Author's Note: Hello, hello, my readers! Welcome back to another installment of The Many Adventures of Iron Dad and Spider Son! Today, we got a Christmas-themed oneshot. Since Tony and Peter wouldn't get to see each other in person on Christmas, they have their Lab Day the day before, and both of them have gifts for each other and are a little nervous about it. I hope you all enjoy it, but…before we get to that…REVIEW REPLIES!
HJP ROX: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you love it! Hope you enjoy the next one!
Scylla646: LOL! Sorry, but hey that's what feels do to you, my dude! I'm so honored that chapter is your favorite so far! I hope you continue to enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything related to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
A Little Gift (December 23, 2016)
It had been exactly one week since Tony's parents' death anniversary, and while still upset of course, Tony found himself feeling better. When Peter, his intern, took time out of his patrol to see if he was okay, he found himself waking up the next day feeling better. It still hurt knowing that Howard and Maria were in fact murdered, but now knowing that his intern was in his corner made him want to show Peter that he appreciated it and that he was in the kid's corner as well. That thought alone gave him an idea. With Christmas coming up, it seemed like an excellent idea to get Peter something for Christmas. However, what could he get for his 15-year-old intern for Christmas? That was the million-dollar question leading up to Friday, December 23…the day before Christmas Eve…two days before Christmas.
"What if he doesn't like it, Pep?" Tony said as he wrapped the gift at the coffee table in the penthouse. "What if he thinks it's weird?"
"He would think it was weird if you bought him a giant rabbit like the one you got me that one time," she retorted as she watched him from where she sat on the couch "This is much more simple, and he'll appreciate it."
"First of all, you said you liked that rabbit," Tony retorted with a raised eyebrow. "Second of all, why would he want this?"
"It's sentimental," Pepper replied as she moved closer to her fiancé rubbing his back, "and it's a nice memento for the time you both spent together. Trust me, honey. He will love it."
Tony sighed. He couldn't help but feel that Pepper was right. That was the whole reason he wanted to give his intern a gift to begin with…to show him how much he was appreciated. "Well, we are past the point of no return," he said with a small smile as he continued to wrap the present.
"What if he doesn't like it, Ned?" Peter asked as he took the books out of his locker before closing it.
School had finally let out for the winter break, and everyone was rushing out of Midtown to get a start on their 10-day break from school. As much as Peter was excited to start the break, he was more than excited to head over to Stark Tower to spend the day with Tony before Christmas. However, the nervousness creeped inside as he remembered that he had a gift for his mentor. It was May's idea, and he liked it. However, he also couldn't help but wonder what the billionaire would think about his intern giving him a Christmas gift. What if he thought it was weird?
"Peter, come on," Ned said rolling his eyes. "Of course, he would like it. It's a gift for him, and it shows just how much you appreciate him."
"Yeah, but he's a billionaire," Peter said. "He has so many things that are much more expensive, and all I'm giving him is two lousy objects."
"Since when has he ever cared about how much gifts cost, Peter?" Ned asked raising an eyebrow. "He took you to a diner…in Queens. I'm telling you, dude. He'll love what you give him."
Peter realized that his best friend had a valid point. Tony never once complained about how much things cost or how cheap they were. Not only that, but like Ned said, they went to a diner in Queens when they had their weekend together. Maybe he would be with his Christmas gift.
"You don't think he would think it's inappropriate?" Peter asked after a moment.
"What's inappropriate about giving someone a Christmas gift?" Ned asked. "You gave the man hot chocolate just last week. Trust May and me, it will be fine."
Peter was just about to reply when his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket, so he took it out of his pocket and saw that it was a text from Happy telling him that he was outside waiting for him.
"Well, guess it's past the point of no return now," Peter said with a small smile.
"You'll be fine," Ned said as they performed their signature handshake and hugged. "Let me know how it goes."
"Will do," Peter replied. "Merry Christmas, Ned!"
"Merry Christmas, Peter!" Ned said.
Peter felt his heart pound as Happy drove closer and closer to the tower, and as usual, it seemed to loom over him as Tony's forehead of security brought them to the tower. The mixed excitement and nervousness swirled around in his stomach, and he took a deep breath as he clutched his backpack tighter.
"Alright, kid," Happy suddenly said jolting Peter out of his thoughts, "this is our stop." He pulled the car up to the front of the building stopping right in front of the front doors.
"Great, thanks, Happy," he said as he opened the door ad climbed out. "I'll see you later! Enjoy the rest of your day!"
"You too," Happy replied with a smile. "Have fun with the boss! You didn't hear it from me, but I think he's got something special planned for today."
"Really?" Peter asked as he looked at the head of security with furrowed eyebrows. What could Tony have planned for their what-was-becoming-their-usual Lab Day? Other than to work on the nanotechnology project?
"Yup, so you better get up there," Happy replied.
