2021

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"A vacation?"

(Y/N) gave her husband an unimpressed look. Her arms were crossed over her chest with tiredness behind her eyes, due to her nightly adventures on the Internet in search for Morgan's presents. The holiday season was approaching fast, and she had no idea what to get her daughter and husband. Tony, on the other hand, was clueless to all this and unexpectedly came up with a fresh idea that he needed to voice as soon as possible, leaving the task of washing the dishes completely on the side.

"Not just any vacation, honey," he corrected. "A holiday vacation."

"Is that supposed to change anything, or — ?"

"Yes! It would be Morgan's first vacation and plus points because it's during a holiday!"

(Y/N) sighed and shook her head. Although, the idea of a vacation didn't sound so bad. It had been a rough couple of months, and she felt as if the family needed time to enjoy themselves. But, knowing Tony, he probably had an over exaggerated idea that he was willing to put to the test no matter what.

"Where do you want to go?" she questioned, perking up to show interest. But then, she realized how much freedom she was giving him with this. "Wait — No! I take that back."

Tony pouted like a child. "Why?"

"Because you'll want to take us on a trip to Europe or something."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, it's just that she's too young, she won't be able to remember much," her eyes trailed to Morgan peacefully playing with her dolls near the couch. "And I'm sure that throughout the course of her life you'll spoil her with more trips, so — "

"You have a good point."

"Do you have a second choice?"

He grinned mischievously probably already prepared for this. (Y/N) shook her head in disbelief with a playful hint behind her eyes; she didn't even knew where they were going yet, and there was absolute certainty that Tony had everything laid out perfectly for this trip.

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"New York?!"

(Y/N) adjusted Morgan higher on her hips as she exclaimed loudly. People on the busy streets gave her looks because of her booming volume, others doing double takes when they seemed to recognize her and Tony. Her eyes were set on the skyscrapers surrounding her like an urban forest, towering over her in a powerful manner. Snow covered the ground and the trees, giving the city a fresh coat of the white wonderland. Morgan shivered on her mother's arms, burying her cold nose on her neck. (Y/N) cooed at her and adjusted the beanie on top of her head to make sure she didn't get sick from the cold.

"Oh, where to start?" Tony exclaimed instead. His eyes glimmered in an enthusiasm that she hadn't seen since the day their daughter was born. He was bouncing from excitement. "We can visit Rockefeller Center, Times Square or — "

"Tony, honey, we can do all those things, there's no rush," (Y/N) tried to calm down his nerves and rambling fit.

He seemed to slow down on his words, taking a deep breath in. "Sorry, sorry."

"No need to apologize," she shook her head, moving her neck sideways when she felt Morgan fiddle with her hair. "Now, calmly, decide what we're gonna do first. I still want to find time to buy presents."

"You're right," Tony perked up at the mention of gifts. "We should go to Rockefeller Center first."

And that's exactly what they did. It didn't take long to find a cab despite its typical difficulty, mostly because the drivers spotted Tony right away as he stood on the sidewalk and they jumped at the opportunity to assist him. (Y/N) could see in his eyes how he regretted giving Happy a month off since now they were stuck in the back of a typical New York City cab. Morgan was ecstatic the entire ride, pointing to the skyscrapers with bright buildings in awe, muttering incoherent words that had (Y/N) nodding enthusiastically as if she understood what she was saying.

Once they arrived, Rockefeller Center and its Christmas Tree were shining in their pure glory. (Y/N) had only seen the tree in pictures, and now that she stood before it, they didn't do it enough justice. Crowds were pushing in to take their very own pictures in front of the tree, others running to make line into the ice-skating rink. Morgan's eyes caught sight of the rink pretty quickly, and she bounced up and down her feet as she begged her parents to let her try the experience out.

Morgan looked adorable as she fit into the smallest pair of ice skates that the rink could offer, the face of pure surprise as she entered the rink and nearly fell being a memory that will forever remain in (Y/N)'s mind. Despite her hesitation at the start, Morgan had a lovely time as she held onto the hands of her parents, who swung her into the air every now and then. They all shared their amount of falls in the ice, but Tony took the trophy as the one who fell down the most. He didn't want to accept his defeat in front of an entire crowd, so he gave up and dragged his family behind him, slipping one more time on the way out.

(Y/N) was still recovering from laughing too hard at his antics, spreading her laughter to Morgan. The young girl, despite not fully understanding what was happening, quite enjoyed laughing at the expense of her dad. Tony didn't find this amusing and pretended to make an angry face, even though he wasn't that mad.

"That ice rink is rigged," Tony defended.

"Just like our kitchen stove or like our last game of UNO?" (Y/N) asked him with raised eyebrows.

"Like Thor's hammer kind of rigged."

"Oh, so it's that bad."

Tony huffed. Morgan let out another chuckle at this, making grabby hands at him. "Daddy mad."

