Just a quickie. Don't own The Avengers or "Hallelujah". Hope you like it!


Tony adjusted his tie, nervous sweat prickling the back of his neck.

"Pepper, I-"

"No, Tony, you are not backing out of this. This is for charity. Don't you want to help the kids?" Pepper interrupted him, decorating the room without giving him a glance.

"It's not like I don't want to help, but do I really have to do this? Why can't we just give money like we always do?" he complained, trying to hide his anxiety with annoyment.

"Because, Tony, one simple donation can't fund everything. They need people to give constantly and one way to get more people willing is to have a celebrity endorse them live. Besides, it's not like you're bad at it. So why are you nervous?" she questioned, voice filling with suspicion as she looked at him in his suit.

"I'm going to be on live television doing something I've never done for the public before. What if they don't like it?" he whimpered, sounding more like an eight year old before a piano recital than a grown man.

"Now since when has other people's opinions ever stopped Tony Stark?" Pepper comforted, although an answer was beginning to form in her mind.

"It hasn't! Nothing can stop me!" he replied, forgetting his anxiousness for a moment so he could defend his pride.

"So what's wrong, then, Tony, if nothing can stop you? You know you can tell me anything, right?" she asked, taking some more`ornaments from the box beside her.

"Them! What if they think that I'm just doing this to get on the cameras or something? I don't want them to think that," Tony said, finger shooting to point to the five people sitting in the front row shown on the television. There sat the rest of the Avengers dressed to look their best. Steve was in a formal suit colored black, a stark contrast to Tony's white one. Natasha was wearing a sparkly black cocktail dress that complimented her hair perfectly. Bruce and Thor were wearing casual suits with the buttons undone, and Clint was wearing black pants and a white shirt. They were all sitting expectantly, waiting for Tony to appear onstage.

"Tony, you know that's silly! You are going to do great, and if they really thought you were doing this just for fame, do you think they would have accepted the invitation?" she asked, turning away from her work and putting her hands on Tony's shoulders. He looked down with a mumbled 'no'.

"Good. Now, you have 45 seconds to prep yourself to go onstage, so get yourself together!"

"Ok, if you're sure they won't hate me..."

"Tony, I'm sure, now go!"


Tony stepped forward to the microphone, palms sweaty as the host introduced him.

The music began to play, and the lights dimmed. It was time.

"I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?" Tony began the song, trying to calm his pounding heart.

"It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah," he continued, gaining more confidence as time went by.

"Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah," he sang, watching the numbers of donations steadily rise.

"Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah," Tony continued, much more passionate than before.

"Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah," he sang the chorus, eyes closing as he did so.

"Baby I have been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you.
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah,

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah," he went on, fully immersed in the song as he approached the middle.

"There was a time when you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Maybe there's a God above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
It's not a cry you can hear at night
It's not somebody who has seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah," he sang, words meaning more than they should.

"Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well, really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light in every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah," he was almost done, just the last bit.

"Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah," Tony sang, holding out the final note. As the music ended, he saw the crowd begin to stand, whistling and hooting and clapping. And there, at the front, were his teammates, grinning and cheering louder than the rest. He had done it, and they were happy.


Word count: 989

This thing wouldn't stop bothering me, so I had to write it. This was part of my 30 minute challenge, so it was written in 30 minutes. Exactly. I hope you liked it! Please review!

~BreezyForever