Part 5

Christmas Day

'Merry Christmas!' a very excitable voice shouts is the first thing Tony hears the next morning, before a solid form lands on the bottom of the bed and effectively crushes his legs. He makes some form of grunting noise in response and burrows further into the warm, very solid pillow next to him.

'Merry Christmas, Pete' his pillow rumbles and Tony lifts a hand to wave.

'Merry Christmas, Steve. Merry Christmas Tony!' Peter says again, bouncing on the bottom of the bed. 'Come on get up! Wanda and Vision are already up making hot drinks for everyone. They sent me off to get everyone up.'

'Why you?' Tony mumbles, his brain catching up with the excited ramblings of the young boy.

'Probably because I'm faster and can dodge stuff,' Tony can feel the movement in the bed from the boy's shrug. 'Now come on get up!' he starts trying to drag the covers off them.

Steve grabs hold and chuckles a little. 'I wouldn't do that if I were you, Pete,' he says. 'Why don't you go wake up some of the others and we'll be upstairs within the hour alright?'

'An hour?' Tony can picture Peter's pout. 'I don't think Wanda's going to be that patient.'

'I don't think you're going to be that patient,' he mumbles into Steve's shoulder. 'We'll be up soon. Go wake up Bucky.'

'See you soon!' Peter shouts, running out the room and closing the door behind him.

'What time is it?' Tony says, still refusing to move from his cocoon of super-soldier arms.

He feels Steve shift slightly to look at the clock and makes a noise of protestation. His boyfriend just chuckles again and runs a hand through his hair as he twists back. 'Um… just after half seven.'

'Half seven?! I don't see this time in the morning unless I'm still awake from the night before.'

'Merry Christmas, Tony,' Steve says in reply, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

'Mmm… Merry Christmas, Steve,' he says, finally opening his eyes to look up at the blond. 'Now how about you give me a proper Christmas wake up?' Another rumbling chuckle from Steve and the soldier leans down to capture his lips in a bruising kiss.

They spend a few minutes trading lazy kisses, and Steve is rolling Tony onto his back when the sound of heavy footsteps and grumbling comes from the corridor and they break away. Steve chuckles, sending warm breath over his face. 'I think Peter's woken Bucky up.'

Before Tony can reply there's a knock on the door and the man in question pushes it open, a scowl on his face. 'Tony, learn to control your damn kid and stop him from waking me up at obscene hours!'

Steve just laughs at his friend and lays back, pulling Tony into his side again as the dark haired man smirks at their visitor. 'Sorry, Bucky, if you want him to leave you alone you shouldn't wind him up so much. Now why don't you go sort out that bird's nest you call hair and we'll see you upstairs soon?'

Bucky scowls deeper and gives Tony the middle finger. 'Yeah right, you two aren't getting out of that bed for ages yet. If you leave me to deal with the terrible Christmas twins and Deadpool alone for any amount of time I'm coming down here and removing you both from bed. I don't care how dressed or undressed you are!' With that he stalks off, closing the door behind him.

'He'll be fine when he's got his coffee,' Tony waves a dismissive hand. 'Besides I've got my own big bad super soldier to keep me from getting carried away.'

Steve laughs and gives him another kiss. 'That's very true. The only person allowed to carry you away from our bed is me.'

Tony just laughs, then reaches to his bed side drawer and pulls out a small wrapped box. 'Merry Christmas, babe,' he says, giving the blond another kiss as he hands over his present. 'I wanted to give this to you when it was just us.'

'Thank you,' is his reply, with a big, clear smile.

'You don't even know what it is yet,' he points out with a laugh.

'Doesn't mean I can't be grateful,' Steve counters, sitting up to start unwrapping his gift. 'Besides anything you get me is going to be amazing.' Tony waits nervously whilst Steve finishes unwrapping his present, trying not to fidget as the box is opened and the gift is revealed. 'Tony…' Steve breaths, eyes widening in surprise.

'It's made from the same stuff as my arc reactor,' he explains, taking the ring from the box and turning it so Steve can see. 'There's also something similar to a very mini reactor in there. Press this small button here and it can light up, so if you ever get stuck anywhere you've always got a light. Press it again and it'll set off a signal so we can come find you. I just…' he trails off, not meeting Steve's eyes at his soft confession, 'I didn't want to risk losing you. And you know how I am with commitment so it's also a promise to stick around. I mean not a permanent, but a-' his nervous rambling is cut off by Steve pining him to the bed and kissing him hard, big hands coming up to gently frame his face.

'I love it,' he whispers against Tony's lips when he breaks away. 'I… thank you so much, Tony.'

'Glad you like it,' the inventor laughs, slipping it onto the ring finger of his offered right hand.

'You never cease to amaze me you know that?' the love in his blue eyes makes Tony a little dizzy, so he just kisses him in response. 'Now I think it's time for your present,' Steve grins, sitting up again and reaching over to his bedside table to pull a box from his drawer.

