*sheepish grin* Hi! I hope there's anyone still interested in this fic. So, enjoy?

Also, totally late but I still want to thank you very much for all the reviews, favorites and follows. It means alot to me you liked this little idea.

OoOoO

Chapter II: Four Months Later.

Tony tossed his phone to the other side of the couch with a curse before getting to his feet and walking to stand before the large window panes overlooking the city. He made a face at the cloudy and gloomy Gotham that greeted him. There was definitely something very wrong with this place.

He really, really couldn't wait to find the perfect place so the construction of the Stark Tower Gotham Edition could start. And not because he planned to spend a lot of time here-because hell no, he wasn't. This city depressed the hell out of him-but because no having JARVIS around was absolute and total hell. Especially now that Pepper stayed behind too.

Just when he was starting to ponder the idea of calling to annoy Rodney for a bit, there was a faint knock at the door of his hotel suite.

Tony arched an eyebrow as he looked down at the very expensive and very shiny watch on his wrist. He was right on time. Like, only seconds later. It made him wonder if the other man had been standing outside, just waiting for the clock to tick six o'clock to knock. It was entirely possible. He gave a once-over to his reflection in the window before walking toward the door.

The dark-haired man at the other side of the door looked like any businessman going on about his day. Deep hazel eyes concealed behind a pair of rimless eyeglasses, hair perfectly coiffed, suit and tie, shiny shoes, and a dark briefcase in a hand.

In spite of seeing men in suits all the damn time, the sight still did something to Tony's already crazy livid.

"Hey. So, what's with the disguise, pumpkin?" Tony asked, stepping aside to let him in.

"Mr Stark," The other man greeted with a nod, the corner of his lips curled up. "Discretion," He replied once the door was closed. "The staff of this hotel is well known for its confidentiality, but it doesn't hurt to be cautious."

"Ooo-kay. I don't really care about discretion or whatever the gossip columns have to say about me, but I'm sure Pepper would appreciate it."

There was no reply to that comment as the man took off his glasses, shoving them into his pocket. Riiight. He wasn't being paid to be curious. Tony really needed to get used to that. Though really, he couldn't help but wonder if the no asking questions thing was some kind of psychological crap because even without any kind of prompting or sight of interest, he felt the impulse to expand on his answer. And he had never been particularly good at ignoring any impulse.

"Pepper Potts. She's my personal assistant. Cleans up after any mess I've made and gets to scold me for it too as a bonus."

Head tilted to the side. "Pepper doesn't sound like a very common name."

"That's because it's not a name."

"You have a thing for nicknames, huh?" One of the man's hands was on his neck, skillfully loosening his tie. The jacket was already on the couch.

"Huh. I guess I do."

Tony shook his head before he walked further, taking the two glasses of wine on the center table and turning back to handle him one of them. "Here. This is for you."

Long, pale fingers brushed against his own as the taller man reached for the glass with a murmured 'thank you,' before bringing the cup to his lips to take a sip.

"Mmm. You favor French wine, I see."

"Not really. I'm an all opportunity kind of man. As long as it does its work, I'm willing to try pretty much anything."

With a nod to the other man to follow him, Tony moved toward the couch. Just as he reached for his previously discarded cell phone, he saw him sitting down on the couch with a suspiciously empty glass in his hand out the corner of his eye. He blinked before looking at the innocent decorative plant placed in the center of the table.

"You're aware of the fact you just wasted a glass of the perfectly good Montrachet I offered you by tossing it into that potted plant, right?"

He obviously wasn't used to being caught. His whole body went rigid in a second, and just as fast loosened up again. There was no sign of panic or fear, but there was an almost endearing submissive air on his demeanor that was kind of hot, even if Tony wasn't sure he liked it.

"I apologize, Mr Stark. I-"

Tony lifted a hand to halt him. "Hey, relax, sugar. I don't want an apology. But I would like to know why you did that atrocity."

Hazel eyes shifted away for a second. "I like to keep full control over my senses at all times. Any among of alcohol in my system makes that difficult."

That much was true, Tony could tell. And it made perfect sense, really, that he would want to keep some degree of control over the situation pretty much the only way he could. After all, he agreed to have encounters with strange people in enclosed spaces on a regular basis. People he knew nothing or very little about. Once you got past the agreement to do it, there was very little to control from there.

