Up on the Rooftop, slip slip slip

It’s just a little after four on December 24th when the car’s tires hit the gravel driveway leading to the Stark’s cabin. The familiar crunching sound sends a wave of comfort through Peter as he leans forward, looking out through the windshield to see the cabin come into view.

“Home sweet home,” Happy says, giving Peter a small smile through the rear view mirror.

Peter smiles as he sits back in his seat. “Yeah.”

It’s been almost three weeks since he’s been to the cabin, having been busy cramming for finals at school—not to mention all the extra Spider-Manning he’s been doing with the recent uptick in crime around the city. The holidays always bring more shoplifters and robberies. He can’t even remember the last time he’s had a solid four hours of sleep.

But for now, Peter can finally just relax and enjoy quality time with family and friends.

As the car rolls to a stop in front of the garage a few feet from the house, Peter’s stomach tightens in excitement. He wants nothing more than to throw his door open and race inside, but he forces himself to calmly get out and help Happy retrieve their bags out of the trunk.

“Look who’s here!” a voice comes from behind.

Peter turns around when he hears the sound of the screen door creaking open, only to see Tony standing there on the front porch, smiling at them, wearing one of the most ridiculous Iron Man Christmas sweaters Peter’s ever seen. Carefully avoiding bumping into Happy, Peter all but runs up the stairs to him and throws himself at Tony.

“Merry Christmas,” Peter murmurs against his mentor’s chest as he feels strong arms wrap around him in a warm hug.

“Merry Christmas, kiddo.”

He feels Tony’s arms go slack around him, but Peter doesn’t let go as he presses himself further against his mentor and buries his nose into the man’s shoulder, earning an amused chuckle from Tony as his arms squeeze around him once again.

“Feeling extra cuddly today, are we?” Tony asks, his voice rumbling in his chest against Peter’s ear.

“Missed you,” Peter mumbles as something twists inside his chest.

“I’ve missed you too, bud. I can’t believe it’s been three weeks since I last saw you, give or take all those FaceTime calls.”

Peter pulls back with a smile, managing to get a hold on himself. “I know.”

“I feel like you’ve grown a few inches,” Tony says with a teasing grin as he reaches a hand up to measure him, but Peter moves away with a laugh.

“Or maybe you just shrunk a few inches,” Peter shoots back.

“Gosh, I hope not,” Tony says as he throws an arm around Peter’s shoulders as they walk in the house. A warm burst of air hits them, sending chills through Peter at the sudden change in temperature.

“How’s May been?” Tony asks.

“Uh, pretty good—busy with work and stuff,” Peter answers as he shrugs off his coat and hangs it up on the rack by the door before following Tony, catching the scent of freshly baked cookies in the air.

“So I’ve heard. I’m happy she’s able to take some time off to relax,” Tony says over his shoulder as he heads towards the kitchen.

“Yeah, I know,” Peter says as he stops walking, expecting to her the sound of thundering little footsteps from upstairs and seeing Morgan running down the stairs to greet him... but the house is oddly silent. Unsettlingly so.

“Where’s Morgan?” he questions.

“In her room.” Tony grabs a pair of oven mitts from a drawer and opens the oven, taking out a batch of what looks to be sugar cookies. “We... have a bit of a problem.”

“What do you mean?” Peter asks, brows pulling together.

Tony takes off the oven mitts and puts them on the counter with a sigh. “Some kid at Morgan’s school told her Santa isn’t real.”

“Oh, man,” Peter says, feeling his stomach drop, knowing all too well how that felt.

He was around Morgan’s age when a bully at school told him Santa wasn’t real as well. But May and Ben didn’t sit him down and tell him the truth; instead, they went out of their way to help him believe that Santa Claus was real by leaving chewed up carrots outside their house from the reindeer and an empty plate of cookies, as well as a hand-written letter from Santa himself.

When Peter was older, he found out that May and Ben had done all of that for him, to allow him to just be a kid and enjoy the magic of Christmas, especially after losing his parents at such a young age.

And Morgan loves Santa Claus just as much as Peter had. She’s been talking about Christmas for weeks now, even having Peter help her write a letter to him, asking for either a cat or dog that needs a home for Christmas, and telling Santa to give the elves a nice long vacation after the holidays, and give the reindeer extra carrots. Santa is everything to Morgan, and she must be absolutely devastated right now.

“Yeah,” Tony says with another sigh. “Pepper’s tried everything to help her feel better... but... she’s taking it pretty hard.”

“Poor, Morgan,” Peter says sympathetically, wishing there was something he could do to help.

That’s when it hits him.

The corners of Peter’s lips turn into a grin as he looks at Tony. “I have an idea.”

...

Once it’s dark outside and Morgan is tucked in bed, Peter quietly goes outside of the cabin, followed by Happy.

“Are you sure this is a good idea? There’s a lot of fresh snow up there from last night,” Happy points out as he looks up at the roof.

