Dear Lord, this took so long!
I am so sorry, but I am translating this so it takes double the time...
TRIGGER ALARM! So Toni and Natasha will talk briefly about rape in this chapter. I'm not sure it is enough for a trigger alarm, but I rather let you decide for yourselves and cover the bases. It's just talk, nothing graphic will happen.
Also, because I am translating and it took me so long I am posting this without being beta-read. So get ready for many prepositions in the wrong place and who knows what else. I hope that most of it is not too bad and that you can understand it. As soon as it's beta-ed I'll repost it.
Now, without further ado... Bruce Wayne, people!
Chapter 3
Toni opened her eyes slowly and noticed it was still night. The room was dark, which was so not a problem since that way she could admire Bruce's silhouette against the window.
Bruce was staying in of those ridiculously expensive hotels of New York –penthouse, of course. The room had glass windows from the ground to the ceiling and the city view was gorgeous. In this exact moment Bruce was staring out the window, eyes on the Stark Tower. Totally naked.
Yummy.
She stayed where she was, lying down and watching Bruce, letting her eyes take his back. His body was full of scars and Toni had kissed every single one of them when they entered the room, just before she pushed him against the wall and dropped to her knees.
They never talked about this aspect of their lives. They both knew about each other –OK, the whole world knew about her and Toni had hacked his security system and kind of found out about the whole Batman thing –but they tried not to get involved. They had agreed to not interfere, unless the other actually asked for help. Toni had Bruce's number saved and almost called him a couple of times, but in the end she never actually did it.
Some things shouldn't get mixed.
"I'm feeling a bit objectified by the way you're staring at me." Bruce drawled, without turning from the window.
"Darling, it's not my fault you're a piece of prime steak." Toni quipped stretching.
Bruce laughed and made a gesture for her to come closer. Toni stretched once again, before getting up from the bed with no clothes at all.
Some women had the weird habit of covering themselves post-coitus –Pepper was one of them. Toni had none of these problems, because if her body was good enough for a roll in the hay, it sure as hell was good enough to go around naked.
Bruce pulled her close and pushed her against the glass. "You cut your hair." He observed, touching her bangs.
Toni rolled her eyes. "A while ago, Sherlock."
Actually her hair had caught on fire when she was fighting the crazy lady on Tennessee and decided to blow the restaurant. Toni had liked the longer hair, but she would not deny that the new style –shoulder length –was pretty nice.
"You still look beautiful." He said touching her chin.
"Okay, now you're worrying me." Toni said seriously. "You're way too sweet."
Bruce laughed, but it was humorless. "Everything that happened last year… No. Actually, everything that happened in those last years got me thinking. I'm not 'super' like some of the others. I'm –painfully –human. One of these days I'll find someone that will hit way harder than I can take." He sighed. "I already found this someone. He's locked up in a cell, but I know it won't hold him forever. I should have killed that…"
Toni's hands cradled his face, but she didn't say a thing. It was not like Bruce to talk about killing people. He was better than that.
"You know what I'm talking about." He said after a second. "You must feel the same."
"I haven't slept much since New York." She admitted. "What happened at Christmas didn't help at all, but I'm very thankful that Killian isn't around anymore."
"Did he hurt you?" Bruce asked seriously, running his finger over Toni's face.
"He did worse: he hurt Pepper."
Bruce smirked a bit. "How is Miss Potts?" He wondered. "Still the light of your life?"
"She'll always be the light of my life, one way or another." Toni shrugged. "Unfortunately it didn't work out."
"Just like us." Bruce put it out there. "I never wanted to love someone was much as I wanted to love you."
Toni scoffed. "Well, I'm glad you didn't. We'd never work out. Our kids would be born traumatized."
"But they'd be gorgeous." Bruce teased dropping a kiss to her shoulder.
"They'd try to take over the world." Toni's smirk was full of arrogance. "And they'd succeed."
Bruce laughed again and gave Toni a long toe-curling kiss. One of those that had no pretension or lies in it, no hurry, and Toni knew –with a sudden clarity –that this would be the last time they would be together like this.
"Feeling a bit envious of my baby, Wayne?" She teased when they stopped kissing, her head indicating the Stark Tower.
Bruce arched a brow. "Have you seen my place?"
"Have you seen mine?" She countered. "And my housemates?"
"Of that I'm not even one bit envious." He rolled his eyes. "I don't even know how you put up with it."
"Me neither." She sighed resigned. "It's just that my heart is way too good."
Bruce Wayne actually started guffawing at that and Toni slapped him on the arm. "Hey! That's a bit much!"
"Right. Sorry, but I wasn't expecting that." Bruce cleared his throat, his laughter stopping. "But I can pretend I believe in it."
"Oh dear… OK, I let them live with me for the amount of eye candy it offers me." She ruffed. "Is that better?"
