This fic is canon compliant to what has been established in the MCU, including "Avengers: Endgame." Even though I don't have it tagged, this fic does follow the canon of Tony's death.

This fic focuses on the FAMILY relationships between Peter and Morgan mostly, but also includes May and Pepper. There's a lot less mention of Tony in this fic than other fics I have written, and that's mainly because there's a lot more fluff here.

This fic is set 4.5 years after Endgame (ish). Morgan is seven or eight and Peter is in his second year of college.

I hope you enjoy!

Brick by Brick

Spending Christmas at home after spending majority of the year at college was great. There was a thin layer of snow across New York, Aunt May had gone into overdrive baking his favourite deserts, the best movies were playing on television, he had minimal homework, and everything was good. He was happy.

Peter didn't think there'd ever be a time in his life where he could say that. If the world wasn't ending, then the world was recuperating from being almost ripped to shreds. After the Decimation, it was hard for him to believe he'd ever reach a normal.

He died. He was dead for five years. He returned to a different world – different places, different people, different problems.

Others died. Tony died.

It took a while to reach a new normal, but he was there. Finally, he was there.

He graduated high school in June and started at MIT in September. He had a handful of close friends – like Ned and MJ – that kept close. His family – his very-large-and-not-necessarily-blood-family – was supportive and made his heart ache from all the love. He felt like he found a place in the world.

Things were good.

"Peter!"

His day got at least ten times brighter when Morgan came running in. As soon as the front door to Aunt May's apartment was open, she was racing across the room and throwing herself into his lap. They both flew back into the couch, laughing until their cheeks hurt.

Despite their loud reunion, he saw the little Stark the day before. And the day before that. And the day before that…. And the day before that. If one thing was true about Morgan, it was that she was enthusiastic and always eager to see him.

Her warm welcome always made his heart feel like it was going to burst with affection. No matter how often they saw each other, she'd always greet him like she hadn't seen him in years. She was adorable.

"Hey, kid," Peter said, tickling her sides. She squirmed away from him and stuck out her tongue. "Nasty. Get that back in there." He playfully pushed her away with a decorative pillow, eliciting giggles from her. He couldn't help but grin.

"Hello, Peter." Pepper was just walking into the apartment. Morgan must've ran all the way up the stairs and left her mother in the dust. He lifted one hand from the pillow and gave her a short wave. "Good. I was hoping all that sugar wouldn't make her hyper," she commented dryly, her lips quirking up at the sight of Morgan bouncing on the couch.

"Oh, yeah, definitely not hyper," he commented. As if to prove them all wrong, Morgan let out a loud snort and another stream of giggles. Pepper shook her head affectionately.

"Sorry," she added. "Rhodey insisted it was a good idea to let her eat as many cookies as she wanted. Pretty sure he was setting you up for failure."

"No? Really?" Peter feigned shock. "In all seriousness, it's all good, Pepper. I have a surprise for a certain someone if that certain someone behaves and doesn't end up on the walls."

Morgan's head poked out from between the cushions, her eyes wide. "I'm a certain someone." She clamoured up from where she was kneeling on the floor and plopped herself beside Peter.

Wow. That was easy, he thought.

He spoke too soon.

As soon as her feet tucked under her legs, she let out a wide grin. "I don't end up on walls," she said, her voice strained from holding back laughter. "But you do! Climb the walls, Pete! Climb!" She doubled over with laughter.

Oh boy.

Pepper grimaced. "Remind me to let her eat a bunch of sugar before sending her over to Rhodey's next." She set down Morgan's bag and pointed towards the kitchen. "You two have fun. I'm going to bug May into giving me her sugar-free cookie recipe."

Morgan pulled a face, finally stilling on the couch. "That should be illegal." Peter couldn't agree more. She turned to face him, her face alight with joy. "You have a surprise?"

He feigned confusion. "Do I? A surprise?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Yes."

"Really? What's the surprise?"

"You tell me."

"I don't know what the surprise is. That's the definition of surprise."

