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"Pass me another small red one" Peter said seriously, reaching out his hand for Tony to hand him what was requested, while still keeping his eyes focused on his main task. He stuck the tip of his tongue between his teeth in concentration, doing his best to keep his hands steady as he set the object in place with precision. "There, it's done!" he said finally, pulling up his long sleeves, stepping back with a smile as he looked at the final product of their effort.
The newly-decorated Christmas tree stood in the corner of the Parker's apartment, with many branches concentrating in specific spots, leaving out some blank space in certain areas. The ornaments were well spaced, though a few of them seemed about to fall off, while others were so far in that they ended up being hidden by the branches. The tree itself was also slightly crooked, too, with the top tipping to one side as if trying not to fall over.
Tony looked at the tree with a blank expression. We definitely should've waited for May, he thought . "It looks great, buddy!" he praised with a smile too wide for the occasion, "It looks a bit… crooked? " he said, ending almost in a question as his tone changed with uncertainty, and he froze while waiting for a reaction from the boy.
Peter looked disappointed for a moment as he examined the tree carefully, taking in every side of it, before shrugging his shoulders.
"I don't see it."
Tony rolled his eyes and he was about to retort, when the door opened, and both May and Happy walked in, each carrying a handful of shopping bags, looking slightly flushed from the cold weather.
"Okay, now we're finally done with the presents!" May announced cheerfully, "How did it go here, guys?"
"We assembled the tree, put up the fairy lights and decorated it!!" Peter said excitedly, smiling proudly at his creation, "Except for some other ornaments, and the star, of course" he added quickly, "we're doing it together, it's still tradition!"
With that, May finally looked at the tree, and her smile fell to an uncertain one as she wondered if she should reach out her hands to hold the tree upright.
"Wow" she exclaimed, quickly fixing her expression, "It looks great, you guys!"
"It's definitely a Christmas tree" Happy said in a teasing tone, earning a light smack on his arm.
"It's beautiful" assured May once again, "Now how about we put on the rest of the ornaments so we can put the star on top?" she suggested, raising her eyebrows in excitement.
Peter rushed to the still full box of ornaments, before Tony tapped on his arm.
"Don't forget your sleeves, buddy" he reminded the boy, "we don't want those itchy branches all over your arms"
Peter nodded gratefully, having forgotten that he had pulled up the sleeves from his hoodie. When assembling and decorating Christmas trees, Peter always wore long sleeves - and on bad days, even gloves - to shield himself from the itchy fake leaves and almost spiky branches. To do so without any kind of protection would be sensory hell.
The small family soon started playing and singing some classic Christmas songs as they finished decorating the apartment, and when Pepper finally arrived, she brought santa hats for everyone - making sure to get ones with a nice and soft fabric so they wouldn't be bothering Peter.
Pepper took in the decorations that had been put up, and how everything was in some way adapted for Peter. Anything that made sounds or lit up had been carefully chosen, making sounds that wouldn't upset the boy and lighting up with not too many colored lights, some even having the possibility to dim the lights - which was great, considering how the boy actually loved things such as fairy lights.
The stockings and other decorations made of fabric were also sensory friendly, being made of soft fabrics that wouldn't feel bad for the kid.
Pepper could already tell how much Peter loved Christmas, and it was comforting to know that with the help of his family, he could enjoy the holiday comfortably.
The five of them were spending Christmas at the Parker apartment as a family, and things had been going well for the most part, despite the stress that usually came with that time of year.
It was close to midnight of the night of the 24th and the group was sitting around the table, wearing cheesy and goofy Christmas sweaters - Peter and Tony wore matching science puns on theirs, with the boy's saying "Ho Ho Ho" with the Holmium element, and the man's saying "Let it snow", with the last word being made of the elements Tin, Oxygen and Tungsten.
As it was approaching midnight, they were serving themselves supper, passing plates around the table. As per tradition, May always prepared a turkey - something her own parents did back in the day.
"Here, Pete, let me pick some of the turkey's breast for you" she offered, taking the boy's plate so she could handpick the pieces that would be more appealing to him, "And don't worry, I've got some chicken breast we can mix it with to make the texture better" she assured, though Peter could figure that that was the case, considering they did it every year.
Peter loved the taste of turkey, but the texture wasn't always that great. When he was little, way before they even knew he was autistic, May and Ben figured out that if they mixed the turkey with a bit of chicken - always the breast, though, as that was his favorite -, the boy could have something with a nicer texture while still enjoying the taste of turkey.
And so the night went on. The family exchanged gifts, sang more Christmas songs, drank some hot chocolate while watching cheesy Christmas movies, and overall enjoyed each other's company.
Tony was used to celebrating the holiday with extravagant parties with people whose names he barely knew, but he found himself enjoying this quiet but still happy night better. He could definitely get used to this, he thought as he took in the sight of his family talking and smiling around the crooked Christmas tree.
"This Christmas is perfect !" Peter said contently, flapping his hands and shaking his head happily.
Tony couldn't agree more.