“It’ll be fine. I’m super sticky, remember?” Peter tells him with a grin as he walks over to the side of the house and grips the wood siding.

“Are you sure you don’t want a ladder at least? Just to be safe?”

“No, I’ll be fine,” Peter insists as he starts scaling the side of the house, concentrating hard on keeping his hands sticking to the slippery surface.

“Be careful!” Happy whispers sharply from below.

Peter rolls his eyes goodnaturedly as he continues climbing until he reaches the roof. He swings his leg over and hoists himself up with a grunt before getting first to his knees, then his feet. Carefully, he makes his way over to the window he knows belongs to Morgan’s room and peaks inside. Tony and Pepper are both sitting on the little girl’s quilted snowflake bedspread, reading a bedtime story, while Morgan dressed in pajamas, sits between them.

A smile spreads across Peter’s face as he pulls out the small strip of jingle bells he’s found inside earlier and gives them a little shake.

Morgan’s head pops up at the sound as she looks over at the window. Peter quickly ducks down so she doesn’t see him and ruin his whole mission.

“What was that?” Peter hears Morgan ask, thanks to his enhanced hearing.

“I don’t know. It almost sounded like... Santa?” he hears Tony reply in a dramatic tone as Pepper gasps in surprise.

Peter grins as he stands up straight, stomping his feet for added effect as he gives the bells another shake.

“I think he’s here!” Pepper says excitedly.

Peter peaks in the room and sees the big smile plastered on Morgan’s face. The sight sends a burst of warmth through his chest.

He stomps again and jumps slightly, but when his feet come back down to the roof, they’re met with an icy patch under the snow. His spider sense only has a brief second to warm him before Peter finds himself sliding backwards as his legs give out from underneath him.

Peter’s hands scramble to attach his fingers to the roof to stick on, or get a hold of something to save himself, but he’s sliding too fast and everything is all icy.

Suddenly, there’s nothing underneath him as he plummets through the air, the snowy ground quickly rushing up to meet him.

The last thought he has is the faint hope that the snow will break his fall, before he slams into the ground.

...

A dull, throbbing pain breaks through the darkness, along with a panicked voice somewhere in the background as consciousness slowly creeps back to Peter.

“Peter! C’mon, kid—wake up! Shit!”

Peter groans, slowly blinking his heavy eyes open, seeing a blurry figure above him.

“H’ppy?”

“Yeah. Right here, Pete,”

Peter blinks a few times before his vision clears, allowing him to see the worry written all over the man’s features as he looks down at Peter with wide eyes.

“Shit, I knew this wasn’t a good idea! May’s gonna kill me,” Happy hisses. “Are you okay? Does anything feel broken?”

As if he needs a reminder, Peter’s whole body seems to throb painfully. “Ugh, everything,” he groans.

“Shit. Uh—okay. Let’s try to get you up and into the house, alright?”

Happy begins to carefully help him to his feet but stops when Peter suddenly lets out a sharp hiss in pain and squeezes his eyes shut.

“What’s wrong?” Happy asks worriedly.

“M-My back,” Peter grits out, forcing himself to breathe through the pain radiating across his back.

“Does anything feel broken?” Happy asks, even paler now.

Cautiously, Peter moves his limbs around a bit to check. As stiff and achy as he is from his fall, there’s no sharp pain that would indicate a break. “I don’t think so? It’s just really sore,” he admits.

Happy blows out a relieved breath. “Alright. We can work with that.”

When Peter is finally on his feet, hunched over with Happy’s arm wrapped around his middle, they shuffle back towards the front of the house, Happy supporting most of Peter’s weight.

“Well, I think the plan worked,” Peter groans. “Should’ve seen her face when she heard the bells.”

“Yeah? Well that’s good at least, but I still say you should have used a ladder,” Happy grumbles as he carefully drapes one of Peter’s arms over his shoulders.

“Mmh, next time,” Peter says.

“Oh, no. There’s not gonna be a next time. You’re barred from going up on that roof ever again.”

As they approach the front porch, the door suddenly swings open and Tony steps out with a smile, only for it to fall when he sees them.

“What happened?” he demands as he rushes down the stairs.

“I feel off the roof,” Peter tells him simply.

Tony’s eyes widen and his mouth opens for a few seconds before he closes this eyes, shaking his head. “I told you this wasn’t a good idea. We should have just gone with my plan of dressing Happy up in a Santa suit and having Morgan come down around midnight to catch him putting presents under the tree.”

Happy throws a glare his way, but Tony ignores it as he drapes Peter’s other arm over his shoulders. The three of them carefully make their way up the stairs and into the house, not letting go of Peter until he’s sitting on the couch.

“I’m gonna grab a heating pad and some menthol ice,” Happy says before he disappears upstairs.

“I’ll grab you your super kid pain meds,” Tony says as he heads into the kitchen, leaving Peter on the couch.

