Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Challenges listed at the bottom.

Word Count - 534

Red Hair

Pepper had a fiery temper.

Must be the red hair, Tony thought.

The reason Pepper's temper was important though, was because it was literally the only reason that Tony was at the SI Gala, instead of wrapped up in blankets at home with Steve, and the rest of the team, enjoying Christmas Eve.

He pressed a kiss to her cheek, admired her lavender dress and then tried to hide behind her when the eyes of the many eligible bachelorettes eyed him.

Laughing, Pepper waved him off.

"You're a superhero, surely you can handle a few amorous women?"

"I think I'd rather take the aliens," Tony replied, shuddering dramatically. "C'mon, Pep. Save me from the hoards and stay here with me. You know that if I so much as look at one of them, it's going to be splashed across every trash website on the internet."

Pepper frowned slightly. "That's never bothered you before."

"I wasn't dating Steve before," Tony murmured, his cheeks flushing slightly.

Pepper gaped at him like he'd just said something wondrous.

"Um. Pep?"

"You're in love," she murmured, eyes wide. "I thought the day would never actually come when I could say that and believe it."

"I just… what if he believes the lies?" Tony asked, opening his hands wide. "What if I can't convince him that the assholes are going to write whatever sells, rather than care about the actual truth?"

"He knows," Pepper replied softly, reaching out to squeeze Tony's hand. "He knows, Tony, and if he doesn't then he doesn't deserve your love anyway. Come on, do a round with me, and I'll let you escape early."

Tony smiled at her, and then tugged her into a hug. "You're a queen above all of us mere mortals, Miss Potts."

…

"You're home early!" Steve said, grinning wide when Tony stepped into the media room, where the team were gathered.

He'd made a quick stop at the penthouse to change into sweats, and he flopped down on the sofa beside Steve, leaning into the waiting arms.

"The bloodthirsty women were circling," he muttered, pressing his face into Steve's shirt as he finally relaxed. "Pepper let me escape early."

"Is it really that bad?" Steve asked, a slight frown marring his handsome face.

"Worse," Nat replied before Tony could, looking over at them. "The trashy gossip sites will already have speculation of what, or rather who, Tony got up too, even though he probably stuck to Pepper like glue the entire time he was there."

Steve's eyes widened. "Blimey. You should have told me, Tony."

Tony grumbled intelligibly, because really, what could Steve do about it? They hadn't been hiding the fact that they were dating, after all.

"Next time, I'm coming with you," Steve said, running a comforting hand up and down Tony's back. "I don't want you to be stressed out about these things, Sweetheart, you should have told me."

"Bleh," Tony muttered. "Next time, I'm going to risk Pepper's temper and hide behind you instead. She can't kill you, you've got super serum to protect you."

Steve snorted. "I think I'd rather deal with the gala. Pepper is scary."

Tony nodded. "I think it's the red hair."

Written for:

North Funfair: Snowman, Step 4. 2. Wondrous

East Funfair: Cookies For Santa: 19. Rainbow Cookie: Lavender

South Funfair: Menorah: 19. Lavender

365: 333. Fiery