Affirmation of Life
An Avengers fanfic by Aisling Yinyr Ngaio
Pairing: Anthony x Virginia
No regrets... he thought as he traded frantic kisses with his lover the moment they were in the privacy of their floor. They were both desperate in their passion, as if afraid that they might not get another chance to do this if they waited any longer.
Near death experiences always had ways to re-script a man's priorities. And the truly dangerous nature of a superhero's job had only now dawned on the couple. No matter how advanced the Iron Man was, there was always something stronger, more dangerous, more threatening.
Every day could be their last. So, no regrets...
As they undressed each other with undue haste and a clumsiness at odds with the man's reputation, flashes of the alternate dimension's chilling pressure filled him. The disbelief at things defying their sciences, at the actual dangers just waiting to take them out, but most of all, at the sorrow and disappointment her failed call engendered. The regret that they had not taken the ultimate step in sharing, because he had wanted to prove she mattered more to him than all the others.
For her, it was the horror of live televised battles, of finding the missed call on her cellphone fifteen minutes later, and realising he would never have risked calling her during the heat of battle unless... unless... And then two whole hours of not knowing whether he lived or died, because (as she found out later) his Bluetooth unit had been ripped out in his teammates' haste to assert his survival, and JARVIS had been unable to connect to the faceplate of Mark VII.
There would be time for sweet and gentle later, he promised silently and apologetically as he drove himself hard and fast inside her. She was already wet with pent up desire, and responded with wild abandon, kissing and touching as they gave themselves to one another, needing the reassurance of life in the face of death. The feeling had been thinly repressed throughout the hours apart in the aftermath of battle, during his short shawarma break with his new teammates, to sending off the Asgardians, and installing his new friend in the company laboratories, as well as a growing irritation on her side towards Washington's diplomats and politicians all wanting the latest on the news from New York, which she had been ill-qualified to provide for all that she was his girlfriend. Only the few emotional phone calls, beginning with when he picked up a new Bluetooth unit from the penthouse, and was informed by a very relieved JARVIS about her multiple missed calls, were able to sustain their burning need to be physically close to one another, counting the minutes until they were finally reunited once again, slightly bruised and battered, but on the whole, safe and sound.
"I'm sorry," he murmured later, as they softened after the hard climax of their hasty lovemaking. "I was too rough..." But she silenced him with a kiss, whispering, "Don't be. I wanted... needed that too." He exhaled, thankful and loved, and dove back into their kiss and her warm embrace.
And for the first time when he awoke with a woman in his arms, he stayed in the safe cocoon of their small world, relishing the feel of her hand covering his glowing arc reactor, content to let time pass them by.
- Finis -