A/N Here's a one-shot I wrote for two reasons; one, because of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut. That was a truly horrific and tragic mass murder, and I got pretty messed up over it. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims. Two, on a happier note-IT'S NEARLY CHRISTMAS! So...yeah. In the...Christmasy mood, and I've been really hyper. Today was the last day of school this year as well, so...that's always nice.

...until we go back after two weeks. XP

Hope you enjoy! Merry Christmas! (or anything else you may celebrate) And happy New Year! And remember...never forget the reason for the season! God bless!

Silky mists of her breath unfurled into the frigid air, thinning and dissipating. Slender fingertips clutched at unfolded newspapers, tugging them close to her to her tiny frame as she shivered uncontrollably, wishing for a bit of relief from the quickly approaching negative temperatures. Until two days ago she had been sleeping under the ventilation shaft from a large office building, but a furious man had come out and threatened to call the police on her, saying she was making the building look bad. She missed the warmth the vents had provided, but she would do almost anything to keep the police out of it, and so she had found refuge behind the metal grating of one of the smaller apartment buildings.

Through the roughly half a foot clearance between the cement and the bottom of the steel gate she could see the feet of a passing pedestrians. Flamboyant pumps, dingy sneakers, polished brown shoes. She occupied her time by dazedly staring at them, guessing the sort of people they belonged to and the kinds of lives they led.

She barely held back a shriek as something white and rectangular clattered to the ground underneath the gate, prompting a groan from someone just on the other side. Scuffed red shoes stepped closer before someone dropped to his knees and a face peered under the gate.

It was man in his late teens, a fringe of dark ebony bangs hanging over shockingly cobalt eyes that widened as he gave a gasp of shock. "Uh, hold on," he asked, and he disappeared. The girl huddled back against the jagged brick wall behind her, nervously contemplating whether or not to take off running. She'd heard about terrible, sometimes gruesome things that happened to homeless girls, and she feared of most strangers, but for some reason she wanted to trust this man.

He reappeared a moment later, clad in a thick red coat and blue scarf and those same red shoes. He knelt down in front of her, but not too close, giving the girl her privacy.

"Hello," he said, quietly, calmly, the way you might talk to a crying infant, "I'm Tony."

She glowered halfheartedly at him, curling up into a ball and tugging her newspapers closer. She didn't want him to look at her; she had been scrutinized by peers plenty of times, enough to know the reason she never stayed off of the streets with a family was because of her uncouth, wild appearance and sickly colored skin. Her face burned with shame, and she just wished he would leave.

She heard him sigh, but she refused to even spare him a glance. He would leave in a moment, just like any other pedestrian who stopped for a moment, completing their single humane deed of the day before moving on. To her surprise, though, she felt something heavy and intoxicatingly warm drape across her shoulders. Risking a peek, she saw that Tony had shed his jacket and had blanketed her in it. He had unraveled his scarf and offered it to her, showing her how she could wrap it around her hands like one of those puffy white things women in the olden days would cover their hands in. He showed no signs of leaving.

"Layla," she blurted out, unable to stop herself. He looked at her inquisitively and she blushed. "Th-that's my name."

"It's a lovely name," he smiled, his eyes warm and friendly. "It had a melodious ring to it."

She had absolutely no idea what that meant, but she knew it was a compliment, and she inwardly glowed. Suddenly, something clicked in her head, and she dug out of one of her newspapers and held it out to him, crinkled papers torn and crumpled.

"That's you on there!"

The picture showed Tony in a metallic crimson exo-suit, all but his face obscured by the metal. Underneath, the caption, she saw a bunch of squiggly lines which she supposed was somehow interpreted to make words for the educated.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's me."

Tony's heart ached. Layla was pitifully boney and small, with sickly yellow skin and a grimy face, hair bushy and untamed like a plant allowed to grow free. She recoiled from him cautiously even now, her eyes deadened. She reminded him of a beaten animal, cowering and whimpering in fear, and it burned him up inside.

"Layla, did you know it's the day before Christmas?" he asked nonchalantly. She nodded.

"I've seen the decorations." Her eyes became glassy as she stared out onto the streets, an almost ravenous desire in her eyes.

"In that case, we'd better get going," he said, brushing off his pants decidedly and standing. Layla stared at him in confusion.

"Get going?"

"Well, yeah, if you want to pick out your dress before the stores close."

IMAAIMAAIMAAIMAA

"-that wretched boy is throwing his life away!" the decrepit lady wheezed, waving her glass through the air and slopping some punch down the front of an employee's shirt. "Honestly, what was he thinking?"

"I guess he didn't want to litter," Rhodey murmured sardonically under his breath as he steered clear of Matilda, who always seemed to be complaining about her nephew. Everyone tolerated her babbling because she was a devoted worker at Stark Industries, but it was guaranteed to be a miserable night if she latched onto you. Catching sight of fiery red hair through the crowd, he sighed in relief and headed for his friend.

"Pepper!" he said, catching up to her. She turned to him, and he blinked. She was clad in silky, flowing royal purple dress, sleeveless and cut off at the knees. Her hair was curled slightly, and a touch of makeup had been applied to her face, light purple eyeshadow over her eyes. Rhodey tried not to grin deviously as he imagined Tony's reaction when he saw her. Which reminded him... "Have you seen T?"

