Archive of Our Own ^beta

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“This song is ridiculous,” Pepper remarked.

“Silent Night?” Steve clarified.

“There is no way in any part of this multiverse that a woman giving birth with no drugs and on a pile of straw was silent. No fucking way,” she replied, placing her Scrabble tiles on the board. “Xenophobe. 76 points.”

“I’ve never thought of that,” Steve confessed. “And I hate you.”

Pepper cackled and grinned at him. “As one who doesn’t possess a uterus, I can’t imagine you would have. But I’ll tell you, I was a lot of things giving birth to Morgan and silent wasn’t even close to the list.”

“Plus,” Bucky said, conversationally from his seat at the table, “Mary was historically, what, 13?”

“How do you know that?” Tony asked.

“Murder puppet deprogramming left me with a lot of time to read,” Bucky replied, shrugging his shoulders and peering at his tiles. “I couldn’t remember Christmas at one point, not clearly, so I spent a whole month reading and watching movies. Both the sacred and the secular stuff. Really interesting.”

“And you found out that Mary was 13?” Steve raised an eyebrow.

“There is some debate in the historical theological community,” Bucky replied. “Sandblast. 33 points. But the consensus is that she wasn’t older than 15.”

“That’s, of course, supposing she was real at all,” Tony replied.

“Sure,” Steve replied, with an edge to his voice. “Let’s get into this debate again.”

“Friday, what time is everyone getting here?” Pepper changed the subject, knowing where that was heading if she didn’t.

“Agent Romanov, Dr. Banner, Captain Wilson, Agent Barton and his family are all getting here at 5,” the AI responded. “Peter, MJ, Ms. Parker, and Happy are approximately thirty-four minutes out. I am liaising with Karen to help them avoid traffic. The Wakandan entourage will arrive at 6pm, Thor is bringing Rocket while King Valkyrie sends her apologies.”

“Got it,” Pepper nodded. “Can you show me Morgan?”

A hologram appeared in the middle of the table of a sleeping Morgan and the adults all let out a breath. Teething was taking its toll on their girl.

There were a lot of things different post-Thanos, but one of the most significant was that Tony promised himself that he wouldn’t hold his feelings back ever again. When he saw Steve and Bucky emerge from one of Strange’s portals on that field in Wakanda, something settled in him that had been missing since Sokovia. He knew in his soul that he loved Steve Rogers just as much as he loved Pepper Potts and that somehow, someway, and obviously with Barnes in tow, they were going to have to make it work.

And make it work they did.

Over the last three years, the quartet had settled into a rhythm and a life as a poly family. When Steve passed on the shield to Sam, it was quietly decided that Bucky wouldn’t head back into full time soldering. There was no shortage of things for them to do, though - Young Avengers to train, ops to consult on. Plus, Pepper had made it clear that wrangling Tony was a full time job. When Pepper had gotten pregnant - against all miracles and hopes they’d had - parenting Morgan became their favorite job.

Plus, Tony kept bringing home strays. It had started, of course, with Peter. And then he’d reconnected with a kid named Harley, and then there was a sass monster of a genius named RiRi, and then…

The modest cabin Tony had built for him and Pepper while Steve was on the run quickly turned into a family compound. Tony, Pepper, Steve, and Bucky lived there year-round, but every family unit had its own space. They all overlapped at different times of year, but Christmas? Christmas was mandatory attendance.

The quartet cleaned up the Scrabble game - after acknowledging that Pepper had wiped the floor with all of them, per usual - and started to set out the snacks. There were at least twelve kinds of cheese to go with fourteen kinds of crackers, shrimp cocktail, a fancy thing with philo dough that Bucky had come up with, and several vegan or vegetarian platters because Pepper was nothing if not a trier. Tony still made sure there were chips. Shuri made it clear she wasn’t getting off the plane if there weren’t at least three different kinds of Doritos and Tony was completely afraid of her.

“Hello?” Peter’s voice called a while later.

“Kitchen,” Tony called.

It signaled the beginning of chaos, but the very best kind. By the time 7pm rolled around, their house was full to bursting. Bags and supplies had been dropped in respective cabins and everyone was gathered in the main Stark/Potts/Barnes/Rogers cabin and passing Morgan around for appropriate cuddles. They ate picnic style - everyone finding a spot where they could perch or balance. Laps were fair game, since no one was touch starved quite like an Avenger.

