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“Tony, I’ve got bad news,”
Tony looks over when he hears Sarah’s voice, and frowns when he sees the sad look on her face. “What? Is everything alright? Have you heard from Sam?”
“Yes,” Sarah replies, before sighing. “Sam, he uh- his flight got cancelled. I don’t think he’s going to make it in time for Christmas. He thinks it’s best if he just stays home.”
“What do you- stay home?” Tony repeats. “Home is here. With us. I’m not going to allow my husband to stay there all by himself for Christmas, especially after everything he just went through. Forget that. No. What I’m going to do is load up the Iron Man suit and go get him. I’m bringing him home, Sarah.”
“You are not flying to him, Tony. It’s nearly ten o’clock at night!” Sarah warns.
“I don’t care. I’ll be safe in my Iron Man suit,” Tony argues.
“Tony, that’s ridiculous. Besides, don’t you think people will see you when they spot you flying around?” Sarah asks, crossing her arms against her chest. “You retired Iron Man, didn’t you?”
Tony sighs. “Yeah, I don’t care about that either. I just want to bring Sam home to us,”
“Tony. At least wait until tomorrow morning before you do anything stupid,”
Tony stares at Sarah before sighing. “Fine, I’ll wait until morning,”
“Thank you,” Sarah sighs in relief. “You know Sam wouldn’t approve of you doing anything stupid.”
“What are you talking about? Sam is used to me doing stupid shit that he doesn’t approve of,” Tony says, and a smile forms on his face when Sarah laughs softly at that, because she knows he’s right. “Come on. Let’s make some hot chocolate. I’m sure we’re both going to be up for quite a bit.”
“You’re probably right,” Sarah agrees, nodding.
“Please. Of course I’m right,” Tony says before leading the way into the kitchen.
“Honestly, I don’t know how Sam puts up with you,” Sarah says playfully.
Tony stays up late with Sarah, until she falls asleep around one in the morning. Tony waits until he knows she’s not going to wake up, before putting on his Iron Man suit, and shooting into the sky, determined to make his way to his husband. He knows he probably should listen to Sarah, but his mind won’t stop worrying about Sam. He doesn’t want his husband to spend Christmas Day alone.
In just a few short hours, Tony makes his way to Sam’s hotel in New York City.
Tony takes a deep breath as he stands outside Sam’s hotel room, and knocks on the door.
It doesn’t occur to Tony that Sam may be sleeping. He curses, and runs a hand through his hair. Tony goes to knock on the door again, but as he raises his fist, the door opens, revealing a sleepy Sam.
Sam looks up, and his eyes widen when he sees Tony standing in front of him. “Tony? What-?”
“Hi,” Tony breathes. “I, uh-”
“Please don’t tell me you flew here in your Iron Man suit,”
“I didn’t fly to New York City in my Iron Man suit,” Tony says with a straight face.
“Tony,” Sam groans. “Are you out of your mind? Don’t answer that. I already know the answer.”
“I’m sorry,” Tony steps forward. “It’s just- it’s Christmas, Sammy. I couldn’t bear the thought of you spending the day all by yourself. You deserve to be home.”
Sam shakes his head as he stares at Tony, before throwing his arms around his husband. “I love you,”
“I love you too,” Tony breathes, holding onto Sam tightly.
They spend a few moments hugging each other, before Sam finally pulls away, and then he looks at Tony. “You must be freezing. Come on, get inside,” he says, pulling Tony inside.
“Well, I- I was hoping we could head straight home,” Tony says as he steps into the hotel room.
Sam turns and looks at Tony. “You’re not being seen,” he says. He frowns when he sees the serious look on Tony’s face. “You’re being serious? You were planning on flying both me and you to Louisiana?”
“Well, yeah,” Tony says, nodding. “I flew here for a reason. To bring you home.”
Sam groans. “Tony, I’m seriously starting to think you’ve lost your mind,”
“Come on, Sammy. I’ve flown with you before in my Iron Man suit!”
“Not from New York City to Louisiana!” Sam exclaims. “That’s not safe. It’s dangerous.”
“You’ll be safe. I’d never let anything happen to you. You know that,” Tony says.
“I’m not flying with you in your Iron Man suit!”
~
“I cannot believe I let you convince me to do this,” Sam grumbles as Tony flies them through the sky.
Tony chuckles. “Did you really think I was going to leave New York City without you?”
“Did you even tell Sarah that you were leaving?” Sam asks.
“She knows I was leaving,” Tony replies, and he’s telling the truth partially.
****
It’s around seven in the morning by the time Tony makes it back to Sarah’s house with Sam.
“Uncle Sam!”
Sam grins as soon as he’s greeted by his nephew’s. “Where’s my hug?”
“We saw you on TV!” AJ exclaims as he runs up to Sam, hugging him tightly. “You kicked butt!”
Tony watches fondly from the front door as Sam reunites with his nephews. He looks over and sees Sarah standing there with her arms crossed against her chest. “Okay. You can’t be mad at me-”
“I’m a little mad at you,” Sarah says.
Sam looks over at Tony. “You said she knew that you were leaving,”
“I thought he was going to leave in the morning, not in the middle of the night when I was asleep,”
Sam sighs as he stares at his husband. “Honestly. What am I going to do with that?”
“Mom, can we open presents now? You said we could open presents when Uncle Sam got home,”
Sarah smiles at her son. “Yeah, Cass. We can open presents now,” she says, going to get her camera.