She batted his arm with the cushion. "That's not." She climbed onto her knees and threw herself at his shoulders. "Please, Pete? Pretty please?" Her eyes grew wide and she blinked dramatically. Peter had to take everything in him to not burst out laughing. "You're my favourite brother."

"I'm your only brother," he replied, his façade cracking the slightest bit.

Morgan's bottom lip came out. "Pretty please with a cherry on top? You have a surprise for me?"

It really didn't take much to convince him to pull out his surprise. The LEGO Disney Castle set was supposed to be part of her Christmas gift, but he thought it would be fun to build together while May and Pepper spent the day together.

Her eyes lit up as soon as she saw the box. "Wow."

It was impossible not to smile. "I know." He cleared the coffee table in the centre of the living room and handed her the box, which she immediately cracked in to.

"You know, daddy and I used to build LEGO together."

He did know.

His heart gave a painful tug at the mention of Tony, but it wasn't nearly as painful as it once was. Years ago, just hearing his name would knock the wind out of him. Now, the mention of his name made a warmth grow in his chest, and it brought back all the good times.

"And you two modified the sets so they were cooler," he recalled. Morgan looked smug and it made him snort. "Of course you and dad would."

"Our Death Star was better than yours," she taunted, her voice teasing.

Peter tousled her hair. "Oh, I don't doubt that." He glanced at the box in Morgan's hands. "Ned and I built the Death Star over the span of a week, but that was between classes and homework, so I think we should be able to get this done today."

She started pulling out the bags of LEGO. "Is this bigger or smaller than the Death Star?" She locked eyes with Peter.

"Bigger, but not by much." He took the bags from Morgan and started laying them out on the table. "You think we can do it?"

She grinned and tossed him the #1 bag. "Of course. I'm a Stark. You're Spider-Man, a Parker, and you're close enough to being a Stark, so… this is going to be easy."

Morgan was right. After building several new Spidey suits himself based off Tony's designs, LEGO seemed like a walk in a park. Plus, he built an IKEA bookshelf once. That had to count for something.

Peter's favourite days were the days like this one. He got to spend time with his favourite pseudo-sister, his aunt and Pepper were singing off-tune Christmas carols, and things were good. Really good, actually.

This was his family and he loved them more than words could express. They'd been there for him through thick and thin (more thick than thin, because apparently being an Avenger came with a few dips). They built a home with him, even if it wasn't a physical building.

This was home. It was sitting beside Morgan, laughing at her sugar-rush, listening to her in-depth stories, and talking to her about plans for winter break. It was secretly recording May and Pepper singing to the radio, running to hit the smoke detector off when they accidentally burned the cookies, and being pulled up to dance along with them. It was being surrounded by all their love and joy and warmth.

As they built, Morgan eyed the box across the room. "How many pieces are in this set?"

"4080."

She reached between his arms and placed the missing brick on the top of his structure. When they glanced at each other, her smile was wide. "I love you 4080, Peter."

It was ironic, in a way, that they were building LEGO at the moment. This was the family they built – with the warmth, the love, the bonds – and they built it brick by brick.

Peter pressed a swift kiss to the top of Morgan's head. "Love you 4080, too, Morg."

This fic belongs to the series "To Infinity and Beyond," but it can be read as a stand-alone one-shot (which is why I haven't mentioned it until now). If you are interested in reading more fics in this series, visit my profile! I have all the fic in chronological order on my profile, and I've also added "To Infinity and Beyond series" in each of the summaries.

Also, I just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU! to everyone who has read this series. The feedback I got has been amazing and I'm blown away. An extra special thank you to those who have reviewed, favourited, and followed. I unfortunately don't have time to respond to the reviews (this really pains me because I usually respond to every review - and I've been doing this for close to 9 years, but... real life i y), but please know I read and appreciate each one.

As for the series, I currently have one more fic planned. It might turn into two, depending on how much material I pack into it! Keep your eye out - it will be called "To Infinity and Beyond" to close out the series.

Thanks for reading. Reviews are so appreciated!