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The thrice-condemned elevator was still out. Tony had visited the Parkers’ apartment more times than he could count now, but it seemed like the elevator was working far less often than it was in service. He puffed a little bit, none of his cardio preparing him for five flights of stairs without consequences. And his knees weren’t forty anymore. Stupid building.
Even before Tony rang the doorbell, he could hear the muffled chaos inside. He looked down at the Marie Callender pecan and pumpkin pies May had said he could bring, if he chose to come hang out at their apartment for Thanksgiving. Pepper was in Taiwan, and had barely remembered it was Thanksgiving when he talked to her last night. She had a complicated relationship with the holiday, and it wasn’t one she generally put a lot of planning into. Tony… had mixed feelings, but some of his positive childhood memories actually centered around the holiday season, and he hadn’t felt like spending the day alone at the Tower. And he wasn't quite ready to go hang out with whoever was at the Compound, if any of the new team were there. Not without Peter, anyway.
“You can totally come, Tony, but I gotta warn you about May’s aunts,” Peter had said, his face very serious. “They’re crazy.”
When Tony had given him a questioning look, Peter had continued. “I mean, they were crazy the last time I saw them, and that was like six years ago, so they’re probably even crazier now that they’re older.”
Peter had explained that May’s mom, Maureen, had died before Peter had come to live with Ben and May, and that these were Maureen’s three older sisters. They got together every year and had asked if they could come visit May this year, because they hadn’t seen her in so long.
“Peter, can you get that?” he heard May yell from inside the apartment.
The door opened, and Peter stood there, looking a little frazzled, and arms full of towels, for some reason. He still smiled to see who was there, though. “Hey, Tony,” he said happily, heading for the kitchen with a little jerk of his head meaning Tony should follow. “Um, you can just put those…” Peter looked around for a spare spot, but there wasn’t really one. “Maybe on top of the fridge?”
They managed to wedge the pies up there, and Tony turned to greet May, who was looking at least twice as stressed as Peter. “Hey, you okay?” he asked carefully.
May just sighed loudly. “This is all… a little much,” she said through gritted teeth, taking a casserole dish out of the fridge and setting it on the already-crowded counter. Their kitchen was really more leftovers-or-frozen-meals-for-dinner sized rather than prepare-a-Thanksgiving-meal sized.
Just then, a pleasantly plump older woman (who wore her hair in a style reminiscent of Tony’s childhood) wandered into the kitchen. “Are you sure you don’t want help in here, honey? Thanksgiving is a lot to try to do by yourself, and I—”
“Aunt Cathy, I told you, I mostly had the turkey breast catered and the sides pre-made. I went shopping and got everything yesterday. There’s just not room to cook all of that!”
“That’s one reason,” Peter said very quietly. Tony elbowed him.
“These young people—” Aunt Cathy muttered, then interrupted her quiet complaint when she noticed Tony. “Oh, hello!” the woman said. “You must be Peter’s boss. He said you might be coming by!”
Tony put on his company manners to greet May’s aunt, and when she turned back to talk to May, he raised an eyebrow at Peter. “Your boss, huh?”
“I don’t really know how to explain you or our exact relationship in one word, Tony,” Peter said with a smirk.
“I’m sure you know what you’re doing, but I’m more than happy to peel potatoes or something, dearie!” Aunt Cathy pressed. “Also, it’s getting quite chilly in here. I turned up the thermostat, so hopefully that will fix it,” the aunt said before wandering back out.
“Can I do anything, May?” Tony asked, looking at all the dishes a little nervously. He felt a little anxious all of a sudden.
“Of course not!” May said faux-brightly. “I just turned the oven on to pre-heat, so we’ll stick a bunch of it in as soon as it’s hot. Dinner will be ready in no time!” May turned to the small fridge and pulled a veggie tray out. She shot Tony a tight smile, then headed towards the living room, brandishing the tray like a shield.
“Would you all like some appetizers?”
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“May, dear, do you know I think you might have termites? I saw the signs in your bedroom closet.”
“Aunt Shannon,” May said, her tone full of resignation, “what were you doing in my closet?”
Peter shifted in discomfort next to Tony. They had brought in some folding chairs from who-knows-where so there was room for all six of them to sit in the small living room. They’d introduced Tony as “Peter’s boss, and a friend,” to the other two aunts, and had been making awkward small talk for the last ten minutes.
