized this is our first Christmas without Uncle Ben."

"Oh," Tony breathed. "I'm… Sorry to hear that." He continued down the road, mind cloudy with dozens of thoughts. This must've been why Peter was so hesitant a few months earlier. Tony got the sense that the teen wasn't being completely honest when he'd asked why Peter helped the people like he did. Peter had beat around the bush and given a vague answer, but now everything seemed to click.

"When you can do the things I can, but you don't, and the bad things still happen, they happen because of you."

"She's not taking it well," Peter continued, rubbing his eye. "So, I went downtown to get her some doughnuts from her favorite place." Gently, he shoved the bag under his feet and turned his head toward the city rolling by. "I got a discount, too." The teen snickered.

"Probably 'cause I was their only customer today. Perks of snow days, I guess. Another perk is getting out of school, obviously. My friend Ned and I used to have snowball fights all the time."

"Used to?" Tony asked, half listening. His mind was on a lot of things like how Peter had conveniently steered the conversation away from his family. Also, he was focused on how pretty New York City looked covered in snow and on top of that, Tony was trying to discreetly type in the kid's address so he wouldn't have to admit to not knowing where Peter lived (and risk looking like a terrible mentor).

"Yeah, well," Peter laughed and launched into a story about how his friend Ned through a snowball that invaded somebody's apartment. The kid tended to ramble, Tony noticed. A lot, actually. From the videos he'd seen about Spider-Man, Peter talked quite a bit with the criminals he was facing. Tony wondered if it was a defense mechanism, like when Peter was nervous or scared. Or anxious about something. Tony glanced at the kid.

"… threatened to shoot us!"

Tony blinked. "What?"

Peter looked at him, eyes shining with amusement. "Yeah! The man's usually a nice guy so I don't think he'd actually shoot us, but we didn't stick around long enough to find out. And that's why we don't play in the streets anymore."

Tony smirked at the way Peter grinned and giggled at his own story. A silence fell over the two for a moment, each watching the world pass. Tony took a breath, ready to bring up the family matter again, but Peter was faster.

"So, what're you doing back in town? Thought you guys moved upstate?"

For just a split second, Tony wondered if that 'spider sense' of Peter's knew Tony was going to ask about uncle Ben. Then, he pushed that thought aside and rolled his eyes.

"We did, but we're back visiting Pepper's family."

"Oh, I didn't know Pepper was from here."

Tony hummed, turning down a familiar street. Peter shrank in his seat and suddenly found a loose string on his scarf to be the most interesting thing.

"Run out of distractions?" Tony guessed. He pulled into a spot right in front of Peter's building and parked.

"What? I wasn't…"

"Kid, c'mon."

Peter sighed. He dragged his finger along the seam in the seat, taking a moment to admire the leather. "Okay, so… So like… My aunt May's really not taking this Christmas easily, you know? And I…" Peter huffed, frustrated. "I know I should be up there with her, but I can't stand seeing her like that. So, I did kind of a douche move."

Tony couldn't imagine this kid doing anything douche-y, if he was being honest.

"The donuts were an excuse to get out of the house."

Peter chewed on his lip. "Uh-huh. I knew that'd get me an hour, at least. If you hadn't shown up, I'd probably accidentally get on the wrong train and be home by like, six." Tony snorted, although he really didn't mean to. He was probably supposed to be telling the kid to face his problems and stuff, but the plans of avoidance sounded too much like his own when he was Peter's age. Plus, Tony being amused made Peter smile and relax a bit.

"So, you conveniently haven't mentioned how you're dealing with this," Tony mentioned casually, maybe hoping a little bit that Peter didn't hear the concern laced through the words.

Peter could feel the man staring at him. He shrugged, shoving his hands in the pockets of his coat. "I'm fine. I mean, I'm dealing, but I'm fine."

Tony scoffed and rolled his eyes. "As the king of hiding emotions, that was horribly weak."

Peter couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from twitching into a small smile. "Yet another thing I have to learn from you." He leaned down, beginning to gather his things.

"Oh no, no no. You have many things to learn, yes, but not that. Look, you can lie to aunt May, your friends, anyone you want to," Tony said, running his fingers over the metal and grooves in his watch, "but don't lie to me. Don't even try, 'cause you're bad at it and I'll know."

Peter laughed, popping open the door. "I'll try to remember that. Thanks for the ride, Mr. Stark."

It wasn't until Peter was about to shut the door did Tony realize what had happened. "You talked your way out again!" Tony accused, shocked. "You're way too good at that."

Peter grinned. "It's my specialty, what can I say?"

Tony growled, rolling his eyes. He couldn't believe he'd just been tricked by a kid.

"Last chance—donut?" Peter gently shook the bag. Tony pursed his lips and nodded curtly, obviously still trying to show that he was annoyed.

As Peter fished a doughnut from the bag, Tony said, "Listen kid, you and your aunt May are both having hard times this year, even if you won't admit to it." Peter smirked a little at Tony's knowing tone. He leaned into the car and handed off a chocolate glazed doughnut. "Watch Rudolph or make cookies or whatever cheesy Christmas stuff people do this time of year."

"In other words, distract her?" Peter grinned and Tony rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, do that. You seem to be very good at that."

"I get what you mean, though. I'll try." Peter rolled the bag closed and wrapped his scarf around his neck.

"Now, get inside. You're letting all the heat out," Tony ordered, waving his hand at the boy.

Peter smiled. "Merry Christmas, Mr. Stark."

Tony sighed. He glanced from the steering wheel to the grinning teenager beside him, losing a fight for restraining from smiling.

"Merry Christmas, Peter."

He watched until Peter disappeared in his building. A light flurry began to rain from the sky. Tony took a deep breath, leaning forward to peer up at the gray clouds.

"Heck of a kid you've got, Ben," he said. Tony leaned back in his chair and pulled out of the parking lot. "You'd be proud," he continued. He glanced at the apartment building in his rearview mirror. "I am."