It also made him wonder if he had done the same thing on their first encounter and he just hadn't noticed. Probably.

"Okay. But, like, you could have just declined my very nice offer, you know."

A pause. "In this profession, you learn most people don't take kindly to being denied. Not even a simple drink."

And that, too, made perfect sense. The power plays were always very common, even more so with rich people. It could go in a lot of ways, and didn't even have to be physical. In fact, more often than not, it was subtle; psychological, and even nonverbal. Tony didn't really want to think about the other kind of bullshit people in his 'profession' may have to put up with.

"I promise I would make it up to you."

"I like the sound of that," Tony flirted right back. "But I'm wounded, sweet cheeks. I thought you already knew I'm a beautiful and unique little snowflake and all that jazz."

A wry twitch of lips. "I can see that."

"Good. So, can I offer you something else? And please do remember you already poured my delicious scotch over there so be nice."

A fingertip touched the lip of the empty glass. "Water would be fine, Mr Stark."

"Great! I haven't checked the minibar in this place, but it's supposed to be well stocked so I'm sure there should be water somewhere," Tony said with a wave at said minibar's direction. "Also, please cut that 'Mr Stark' crap."

The dark-haired man stood up in one fluid motion, the muscular legs he still remembered hidden beneath the tailored pants that clung to his thighs.

Tony watched him go, enjoying the particular swing of hips that meant the other man knew he was being watched and was putting on a bit of a show just for him. He drained the liquid in his glass in one go and placed it on the table.

With a crystal bottle of water in a hand-surely imported from somewhere nice and far away, filled with water from some natural and remote springs-the man returned, his footsteps nearly silent on the floor. He took a sip of the water bottle, before putting the cap back and placing it on the table.

A nod at his empty glass on the table. "You want some more?"

"When do I not, honey?"

At his words, the other man reached for the bottle and poured some more wine into his glass, turning to handle it to him with a small curl of his lips.

Tony drowned the liquid in a few seconds and handed him the glass back, "Come here."

With the glass safety back on the table he complied, straddling him on the couch. Tony didn't waste time, closing the short distance between them to bring their lips together. The billionaire let his hands wander as his lips moved, tracing his back and slowly slipping lower. He got carried away under the comfortable weight of the other man's arms around his neck, his deft fingers playing with his hair as his tongue brushed and flickered against his own.

They broke the kiss a moment later; after it had turned lazy and slow, instead of hard and demanding as it had started. The man's mouth trailed down slowly, nuzzling and kissing his jaw and neck.

"Ah," Tony arched his neck back further, a hand coming up to work on the buttons of his shirt. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Mmm," Tony felt the other man's warm breath ghosting over his skin, making him shiver. "I must admit I was surprised when I was told you were back in Gotham."

"Really? You shouldn't sell yourself short, kitten."

"That's not what I mean," Gleaming hazel eyes met his own briefly before he leaned forward, warm breath ghosting against Tony's neck. "But you did not seem particularly fond of Gotham from what I recall of our conversation."

"No, I wasn't. And I'm still not. I hate this fucking hellhole. It's dark and dirty and fucked up. But hating something or somewhere has never stopped me from seeing it again," Tony flashed him a flirty smile before kissing the corner of his lips. "Especially when I find a little gem among the filth."

A snort. "I know Gotham isn't for everyone." Tony's shirt was pulled open. A fingertip traced the edge of the arc reactor in his chest making him pause.

Still, Tony would have replied. In fact, he was about to do just that when the dark-haired man chose that moment to slip his hand into his pants, palming him through his underwear, and Tony decided that the discussion of just how fucked up this city was could wait a few minutes.

Okay, make that a couple of hours.

OoOoO

a/n: I have no idea what I'm doing with this, but I think that's pretty clear considering it took me literally years to post the second chapter. *sigh* Anyway, due to how hard it is already for me to try to keep up with the multi-chapter stories I have, I decided not to make this one too. I have a few very general ideas for one-shots in this universe I may or may not add, but even if I do, I can't promise how soon they will be posted. So, double sorry, I guess. *hides away*

And this just goes to show the crazy way my mind works. Perhaps a week after I posted this chapter, my brain started working like crazy with this universe, and I actually have a very general plot line for this fic. Just like that. So, I can announce now this story will have around ten chapters, and will be update a lot faster this time around. I hope you're still interested!