Spider-Son & Iron Dad one shots

Halloween.

a/n: lowkey got emotional writing this 😭

✨Spooktober.31✨

The pumpkins were carved. The decorations lie on apartment doors, houses, and buildings. Even shop owners had bowls of candy they held out of their stores.

Small children ran from place to place with their parents, costumes ranging from zombies to Iron Man. Cheap and expensive.

Teenagers walked in crowds, decked out in a similar range of costumes. Some put effort, some didn't. That wasn't what mattered.

Peter smiles as he looks out the window of May's car. They were driving to Tony's cabin for this Halloween, since they didn't know their new neighbourhood as well.

In a way, it was kind of sad.

So much has happened. So much. Peter can't even begin to wrap his head around it, really. It seemed like last Halloween was so close to reach. Like some sort of distant memory that you remember so vividly it must have happened the night before, even if it was years ago.

In a way, it was exactly what had happened.

People moved on. Things happened. Years passed in a blink of an eye—a snap of the fingers, if you will—and Peter wasn't there for any of it. Tony was. That was still so strange for Peter to understand.

How could it have been so long ago? How could it have been six years ago where he dressed as Tony Stark, nearly got kidnapped—Tony hugged him. He remembers that well. Peter had yelled at Tony, and instead of yelling back, he hugged him. He'll always remember that.

These sorts of thoughts floated around Peter's mind all day, so they did not tamper with his ecstatic mood. Halloween was Halloween, and Halloween was great.

"It's nice of Tony to invite us," May comments as she drives out of the city. She's already aware on why Tony had invited them, but she's making conversation anyway. It's a mom thing. (Second hand mom-ing is a thing!)

"Mhm." Peter hums, still looking out the window as houses eventually turn to woods.

The drive is long for Peter's attention span. It took about an hour from May's apartment to Tony's house.

But Peter was perfectly calm tonight.

To be completely honest with himself, he's pretty sure it's because he's seeing Tony. More importantly and specifically, he's seeing Tony: alive and safe.

He had dressed as Han Solo this year. He can't begin to even describe how absolutely despicable it is that some of the new kids in his class (who hadn't been blipped) don't even know who that is. His costume was extremely high quality, May sewed it herself. They were as comfy as pajamas. Peter would know, tHaTs exactly what he used them for.

They arrive at the cabin, and Peter gets out of the car. He smiles and pets Gerald, the alpaca which Tony apparently adopted while he was gone. (Yeah, he found that out about four weeks after the war and screamed for a good ten seconds in the middle of Tony's hospital room.)

He knocks on the door, waiting for Tony to open it. When he does, Peter grins at him. "Trick or treat!"

"Trick," Tony says without a beat, hoping to knock Peter's mortal plan off balance.

It does not.

"You're a young guy who doesn't wear crocs to the beach," Peter says instead. Tony gasps.

"I can't belieVE—" Tony squawks.

"Peter, be nice," May says in a joking tone as she goes over and hugs Pepper quickly, starting a conversation with her.

Tony smiles and pulls Peter into another hug. "How're you doing, kiddo? You holding up okay and everything?"

"Yeah! I'm all good, Mr. Stark." Peter hugs him back. It's slightly awkward at first, considering Tony only has one arm now. But Peter is a professional and expert hugger, so he figures it out quickly.

Suddenly, their legs are being hugged too. Peter pulls back and looks down at Morgan, who is grinning cheerily up at them. "Happy Halloween, Peter!"

Peter grins back at her and picks her up, hoisting her on his hip. "Hey, dimples. Happy Halloween to you too."

Tony smiles fondly at the two of them and then snaps to get everybody's attention. "Okay, I've got movies! Pepper and May can get popcorn set up? Me and the kids are going to make a fort."

Peter sets Morgan down and they run into the living room. Pepper and May start up the popcorn machine, and Tony retreats into the living room after his two rambunctious children.

They make a pretty good fort in the time Pepper and May come back with an assortment of snacks, including popcorn. They all settle down, either on the couch or under the mess of blankets and pillows that are somehow suspended with a nerdy rule of physics.

Tony turns down the lights, and the movie plays.

They didn't pick an extremely scary movie for multiple reasons. Number one being Morgan, number two being the fact they don't need any extra adrenaline in their life anymore.

The music starts up from the film. Peter smiles. He loves this movie. He loves Halloween. He doesn't have a reason why.

They watch as the pumpkin king tries to take over Christmas. They watch as the nice humanoid worries about her friend—and love. They watch the ghost dog chase after his owner.

It's dark outside. Peter is curled into Tony's side, Morgan laying in Pepper's lap and May sitting next to Peter. They're like a family. An odd, perfect family.

Like pieces from different puzzles matching together in an unusual way, somehow making an even more beautiful picture than if you put the puzzles together separately.

Peter falls asleep almost immediately after Morgan does. The movie isn't too far along, but it hasn't finished either.

The stars are out tonight. The moon is shining through the curtains.

Tony glances back down at Peter. Alive. Breathing. Safe.

He thinks briefly about how much he missed Peter. How much pain he felt. How much guilt he wanted so badly to drown away, but resisted.

Then he thinks of how he would do it again. He would do it every day for this moment.

The fireplace crackling. Halloween movies. Kids dressed in costumes that felt more like pajamas. Candy and popcorn scattered across couch cushions.

It is these moments that make it seem like it will always be as perfect as now. It isn't true. But it's a nice thought.

It's the thought Tony has as he drifts to sleep, his head drooping onto Pepper's shoulder. He falls asleep holding his family close.

Now, and only now, can he truly rest.

See you next year, October:) I'll miss u forever