Tradition dictated that after the giant communal feast, presents would be passed out. The rules were simple: Friday handled the assignments and everyone got a gift for one other individual. (Tony had learned to not say ‘person’, since Rocket always glared when he did.) It was a cheerful circus as everyone unwrapped and said their thanks and laughed and cried. In the midst of it all, Pepper spotted MJ holding Morgan and simply staring at the sleeping infant.

“There’s something magic about them, isn’t there?” Pepper said as she sat down next to Peter’s girlfriend.

“I cannot stop staring at her,” MJ replied reverently. “Like, how do humans come this tiny?”

Pepper chuckled and kissed Morgan’s head. She looked back at MJ. “I think it’s to remind us what it means to be human. We all start out like this - fragile, yet resilient, both able to do some stuff by ourselves but largely dependent on others. Morgan can do more today than she could two weeks ago, but she still can’t do a lot. You can do things you weren’t able to five years ago, but there’s still room for growth. At least, that’s what she reminds me every day.”

MJ’s mouth quirked up into a smile. “Bucky told me you went on your Silent Night rant again.”

“I didn’t rant,” Pepper defended herself. “I commented.”

MJ snorted but the smile stayed fixed. “A dude must have written that song.”

Pepper fished out her phone and tapped at the screen. “Written in 1818 by Franz Gruber and Joseph Mohr and was first performed in Obendorf, Austria.”

“Isn’t Franz Gruber the villain from Die Hard?”

“No, that was Hans Gruber. This one was a 19th century Austrian composer,” Pepper replied, still tapping at her phone. “Also, I’m not the only person who thinks the song is ridiculous.”

“I’m sure you’re not,” MJ replied. “I mean, seriously. A silent night while a woman was in labor in a barn. A barn.”

“I’m not someone who goes to church now,” Pepper said, “but I grew up Methodist and we went fairly often and definitely every Christmas Eve. That song has bugged me my entire life.”

“It erases Mary completely,” MJ replied. “One of my friends, Amy, she’s really into this shit and she told me that’s her problem with it. I think it’s all kinda bullshit, but Amy’s smart and she sent me this version of it that she says is way better.”

MJ handed Morgan over to Pepper and opened the chat app on her phone. “It’s called ‘Labor of Love’ and the first verse is ‘It was not a silent night, there was blood on the ground. You could hear a woman cry on the alleyways that night, in the streets of David’s town. The stable was not clean and the cobblestones were cold, and little Mary full of grace, with tears upon her face, had no mother’s hand to hold’.”

Pepper was quiet for a minute. “Think about that.”

There was a tone in her voice that MJ had come to learn was one version of Pepper’s ‘mom’ tone - the one she used to impart wisdom. Of all the things that Peter Parker had brought into her life, all the weirdness and fear and wonder, one of the best was that she got a momish person who she trusted and adored. Her mom was… fine. Absent, really, but fine. Pepper? Pepper knew her and she didn’t take that lightly.

“She was younger than you, historians tell us,” Pepper continued. “Maybe 13? And she was raised in a culture where her whole purpose was to provide the tribe with children. And then she gets pregnant and her and the man she’s promised to - and who knows if she consented to that at all - they have to head on a road trip for some government paperwork. While they’re there, away from everything they know, the tribe they call family, all the familiar trappings of life, she goes into labor and the only place she can deliver this child is on dirty hay in a barn.”

“Women are strong as hell,” MJ responded.

“So look around this room,” Pepper continued. “These are our tribe, our family, our people, our aliens.” MJ snorted at that last one and Pepper smiled. “What better way to honor that brave girl in the barn than by surrounding our family with love? Doesn’t matter if Mary was real, or if the story is true, or any of the other arguments Steve and Tony get into. Let’s take truth as truth wherever we find it and choose to honor her. We can make sure no one we know is alone, no one is laboring alone, everyone has a mother’s hand to hold.”

MJ found herself choking back tears and leaned her head on Pepper’s shoulder. “Merry Christmas, Mama Pepper.”

“Merry Christmas, sweetheart,” Pepper replied and slipped her hand into MJ’s.

Across the room, Nat stood with Bucky and Steve as they watched the festivities. Thor was letting Lila Barton wear his cape, and T’Challa had brought Wakandan desserts for everyone - they didn’t celebrate Christmas there since missionaries had never been part of any colonial project, but T’Challa, Nakia, and Shuri had all quickly fell in love with ugly Christmas sweaters and the idea of eating food with people you love. They hadn’t missed a Family Christmas celebration yet.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this,” Nat murmured to Steve and Bucky.

