Tony Stark and Clint Barton were sitting in the empty common area of the Avengers tower. Both Natasha and Pepper had gone shopping for Christmas presents and had absolutely refused to let either of the boys go with them, though Pepper had taken Tony's credit card. Thor was back on Asgard, preparing for celebrations in his homeland. He had, however, promised to be back on 'The midgardian day of celebration for the box' with presents for all his comrades. Personally, Clint was hoping that the presents would include Asgardian mead. No one was entirely sure where Steve was, having been sent off on a mission by S.H.I.E.L.D, but he had promised them that he would be back in time for Christmas day.
Tony was sitting on the couch, tablet in hand, flicking through various different pages. Clint had been cleaning his gunat the table, but he had finished and boredom was setting in fast.
"Hey," Clint called out, but Tony didn't look up from his tablet.
"Hey Tony!" Clint called out again, and the engineer looked up just as the archer threw a wad of cleaning cloth at him.
"What was that for, bird brain?" Tony asked, setting his tablet aside.
"I wanted your attention," Clint shrugged.
"Doesn't every one?" Tony smirked. "What did you want?"
Clint looked at him curiously. "I'm not actually sure," He admitted, "I'm just kinda bored. We should do something."
Tony grinned and stood up. "Good, cause I have the perfect idea." His blue eyes shone with excitement. "I just ordered a pine tree to be delivered, and a heap of tinsel and stuff."
"You mean to say your idea is decorating a Christmas tree?" Clint asked, slightly sceptically.
"Not just the tree, the entire common level!" Tony grinned, "Maybe even the entire tower. Marshmallow?"
Just then Bruce walked into the common area, and looked between the genius and the archer, one looking excited and the other slightly sceptical.
"What's going on?" Bruce asked, slightly scared for the answer.
"We are Chistmas-ifying this tower!" Tony yelled with the excitement he usually reserved for a new suit.
"Or at least this level," Clint amended, looking admittedly excited himself.
"Right. well umm, leave me out of it?" Bruce said, retrieving the book he had come for and starting to walk out.
"Aww, Brucie buddy, where's your Christmas cheer?" Tony pouted, as he offered the other scientist the packet of marshmallows.
"This time of year wasn't much fun for me as a kid," Bruce explained quietly, "I think I'll just stay out of your way until everything's done. I don't really feel like giving the Other guy a chance to make an appearance."
Tony's expression sobered up quickly, nodding. "That's okay. If you see a delivery truck with a Christmas pine arrive at the doorstep can you tell us?"
"Sure," Bruce smiled, walking out of the room.
"I'll bring the tree in," Tony shouted.
"No way, it's like three times your height," Clint replied, "I'll bring it in."
"If you don't think that I can lift it, what makes you think that you'll be able to either?" Tony retorted. "Short arse."
"Because I'm stronger than you," The archer replied.
They both raced out the front door of the tower to where the truck, with the pine tree, was waiting. Then they stopped dead. The tree was huge, much bigger than either man had believed it would be. This tree wouldn't even fit in most people's houses, however the tower had incredibly high ceilings.
"Maybe we can both carry it to the elevator?" Tony hazarded.
"Yea, I think that might work," Clint replied, overwhelmed with the tree's size.
Somehow they managed to get the tree off the truck and made their way into the lobby of the tower, Tony cursing every time he hit his knee on a branch.
The next struggle was getting the tree upright, and to stay upright. Once they'd decided where in the room to place it of course.
"Put it over there," Tony instructed.
"Where is 'over there?'" Clint replied.
"There, by the book shelf," Tony replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Where else could we put it?"
Clint looked around the room, "Well, there's over by the coffee table, by the TV or in the corner by the bar."
"Right, I forgot, Hawkeye," Ton muttered, "We aren't putting it in the middle of the room, and if we put it by the TV then you can't sit anywhere in the room and see the screen. So by the bookshelf it is."
"What about by the bar?" Clint countered
"It's my bar, we aren't putting a tree there" Tony said vehemently, "I might get pine needles on the counter top or worse, in the booze." Tony shuddered.
"Boo hoo," Clint mocked, "It should go by the bar."
"No, it's going by the bookshelf."
"Bar."
"Bookshelf."
"Bar."
"Bookshelf."
"Stark, the roof's lower by the bookshelf than the bar," Clint argued, "Lower by easy three feet. The tree won't fit if we put it there."
"Yes, it will," Tony countered, "I'm sure it will."
Clint decided to try another tack and use the genius's own love of attention against him.
"If you put it by the bar, the tree could probably be seen around the city," Clint replied, "Get the city into the Christmas spirit, seeing that Tony Stark and the Avengers are celebrating Christmas together."
Tony thought about that, contemplating the attention that could get him, as well as the chance to show off all the pretty ornaments that he had just purchased.
"Alright, I suppose I can sacrifice a small part of my bar if you want the tree there that much," He conceded. Clint smirked and then turned his attention to the task of getting the tree upright.
"Ah Tony…"
"Yea?"
