Chapter Text
Pepper watched from the house as Happy drove Tony away for a carefully scheduled meeting at SI.
Almost instantaneously, a mass text was sent out to a secretly hired team of elves decorators, and sledges vans assembled in front of the house as they set to work.
It was done within the hour, and Pepper left before Tony got home, satisfied.
Because Pepper had been working for Tony for five years now and not once had she seen him celebrate Christmas. He went to all the parties sure, and came back drunker than ever. Pepper was sure he didn't remember any of those parties the next morning.
And there were always gifts – from Obadiah, herself even, Board members, investors and suck-ups. Never personal.
For all his merry-making, Tony was never cheerful at Christmas.
He deserved better. Pepper was going to change that.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Yeah, Obie, I'm dealing with it... No, I don't. … No. … Pretty much. … It's not tha--
– What the actual fuck?”
Tony last comment was made as he stepped into the living room of his house and found himself almost blinded by twinkling and glitter and red and green and silver and gold and was that fake snow?
A ginormous christmas tree, wreathed in tinsel and covered in candy canes and baubles, stood in one corner. There were fairy lights everywhere and stockings over the fire listing Tony, Jarvis, Dummy and You; and there was goddamn tinkly christmas music playing from somewhere.
“I'm in hell,” he groaned, staring around at his home in disbelief. “I died and I'm in hell.” Why, why was this in his house? What had he done to deserve this?
“Mute the goddamn music, J,” he muttered, setting about with the task of returning his living room to it's previous calm condition.
Just as Tony tore down the first stocking, something prodded him in the back. Hard. He cursed and wheeled around, coming face to face with Dummy. Who, despite the lack of a face, was very clearly glaring at him. And was also wearing an elf hat, a santa hat clutched in his claw. “What do you want, you overgrown turkey baster?”
The robot prodded him again, and then let the hat fall to the floor as he dragged Tony away from the beginnings of his destructive rampage.
“I believe Dummy is attempting to communicate that he will not allow you to remove the decorations,” Jarvis put in helpfully.
“Oh for... Why do people care so much about some pagan festival?” Tony grumbled, struggling with a strand of tinsel.
“Bah, humbug, and all that, sir?”
Tony glared and then rolled his eyes. “Yeah, exactly,” he muttered. “I don't do Christmas,” he growled, and moved to unplug the fairy lights.
Dummy rolled in front of him stubbornly and Tony let out a sigh of frustration. “I swear, I will send you to the North Pole--”
“I don't believe Miss Potts would appreciate it if you undid all her hard work, either,” Jarvis interrupted.
Tony froze. “Pepper did this?” he asked in a strange voice.
“Yes sir.”
Pepper had done this. For him. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had done anything so personal for him at Christmas. A lump formed in his throat and he turned away.
“Fine. Fine! Keep it,” he said, as soon as he trusted himself to speak.
Dummy chirruped cheerfully and Tony rolled his eyes and headed for the workshop.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When Tony fell asleep later, Dummy rolled in silently and placed the santa hat carefully onto the prone engineer.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Pepper smiled to herself as she received a snapshot from Jarvis of Santa Stark and his two not so helpful elves. Tony was smiling, even if he was clearly trying to be annoyed.
Mission accomplished.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When she came into work the next day, there was a fifth stocking pinned with the others, 'Pepper' scrawled on it in Tony's unmistakeable handwriting.
Because in Tony's books, the only point to Christmas, was family. Something that he'd been missing for far too long.