“Making sure you had an adequate coat, dear. Nothing your mother wouldn’t do if she were here, rest her soul.”
“Auntie, I’m 49,” May said, patiently. “I’m quite accustomed to caring for myself. Please ask me if you’re curious about something.”
“Termites?” Tony asked worriedly. “May, should you have the super check into that?”
She shot him a look, and he snapped his mouth shut. She’d already drawn a pretty firm boundary about Tony poking his nose into anything to do with their apartment or finances, other than letting him provide some specific things that Peter needed. He knew it wasn’t always easy for her to do that, even though she knew Tony could easily afford to, and wanted to. He got that. But her insistence on living in this barely-decent apartment still baffled him sometimes.
“Aunt Cara, how is Ireland?” May asked, changing the subject. “You’ve been there how many years now?”
“Oh, it’s wonderful. I’ve lived there for four years now, and it feels like forever. It’s so good to be there with all our second and third cousins, and living in the same town our parents came from,” she gushed, mostly sounding sincere, with just a little superior glance at each of her sisters. “You should definitely come visit one summer, May dear.”
“That’s wonderful! If only, right?” May said, laughing politely.
“You really do have to prioritize family sometime, May. I know your poor mama would be sad you haven’t visited the homeland yet,” Cara said mournfully.
“Oh, Cara, can it,” her Aunt Cathy said. “Maureen never went herself, and was completely fine with that.”
“I’m just saying that—”
“Peter, dear,” Aunt Cathy interrupted, “May said you’ve been doing so well in your classes. And that your school is so wonderful you couldn’t possibly leave it. Tell me your favorite parts.”
Cathy also seemed sincere, but there was that little bit of disapproval in her tone that Tony knew Peter was also picking up on. He leaned back in his chair and casually draped an arm across the back of Peter’s chair.
“I, uh… yeah, it's—” Peter started, but was thankfully interrupted.
“May, this dressing is expired !” they all suddenly heard from the kitchen. Aunt Shannon had somehow managed to sneak away. May’s eyebrows drew together in consternation, and she rose up out of her seat.
“Expired. Expired. Very expired. May, honey, you do need to clean out your fridge sometimes,” Shannon’s voice came faintly from the kitchen.
“Oh for heaven’s sake,” May muttered as she headed into the kitchen.
Tony looked sideways at Peter. He’d always been kind of sad that he didn’t have more extended family as a kid, and especially when his parents passed. But maybe it wasn’t so bad…
Aunt Shannon was hustled out of the kitchen, and both of her sisters glared at her disapprovingly as she sat down, pursing their lips and shaking their heads slightly.
“What? Someone has to look out for her health, because—”
A cry of dismay came from the kitchen.
Tony jumped up, eager to escape the Spanish Inquisition. Most of the “awkward” earlier had been May’s aunts inquiring about Tony’s relationship status and if he and May often spent time together. Tony didn’t think he’d ever seen Peter’s super-relative nonplussed before, but there was a first time for everything. It had been amusing, but also uncomfortable, and he’d suddenly discovered a type of small-talk he didn’t excel at. And the random bursts of anxiety weren’t making it any better. He wasn’t sure what that was all about, but he felt like there were probably some disapproving adults in his distant past who had sounded a lot like these ladies.
Peter had had the same idea, and they slid into the kitchen shoulder-to-shoulder. “What’s wrong?” the boy asked, his tone matching May’s dismay perfectly. Tony steadied him with a hand on his shoulder. He most certainly did not need two Parkers freaking out.
“The oven! It’s not even warm!”
Of course, both Tony and Peter had to feel the oven for themselves. Peter sniffed a little bit and said, “I don’t smell any gas. Usually I can smell it when you turn it on,” he said, looking confused.
“Are you freaking kidding me?” May wailed quietly. “How am I supposed to cook all this food?”
“Warm all this food,” Peter corrected, his famed genius nowhere in sight.
May shot him a death glare and he gulped quietly, sliding behind Tony a little bit, a bit of self preservation finally registering.
Tony wasn’t used to seeing May Parker so flustered, and decided it must be the aunts. She was feeling pressure for things to go a certain way, and instead they were falling apart.
The tension in the tiny kitchen was thick before, but as all three aunts tried to bustle in and see what was wrong as well, Tony felt the temperature jump up another few degrees.
“Um, restaurant?” May asked, her voice squeaking slightly as she stared at Tony in defeat and panic. Oh. She was asking him what she should do. He stepped in close, to be able to speak without being quite so overheard, and tilted his head as he weighed the options.
