Disclaimer: Most of the characters and situations in this story belong to Marvel Comics, Fairview Entertainment, Dark Blades Films, and other entities, and I do not have permission to borrow them. All others are mine, particularly Cedric, and if you want to borrow them, you have to ask me first. No infringement is intended in any way, and this story is not for profit. Any errors are mine, all mine, no you can't have any.

More Christmas fluff. Cincoflex is the best of betas and the best of friends, and I owe this one to her!

The Toys for Tots Website is not very good, but if you want to emulate Tony (on a smaller scale, of course) you can start there.

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"What's wrong with the tree I order every year?"

Pepper looked baffled. Tony shrugged. "Nothing, Potts. I just want to do something a little more...informal this year."

"Informal. Okay..." She tapped her pen against her lips, thinking. "Just lights, maybe?"

"No--look, do you know where my ornaments are stored? I haven't seen them in ages." Tony grimaced. "I was thinking of just getting a tree and decorating it that way."

"Oh." Pepper blinked at him, and shrugged. "Yes, I'll look it up--they're in the sub-basement somewhere."

Tony glanced at his watch. It was late afternoon, and there were no more meetings on his agenda. "You busy now?"

"Tony, I'm always busy." But she was smiling, and he grinned back.

"Let's go find a tree."

It was more fun than he'd anticipated. Even as a kid, Tony had never gone out and chosen a tree; his parents always ordered one in, though they all decorated it together. But as usual, his capable personal assistant knew exactly what to do, and soon Tony found himself roaming around a vacant lot that had sprouted pine and fir.

"It should be cold," Pepper grumbled gently as they wandered up one tree-lined aisle. Tony snickered.

"You've lived here how many years, Potts? You have to be used to it by now."

She pursed her lips, piqued and amused. "For your information, I have never shopped for a tree in Malibu."

"Seriously?" Tony halted. "Don't you do Christmas trees?"

"Of course, but I have an artificial one. It's easier." She glanced back at him. "What?"

Tony shook his head. "That's just obscene. If you're going to go to the trouble, you should have a real one."

Pepper shrugged. "Maybe, but I don't really have time to fuss with a real one."

And that made him feel guilty, because he knew where all her time went. But Pepper was already moving on. "How about this one?"

"Too small," Tony dismissed at once. "I may not remember where the ornaments are, but I know there're more than that tree can hold."

Pepper sighed, but she was smiling. "You don't actually have a cathedral ceiling in the living room, remember."

"Details." Tony waved this off, focusing on the trees. They ranged from dainty to huge, and he realized that there were several varities, not just the short-needled species he was familiar with.

"This one is nice," Pepper said, fingering a branch on a handsome dark pine a few feet further on.

Tony eyed it judiciously. "Yeah, but it'd be hard to get the loops on over the needles," he pointed out, his engineer's mind sticking on that flaw.

Pepper chuckled. "I guess you're right." She let the branch go and kept walking, and Tony followed.

One tall tree leaning against the temporary fence caught his eye, and he veered off to get a better look.

"Hey, Pepper, how about this one?" It was big enough to satisfy him, but when Pepper ran a hand down one branch she shook her head.

"It's too dry--see, the needles are already dropping off." She opened her fingers to reveal a palmful of brown points.

"Oh." Tony knew that cut trees eventually died, but-- "Aren't these things fresh?"

"Most of them, yes," Pepper said, brushing her hands together. "This one's probably been here a few days."

"Hmm." Tony kept going, looking for bigger trees and running the same check on any that seemed likely.

The fifth one he examined was big enough, still healthy, and looked symmetrical, so he imitated some of the other shoppers and reached in to grasp the trunk, hauling it upright. It was heavier than he expected, and the needles pricked, but he ignored them. "What do you say, Potts?"

Pepper's eyes widened, though Tony couldn't see why; the tree was taller than he was, but he knew he had it beat in the weight category. "Hold still."

She walked all the way around, halting in front of Tony with her head cocked judiciously. "It looks good. No big gaps, and it's nice and symmetrical."

"That's a yes, then?" Tony cocked a brow and waited for her nod. "Great!" He waved at one of the attendants across the lot, who hurried over.

He watched with interest as Pepper negotiated delivery of their chosen tree, but frowned as she requested that the attendant remove a few inches from the bottom of the trunk.

"Why did you have him do that?" he asked in a low voice as the man took a handsaw to the tree.

"It's not even," she murmured back. "It won't sit properly in the stand that way. I assume you have a stand, too?"

"No idea," Tony admitted cheerfully. "We can get one on the way home." Observing the attendant's efforts, he raised a brow. "I could do that in five seconds with a microlaser."

Pepper chuckled. "Yes, but that would carbonize the trunk. It has to absorb water through the bottom, Tony, it would defeat the purpose."