'You went for the same hiding place I did!' Tony says as Steve hands him his present.

'It's the one place I knew you wouldn't look,' Steve laughs, watching as Tony rips off the bright red wrapping paper and opening the long thin box inside.

'What? Steve you didn't!' he turns to look at his boyfriend in shock. 'But you hate race tracks.'

'Yeah but you love them,' he laughs, gesturing at the four tickets he'd bought, renting out a racetrack for the day. 'And you know this is your Christmas present. They said you can take as many people to watch as you like, but only four can be racing at any one time. They also let you have a go racing whichever of the vehicles you want. Do you like it?'

'That's a joke right? Of course I love it,' he says, giving his boyfriend a kiss. Yes ok Tony was more than capable of buying himself a racetrack for a day, but the fact that Steve had thought to find one that had all of the vehicles Tony would definitely like to try out, and given him enough tickets to take others to race against made it so much more special. Especially since he wasn't that keen on Tony actually racing. Not after he'd seen the footage from the Vanko incident and had remembered just how vulnerable Tony could be outside of the suit.

'We should probably get ready to go upstairs,' Steve says, regret in his voice.

Tony's reply is cut off by a pair of excited voices running past their door screaming: 'Merry Christmas!'

'Was that-? Was that Peter and Wade?' Steve asks.

Tony laughs. 'Now I see why those two get on so well. Come on, Cap, let's not leave the others at the mercy of an excitable Wade, Peter and Wanda combined.'

'I'm not sure I'm ready to face that,' Steve mutters, but allows Tony to lead him to the bathroom.

The majority of the morning is spent unwrapping presents. Despite there being several grumbles at the early morning wake up calls, everyone is upstairs and ready within the hour. It definitely helped that everyone was greeted with their favourite hot drink by Wanda when they appeared.

Tony leans back against the kitchenette counter, surveying the destruction in the common area. There's wrapping paper everywhere, with piles of opened presents and plates, now mostly empty, that had been holding snacks and mince pies. He chuckles as he watches Peter taking a swipe at Bucky, only to be ambushed by Wade. The initially frosty pair had managed to bond over winding up the youngest team member. It had started with Wade trying to test how much the teenager's wall-sticking ability applied to anything other than walls by throwing pieces of wrapping paper at him. As soon as some had become stuck he'd started throwing more and more at the teen, which caused the teen to become more and more aggravated, at which point Bucky had joined in. Apparently it was the new way to make friends.

Sam comes to lean against the counter next to him, only just dodging a rolled up ball of wrapping paper that Peter throws towards Bucky. 'I got to admit,' he says as he reaches the inventor, 'when Steve said you were going to get Deadpool to join us for Christmas I didn't think it would end up going this well.'

'Neither did I,' he admits. 'But Peter looked so down when he was talking about him spending it alone, I couldn't not try.'

'Of course not,' Sam grins, shaking his head. 'We do seem to be picking up all kinds of waifs and strays as a team don't we?'

'How do you think you got on the team?' he teases, laughing at the sour look the man sends him.

'Way to ruin my Christmas.'

'Aww, don't be like that Sam, I'll let you have some of my scotch later that I only save for special occasions.'

'Alright, I might forgive you.'

'And I'll give you an upgrade that means you can beat Cap in a race.'

'Alright, forgiven.'

Steve walks up and raises an eyebrow at the identical grins on their faces. 'Are you two plotting?'

'It's like you don't trust me,' Tony says in mock offense. Steve just rolls his eyes and plants a quick kiss to his lips.

'Ugh if you two are getting all lovey-dovey I'm out of here,' Sam pushes away from the bar.

'Don't worry Sam I was only coming to say I'm going up to help Mama Rhodes and Vision in the kitchen.'

'Vision's being allowed in the kitchen?' Sam sounds alarmed.

'He's following strict instructions and not allowed to deviate,' the soldier reassures them, then goes to take Mama's arm and lead her to the elevator.

'I'm still concerned,' Sam says.

'Join the club,' Tony mumbles, taking out his phone.

'What are you doing?'

'Checking which take aways are still open. Just in case.'

Dinner doesn't kill anyone. In fact it's nothing less than the usual indescribably wonderful food that Mama Rhodes has turned out for years. Or at least as long as Tony has known her. The conversation flows easily, so do the drinks, and the food disappears quicker than usual; by the end everyone is stuffed and not really willing to move.

Wade helps Tony to clear away the plates and they send everyone back downstairs. He notices the look Steve sends him before following everyone downstairs, but he just rolls his eyes at his boyfriend. He's not going to be that mean.

He's actually surprised to find Wade easy to talk to, and he enjoys their conversation as they clear the table and take everything back into the kitchen. 'Don't think I haven't noticed the way you look at him,' he says as he fills the sink to wash everything that won't go in the dishwasher. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Wade tense from where he's filling said appliance.

