But It's Tradition, Peter!
Okay. I am so excited to introduce this new series I've been working on. It's going to consist of quite a few parts (around six) and they will all be about the traditions Peter and the Avengers have for each holiday. This one, as you'll soon find out, is the Easter holiday!
Also, this is a kinda AU (the AU we all love) where Civil War never happened, Peter lives with Tony in the facility, and the Avengers welcomed Bucky with open arms :) There's no Vision (I love JARVIS, okay? Okay) and no Wanda (I love her too, don't get me wrong, but I didn't feel like she fit into this series).
Hope you enjoy! :D
If there was one thing Peter disliked about living with the Avengers, it was how much they treated him like a kid.
He didn't hate it as much as some people would – he'd made the decision a long time ago that having a family who were over-protective of him was a lot better than having a family that didn't give a damn if he lived or died – but he didn't exactly like it.
It wasn't the safety precautions that Tony had discretely added to his suit. It wasn't the fact that he was not allowed in Bruce's lab because there were 'dangerous chemicals' down there. It wasn't the 'homework before TV' rule that Steve insisted on him having. No. It was the traditions.
One would think that the Avengers wouldn't have anything traditional in their big family and, admittedly, that had been true. Until Peter came along, and suddenly nobody was allowed downstairs to open Christmas presents until everyone was there, and everybody had to be there for the traditional board game before Thanksgiving dinner, and the Halloween outfits had to be matching, even if they all looked horrible in them, and nobody was allowed to be asleep when the clock struck midnight on New Years' Eve, and if it was your birthday, everyone had to sit around your bed in your room as you opened your presents, and every 4th of July they had to hold a firework display in the garden of the Avengers' facility, and Easter… everybody had to partake in the traditional Egg Hunt.
And, sure, all of these would probably sound pretty awesome. What was better than spending every holiday with the Avengers, of all people?
But the embarrassment… Peter could still remember the looks he got from people in school the week he returned after New Years' Day; Clint had posted a picture on social media of him asleep on Tony's lap with the caption: Petey asleep on Iron Dad after a night of fun with the fam. How adorable.
Tony's reply? Send this to me. I want to put it in a frame.
And he'd been mortified when he looked down at his phone when he woke up to see a Twitter notification that read: Tony Stark has changed his name to Iron Dad.
Truth be told, he loved the traditions... as long as they stayed between them. Not when pictures of him stuffing his face with turkey at Thanksgiving and wearing reindeer ears at Christmas made it into the goddamn newspaper.
Peter sighed as he lay in his bed, staring up at the ceiling and mentally counting down the minutes until Tony would bound into his room screaming-
"HAPPY EASTER, SPIDERLING!"
Yep. There it was.
"Go away," the teen whined, rolling over and pulling his pillow over his head. "Don't wanna get up."
Tony chuckled, moving further into the room and opening the curtains. He heard Peter groan and tiredly tell him to close them again but chose to ignore him. "Come on, Pete. Up."
"Noooo."
"Peter. Everyone's downstairs waiting!"
"Let them wait. They can do the egg hunt without me."
"But it's tradition, Peter!"
"Piss off, Tony."
Tony lifted an eyebrow and put both hands on his hips. "Now, why would I do that?" he asked, and on receiving no response, the man moved forward, grabbed Peter's duvet and pulled it off him. He ignored the boy's shout of protest and turned to walk out of the room, smiling victoriously. "You've got two minutes max to get up and meet us downstairs, Pete. JARVIS, let me know if he tries to go back to sleep again so I can come up and tickle him."
"Certainly, Sir."
Could an AI sound smug? Yes, he most definitely could, Peter thought irately as he moved to get out of bed and quickly go to the bathroom, not wishing for Tony to follow up on that threat.
"Morning!" Steve chirped as Peter trudged downstairs, rubbing his tired eyes and looking drowsily at the group of people stood grinning widely in front of him.
