Peter
"Sledding ?" Tony responded, sounding nonplussed.
At the same time, FRIDAY calmly reported the weather perfect for sledding, with a decent layer of snow.
"Why sledding, though?" Tony asked again, looking completely confused, and not a small amount of nervous.
"I highly recommend the hill just before the trees on the south side of the Compound," FRIDAY said helpfully. To Peter's ears, she sounded as cheerful, or maybe as amused as he'd ever heard her.
"Pete, I don't know… I'm 45, kid, not 25. That sounds like a one-way trip to the ER for me. Have you seen that hill?"
"Mr. Stark," Peter said earnestly, sitting up. "I promise I wouldn't let anything happen to you. You know how my reflexes are! We can just go together the whole time. We should probably do that anyway, right?" The kid's face was flushed with excitement, his hair an adorable, chaotic mess, and those darn puppy dog eyes, still a little sleepy, were as wide as he'd ever seen them. How could he possibly say no to that? Plus, it was almost like he could feel their bond between them, inexorably pulling him towards Peter. The kid really wanted this.
"It'll be so much fun! Please, Tony?"
Crap.
"Fine. Fine. But only if Clint and Nat are up for it. And only if you and FRIDAY can find somewhere that has sleds that can deliver in the next few hours."
"Thank you!" he said excitedly, lunging forward and wrapping his arms around Tony's middle, head tucked into his shoulder. At that moment, Tony couldn't think of anything he'd be able to deny this kid.
Four hours later that same grin was on Peter's face as Tony finally approved the amount of outerwear he required Peter to wear (over his heated spider suit) on this little outing. Natasha and Clint had totally let him down by happily agreeing to the idea, and FRIDAY, the efficient little traitor, had two double toboggan-style sleds delivered before lunchtime.
Tony was already a little sore from their sparring session that morning, but tried to face the afternoon's activity with a good attitude. There was no way he would mar the smile on Peter's face. He just prayed he wouldn't actually break anything.
The first ride down the hill was terrifying and thrilling all at once. Peter and Clint were both whooping in excitement, while Tony and Nat, riding in the back, were quieter, and just hoping they all made it down without incident. The hill was long and sloping, and they gained speed quickly. Tony's arms tightened convulsively around his young soulmate, enjoying the closeness at least while he flew to his possible death. This was much slower than he flew in the Iron Man suit, but the level of control (for him) was pretty much zero. The sled finally slowed, and Peter put his feet on the outside to kick up some snow, slowing them to a full stop.
"That. Was. Awesome!" Peter exclaimed, jumping up easily from the sled, and reaching a hand down to help Tony up. It was a good thing, because the older man's legs were a little shaky.
"Are you okay?" Peter asked a little worriedly, noticing his expression.
"Yeah, yeah, of course," Tony managed to get out.
"Great! Let's go again!" he said, looking over at Clint and Natasha, who were also grinning.
Tony lost count of how many times they went down the hill, thankfully getting more used to it as they did it. His quads were going to be killing him tonight from all that hiking uphill through the snow. At least their resident Spider-kid happily pulled both sleds up each time, but it was still a lot of exercise that his muscles weren't quite used to. Peter did a few solo runs, some on his stomach, head-first for more daring speeds. Peter chattered on happily about how they should get some skis out here. It wasn't exactly a thrilling hill, but the kid seemed excited about what tricks he could try. He'd never been skiing. Well, Tony could remedy that. Skiing wasn't nearly as scary as being a passenger on a sled while someone was experimenting with learning how to steer it.
Actually, it was the subject of skiing that got them into trouble.
"If you're going to ski out here, we should build up a few hills, so you could do some jumps, Pete," Clint said casually.
"Oh, man, that would be sick!" Peter exclaimed. "Hey, there's enough snow out here. Do you think we could shape a few jumps out of the snow today, so we could catch a little air on the sleds?" Tony's head shot up, just a little alarmed.
Then Clint placed himself even more firmly on Tony's blacklist. "Hey, I bet Nat and I could make a better jump than you and Stark."
"Oh, it's on!"
Peter was thrilled. Tony thought this was a terrible idea, but was just as competitive as Peter, and of course he and Peter could build a better jump. So they got to work. Tony sent Peter for shovels and other useful implements while he ran all of the mental math (with FRIDAY to scan angles and distances, and to keep track of his results) on what they'd need to do. Unfortunately, working with snow wasn't quite as exact as working with any of his normal materials, but they still managed to shape something that looked semi-fantastic and should have the integrity and physics for a great performance. Peter had scouted out and cleared the landing area, accounting for either a single passenger or a double.
"Are you ready to try it, Mr. Stark?" Peter asked excitedly. Tony noticed that when he was distracted or extra excited he was more likely to slip back into old habits.
"Okay, Underoos, okay. Nat, we're ready. Will you watch with my glasses so FRI can document?"
"Ugh, ours isn't quite ready. But yeah, of course we need to get your first run!"
Tony left Nat chatting quietly with FRIDAY as he and Peter took their positions on the sled. They had been touching often during the hour plus of building, but it felt good to be close to Peter again. All the layers between them made all this outdoor contact slightly less satisfying than their normal couch time, and he looked forward to snuggling up with the teen and some hot chocolate before too long. His winter gear was top notch, obviously, but he was still a little cold in the fingers, and his nose was half frozen. Tony tried to just be excited to try their creation rather than being nervous. "Give us a push, will you Clint?" Tony asked. Clint obliged, and they rocketed down the hill, Peter doing his best to aim them at their jump at a nice straight trajectory.
And then they were flying.
