Hey guys, this is a really short one. It's just kinda an "I was bored and wrote the first thing that popped itself into my head during my homework break." Lol

Anyways, tell me what you think! More Ask her to Dance coming your way by the first of December!

Hugs and kisses,

Winter!

Proud of Me

They lay there comfortably on the patio couch looking out over New York. They were high up enough to see the stars without the city lights interfering with them. She sat there, leaning back against the pillow, her legs tangled with Tony's long lanky ones. She ran her slender hands through his dark soft hair; his eyes were closed for the first time in 48 hours, his head resting in her lap. She stared up at the stars. It was moments like this she cherished, the few moments they could steal when it was just them, when they could be completely and utterly helpless, unguarded, hiding away from the world, safe in each other.

The soft blue glow of his arch reactor pulsed almost in rhythm with his breath. The light was dulled by the cotton of his back muscle shirt. She could feel the heat of his exposed skin, warm against the bare skin of her legs. She had made the wrong choice by coming out here in only shorts and a hoodie. He nuzzled his cheek against her thigh, his facial hair tickling her skin.

"Altaluna." His voice was barely a murmur.

She responded by grazing her long manicured nails over his scalp gently; it was a move she knew he adored in the bedroom and that calmed and relaxed him after a hard day. She could have never have known that one year after starting at Stark Industries she would be taking over from Pepper Potts, in more than one way: as Tony's assistant and as his lover. She had grown much attached to the handsome billionaire, and not just to his good looks or his money or even for the fact that he was Iron Man. Once you got past the hard outer exterior he was a sweet man...when he wanted to be. The way they teased each other was done more in terms of endearment and foreplay.

"You know, I never got a chance to say good-bye to dad. There were things I would've asked him. Like what he thought of the company and what the company did."

"Tony..." she whispered, stroking his hair. His insomnia had made him a workaholic and caused him to not be himself sometimes. She had grown to love the few hours before he drifted off to sleep. He would tell her stories, ramble on even if they didn't make sense, until his eyes closed. He was completely unguarded; he practically poured his heart out. It was never when she expected it. The first time it wasn't even spoken, not really, and the photos didn't count. Tony liked the riddles and sappy lines from old romance movies. In all honesty, she had expected an outright "I love you," after the first time they had fallen into bed together, that fateful night after Pepper's wedding. But Tony had just kissed her neck and fallen asleep around her. It seemed that she wasn't the only one with commitment and abandonment issues. He had said it once or twice, usually after mind blowing sex or after a brush with death that ended in a victory chant of "I love you don't ever do that to me again I thought I lost you I love you I fucking love you." She didn't mind though; she knew their feelings for each other ran deeper then flimsy words.

"I would have asked him if he was proud of me."

"Of course he was proud of you, Tony. How couldn't he be?" She touched his cheek with cold finger tips.

Tony reached up, taking her hand and pressing his lips to her knuckles, opening his eyes to look at the striking blonde above him who smiled down on him lovingly. "Because he never showed it. I would bring home an A+ and he would tell me I could do better. He spent all his time in the shop, ignoring mom and me. At 15 I was accepted into MIT and not even a hug or a congratulations, just a nod. He almost seemed happy to be getting rid of me."

"Don't think like that. He loved you and he loved your mom."

"He sure had a funny way of showing it. Then at 19, when I graduated top of my class, he got drunker then a fish, all as a show for the press. I grew up a very privileged child and I would have traded that for a simple "I'm proud of you, son" from my old man. It was the only fucking thing I wanted in my life for that bastard to be proud of me."

At this point she would have leaned down to steal a kiss and make him feel better by giving him his favorite workout but something told her tonight wasn't going to be so easy. She just listened bushing his hair back from his forehead and watching it fall back into place.

He reached up and wrapped one of her curls around his finger. "You're so different from everyone else, even from Pepper."

She just smiled and blushed. Closing her sapphire eyes, turning her head away.

"I'm not just saying it to get you into my bed. I'm saying it because it's true. You seem to know everything I want, everything I need before I even say it." She felt his hand fall away from her hair and him nuzzle her thigh again, his voice growing faint. "You're my everything. If I can't make my father proud, I don't know how I can possible," He let out a yawn, " How I can possible make you..." His voice trailed off.

He had talked himself out and drifted off to sleep. Smiling to herself, she carefully maneuvered to lie next to him and pulled the blanket on the back of the couch over top of them both. Tucking herself around him, she brought his head to rest on her breasts. "Tony, I'm already proud of you," she whispered against his hair. He smelled like car oil and expensive cologne, a smell she had grown to love on him. "I'll always be proud of you." She hadn't expected a response from him in his sleepy state but she felt his lips twitch against her skin. She knew he had heard her.