“I don’t think we should,” Steve replied. “I mean, after all the nightmares we’ve lived through, I don’t ever want to take anyone in this room for granted. I don’t ever want to forget a moment of what this feels like, to be surrounded by people who claim us and love us. I went from Ma and Bucky to…” he gestured to the room. “Of all the miracles of my life, this one feels like the biggest.”

Bucky leaned into his boyfriend and kissed him on the cheek. “You’re a sentimental schmuck, but we’ll keep you anyway.”

Just then, Clint ambled over and gave Nat a kiss on her forehead. “Thanks for my carrying case.”

Nat smiled and shrugged, still not comfortable with compliments. “Laura said she was tired of fishing your hearing aids out of your pants before she washed them.”

He laughed. “What did you guys get?”

“Shuri got me some new paints,” Steve said.

Bucky followed. “Peter gave me a date night with these yahoos and he’ll watch Morgan.”

“Yeah, like that’s a sacrifice,” Nat laughed. “Pepper and I are doing a weekend in Charleston where we’ll basically eat our weight in fried green tomatoes.”

“A good year,” Clint smiled and then ambled away as Tony tapped a glass to bring all their attention to him.

“It’s 9pm,” Tony said loudly as the crowd quieted. “And that means it’s time for the annual viewing of A Muppet Christmas Carol, because it is the best Christmas movie and I will hear no arguments from you, Barton. But first, I’d like to say a few words.”

“No one cares, Stark,” Barton called back and Laura smacked him upside the head. “I’m joking!”

The room laughed and Tony winked at Clint. “Every year where the world in tact, I’m grateful. Carol sends missives to let us know that other universes aren’t faring as well and I know when she calls on us, we’ll show up. Many of you spend your days making sure elements like Hydra or Thanos or the Gamemaster never threaten us again, but we should never take it lightly that those are gone. So to all of you still in the fight, I say thank you. Whenever I hold Morgan, I think of how we may not have ever had her if the purple people eater had gotten his way. And to all of you still in the fight in other ways - May, and Pepper, and T’Challa, who lead and help - I say thank you as well. It’s easy for us in this room to get caught up in all the giant problems. I’m grateful you remind us all that the seemingly smaller ones are actually the most important.

“And to my partners, a toast to the three of you for putting up with me, making sure I’m fed and watered appropriately - boys, I especially thank you for the cheeseburgers when Pep’s away - and for loving me far beyond what I could have ever imagined love could feel like. Someone I trust quite a bit told me that Christmas is the day we celebrate that love is tangible. It’s not an esoteric idea or an emotion we communicate through greeting cards - it’s the engine that makes us all live. It’s why we choose each other and this life, it’s why we get out of bed every morning - we are love wrapped in skin.”

Tony raised his glass of sparkling apple cider and made sure to make eye contact with Bucky, Steve, and Pepper as he said, “so Merry Happy to each of you. May we all be filled with love until we meet again.”

Cries of ‘merry happy’ echoed throughout the room and Morgan woke up. She fussed a bit in Pepper’s arms and Steve quickly crossed the room to collect her.

“I’ll go get her settled,” Steve smiled. They’d changed her into pajamas long ago, so Morgan was ready to be rocked to sleep and put in her bed.

“I’ll come with you,” Pepper said, running her hand along Steve’s back as she followed. Tony and Bucky must have seen them moving because soon all four adults were kissing a sleeping Morgan good night.

Tony closed the door behind them and leaned against it, reaching for Bucky hand. “I haven’t seen you in hours.”

“I just thought of another reason why Silent Night is full of shit,” Pepper said to Steve as their boyfriends kissed.

“Yeah?”

“The best nights are never silent. Functional families - found or formed - are never silent. And we know, because we fought for it, that peace isn’t silent either. Fear is silent, joy isn’t. Love is loud.”

“You know,” he cupped his hand to her face, “I tell people all the time you’re the genius and they don’t believe me, but this is what I’m talking about.”

“Oh, Pep’s smarter than me by a country mile,” Tony affirmed as he detached himself from Bucky’s lips and latched onto Pepper’s.

Steve grabbed Bucky’s hand and scratched Pepper’s lower back. “Come on, loves, Gonzo’s waiting.”

It was not a silent night that night either, not even when everyone slept. Tony snored a little, while the constant hum of Friday’s wiring ran throughout the house. Over in the Barton’s cabin, Lila always kept music playing while she slept. The sounds of life, and love, filled the compound - proving Pepper right. Love was, indeed, loud.

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