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Tony had woke up with bristles up his nose. The more he became aware, the more he started snuffling, before he woke with an outright cough, forcing himself up enough that the tinsel fell from his face. He spluttered, realising he'd had it in his nose and mouth and looked around to see what Christmas monster was attacking him.
What he saw instead was Steve sleeping peacefully beside him under the arc of the tinsel, as one end of it was still attached to the wall, having fallen down on Tony's side of the bed. Marvelous. He stared for a moment, waiting for his heart rate to return to normal.
Once awake enough to move, he grabbed the tinsel, pulling it sharply so it came free of its other fixture and fell across his partner’s chest. Tony had let Steve decorate the place however he’d wanted, with red and gold being a feature throughout the penthouse, but don’t think Tony hadn’t noticed that the bedroom was understated, in blue and white.
If it were anyone else Tony would have thought it a good colour scheme, but it was one colour short of being patriotic and too modest to suit his tastes. He supposed Steve didn’t want to wake up to gawdy decorating every morning when he already had to wake up next to Tony.
With the tinsel free he got to work carefully twisting it around Steve’s arm, looping it around in a spiral. He had thought he’d only get one loop or two done before waking him, if that, as tinsel had to scratch and surely Steve was on alert even as he slept. Instead, Tony got it up to his shoulder leaving the end resting over his bare chest.
If there was going to be decorating, they might as well dress up the pretty things in the household too, he felt. He smiled at his handiwork and then settled back down into his side of the bed, as the projection on his ceiling told him he still had at least an hour of rest before Steve would be getting up.
He’d managed to fall back asleep in the dim light of the master suite, soothed by the heavy sounds of Steve’s breathing and the warmth he could feel against his arm of the body beside him.
He didn’t wake again until Steve did, with the room brighter and the sounds of grumbled confusion to rouse him.
“Tony? Why am I wearing tinsel?” Tony blinked his eyes open again, feeling better rested now, so even he was surprised to look up to see Steve sitting against the headboard, pushing the twirled tinsel down off his arm. He chuckled, rolling onto his side to face him, without getting up.
“You looked like you could use some holiday cheer?” He offered, snickering at the confused glare he got in return.
“Hey, don’t blame me. You didn’t wake up. Shouldn’t you be on super soldier alert at all times?” He pointed at Steve, poking him solidly in the chest, maybe hurting his finger in the process.
Steve just shrugged, saying, “I don’t have to be when I’m here.”
Tony didn’t respond, not quite sure that he wanted to face that, so he picked up one end of the tinsel, pulling it over to his side.
“Why does tinsel have to be so scratchy? Someone should fix that.”
Steve had apparently recognised the need to move on, so he’d run his fingers gently through Tony’s hair, looking at both him and the blue tinsel Tony was idly tugging on.
“Well if it were soft it would be like those boa things and then we’d never be able to keep you away from them. And other people would wear tinsel outfits for Christmas even more absurd than those sexy Santa outfits and the world would plunge into chaos. It’s for our own good, really.”
Tony had stared up at Steve as the man quietly offered his thoughts. He smiled, looking up at him with a look of unreserved affection, with his brow tilted down with some confusion.
“You’re funny in the mornings. It’s disconcerting.” He batted him with the end of the tinsel, to show he meant it.
“Apologies. You could get me some coffee? That always dampens my wit?” Steve suggested, smirking down at Tony, but even as he was leaning down to kiss him he was already shuffling back out of the bed, knowing there was no way Tony would fetch him the coffee.
“No sugar, sugar!”
“You’re not funny in the morning, Tony. You need coffee,” he heard, as Steve left the room and he huffed out a laugh, throwing the tinsel aside. He would have to get working on a softer substitute soon. After coffee.