IT WAS NEARLY CHRISTMAS AND REMY WANTED TO GET PRESENTS FOR HIS TWO FRIENDS. He only had two, which meant he didn't have to get many presents, but that meant he had to make sure they were great. Of course, Marc didn't celebrate Christmas, he celebrated Hanukkah, but Ethan did and the sentiment still stood, and giving presents was nondenominational, so there wasn't too much of a panic.

"What are you doing?" Marc asked, startling when Remy shut his book quickly, shoving it behind him.

"Nothing," he said quickly, heat rising to his cheeks; he could never lie to Marc, it was a problem that he couldn't seem to shake, "Nothing."

Marc, for all he could tell when Remy was lying, never got upset or pried, though he always did try to coax the truth out of him. "Are you planning something? About your mom and Tony?"

He shrugged noncommittally. "Yeah, I guess so."

He was, in fact, making some plans, though those weren't the plans that he was writing down. But he had given the boy a positive response, so he might as well work around it, especially that Marc had already had it in his mind that Remy was being protective of Tony, not hiding something from him, waiting patiently for an explanation.

"I don't know what's going on with them," he admitted, hand moving up to scratch the back of his neck, "It's weird. They're weird. We were at a picnic and I was playing tag and I look over and they're holding hands and whatever, but they don't act like parents."

"What do you mean?" Marc asked, raising an eyebrow, "Your mom is just like a mom. And Tony isn't your dad."

Remy nodded in agreement, furrowing his brow. "I know, but that's not what I mean. They're happy. It doesn't make sense, parents aren't supposed to be like that. Aunt Jayne and Uncle Brad can be like that because they don't have kids, and Aunt Wilma and Aunt Treshelle aren't like that. I mean, they're happy, but mom and Tony don't act the way mom and Mark did. It's weird."

"It's weird that they are happy?" Marc asked, tilting his head, "Why is that weird?"

"Because parents aren't supposed to be happy together, they're supposed to be sighing all the time because the other one screws up and they don't hold hands or do anything like that, they're just there," Remy exclaimed, throwing up his arms, upset that Marc didn't seem to be understanding what he was clearly trying to say.

Marc nodded carefully, frowning. "Is that what your mom and your dad used to be like?"

Remy shrugged. "Yeah, that's what everyone's parents are like, don't you notice?"

The taller boy shook his head. "I don't really pay attention to other people's parents."

Remy fidgeted, feeling very odd now that he heard Marc say it. Always an observant boy, he never found it odd that he tended to watch people at all times, over time learning more and more about people in general, certain people he watched, and certain patterns he saw the more he looked.

"What are you planning?" Marc asked, noticing that the boy was starting to shut down, "Are you going to try and make them upset at each other?"

"No!" Remy cried, "No way! I just wanna know what's going on, because if they were trying to be parents or anything they wouldn't act like that. I don't get it."

Marc nodded slowly, biting his lip. "Okay. Well, what are you planning? Are you going to set up cameras?"

The boy shook his head, shrugging. "I don't know...do you have any ideas?"

Marc shrugged, humming. Truth be told, he didn't really understand what Remy was talking about, nor what would constitute as a feasible plan, but he was willing to help wherever he could. His hum must have conveyed all of that because Remy instantly moved on to other things.

"I'm trying to get Ethan a gift, what should I get him?" he asked, already turning back to his original task, hoping Marc wouldn't catch on.

Marc merely shrugged, leaning back onto his arms. "I don't know your cousin very well, I think you'd know him better than I would."

Remy sighed. "I mean, I don't know. He's been a lot different lately."

Marc hummed, not wanting Remy to get too far into his thoughts and run the risk of feeling worse than he already was. "Maybe do something you two both liked doing. Make something, don't buy it. It usually means a lot more that way. I like it when people make me things."

Remy tried not to show how happy he was that his plan worked, instead just pretending to nod solemnly, changing the subject, glad to know that his people watching had, in the end, paid off.