"Okay…?" Peter said furrowing his eyebrows even more as he slid out of the car. "See you later!"
After showing the front desk his badge, he made his way to the elevator and hopped on as FRIDAY greeted him. He of course greeted the AI in return. May and Ben always taught him that that was good manners…to say hello when someone greeted you, and despite the nervousness, he made absolute sure he acknowledged his mentor's AI. As the elevator moved all the way up to the lab, Peter gripped the straps of his backpack even more. He went over the plan again and again in his head just as he did with May and Ned.
1. He was going to greet Tony…like he always did and walk over to the work bench nonchalantly
2. He was going to ask Tony what they were working on just like he always did
3. Whether it was nanotechnology or suit upgrades, he was going to jump on in and work on it
4. Once it would be time to eat dinner, they head up to the penthouse to eat, and then he would bring his backpack with him
5. As soon as dinner was done, before they would go back down to the lab, he would ask Tony if he could have a minute and then explain that he really appreciated all Tony had done for him and wanted to show him with gifts.
6. He would then give him the gifts and hope Tony liked them
Peter took a deep breath as the elevator continued to go up until it finally dinged and opened its doors, and sure enough, he saw Tony himself working in the lab.
"Hey, Mr. Stark," Peter said happily as he practically skipped over to his mentor.
"Hey, kid," Tony replied with a smile of his own as he looked up from his work, "you're finally free for the break, huh?"
"Ugh, finally," Peter said throwing his head back sighing in relief as he slid his backpack off his shoulders and placed it next to the work bench on the floor. "I thought we would never make it. I'm so excited to have 10 whole days of sleeping in, goofing off with you, May, and Ned, working in the lab all day, and patrolling without a single care."
Tony couldn't help but widen his smile at hearing his intern sound excited for his break, and he couldn't stop the warm feeling swelling in his chest when Peter mentioned that he was excited to goof off with him and to work in the lab for a good chunk of his Christmas break. As soon as Thanksgiving passed, Peter made it absolutely clear that he wanted to still make time during the break to spend time with his mentor, and it was amazing to see and hear it from the teenager himself.
"I'm glad to hear that, kid," Tony said with his smile widening, "and now that you don't have school anymore, we have more time to get further in our nanotech project."
"Sweet!" Peter replied happily. "I honestly can't wait until this is finished, Mr. Stark. It'll be nice to just push a button to put the suit on."
"Trust me, I know how you feel," Tony replied. "Now, let's get to work."
Sometime later, after a few hours, Tony was able to hear Peter's stomach grumbling, which was becoming more and more of the indicator—aside from Pepper and FRIDAY—that it was time for dinner. Thankfully, Tony had food delivered straight to the penthouse, so that it was waiting for them…along with Peter's gift. The billionaire found himself noticing Peter's expressions a little more, and he just couldn't help but notice how nervous the kid looked. Plus, he bought his backpack, which was somewhat odd. Usually, if Peter needed to study or finish an assignment, he would bring his bag with them when they would go up to eat dinner. However, Peter was on Christmas break now, so why was he trying to get homework done?
Tony decided to set those questions aside for later. Once he would finish eating dinner with Peter, he could give his gift and then ask about his backpack. He took a deep breath and led his intern off the elevator as soon as the doors opened to the penthouse. Sure enough, there were two pizza boxes waiting for them.
"Is Ms. Potts going to join us?" Peter asked as he and Tony sat down at the table.
"Not tonight, kid," Tony said with a small smile. "She's got a couple of meetings to finish up before tomorrow. It's just us tonight, and we can have pizza set aside for her later."
"Sounds good," Peter said smiling and nodding. "I would hate to see her not eat anything."
Tony smiled completely amazed at how kind and compassionate Peter was. He had a feeling with how willing he was to use his abilities to help the little guy and to even save the Vulture—Adrien Toomes even after the hell he caused on Peter's homecoming night. Every time they had spent together, he was learning more and more about the kid, and he was loving every minute of it. However, that didn't stop the nervousness still creeping inside of him as he looked toward the couch knowing the wrapped present was sitting there waiting to be given. Nevertheless, he sat down and opened the pizza box.
"Thank you so much again, Mr. Stark," Peter said as they stood up to clean up from their meal. "The pizza was great…again."
"You're welcome, kid," Tony said. "I've got to keep my intern well-fed, don't I?" Dinner was a success, and Tony felt himself to be a bit more relaxed as they cleaned up…until his thought went back to what would happen next as he found himself looking at the couch. Normally, after cleaning up, they would go back to the lab to work some more before it would be time for Peter to go home, but tonight, he hoped to give Peter the gift before that so that it didn't seem like an afterthought. He wanted the kid to feel special…like he mattered. "Kid—"
"Mr. Stark—" Peter said at the exact same time causing them both to stop and stare at each other.