'What-'

'Don't play dumb,' he fixes the scarred man with his best don't-give-me-that-bullshit expression, the one usually reserved for Peter these days. 'I've noticed the way you look at Peter. You care about him as more than a friend.'

It's not a question. He and the mercenary hold each other's gaze for a few moments before the other man sighs and, looking back at the plates stacked on the side, just nods.

Tony doesn't say anything at first, waiting for the sink to be filled before turning off the tap and pushing up his sleeves. 'I've also noticed the way he looks at you.'

'What are you-'

'Look Wade, I know the kid alright? He looks at you exactly the same way you look at him when you both think no one is watching. The look on his face when you took your mask off? I'm not I'll ever be able to get that kind of happiness out of him, which you know is kind of damaging to my ego. I'm sure I'll live.

'The thing is, Peter is the closest thing I'm ever going to get to a son. I love that kid. So the fact that someone looks at him the way you do? It both scares me and makes me happy in equal measure. You can look after him both as Peter and as Spider-Man, and you're now a part of both parts of his life. That was his choice and I have to accept that. I do accept that.' He pauses and turns to look at the mercenary again. The scarred man looks equal parts shocked and terrified and Tony wonders if he's perhaps been a bit mean springing this on him. 'But I will say this only once, Wade Wilson,' he lets his voice turn hard, 'if you hurt him in any way I swear to any and every god listening that I will find some way to kill you permanently. And if anything over PG happens before he turns eighteen I will find a way to castrate you permanently. Is that understood?'

Wade swallows, obviously finding everything a little difficult to process, but nods his head. 'Yes, sir.'

Tony smiles. 'Good. Now I've got the obligatory 'Dad' talk out the way.'

'You think he likes me?' the man's voice is vulnerable and Tony is a little surprised at the tone. 'But I'm a fucking mess. He can't like someone like me. There is absolutely nothing about this freak show that anyone would be interested in.'

Tony sighs. What is it with him becoming the resident shrink at this place lately? 'Wade, he obviously thinks there's something to be interested in. My advice from personal experience? Try not to let your head get in the way.'

'You talking you and the Star Spangled Man by any chance?'

Tony chuckles, not able to stop the fond smile at the mention of his boyfriend. 'Yeah. Still not sure what he sees in me, but honestly? I stopped complaining when I realised it was a stupid idea: didn't want him to realise what a mistake he was making.'

Wade laughs. 'Ok fair point. But… are you really ok about this? I mean shouldn't you be freaking out that your nearly-adopted son is interested in a Freddy Kreuger look-alike that kills people for a living?'

'Trust me I am far from 'ok' about this; but then I think I'd be the same no matter who he was interested in. I'd probably be freaking out if he found a mini-Steve to be interested in. But I've learned the kid is going to do whatever the hell he wants to, whether I'm ok with it or not. I'd rather respect his decisions so he'll still come to me if something goes wrong.'

'You're a better man than I am, Stark. I'd be tearing the guy to shreds.'

'Don't tempt me,' Tony laughs. 'And for god's sake don't let Bucky catch you two kissing or you will be torn to shreds. Sometimes I think that guy is more protective of Pete than I am.'

'I can't blame him. He is something really fucking special,' Wade's voice takes on a slightly distracted tone.

'Alright that's enough day dreaming please. We've got a lot of dishes to wash up and I want to get back downstairs before it gets dark.'

'Aye aye, sir,' Wade says with a salute. Tony notices the man getting distracted by his own thoughts a little more as they finish the washing up, but doesn't comment. He just hopes Mama was right in her assessment of the man.

They finish the day playing as many silly party games as anyone can think up, and most of the adults are pretty far along the way to drunk by the time they start wrapping up.

Wade's been making a point of helping to clear up as much as possible, not wanting any of the team to not think he was grateful for being included. Before Tony leaves to follow Steve he grabs the man's arm and asks for a quick word.

'You alright?' Tony asks, voice on the edge of slurring after the amount of alcohol he's drunk today. Though he's still much more towards the 'tipsy' side of the scale than most of the others. Damn the man can hold his drink.

'I just wanted to say thank you,' he guesses honesty is the best policy, 'for including me today. I know no one would have been particularly comfortable with me being here, so I wanted to let you know I really appreciate it.'

The inventor gives him a small, genuine smile and puts a hand on his shoulder. 'You're alright, Wade Wilson. Remind me to give you my number before you leave, you're welcome here any time.'

'Wait, what?'

'Will you be staying for New Year?' the dark haired man ignores his question. 'I know Peter and May are, I think Mama will head back before though. The party can get a bit rowdy for her.'

'Err… I guess, if that's alright?'

'Good. See you in the morning, Wilson.' Then he does something that has the mercenary blinking back tears: he pulls him into a brief hug, before rejoining his boyfriend and heading towards their room.

For the first time in a long time, Wade feels a strange emotion. Almost like he might start to belong somewhere.

A/N: Merry Christmas Eve! There's one more chapter to come tonight :)

L x