Beautiful Mistake

by lalala777

They are attracted to each other, but Natasha thinks love is a lie. Tony believes otherwise. Forget the wrongness. If they weren't supposed to fall in love, then it was the most beautiful mistake he's ever made. Tony/Natasha One-shot.

Author's Note: This started out as a challenge to myself: picking two people from my new favorite movie and making them work. Of course, then I became obsessed. If you like this pairing, let me know so I can write more about it or write something yourself! It's so unlikely, and their personalities clash like crazy, but they are adorable.

Disclaimer: Psh. I wish I owned the Avengers. Then I could invite Chris Evans, RDJ, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, and Chris Hemsworth over for lunch. And Scarlett and I could just gawk at them. And maybe drool a little too.

Summary: They are attracted to each other, but Natasha thinks love is a lie. Tony believes otherwise. Forget the wrongness. If they weren't supposed to fall in love, then it was the most beautiful mistake he's ever made. Tony/Natasha One-shot.

Beautiful Mistake

Dedicated to Miss Ashley Stevens, with whom I had the conversation that inspired this madness.

They weren't supposed to fall in love.

But they did.

AAA

It was one of those bad days at work, that was for sure.

Director Fury had sent out three of his Avengers - The Black Widow, Captain America, and the Hulk - to solve a small problem with some killer robots in Spain. Turns out, the problem wasn't small at all. Quite large, actually.

They attempted to call in the rest of the team, but communications were lost. As Steve was hopeless with technology, and Bruce wasn't much help when he was 'the other guy', it was Natasha's job to contact SHIELD.

Diving headfirst into the nearest building, shielding her face from the incoming flood of glass, she grabbed an iPhone from the nearest terrified onlooker and dialed a very familiar number. 'Oh, please don't let him be in the middle of certain activities that will scar me for life,' she prayed.

"Tony Stark speaking."

Natasha sighed in reluctant relief. "Tony. Gather the team and come and help-!" She cut off with a scream.

The phone clattered to the floor, and she had to ignore Tony's worried call of 'Natasha!'. She dropped to the ground in order to sweep her leg underneath the robot's feet, knocking him to the floor. She flipped her hair out of her face, only glancing once toward the shattered phone before loading up her gun and walking back into the fray.

Meanwhile, Tony was on the line with Barton and Thor, planning to fly straight to Spain. Thank God he was already in France for a business meeting.

He had gotten Natasha's call in the middle of an important international meeting, taking it as he ignored the dirty looks he got for interrupting 'vital business'. As soon as the line went dead, Tony was out of his chair and halfway into his suit, getting Jarvis to put in calls to his other teammates.

After breaking a few windows, Tony was on course for La Coruna, Spain. While he was in the air, he repeatedly attempted to call Natasha and Steve. It was killing him not to know what had caused the line to go dead; he (had) to know whether or not the Black Widow was okay.

"Jarvis, find me some news reports on the current situation in La Coruna," he demanded.

Jarvis, as if the AI had been waiting for him to ask that, immediately pulled up a few pictures and the twitter page of a witness. "I'm afraid the state of affairs isn't improving too much, Sir."

"I swear, if she's- if they're hurt, those robots are going to get the worst beating of their lives," Tony growled. Jarvis strategically overlooked his owner's slip. "Any information on who's causing this?"

"A French scientist, Sir, but Director Fury already has men in the building from which these robots are being controlled. I believe Hawkeye is on his way there now."

Tony nodded. "So we're helping the rest."

"That is correct, Mr. Stark."

Tony saw an unnatural flash of lightning on the horizon. "Thor," he realized. "But he's coming from Oklahoma... How did he beat me here?"

"Well, Mr. Stark, he is a god," Jarvis replied.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Rhetorical, Jarvis!"

The billionaire was rather upset when he reached the battle, finding out there was hardy a battle left to fight despite what Jarvis had told him. The Captain, Thor, and Bruce were all on one side of town, and Tony landed next to them.

Steve glanced toward him. "We're trying to think of where we last saw Natasha," the super soldier informed him, and then studied Tony, trying to gage his reaction.

Tony had long ago realized that, out of all the people that had seen them together over the years, only Steve had realized that Natasha Romanoff and Tony Stark were attracted to each other. And that they were completely aware of the other's attraction. Not that they would ever act on it.

Tony's eyes widened. "What?" He asked. "Did something happen to her?"