Both mentor and mentee chuckled nervously and scratched the back of their necks awkwardly.
"Uh…y-you go first, Peter," Tony said.
"No, no, it's fine," Peter said quickly feeling his heart pounding as he thought about his backpack sitting by the table.
"Okay, okay," Tony said clapping his hands together trying to think of the best way to bring this particular topic to light until he decided to simply bring it up. "Uhh…listen, before we head back down to the lab…I was wondering if maybe we can have a seat on the couch. I…I have something for you."
"W-What kind of something, sir?" Peter asked.
"Come sit on the couch with me," Tony simply said gesturing to the couch with his head.
Peter of course followed his mentor and sat down next to him.
"So, since we're not going to see each other in person this weekend…with it—you know—being Christmas and all," Tony began, "and a bit difficult to give you a gift over FaceTime, I wanted to give you a little something tonight. I've really enjoyed working together with you for the past few months, and I really appreciated what you did for me last week, kid. And…to show you that," he bent down to grab something from under the coffee table, "I got you a little gift."
"Wait, really?" Peter asked with a small smile.
"Of course, it's Christmas, kid," Tony said smiling as he held out a small rectangular-shape wrapped in red with a green bow. "What kind of mentor would I be if I didn't get my intern a gift?"
"Well, I'm glad you said that because…" Peter quickly stood up and walked back over to the table leaving Tony in complete confusion.
"What are you doing?" Tony asked.
"You'll see," Peter replied as he dug into his backpack before coming back to the couch. "You asked me what kind of mentor you would be if you didn't get me a gift. Well…" he sat back down with a red gift bag in his hand, "what kind of intern would I be if I didn't get my mentor a gift?"
Tony chuckled and smiled. "Kid, you didn't have to," he said.
"I know," Peter said, "but I wanted to. I really appreciate everything you've done for me this year…the new suit, the internship, the nanotech project, everything…Merry Christmas, Mr. Stark."
Tony could only smile in return. "Merry Christmas, Peter," he replied.
Tony dug through tissue paper and found not one but two items in the gift bag. The first thing he pulled out was small, round, and wrapped in tissue paper. He slowly unwrapped the tissue paper finding a small coffee mug. It was white, and on it was a message: "#1 BOSS" on the front.
"Aw, kid, thank you…thank you so much," Tony said with a smile. "I'm always looking for a new coffee mug."
"You're welcome, Mr. Stark," Peter said. "There's one more thing…in there too, and…if you don't like it, it's totally cool. It was Aunt May's idea, and I was just humoring her."
Tony didn't say anything as he looked in the bag again and pulled out the second item. It was the same rectangular shape as the present he gave Peter. He quickly glanced at his intern before unwrapping the second gift only to stop once he saw what it was. It was a picture…of the two of them from just a month ago when they took pictures with Peter's certificate to provide some evidence for Midtown, and it was one of the silly pictures they took…the one where they held the certificate upside down and gave each other the bunny ears.
"Wow, kid…uhh…wow," Tony said with a genuine smile on his face. "Y-You got this for me?"
"Yeah, it was May's idea," Peter said scratching the back of his neck and blushing a light shade of pink. "Umm…she said that it would be a personal…thoughtful addition, you know, but if you don't want it, it's totally fine."
"Uhh…y-you might want to open your gift, bud," Tony said as he leaned back on the couch.
Peter furrowed his eyebrows together but decided to go along with it and unwrapped the gift. When he slowly tore the wrapping paper, he stopped and smiled when he saw that…it was the exact same picture he had just given Tony…the one picture with his upside down certificate and them giving each other the bunny ears. He looked at Mr. Stark holding the picture up. "Really? Seriously?" Peter asked smiling.
"Very serious," Tony said. "It seems that Pepper and May are the real geniuses of the bunch."
Peter couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, looks like it," he said, "and I'm really glad we got them around."
"Me too, kid," Tony replied. "It seems like we've really become a part of each other's lives this year."
"Yeah, it really has," Peter said, "and I'm glad for that, you know? I…it's nice having you in my corner, Mr. Stark."
"It's nice having you in my corner, too, Peter," Tony said he held up a fist for a fist bump. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas," Peter replied as he gladly shared a fist-bump with Tony.
Author's Note: Annnnnnnnnnd that's all for now, boys and girls! I really hope you all enjoy it! I was originally going to do the day before Christmas and then Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but I figured that it would've been a little too repetitive since we did it with Thanksgiving. I might write separate Christmas 2016 oneshot later, but I decided to just focus on Tony and Peter giving each other gifts the day before. Just know that they did get on FaceTime with May, Pepper, Rhodey, Happy, and Vision both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and had a great time! Anyway, up next, we go into the year of 2017! We're going to start things off with a Big Gala that Peter goes to with Tony and Pepper as Tony's intern! Don't forget to leave a review, thanks, guys! See you in the next chapter, and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!