Had a touch of inspiration and wanted to add to this. I know in the comics Peter is often portrayed as Jewish, and I wanted to also do a nod to that idea here. I am -not- Jewish, so I didn't try to go into a ton of detail. Please let me know if I need to fix anything though!

Happy Holidays - whichever ones you may celebrate! I hope everyone is able to spend some of this time with people you love!

Peter kept showing up. Sometimes there would only be a few weeks in between visits, sometimes it was several months before Tony saw his favorite young adult again. Most of the time Peter was fine, if usually a little sleep-deprived, and just wanted to hang out, or get a little help on his suits, or talk through some decisions he had coming up. Sometimes he needed a shoulder to lean on, and was struggling a little bit, usually with Spiderman-related things, but sometimes just with Peter Parker things, and Tony did his best to give him lots of love and some advice here and there. "Whatever I did when I was your age, do the opposite, kid. You'll do great."

Pepper and Morgan were always happy to see him as well, and they'd invited Happy into their little circle of knowledge by about the fifth visit. Tony didn't realize how much he had missed the kid as well, since he'd mostly acted exasperated with him before the Dusting.

One time Peter had shown up while the family was on vacation in Italy, at the villa Tony had inherited from his mom's side. Luckily FRIDAY was able to tell Tony he had arrived, and on impulse, Tony had a suit bring Peter to them, where he spent several days trying every kind of Italian cuisine Tony could dig up. When random extended relatives visited, Tony just introduced Peter as "my kid," and they left it at that. Tony hadn't considered (or maybe hadn't cared) about the whole "return portal being able to find Peter" thing, but it eventually did, a few days later, with an unimpressed-looking Strange on the other side of it. Tony just smiled enigmatically at the harried-looking man while Peter rushed around gathering his few things. He hadn't spoken much about his relationship with the wizard, so he didn't know how well Dr. Strange knew Peter, but he hoped the worried undertone he saw in the man's face had a little bit to do with Peter the person, and not just with Peter the overpowered superhero, or Peter the possible dimensional-disrupting anomaly. His musing was interrupted by the subject in question grabbing him in a quick, almost-too-tight hug before he stepped through the breach.

"See ya, kid," he whispered with a sigh.

It was almost five months before Tony saw Peter again. He hoped he hadn't gotten in too much trouble for not being where they expected. Maybe if that happened again, Tony should just come back to the lake house, despite what might be happening. But getting to show the kid his mom's ancestral home in Italy, and being on a vacation together as a whole family had been like a dream. Tony tried not to think circles around the worry that "they" (was it just Strange and his little multi-dimensional key, or were more people involved in these decisions?) would keep Peter from visiting again. When he let himself dwell on that possibility, it hurt to breathe. Even though he knew Peter had contacts, and people who loved him (probably?) and financial support now, he still felt his chest cave in at the thought of never seeing him again. Even though he wasn't "his" Peter, he really was now, and had become moreso as their mutual grief, but also their joy at connecting with each other had knit them together over his visits during the last year. Every time the young superhero showed up, it was like a surprise visit from a child who was just away at college. You know, if you were aware during each visit that it may be the last time you ever saw your kid.

That's why, after five months of all the not-knowing , when Peter finally showed up on the doorstep one late December afternoon, Tony was the one to nearly tackle him.

"Peter!" He felt the boy's arms come around him to hold him tight, while dropping the duffle bag he held (good, hopefully at least an overnight stay) and stepping backwards a little with one foot to stabilize against Tony's enthusiasm.

"Hey," the kid said softly, seeming to soak up the contact as well. "Um… glad to see me, then?" he asked hopefully.

"Glad? It's been five months, kid! And I've been worrying that Strange and his posse decided you were a space-time threat or something, and weren't ever going to let you come back!" Tony's vision blurred a little, and he let go of his kid to angrily swipe at his eyes with his sleeve. "Come in, come in. It's freezing out."

"I'm sorry you've been worrying about that," Peter said. I did, too, for a while. Stephen was pretty mad, and worried, when they couldn't find me. It made some metaphorical red tape, I think, and he had to talk to some other people about if it was still okay for me to do this. Because things could happen, you know?"

"I know. But it was still awful to think maybe I'd never see you again because of a crazy whim I had, instead of just coming back here to see you."

Peter looked aghast as Tony ushered him towards the kitchen. Tony was sure he was hungry. He always was.

"I wouldn't have wanted you to leave your vacation, Tony!"

"But I would have, in a heartbeat, to get to see you. Maybe just for a day or two, but it would have been worth it."

"I loved Italy, though," Peter said softly.

"I know, kid," Tony replied in the same tone, as they both had a seat facing each other on the couch. "So… any new rules or stipulations?"

"Uh, just that I can't stay for more than two or three days at a time, and if we're going to be anywhere other than the lake house, I have to leave a very obvious note, letting them know exactly where I am," he said, rolling his eyes.

Tony felt warm relief at hearing the visits wouldn't stop, even if Peter found the stipulations a little juvenile. "Taking you back to those middle school feels, huh?"

"A bit. I'm glad they finally decided I could come though."

"Me, too, kid. And hey, did you know tomorrow is Christmas Eve? Morgan's going to be impossible when she finds out you're here," he grinned.

"Oh, that's awesome!" Peter said happily. I can stay for about three days, if it's not any imposition. I mean… do you have plans for Christmas?"

"My plans involve having all my family all together, all of a sudden, so thanks for that," Tony said firmly. Peter's gaze softened at his phrasing. They did have a big party they were invited to tonight, but he hadn't wanted to go anyway, so unless Pepper wanted to go without him, the Stark family just "got sick."

