Impromptu Decorating and Visitors
Christmas was not something that Tony celebrated. At least not anymore. The last Christmas he remembers was the one before his parent’s death. His Mother made a big deal out of it when he was little, though Santa Claus was never part of it. His Mother tried but was very quickly stopped by Howard Stark. The last thing the man wanted was for his prodigy son to get confused by something as childish as magic—his words, not anyone else’s.
When the Avengers were still a thing, Steve would pull together a little party and get everyone gifts. Thor in particular enjoyed engaging in “silly human traditions” as he had put it. Tony still remembers finding a present on his desk in the lab. Inside had been a scarf that Steve later revealed had been knitted by him. It had been the first gift that he’d received on the holiday in a long time. Even Rhodey and Pepper eventually stopped after figuring out that the holidays were a sore topic for him.
So he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d finally gone off the deep end when halfway through December he went out and bought three carts worth of Christmas decorations and spent the entire afternoon putting everything but the tree up before Happy got back from taking Aniyah and Peter to the aquarium. He gets lost in the task, humming along to the quiet music he has playing in the background while he decks the penthouse out in the festive decorations.
He jerks, turning around sharply when the elevator pings, the doors slowly sliding open. He expects Aniyah to come running out but instead, Steve Rogers steps cautiously out, looking around at the flat with an expression of confusion. His eyes land on Tony and for a second they stare at each other in silence, the tension so thick that it could be cut with a knife.
“Stark,” Steve says, quietly, and Tony inclines his head in return.
“Rogers,” he replies, setting down the strand of garland he had in his hands. “Thank you for coming on such short notice. I apologize for the mess I’m…” he trails off, not certain what exactly he was doing.“It’s alright. You didn’t strike me as the decorating type. You seemed so…unconcerned with the holidays last time I was around.” Steve’s voice holds a note of something akin to hurt and Tony can’t help but feel a pulse of guilt that he’s quick to shove away.
“Ah well,” Tony clears his throat, shrugging. “Circumstances change. I’m not doing this for me.” And that was the truth. He’d been sent on this crazy mission after Aniyah, at bedtime a few nights ago mentioned that she and her Mother always decorate a Christmas tree at about this time of year. Suddenly Tony had been gripped with the urge to give his daughter the best Christmas she’d ever had, not that he’d admitted to it until just now.
“I see,” is all Steve says and for a few moments they sit in silence until Tony finally breaks it, gesturing towards his office.
“Here why don’t we go discuss everything in my office? It’ll be more comfortable than standing amidst this mess.”
Steve nods in agreement and leads the way into the office, seating himself in one of the chairs in front of Tony’s desk. The billionaire closes the door behind him, taking slow, deep breaths as he circles the desk and sits.
“Right, so, first I want to thank you for being willing to come out here and discuss this. I know I didn’t give you many details on the phone but I promise that I’ll explain everything and answer any questions you have.” Tony pauses, waiting for a response, and when Steve nods in silent agreement he continues. “Right so, Director Fury has informed me that he has been given full permission to pardon you and everyone that went…” he trails off and Steve snorts.
“Rogue?” he finishes and Tony shrugs.
“If that’s what you want to call it. Either way, he has been permitted to fully pardon you and the others for your actions given that you comply with a few conditions.”
“And these conditions are?”
“We reestablish the Avengers, you move into a compound that I am currently working on building, and each of you sign the revised Accords. You will become Captain again and things will go back to the way they were…with the new rules that they’re imposing.”
“I will not do it if Bucky-”
“Barnes would be fully pardoned as well.” Tony interrupts and Steve freezes staring at him slack-jawed.
“Fury managed to-”
“I actually managed to convince them. I told them that Barnes was not in the state of mind that it would be fair to hold him accountable for anything he did. So, with the understanding that you’re responsible for him and if he does anything you will be held accountable alongside him, they have agreed to pardon him and allow him to join the team. Many are convinced that his…expertise will come in handy.” The last words leave a bad taste in Tony’s mouth but he manages to keep his face neutral.
“Right…” Steve says, “Anything else?”
“That’s it. Those are the terms.”
“And why are you the one presenting them to me.”
“Fury wanted to make sure I was on board before he did anything. So he left the decision on whether or not to give you this offer up to me.”
“Right because of…”
“Right.”
The two of them fall into an awkward silence, and if Tony didn’t know any better he’d say that Steve looked guilty. The super soldier goes to say something just as the elevator pings and a few seconds later voices can be heard.
“Ah,” Tony says, a jolt of panic running through him. “That would be my…that’s uh…I…”
“DADDY!! WE’RE HOOOOOOOME!!” Aniyah yells out and Tony sighs shaking his head. “Come on I’ll show you,” he says to Steve who nods, that confused expression back on his face. The blonde follows him out into the living room and Tony wishes he had a camera to capture the moment that Steve’s eyes bug out when Aniyah squeals and runs over to Tony, wrapping her arms around him tightly.