"Way better." Bruce conceded, some chuckles still coming out of his mouth "Talking about eye candy..." His hand slid down her back.
"I thought you'd want to talk the whole night." Toni groaned dramatically.
Bruce kissed Toni once again, now with a very obvious purpose. His hand skittered to her ass, where he grabbed her and pulled her up, pressing the woman's body against the glass window.
With only the lights from the Big Apple on them, Antonella had Bruce Wayne completely to herself. One last time.
XxX
Many people use the term "walk of shame" after a one night stand, that tense moment when you have to walk around in bright day light with last night clothes.
Toni Stark had never walked the walk of shame, because there was nothing to be ashamed of. Sex was not a bad thing, and no wannabe moralist would convince her otherwise. So, crossing the lobby of a five stars hotel, wearing Bruce's white shirt and a pair of boxers and carrying her dress on her arm? Nothing wrong with that.
Don't want to see it? Look the other way, bitches.
"Good morning, Alfred." She smiled at Bruce's super butler, who was waiting for her by the car, right in front of the hotel.
"Miss Stark." He smiled at her, holding the door open.
Santa –seriously, the only thing missing for him to be Santa Claus was the beard –left Toni right in front of Stark Tower. She said goodbye and asked him to take good care of Bruce.
She decided to go up to the communal floor, because when Cora –that minx –wasn't flirting with Bruce –which was all the time, he was the only that didn't realize it –she made coffee and left some easy to eat stuff around –for Bruce.
But Karma was a nasty bitch and of course it wasn't Cora or Bruce that were in the room. It was Steve.
And it could be seven o'clock, the morning after a party, but Steve was perfectly dressed in his grandpa clothes, whit his stupid hair combed. Jerk.
If he wasn't so hot Toni might hate him
But he seemed pretty shocked to see her. "Toni. What are you doing here?"
"As far as I remember, I live here." She replied, throwing her dress carelessly on a chair and kicking her shoes off.
"I know." Steve assured her quickly, a bit embarrassed. "But Pepper seemed pretty sure that you'd run off with Wayne."
"Nope." She popped the "p". "I'm here." She looked around distractedly. "Where's Cora?"
"I was under the impression that today was her off day." Steve replied carefully.
"Shit. It is." Toni huffed. "What are you doing here?"
"Natasha called me yesterday, a little bit after you left the party." He informed. "She's moving in with Clint today. They should be here any minute now."
"Finally." Toni chimed. "I can barely wait to have the whole team in the house."
Steve looked very surprised by this piece of information. "Why?" He wanted to know.
"Why not?" She threw back. "Holy fuck! I need coffee!" Toni fumed. "Do you have any idea where is the stuff in this kitchen?"
"You don't?"
"Of course I don't." She said as if it was obvious. "Do I look like someone that spends time in the kitchen?"
Steve laughed and decided to make coffee for her –apparently Cora had taught him how to handle the coffeemaker. When Natasha and Clint finally arrived they were talking about the party from the night before, with Toni sitting on the counter and Steve by her.
"Greetings, Agent Romanoff!" She greeted cheerily. "And Legolas!"
Clint arched a brow. "Why is she the only one here that gets respect?"
"Because she's the one that scares me." Toni rolled her eyes.
Clint snickered, but his eyes seemed to be studying Toni carefully. "You have this look about you… You looked well fucked." He declared, making Steve choke on his coffee.
"Wow, you really are a super spy, hm?" Toni drawled sarcastically. "I was well fucked, thank you very much."
This time when Steve choked on his coffee, Natasha had to thump him on the back.
"By whom?" Clint asked curious.
"Bruce Wayne." Toni sighed.
Natasha turned immediately to the billionaire and narrowed her eyes. "What? Since when did you resume your relationship with Wayne?"
"I'm not sure 'resume' is the appropriate word here… We've been on and off for a while." Toni shrugged.
Natasha looked very shocked. "What do you mean 'a while'? As far as S.H.I.E.L.D. knew you only dated once, years ago."
"Well, then I'm not sorry to inform you that you guys know shit." She declared, looking excessively pleased by the notion. "I only dated him once, but we had many other 'meetings' through the years, the most recent one being last night."
Natasha arched a brow. "Even after Afghanistan?"
"Even after Pepper." Toni informed, without really understanding what the deal with Natasha was.
"You do know that he wears a cape and horns, right?" Clint chimed in.
"Yeah, he doesn't have my stylish sense of heroism, but that man looks edible on a suit." Toni shrugged.
"So why don't you two really date?" Steve asked, though he seemed to regret it right after.
"Because we don't work as a couple." Toni replied as if it was obvious. "Apart from the fact that we both have huge egos, I hate Gotham, he hates California and we both are completely fucked up and one would drive the other crazy. Bruce has a shitload of baggage related to his family and the things he's done. I'm not even going to mention my family problems, 'cause they're quite obvious. We get married, we'd be doing therapy for the rest of our lives.
