Natasha adjusted her short, dark green cocktail dress one last time before she opened the door to her apartment.
"Hi, Tony," she greeted him with a wide smile.
He paused for a moment, his mouth hanging slightly open for a just a second before he let out a low whistle.
She rolled her eyes with a grin and braced herself.
"You look stunning," He said simply, offering her his arm.
She slipped her arm through his, her skin tingling ever so slightly when he brushed his hand against hers. "Thank you. You look handsome as well," she added, thinking inwardly how the word handsome was a complete understatement.
He walked her down the pathway to the street and fished around in his pocket, pressing a button on a remote starter. "After you," he said, opening the passenger side door to a sleek red luxury car.
She slid in in amazement, looking around as he closed the door after her and walked around to the driver's side to climb in. "Where's your driver?"
He shrugged. "I gave him the night off. It's just you and me today, darling."
She nodded. "So you do get it."
"I hope so," he said, turning to face her before pulling away from the curb. "I tried everything to get it right," he added sincerely.
She grinned. "Well, you're doing great so far. So where are we going?"
He grinned back. "You'll see."
When they pulled up to the restaurant, he hurried around to her side to open her door once more and this time she didn't hesitate to slip her arm through his when he offered it to her. They were immediately surrounded by photographers, who clicked away in bright flashes.
"Sorry," he said with narrowed eyes. "There's not much I can do about that, but I promise you a private table once we get inside."
She shook her head. "It's fine. They can't possibly print anything that's worse than the things that have already been said about me," she assured him. "Just relax."
He let out a slow breath, his mouth forming a genuine smile.
It took no time for the host to seat them at the private table that Tony had promised. Once they were settled with unfolded menus, she gazed around at their surroundings. "Italian. Nice. How did you find out about this place?"
He smiled his signature, wide, open mouthed smile with perfect white teeth showing. "This is where my father took my mother on their first date. I haven't been here since I was a child, but I hear the food's still great, although they have different owners. Please, order anything you like."
Her eyes widened. "Are you serious?"
He nodded.
"Why me?" She asked after a moment.
"Because you're different," he answered without hesitation. "You and me… we're alike in ways the others just wouldn't understand."
She nodded.
"Plus you take me seriously, even when I'm being ridiculous."
She smiled at that.
"I'm really glad you agreed to go out with me tonight, Natasha," he said, reaching across the table to grasp her hands in his.
She shivered slightly at the electricity in his touch. "This is so surreal. This whole royal treatment thing. I've never been the girl who attracts the prince."
He laughed. "I'm no prince. And this isn't a fairytale."
She shook her head. "No. But sometimes it feels like it, doesn't it? With magic, and aliens… "
He looked down at their hands, his had started to shake.
"Tony. Have you done what I suggested?"
He nodded. "I'm getting better about this."
"I know you are. And how about Harley,"she asked to change the subject. " How is he?"
He breathed slowly and pulled his hands away from hers when the waiter brought their food to the table.
"Would you believe he actually likes living with Pepper and Happy?" He rolled his eyes when he mentioned their names and Natasha couldn't help hiding a smile behind her hands. "His mom calls him every night, which I think is more than they've talked in over a year."
She nodded. "You did a good thing."
"With your help. I don't know if I ever properly thanked you for that."
She shook her head and waved him off. "We're teammates, remember? That's what we do."
"Right," he said with a small smile. "I'm a team player now."
"Who would have thought?" She joked.
"Did you save room for desert? I hear their cheesecake is absolutely exquisite."
"Hmmm… I don't know. Maybe we can share," she said in a low voice.
His smile widened. "Alright."
After they'd finished their meal, Tony wrapped a loose arm around her shoulders as he led her outside. "It's gotten cold. Do you want my jacket?"
She grinned playfully. "I'm Russian, remember? It's fine. You can keep your arm around me if you'd like."
"Are you flirting with me, Agent Romanoff?"
"You flirted with me first, Mister Stark," she reminded him, jabbing him lightly in the side with her elbow.
When the valet brought his car around, he kept a hand lingering on the door for a moment. "I don't want to take you home yet. Come over to my place," he said.
Her mouth set in a line. "I'm not going to sleep with you, Tony."
"That's fine. But still, come over. We could just… hang."
She raised an eyebrow. "Hang?"
He nodded. "Yeah, why not?"
She thought for a moment, before answering against her better judgement, "Fine. We could hang. But stop at my place first. I want to change out of this dress."
"Okay then," he obliged.
XXXX
Once they were at his manor, he eagerly led her to the sofa. "I heard you were born in the twenties," he said. "So I obtained some silent films that I thought might interest you."
She giggled, an actual giggle. "You're a freak," she said laughing.
He wiggled his eyebrows. "You have no idea. So is it true?"
"If it helps you with the fact that you're old enough to be my father, then yes it is."
