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The former Stark Tower, now Avengers Tower.
The elevator doors opened and Jarvis's gentle voice sounded: "Welcome, Mr. Starr, Ms. Jones. Mr. Stark is waiting in the living room."
No blaring music filled the lounge—only a soothing vinyl record spun.
Beyond the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, snowflakes danced above the twinkling lights of New York.
Tony Stark stood by the window in a rather comical reindeer sweater, a glass of wine in hand, lost in thought.
Steve Rogers wore a beige sweater that made him look like the boy-next-door, sitting on the sofa leafing through a picture book.
Hearing footsteps, he turned around, a roguish grin spreading across his face.
"Wow, look who's here!" Tony spread his arms theatrically.
"Our all-American idol and his ice queen! Seriously, Anthony, did you tailor that suit out of the flag? It even has embroidered stars."
"Tony," Anthony laughed, hugging him without taking offense.
"That reindeer get-up is pretty unique—does the nose actually light up?"
"That's Rudolph, you childhood-deprived brute." Tony rolled his eyes, then turned to Jessica.
"Ms. Jones, I must say that outfit suits you far better than that blinding white catsuit. Who designed that—did Vought's aesthetic freeze in an '80s aerobics VHS?"
"That was Ashley's idea." Jessica unceremoniously poured herself a drink and knocked back half of it.
"I thought it looked like a condom too."
"Pfft—"
Steve Rogers, walking over, nearly sprayed his eggnog.
"Pleasure to meet you, Queen Jones." Steve offered his hand generously.
"I'm Steve."
Jessica stared at the hand, a bit overwhelmed—this was Captain America, a living legend.
She shook it awkwardly. "Just Jessica is fine. I grew up on your stories—well, I mean, punching Nazis was pretty cool."
Steve smiled, warm enough to melt snow.
"Thanks. I saw your press conference—you were brave."
"Good evening, Homelander." Steve turned to Anthony and extended his hand.
"Glad you could come."
"Good evening, Captain." Anthony's tone toward Steve was far more sincere than toward Tony.
"No need to stand on ceremony—Anthony is fine."
"All right, Anthony." Steve smiled.
"The vibe here… may not be as lively as you imagined."
"Suits me perfectly." Anthony glanced around. "Just us?"
"And Pepper—she's in the kitchen trying to wrangle a turkey. Disaster zone." Tony snarked.
"Dr. Banner thinks he's a menace and's hiding out. Clint's home with the wife and kids—his only holiday of the year."
"And our Black Widow…" Tony sighed, glancing at Steve, "Natasha's off hunting him around the globe."
"Hunting Banner?" Jessica asked curiously.
"Why? To drag him back?"
"Nope." Tony flashed a gossip-loving grin.
"It's 'hunting'—you know, the emotionally invested kind."
"You mean…" Jessica's eyes widened.
"Black Widow and the Hulk? Beauty and the Beast?"
"Bingo!" Tony snapped his fingers and wiggled his brows.
"I hacked S.H.I.E.L.D.'s comms—don't tell Fury the one-eyed bastard. Natasha's messages to Banner—ugh, so heartfelt. Stuff like 'Hey big guy, the Sun's setting'—made me nauseous. Honestly, why would Natasha like the green goliath?"
"Because he's… huge?" Jessica deadpanned.
"Pfft—!" Steve spat a mouthful of wine.
Tony froze three seconds, then burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha! Dear God, I love this chick! Anthony, where'd you find her? She's perfect for me!"
Anthony shook his head helplessly.
"Queen, watch the image. Talk like that and you'll lose fans."
"Relax, Starr." Tony refilled Jessica's glass.
"No cameras here tonight. No Homelander, no Queen Jones—just Anthony and Jessica."
Steve sighed in resignation.
"Tony, enough. Natasha's just… looking out for a teammate."
"Come on, popsicle." Tony snorted.
"You know zip about modern romance. It's tension—sexual tension! Like…"
Tony's gaze flicked between Anthony and Jessica.
"…like these two."
"Ahem!" Jessica nearly choked on her red wine.
Anthony stayed calm, even patted her back.
"Slow down, no one's racing you."
"See! That!" Tony pointed. "The casual physical contact, the 'she's mine, back off' vibe. Admit it—have you two slept together yet?"
"Tony!" Steve frowned. "That's out of line."
"No worries, Captain." Anthony smiled.
"Tony's just jealous. With Stark Industries rebuilding, Miss Potts probably hasn't had time for him lately."
Tony winced, snorting.
"Pepper's a career woman! We're soul mates!"
Banter melted the tension; the room relaxed.
Pepper finally surrendered the charred turkey and slid a prefab pizza into the oven.
They gathered round the table, eating greasy pepperoni-loaded pizza and washing it down with $20,000-a-bottle wine.
Alcohol is the best social lubricant; after a few glasses, barriers between them dissolved.
"You know," Tony swirled his glass, eyes glazed, "I hated Christmas when I was a kid."
"Why?" Steve asked.
"Because Howard—my dad—always locked himself in the lab." Tony stared at the fire.
"He never remembered gifts. Old Jarvis, the butler, would grab something random and say it was from Dad."
"I knew it was fake." Tony gave a bitter smile.
"But I'd still pretend I loved it."
He turned to Anthony.
"We're alike that way, huh, Mr. Starr? Hear your old man was a workaholic too?"
Anthony was silent for a beat.
He lacked those memories; instead he infused the moment with emotions from his past life.
"Pretty much." Anthony leaned back, gaze turning distant.
"Rich families are all alike—nannies closer than parents, boarding school homier than home."
"I remember that year…" Anthony began his performance.
"I was seven. Mom and Dad were abroad closing a deal. Only the staff and me. I sat in the huge empty living room, staring at the massive Christmas tree."
"Back then I thought, if only Superman existed. He'd fly in, carry me away from that cold house."
He gave a self-mocking chuckle, lifting his hand to study his palm.
"Turns out I became Superman—but I'm still… alone."
The words struck every heart in the room.
Jessica turned to the man beside her. For the first time she saw something called loneliness on the invincible Homelander's face.
Instinctively she reached under the table and gently laid her hand over Anthony's.