"If I could just have you ladies wait here."
Becca adjusted Steve's scarf before shooing him off to the wings of the platform where the giant Christmas tree was waiting to be lit. She had watched the tree lighting in Rockefeller Center for as long as she could remember, mostly on TV, but twice in person. Never had she thought she would be a part of it.
Ever since S.H.I.E.L.D. had fallen and what with… what had happened afterwards, the Avengers had been making a lot of public appearances and hosting events to show that they were still the good guys. Tony had designed special energy efficient lights for the tree, so they had been invited to do the honors of pressing the button to turn them all on. The tree lighting was supposed to be a family affair, so they'd brought what "family" they could, which amounted to Becca, Pepper, and Jane.
Becca had met Pepper twice before, but had only exchanged a few words. Jane, she'd never met before tonight. It was intimidating to be standing between them, one a high-powered business woman, the other an incredibly intelligent scientist, and both of them gorgeous. Apart from dating superheroes and freezing in this winter weather, she didn't think any of them had much in common.
But never one to stew in awkward silence, Becca ventured, "There are a lot of people here, huh? You'd think being in the crowd would make you realize how many people there are, but weirdly I think it seems like more from the outside."
"It does," Pepper agreed.
"As many as the Stark Expo, do you think?"
Pepper seemed to consider. "I think so." She paused as the crowd screamed for the Avengers, the roar nearly deafening as the sound bounced off walls. "But it's nice that they're not my responsibility for once. All I have to worry about is Tony." She sighed. "Or more precisely what he'll say."
"I hear that."
The last time Steve had spoken at a press conference, he'd gotten into an argument with a reporter over immigration. Becca still wasn't certain how the subject had even come up. Sometimes she was pretty sure Steve picked fights on purpose to draw attention to an issue he felt strongly about. Case in point, he'd once agreed to an interview on Fox News. Becca had never been so torn between second-hand embarrassment and laughing her ass off as when she watched that interview.
"Thor doesn't seem as…" Becca had to reflect on how to word this. "Well, he seems quieter."
"He is," Jane agreed. "I don't really worry what he'll say so much as… well… he just does things."
"What'd you mean?"
"I don't think he's used to asking for permission. Like when I was working on my most recent paper on the fallacies of the Kruskal-Szekeres coordinates, I'd written down a list of research texts I needed from the library, so he went while I was in the shower and walked out with them." Jane grimaced. "I know he wanted to help, but having to talk to an angry librarian was… not something I'd like to do again."
"Gotcha," said Becca with a sympathetic nod. "I'm sure it must be hard with a whole different culture for him to get used to. Although, it's definitely also hard being on the other end. I had to explain to Steve what an Xbox was the other day. An Xbox. How he's gone over two years without finding that out, I really don't understand. And he seemed less than impressed when I had one of my friends bring hers over so he could try."
Jane shared, "I left Thor playing one once when we went out shopping. Well, when Darcy made us go shopping to get him some more clothes, but anyway, he really likes videogames, but when he gets into them, he gets – we've gone through five controllers."
"Yikes." Becca nodded to Pepper. "What about Tony? Is he into videogames?"
"He had a phase. It stopped when he forced me to play with him and I kept winning." Pepper rolled her eyes upwards in exasperation. "Saying he's dramatic would be an understatement."
"Oh god, Steve is a total drama queen."
Becca and Pepper looked to Jane, who gave them the first real smile Becca had seen from her. "Thor flipped over a table when Darcy told him that the world had run out of poptarts."
"Tch." Becca shook her head. "We might be dating superheroes, but I think we know who the real heroes are."
The women laughed.
"All right, who wants to see us light up this tree?" Tony asked into a mic, and the crowd shouted their approval. "Then let's get everyone out here and we'll light her up."
That was their cue. Becca fell in line behind Pepper as they filed up the steps into the wings and out onto the stage.
"Here they are. The most beautiful one is Ms. Potts, as I'm sure you all know. Of course, you ladies are also looking good. A little cold."
"Did I mention he's competitive, too?" Pepper said quietly. It was surprisingly easy to understand her considering how little she moved her mouth. She gave Tony an admonishing look, which he ignored, but with her beside him, he stood a bit taller.
Behind her, Becca heard Jane mutter, "Tell me about it." She glanced at Thor, who was frowning at Tony like he was deciding whether or not he needed to defend Jane's honor or whatever the Asgardian equivalent was. But when Jane touched his arm, Thor all but melted into a big teddy-bear smile.
Steve wrapped an arm around Becca's waist, as if he could protect her from the weather. "Are you cold?" he murmured into her ear. "Because you can have my scarf. Or my hat."
"I'm already wearing a scarf," Becca whispered back, although the open air winchill was making her face hurt enough that she'd like to burrow her cheeks into the added fabric. "And a hat will totally ruin my hair for the dinner afterwards." She didn't need messy hair showing up in photos while Steve was trying to make a good impression.
Of course, Steve ignored her concern. He took off the blue knit hat she'd gotten for him and pulled it carefully over her head. Becca fought the urge to take it off, as they were in front of a huge crowd of people and a lot of TV cameras. Instead, she adjusted the hat as well as she could so that it wouldn't slip off her smaller head. For someone who was so reckless in his own actions, Steve was such a worry wart when it came to her health. But she supposed this would be points in his favor. She was surprised there hadn't been a collective "awww."
Becca sighed. She would put up with his dramatics, and seeing his gaze soften as she leaned against him, she did have to admit, it's wasn't all that hard. Most of the time.
The group gathered around the button, hands placed on top of one another as they squished together.
"Your call, Cap," said Tony, and he tilted the mic towards Steve.
Steve nodded. "On one." The crowd counted down with him. "Five. Four. Three. Two. One."
With a push, the button activated and the lights on the towering Christmas tree glowed. Cheers erupted. There was a sound like gunfire, and Becca felt Steve tense. She took his hand and squeezed. With a grateful look, he squeezed back as white confetti fell around them like snow.
"Merry Christmas, everyone," called Tony, grinning as if he were responsible for bringing in the season.
Pepper muttered something to him. He waved her off, so she took the mic from his hand, and added, "Happy Holidays."
They acknowledged the crowd with varying levels on enthusiasm. Thor had picked Jane up and set her on his shoulders. She was blushing in embarrassment, but also laughing as he held their hands up like champions after a game. Natasha was speaking into Clint's ear as they waved, and he peered up at one of the buildings in a way that was slightly worrying. Bruce looked like he was trying to disappear behind Tony, who was trying without success to nudge Pepper under what might have been mistletoe. And Steve and Becca held hands, waving and smiling.