"Yeah, hey," he mumbled, hating how everyone's grins widened.
They were all stood waiting outside the door to the huge living room, still wearing their pyjamas. The teen felt a little happier to see that Bucky looked just as tired, if not more, than he was - his hair was an absolute mess, and his eyes were drooping every so often as he leaned the slightest bit into Steve.
"Where's Tony?" he asked, glancing drearily around the group and not even questioning why Thor was sat on the floor wearing a Captain America hoodie.
"Here."
Peter turned around to see Tony walking towards him, holding out a mug of what was hopefully coffee. He took it, sighing with happiness when he lifted the mug to his lips and took a sip of the hot liquid. "Thank you," he said, and the man pat his back before turning to the rest of the group and rubbing his hands together excitedly.
"Okay," he said, "we've done this before, but I'll explain it again just so we all know what we're doing. Two teams, as usual. We all get a clue to start us off – Clint's got them – and whoever gets to their egg first wins."
Bruce frowned. "Won't we all have the same clues?"
Tony shook his head. "Nope. Pepper's hidden two eggs, and she's written out a separate set of clues for both teams."
"What does the winner get?" Sam asked, as competitive as ever.
"Both teams' Easter eggs," Tony said with a smirk, holding his hands up defensively as everyone started shouting at him that they would not give up their egg just for the sake of the game. "Okay! Okay! Damn, you guys. Pepper has the prize, I don't know what it is, and besides, we've got tons of eggs upstairs for us all. You seriously think we're gonna share two eggs between the- what? The ten of us?"
He rolled his eyes, and the Avengers quickly began dividing themselves into two groups. They were pretty good teams, Peter thought as he looked around, and he actually found that he was getting quite excited.
His team consisted of himself, Steve, Bucky, Sam, and Thor, and they had officially dubbed themselves: 'We Only Came For The Chocolate'.
Tony, Clint, Nat, Bruce and Rhodey were therefore a part of 'The Winners'. (Peter didn't need to ask to know who'd made up the name).
He was wide awake now, bouncing impatiently on his toes. Tony glanced over with a fond smile before moving into position. "Is everyone ready?" At the nods he received, the man grinned and shouted, loud and clear, "GO!"
We Only Came For The Chocolate, which the team thankfully shortened to WOCFTC, quickly moved into a circle, Steve turning over the small piece of paper he'd been given and reading the clue out loud. "The hunt starts here, outside this room, but there's something you must do. Find the place where the flowers bloom, and you'll find your next clue."
The team frowned. Where the flowers bloom…
"Outside?" Bucky suggested.
"We can try it," Steve said, and the five rushed into the elevator, frantically pressing the 'down' button. Once it reached the ground floor, they ran out and immediately made their way towards the door, ignoring the looks of confusion they got from a few people who had come to work early.
Peter involuntarily shivered as he and the others opened the door and stepped out, suddenly remembering he was in nothing but his pyjamas. The cold air which usually accompanied spring at seven in the morning hit him, and he wrapped his arms around himself, not arguing when Steve quickly removed his hoodie and helped him put it on.
"Right," the Captain said, "anyone have any ideas?"
"The flower beds over by the entrance?" Peter said, pulling the hood up. "Pepper was talking about the daffodils which'll be blooming there soon."
Thor grinned. "You are smart, spider child!" he said happily, gently clasping Peter's shoulder before setting off after Steve, who'd started running as soon as the words had left the teen's mouth. He would not let Tony win. He wouldn't.
Sure enough, a piece of paper that was similar to the one Steve was clasping in his hand was sticking out between the petals of a bright pink tulip. He grabbed it and waited for the others to catch up before reading it out. "Congratulations, you've found the clue, hidden in the flower. To find the chocolate Easter egg, locate the biggest shower."
Sam made a face. "How the hell are we supposed to know where the biggest shower in the facility is? Look at this freakin' place!"
