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It was Christmas eve. Usually, you weren’t a fan of the holiday season. It reminded you too much of the past you had tried so hard to leave behind. However, this year, you were content. It was your first Christmas with your new husband, billionaire Tony Stark. Yes, you were the lovely Mrs. Stark, and you were all too happy to change your name. Sure, it wasn't your first Christmas together, but the first one as a married couple. The two of you had decided to spend the holiday at the Malibu mansion, not wanting to deal with the snow and bitter cold of New York. Being in New York at Christmas also reminded Tony of his parents’ deaths. He figured being in sunny Malibu with you would be better. New traditions could start, and it could just be the newlyweds.
He still considered it to be your honeymoon, despite being married nearly two weeks ago. He was so busy finding every place he could fuck you that he’d ignored all of Steve’s calls, telling JARVIS to decline every call and take a message. Soon, the voicemail was overflowing with a concerned captain, but Tony remained unfazed.
The two of you were cuddled up on the couch together, sipping piña coladas and watching some forgotten show. You both were wrapped up in conversation, talking about memories from the past couple of months.
"I'm so glad Natasha was my maid of honor. I couldn't have imagined having anyone else beside me for our wedding."
"I still can't get over how beautiful you looked. That dress fit you just right. Your pearl necklace looked incredible with it. I am a pretty amazing gift giver, if I do say so myself," Tony teased. You felt a pang in your chest as you laughed. You had gotten Tony a Christmas present but you weren't sure if he'd like it. You wanted your first holiday as a married couple to be perfect. However, it seemed as though all of that was falling apart.
"Sir, a call from Agent Coulson is coming through."
"Decline."
"Tony, you know I can bypass your system."
"Shit, I know. What do you want, Coulson?"
"There's been a Ten Rings attack."
You looked at your husband worriedly. You had a sudden realization that this was what Captain Rogers had been calling about. The threat was here, and Tony knew it was time to spring into action. He looked at you, mouthing "it's okay" to you. It always made you nervous when he went on a mission involving the Ten Rings, considering they'd nearly killed him more than once.
"JARVIS, get Mark 22 ready, it's time for battle."
"We knew Iron Man would be ready. Thank you, Mr. Stark. I will debrief you when you return."
Agent Coulson gave Tony some more specifics that you tuned out. It was Christmas Eve, couldn't the world stop committing crime for two days? You just wanted a nice holiday with your husband.
The phone call ended, and you looked to a hurried Tony who was suiting up.
"Please be safe, baby."
He put his armored hand to your cheek, kissing you before he dropped his mask.
"I will be back shortly, honey. I promise."
He walked out to the balcony, taking off to fly to God knows where. He'd made promises before. Most of the time, he wasn’t able to keep them. Promises like “I promise we can get a kitten from the shelter” or “I promise I’ll take you to Build-A-Bear.” Sometimes it was even “I promise I’ll come to bed tonight” and “I promise I’ll drink water and eat something today.” The former set didn’t matter to you that much, but the latter set always worried you. Ever since being held hostage in Afghanistan, Tony hadn’t been the same. He'd never let on to anything, but you knew he wasn’t quite right. Having him out fighting the Ten Rings made you more nervous than any other mission he’d been on. What if they captured him again? What if this time, they actually killed him? Would you ever get his wedding ring back or be able to say goodbye?
Before you knew it, you were turning on a news station and pacing the floor. Lights wrapped around the tree and draped over the mantle twinkled in the window’s reflection. The sun had just set over the ocean, and seeing the dark blue expanse made your heart ache. You knew Tony was worlds away, and all you could do was pray he was safe. The news had nothing interesting on, but soon enough, the familiar red and gold was flashing across your screen. He was somewhere in Monaco, it seemed. Last time he was there, he encountered Ivan Vanko, and he’d nearly lost his life while racing. If Pepper hadn’t come to his rescue with his suit in a briefcase, he definitely wouldn’t be here right now.
Seeing Iron Man in Monaco caused you to panic.
“JARVIS, can I get an update on tony’s suit please?”
“It seems his suit is at 50% power and rapidly draining with no end to the mission in sight. I am putting a significant amount of effort into keeping him from going into cardiac arrest from palladium poisoning.”
“J, call Tony, please.”
You could hear the call attempting to go through, and then the line went dead.
“JARVIS! get tony on the phone!”
“I’m sorry, miss. He's declined your call.”
“What the fuck, Tones?” you cursed out loud to the walls and the still-wrapped presents under the tree, knowing nothing was going to get him to accept your call during a mission. He had to call you. You hoped it was soon. If he was going to die, you at least wanted--
“Honey?” the familiar hurried tone came over the house. Tony's calls were programmed to auto accept.
“Baby, hi. how’s it going?” You breathed a sigh of relief and steeled your nerves for bad news.
“Well, the bad guys are taken care of, but I have to get from Monaco to Malibu on 10% power, which isn’t just stretching it, it’s hoping for a miracle. I’ll be home as soon as I can. I love you, sweetheart.”