"Are you sure?" Peter asked anxiously. "I don't want to inconven-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there," Tony said firmly. "Don't even think about finishing that sentence. Now, get over here and start putting together this pancake batter while I get some bacon and eggs going. Unless you're not hungry?"

Peter just laughed and did as he was told.

"So what have you been up to, Pete?" Tony asked as they ate their mid-afternoon breakfast in the dining room.

"Um, the semester went well. All A's." Tony smiled, expecting nothing less from the brilliant kid who'd ended up at NYU instead of at MIT due to not really existing for a while. "Things are going well with MJ. Really well, actually. She and Ned graduate next May, but I've still got about a year and a half. I'm able to shave a semester off though, taking more classes each time since I don't have to work as much anymore," he said, sounding a little hesitant. "So thanks. For that."

"Good. Great. Pepper's keeping track of you, then?" Tony asked happily.

"Yeah. She hired me to consult at R&D one afternoon and evening a week, and is paying me way too much, on top of covering my rent and tuition. And I feel like I've actually been useful, which is really cool. They've got your holo table design in most of the labs now, but lots of them still don't know all the stuff they can do, you know, since you didn't exactly write a manual," he grinned teasingly at Tony. "So I've kind of been doing mini classes. Apparently I'm the only resident expert."

Tony sat back, his eyes drinking in this brilliant, happy young man, and he sighed in contentment. "That's amazing, Peter. For you, and for SI."

"Tony, is that a menorah?" Peter said, his eyes straying around the dining room as he finished his second plate of eggs.

Tony's eyes snapped to the small candelabra in the windowsill. "Um, yeah. I… uh, I usually bring that out in December. You know, because of… well, you." Peter looked at him, eyes wide. "The first night of Hanukkah is actually on Christmas this year, and we usually try to light the candles each night, at least."

Peter's eyes were focused on his plate, and he rubbed at the back of his neck. Oh no. Had Tony done something wrong?

"Peter? Kid? Is that… is that okay?"

"Yeah! Yeah, of course!" he said, eyes jumping up to Tony's He looked… emotional. "You remembered? And you do that because of… me?"

"Of course. You told me all about how your Uncle Ben was Jewish, and how you guys always celebrated a little bit of both, but even more Hanukkah. Of course I remembered, kid. I mean, I don't know if we do it right, but it was a way to think about you and remember you around the holidays." Peter was staring at the menorah. "And here you are."

Peter was quiet for a minute. Then, softly, "For me, it's actually… it's the last night of Hanukkah, there. And that's one reason I wanted to come see you today. To be with you, if I could. But I had no idea that you'd remember."

Oh, kid. Tony stood up and pulled Peter to his feet for another hug, threading his fingers through the soft curls at the back of the young man's head. Peter sniffed into his shoulder, returning the embrace for just a moment, before pulling back. "Do you think, maybe, we could light the candles and stuff like it's the last night here, too? I would enjoy doing that with you guys, if you don't have other plans tonight."

"Absolutely. There are special foods you eat, right?" Tony thought for a second, and then snapped his fingers with excitement. "Latkes? Do you know how to make those?"

Peter laughed, the sound making little effervescent bubbles pop happily in Tony's chest, right where that sinking feeling had been so many times in the last few months.

"Yeah, Uncle Ben would make latkes. I don't know how, though."

"FRIDAY? Bring up a tutorial, honey. Let's see if we have what we need. If not, I'll bet Pepper and Morgan are still near a grocery store, and they can grab some things." As well as a few extra presents for Peter to open with the family Christmas morning, Tony thought. What a great excuse to spoil the kid with some things he knew he could probably use. Tony had a few presents here, already wrapped, just in case, but he hadn't even let himself hope Peter would not only get to return, but would also be spending Hanukkah and Christmas with them. What a fantastic gift.

Later that night, after candles had been lit, dreidels had been spun, latkes (the unburned ones) had been devoured, and an ecstatic Morgan had finally been settled into bed (by Peter, of course), Tony, Pepper, and Peter were snuggled on the couch enjoyed the fire and catching up on everything.

"Hey, Tony?" Peter said suddenly, after a few moments of silence. His head was turned towards the window, watching the menorah burn lower. Pepper had been grilling him about MJ, and Peter had shyly admitted he thought their relationship was getting pretty serious. It was different than before, without the shared history, but still very good, apparently.

"Yeah, bud?" Tony said, so, so content to have Pepper snuggled into one side and Peter's shoulder pressing against his on the other, and Morgan safely asleep in her bed. There was nothing he loved more than having all of his family under one roof.

"I wanted to tell you, that after Stephen and I had kind of a big fight about me getting to come back, he… he promised me, if they ever did need to stop these visits, that he'd let me come back one more time. To say… Anyway, either that, if something happened to me, they would make sure you knew. I told him I didn't want you just wondering and not knowing if anything had happened to me, or what was going on. I think even if something happens to America, they've figured out ways to send messages at least. Just so… so you don't have to wonder and worry anymore, okay?"

Tony breathed a sigh of relief at his explanation, as much as he hated the thought of anything happening to Peter (again), letting his head lean over and settle against the kid's.

"That's… That's good to know, thank you. Do you think you'll be able to come a little sooner next time? Or is it still pretty up in the air?"

"I think so, yeah. Maybe on my spring break for a couple days. Or there's a few long weekends in there somewhere. We'll make it happen though. I missed you. All of you," he said, smiling at this universe's Pepper.

"Back at ya, kid. We need a little more Peter-Parker-shaped excitement in our life."

"It's nice to be in your life."

"The nicest. Thanks for being my Hanukkah miracle this year," Tony said teasingly. But he wasn't really teasing.

Peter huffed a quiet laugh and sunk down a little lower into the couch, resting his head on Tony's shoulder. "Thanks for being mine, too."