“Well, we can do that. Or I can have some food delivered here. Or we can take all this food to the penthouse and heat it up there, and enjoy the dinner you planned, with a little more elbow room. Your call.”
“Really?” she asked, “We could go to the Tower?” She paused, then asked, “but how would we even get there?”
“Leave that to me. Get the stuff ready to transport, yeah? Unless you’d rather leave it here, and I can order something to be delivered there.”
“No! I… this isn’t even the kind of food we normally eat, but it’s all traditional, and what my mom’s family eats, and I wanted to make it nice for them, and—”
Tony squeezed her shoulder gently, interrupting the trademarked Parker rambling.
“It’s not a problem. Give me ten minutes.” He ducked out of the kitchen, leaving May to answer her aunts’ questions, and headed down the hall towards the bedrooms, where he turned at the familiar footsteps behind him.
“Tony? If the gas isn’t working, do you think I should go downstairs and make sure there aren’t any issues?”
Tony considered his kid, Peter’s expression startlingly different from the unsure-teenager-out-of-his-element one he’d had a few minutes before. The person standing in front of him right now was Spider-man, and he was concerned for the other people in the building.
“Yeah, Pete, that sounds fine. See if you can figure out what’s going on, or at least make sure there’s no danger, and I’ll arrange the relocation.”
Peter nodded, and ducked into his room, closing the door behind him. Tony heard the slight creak of his window opening.
Tony raised his phone. “FRIDAY? I need transportation for six, plus food, within ten minutes. Whatever’s quickest.”
“Single vehicle, or multiple? ”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Check. Anything else? ”
“Please preheat the ovens in the penthouse to… uh… well whatever a normal temperature is for warming up the oven, I guess.”
“Got it, ” FRIDAY said, somehow conveying both professionalism and also slight disdain for his lack of knowledge.
“I heard that. Keep your artificial opinions to yourself.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Ovens will be pre-heated to 350 when you arrive. ”
“Um, is the place company-ready? I honestly didn’t pay attention when I left,” he said, wondering if he’d left anything laying around.
“It’s not bad. It doesn’t really matter, since you gave all the janitorial and maid staff the weekend off, and since I don’t have hands.”
Tony rolled his eyes, and headed back towards the kitchen, where voices were growing louder.
“Alright,” he said, clapping his louds once to get everyone’s attention. May looked about two unasked-for-opinions away from dumping the bowl of mashed potatoes she was holding over someone’s head. “Who’s ready for a field trip? Everyone grab your coats, and a container of food, and let’s all merrily climb down five flights of stairs.”
That was the wrong thing to say. Immediately the old ladies started in on their concerned rant about the safety and suitability of May’s living space, and May just sighed deeply. Tony took it upon himself to fetch her coat (which wasn’t in her bedroom closet, Aunt Cathy) and hustle the old busybodies out of the apartment.
As it turned out, they weren’t the only ones needing to relocate. They found Spider-man just outside the downstairs lobby, coordinating with police. He’d found a very recent gas leak in the basement, which is why some of the apartments in the building were now without gas, which would be affecting the heat soon. They’d caught the leak quickly enough that a full evacuation wasn’t necessary, but a team was handling the problem, and a full quarter of the building had been urged to find different accommodations for a couple days, unless they had adequate space heaters. Spider-man had to go, and Peter joined them just a couple minutes later, just in time to be gently scolded by Aunts Cara and Shannon for disappearing during the food-carrying.
Two Ubers arrived within the next few minutes, and Tony happily helped the aunts into one, while he, Peter, and May rode in the second one. They were XLs, so technically they might have all been able to fit in one, but FRIDAY knew better than that, and there was the food to consider. May smiled gratefully at Tony as she stepped in, then seemed to enjoy every moment of silence they had on their way to the Tower.
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As they unloaded in the underground parking garage, Aunt Cathy seemed to be the only one to have caught on to Tony’s full identity. She was giving him a very measuring look, and all of the aunts were relatively silent on the elevator ride up. Cara and Shannon didn’t seem to realize exactly where they were, but were suitably awed at the scale of the building.
“You live… here?” Aunt Cara asked, staring around the modern entryway.
“Most of the time,” Tony said, leading the way into the kitchen.
“Oh! Tony, you left your oven on?” Aunt Shannon said, gasping slightly at the danger of it all.