"Huh." Tony thought about that for a few seconds, and then discarded it; biology wasn't really his field. "Now let's get one for you too."

Pepper stared at him. "I just told you I have one already."

"An artificial one. You said you didn't have time to get a real one, but here we are."

"That's not what I said, and no, Tony. The nice thing about an artificial tree is that I don't have to water it, which works well because I'm never home."

"You make it sound like they have to be sprinkled three times a day," Tony shot back, nettled. "I'll whip you up an automatic waterer if you like--"

Pepper glared. "No. Tony, just let it go. I am perfectly happy with the tree I've got, okay?"

He wanted to argue, wanted to make her accept a damned real tree, but as he inhaled to retort Tony realized that he was being stupid. If she doesn't want a real tree, dumbass, why are you trying to make her take one?

Besides which, his Christmas plan involved getting her to spend time enjoying the one at his home, not at hers--though now that he thought about it, he wouldn't mind spending time at her apartment, as long as she was there too--

Tony let his breath out. "Okay."

Pepper blinked, her angry expression fading towards confusion. "What?"

"Okay. You're right." He waved a hand, trying to be nonchalant. "You've got a tree already, you don't need another one."

He headed back to the limo, smiling gamely at her over his shoulder. Pepper hurried a few steps to catch up, and her mutter of "Glad you agree" sounded more bemused than annoyed.

When they settled back into the limo, Tony looked over at Pepper. "Okay, where do we go to get a tree stand?"

"A big-box store, I suppose--Target, or someplace similar."

Tony nodded at the waiting Happy. "Find us the closest Target," he instructed, and Hogan nodded back. The dividing window hummed up into place and the limo pulled out of its parking space.

Pepper glanced at her watch. "We could do this tomorrow, or I could just pick one up for you--you can put the tree in a bucket of water overnight."

"Are you in a hurry?" Tony frowned at his PA. "You have plans?"

"I--no," she said, frowning back. "But Target will probably be pretty busy. It could take a while."

Tony shrugged, sitting back. "So what?"

Pepper eyed him for a second, as if she thought he were going to say something else, but then gave up and pulled out her BlackBerry.

Tony suppressed the urge to snatch it away from her--the desire to spend more time with her didn't include sharing her with her phone. But he couldn't think of a good excuse for making her shut it off, and he didn't want to annoy her too much after doing so just a few minutes before.

One of the nice things about having a driver was that he didn't have to worry about finding parking. Happy dropped them off at the Target's front doors, despite the stares, and Tony let Pepper lead him inside and back to the holiday section. He didn't go shopping often, period, and his experience with places like Target was limited, so he was content to let her handle things for the moment.

The place was crowded, particularly in the seasonal aisles. But Pepper seemed to know exactly where she was going, and led him past the cards and lights and ornaments to the shelves she wanted. Within moments she chose a tree stand from an array of five or six different kinds.

Tony took the box from her. "Terrific. Now let's go pick out a few ornaments."

Once again he seemed to have surprised her. "Ornaments? I thought you said you had some already."

"Yeah, but I want some new ones too." He took her elbow and tugged her back the way they'd come, homing in on the rows of decorations. "My mom used to take me out every year to buy a couple. Tradition, you know."

"Oh." Her face softened, and she went willingly.

But before they reached the aisle, his pocket buzzed, and Tony halted, swearing under his breath. He pulled the little phone out and flipped it open.

The message on the screen was terse but clear, and Tony simply closed his eyes, too annoyed for anything but words that were not appropriate when there were at least three strollers within hearing distance. Damn Fury anyway.

"Do you have to go?" Pepper asked in a low voice, and Tony opened his eyes again to look her way.

"Yeah. Um--"

"I'll get a cab," she said, her expression grave.

"You could come with," he protested, not wanting to just leave her there, but she gave him a small smile.

"You need a tree stand, and I'm already here. Go. I'll see you when you get back, okay?"

She reached out to take the box from him, and reluctantly Tony let it go. "I'll call you."

"You'd better," she said firmly, but she was still smiling, and he really wanted to lean in and kiss her, to go off to whatever insane mission Fury had in mind with the taste of her to remind him to come back.

Since that wasn't really possible, he gave her an awkward smile instead, and strode off towards the entrance, dodging shoppers automatically and wondering how long this one would take.


The mission wasn't bad, as such things went. Tony really preferred ones in which no innocents were involved; it made things so much more straightforward. And this one had been tiring but simple: take out the nutjobs with the half-assembled nuclear warhead.

"Are you sure about the radiation levels?" he asked Jarvis for the third time as the lights of home came in sight, sparkling against the blackness of the night sea.

"The suit levels are well within norms," Jarvis said with no trace of impatience. "There is no danger."