Before you could say “I love you” back, the phone had gone silent. Tears welled up in your eyes. Not knowing if your husband would even make it home made your chest ache. You needed him home, in your arms. Your first Christmas together was falling apart already. You didn’t care if he got you an expired, moldy fruitcake he ransacked from a dumpster for Christmas. You just wished he would come back to you.
8p.m. soon turned into 3a.m., and there was still no sign of Iron Man. You began to panic. What if Tony didn’t come home this time? What if he was dead on the side of the road right now? a million thoughts raced through your head, not one of them comforting. All of the sudden, the soft glow of the Christmas lights seemed too cheery. It reminded you of the brown eyed man you loved that still wasn’t home.
You didn’t like to consider yourself a military wife, but since Stark Industries and the Avengers were all intertwined with the government and military, you kind of were. You were glad Tony had never been gone for more than a month at a time. You couldn’t imagine how awful it felt to be away from your spouse for six months or more. Being away from Tony for two days had you feeling lonely. This particular mission, though...one hour felt like a week. He had been gone entirely too long. You had JARVIS turn on a playlist to calm you down. “Love in Slow Motion" by Ed Sheeran came on. You remembered the first time you played it for Tony. You two were on a picnic in Central Park with the beautiful spring sun shining down on you both. He looked at you like you hung the very stars he soared among, and in that moment he vowed to never take you for granted. It was the song you danced to on the boat the afternoon he proposed at Lake Tahoe. All the good memories associated with the tune washed over you like a tidal wave of nostalgia.
It's been a while since we've been alone
To turn off the world and the telephone
Need to tell you you're beautiful, 'cause it's been a while, and I apologize
I just get caught up in the rat race I'm runnin'
Chasin' a moment, I'm hoping is comin'
If I stopped and took a look around
It's in front of my eyes, eyes
Baby let's slow down time
Maybe just press rewind
Darling, that dress reminds
Me of the first time
“And I wanna love tonight, one on one by the candlelight. Over and over, we spend our lives living fast forward, but not tonight. Love in slow motion.”
The familiar tenor voice came from behind you. You whipped around to discover your favorite man on the planet. Your husband, Tony Stark. His voice was just barely above a whisper, the same one he used when he needed to calm you down from a panic attack. You ran into his open arms, and he looked nearly the same as when he'd left.
"You're home," you breathed out, all your worries vanishing in his arms.
"I promised. I'll always come home."
You pushed yourself back, not wanting to leave his embrace but needing to look at his injuries. As suspected, he had a few cuts on his face. One on his cheekbone, one on his eyebrow, one on his chin. The blood had dried up but they still needed tending to. You took his hand, dragging him to the medical cabinet that was kept fully stocked at all times in every area of the mansion.
"Babe do we have to do this every time? I'm fine. Everything is dry, I promise." Tony loved to argue about you fixing up his battle injuries but you knew even the smallest cut could cause an infection, especially because it's hard telling what he was exposed to wherever his mission was.
"Yes, because for the thousandth time, it's important to keep all wounds clean, dry, and sterile so the chance of infection is decreased. You knew this would happen when you married a nurse-turned-Stark CEO."
He'd never admit to it, but he was grateful for it. He had noticed he was sick less since you started taking care of him, and it probably had something to do with actually keeping wounds covered and clean. JARVIS would tell him there's a correlation, but Tony was never too keen on actually believing it. He did enjoy the extra attention, though.
You cleaned off each wound with hydrogen peroxide, then wiped it off with an alcohol swab. He winced every time but you knew he was just being dramatic, as always. After each cut had been properly bandaged, you were holding him on the couch. He leaned against your chest, and your fingers were mindlessly carding through his tangled curls. Your mind wandered to something JARVIS had said earlier, something about...palladium poisoning? Cardiac arrest? You worked to keep your breathing steady so you wouldn’t disturb a very peaceful looking Tony. You hated to interrupt his thoughts but this was important. You had to know.
“Tones?”
“Yes, love?”
You took a deep breath, not wanting to freak him out.
“Earlier, when I asked JARVIS for a status update on your suit, he said something about--” you were cut off by sobs. Tony was so young, you didn’t want to lose him. He still had caramel highlights in his hair from this past summer, no grey in sight. He had to grow old with you.
Tony shot up, immediately knowing what you were going on about.
“Palladium poisoning,” he whispered, sitting criss-cross between your legs. he pulled you into his lap, holding you to his chest.
“Honey, I didn’t want to worry you, so I was working on finding a replacement. I found an element that dad discovered in the 70s, but I needed to figure out how to implement it into my arc reactor. I wanna call it ‘badassium’ but I can’t get that patented. I have it mostly figured out, but I do need some help changing it out," he explained. You felt his breathing become more shallow, waiting on your response. He kept you close with one hand, the other going to wipe away your tears and tuck your hair behind your ear. "I'm sorry, baby. I knew I shouldn't have kept that from you but you were so excited about the wedding and this and us – I didn't wanna ruin that by telling you I was kind of dying."
His doctor had determined that surgery would be too risky right now. He needed to get his diet under control and cut back his caffeine so his body could heal properly. Removing shrapnel is no small feat.