“You left all your ovens on?” Aunt Cathy echoed, holding a hand to the front of the double oven on the other side of the kitchen, taking in the extent of the kitchen. Tony had always thought of it as compact, compared to pretty much anywhere else he’d lived, but it was easily four times the size of the Parkers’.
“Of course not. I had my AI pre-heat them while we came over,” he said reassuringly.
“Ay-eye?” Aunt Cara asked. “Is that your… maid?”
“Uh, no. My… um, sure, kind of,” Tony said, not having the energy to try to explain FRIDAY at the moment.
Peter quickly turned his face to the side to hide his amusement, then set the dish he was carrying on the counter before opening the fridge to find a snack. He was probably starving, since Tony hadn’t seen him eat anything in the hour and a half he’d been with him.
Aunt Cara looked askance at Peter’s obvious comfort in Tony’s kitchen, and Cathy looked back and forth between them a few times as Peter pulled out half of a cheeseball from some recent holiday-something, and then chose a container of potato soup as well. The teenager, unaware of the aunts’ scrutiny, stuck the soup in the microwave, rummaging in the cupboard before emerging with a box of crackers tucked under his arm.
Peter turned, finally aware of everyone (except May, who was taking stock of the different foods) watching him. “Um, anyone else want some?” he said politely, holding up the plate with the half-eaten hors d'oeuvre.
Tony rolled his eyes. “Eat that at the table,” he said to Peter. I don’t want cheese smeared on anything, or crackers in my couch.”
Peter answered him with his own eye roll and changed directions from where he’d been headed into the living room.
“May? What needs to go where?” Tony asked quickly, not even sure why the curious gazes made him fidgety.
She looked a little lost. “I’m actually not sure what needs to be heated for how long. I guess I left a lot of the packaging…” She pulled out her phone, maybe to look up some of that, and Tony realized there was a quicker way.
“May, FRIDAY can look up all of that for you. I’ll move this party to the other room, and she can help you figure out what temperatures and how long everything needs,” he said quietly, turning towards the three little old ladies who were prowling around his kitchen.
May’s face cleared. She nodded gratefully, and Tony invited her aunts out with the promise of a tour.
“I don’t know why anyone would need such a large fridge,” Aunt Shannon sniffed quietly on their way out. Then more loudly: “Exactly how many people live here?”
“Um,” Tony started, uncertainly. “Myself, and my fiancée, and Peter stays here pretty often, I guess? And you know how teenage boys eat,” he said awkwardly.
All the aunts made small noises that Tony had no idea how to interpret. There were some gems during the tour of the penthouse, though:
“Kind of a large place. I wouldn’t want to try to keep it clean.” (Accompanied by suspicious looks directed at him. What? He didn’t even know what he was in trouble for here.)
“What is that? A towel heater ? Whatever for?” (Tony had no answer. Why not ?)
“Does it take more or less money to keep these top floors heated, or the bottom floors?” (Tony had no idea.)
“Peter has a room here?” That was Aunt Cathy, after Tony mentioned that Peter’s room was down the hall. She quickly pursued her suspicions. “You said he stays here sometimes, and he’s awfully comfortable in your kitchen. Are you trying to get him to live here instead of with May? What exactly is the nature of your relationship with that boy?”
“You’re his father, aren’t you? Did you have an affair with his mother?” Aunt Shannon joined in. “What was her name, Cara?”
Tony swallowed uncomfortably as the aunts stared him down. “What? No! I’m not Peter’s father! We’re… I’m… I mean, I do parent him a lot, but that’s with full approval from May and Peter, and no one’s—”
Aunt Cathy interrupted his stumbling explanation, looking like she didn’t believe a word of it. “Hmph. She’d be free then, to visit family more, and travel, and not have to work so hard. But she loves that boy. She’d be so unhappy if you stole him away.”
Tony rubbed at the back of his neck, unsure why this conversation was spiking his anxiety when he normally couldn’t care less what people thought of him or his choices.
“Hold on, please! No one’s trying to ‘steal’ me, Aunt Cathy,” Peter insisted, catching up to the three old ladies who had arranged themselves in a semicircle around the older superhero, effectively backing him into a corner.
Peter firmly inserted himself between Tony and the aunts, giving each of them a disapproving look. He seemed much more sure of himself now that someone he loved needed defending.
