Tony turned his phone in his hands as he sat on the darkened porch. He shivered in the cold wind, wrapping his jacket tighter around him to preserve the warmth. The house settled against the wind and an owl hooted distantly in the woods. Tony blew on his hands to keep them from freezing off. He jumped when his phone vibrated in his hand. Tony scrambled to catch the phone then he held it to his ear.

     "Where the hell have you been?"

     "Why do you care?" Tony spat.

     "Do not talk to me like that. I've indulged this stupid fantasy of yours for far too long. Get your ass back here."

      "No." Tony picked at the cuff of his jacket. "I'm not coming back early. I'm leaving after Christmas."

     Howard took a deep breath that made goosebumps prickle along Tony's cheek. "You get your ass on the first flight back here or I will send someone to pick you up. You do not want me to send someone."

     Tony looked at the glittered snow. "Send whoever you want. I don't care. I'll be back tomorrow morning, Howard. Leave me alone."

     "Do you know what I'll do to you if you disobey me?" Tony gulped, finger poised over the end call button. "I'm going to break every bone in your body until you're nothing but a motionless puppet. Not even your stupid shades will be enough to cover this up. And you'll be trapped in the manor with nothing but yourself in agonizing pain. Anthony, I am going to kill you if you're-"

     Tony ended the call. He tossed the phone away when it began to buzz again. He crawled away from the device with a whimper. Tony curled up on the far side of the porch with wide eyes glued to his phone. He wasn't going back a day early no matter what Howard said. Howard could threaten him all he wanted but it wasn't going to change his mind. He could wake up black and blue after Howard's done with him but it would be nothing after this trip. He would remember their smiles and kind words until the day he died, leeching off of them until they had nothing left to give.

     He stuffed his phone into his pocket and headed up to the room. Tony glanced at the bag that he placed under the tree with a tight smile. Bucky was going to be so happy in a few hours. He hoped Bucky would be happy. Tony struggled to bring himself up the steps and into his sleeping bag. He scowled at his phone when it vibrated again. He wasn't going to listen to anything Howard had to say. He could go back to being afraid after Christmas. Right now he was going to enjoy the holiday without Howard's shadow looming over him. He's never felt healthier in his life.

     He couldn't skip meals when Sarah was taking every chance she had to shove food into his face. He didn't hear a nagging voice telling him to stop in the back of his mind so he accepted the food without fighting. It was nice to be able to eat without Howard reprimanding him or worrying about Howard noticing he took food without asking. He also felt more awake than he did at the manor. Everything seemed to barely be holding together in that house but here in the boonies, he felt more at home than he did in there. He could actually think clearly and felt at ease with the lack of bruises diverting his attention.

     Tony smiled at himself at the thought. He nodded off some time when the sun began to rise over the woods. He woke up all too soon when Thor shook his shoulders. "Brother Stark, it is Christmas," he whispered huskily.

     "Five more minutes," Tony mumbled.

     "That's not how it works," Clint grumbled at his left. "You wake up early on Christmas."

     Tony sighed and pressed his hands into his eyes. "Fine, fine. Whatever you say, Legolas."

     Tony furrowed his brow at the sound of someone knocking hard on the door downstairs. Clint looked at Thor before heading downstairs. Tony bit his lip as he listened to voices drift upstairs. Thor flashed him a bright smile that Tony had trouble returning. He frowned when Natasha's voice sounded, sharp. Tony assumed she was cursing in Russian but he didn't know Russian. Natasha stormed into the room with a scowl.

     "Tony, come down here."

     "Why?"

     "There is someone here for you."

     She turned on her heel before Tony could ask her a question. Thor patted him on the shoulder then stood to follow her. Tony begrudgingly caught up with Thor after taking a deep breath. He froze on the steps at the sight of Sarah arguing with a woman in a dark suit. Her spatula was waving around as she argued until her cheeks were red. Steve, Bucky, and Bruce were sitting on the couch with their heads close and Clint was propped against the wall opposite of the door where Natasha was standing. Thor was speaking to him in low tones.

     The woman looked up when Tony stopped on the steps. She adjusted her sunglasses. "Tony, your father sent me to pick you up," she said tiredly.

     Tony leaned against the railing with a smirk. "What'd he tell you? That you'd be fired if you weren't here in three hours?" His smirk deepened when she nodded. Tony waved his hand as he continued down the steps. "Then I guess you're out of a job because I'm not going anywhere with you."

    "Mr. Stark-"

     "It's Tony," he snapped. "And I told you I'm not going anywhere with you so you can take you and your cheap suit back to Stark Industries."

     "Tony, your father explicitly said-"

     "I don't care what he said!" he shouted. "I told him that I was coming back tomorrow and I meant it. Now go away."

     The woman sighed and turned away. Natasha closed the door behind her using her hip. Her green eyes flicked from Tony to the guys on the couch. "Are we going to begin or not?"

     Clint sat crosslegged by the tree. He grabbed a box and shook it. "I don't know what you're talking about. I've already started. I think this is a pair of gloves." He ripped back the wrapping paper then dangled two leather gloves in the air. "What'd I say?"

     Steve chucked a pillow at Clint. "You suck, Clint."

     "He knows," Bucky said.

     He looked up when someone knocked on the door again. Tony rolled his eyes and stomped toward the door. "Look, I thought I told you to leave." He swung open the door haughtily. "I'm trying to gather information about the average American family for my thesis and you're making it increasingly difficult."

     The woman pinched her nose. "Your father wants you home now. He said we could exercise the use of force."

