Malibu, California
A sleek sports car slowly pulled up in front of Tony Stark's lavish mansion.
Kagura Hitomi glanced at the luxurious white villa and turned off the holographic projection device in her hand.
"Ah, the last time I was here was to encourage Tony Stark not to spiral into depression after Ivan Vanko beat him down…"
Come to think of it, every time I come here, it's because Tony Stark is in some kind of emotional crisis.
Last time, it was because of Ivan Vanko.
This time, it's his anxiety after the Chitauri invasion.
Ugh, this man is really high maintenance!
Honestly, I have no idea how Pepper has put up with him for so long…
After closing the car door, the vehicle's automatic navigation system activated again.
Cortana took control and parked it in the designated spot.
Clicking her elegant high heels against the pavement, Kagura took a few steps forward and glanced toward the entrance—only to be greeted by two massive rabbit plushies towering over her.
One was yellow and white, with a tag that read:
"Merry Christmas, dear Miss Pepper Potts! This is your Christmas gift!"
The other was pink and white, with a tag that read:
"Merry Christmas, my adorable Hitomi! This is for you!"
What the fxxk…
Kagura stared at the nearly three-meter-tall rabbit plushie, overwhelmed with mixed emotions.
Tony, I appreciate the gesture, but could you not get me a plushie the size of a small building?
How am I supposed to take this home…?
And more importantly—
WHY DOES THIS LOOK MORE LIKE A DONKEY THAN A RABBIT?!
As expected, stepping into the mansion's living room, she was immediately greeted by a sleek, red-and-gold Iron Man suit.
Ah, this familiar feeling!
"Hello, Mr. Stark."
Kagura adjusted her skirt slightly before giving a graceful curtsy.
"Are you playing around with your suits even at home?"
"That's right."
The Iron Man suit nodded.
"Everyone needs a hobby, don't they?"
"Even hobbies should come with breaks, Mr. Stark. I hear you haven't been sleeping much lately."
Kagura clasped her hands behind her back, smiling as she walked closer.
She playfully knocked on the suit's helmet.
"Let me guess, this is the Mark 42?"
"Wow… right on the mark! No wonder it's you. Pepper thought I was at Mark 20 or something."
The suit lifted its arm, revealing the designation MK42 stamped on the armor.
So accurate!
Is this also within the convergence of worldlines?!
Kagura mused to herself.
This world was truly fascinating.
Even though, thanks to her intervention, Tony Stark hadn't carried a nuke through the wormhole or faced death so closely, he still ended up mass-producing Iron Man suits.
And honestly, that made sense.
A massive alien mothership, an overwhelming fleet, an endless army of extraterrestrial soldiers…
Whether or not he had flown through a wormhole, the sheer scale of the Battle of New York had already left a deep imprint on Tony Stark's psyche, giving him every reason to continue developing his suits.
So in the end, he still fell into his cycle of anxiety.
But!
'I refuse to take the blame for this!'
Kagura thought indignantly.
If you Avengers hadn't been arguing so much, maybe the Chitauri invasion could've been avoided! This mess is on you guys!
"So… Mr. Stark, are you planning to have Christmas dinner in that tin can?"
Kagura teased, tilting her head.
"Come on, get out of there already."
'Knock, knock, knock!'
Tony Stark rapped on his helmet. "Ah… oh! There's a little problem. It won't open."
"Heh heh heh…"
Kagura grinned mischievously, activating her White Moon combat suit's wrist module.
"Looks like you need a little help?"
Shing!—a vibranium dagger flicked out from her wrist storage compartment.
"Here, don't worry! I'll pry it open for you!"
"Cough, cough! W-Wait a second!"
Tony Stark panicked, flailing his hands.
"I was joking! Don't break my suit, lovely 'Flashblade'! I'm in the kitchen, preparing dinner."
With that, the Mark 42 made a "please proceed" gesture, leading Kagura to the dining room.
———————————————————————
"Hey, Hitomi!"
Inside, Pepper Potts was setting up the Christmas dinner table and decorations, while Tony Stark, insisting on it himself, was in the kitchen.
"…How long has he been in there?"
"About three hours?"
Great… Looks like tonight's dinner is going to be culinary horror.
Kagura sighed, having absolutely zero faith in Tony Stark's cooking skills.
Wait, no, this won't do!
Food is the foundation of life! I'm finally getting the chance to have a warm Christmas dinner with my family—there's no way I'm letting Tony Stark ruin it!
If the food ends up being inedible and we have to bail for Burger King, that'd be way too embarrassing!
"Mr. Stark!"
Kagura steeled herself and marched into the kitchen.
"I was thinking maybe we could have some chinese cuisi—cough, cough! What the heck are you doing?!"
The moment she opened the door, she was met with a thick cloud of black smoke and an overwhelmingly acrid stench.
"Oh, now's not a great time to come in, Hitomi. Bit of a minor mishap here."
Tony Stark, standing nearly a meter away from the stove, had a damp towel covering his nose and mouth.
He was awkwardly stirring some kind of… black, viscous thing in a pot with a ladle.
'…Bruh, is this even edible?!'
Kagura sighed and reached over to turn on the kitchen's exhaust fan.
"Mr. Stark, when you cook, you're supposed to use the ventilation system…"
"Oh, right, I forgot about that."
Tony Stark let out an awkward laugh. "That explains why it was getting all smoky in here."
Sigh…
Kagura put her hands on her hips. "Mr. Stark, do you want to have a delicious chinese meal?"
"chinese food? Good idea! Let me check the recipe, maybe I can whip up some Pizza or something—"
"Ahem, Mr. Stark."
Kagura interrupted him with a smile. "How about I do the cooking instead?"
"…What?"
"It's Christmas, after all. Let me handle dinner."
"You need to take a break—you haven't been sleeping properly lately. Who knows, you might even burn the food without realizing it."
"…You know what? That's actually a great idea."
Tony Stark glanced at the charred contents of his pot and hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Alright, I'll leave it to you, Hitomi."
"No problem."
Kagura chuckled. "Get ready for a delicious Hitomi Special!"