“Tony is my mentor, and I really did start out as his intern. We’re much closer than that now though, and I do spend a lot of time here. He’s taken care of me when May’s busy, or out of town, and he’s very important to me.” He made firm eye contact with each of them. “You don’t need to worry; he’s been so great to both of us, for no reason he’s a super nice guy, and he cares about us.”
All three ladies peered around Peter at Tony, doubtful looks on their faces. “Then why,” Cara asked “are you and May living in that rundown little apartment, with gas leaks, and faulty wiring and termites when he’s living it up in this penthouse?” Her question was to Peter, but she side-eyeing Tony.
“And I know who you are!” Aunt Cathy said, using her trump card. “You can afford to help them!”
“Faulty wiring?” Peter asked, just as Tony huffed out an incredulous laugh. They all looked a little startled.
He took a deep breath. Was that all this was? “Pretty sure I’ve tried every trick in the book to get May Parker to move somewhere else. Here to the Tower, to any of the buildings I own, or anywhere better or closer. Even somewhere with a working elevator! I even tried to buy her building and make improvements, and she said if I did it, she’d move out, and I couldn’t contribute to Peter’s school expenses anymore.”
That floored all of them. Peter, especially. “What?”
Tony stuffed his hands in his pockets. “If you haven’t noticed, she’s stubborn, and proud. Not bad qualities, and she’s a force of nature in all the good ways. But I was starting to annoy her, so I’ve tried to let it go, and help in other ways. You don’t want to annoy May Parker. Too much.”
Peter stepped back next to him, and he was smiling sheepishly. “Yeah, that makes sense. She wants to make it all on her own, even though Uncle Ben should be here to help her,” he sighed, unconsciously leaning sideways into Tony, who wrapped an arm around his kid, offering a little comfort.
“Hmph,” Aunt Shannon finally said. “She always has been too proud for her own good.”
“Comes by it naturally though,” Cara said, puffing her chest out a bit.
“A real Reilly, that one,” said Aunt Cathy, with an amused smile.
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After that, things settled. The aunts still made funny little comments here and there, but Tony felt like they were trying harder, and none of them disparaged May’s store-bought feast, even when the turkey breast turned out a little dry, and she forgot to put marshmallows on the sweet potatoes.
They all ate their fill, then watched “Miracle on 34th Street” (the original, as demanded by the older generation) and then had pie for their second round of food. When it was time for the aunts to get to bed (7 PM on the dot) Tony and May bundled them all into another Uber (all his drivers had the holiday off) and sent them to their hotel.
“So,” he said, turning to the Parkers. “Your apartment won’t have heat until at least tomorrow evening, according to FRIDAY. Ready for a sleepover? May, you’ve still got stuff in the guest room.”
“Absolutely,” May said tiredly, sinking down onto the couch. “That sounds wonderful after the day I’ve had.”
“Awesome!” Peter said, heading toward the kitchen for fourths, now that the only people left were well aware of his faster metabolism. “Can we watch ‘Elf?’”
May smiled after him, then turned to Tony, eyeing him quietly for a moment. She obviously had something on her mind.
Tony raised his brow in invitation, and she huffed out a little breath of irritation.
“Between the gas and the termites, and whatever it is in the wiring that had Aunt Shannon in a tizzy,” I’m… I’m curious if that offer’s still open to help us find somewhere else to live.”
Tony tried not to show his surprise, but by the grimace on May’s face, he wasn’t quite successful.
“What? I’ve tried for two years to talk you into it, and a measly termite infestation changed your mind?” He teased, unable to keep the side of his mouth twitching upwards in excitement.
“Well, it was more the ‘aunt infestation,’ and how they told me I’m being ridiculous,” she said with a sigh. “There’s no reason to stay there, if we can find something a little better, that’s closer to the Tower, and to Peter’s school, though he doesn’t have much time left there. He spends too much time on the train.”
“This is my Christmas present, isn’t it?” Tony said, finally allowing a wide grin.
“Watch it, Stark. If you tease me about this, I’m taking it back, and we’re moving back in with the termites.”
“Duly noted. Peter!” he said, raising his voice, though he knew the superpowered teen had probably been listening to the whole conversation, “Ice cream! This calls for celebration!”
“And can I have more pie?” the teen called hopefully.
“Sure, more pie. Why not? We can eat vegetables tomorrow,” Tony said, feeling more content than he had in some time. “FRIDAY, put ‘Elf’ on for the kid, and bring up available and potentially available apartments for May and I on my Starkpad. You know the search parameters.”