     "Lady, I know I'm small but I don't think you could even think about lifting weights. You'll probably barely be able to hold your box when you're escorted out by SI security."

     "You're entirely right. That's why I brought help. You have one more chance to come with me calmly, Tony."

     Bruce pressed a hand on his shoulder. "Can't Tony leave after we open the presents?"

     "No," she replied. "Howard wants him in the car now." Sarah cursed under her breath as she walked into the kitchen. Tony chuckled at the surprised look on the SI employee's face. She smoothed her blonde hair over her shoulders. "Now make a choice."

     Tony pretended to think about it. He made to push the door closed but a large hand stopped it from clicking shut. A man who was about the same size as Happy shouldered through the doorway. Tony stumbled back with a smirk. "Now he can carry me out of here," he said.

     The man bent down to grab him. "I don't want to hurt you, Mr. Stark, but my orders are to get you in the car." The woman sidled past him up the stairs. Sarah shouted after her from the bottom of the steps. The man frowned at Tony.

     Tony kicked at him. "Stop calling me that. Do I look like that asshole?"

     Tony scrambled to his feet and made to run, but his ankle was grabbed and his body smacked against the ground. Tony shouted curses at the man as he was hoisted onto his muscular shoulder. He felt the same sort of helplessness when Howard scared him shitless. Tony struggled as hard as he could against the man to no avail. Then he was suddenly dropped to the ground with a heavy grunt. Tony grabbed Steve's outstretched hand and let himself be pulled up. Natasha scowled at Clint's hand holding her back. That was when Tony realized Natasha made the man let him go.

     Tony puffed his chest. "I have my own bodyguards, asshole. So think twice about touching me. Now as I said, I'm leaving tomorrow. Go be unemployed somewhere else."

     The man only groaned in response. The woman walked back into the house without Tony's bags. Her eyes flicked to the man kneeling on the ground and she sighed. She held out her phone impatiently. "Your father would like to speak with you."

     "He can call me himself, lady. He bought my phone."

     Natasha pressed the phone to his ear. "Just listen so she can get out of here."

     Tony grabbed the phone and let out an exasperated, "What?" Tony tapped his foot as he listened. "You wouldn't dare." Bruce looked at Bucky with worry. Thor shook a box halfheartedly. Tony began to pace as he bit his lip. "But that's crazy. You're freaking crazy. You can't just- But that's not-" Tony flinched like Howard had hit him through the phone. Natasha stepped forward to help but he held up a shaking hand. "Okay, okay. I'll go with them. Shut the hell up," he growled.

     Tony chucked the phone against the wall, anger burning in his veins before he began trembling. Tony looked into Natasha's eyes when she knelt in front of him. "What happened?" she whispered.

     Tony leaned on her warm shoulder. "He just wants me to come home. That's all. He misses me."

     Natasha gripped his hand. "Stop lying. Tony," she looked away before forcing herself to meet his eyes, "I know what goes on in that house. You're not safe. I could-"

     "He said if I don't come home he'll test out his new missile here," Tony cut in. Natasha furrowed her brow and Tony shivered. "It's probably illegal and whatever, but I don't want any of you getting hurt."

     Natasha hugged him tightly. "I can still do something. What can I do?"

     "You can forget. I'll probably be dead before break is over." Tony smiled sadly. "I told you Tony Stark couldn't have friends." Tony pulled himself up on shaking legs. He didn't look any of them in the eye. "Thank you, Mrs. Rogers, for letting me stay. And I'm sorry about the commotion on Christmas morning. Goodbye."

     Sarah pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, you poor thing. You make sure you come back during spring break, yeah?"

     Tony kept his gaze on his shoes. "I'll try," he whispered. Sarah pressed a kiss to his forehead before letting him go to the door. Tony backed away when Bucky stood. "Sorry about your arm. Again. Thanks for letting me crash your winter break. I have to say it was better than I imagined it would be. Hope you all have a good holiday."

     "Tony, wait. Will you, uh, sit with us at lunch?" Steve asked.

     Tony bristled before shrinking under the SI employee's hand. "No," he replied softly. "The truce will be over by then so I don't want to bother-"

     "You're not bothering anyone, man. Tony, we want you there," Clint added.

     Tony felt his eyes well with tears. Natasha smacked the woman's hand away and spoke into his ear. "I'm coming to get you by New Year's. You better be ready. Can you wait that long?"

     Tony would have given his life to know the answer to why she was trying so hard. It was just another thing to add to the growing list of things he didn't understand. Tony shook his head. "I don't know, Natasha. I don't think you can do anything at this point."

     "You're my investigation." Her eyes softened. "But you're also my friend. Of course, I'm going to help. You'll be okay, Tony."

     "Mr. Stark, we need to go."

     Natasha glared at the woman and Clint pulled her back softly. Thor waved without the usual energy and Bruce smiled painfully. Bucky and Steve were watching him go with equally sad expressions and Sarah had retreated to the kitchen where he could hear her sniffling. Tony stuffed his hands into his jacket as he shuffled out of the door. "Bye," he mumbled.

     The door slammed behind him.

     Tony's shoes crunched the snow on his way to the small black car in the driveway. The woman kept her hand on the small of his back to guide him into the back. Tony shoved her away because he wasn't going to suddenly start running through the snow to get away from them. The woman shut the door then walked around to the front. Tony leaned away from the man beside him. He kept him in his peripheral in case he was about to be grabbed. Tony's turned in his seat to watch the Roger's residence fade into the background.

     He hoped Bucky liked the new arm.