Natasha curled up against Tony's side in the backseat of the limo, the back of her head resting against his shoulder.
Every moment of the night had been exhilarating, from the atmosphere, to the glorious dinner that practically melted in her mouth as soon as the food had touched her tastebuds, to the swirl of her dress as they moved around the room, greeting their guests and talking and laughing in genuine delight.
The dj kept up a lively beat and she'd spent a good amount of the time dancing with Tony and her friends and now she was pleasantly exhausted and happy to be riding home with the night's events buzzing in her mind.
"How'd you manage to get the pictures to change color so seamlessly with the disco lights?" She idly wondered out loud.
He raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
She smiled, siddling up to him and he draped an arm around her torso, holding her close.
"Did you like it?"
"Very impressive," she said with a nod.
"I thought it'd be romantic as hell," he said.
"It was," she told him, tilting her head to look at him. "All of it."
"So I think I might be closer to figuring out how to get you home. I just need to be a little more confident that we can get you there safely," he said softly.
She leaned back against him, tracing abstract patterns on the sleeve of his jacket with her fingers. "How did we start dating?" she asked, not reacting to his statement.
"It wasn't exactly easy to get you to agree to go out with me. I had to ask several times. But I'm sure we both know how persistent I can be."
"Mmmm," she agreed. "You asked me to dinner once."
"Let me guess. You turned me down?"
"Yes," she said as if she was embarrassed to admit it now.
"Why?"
"I don't know. You'd just broken up with Pepper and it seemed like it would be a rebound type thing. And well, let's face it. You're you. You know, with women." She shrugged. "It just seemed like more drama than I was willing to deal with at the time. Plus, it would've been kind of weird, being on the same team and all. Not much privacy with everyone else around. Or with you constantly being in the spotlight. That's not exactly conducive to the life of a secret agent. And you can be quite…. difficult sometimes."
"That… seems like a lot of excuses just to say no."
She looked down at her fingers moving over the fabric covering his arm without saying anything.
"Alright," he said, bringing his other hand onto her bare shoulder in a move that almost made her shiver. "I know we're not together in your reality, but is there anyone special in your life?"
She was quiet for a moment. "Well, Bruce and I were kind of…."
"Bruce?" He asked, his voice taking on an odd tone.
"Kind of. But it ended practically before it started."
"I see," he said. It might have been her imagination, but she thought she felt his body stiffen.
"And you're with Pepper. At least I think you are. It's a little hard to tell sometimes. You break up a lot, but somehow you always end up getting back together."
"Hmmm," he said, his fingers lightly brushing against her shoulder. "Why do we break up?"
"My opinion? She doesn't understand you. She might be the person who knows you the most, but she doesn't understand you. Not on the level you need her to," she told him softly.
He nodded, his shoulders slowly starting to relax again. "Pepper and I dated for awhile here too. But we broke up shortly after the Avengers thing started, and we never really got back together."
"Why'd you break up?" Natasha asked, turning her torso slightly to face him, her eyes wide with genuine curiosity.
"She was kind of… jealous. Of the time I spent developing tech for S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers. And she thought I wanted to have sex with you."
"Why would she think that?"
"Because I wanted to have sex with you."
"Oh," she said, for lack of something better to say.
"It's just as well. Worked out pretty okay for me," he said, nudging her playfully.
She leaned back against him, her head falling against his shoulder.
"Comfortable?" He murmured softly, his hand moving from her shoulder to her hair and gently smoothing it back.
"Mmmhmm."
He adjusted his position, reclining into the seat and wrapping his other arm around her.
"Where did we go on our first date?" She asked after a moment.
She could feel him smile as he leaned his cheek against her temple. "I took you to the same restaurant my dad took my mom on their first date. This little Italian place outside of town. Pretty cheesy, huh?"
"It actually sounds pretty perfect," she said, meeting his gaze.
His eyes were shining with the same tender look and warm smile he'd shown her at the party, and she suddenly remembered something she'd noticed in the back of her mind.
"You're not wearing glasses," she commented quietly.
"I'm not that old. I don't need them yet," he teased.