"It's Tony's," Peter piped up, and the rest of the team turned to each other, grinning widely. They were so going to win this!
Peter smiled as he ran after them. He hadn't even been worried about them asking how in God's name he knew the size of Tony Stark's shower – it wasn't like they didn't know he got nightmares and would often be found in the man's bed some time during the night.
"We're not gonna be blown apart by some booby trap when we go in his room, are we?" Bucky asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice, and Steve chuckled.
"That would be his lab you're talking about, Buck."
"Oh, yeah."
Thor made it to Tony's room first, reaching out and pushing down the handle. "I shall get this one, Steve," he insisted as he walked into the bathroom, laughing victoriously when his eyes immediately landed on the next clue. "I have found it!" he said, walking out of the door and smiling as he read the words. "If you find the chocolate, you will be a winner. To do this, find the place where spiders eat their dinner."
All eyes turned on Peter, and the teen moved uncomfortably. "Uh- what?"
"Come on, Pete!" Steve said. "You've found both the last clues. Where do you eat your dinner?"
Peter's eyebrows furrowed. "With you guys, in the dining room. You know that."
"Yeah, I dunno," Bucky thought out loud, turning towards the door of Tony's room. "It's not just Peter that eats in the dining room, is it? It's gotta be something else. Come on, guys, think. Pepper's smart, she'll have found a good place for this one."
Hm. Peter went over the word in his mind. Find the place where spiders eat their dinner. Well, spiders ate flies, didn't they? And… and the flies got stuck to the web… that the spider made… the web was their home… home… the facility… the web… the spider's room… room… bedroom… his bedroom. "My bedroom!"
The team watched in silence as Peter spun around and bolted out the door, hesitating for only a moment before chasing after him.
Peter arrived in his room first, briefly wondering how Pepper manged to get in to put the clue there without him seeing, but not minding too much. As long as she wasn't in there to rip the covers off him and threaten to tickle him if he didn't get out of bed – cough, cough, Tony – then she was allowed in there. Now. Where was the clue?
It didn't take long for the rest of WOCFTC to arrive, the four of them immediately helping Peter look for the paper. They found it on top of the pile of Literature homework the teen had left on the side of his desk, and he couldn't help but grimace at the thought of having to do it once all this was over.
Bucky saw him gazing nervously at it and gave him a pointed look. "No homework today, bud," he told him quietly, "it's Easter. I'll help you with it tomorrow."
Peter sighed and leaned slightly into the one-armed hug the Winter Soldier gave him, nodding his agreement and accepting the clue Sam handed to him.
Clearing his throat, he looked down. "Uh- okay. You've almost come to the end of this ride, you must be feeling cheery. To win the hunt and find the fourth clue, go to the last place the soldier got teary."
Sam laughed triumphantly and pointed a finger at Bucky. "The last place the Winter Soldier cried! Ha!"
"And where was that?" Steve asked, raising an eyebrow at his best friend.
"When we watched the Lion King!" Sam said, and Peter erupted into giggles.
"I did not cry," Bucky protested. If looks could kill, Sam would be ash on the floor.
"Sure, buddy. Tell that to the clue we're gonna find in the living room!" And he was off, Peter and Thor close behind.
Steve turned to Bucky, the two of them staring at each other for a moment until the Captain burst into laughter.
Bucky rose his arms exasperatedly and rolled his eyes. "I did not cry," he grumbled, storming out of the room.
Sam, Peter and Thor jogged along the corridors, stopping abruptly as they came face-to-face with Tony and his team.
Clint's eyes narrowed. "We Only Came For The Chocolate," he greeted, voice tense and emotionless.
"The Winners," Sam said, inclining his head.
"How fairs your egg hunt?"
"Our egg hunt fairs well."
Silence followed after that, both teams staring each other down as if they were about to fight to the death. If someone had walked past them at that moment, they'd probably be extremely concerned and would most definitely call security.