"Good to know," Tony mumbled. The would-be terrorists hadn't exactly been adhering to NEA protocols in putting their bomb together, and he'd been the one to go in first due to his shielding. And coming home radioactive was one of the last things he wanted to do--especially when he knew Pepper was waiting for him.

"What time is it, anyway?" he asked as he flew down into his workshop and settled the suit onto the assembly platform.

"It is three-twenty-six a.m.," Jarvis replied. "Ms. Potts has cleared your schedule for today."

That was also good news; he hadn't slept in what was going on two days now. The trouble with international missions were that they were never short, Tony thought as the 'bots removed his armor. Transit time took too long.

But it was not a new problem and he laid it aside. "Where is she?" he asked as he stepped off the platform. Usually Pepper was waiting for him in his workshop.

"She is asleep on the living room couch. Since you are uninjured, I saw no need to wake her."

Tony arched a brow as he made his way towards the shower. That much executive decision wasn't really like Jarvis. "Is something wrong?"

"No sir, she is merely quite tired. Ms. Potts spent most of Friday dealing with the Stark Industries holiday party, and then more time here, and did not fall asleep until approximately twelve-oh-eight this morning. She needs her rest."

"Fuck, I forgot all about the party." Tony sighed. So much for dancing with Pepper. He figured she'd coped with his absence with her usual efficiency, but it was still disappointing. He peeled off his coverall and tossed it into the washer stationed next to the shower. "Clean that."

The machine hummed to life, and Tony walked into the stall and turned the water on hard. Sweat was an inevitable side-effect of fighting in the suit, and he reeked.

Ten minutes later he trotted up the stairs, shirtless and rubbing at his hair with a towel, but the soft glow halted him on the top one.

The lights were out, but in the north corner of the big room, just underneath the skylight, sat the tree, regal and full. Pepper had somehow managed to get it up and into place--and Tony immediately wondered how she'd managed it, because it was heavy--and had wrapped it in lights. The firefly sparks were a multitude of colors, giving the room the sort of hushed, magical air that his childhood associated with Christmas.

Tony absently draped the towel over the stair bannister and climbed the last step, approaching the tree with an odd sense of wonder. He'd chosen well--the topmost branch didn't quite brush the skylight pane above it--but the lights were half the magic, and he smiled to see that they were laid out symmetrically, a patterned net of multicolored stars. I'd expect no less from Pepper.

There were three large boxes stacked next to the tree, and though it had been years, he recognized them.

"Tony?"

He turned. Pepper was just sitting up, her hair tumbling around her face, which was flushed with sleep. "I didn't hear you--"

"Jarvis let you sleep, since nothing dinged me this time." Tony waved a hand at the tree. "Pepper, this looks wonderful."

She frowned up at the ceiling. "I'm sorry, he wasn't--I told you to wake me!"

Jarvis didn't reply, and Tony had to chuckle. "I may need to adjust his programming slightly. Don't worry, Potts, my feelings aren't hurt."

Pepper's mouth tightened, but her eyes were still half-shut, and Tony figured she had been pretty deeply asleep. She scrubbed her face with both hands. "Urgh. You're okay?"

"I'm fine." On impulse Tony went over to sit down next to her, sprawling back comfortably against the cushions. Pepper was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and her feet, still tucked up on the couch, were bare--which made sense given that it was the weekend. "You want to crash in a guest room, or should I let you go back to sleep right here?"

She huffed, her eyes closing again. "I'll be ready to go home in a minute."

"Sure you will." Tony didn't move. He often wondered why she always insisted on leaving when he no longer needed looking after; it was an irritating habit of hers, given the amount of space he had to share. But he suspected that if he just waited a few more minutes, her own body would make the decision for her.

The soft colored light deepened the red in her hair, he noticed. "How'd you get the tree in the stand?" he murmured.

"'Bots," Pepper mumbled, not opening her eyes. Tony smiled again; she was fading fast.

He idled, watching the lights' reflection in the windows and wondering what the tree looked like from the ocean.

Maybe I'll fly out and see some time.

When he glanced over at Pepper a few minutes later, she was out cold. Tony grinned and reached over, taking her shoulders and easing her gently down until she was lying on her side, her head coming to rest on his thigh. She sighed, but didn't wake.

Sighing himself, in satisfaction, Tony relaxed, stretching his arms out along the back of the couch. He wasn't going to be able to sleep for a while--there was still too much adrenaline in his bloodstream--but he figured he was due a little relaxation time.

And this suits me just fine. Normally he would be itching for something to do, but the slight weight on his leg seemed to negate that drive, leaving him content to admire the tree and just...be.

