“Can we skip this?” Tony whines from the bathroom. The door was firmly closed, and Kendis rolled her eyes because Tony had been complaining since she had handed him the clothing bag and shoved him in the loo.

“No,” Kendis said as she adjusted the hood of her dress and then frowned. She would have preferred to wear pants or even an elf costume, but Tony only agreed to this if she wore the damn dress.

The costume comprised of a gorgeous crimson velvet coat that was trimmed with white faux fur. The coat parted, revealing a light red dress with gold details.

It was stunning but hot, heavy, and uncomfortable. But Tony and her had made a deal.

She sighed, turned away from the mirror, and stomped out of her closet to the bathroom.

“Anthony Edward Stark, if you don’t come out of that bloody loo right this second, I’m going to drag your arse out of it!

There was a moment of silence, and then she heard a put-upon sigh as he yanked the door open.

Tony stood there resplendent in his matching crimson velvet suit. The man looked like a more lavish version of Father Christmas with the red velvet and white faux fur coat, his black belt cinching his waist.

He didn’t quite look complete without Father Christmas’ big belly. Kendis would have to deal with it. One condition of getting Tony to agree to this was that he didn’t have to wear the fat suit.

It was cold for Los Angeles, fifty-three degrees, but not cold enough to warrant wearing the weight of the heavy fat suit.

Tony’s shiny black leather boots, with gold buckles and red hat, made him a sight to behold.

“You look wonderful, darling,” Kendis said with a grin, kissing him on the cheek.

“I look ridiculous,” Tony replied, fidgeting with the end of his coat.

“You look adorable,” Kendis counters, but then Tony looked Kendis up and down, and his brown eyes grew hot and dark with desire.

“Don’t even think about it.” Kendis stepped back, putting some distance between them. “Do you know how long it took me to get into this getup?”

“I am wondering how long it would take to tear you out of it,” Tony replied, with a slow, sexy smile that always made her shiver with arousal.

“Later,” Kendis told him. “Besides, we can’t be late. Hortense, Isiah, Jason, Ian, and Richie are waiting for us at the center.“

Tony blinked. “I still can’t believe you found an elf costume for Jason. The man is a behemoth.”

“I’ve got connections in high places,” Kendis teases, but in truth Ian thought the whole lark of them dressing as elves was hilarious and had secretly given Kendis his measurements. And she had his costume custom-made.

Doing a gift exchange at the LGBT center was an annual thing for their group of friends. The holidays were tough for most people in the community since a lot of parents disowned or kicked their kids out for being queer or trans.

Volunteering at the center every year made her experience of her own complicated feelings about the holiday season more bearable; besides, she loved giving back to the community.

This was the first year Tony would join them, and the center made an enormous deal out of it, so Kendis went all out. 

“Earth to Kendis,” Tony called out, snapped her out of her thoughts. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah,” Kendis nodded, but then she narrowed her eyes.

“What?” 

“You forgot something,” Kendis said, then went to the closet, grabbed something, and rushed back. 

“Oh, no, not the beard!” Tony whined. ‘Did this grown-ass man just stomp his foot like a toddler?’ Her husband was so ridiculous sometimes. 

“What is Father Christmas without a beard?”

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned, but in the end, he allowed them to put it on. Kendis grinned as they adjusted the long, white curly beard.

“Come on, Mx. Clause.” Tony sighed as he offered her his arm. She linked arms with him, and they went from the bedroom to the elevator and down to Tony’s workshop.

They took their time to say hello to the bots, but then she froze as she spotted a big shiny red sleigh. It reminded her immediately of someone’s idea of a futuristic snowmobile. Sleek and aerodynamic with gold snowflakes painted on the side, and a gold leather interior.

“Tony, tell me you didn’t—“

“Build a repulsor-powered sleigh?” Tony cackled as he rubbed his hands together. “You bet your sweet ass I did!”

Kendis looked at the ceiling and asked whatever benevolent celestial energy would listen for help. She jumped as Tony slapped her ass.

“Let’s go deliver some toys to all the good queer and trans folks.”

Kendis sighed but accepted Tony’s help to climb into the sleigh since her dress was so long. Tony then ran to get in on the driver’s side.

Kendis noticed that the dashboard was full of toggles and switches. It had a state-of-the-art HUD, which showed a map of Los Angeles.

“Ready to go, Jarvis?” 

“Affirmative, sir!” Jarvis curtly replied.

“Please tell me you know how to fly this thing?” Kendis thought, thinking she should have brought her Nimbus 2800.

“No worries, babe.” Tony patted the dashboard. “I have been flying for years. I got my license and everything! Besides, if I can pilot a suit of weaponized armor, this sleigh is no problem.”

And Kendis gasped as the sleigh was suddenly hovering in the air. She clutched the dashboard as the sleigh zoomed across the lab and out of the workshop’s hangar.

“Ho, ho, ho!” Tony shouted, and Kendis shot her husband an exasperated look. But she couldn’t stay annoyed with Tony for long, and eventually her mouth split into a wide, delighted smile as they flew through the night.

“Happy Christmas, darling.”

Tony kissed the knuckles of her hands, “Buon Natale, amore mio!”