"No, and I've been calling him like crazy," she responded exasperatedly. "He invited us to a work party and didn't even bother to show! When I see him I'm gonna-"

"-tell him how awesome he is?" someone behind her prompted, and she turned to see Tony standing there, a little hand entwined in his own as someone peeked around his legs. He was dressed in dark jeans, an untucked button-down cotton white shirt and a black tie, but he had a ragged appearance, as though he had just thrown on the clothes. "Nice sweater," he jested, jutting his chin in Rhodey's direction, and the teen scowled and began peeling off the checkered red and green sweater with a reindeer on the front off, having forgotten that he had donned it to humor his grandma. Tony glanced at Pepper, and his jaw dropped, his cheeks flushing, and Rhodey sniggered. "Pep, uh, you look, uh... Nice, you look nice," he stammered, forgetting how to form words for a moment.

A tug on his jeans and his attention was diverted to the little girl behind him. "Guys, this is Layla. She's...a friend." He moved aside, and Layla was seen by the two.

Her bushy brown hair had been washed and curled, she wore a lengthy pink dress and her skin glowed with health. She smiled waveringly at them before trying to duck behind the inventor's knees, but he squeezed her shoulder reassuringly and she steeled herself. He introduced her to his friends, and she smile and even attempted a curtsy like in the movies, which made them smile broadly.

"Okay!" Howard's voice rang around the room and the four simultaneously looked up as the man began to speak. "For those of you who haven't been here before, it's time to dance." Several people groaned, including Tony and Rhodey. "I would just like to warn you, several people have video cameras, so there's a risk you might end up with some blackmail footage. Thanks for coming, and merry Christmas!"

"Come on," Tony said, pulling Layla away to dance. The little girl stood on his feet and he sort of swayed around with her, hands linked, occasionally twirling her around.

"Wanna dance?" Pepper asked Rhodey mischievously after a song had passed by.

"Heck no!"

"Do you really want your mom to be better than you?" Pepper laughed, gesturing at the woman who was doing a sort of awkward waltz with Howard, who was laughing cheerfully.

"That's okay, I think I'll steal her away from you," Tony cut in, handing Layla's hand to Rhodey and taking Pepper's. "Don't dance too much better than him, or he might get embarrassed," he lightly told Layla as he sauntered off with Pepper, making the girl giggle, finally seeming to have loosened up.

"Having fun?" Tony asked, pulling Pepper close and fastening his hands around her waist as she did the same around his neck.

"Wonderful," Pepper said. "And Layla seems to be having fun, too." She didn't outright say anything pertaining to it, but Tony had the distinctive suspicion his friend knew about where the girl had come from. He checked his watch and looked up at her.

"Come with me," he said, pulling away and tugging her by her forearm towards the staircase. She wordlessly followed him, though she was brimming with questions, but she knew Tony enough to know he wasn't going to tell her what he was doing.

They emerged on the roof, and Tony looked up at the sky expectantly. "Any minute now..."

Pepper leaned against the railing, her friend following suit, still staring up at the hazy night sky.

"So what are you doing?" she nudged. The corners of his lips quirked.

"Giving you your present early."

"My present? What is it, fireworks?"

He chuckled. "You'll see. Everyone will benefit, but you need to see it first." He paused before jerking his arm up, pointing at the sky. "Look! It's about to happen."

"What is-" Pepper began before dropping off, staring in wonder at the sky. Overhead, a flash of iridescent lights encompassed the murky sky before passing away and leaving what seemed to be a Vincent van Gogh painting in its wake. Twinkling constellations and sparkling diamond-like lights swirled across an inky blue sky, brilliant shades of purples and blues painted across the expanse as though having just left the paintbrush.

She forgot to breathe as, for a moment, she almost believed she could reach out a hand and feel streams of stars trickle between her fingertips, and, trance-like, she stretched out her arm. Then, realizing what she was doing and feeling slightly foolish, she glanced at Tony, but he didn't seem to find it peculiar at all. His azure eyes reflected the sky above him as he watched her, a sort of tenderness in his eyes she rarely witnessed in them. She blushed, seeing him gazing at her like that, but then his gaze turned skyward.

"I didn't realize how beautiful it would be..." he murmured appreciatively.

"You mean you did this?" she asked, still in awe.

"I wanted to do something for you that would mean something, not just me throwing my money around. I remember you saying you wish you could see the stars will bog and pollution for once, so..." He fidgeted, suddenly feeling very exposed. For a moment the normally reticent teen had felt like he could have said anything to her and she wouldn't have judged him; smothering the feeling, he returned to his fallback, science. "I preplanned it, a while back, launched a rocket to test the aerodynamics of the-"

Pepper silence him by enveloping him in a hug and kissing him softly on the lips. When she pulled away a moment later, she tugged him back into a hug, murmuring in his ear, "I love it, you stupid brainiac. But how am I supposed to top that?"

He chuckled, looking upwards once more; he loved his friends.