And FRIDAY did. She and Tony had played this game often.
May rolled her eyes good-naturedly and stood up, batting a hand at him. “I’m going to go change. Go crazy.”
Tony’s smile grew impossibly wider. This was going to be fun.
Peter settled in next to him, carefully balancing several bowls of ice cream and one plate of pie.
“That okay with you, Pete? Moving?”
“Yeah, of course. I mean, I’ll miss the people in our building, but it’s not like it’s really ‘home,’ you know? It’s not where I lived with Ben or anything, and it’s never been that nice. I just can’t believe she’s going to let you help!”
His ice cream was already gone. How did he do that?
Peter had already changed into pajamas, and another of Tony's sweatshirts. He was snuggled back into the couch at Tony’s side, already getting distracted by the colorful opening sequences of his favorite Christmas movie as he started in on his double slice of pecan pie. Tony let out a loud breath and squeezed the boy’s knee briefly in agreement. “Who knew it just took a little motherly henpecking to get her to re-think? Remind me to invite the aunts around when I’m ready to give you a graduation present.”
“Tony, no,” Peter said, his laugh a little apprehensive.
“I make no promises.”
Tony’s phone dinged. He picked it up to read the message. Apparently he had more to be thankful for this weekend than he knew, mentally ticking off the big giant box that was Peter.
“Pepper wrapped up early, and she’s getting on a flight home in a few hours,” he reported out loud.
“Oh, awesome! Does that mean we can do some fun stuff this weekend? Can we decorate the Penthouse for Christmas?” Peter’s own phone had buzzed, and he was looking at it in bemusement.
“Um, I’m gonna let you ask that one,” Tony said, his eyes crinkling in a smile. Mentally, he dared Pepper to say ‘no’ to those hopefully eyes.
“Kay,” Peter said contentedly, finishing his pie and then leaning contentedly into Tony’s side. “So, Flash just texted me.”
“Thompson?”
“Yeah, he has asked a few question about the internship that’s starting next week,” Peter said, “and he’s wondering what he should wear.”
Interesting. Flash was texting Peter about stuff like that? Tony raised an eyebrow, wondering how that had been going. “Did you tell him a three-piece suit, nothing last-season?”
“Tony,” Peter said, completely unimpressed.
“What? No harm in a little practical joke or two, after all he’s put you through.”
“I think he’s already nervous enough. I told him somewhere between business casual and what he’d wear to school.”
“Eh, whatever’s fine,” Tony said, taking a bite of his ice cream.
“I didn’t actually ask you,” Peter snarked. He’d finished his pie and was leaning more heavily against Tony’s side, phone abandoned on the table in front of them.
“Punk,” Tony said affectionately, smiling to himself as he tapped the side of Peter’s head. Happy had been giving him a hard time lately about the kid acting too much like him. He didn’t see the problem. But let’s skip the trauma, he thought to himself, making sure to hit the buttons his parents never did.
“Hey, that was good work figuring out the gas leak today,” he praised the young superhero before he lost him to drowsiness. Peter was nearly an adult now, but still passed out pretty easily if he got still and comfortable in the evenings.
“Hmm? Oh, thanks,” Peter said. “Not too hard to find it, when you can smell as well as I can.”
“Yet somehow he can’t smell the trash when it should have been taken out the night before,” May said dryly as she re-entered the room.
“Aw, May. I said I was sorry! And I’m so used to blocking out smells that I kinda have to think about it to do the opposite.”
She laughed. “Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard that excuse about your hearing, too.”
“It’s true !” he protested, sitting up taller in protest.
“Relax, teenager. Selective hearing is a trademark of your species,” she laughed.
Tony grinned too, and swiped a hand over Peter’s indignant head, then tugged gently at his shoulder to help him settle back against him.
“Maybe I can find you a Smart Apartment that takes the trash out for you,” he teased.
“Tony Stark, you’d better behave. Just a nice normal apartment, with no groundbreaking tech, but no bugs,” May warned.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said humbly.
“That’s not a thing, right?” Peter asked curiously. “The Smart Apartment?”
“Not yet,” Tony said. “Give me some time.”
“I’ll add it to your list, Boss,” FRIDAY piped up, prompting a laugh from all of them.
Tony smiled softly, glancing back and forth from Parker to Parker, lit by the glow of Buddy the Elf’s antics. One of the better Thanksgivings he’d had, chaos and all.