Steve gave him a sympathetic look. "We don't know; we don't have any connection with her right now. Her earpiece must have died."

Tony was already getting ready to take off. "No," he replied simply. "Something is wrong." And then he was gone.

Bruce, who was now back to his normal state, looked baffled. "What was that about? It was almost like-"

"Tony Stark caring for someone other than himself?" Steve finished for him, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah," he added absentmindedly, staring after Ironman. "It was."

Meanwhile, Tony was instructing Jarvis to look for heat signatures. A few seconds later, the AI began apologizing. "I'm sorry sir, but there are too many people underground and in the buildings to find Agent Romanoff."

Tony cursed. "Is there anything you can get a read on? Anything at all?" He asked desperately. Suddenly, something in his head clicked. Fury installed locating chips in all his agents, and Tony knew before becoming a part of the Avengers team, Natasha had been an agent. "Search SHIELD databases. Find me a lock on Black Widow's chip."

"Yes sir."

Nearly a minute later, he had it. Jarvis wasn't the most advanced computer system in the world for nothing. A map appeared in the corner of the screen in front of him, with his current location and a blinking red dot only two blocks away.

Tony smiled in relief, then took off in that direction. Soon, Natasha would be okay, and they could all go back to New York. Maybe get a drink. Tony looked at his map; his dot was nearly on top of Natasha's dot. He looked ahead, and his heart dropped.

The building was on fire.

He immediately rocketed toward it, only to find Natasha practically engulfed in flames, a fiery wooden beam about to collapse on top of her.

Her wide, crazed eyes found him quickly. She reached for him, her whole body shaking and her hair plastered to her face. The fire was eating away at her uniform and the CEO of Stark Industries knew it was only seconds before the material burned away completely. Tony shuddered at the thought of it searing her perfect skin.

"TONY!" She screamed, and as soon as he heard it, he knew he never wanted to hear that sound ever again. He was galvanized by her voice, and within a moment, she was in his arms and they were in the air.

Her body writhed in his grasp as it tried hopelessly to put out the fire. "Tony," she whimpered. "Help."

"Jarvis, find me the nearest water source," he demanded, but his voice was strained as he looked down at the suffering woman in his arms.

"The Atlantic Ocean is approximately one mile west, sir." Jarvis paused. "And if I may, Mr. Stark, now is a good time to put personal feelings aside."

It was times like these that made Tony believed Jarvis was more than just a computer. The billionaire squeezed his eyes shut tightly to rein in his anger and worry. Then, clutching Natasha's -dare he think of it as a -body closer to him to keep control of her twitching, he flew west.

The ride seems to take days rather than seconds. Tony dove head first into the waves, watching in relief as the flames seemed to melt off the assassin's body. He broke through the surface and took her to the beach, ignoring the comical looks he was getting from the surrounding population. He didn't take into account that her body was no longer moving. He popped open his helmet, reaching in excitement toward her face.

"Tasha?" He questioned. "Tasha, you are safe; you can wake up now." He touched her cheek, but her head only unnaturally rolled to face the other direction. His heart fell to his feet, and he dropped to his knees beside her. He was easily able to ignore the fact that the absence of her uniform revealed more skin than he had ever seen on her before. Her eyes weren't opening, and Tony couldn't seem to care if he never saw that skin again, if only he could see those beautiful green eyes.

"Natasha?" he asked again, softer, and using her full first name for what he believed was the first time. She did not stir, and Tony felt fear for the first time in a long time. "No," he began, moving his head numbly from side to side. "No, no, NO!" He shouted.

Suddenly, he seemed to realize there were people gathering around him, and someone shouted, "Look it's Ironman!" Tony didn't want to face fans right now, so he gathered up Natasha's body and zoomed off.

"Jarvis," Tony's voice broke. "Take me- take us to the chateau in France. Please. I -I can't..."

"Of course, sir," Jarvis replied softly, and the screen in front of him shut off. Then he was able to lose what little composure he had left.

AAA

They reached the chateau before nightfall. Jarvis immediately had two robot arms out to hold Natasha so Tony could remove his suit.

He did so, then staunchly picked up the redhead, carrying her over to the couch to lay her down. He sat down next to her. He couldn't feel anything.