“Hi, Daddy! What’s all this?” the girl asks, looking around with wide eyes.
“I thought you’d like it if we decorated for Christmas. I got a tree for us to put up and decorate if you want.”Aniyah squeals, jumping up and down, nodding her head. Tony laughs, ruffling her hair gently. “Alright, we’ll do it after dinner. I was going to order from that Italian restaurant you liked so much.”Suddenly, Aniyah freezes, eyes locked on Steve. She falls entirely silent, backing up a few feet until she runs into Happy’s legs, where she takes the opportunity to hide behind them.
“Tony?” Steve asks quietly, the usage of his first name not going unnoticed by the billionaire, “Who is this?”
“This,” Tony says, walking over and scooping Aniyah into his arms, “is my daughter. Aniyah, this is Steve Rogers, otherwise known as Captain America.” The small girl gasps looking at Steve with wide, awestruck eyes.
“You’re Captain America??” she asks, and Steve nods, still taken aback by the entire situation. “Wow, you don’t look like you’re supposed to be a hero. You’re just a normal dude.”
Tony snorts, ruffling her hair again. “And what does that make me squirt?”
“Well, you run around in a suit. He just has spandex and a shield.”
Both Tony and Aniyah are started by Steve busting out laughing, the blonde covers his mouth, muffling the sound a bit as he gets himself under control. “She’s not wrong, I suppose.” He clears his throat, taking a step forward and slowly extending his hand towards Aniyah. “You can call me Steve.” Aniyah looks between Steve and Tony who nods encouragingly at her, before she slowly reaches out and shakes the super soldier’s hand.”
“I didn’t know you had a kid, Tony,” Steve says, raising an eyebrow at the billionaire.
“I didn’t know I had one until a little over a month ago,” Tony retorts, “Her Mother just kinda left her with me. I got a paternity test and it’s legit, so I’m just holding onto her until her Mom comes back to claim her.
“What kind of Mother just leaves their kid with a stranger even if said stranger is the kid’s Father?” Steve mumbles and Tony sighs shrugging his shoulders.
“I asked myself the same thing.”
Steve goes to say something but the elevators suddenly open again, revealing Peter who is precariously balancing a bunch of ocean-themed souvenirs. “A little help here!” he calls out and Steve walks over, taking some of it away from the teen. Peter goes to thank him and then freezes, mouth wide open as he stares at Steve. “Oh my god.”
“Hi, I’m Steve, and you are?”
“His name is Peter. I adopted him.” Tony says, walking over and taking the rest of the items from Peter, placing them by the stairs. “You guys sure got a lot of things,”
“Aniyah couldn’t decide which things she wanted so I decided to follow in your footsteps and get her everything she asked for,” Happy replies and Tony sighs, glaring at him playfully.
“I’m not that bad.” he retorts and Happy raises an eyebrow at him. Tony laughs and then raises his hands in defeat. “Ah, what can I say, I just can’t say no to her. I mean look at her. You try to say no to that face.” He gestures to Aniyah who giggles, running over and attaching herself to his leg. “Ah, I’ve been captured!” Tony says, playfully shaking his leg, “Whatever shall I do?”
Tony playing with Aniyah seemed to knock Peter out of his stupor as the teen shook his head and looked over, a grin forming on his face. “I’ll save you Tony don’t worry!” he says, running over and snagging Aniyah by her feet. He tugs gently and Aniyah squeals, holding on tighter. “It looks like I’m going to have to take drastic measures!” He drops her feet and then crouches down, digging his fingers under Aniyah’s arms and tickling. The girl laughs, instinctively letting go as she tries to wiggle away. “I got you!” he says, pulling her into his arms and swinging her up into the air, catching her as she falls. Aniyah laughs even harder, starting to wheeze a bit and that was Tony’s cue to calm things down.
“Alright alright, why don’t you take her for a bath while I handle dinner,” he says, steering the two of them towards the stairs. Happy quickly excuses himself, stepping into the elevator and heading down to return to his post. Alone once more, he turns and faces Steve.
“So, uh,” he trails off, not certain what he should say.
“You’re…really good at handling them,” Steve says, and Tony scoffs, waving him off.
“I’m just doing what feels right,” he says and Steve smiles, nodding his head as if Tony just said something important. “What?” Tony says and Steve simply shakes his head, that secret smile never leaving his face.
“I’ll discuss your offer with the others. I should be in contact within a few days to give you our final answer,” he says, and before Tony can say anything more, he inclines his head politely and steps onto the elevator, the doors closing and hiding that infuriating expression from Tony.
Tony sits down on the couch with a huff, rubbing his hands over his face. “God I don’t know if I can handle this,” he mumbles to himself. “I might end up going mad.”