He wrinkled his nose. "But then you'd be old enough to be my… Oh, God."
She shook her head. "I guess you'll have to find out."
He handed her the collection of dvds. "Have you seen any of those?"
"I definitely have not," she informed him, still smiling. She picked one that looked interesting and handed it to him.
"Oooh," he shook his head. "I don't like being handed things. Can you just pop it in the player?"
She rolled her eyes. "I forgot that you have more issues than anyone knows what to do with," she said with a playful wink.
"First I'm old, now I have issues," he said sinking down into the couch beside her. "I think I'd rather be a prince." He turned his attention to the screen. "Figures you'd pick one about a femme fatale." He reached behind him to dim the lights. "There you go. Just like going to the theater, right?"
"Mmm," she agreed. "But you really didn't have to go through all this trouble."
"Nah, it's no trouble at all. Can I offer you a drink?"
She nodded.
"Okay. I'll be right back."
"Where's your butler?"
"I gave the whole house the night off. It really is just us."
She sighed. "Tony…"
"I know, I know. And I already told you, it's fine. I just wanted to spend some more time with you."
"Alright," she said with a soft smile, sinking back into the couch.
He returned a moment later with their drinks. "So how's the movie?"
"Pretty terrible," she said with a grin.
"Perfect," he said, sitting down beside her. "I'd rather watch you anyway."
"Well, you're not going to watch me watch the movie, are you?"
"Why not?"
She shook her head. "Because that's my job. I'm the spy, remember?" She idly tossed her hair over her shoulder, gazing at him through playful eyes.
He smiled at her, leaning closer to her and she let him wrap an arm loosely around the back of the sofa above her shoulders. "You never cease to amaze me, Agent Romanoff. Every little thing you do."
She looked up at him through hooded eyes, slowly backing away from him to study him.
"I am going to kiss you now. If you don't want me to, then you'll need to stop me. In three, " he leaned over. "Two," he placed his palm on her cheek, his fingers lightly brushing her hair. "One."
She closed her eyes as his lips softly touched hers, raising her hands to the back of his head. After a moment she laughed.
"This isn't turning out how I imagined it," he murmured, his lips still on hers.
She slowly pulled back. "No, it's just… I guess I always assumed you'd taste like alcohol, or something. But you don't."
He nodded. "And what exactly do I taste like, sweetheart?"
"I don't know," she said slyly. "I guess you'll have to kiss me again."
With a grin, he leaned over her once more, pressing his lips to hers and tangling his fingers in her hair.
Her hands touched his face as they kissed, after awhile he lowered his face to her neck, reveling in the softness of her skin until she shivered slightly and pulled away. "Hey, your beard tickles," she murmured.
His eyes lit up. "Really now? Where else are you ticklish?" He asked, grinning mischievously as he brushed his fingers playfully across her waist.
"Nowhere," she said, slapping his hand away as she squirmed beneath him.
"Okay, okay, I give up," he murmured, returning his lips to her jaw.
"I don't," she whispered, sliding her hands under his shirt and moving one across his belly, the other tickling his ribs.
With a growl he pinned her to the cushions, taking hold of both her wrists in his, his legs straddling her.
"Wait," she breathed. "This has the potential to go against our no sex policy."
"No, it won't," he promised. "But that doesn't mean we can't make out a little, right?"
She gazed at him skeptically. "And when was the last time you just made out?"
"Hmmm… probably never," he admitted. "How about you?"
She smiled.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I guess there's a first time for everything."
"Right," she agreed, grabbing lightly at the front of his shirt to pull him back down on top of her.
He closed his eyes as their lips met again, running his hands up and down her arms. She sighed softly when he pushed his tongue into her mouth, and he leaned further into her, tilting her head back.
She lowered her mouth to his neck, sucking softly at his sensitive skin. "Mmmm, you don't have to be so gentle," he said. "I'm not fragile."
She bit down hard and he didn't even care if she left a mark as she sucked harder, her tongue teasing at his pulse point.
He moved his hands to her waist, his thumb softly caressing the small sliver of skin between the hem of her shirt and the waistband of her jeans. He was so caught up in the feel of her skin beneath his hands, her mouth on his neck, and her hand sliding up his chest that he didn't even realize that her other hand had been pushing up his shirt until it was too late.
"Mmmm, sorry baby, but the shirt stays on," he murmured, slowly disentangling his body from hers and idly catching the hand that was moving across his chest. "Unless you want me to take yours off," he added suggestively.
"Nice try," she said wryly, her hand still tracing his arc reactor beneath the cloth. "Come on, let me see it."
"And what can I see?" He countered, unconsciously licking his lips.
"Fair's fair," she said, sitting up so she could pull her shirt off over her head.
"Oh, God, that's so not fair," he whined, taking in the sight of her creamy white skin contrasted against the black silk of her bra.
"Now you," she commanded, tugging on his shirt.