Days seemed to pass; he simply stared at her. He couldn't even get drunk. When he was able to force his body to move, he peeled off the remains of her suit. Every time a piece of skin was revealed, he didn't feel lecherous, he just felt sick. By the time he had dressed her in an oversized t-shirt and some boxer shorts, he felt really sick. No, like really, really, actually-

He made a run for the balcony. He retched and sobbed for hours, and by the time there was nothing left, he couldn't even bear going inside to face her.

He remembered the first time he saw her; Happy and he were boxing, and she walked in wearing that white blouse and those black pants, obscuring her shape. He was definitely attracted to her. Then, when she wore that tight cheetah-print dress to his birthday party, it was suddenly more than simple attraction.

There were no words to describe the betrayed feeling in his chest when he saw her in the SHIELD uniform, and yet he felt like he had always known that no one that beautiful and smart would be working as a PA. He was strangely depressed after Whiplash was killed, and she seemed to drop off the face of the earth. He missed their short, witty conversations and seeing her controlled smile every day. He missed being proven wrong by the only person he felt could do it.

He knew it was more than attraction, though perhaps not love, when he saw her sitting in the pilot's seat in Stuttgart. She even allowed him to kiss her on the cheek, ignoring the looks they got from Loki and Steve. Maybe that was when the super soldier had figured it out.

However, he knew he loved Natasha Romanoff in the final battle, when Steve and her had stayed on the ground, and all he wanted was to be in the Captain's position. It wouldn't have made any sense for the fight, but they would've been together.

He felt subdued for the rest of the battle, positive that she wanted nothing but a casual friendship with him. It might have even been why he had sacrificed himself to save Manhattan, which was a selfless act that 'normal him' would not have been able to do. However, when Clint casually told him later that she had ignored the rest of the team's, including Fury's, demands to close the portal, he knew she felt something. Natasha lived for orders, especially from Fury. She never broke the rules, but she had waited for him, clinging onto the hope that he would make it back.

They weren't supposed to fall in love, but they did. And if it was a mistake, then it was the most beautiful mistake he had ever made.

Then, a miracle happened.

"Tony?"

The billionaire's head whipped around so quickly that he felt dizzy. "Tasha?" He exclaimed, in utter disbelief. "You're alive!"

A very much alive Natasha Romanoff rolled her eyes at him. Then she looked herself up and down. "No shit, Sherlock."

Tony couldn't even bring himself to make a dirty joke, or any sort of joke, really. He stumbled forward, but all the sudden, she was no longer in front of him, but at his side. "God, are you drunk, Stark?" She asked, her brow furrowed. She grabbed his upper arm.

Tony was indignant. "Uh, no, I'm not," he sputtered. "What? You almost died! You should not be guiding me around!" He snatched his arm away.

The assassin shook her head. "I almost die everyday, genius. Did you even think to check my pulse? I'm fine; it's you I'm worried about."

Tony's mind did not even register the insult. A smile began to creep onto his face. "You're worried about me?" He repeated innocently.

"We're a team, Stark. Of course I care about you," Natasha reworded diplomatically.

"Oh, now you care about me," Tony observed. "What's next, Tasha? Are you going to tell me you love me, Agent Romanoff?"

Natasha glared at him, but Tony could tell she was uncomfortable. "Of course not. I don't do love." She walked in the direction of the kitchen. "I'm going to go get a water."

Tony wouldn't let her. He grabbed her arm, and pulled her back to the couch. "What do you mean, you don't do love? That's impossible. If you fall in love, you can't help it."

Natasha sighed, looking at him as if he were a petulant, naive child. "So says the playboy. Stark, I am both unbreakable and unfixable. Don't try to 'put my heart back together' or do some other romantic bull. It doesn't work on me."

Tony shook his head. "Nope, not happening, Natasha. I have thought you dead for the past twenty-four hours, and I can tell you right now that I love you. And you love me. You can't base your ability to feel off of Barton, because he's almost as bad as you about feelings."

"And what about Pepper? What about your feelings for her?" Natasha countered, smiled smugly as though she knew she won the battle.

Tony lowered his voice, looking straight into Natasha's eyes. "Pepper can't make me feel how you make me feel," he breathed, closing his eyes. He slowly began to run his fingertips up her arm. Natasha's eyes fluttered closed in response. "I haven't cried since I was nine. I scraped my knee, and I went to my father and asked for a bandage. He shook his head and turned me away, saying real men don't cry."

