Hopeless Wanderer | Tony Stark & Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 2

The Christmas tree had arrived, gleaming with cheerful holiday colors. Earlier in the day, Wanda had laughed as she decorated the tree with her magic, and Sam Wilson had whistled as The Winter Soldier climbed onto Rogers' shoulders to place the star on top. Peter had inspected the tree with admiration, while Vision couldn't quite grasp what was so special about a pine tree.

"It's a spruce," Bruce Banner corrected shyly.

Tony especially enjoyed the longer darkness in the mornings and the quicker fading of light in the evenings.

"Where are you celebrating Christmas this year?" Wilson asked, curious and oblivious to any potential discomfort.

Peter was traveling with his aunt and the Leeds, which was fine. Wilson had invited Rogers and Barnes to his family in DC, which was fine. Barton said his wife expected him home for Christmas, Natasha asked if she could join, and that was fine, right? Wanda and Vision had planned a nice holiday in Canada to enjoy the snow together, which of course they could do. Thor was still in Asgard and probably wouldn't return for Christmas. Rhodey had called earlier to say he wouldn't be home for Christmas but hoped to make it for New Year's.

"I'll be fine," he said with a smile, noticing everyone seemed anxiously waiting for his response.

"What? Mr. Stark, you can't possibly spend Christmas alone?"

His grin became more forced. He had spent Christmas alone so many times. This wouldn't be any different from all the times before. "It'll be fine. I have Friday." As if on cue, "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" soon echoed through the Compound. Even with his teammates still there, the song resonated as if it were playing in an empty shopping mall.

Perhaps his teammates were right because this year, the Compound felt emptier than usual, and Christmas felt too lonely to bother getting out of bed for. He slept through most of the festivities. There was a time when Bruce would stay with him, but he had found a nice partner—now no longer a woman but a man—and Tony still didn't quite understand how that worked, but he believed it wasn't his place to form an opinion as long as Bruce was happy with his love. In short, even his Science Bro wasn't present this year.

The feast he had tried to cook himself at the end of Christmas Day burned. He had almost set the kitchen on fire, but DUM-E was quick with the extinguisher and prevented a disaster. Tony had cowered under a blanket on the couch in despair. He sipped soberly from his dark red cocktail. The burnt turkey smell lingered in his nose, and the thick smoke had stung his eyes and skin. He had to kick off his Christmas sweater after a flame had caught in the pan when he tried to marinate potatoes—if he had even done it right. It could very well be physically impossible to set a pan on fire when preparing potatoes properly.

"Incoming call from Mr. Parker." Before Tony could say anything, Peter's lively voice filled the dark room: "Mr. Stark! How are you? Ned and I—" With Peter, Stark rarely had the chance to actually respond to questions. Usually, Peter had already moved on with his story before anyone had even registered his question. But it didn't matter. It was nice that someone's voice now broke the silence that had settled in the Compound for days. The billionaire hadn't exchanged a word with anyone for days.

"Have a wonderful Christmas, even if I'm no longer here." Tony was a disappointment that something as simple as this was barely possible in this new life, having spent many winters alone while all he had to do was ask one person if he could possibly join them this Christmas because he was so damn alone.

No, he wouldn't get attached. No attachment, but fuck, this team was starting to feel more and more like home.