An Orphans' Christmas Party

The former Stark Tower, now Avengers Tower.

The elevator doors opened, and JARVIS's gentle voice rang out. "Welcome, Mr. Starr, Ms. Jones. Mr. Stark is waiting in the living room."

There was no raucous music in the living room, only a soothing vinyl record spinning.

Beyond the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, snowflakes swirled through the sky above the lights of countless New York homes.

Tony Stark stood by the window in a somewhat ridiculous reindeer sweater, holding a glass of wine as he stared into space.

Steve Rogers wore a beige sweater that made him look like the friendly older brother next door. He sat on the couch, flipping through an art book.

Hearing footsteps, he turned around with that roguish grin on his face.

"Wow, look who's here!" Tony spread his arms and cried theatrically. "Our American Idol and his ice-cold queen! Seriously, Anthony, did you have the flag cut up to make that suit? It even has stars embroidered on it."

"Tony." Azu smiled and gave him a hug, not offended by Tony's teasing. "Your reindeer outfit is quite distinctive too. Does the nose light up?"

"That's Rudolph, you childhood-deprived bastard." Tony rolled his eyes, then looked at Jessica. "Ms. Jones, I have to say, that outfit suits you. Much better than that blinding white bodysuit. Who designed it? Is Vought's fashion sense still stuck in eighties aerobics tapes?"

"That was Ashley's idea." Jessica poured herself a glass of wine without ceremony and downed half of it in one gulp. "I think it looks like a condom too."

"Pfft—"

Steve Rogers, who had just been walking over, nearly sprayed the eggnog from his mouth.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Queen Jones." Steve generously held out his hand. "I'm Steve."

Jessica looked at that hand, somewhat at a loss. This was Captain America, a living legend.

She shook his hand awkwardly. "Just call me Jessica. I grew up listening to your stories... I mean, um... your stories about beating up Nazis were really cool."

Steve smiled, and that smile was warm enough to melt the snow outside. "Thank you. I watched your press conference too. You were very brave!"

"Good evening, Homelander." Steve turned to Wu Yanzu and extended his hand. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Good evening, Captain." Azu's attitude toward Steve was clearly far more sincere than it was toward Tony. "No need to be so formal. Just call me Anthony."

"Okay, Anthony." Steve smiled. "The atmosphere here... may not be as lively as you imagined."

"That suits me just fine." Azu looked around. "Is it just us?"

"Pepper's here too. She's in the kitchen trying to deal with a turkey... it's a disaster zone." Tony snarked. "Dr. Banner, our big guy, thinks he's a threat, so he's hiding somewhere. As for Clint, Fury said he went home to be with his wife and kids. It's his only vacation this year."

"And our Black Widow..." Tony sighed and glanced at Steve. "Natasha went looking for him all over the world."

"Looking for Banner?" Jessica asked curiously. "Why? To drag him back?"

"No." Tony wore a gossipy grin. "She's looking for him. You know, the kind of searching with feelings involved."

"You mean..." Jessica's eyes widened. "Black Widow and Hulk? Beauty and the Beast?"

"Bingo!" Tony snapped his fingers and waggled his eyebrows. "I hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s communications channel—don't tell that one-eyed Fury. The messages Natasha sent Banner, tsk tsk, they were dripping with emotion. Stuff like, 'Hey, big guy, the sun's going down'... it almost made me throw up. Seriously, I don't get it. Why would Natasha like that green guy?"

"Because he's pretty 'big'?" Jessica suddenly blurted out.

"Pfft—!" Steve, who had just taken a sip of wine, sprayed it everywhere.

Tony froze for three seconds, then burst into laughter. "Hahahaha! God, I love this girl! Anthony, where did you find her? She's exactly my type!"

Azu shook his head helplessly. "Queen, watch your image. You'll lose fans acting like this."

"Relax, Starr." Tony poured Jessica another glass of wine. "There are no cameras here. Tonight, there's no Homelander and no Queen Jones. Just Anthony and Jessica."

Steve shook his head helplessly. "Tony, don't talk nonsense. Natasha is just... concerned about a teammate."

"Oh, come on, you old popsicle." Tony scoffed. "You know nothing about modern relationships. It's called tension! Sexual tension! Like..."

Tony's gaze swept back and forth between Azu and Jessica.

"...like these two."

"Cough, cough!" Jessica nearly choked to death on her red wine.

Azu remained perfectly calm and even patted Jessica's back. "Drink slowly. No one's taking it from you."

"You see? That's exactly it!" Tony pointed at them. "That natural physical contact! That possessive 'she's mine, don't touch her' vibe! Admit it, have you two slept together or not?"

"Tony!" Steve frowned. "That's too rude."

"It's fine, Captain." Azu smiled. "Tony's just jealous. After all, Ms. Pepper has been busy rebuilding Stark Industries lately. She probably doesn't have time to pay attention to him."

Tony had been hit right where it hurt. He huffed. "Pepper is a career woman! We're soulmates!"

The atmosphere gradually relaxed amid the banter.

Pepper finally gave up on the burnt turkey and put a premade pizza into the oven.

They gathered around the dining table, eating premade pizza loaded with cheese and salami while drinking red wine that cost tens of thousands of dollars a bottle.

Alcohol was the best lubricant. After a few drinks, the barriers and wariness between them gradually melted away.

"You know?" Tony swirled his wineglass, his eyes slightly unfocused. "When I was little, I hated Christmas the most."

"Why?" Steve asked.

"Because Howard... my dad, always locked himself in the lab." Tony looked at the fire. "He didn't even remember to buy me a gift. Every time, it was JARVIS... I mean old JARVIS, the butler, who would just buy something and stuff it into my hands, saying it was from my dad."

"I knew it was fake, actually." Tony gave a bitter smile. "But I still pretended to be happy."

He turned to Wu Yanzu. "We're pretty similar in that way, aren't we? Mr. Starr. I heard your dad was a workaholic too?"

Azu fell silent for a moment.

He did not actually have those memories, but he infused it with the emotions from his previous life.

"More or less." Azu leaned back on the couch, his eyes turning deep. "Rich families are always alike. Nannies are closer than parents, and boarding schools feel more like home than home does."

"I remember that year..." Azu began acting. "I was seven. My parents were overseas discussing business. There were only servants and me in the house. I sat alone in that empty living room, staring blankly at the enormous Christmas tree."

"Back then, I thought it would be great if Superman were here. Superman would fly in, take me away, and get me out of that cold, lifeless house."

He laughed at himself, raised a hand, and looked at his palm. "In the end, I became Superman myself. But I was still... alone."

Those words struck everyone present in the heart.

Jessica turned her head and looked at the man beside her. For the first time, she saw something called loneliness on the face of the untouchable Homelander.

Without thinking, she reached out beneath the table and gently placed her hand over Wu Yanzu's.