Tony's eyes melted at her words. He took a step forward and planted a kiss on her chubby cheeks, making her let out a squeal. His eyes flickered to the sky, where the darker hues were already claiming the sky, and checked his smartwatch. They had arrived in the city in the middle of the way, and they spent the majority of the time inside the ice rink. He spotted a small cafe around the corner of the Center, and he figured they might be a little hungry after their ruckus in the ice rink. Maybe he could also use this as an excuse to check out the closest stores for gifts.

"Why don't you find us a place to sit down while I grab us something from the cafe?" Tony blurted out, gesturing toward the cafeteria.

(Y/N) nodded at his request. "Don't take long."

He grinned and pressed a quick kiss to her lips and ruffled Morgan's hair underneath her beanie before departing. He headed down the direction of the cafeteria, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone so no one could recognize him and make him lose time with his family. He quickly ordered what he wanted, along with something he knew (Y/N) would enjoy, and after waiting for an eternity, he got his order. He didn't plan on returning just yet, wanting to take a quick peek at the nearby stores and toy shops for anything in particular.

He learned from previous experience ( the enormous bunny ) that (Y/N) didn't quite enjoy large presents, yet he felt like she deserved one. Morgan would be content with any toy he buys her, since she always found time to play with all of them. Still, Tony couldn't find anything worthy of being gifted to the two most important girls in his life and he felt like ripping his hair out because of it. But after countless minutes of searching — he was sure that (Y/N) might scold him about it once he returned — he found something that quite mimicked an old gift that was given to him a while back.

He was satisfied with the result, still having a mental note to buy more presents afterwards, probably even tomorrow, but for now, this gift should do. Tony grabbed the bag with a tight grip since he didn't want to damage it or have someone steal it as he made his way back to where he last saw (Y/N) and Morgan.

Tony was expecting them to be sat in one bench, huddled together to provide warmth in the midst of all the cold. Instead, he found them standing near the tree, (Y/N) carrying Morgan in her arms as she pointed toward the illuminating lights on the tree with wide eyes. Morgan was muttering something inaudible to her mother, and (Y/N) corresponded by pointing her own hand at the sight in front of her. How did he manage to get so lucky to deserve this family of his, he had no idea, but Tony was no fool to question his luck.

Tony reached them in a matter of seconds, slipping his arm around (Y/N)'s shoulders smoothly. She jumped at the touch but relaxed when she realized it was him and leaned toward his embrace. Morgan was still in complete awe at everything around her, spotting her dad and wanting to share her new knowledge with him.

"Lights, daddy," she pointed toward them. "They are color. . .ful!"

"Yes, they are," Tony nodded along with her.

Morgan clapped her hands together in joy, making her parents laugh along with her. Tony turned his head to stare at (Y/N) again, seeing the way the lights illuminated her face beautifully. Even if she was shivering from the cold air, she still managed to look effortlessly ethereal. He brought her even closer to his side and pressed a kiss to her temple, making her scrunch her face in the process.

"Happy Holidays, honey," he whispered to her ear.

(Y/N)'s eyes flickered to him and offered him a smile of her own. Then, her gaze traveled to the bags he held in his hands. "What's that?"

"Oh, just some holiday shopping of mine," he shrugged. "It's not time for you to open it yet."

She hummed in response. "I just hope it isn't something like that bunny."

"That bunny was awesome, I don't know what you're talking about," he defended himself. "Morgan would've liked it."

"Because she's a child, Tony."

"Whatever."

At the mention of their daughter, he saw how she was resting her head against the crook of (Y/N)'s neck, already fast asleep. The steadiness of her breaths strangely calmed something in him; reassuring himself that his daughter was safe and sound in the arms of her mother.

"You know, I'm actually enjoying myself in this trip," (Y/N) broke the silence, playfulness in her tone as she slowly rocked from side to side.

"I'm gonna pretend I'm not offended by that," Tony responded. "I told you it wasn't a bad idea."

"Is this going to become a tradition of ours?"

"You bet, it will," he said with a grin. "The second of many Stark traditions."

"Hmm, what's the first one?"

"The unexpected kiss around this holiday season."

(Y/N) immediately knew what he was referring to. How could she not? It was the beginning of her journey with him, even though it was rocky from the start.  "Well, get a move on, Stark."

Tony smirked in satisfaction and leaned to press his lips against hers, already smiling in between the kiss. (Y/N) turned her face a certain angle to deepen the kiss, allowing herself to relax against his warm touch.

The city that never sleeps seemed to stop in that particular movement. Nothing in the world outside from their little bubble mattered to them and couldn't do anything to pull them apart from one another. They were one of the few who managed to move on from the tragedy that shook the world, and they managed to stay that way.

i kept calling it 'the holidays' and 'happy holidays' so it can include what you guys celebrate :) is it okay?

this IS going to become a tradition and you'll see why later on ;)
also, this is the last of the filler chapters, and the actual plot of the movie is coming right up.

-see you soon, bex <3