Peter snorted. He couldn't help it.
Tony rolled his eyes, grinning. "Wow, kid," he said, "you had to ruin the competitive vibe, didn't you? Anyways, see you all later! We've got an egg to find!" And The Winners were pushing past WOCFTC, running off down the corridor and shoving at each other.
"You people are so petty!" Thor shouted after them. "And tiny!"
When Steve and Bucky finally arrived in the living room, Sam, Peter and Thor were searching around the couches and the coffee table, lifting cushions and turning over plant pots.
"What've you found?" The Captain asked, and Thor looked up from inspecting the inside of a glass.
"Nothing," he said.
"If I may be of service?"
The team frowned and simultaneously looked up at the ceiling. "You're gonna help us with the egg hunt, JARVIS?" Bucky asked. "Isn't that, like, cheating?"
"Not entirely," the AI said. "I would just like to inform you that Thor accidentally brushed the final clue to your game under the couch when he turned around."
Peter grinned and dove onto the floor, grabbing for the paper. "Found it!" he shouted happily. "Thanks, J."
"My pleasure, Mr Parker."
Peter smiled, standing up and skimming over the words. His heart sank.
"Peter? What does it say?!"
The teen sighed and handed the paper over to Sam, who took it and read the words out loud.
"You've almost come to the end of the game. To receive your prize, find Iron Dad's photo frame." He chuckled. "That's your New Years' Eve picture, isn't it?"
"Yes, yes, come on," Peter said with a roll of his eyes, pushing past Steve and trudging out the door. The other four followed, smirking.
If you had told somebody that Tony had pictures of his family hung around the whole facility, they'd ask who his family was, before insisting you had gone mad. Nevertheless, the amount of framed photos that the Avengers passed along the corridors on their private floors every day was unreal. Even now, Steve couldn't help but look at them as he walked along. There was one of him and Tony last July at the fireworks display they always held in the gardens for the Avengers and the staff who worked in the facility downstairs. The two of them were smiling widely, and Peter had done what he called 'photo-bombed'. He shook his head with a smile at the memory.
The team stopped at the end of the corridor where Tony had hung a huge version of the photo Clint had taken of him and Peter on the wall. It looked pretty good there, if they were all being honest, but Peter seemed to disagree as he glared at the picture and folded his arms across his chest.
"Hey! You won!" Pepper said as she walked out of a door, holding a huge M&M Easter egg in her arms. She smiled widely at the team and handed Peter the box. "Tony won't be very happy," she said, and Steve chuckled.
"Well," he said, "it would seem that we, in fact, are The Winners."
"I can't believe you won," Tony said for probably the tenth time in half an hour. The Avengers were sat in the living room, stuffing themselves with the chocolate that WOCFTC had received as their prize and decided to share with everyone else.
Peter rolled his eyes and broke off a piece of chocolate egg, popping it in his mouth. "You can't win everything," he said.
"Apparently not."
The boy smiled up at the man and leaned against his side, not protesting in the slightest when an arm went around his shoulders and pulled him closer. "Happy Easter, Pete," Tony said quietly.
This was nice. It was a tradition Peter was pretty certain he could live with, as long as nobody took any-
"Hey, Pete! Smile for the camera!"
"Clint, no!"
8:09AM: Clint Barton Tweeted a photo recently:
Happy Easter, guys! Here's another photo of Iron Dad and Spider Son.
8:10AM: Peter Parker: Clint. Delete.
8:12AM: Iron Dad: Send this to me.
8:13AM: Peter Parker: Omg… please don't.
8:16AM: Clint Barton: Sent.
8:20AM: Peter Parker changed his name to Spider Son.
8:24AM: Spider Son: Clint, tell me you're joking!
8:24AM: Spider Son: Wait.
8:25AM: Spider Son: Who took my phone?
8:28AM: Iron Dad: Definitely not me.
8:30AM: Spider Son: … I hate you.