“Then what the fuck are we waiting for? I can’t lose you, Tones. Not yet.”
He nodded and kissed you softly. "So I take that as you'll be my assistant?" he asked with a little chuckle.
You rolled your eyes and dragged him down to his lab, immediately spotting the new arc reactor sitting on one of his work benches.
“Okay, tell me what I need to do.” He gave you a signature Stark eye roll as you washed your hands and put on a pair of gloves.
“It's not that bad, sweetheart. This can wait a couple days.”
“Nope. JARVIS said your suit was draining power because he was trying to keep you from going into cardiac arrest. We’re not waiting anymore, Mr. Stark.”
“Alright, fine,” he sighed in defeat. His shirt came off and he attached himself to an EKG as a formality. Tony sat down in a raised chair and leaned back, exposing his chest and arc reactor. He held the new reactor in one hand and pulled out the old one with the other.
“Now, we've only got a few minutes, so what I need you to do is stick your hand down in the hole and grab the copper wire. it's just like Operation, don't let the metal touch the sides.”
“I don't think I'm qualified to do this,” you answered, hesitant.
“Nope, you're the most qualified and competent person for the job,” he assured. You stuck your hand down in his chest, feeling some kind of discharge in the cavity. Through all the squishy...whatever, you finally felt the wire.
“Okay, the wire should be loosely wrapped around the magnet. I need you to undo it and leave the magnet in,” he instructs next. You nod and work with your fingers as best you can without looking. You hated the gloves because you couldn't feel as well, but it would have to do. Eventually you got it and gently pulled out the wire. He gave you a smile as he plugged in his new arc reactor to the base plate. He drew in a breath through his teeth and screwed his eyes shut for a moment, then seemed to be okay.
"Babe are you alright?" you ask softly.
He looks up at you with loving eyes, a little smile on his face. “Pretty sure that shrapnel thought it had a chance for a second but we got it.”
Your eyes softened as you took off your gloves and threw them away, "Don't scare me like that ever again."
"Point taken. Thank you, sweetheart." He looked out his lab windows to see the sky looking a deep orange shade. Sunrise. "And seeing as it's officially Christmas now...wanna go open presents?"
"Oh, darling, you didn't need to get me anything. You're quite the present enough."
He looked at you with a funny look on his face. "Well, considering the fact that you got me a present, I figured it only fair to get you something."
You smiled on the outside, but on the inside, you were nervous. You had gotten something made, and then made something yourself. You weren't sure if he'd like either of the items. They weren't expensive, but they were heartfelt.
As you two settled in on the couch upstairs, presents in front of you, funny nicknames on all the tags, tony took your hand. "Honey, I just wanted to tell you I love you. Thank you for putting up with all my shit. I know you worry but I promise I will always come back."
You smiled softly. "I love you too, tones." You handed him the smaller of the gifts, wrapped beautifully and topped with a tiny gold bow. "Open it."
He tore the wrapping off to reveal a small white box, which he opened to reveal a silver toned ring, engraved all around with something. He looked at it confused, and you got nervous, so you explained.
"It's my thumbprint. I had it sized to your middle finger so you could wear it by your wedding ring. There's an engraving on the inside, too."
He held it up to the light, revealing the "til Valhalla" written on the inside.
"In Norse mythology, Valhalla is the hall where all the heroes and warriors go after passing in battle. It's supposedly beautiful. It's where I hope you go when you're 500 years old, because you're not allowed to die until I die. You'll have me with you til Valhalla, angel."
Tony had tears in his eyes.
"Honey, I… don't even know where to begin. This is the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever given me. You mean the absolute world to me and I love you so much." He leaned into hug you, resting his forehead against yours and kissing your nose softly. You smiled, whispering against his lips, "I have one more, love."
You handed him the slightly bigger one. He unwrapped it, trying not to cry again. You had painted him an abstract version of his arc reactor, circling it with "proof that tony stark has a heart."
"Good God these gifts are perfect, I love you I love you I love you."
"I'm glad you think so, babe."
"Okay, my turn." He handed you a semi small box. You could tell someone else had wrapped it because tony had the wrapping skills of a two year old, but that would be an insult to toddlers.
You carefully unwrapped it, not knowing what he could have possibly given you that you don't already have. On the front, in his chicken scratch handwriting, were the words "coupon book."
It was your turn to be confused, and Tony was carefully studying your reaction. You opened it up, flipping through the pages. It was cute shit, not actual coupons. Things like "good for 1 trip to Build a Bear to pick out whatever you want" and "good for 1 kitten adoption." There was even a "good for getting me out of the lab whenever you want" coupon, and it looked like it had unlimited uses and no expiration date.
"Tony, this is so precious. I love it. thank you thank you thank you. I love you so much, Tones." you cupped his face, kissing him. Before you knew it, he was picking you up bridal style, carrying you to your bedroom.
"Now, if there are no objections, I'd like to go to bed."
"That sounds good to me, babe," you chuckled, placing your head in the crook of his neck. "Best Christmas ever."