" I just cried, for (hours), for you, because I thought you were dead. Hell, sex hasn't even crossed my mind in the past day," he said emphatically. His hand reached her fiery hair, and except for that hand, neither of them dared to move.

The hand moved to cup her face, and suddenly Natasha realized that Anthony Stark, womanizer and number one bachelor in the world, was asking for her permission. Touched by this, she opened her eyes and gazed at his face. She was surprised to find how utterly in love he looked. She carefully reached up a hand to touch his cheek.

At her caress, Tony's eyes shot open, darker than she had ever seen them. Then, suddenly, she was on her back and Tony was over her, and his lips were hers.

They kissed for what felt like forever, and when they broke apart for air, Tony moved down to kiss her neck. "Thinking about sex?" Natasha teased, breathing hard, weaving her fingers into his chocolate brown locks.

Tony replied with a grunt. He raised himself up on both elbows, peering down at her. She raised an eyebrow. Tony smiled. "Oh, thank god you're not Pepper," he said breathlessly, before diving down to kiss her again.

Suddenly, Natasha pushed him off her. He looked up angrily from the floor. "Hey! What was that for?"

"Tony," she asked hesitantly, "what do you think this is?"

The playboy smirked. "Well, I was thinking after finishing what we obviously started, we could go back to New York, maybe go on a few dates, with quite a few repeat performances of tonight, obviously..." he trailed off.

She stared down at him for a few minutes with an unreadable expression on her face.

Tony immediately knew that something was wrong, though he wasn't sure what it was. "Are you worried this is a one-time thing, Tasha? I wouldn't do that to you. I just told you I'm in love with you, for God's sake. I don't say that to everybody, you know that, right? Tasha?"

"I can't do this," she whispered.

"What?" Tony asked, as though he couldn't comprehend that statement.

"I can't do this!" she repeated, only louder.

His eyes widened in worry, and his mind began to spin quickly, looking for the right way to reply. The way that would keep this woman here. "Tasha," Tony pleaded desperately, uncharacteristically. "Please, we could make this work!"

Natasha rolled her eyes, but deep inside her somewhere, she felt a pain. She had never heard Tony Stark sound like that. "No, we couldn't. Tony, you don't understand. I don't believe in love, or anything for that matter. Love is just a cliché gimmick used to make people do stupid things." She looked away from him. "Things we should be smart enough not to do."

Snarky Tony returned. "Like what? Risk our lives to save each other? I think we've already done that - quite a few times, I might add."

Natasha got up and began pacing, running a hand through her tousled red hair. "But, we're part of a team! I would do the same for Clint, or Steve," she exclaimed, searching for logic and reason.

Tony snorted. "I sure as hell wouldn't save Rodgers. You're much more attractive. Makes you more fun to protect."

Natasha lost it at 'protect', slamming her fist into the wall. "Dammit! Can't you see? I don't need protection from you, Tony Stark! I can handle myself." Her voice softened, and she leaned on her fist as if for support, her head resting against the cold stone. "Besides, I have too much red in my ledger."

Suddenly, Natasha was spun around, Tony's arms trapping her against the wall. "Bullshit," he spat. "You can't play me the way you did Loki. And Barton, for that matter."

Natasha looked up at him, and Tony could see all her masks in place. "And why's that?"

Tony smirked. "Because I can read women."

Natasha raised an eyebrow. "You know, you used to tell me that I was the only woman you couldn't get a read on."

"I might not know everything," Tony admitted, "but I do know you better than you know yourself."

Natasha squirmed; this topic was not her favorite. "You know, I could easily escape this," she said, gesturing toward his arms. Her eyes flickered to his lips.

His smirk only grew. "Oh, trust me, my dear. I know."

Bending down, he expertly captured her full lips in a kiss.

AAA

Natasha woke to the bright rose-colored light of the rising sun. Holding a sheet to her chest, she looked over at the sleeping Ironman beside her. His hand was still on her stomach, and she reluctantly let her mouth curl into a smile.

She slipped out of the huge bed, padding over to the walk in closet and frowning at the huge selection of women's clothing. "It's like he plans for these things," she murmured, getting ready to sift through the jeans in order to find a pair her size. After all, her suit had been damaged beyond repair in the battle, and she couldn't keep wearing boxers and an over-sized t-shirt. To her surprise, all the clothing was her size.

"Correction. He definitely plans for these things," she whispered, but this time there was a grin on her face. She slipped on the jeans, and then pulled a black tank top off its hanger.