Despite the pain he’s in, Peter doesn’t regret going up on the roof. Was it stupid and dangerous? Sure. But the look on Morgan’s face made it all worth it. Peter would do anything to keep that smile on her face for as long as he can.

...

When the next morning comes, Peter’s in even more pain than the night before. He had no other choice than to fall asleep on the couch because stairs were too much of a challenge, embarrassingly enough. Happy ended up sleeping on the love seat after ordering Tony to go on up to bed, getting up to help Peter whenever he needed something.

It’s close to seven-thirty when Peter wakes to the sound of eager footsteps racing down the stairs, seeing Morgan dragging Tony and Pepper by their hands. He slowly pushes himself up with a wince, trying to ignore his protesting back as he sits up against the back of the couch.

“Petey! Petey!” Morgan exclaims as she drops her parents hands and runs over to him, practically vibrating with excitement. “I heard Santa last night!”

“What? No way!” Peter says in a fake-shocked tone. He glances sideways at Tony, who smiles and winks at him in return.

“Yeah! When Mommy and Daddy were telling me my bedtime story, I heard him walking on the roof and we heard bells! I’m gonna tell Aiden he was wrong! Santa is real and I heard him!”

Peter smiles at her, warmth blossoming in his chest at how truly happy she is. His back pain seems to have completely disappeared for the moment as he takes all of this in. This must be how May and Ben felt when Peter was younger.

“Wait... did you sleep on the couch?” Morgan asks suddenly, brows pulled together as she looks at him, then over at Happy, who is only now starting to wake up, despite all the commotion.

“Uh... yeah?” Peter says uncertainly.

Morgan gasps excitedly. “Did you see Santa?”

Peter breathes out a sigh. “No. He must have come when I was asleep. I wish I had though.”

Morgan’s brows pull together again. “Why did you sleep on the couch?”

Peter opens his mouth, but Tony jumps in before he can say anything. “Well, Pete and Happy wanted to see Santa, so they decided to camp out here last night.”

“Yeah,” Happy chimes in. “But we fell asleep and missed him.”

Morgan’s brows are still drawn together as she looks between them, then down at the heating pad on the couch. Peter stills, feeling like all the air in the room has been sucked out. Morgan might be only five years old, but she’s frighteningly smart for her age. Of course she could piece everything together. It would break her heart if she sound out the truth, and Peter’s as well.

“What’s that for?” she questions, meeting Peter’s wide eyes.

“Uh... I... I, uhm...” Peter stumbles for words, his tired brain not being helpful at the moment.

“Well, it’s a little embarrassing, really,” Tony starts, letting out a sigh. “He doesn’t want to admit it, but he took a little tumble yesterday. Slipped on some ice when Happy picked him up from school.”

Peter shoots a small glare is way, feeling his cheeks heat up even though he knows the story isn’t true.

“Oh, yeah,” Happy says, a faint smile pulling at his mouth. “He just wiped out right there on the sidewalk. Didn’t know what hit him.”

Peter sends a glare his way as well, but Happy just smirks at him.

“Aww, Petey!” Morgan says, frown dropping into concern as she crawls up on the couch and wraps her arms around him in a gentle hug. “Do you feel better now?”

“Way better,” Peter lies, forcing a smile even as pain radiates in his lower back at the awkward position he’s in now.

Morgan pulls back, smiling as she looks over at Tony and Pepper. The two are now walking back over to the living room with a tray of mugs, which Peter hopes are full of coffee.

“Can we open presents now?” Morgan asks hopefully.

“Of course,” Tony agrees, earning an excited squeal from Morgan as she jumps off the couch, jostling Peter a little.

Peter smiles as he watches Morgan search through all the presents (which definitely weren’t there when he went to sleep last night, so Tony and Pepper must have snuck down at some point) until she finds one of hers. She plops down on the floor and starts ripping open the bright red and green wrapping.

Tony helps Pepper hand out all the mugs before he sits down beside Peter, handing him one. “Cream and extra sugar?”

Peter smiles as he wraps his hands around the warm mug. “Just how I like it.”

Tony rolls his eyes goodnaturedly, before taking a sip of his own mug. For several moments, they all sit there in the living room, watching Morgan open her presents with enthusiasm.

Peter is old enough now to know that Christmas isn’t about the gifts under the tree, but Morgan is only five. For Peter, this is what Christmas is about—being surrounded by family.

As if on cue, a knock comes at the front door.

“That must be May,” Pepper announces as she puts her mug down on the coffee table before standing up from the couch and heads to the door.

“Remember,” Tony whispers, eyeing the door a little nervously. “You slipped on ice yesterday when Happy picked you up. That’s the story we’re going with.” He glances between Peter and Happy.

Peter breathes out a sigh as he takes a sip of his coffee. He doesn’t like lying to May, but that story is better than telling her the truth that he fell off the roof last night while pretending to be Santa Claus.

He has to save what little dignity he has left.