Masquerade!
Hide your face, so the world will never find you!
On Monday, Jenna pulled up to the Malibu house in her blue 1967 Camaro SS 10 minutes before the time Tony had instructed her to arrive. She pulled the keys out of the ignition and looked at herself in the mirror. Her shoulder length blonde hair was straightened today and she had pulled some of it back into a clip, trying to look a little professional. She'd done some light makeup but nothing too extreme, a little eye shadow, some blush, eyeliner, mascara, lipstick. She had picked out a nice short black evening dress, something might wear on a fancy date, which is what she figured lunch with Tony Stark might be like.
She slipped out of the car and locked the door before walking up to the front door of the house which opened on it's own.
"Sir, your afternoon appointment has arrived." A voice rung out through the house, making Jenna jump a bit.
"I know, I saw her through the window." Tony descended the steps to the main floor and turned to face his guest. He was sporting a grey suit with a white undershirt and a black tie. He had his hands stuffed in his pockets and was putting most of his weight on one leg. He scanned her once and slid on some shades "Not bad, Miss… whatever your real name is."
Jenna sighed and clasped her hands in front of her "Alright, I showed up, can we just go to lunch?"
He nodded and turned towards the stairs that led down to his shop/garage. "This way."
Once they were both settled in his Acura NSX Roadster (A.K.A. Stark 33) he turned on the radio and took off into the street. They were both silent as Tony drove them through the streets with, a hair recklessly, to a fancy Greek restaurant in town. He got out of the car and walked around to open her door for her. She raised an eyebrow but allowed him to do so.
"What? You think cause I'm rich, famous, and brilliant I can't be a gentlemen?"
Jenna stepped out of the car and shrugged "You just never struck me as that type."
He offered her his arm and she took it hesitantly "Well you assumed wrong."
Tony took her inside and walked up to the hostess "Stark, reservation for two."
The young woman smiled and grabbed two menu's leading the way back to a small table next to one of the window's. Tony released Jenna's arm and allowed her to seat herself "You know." He turned to the hostess "We could make it a reservation for three if you wanted to join us."
The brunette blushed and shook her head "Your waiter will be with you shortly." She left in a hurry.
Tony shrugged and sat down across from Jenna who had already buried her face in the menu. She just needed to get this over with. They sat there for a few minutes, hiding behind menus and avoiding conversation before the waiter showed up.
"Hello, Mr. Stark, it's good to see you again, What may I get for you today?"
Tony looked up at the other man and smiled "Hey Fredrick, good to see you. If you could start us off with a little champagne, two for me, one for her, that would be great."
"Anything for our best customer," Fredrick nodded hurried off to the kitchen.
Jenna quickly returned to the menu after he left.
"You know the chicken penne is pretty good." Tony called from behind his menu. "But I think I'm going to get the shrimp scampi. What about you?"
Jenna glanced over the menu again "I think I'll just get the lasagna."
"Bad after taste, trust me, not the route you want to go." He sighed closing his menu
"Then I'll try the chicken panini"
"Much better choice." He nodded.
The waiter reappeared with three glasses of champagne and placed them on the table.
"Do you know what you would like to eat today?" He asked them, clasping his hands in front of him.
"Shrimp scampi for me, chicken penini for her." Tony nodded, smiling at the young waiter who returned the smile
"Alright, I'll take your menus and we'll have your food to you soon."
Jenna was reluctant to let go of her menu but knew she would look stupid if she tried to keep it so she handed it to him and instantly busied herself drinking her champagne and watching the world out of the window.
"First question." Tony started, "Name. What is your real name?"
Jenna sighed "Winters, Jenna Winters."
"Are you really an FBI agent?" He asked, taking a sip of his drink.
Jenna looked at him and frowned, "No."
"Then What do you do?" He pressed, leaning across the table.
"It's top secret." Jenna shrugged.
Tony scoffed and rolled his eyes "Yeah right."
Jenna rolled her eyes "I'm not going to tell you, Mr. Stark."
They held each other's gaze for a moment and finally Tony conceded.
"Miss Winters, I can't stop thinking about you." He admitted with a sigh "You don't… make sense to me. Who are you? What do you do? Why were you there that night? Why are you here now? Who is the woman who I almost killed?"
Jenna released a sigh and set down her glass "I'm sorry but… I cant tell you. You can't know this, because what I do… what I do changes people's lives forever. It's best if you don't know."
"Why do you get to decide that?" He folded his arms and leaned back in his chair,
"Because I do." Jenna laughed, annoyed.
"I need to know how you could tell… " He said quietly. "How you knew I was… all those things you said, about me not being invincible or whatever, I know that. I do, you're right. I realized that during-" He paused and took a few deep breaths. "When- The missile-"
Jenna watched him, brow knit with concern as he began to blink rapidly and his chest began to heave.
"Mr. Stark…" Jenna reached across the table to take his hand, something was wrong.
Tony jumped at her touch and quickly stood, He looked around frantically and stumbled towards the exit. Jenna followed him, trying to figure out exactly what was going on. When she walked outside, she found Tony leaning heavily against his car, slowly sinking to the ground. She walked over and knelt down in front of the shaking man.
"Mr. Stark…"
He pinched his eyes closed and clenched his fists.
"Tony." She tried "Tony it's alright, you're safe here. I promise you're alright."
He didn't stop shaking but he also didn't run, that meant something right?
She took his hand nervously "Tony my job, my job is to protect people. All kinds of people, I'll protect you, Tony. I will."
After a while of her whispering soothing things and rubbing the back of his hand, Tony began to calm down. His breathing slowed to a normal rate and the shaking stopped. He squeezed her hand weakly and opened his eyes, looking at her with gratitude. She held his gaze and continued rubbing his hand, the way one would comfort a friend or child in need. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to calm herself now too and that's when something unexpected happened.
She felt something soft and warm against her lips and her heart jumped. She sat there for a moment in shock. He was kissing her. Unconsciously she began to kiss him back but once she really realized what was going on she pulled away.
She looked away from him and stood, straightening her dress. "I should really go."
Tony nodded and cleared his throat "Yeah. I'll take you back to your car…"
They climbed into the car and drove back to the house in silence, as soon as they arrived Jenna walked to her car, got in and left without a word.