"How are we going to get this upright?"
They both stopped and looked at the tree and then the ceiling, and back to the tree.
"I could use my suit? Support the tree until it's upright?" Tony hazarded.
"Actually not a bad idea, Stark," Clint smiled, "Whatcha still doing here, go get your suit?" He joked.
Once they had managed to get the tree upright and to stay upright, both boys stood back and admired their handy work. The tree stood magnificently by the bar, the green pines filling the air with a Christmassy scent.
"Now to decorate it?" Clint asked, looking around for a box of decorations.
"Hell yea!" Tony shouted, running for the box the delivery guy had brought and he had told JARVIS to send up.
Carefully unpacking the box there were glass baubles in reds, greens, silvers and golds each with their own patterns. As well as that there were some more traditional looking baubles and decorations the shape of reindeer and Santa's. Lastly there were yards of Christmas lights and more tinsel than anyone person would ever really need.
"Where do we start?" Clint asked, eyeing the multitudes of decorations.
"Where ever we want!" Tony was bouncing on his toes, keen to get started.
"Alright," Clint dived for the sparkly baubles, "You're doing the top though, finally put that suit to a good use."
Tony ignored the jibe at his suit in favour of collecting a handful of decorations and zooming to the top of the tree.
It took them a good two hours, but the tree was fully decorated and the tinsel and lights wrapped around the tree. It would have taken less time if Tony hadn't decided that the lights needed to be altered so that they ran on the arc reactor power from the tower, and had to be voice commanded and have a new sequence added. Tony switched on the lights and watched as the tree light up, the colours bouncing off the surfaces of the room and the ornaments on the tree.
"Now what?" Clint asked, looking around the room.
Tony looked around as well, surveying the area and thinking.
"The rest of the room?" He said hopefully. "Like tinsel hanging from the ceiling, and lights, and and stuff!"
Clint looked at the amount of tinsel left in the pile, and all the lights still curled waiting to be used. He ran forward before Tony could tell what he was thinking and grabbed a handful of tinsel and ran.
"First one to decorate their half of the room wins!" He called over his shoulder as he went in search of hooks for the tinsel.
A few minutes later both the archer and the genius were rushing around, hanging tinsel and lights from the ceiling. Clint was hanging from the air vents, and swinging using the grappling hook arrows. On the other side of the room, Tony was hovering just below the ceiling in his suit, hanging lights around the windows.
"My side of the room will look better," Clint called, hanging the last of the gold tinsel in sweeping arches from the ceiling.
"No way," Tony countered, landing on the floor and starting to hang lights on his bar, "I'm known for my class and sense of fashion. Whereas you wear purple spandex."
"I've known Natasha for how long, Tony?" Clint smirked, setting up a small nativity scene on a small coffee table. He knew that Steve would appreciate that.
"I've known Pepper for a lot longer than you've known our Russian," Tony replied with a smile.
"Well then why don't we get them to decide whose side looks better when they get back?" Clint raised his eyes brows.
"Agreed," Tony replied, feeling sure that Pepper would say his side looked much nicer.
The two girls came back from shopping as night was falling, car loaded with bags and boxes. They stepped into the common area to see what seemed like Christmas had exploded while they were out.
"What has happened in here?" Natasha asked, worry in her voice.
"I think the boys decorated," Pepper replied in wonder, looking around her.
Just then both Tony and Clint walked into the room, discussing a new type of arrow for the archer's collection.
"Tony, did you do this?" Pepper asked him, a note of accusation in her voice.
"Well not just me," Tony defended, "Clint helped as well!"
"Is that true?" The red headed assassin asked her partner.
"Well, ah, yea," Clint admitted, rubbing the back of his neck, "Seemed like a bit of fun."
"Hey, hey,hey!" Tony interrupted them, "Which side of the room do you like better?" He asked Natasha and Pepper.
"This side," He swept his arm to the left which was the side he decorated, "Or this side," He waved his arm lamely to the other side of the room which was Clint's.
The two women shared a look, knowing what was going on. On one hand, they didn't really think they needed to pander to the billionaire's ego. But on the other hand, they didn't need an all out Christmas war, which would be the result if they picked Clint.
"Well…." Natasha started, "This side is quite neat and orderly." She referred to Clint's side.
"However, this side has a very classy arrangement to the lights," Pepper countered with a smile.
"That is true," Nat conceded with a smile, watching Tony's eyes light up and a scowl form on Clint's face.
"But the tinsel is hung quite well over here," Pepper added, watching the boys expressions change.
"Awww, come on Pep!" Tony begged, "Just pick a side already."
The two women grinned.
"Alright, if you're so keen for a side to be picked Tony," Natasha said.
"Then we pick both sides," Pepper finished.
The boys high fived each other, and then continued with their previous conversation.
"Oh Tony," Pepper added, "Please tell me you didn't break anything."
"No, nothing at all," Tony replied.
She didn't need to know about the three glasses and the vase that he accidentally knocked onto the floor while decorating.