diff --git a/core/index.js b/core/index.js
index 793a3fdf..6ee8ce25 100644
--- a/core/index.js
+++ b/core/index.js
@@ -224,6 +224,7 @@ async function determineCurrentReleasePhase(now, dates = {}) {
 async function parseOptions(options) {
 	// set up our defaults
 	const parsedOptions = {
+		fetch: globalThis.fetch,
 		now: DateTime.now(),
 		urls: {
 			index: 'https://nodejs.org/dist/index.json',
@@ -233,7 +234,9 @@ async function parseOptions(options) {
 	};
 
 	// allow the end-user to replace our fetch implementation with another one they prefer.
-	parsedOptions.fetch = await Promise.resolve(options?.fetch ?? globalThis.fetch);
+	if (options?.fetch) {
+		parsedOptions.fetch = options.fetch;
+	}
 
 	// allow the end-user to provide a custom DateTime. This is particularly useful for tests.
 	if (options?.now) {