"Back home you wear them all the time. It's like your favorite accessory. Like the Iron Man armor."
"Maybe that's the difference," he said softly, still holding her gaze.
"That's not the only difference," she nearly whispered.
His expression was soft as he pressed his lips together, thinking it over for a moment. She could see in his eyes how tired he was, no doubt the night had taken its toll on him as well, added to the fact that he'd been constantly at work. His eyes were still glittering, though and the corners of his mouth still managed to tug into a jovial smile.
He looked at ease, content.
"What are the other differences?" He finally asked.
"It's almost as if…" she started to answer, then paused as she bit her lip while she thought about it. "It's almost like….. Tony. Are you happy?"
"Yeah," he answered softly, his fingers still moving gently on her arm. "Yeah, I am. How about you? Are you happy, Tasha?"
"I…. " She looked at him, her brows furrowed. "I don't know."
XXXXX
"Goodnight, my darling. Have some sweet dreams, and with any luck I should have some answers for you in the morning." His smile was soft, his expression tender as he lingered in the doorway to his own bedroom.
"Wait!" She said. "Can you unzip me?"
His lips puckered slightly. "You know, I'd originally intended for you to be saying those words in an entirely different context when I put this whole thing together," he joked with a twinkle in his eye.
Her lips pursed together. "Come on. I need your help. It took another human being to get me in this thing in the first place."
He walked over to her in a smooth stride, easing behind her and gently tugging the zipper at the back of her dress down.
She whirled around to face him with a grin on her face, holding up a gloved hand.
His smile turned to amused as he pulled at the fingers of the long glove.
"Careful. It's like a second skin," she said.
He raised his other hand up, gently grasping her arm right below her shoulder in a feather light touch as his other hand carefully eased the garment down her arm, over her wrist, and off of her hand, his eyes on her face.
She watched as the glove was slowly peeled off of her, her eyes locking on his once he'd tossed it aside, newly bared fingers interlocking with his.
He raised her hand, lowering his head without moving his eyes as he placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand before turning it over and pressing his lips to her palm.
She inhaled deeply as her palm twitched under the soft caress of his facial hair. Then he kissed the inside of her wrist and a warm tingle started to spread up her arm, right before his mouth continued a journey up her forearm, his gaze still steady on hers.
She closed her eyes when his lips touched the bend of her arm, breathed in deep again as he kissed the tender skin above her inner bicep and then he was rounding the curve of her bare shoulder with his mouth.
He paused for a moment, his breath warm on her skin, then he kissed her shoulder when she didn't do anything to protest.
"Tony," she breathed, leaning her head to the side as his lips touched her neck.
Then his hands were on her face and his mouth was pressed against hers and they were kissing passionately.
"Wait," she murmured, while her mouth was kissing him back. "We should… we should stop," she said breathlessly.
"Hmmmm," he groaned in reply.
"Tony, we can't," she protested, this time with her hands against his chest. "You're married."
"To you!" he said, his hands falling to her shoulders as he leaned in again.
He started to kiss her, more gently this time and she let her hands move to the back of his head, let her fingers sift through his thick brown waves.
He opened his mouth against hers and she paused, pushing her hands against his chest again. "I'm sorry, it still feels like cheating," she said softly.
"I don't think it works that way," he said, although he'd put enough distance between them that she could almost concentrate on things other than the feel of his breath and the taste of his tongue.
"How do you know how it works?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowed.
He shrugged. "I don't. But I do know someone who might. I was going to give him a call after the party tonight." His gaze flicked to his watch.
She shook her head. "Why don't you get some rest? It's been a long day for you, too. We can pick up in the morning."
He studied her face silently and apparently decided that she meant it as he conceded. "Alright. Tomorrow, then. Sweet dreams, darling."
She smiled softly, reluctant to let go of his hand as he strode towards the door.
"Hey, Tasha?" He asked, turning around once more in the doorway.
She looked up at him.
"Thank you for tonight. I get that you were kind of put in this position where you played the wifey role. But… thanks."
She swallowed hard, her eyes wide as she could only look at him as he disappeared into the hall.