Maria poked her head into the kitchen on the common level, where several of the Avengers were gathered putting finishing touches on their dishes before heading upstairs to the penthouse. Steve was standing at the stove, leaning against Bucky's side as the dark-haired man dropped spoonfuls of a thick dough into a bubbling pot of stewed chicken. Sam was removing a casserole dish full of roasted vegetables from the wall oven. Natasha was pouring dressing over a huge bowl of salad, while Clint was stirring the contents of one of two large crock pots he'd set up earlier in the day.

"Everything good here?" she asked, and received smiles and nods and a yes ma'am from them all. "Excellent. I brought a serving cart up from the corporate dining room downstairs, it's out here in the hallway for when you're ready to bring everything upstairs.

Bucky looked at the clock on the wall as he set the lid back on the pot. "Dumplings need to steam for about a quarter of an hour."

"We can all be ready by then," Natasha said, glancing around the room to check on the progress of everyone's dishes.

"Good. I'm headed upstairs, I'll let them know you'll all be up shortly," Maria said, and headed back to the elevators.

She could smell roasting turkey as soon as the elevator doors opened. She checked on the living room first, where Pepper was setting out and uncovering the trays of appetizers that the caterer had delivered earlier in the day, and then headed to the kitchen, where Bruce was just taking one of the three enormous turkeys he'd roasted out of the oven. He'd needed to use three different kitchens throughout the residential floors in order to have enough oven space for them all; the other two turkeys were already sitting on platters on the counter, Tony carving the first of them. Tony glanced up and smiled as Maria entered, before turning his attention back to his work.

"Everything going okay?" he asked.

"Yes. The rest of the Avengers and their in-house guests should be arriving in fifteen minutes or so, and the non-resident guests should be arriving not long afterwards."

"What's the final headcount going to be?"

"A little over a dozen."

"Actually, it will be closer to two dozen," Jarvis spoke up. "There have been some last-minute additions to the guest list."

Maria frowned, concerned. "Last minute additions? I though the guest list had been finalized yesterday."

"Mr Rhodes and Ms Morse have both asked to bring a plus one, and Ms Potts and I managed to have Dr Selvig's visa problems cleared up so that he's able to attend after all. His plane touched down an hour ago; Happy agreed to meet him and they are currently both en route to the Tower."

"Rhodey's bringing a plus one? He did mention something about a new girlfriend the last time we spoke," Tony observed.

"That's still only three more people than I have on my list," Maria pointed out, eyes narrowing.

"I may have extended an invitation to a friend of my own," Jarvis said. "He is also accompanied. I assure you all that all expected guests have been quite thoroughly vetted."

Tony's eyebrows lifted in surprise, while Maria's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Before they could question Jarvis further, the elevator doors opened, and Thor, Jane and Darcy entered the room, all three of them carrying large white bakery boxes and still dressed in the outerwear they'd worn while travelling to the tower from Jane and Darcy's apartment. By the time they'd been told where to leave their coats and set out the dessert they'd brought, the elevator was opening again as the rest of the Avengers arrived, Steve pushing the large catering cart that their assortment of dishes were being transported on. The living and dining areas were filled with conversation as everyone moved around, setting out their own contributions and exclaiming over what each other had brought.

Happy and Eric Selvig arrived next, Jane and Darcy greeting him loudly and enthusiastically. He'd brought a large plum pudding with hard sauce all the way from England as his own contribution to the feast, while Happy was carrying a covered bowl full of chicken Caesar salad.

"Rhodey!" Tony suddenly exclaimed, face lighting up in a wide grin as he hurried toward the elevators to greet his friend, then stopped short for a moment before resuming walking, smile widening even further. "And oh my god you're brought your mother! It's a pleasure to see you again, Mrs Rhodes!"

"Now Tony, you know I've always said to call me Roberta," the older woman said severely as she took his hands in her own. Tony grinned and bent down to kiss her on both cheeks.

"Roberta," he agreed. "I'd have invited you myself if I'd known you were going to be in town. I thought you were still out in California?"

"I am," she said placidly, as she shed her coat and passed it to her son. "But this year James and I are spending Christmas with my brother-in-law Joshua and his family here in New York. I've been here for two days already."

"Well, I am very pleased that you were able to come to our little party then."

"We brought salmon croquettes," Rhodey interrupted, lifting a bulging canvas shopping bag hanging from his wrist.

"Ooo... I love those! They'll need to be reheated, right?" Tony asked.

"I'll take care of it," Roberta said firmly, reaching out to take the bag from Rhodey. "Just point me at your kitchen. You can pour me a drink while I do. White wine, please."

Tony grinned, and after pointing the pair toward the kitchen, trusting Rhodey to make any necessary introductions, headed to the bar to start pouring drinks. Clint came over and gave him a hand, mixing cocktails and busing them around the room to their recipients. Everyone was in the living room now, snacking on appetizers and chatting.

"Ms Morse and guest are on their way up from the lobby, Mr Barton," Jarvis said.

"Awesome. Hand me a bottle of wine, Tony, Bobbi and I will want to toast to our continued survival. It's a thing we do."

Tony laughed, but handed over a bottle and glasses. Clint started towards the elevator just as it opened, dispensing rather more than just two people. A statuesque brunette accompanied by a shorter, scruffier man was at the front of the group, already peeling out of their coats. A very tall, muscular black man was visible at the back, a cluster of smaller people crowded together in front of him. As they exited the elevator and spread out, a balding man in the middle of the group came into view. Everyone jumped as Clint dropped the bottle he'd been carrying, the sound of it shattering on the floor cutting through and ending all conversations.

"Coulson!?" Clint exclaimed in the silence that followed, going pale as a ghost in shock.

Phil smiled crookedly, and lifted a bag. "I brought sourdough rolls?" he said worriedly.