Natasha seemed to be thinking pretty hard about something. "I had no idea you still went out with men."
"Why wouldn't I?" Toni asked, legitimately surprised. "I love men. They tend to understand the concept of casual sex a whole lot easier than most women."
Clint started laughing. "And here was I thinking you were abusing poor Banner."
"Of course I'm not!" Tony exclaimed affronted. "Bruce will be –very soon –being abused by Cora and I don't want things to be awkward."
Clint was getting purple from laughing.
"You're trying to match make Bruce with your P.A.?" Natasha asked.
"To be quite honest, she's interested on him on her own. She even flirts with him and stuff." Toni shrugged. "I'm just trying to convince Bruce to grow a pair and do something about it. Have you seen that woman? She looks like one of those super serious librarians that use sexy lingerie under her clothes. I love when she bends to pick up stuff."
Clint fell to the ground, trying to breathe through his laughter.
"Toni… There's only one thing missing on you for you to be a real pig of a man, because that head of yours…" Natasha rolled her eyes.
"You're talking about a dick, right? 'Cause I can't think of anything else in a man that's essential."
Steve just hoped that eventually Clint would stop laughing and go back to breathing.
XxX
Toni wasn't really surprised when, hours later, Natasha came to find her on her lab. The redhead had spent a good time observing Toni like she was a mystery and it was quite obvious she had something on her kind. Toni just wasn't sure of what could possibly be.
She seemed a bit bothered by the whole Bruce Wayne story, though Toni didn't understand why. Did S.H.I.E.L.D. have any problem with the Justice League? Not that she couldn't understand it, because that name of theirs was ridiculous.
"Can I speak with you?" Natasha asked without preambles or pleasantries. "Can I make you a very personal question?"
Natasha was the kind of person that could you play like a freaking fiddle and you wouldn't even notice until you were in the middle of the symphony –look at Loki- but when she wanted to be direct she could do it, without on ounce of hesitance. But the fact that she chose that particular tact showed Toni this was serious to her.
"Sure." Toni shrugged, dropping the screw driver back on its box, before grabbing pliers. "What's up?"
"Were you raped in Afghanistan?"
The pliers fell from Toni's hand. "No." She answered curtly.
"Toni…"
"Fuck!" Toni thundered. "Pepper doesn't believe me either."
"Look into my eyes and say it and I'll believe it." Natasha ordered.
Toni stood completely still for one minute, then took a deep breath before turning to Natasha again. "No, Natasha." She said looking inside the other woman's eyes. "I wasn't raped on Afghanistan."
"But..." Natasha prodded gently, because she knew there was more.
"They threatened me with it many times." Toni's voice was full of hurt in a way that Natasha had never heard before. "Raza –their leader –used to tell me the only reason it hadn't happened yet was because he needed me to build the missile, and that we women broke easily and I would be useless if I was just an empty carcass." Her voice was filling with disgust. "But after it was done or if I failed…"
Toni sighed and sat on the floor, her eyes fixed on the wall. "Of all the things that have happened to me, Natasha, nothing –and I swear to you, nothing –ever scared me as much as this promise. The idea…" Her voice broke.
When the silence became too much, Natasha cleared her throat. "All this time, I read you wrong." Natasha spoke softly. "I was absolutely sure something had happened. You came back and created two NGO's to help women that suffered any kind of violence, refused therapy to deal with post-traumatic stress and didn't get involved with men…"
"I did!" Toni protested. "You're the ones that don't know anything. It's not my fault!"
"Nobody said it was, Toni." Natasha said way more gently than Toni had ever heard her say anything, so she knew she was talking about something else.
"Did you know that many women don't press charges in cases of rape because they feel somewhat at fault for what happened?" Toni's eyes finally met Natasha's again. "How many of them do you think had to listen that it was their fault, because of their clothes, their attitude or even the way they laughed? They never touched me, Natasha, but the horror of the possibility kept me awake most nights. I can't imagine what it's living with the reality of it. I can't even begin to imagine the strength this women need to carry on when the society puts the blame on them."
"You wanted to help."
"The only way I can." Toni sighed. "Pepper also had her suspicions, but she still doesn't believe me."
"You refused counseling." Natasha pointed out.
"Nothing a shrink could say would help."
"You started drinking a lot more than before."
"Tell me something I don't know." Toni rolled her eyes. "I'm stopping little by little, Natasha. I always drank too much."
They both stayed silent for a bit.
"So..." Natasha started. "Bruce Wayne?"
Toni's chuckle was rough, like she was trying very hard not to cry.
"He's so cute, isn't he?" The billionaire offered with a small smile.
Bruce Wayne was the first of many cameos, there will be some others, but his was the biggest one.
Hope you enjoyed!
Thank you so much for the reviews.
Xoxo