TUMBLR-Inspired One-Shots

Stockings

Established relationship. One word of not-nice language, but I think you guys can handle it :)

"Tony! Can you NOT be a lazy arse and go get the stockings?"

Tony sighed. The stockings. His favourite and least favourite part of the Christmas season. "Yeah Pepper, sure, why not." Begrudgingly, he rose from his chaise and headed to the basement to retrieve them. Each step on the swirling staircase filled him with an equal amount of slight happiness and dread.

Sorting through the Christmas bins, he found the one labelled "Christmas Stockings", and jogged back upstairs to his impatient-looking wife. "There we go," she said, lifting a bot's red and white stocking out of the box, "Now we can hang them and I will FINALLY be finished with Christmas decorating!" Pepper began to place stockings on hangers, and Tony dutifully followed suit until there was only one stocking left: Jarvis'.

"It's okay, Tony. Let's put it up." Tony gulped down his tears.

"I miss him, Pepper."

"I know you do, sweetie, but-"

"He essentially raised me." Pepper was quiet.

"Mmmhmm." She paused. "How about you tell me the story of how you made Jarvis' stocking?" Tony smiled bitterly at the memory. It was fond, but drove him to tears every time he retold it.

"Okay," he said, sighing. "It was the Christmas season, and being the awesomely, insanely genius and easily bored with fucking 2+3 math problems kid I was, I had nothing to do. I had literally done nothing but laid in bed all day. Then, in my boredom, I decided that I was going to give Jarvis something for Christmas. I asked him if we could go to the store for something special. He said yes.

"Once we were there, I ran up and down each Christmas aisle at least three times each. Then I decided I wanted to get Jarvis a stocking. I picked the one I liked best, the one I would have chosen for myself- this." He gestured to the stocking, with its light green tile shapes on a dark green background, and its red toe, heel, and fur at the top. "I loved it. We bought it, got home, I stole away to my room, and tried to decide if I should do anything to it. Took me a while, actually. It was just missing something.

"Eventually I resolved to writing his name on it, because it was Jarvis' stocking, and I didn't want my never-present parents to think it was mine." He said this sentence with a bitter tone. "The puffy paint wasn't the best, but it worked. The writing looked terrible, though." Tony laughed. "I gave it to Jarvis as soon as it was dry. I was excited because this meant that Jarvis would get a Christmas with us." He couldn't go on. Tears had been forming in his eyes, and he put his hands over his face as Pepper rubbed his back soothingly. Soon, sobs began to escape him as he hugged the stocking to himself.

Pepper shifted to holding her husband while he cried. He didn't do it often, but when he did, she tried to be the one to calm him, make sure that he knew that she would always be there for him. Always.

*___________*

As they lay together on the one sofa that faced the fireplace, Pepper decided that it was finally time for the deed Tony was avoiding to be done. She turned to face him so he was embracing her front, and whispered her thought on the subject to him. All she received verbally was a murmured "Okay," but he soon got up and hung the stocking on its hanger, different from the rest. When it was no longer swinging, he and Pepper stepped back to look at the mantle. "What do you think?"

"It's beautiful, Pepper," Tony replied, pulling her to him so he could wrap his arms about her from behind, " but nothing will ever be as beautiful as you." Pepper giggled softly, and turned to kiss him. It was a sweet kiss, not desire-driven, and they enjoyed it. Pepper yawned after, though.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I think that we need to get some sleep. Come to bed with me?" She began walking away, tracing her fingers teasingly down his arm. Once she was around the corner, he stood for a simple moment, musing about what a wonderful wife he was blessed with, and how nice everything was right now. If only life could feel as warm and special as this moment, all the time. Tony walked to his bedroom with a warm smile on his face.