He let her pull the garment off, raising his hands in defeat.
For a moment she was spellbound, running her fingers over the edge of it where it met his skin. "This is amazing," she breathed. "I- I read about it, but you're… amazing." She looked up at him. "How deep does it go?"
"Pretty deep," he said with a sigh, grabbing at her fingers to stop.
"And does it hurt?"
He shook his head. "Not as much as the alternative."
"Why are you so self-conscious of it? It's incredible."
"I've never been self-conscious. I think protective is the word you're looking for. Considering what it does and all."
She frowned. "You still don't trust me?"
"Don't be offended, darling. It's just a reflex. And my God, your breasts are magnificent."
"You're changing the subject."
"I'm not. Screw the no sex policy," he growled, reaching out and engulfing both of them in his hands as he pushed her bra up.
"Ahhh," she moaned, giving way to his strong, knowing hands.
"I don't want to do anything you don't want," he murmured, lowering his lips to her neck as his hands continued their work. "So you'll have to tell me how this is going to go."
She moved her hands behind his head, tugging at his hair as she pushed his face down. He reached one hand around her back to unhook her bra and impatiently tugged it off as he lowered his mouth to her breasts. "God, I want you. I've always wanted you."
"Tony, we can't… we agreed," she said breathlessly.
"I know," he whispered, moving his thigh between her legs. "But we can do other things. What do you want?"
"Make me feel good," she whispered back, moving her hands dangerously across his jeans. "And I'll make you feel good."
He closed his hand around her wrist. "Baby, you have no idea how good I'm going to make you feel," he promised. "But ladies first."
With that, he unbuttoned her pants and dragged down the zipper, spreading his hands across her underwear as she shimmied out of her jeans. He was pleased to see that she was already wet as he slipped his hand into her panties. "I'm glad to see this hasn't been entirely one sided," he said huskily as he thrust first one, then another finger into her.
"Mmmm," she moaned loudly as he found her spot. "Right there."
"Right here, baby?" He said, hooking his fingers upwards. "God, you feel so good."
"Tony," she moaned as she felt her orgasm building. "Don't stop."
"Never," he promised with a whisper, dragging his tongue along her earlobe before pressing his mouth down to devour her neck as he pumped his fingers faster and faster.
"Oh God!" she whimpered as she shuddered around him.
"Are you sure you don't want to have sex?" He asked hopefully.
"No," she murmured. "But not tonight. Now come here," she grinned wolfishly as she pressed her mouth to his, then down his throat, scraping her teeth against his skin as she moved her mouth down his chest, his ribs, his stomach, her tongue dipping into his navel for a moment as she unbuttoned his jeans and tugged on his boxers.
"Mmm, you know what I like," he whispered, laying back down against the cushions as she ran her tongue along his length.
"I haven't forgotten," she murmured before taking him into her mouth.
He groaned loudly as she worked, her hands slowly moving to grasp him as she sucked. "Holy shit, I almost forgot how good you are at this," he moaned as his eyes started to roll back in his head. "Fuck, that feels good."
She continued to suck hungrily, her tongue paying extra attention to his tip, one hand grabbing him playfully while the other struggled to keep his hips still as he squirmed beneath her.
"It's going to be soon," he warned breathlessly and he moaned loudly as she hummed in answer.
"Ungh!" He groaned when she finished, still coming down off the most satisfying orgasm he ever remembered having.
"You're insanely good at that," he murmured after he'd caught his breath.
"I know," she replied with a sly smile. "You're… pretty good at stuff too," she admitted.
"I know," he said with a wink. "But I hope you don't think that I planned this the whole time. I just couldn't help myself when you took your clothes off."
She grinned.
"What can I say? You're a goddess," he praised.
"I thought you said this wasn't a fairytale," she reminded him.
"Yeah, well, you're pretty damn close, Princess."
"And how about you, with those arms? Jeez.."
He laughed. "What did you expect? I'm Iron Man. Besides, you've seen me naked before."
She shook her head. "No.. you wanted to keep your shirt on the last time too."
He shrugged.
"Can you take me home now?"
"I can. Unless you want to spend the night here," he offered.
"Tony.."
"In a separate bedroom," he insisted, as if that's what he'd meant all along.
"I don't think so," Natasha answered. "If I stay here, there's no way I'm letting you sleep in a separate room," she added.
He nodded. "Alright. Just give me a second to wash up and I'll take you home."
Once he pulled up to her house, he offered her his arm and proceeded to walk her to the door. "I hope I didn't screw this up too much," he said softly. "I just wanted tonight to be perfect."
She shook her head. "No, it was perfect. All of it."
"Does that mean you'll go out with me again?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I'll go out with you again."
He smiled, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear as he leaned over and kissed her softly on her cheek. "Goodnight, Natasha."
"Goodnight, Tony," she said, leaning her head against the door as she watched him go.