º º º

"What are we doing, kid?" Tony asked, knocking on his door and peering in. The man had dropped by after Birdie had asked him to watch over Remy, promising dinner, and he was never above declining a meal, at least, not when he wasn't working.

"I'm making Marc nine-hundred and ninety-nine paper cranes," Remy explained, motioning towards the impressive number he already had, a tally in front of him to keep track, "I'm leaving the last one for him to make so he can make his wish."

Tony smiled, moving to sit down next to the boy, careful not to crush anything. "You need any help, you do have homework to do."

Remy paused his actions, looking at him like he just asked if grass was green. "It's symbolic, Tony. And I think this is more important thank homework, besides, I'm gonna be seeing Peter tomorrow, we'll work on it there."

"How've those sessions been going?" Tony asked, having nearly forgotten that Peter and Remy met several times a week.

Remy shrugged. "They're going good, Peter told me he's saving up his money for a present for his girlfriend or something. I don't think it's very professional of him to talk about his personal life during work, but I'm not here to judge."

Tony laughed, and Remy watched his expression carefully, wondering if his plan would work like he wanted it to. Sure enough, once Tony had stopped laughing, he paused for a moment. "What's he planning on getting her?"

Remy shrugged again. "A ring, I think? Like a friendship thing, but it's also because she's his girlfriend, I don't know."

He bent his head over his work to hide his smile, listening as Tony shifted his position, clearly thinking. When the man spoke, the boy had to wonder if he could make a career out of studying people, as he was more than good at it.

"What does your mom want for Christmas, do you know?" Tony asked, trying to seem nonchalant.

Remy shrugged again, wondering if this much shrugging could gain sort of muscle over time. "I don't know. I heard her and Aunt Jayne talking, mom's always saying she thinks her wardrobe for work is pretty plain. She's not gonna wear super bright colors or anything, but something to make her feel pretty would be nice. I don't think she thinks she's all that pretty anymore."

Tony furrowed his brow, nodding. "Okay. Well, uh, how about I pick you up from school tomorrow and we're gonna do a little shopping for your mom, okay? And if you need to buy something for your friends, we'll do that too."

"I still need to figure out what I'm getting Ethan," Remy said, gesturing towards his paper cranes, "So, okay."

Tony nodded, squeezing his shoulder. "Okay. Well, I'll be outside if you need me." He left the room for a moment before popping his head back in. "Um, do your homework. Your mom was upset that you didn't do it last time."

"That's because you didn't tell me," Remy called after him, grinning when the man made a frustrated sound.

"I'm not getting paid to make sure you succeed!"

Remy just laughed, going back to his paper cranes, mind racing a mile a minute. Looks like he'd be very, very busy.

º º º

"I'm picking up your roommate right now, Nicky, but I don't understand why you didn't tell me he slept with Steve."

Tony tried to talk over the roar of the wind, carefully listening for Nicky's response, which followed a very heavy sigh. "I didn't think it was important, Tony. Listen, thank you for doing this, we're just really on edge right now, you know?"

"Don't worry, kid, I got it," Tony said, nearing the elementary school where Rhett Reiser worked, his eyes searching for the blond with glasses that Steve would somehow find attractive.

"Thank you," Nicky sighed, hanging up a moment later.

Tony reached into the cup holder where he had written down exactly what Nicky had wanted him to greet Rhett with, stopping in front of the blond who matched the description he was given; an attractive blond with glasses. Didn't seem all too far off Steve's description in his civilian clothes if you asked him.

Raising an eyebrow, he read out in the most monotonous tone he could muster, "Get in, loser, we're going shopping."

Clearing his throat, he tossed the notecard to the side. "Well, that was...interesting. Uh, get in, Nicky's roommate, I'm taking you home since your roommate doesn't want you taking public transportation or heading home by yourself. Whichever you usually do."

