The former Stark Tower—now Avengers Tower.
The elevator doors slid open.
"Welcome, Mr. Starr, Ms. Jones," JARVIS's calm, refined voice chimed. "Mr. Stark is waiting for you in the living room."
There was no booming music inside.
Only the soft crackle of a vinyl record spinning somewhere in the background.
Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, snow drifted lazily through the air, blanketing New York in silver. The city lights shimmered like scattered stars.
Tony Stark stood by the window, wearing a frankly ridiculous reindeer sweater, a drink in his hand, staring off into the distance.
Steve Rogers, dressed in a simple beige sweater that made him look like the world's most wholesome neighbor, sat on the couch flipping through an art book.
Hearing footsteps, Tony turned around—and instantly snapped back into full Stark mode.
"Well, well, would you look at that!" he spread his arms theatrically. "America's favorite icon and his ice-cold queen! Seriously, Antony—did you tailor that suit out of an actual flag? I swear I see stars embroidered on it."
"Tony," Antony said with a smile as he pulled him into a brief hug, unfazed by the jab. "And that reindeer sweater—very bold. Does the nose light up?"
"That's Rudolph, you uncultured child," Tony shot back, rolling his eyes. Then he looked Jessica up and down. "Ms. Jones, I've gotta say—great outfit. Way better than that blinding white… thing you wear onstage. Who designed that, anyway? Vought's fashion department still stuck in an '80s aerobics VHS?"
"Ashley," Jessica said flatly as she poured herself a drink and downed half of it in one go. "And yeah. Condom chic."
"PFF—!"
Steve, who had just walked over with a glass of eggnog, nearly sprayed it everywhere.
"It's great to finally meet you, Queen Jones," Steve said, quickly recovering as he offered his hand. "I'm Steve."
Jessica froze for half a second before shaking it, clearly flustered.
This was Captain America. A living legend.
"Just… Jessica is fine," she said awkwardly. "I kinda grew up hearing stories about you. I mean—uh—you punching Nazis was… pretty badass."
Steve laughed, warm and genuine enough to melt snow. "Thank you. I watched your press conference, too. You were very brave."
"Good evening, Homelander," Steve added as he turned to Antony and extended his hand.
"Evening, Captain," Antony replied, his tone noticeably more sincere than it had been with Tony. "No need to be formal—Antony is fine."
"Alright, Antony," Steve smiled. "Just so you know… this isn't exactly a wild party."
"Perfect," Antony said, surveying the room. "Just us?"
"Well, Pepper's in the kitchen attempting to negotiate with a turkey," Tony said dryly. "It's a crime scene. Banner decided he's a liability and went off the grid. Clint's with his wife and kids—literally the only vacation he takes all year."
"And our Black Widow…" Tony sighed, glancing at Steve. "She's off searching the world."
"Searching Banner?" Jessica asked. "To drag him back?"
"Nope." Tony grinned conspiratorially. "Searching searching. You know—emotionally charged searching."
Jessica blinked. "You're saying… Black Widow and the Hulk? Beauty and the Beast?"
"Bingo!" Tony snapped his fingers. "I may or may not have hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s channels—don't tell Nick Fury, the cyclops—and the messages Natasha sends him? Whew. 'Hey, big guy, the sun's going down…' I almost threw up. Seriously, I don't get it. Why the green guy?"
"Because he's… big?" Jessica said suddenly, deadpan.
"PFF—!!"
Steve actually did spray his drink this time.
Tony stared at her for three seconds—then burst out laughing.
"Oh my God, I love her!" Tony howled. "Antony, where did you find her? She's perfect!"
Antony sighed. "Queen, please. You're going to lose followers."
"Relax," Tony said, pouring Jessica another drink. "No cameras tonight. No Homelander. No Queen Jones. Just Antony and Jessica."
Steve shook his head helplessly. "Tony, that's not—Natasha is just concerned about a teammate."
"Oh please, Grandpa," Tony scoffed. "You know nothing about modern relationships. That's called tension. Sexual tension. Like—"
His gaze flicked back and forth between Antony and Jessica.
"—that."
"Cough—!" Jessica nearly choked on her wine.
Antony calmly patted her back. "Easy. No one's stealing it."
"You see?!" Tony pointed at them. "That! The casual touch! The 'she's mine' vibe! Come on—have you slept together or not?"
"Tony!" Steve frowned. "That's incredibly inappropriate."
"It's fine, Captain," Antony replied smoothly. "Tony's just jealous. Pepper's been busy rebuilding Stark Industries—hardly has time for him."
Tony huffed. "Pepper is a career woman! We're soulmates!"
The teasing eased the tension in the room.
Pepper eventually gave up on the charred turkey and tossed a frozen pizza into the oven instead.
The four of them sat around the table, eating greasy, cheese-loaded pizza while drinking wine worth tens of thousands of dollars a bottle.
Alcohol worked its magic. Walls came down.
"You know," Tony said softly, swirling his glass, eyes unfocused, "I hated Christmas as a kid."
"Why?" Steve asked.
"Because Howard… my dad… always locked himself in the lab," Tony said quietly. "He never remembered to buy me gifts. It was always JARVIS—the old one, the butler—who grabbed something last-minute and said it was from my dad."
Tony smiled bitterly. "I knew it was fake. But I still pretended to be happy."
He turned to Antony. "We're kind of the same, huh? Heard your dad was a workaholic too."
Antony fell silent for a moment.
Those memories weren't truly his—but he poured his own past into them.
"Pretty much," Antony said, leaning back, eyes distant. "Rich families are all alike. You get closer to nannies than parents. Boarding schools feel more like home than home ever did."
"I remember one year…" Antony continued softly. "I was seven. My parents were overseas. Business trip. The house was empty except for the staff."
"I sat alone in this massive living room, staring at the Christmas tree."
"And I remember thinking—if Superman were real, he'd fly in, grab me, and take me away from that cold house."
He laughed quietly and looked at his palm.
"Turns out, I became the superhero myself."
"But I was still… alone."
The words landed heavy.
Jessica turned toward him.
For the first time, she saw something fragile beneath Homelander's flawless smile.
Loneliness.
Without thinking, she reached out beneath the table and gently laid her hand over the back of his.
Snow continued to fall outside.
And for once, none of them felt quite so alone.
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