She got dressed quickly, wanting to be out of the house and hopefully in New York by the time Tony woke up. The rest of the Avengers team would be waiting for them there, and maybe she could find a way to tighten up her emotional status before Tony showed up. She had a feeling if she talked to him now, she would consent to almost anything he asked of her.

She was almost out the door when she turned back to see a peaceful Tony Stark: not something you could view everyday. Against her better judgment, she snuck quietly back to the bed.

She leaned over and kissed him on the corner of his mouth. "I love you too, Anthony Stark," she whispered. She smiled softly, and then left the room, confident she would never let herself say those words again.

Lost in thought, she made herself a piece of toast. She ate it quietly at the large dining table, when two arms suddenly wrapped around her and a face buried itself in her neck. "Morning, Tasha," the billionaire murmured, kissing her neck softly. "What are you doing up?"

Natasha stiffened, and her eyes went wide. In what world did Tony wake up this early?

"No reason," she replied vaguely.

But, however tired Tony was, he was not an idiot. He scooted between her and the table, pushing her chair back. "No, there's always a reason." He stared in shock at the already regretful look on her face. "You were leaving, weren't you?" He accused.

Natasha didn't even attempt to lie. "Listen, Tony, it's for the best..."

Tony felt the overwhelming anger swell up inside him. "Best? Whose best? Your best? I wasn't asleep in there, Black Widow. I told Jarvis to wake me up early, because no matter how much I wanted to trust you, there was this lingering doubt in me. This little voice telling me that you would try to desert me! Well, guess what? You don't get to leave." He was shouting at the top of his lungs now. "I'm going to show you how love works if it kills me; Tasha, I will fight for you! Whatever it takes, you will believe in love by the time I'm finished."

"Will you stay with me?" He asked finally.

Natasha tried hard to keep her lips straight, when all she wanted to do was smile. She never liked being protected, but this... this was different. "And when will you be finished?" She questioned, evading the inquiry.

There was a pause in the conversation as they both watched Tony's suit build up around him. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he answered evenly.

Natasha nodded, then awkwardly rose up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. And as gawky as it was, and as little as it compared to the passion of last night, they both smiled softly. "I will try, Tony, but I cannot promise anything," she warned.

He smirked as his helmet clicked on. "You don't need to. I've already made enough promises for the both of us." He paused. "We should be getting back to New York. Your skin has a few burns that you should probably get treated."

Natasha sighed, but glanced at her arms and nodded. "So," she began, looking around. "Do you have a plane for me?"

Tony brushed her off. "But planes are so boring, Tasha!"

The assassin gazed at him, confused, until realization dawned in her eyes and she began slowly to walk away. "No, Tony," she advised warningly. "Don't you dare-"

She was cut off as he propelled himself forward, lifting her up and setting off in the direction of New York. Exasperated, Natasha tucked a piece of red hair behind her ear. "This is going to be a long flight; do you realize we have to cross an entire ocean?"

"No," Tony retorted. "I had no idea."

Natasha was determined to be silent, but Tony broke her after a few hours. Soon, they were exchanging everything from life stories to favorite colors to their favorite team members. Neither of them wanted to admit it, but it almost felt as if they were in a normal relationship.

Well, except for the fact that they were a thousand feet above sea level. And the fact Tony was wearing a metal suit. And the fact Natasha was able to kill a man with a toothbrush in thirty different ways.

But it felt normal. And both Natasha and Tony were surprised they liked it.

AAA

"You ready?"

They stood right outside the top room in Stark Tower, and they could see the other four Avengers, Pepper, and Jane arguing -no doubt about them- on the inside. They hadn't been spotted yet.

Natasha hadn't said a word since they landed, and Tony was worried that she was about to turn her back on him. Not that he would allow it; he just really didn't feel like convincing her it was the right thing to do... again.

She took a deep breath, as Tony had seen her do sometimes in meetings when the atmosphere was getting too tense. He smiled; the Black Widow was determined. Tony finally had her.

Tony followed her as she strode toward the doorway. He thought they were in the clear when she suddenly stopped short. Tony was confused until she stretched out a hand behind her. He reached out and put his hand in hers.

It was time to face the music.

AAA

Hope you enjoyed. Don't forget to review ;)

And let me know if any would like to see a follow-up. I might do one!

~lala~