Rhett tried to get into the car, only to be blocked by the door, unsure of how to open it. Tony had opened it for him, only for the man to have trouble finding the seatbelt. Pressed for time, he just pushed him back and buckled him in himself, zipping off and towards the Brooklyn apartment.

The conversation was nice, for the most part, Tony interrogating the man on just how he had been able to successfully seduce the world's oldest virgin, trying not to show just how pleased he was that Steve was doing alright.

After all the searching for Steve and the others had died down, he had been the one to help them integrate back in, helping Sam find an apartment back home in Harlem—though Steve wasn't allowed to know about that—and Steve finding a job and apartment back in Brooklyn, Scott returning back home to San Fransisco and Wanda staying with Clint at the farm. He tried to keep tabs on them as much as possible, but it was nice to hear things were going alright.

The conversation quickly slipped from Steve onto how he himself was doing, and Tony had to admit that the subject scared him, unsure of how to respond. Rhett asked how he was doing, and he was able to say that he was doing alright, but he wasn't sure if he was right. Maybe that was what scared him. He tried to shake off his thoughts immediately, not wanting to panic just before he was about to buy a present for Birdie.

"Thanks for driving me," Rhett mumbled, climbing out of the car, smiling.

"Sure, Nicky's roommate," he coughed, adjusting his sunglasses, "While I did love our riveting silence, I have other people to pick up, so, uh, stay safe, don't die."

With that, he was off, heading towards Midtown and hoping that he could avoid traffic, though that wasn't going to happen no matter how much wishing he did. There wasn't too much of a rush, however, as Birdie knew they were heading out, just not why.

When he finally parked in front of the school, Remy was already waiting for him, head bent over a notebook, a pen bit between his teeth. Honking the horn, he laughed when the boy jumped, raising his head and gathering his things, shooting towards the car at top speed.

"Let's go!" Remy cheered, jumping into the front seat, despite being much too small to be allowed to.

"Does your mom let you ride in the front seat?" Tony raised, raising an eyebrow at how easily the boy had been able to vault into the car.

"Not usually," Remy replied, halfway into buckling up.

Tony shrugged. "Okay. Well, let's just pretend you sat in the back, okay?"

Remy grinned, nodding. "Okay. So, are we going to buy mom a present?"

Tony sighed, backing out of the parking spot. "Let's hope so."

º º º

They didn't buy any presents.

They had gone around for nearly three hours, searching for good presents to get Ethan or Birdie, but turning up empty. There were certain things that had captured their attention, Tony getting stuck at a particular vendor looking at necklaces, but at the end of it, nothing seemed quite right.

"I know what I wanna do!" Remy cried, nearly sending the car swerving to the side, Tony clutching his chest as he struggled to catch his breath.

"I know what I wanna do, but I need your help," Remy babbled, shaking Tony's arm, the man taking that hand off the wheel, trying to get him to stop, "I'm gonna make Ethan something, okay, but I need you to help because I don't know how to do it."

"You're gonna make him something?" Tony parroted, raising an eyebrow, glancing towards him before immediately turning back to the road.

"Yeah!" Remy exclaimed, eyes bright and words blending together as he talked a mile a minute, "Marc said that presents that you make are a lot better than stuff you buy, and people like it more."

Tony hummed, nodding to himself as he thought over Remy's words. "Interesting."

He had an idea.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Don't we love how much Mark screwed up Remy's view on the world? Doesn't it just fill you with the purest of hatred that Remy now thinks that parents are supposed to just hate each other?

Also, Rhett Reiser is the main character in my Steve fic Past Lives, so if you were wondering who he was, that's who he is, check out his story if you want, I'm really fond of him.

Thanks to janehoppers for helping me find a faceclaim for Marc, Lucas Jade Zumann. I was really surprised, he works pretty well, actually, and he still looks young despite actually being older than me, like, who are you child?

That's all I have to say so...thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!