Red Thorn

Chapter 26

December 2016

It was the last first of the year and the Christmas spirit was beginning to settle over the Compound.

"What's this?" Tony asked, pointing to the pile of perfectly wrapped presents at the far end of the table.

"No clue." Natasha handed him a coffee as she sipped on her own. "It was there when I got up."

"Interesting..." He made his way over to them. "What does the note say?"

Natasha pushed herself off her seat at the counter to join him. "What note?"

"What note?" Tony repeated. "You mean to say you hadn't looked yet?"

"Well, no. There are eleven of them and eleven of us." She shrugged. "I figured that meant there was one each so we'd wait until everyone was up so we don't spoil the surprise."

"That's pretty much what the note says." He tossed the note back onto the table with a frustrated sigh, if there was one thing Tony hated more than anything in the world, it was having to wait to open his presents. He always had, ever since he was a kid, it was something his mother had always scolded him for. "I mean, they're never gonna know right?"

Tony scanned the pile for the biggest one, only something else caught his eye, each present had a name stamped on it. Sure enough, he found his, but the second he reached for it Jingle Bell Rock started blaring over the speakers.

"FRIDAY, turn it off!" he all but squealed, having jumped a near mile at the sudden loud noise.

"Yes, boss."

The music subsided and Tony went on with the task at hand only for the music to start playing again, this time even louder.

"What the hell, FRIDAY?" Tony cursed at the ceiling. "What are you doing?"

"Sorry, boss," the AI apologised. "But I was instructed to start playing Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms should anyone try opening the presents without the rest of the team present."

"Instructed by whom?" he queried.

"I'm afraid I'm not permitted to say."

"Okay well, instructions overridden." He reached for his present again, convinced that he would now be able to get it without Christmas music playing a full volume in the common area, but alas, he was wrong. "Shit! FRIDAY, override this damn thing."

"No."

"FRIDAY, listen to me."

"No."

"FRIDAY!"

"Yeah, FRIDAY, listen to your father," Natasha teased.

"This is far too amusing to stop," FRIDAY retorted, irish accent as strong as ever. "And as my father knows, teenagers rebel, so the answer is still no."

"I'll unplug you," Tony threatened.

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

"You can't."

"I can."

"You need me more than I need you, boss."

"I..." Tony faltered, Friday was right, he needed her more than she did him. "Fine, then you're grounded."

"Who's grounded?" Sam asked as he, the supersoldiers and Red entered the ground floor of the Avengers wing after their morning run.