Later, when his eyes were beginning to get heavy, Tony let one hand fall to his lap, his fingertips just brushing the cool silk of Pepper's hair where it spread across his leg. "Jarvis?" he asked under his breath, knowing that the AI could pick up a mere whisper. "Hypothesize: why won't Pepper sleep here overnight?"

"She is delineating limits," Jarvis murmured back. "Presumably for both professional and personal reasons."

Tony thought about that for a moment. Professional didn't really apply; he'd had live-in help at various times and no one had blinked at that, given the size of his place.

So, personal? Why would Pepper care about limits when she knew perfectly well that, should she choose to spend the night in a guest room, one word from her would keep him from crossing its threshold?

The most obvious answer made his lips curve up in a smile, wistful and hopeful both. Reluctantly, Tony slid a hand gently beneath Pepper's head, cradling it long enough to replace his thigh with a cushion, and rose. Pulling the blanket from its place on the back of the couch, he draped it over her and left, glancing back from the hall to see the tree one more time.


She was gone when he woke in the early afternoon, and he couldn't blame her--it was Sunday and she was no doubt off enjoying her precious hours of free time. The ornament boxes still sat by the tree, whose lights were now off in the pour of sunlight through the windows, but Tony didn't touch them.

He stepped past the tree to the window and called up the touchscreen, scrolling through until he found his schedule and then Pepper's. He lined them up side by side and regarded them thoughtfully, a week's worth of meetings, appointments, phone calls, and blocks of time labeled "contracts" and "budgeting". His had more gaps than hers, which didn't surprise him at all.

Monday afternoon was full on Pepper's calendar. Tony tapped his arc implant absently, thinking, then did a little careful rearranging. She was going to be pissed, he knew, but the memory of the soft look on her face when he'd mentioned his mother's tradition made him think that he could coax her out of it.

It was tempting to put in "dinner with the boss" in the newly cleared space, but he refrained, and instead labeled it "decoration project", which would at least make her curious. Dinner would simply follow naturally, though Tony wondered if he could manage taking her out or whether it would just be delivery again.

"Jarvis," he said, "double-check tomorrow night's menus at Tsunami and La Miche and make sure they both have something Pepper likes."

"Will do." Jarvis paused. "Ms. Potts has been accessing the schematics for your implant."

That startled Tony. "She has? When?"

"Some eight times over the past four weeks."

Tony frowned, puzzled. Pepper had helped him switch out his Mark I arc reactor twice, and while she'd been disgusted the first time, she had accomplished the swap the second time with grim efficiency, bending over his hospital bed in the aftermath of his fight with Stane and doing what his shaking fingers couldn't. But she'd never said another word about it. "Why the hell would she do that?"

"I believe her reasoning is that she may have to replace it again at some point in the future. At least, that is my assumption after listening to her complaints on the subject."

Tony had to swallow, feeling an ache behind that same implant. There's a reason I trust you, Pepper. If she was willing to bone up on the mechanics of the device that kept him alive, just on the off-chance that she would have to deal with it in some point in the future...despite her protests that she would never touch it again... "She hates the damn thing," he muttered, half-disbelieving.

"Incorrect," Jarvis told him crisply. "Ms. Potts does not hate your implant; she hates the fact that you are dependent upon it. She is, however, still disgusted by the plasmic discharge."

Tony laughed, slightly bewildered. "What the hell are you basing all this on, Jarvis? Does she talk to you or something when I'm not around?"

"Yes," was the simple answer, which left him stunned again. Tony scrunched his mouth up, unsure whether all this independent thought was just an outgrowth of his own programming--which was admittedly open-ended--or something more.

And should I be worried about it?

...And why the hell is she talking to Jarvis instead of me?

Well, that one was pretty obvious. He was immediately tempted, badly, to have Jarvis replay the conversations, but even if the AI was vouchsafing information Tony knew that accessing those recordings would be crossing a line. Pepper was entitled to at least some privacy, even if she was talking to his computer.

Shaking his head, Tony put aside the question of Jarvis' programming for later, and tapped the screen off. "Don't let Pepper alter this schedule without my permission," he instructed, and went to find some food.

Yeah, she'd be pissed, but he figured it would be worth it.

The idea came to him later, when he was lying in bed, trying to sleep. The blue glow of his arc implant was something to stare at, shedding a strange light on his wide bed, and slowly it seeped into his mind, bringing up schematics and equations to dance in his imagination. The Mark II was quite efficient, and while Tony had ideas for further improvements, they were farther down on his list of things to work on. There was always so much else to do, from new ideas for Stark Industries to improvements to the Iron Man armor, to that snow concept...

But then he knew exactly what he could give Pepper. Just the right thing to tell her how he felt, to prove that he really had changed. To offer her everything.

Sleep wasn't going to come that night. Tony slid out of bed and threw on a pair of jeans, and hurried downstairs.

Yes.