Not literally, of course, but it sure felt like it for a good 3-4 seconds. Peter was yelling in excitement the whole time, and Tony forgot how to breathe for a few seconds. They hit the recently-packed landing area with a bit of a jolt, squeezing an "oof" out of Tony, and continued down the hill at a slightly faster than normal speed. By the time Peter was digging the heels of his boots into the ground, Tony's heart was beating more normally again, and he managed to grin at Peter through his ice-tinged goatee.
"Can we do it again?"
"Why don't we help Clint and Nat finish first?" Tony could use a few minutes in between his adrenaline hits, thank you very much. He really was getting old, he mused.
The other jump, which was definitely built on different lines than Peter and Tony's, looked like it was going to be fun, too. Clint and Natasha tried it first, with Tony documenting, and it was a little faster than Peter and Tony's, according to FRIDAY, with more of an "up" angle. Tony actually didn't want to try it (it was easier to trust something he'd built with his own hands) but Peter talked him into it. That was a mistake.
The flying part was great, but as they started to come down, the angle felt a little off to Tony, and they managed to hit just outside what the other pair had designated and cleared as their "landing" area, and hit what must have been a rock under the snow. Their sled canted to the side, throwing them up and off. True to his word, Peter had tensed up halfway through their jump and as the sled hit had somehow turned, and had wrapped his arms around Tony's head. When they hit the ground with a wet crunch, it was Peter's arm that took the impact instead of Tony's head. Which probably saved him a concussion at least, and maybe a more serious injury, according to the medbay personnel that was treating both of them about twenty minutes later.
Once they got Peter's forearm cast, the medical staff gave them both a thorough checkup. They had done their best to work around Tony, who, of course, refused to let go of Peter's soul mark during any part of the process. Tony's touch saved Peter from most of the pain, even though the stupid, self-sacrificing, frustrating, wonderful kid insisted it wasn't that bad. He obviously had zero regrets about saving Tony from a possible head injury, even if it meant a fractured radius for him. Even though Tony knew it wasn't anything worse than Peter had had on a few patrols, and would be healed in several days' time, he was still worried, and angry, and just so unsettled to have the boy injured, especially since it happened while protecting him.
Thankfully, other than the arm, and a few scrapes on Peter's face, both were relatively fine. By 5 PM that evening, they were back in the common area of the Compound, Clint and Nat both happy to fetch and carry and pamper them a little bit.
"You don't have to stay with me all night, Peter protested, though he made no indication of moving out of Tony's arms, where he was snuggled under about three blankets. "Don't you want a shower or something?"
"Nope. All I want is some dinner and a couple of Advil, which Clint and Natasha are happy to help with. Actions have consequences, Spiderling," Tony said lazily. "You're stuck with me for the night. Especially since you didn't want to take any of your painkillers."
"They make me feel so out of it, Tony," Peter whined. "I want to watch some Christmas movies tonight, not just sleep."
"Aren't you exhausted, bambino?" Tony asked, stroking his hair. "I feel like one big sore spot, between all the hiking up the hill, building the jump, and how hard we hit the ground."
"Are you hurting?" Peter asked in alarm, acting like he might try to get up so he could get a better look at Tony.
"Hey, get back here. I feel okay when you're close. I mostly hurt when you're not, so it's for my good too that we're going to stick to the couch tonight."
"Oh. Okay, then," Peter said, settling back in. "Can we have Chinese? And watch Elf and then maybe Miracle on 34th Street ?"
"The person with the broken arm gets to call the shots tonight," Tony said simply.
"That's not what you said after that giant reptile guy broke my arm and my leg last fall," said Peter, sounding a little confused.
"Oh, you were grounded then, don't you remember? You were told to steer clear of him, and you ignored me."
"Oh, yeah," he said softly, ducking his head. "I beat him though," he said, with some challenge in his voice.
"You did. And I was proud of you. But you were also in big trouble. Today wasn't your fault. Your idea, to take an old man sledding, but not your fault," he said, brushing his fingertips over the boy's ribs, causing him to giggle and shy a few inches to the left. "Though I'm not happy you sacrificed yourself to do it, you did save me from a pretty hard knock on the head."
"I told you, I literally can't let something happen to you if I can help you. And as soon as we caught air, I could feel that we were going to come down wrong."
"Sorry, buddy, that was probably scary."
"A little, yeah."
Tony pulled Peter's head over against his shoulder, and slid his fingers through his hair. "FRIDAY, you want to throw Elf onscreen for us, sweetheart? And add Clint and Natasha's order to our regular Super Wok one?"
"Can I have extra eggrolls, FRI?"
"Certainly, Peter." FRIDAY said cheerfully. Tony knew in her own way, FRIDAY had been quite worried about their accident, and from the way she had addressed Peter since, his AI was grateful his soulmate had saved him from more serious injury.
The opening credits started for Peter's favorite Christmas movie, and Peter sighed happily, leaning further into Tony, resting his casted arm on top of the blankets. Even being in such close contact with Tony, he might still be hurting a little. Tony found his soul mark under the blanket, and Peter sighed a little.
"That's really great, thanks."
Tony wished there was no pain to take away, but he was happy he could make it mostly better with a touch. "No problem, kid. What do you want to do tomorrow? Should we just lay low? Pepper said she's going to wait and bring May with her and Happy."
"Oh, that's good to hear. I won't worry about her, then," Peter said happily. "Oh, did you tell them about my arm?"
"Nah. I figured we'd just wait and let that be a fun Christmas surprise," Tony said dryly. "For once I'm probably safer telling May in person, since I don't think my soulmate will let her actually kill me," he teased.
Peter turned, his eyes wide. "She wouldn't hurt you, Tony!" he said, sounding just a touch worried. "It was my fault, anyways, because-"
"Shh, I'm just teasing you kid. She's not going to be mad. She'll just be happy to see you. Lay back and relax. Watch the movie. Look how cute baby Buddy is."
Peter sighed, and obeyed (for once). This kid. What was Tony going to do with him?