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(edited as of December 2021)
Chapter Three.
There were many words that could be used to describe Tony Stark.
Allie had spent the better part of ten years watching him on T.V, catching glimpses of his face splashed all over tabloid magazines and broadsheet newspapers, beneath all kinds of headlines. Often, they were bold and broad lettered, taking up the majority of the front page, ranging from grainy photos of him as Iron Man to sleek and clean pictures of him as, well, him. They were hard to ignore, and no one could open up the morning newspaper without being greeted with the name and face of Tony Stark.
There was no escaping on the Internet either, from the countless videos on Youtube and Facebook alike, of him as Iron Man, saving the day, helping people and also as being himself, as Tony Stark with a mouth too big for his even larger head. Watching him as either was dizzying and Allie didn't know how these reporters had the energy to keep up with him as it was always one thing or another with Tony Stark; from scandals to relationship breakups, to his saving the world and pushing vast amounts of money to clean up the messes that he and his team had made in doing so.
Not to mention that Allie had seen countless articles, had even read a few of them herself and they had, in the end that was this moment, all amounted to nothing, because she could not fathom how it was that Tony Stark was in her apartment, could not form a proper string of words to create a single thought because he had been built up in her head for so long as this genius billionaire who fought aliens and gods and evil robots and everything in between, and had saved the word twice and yet, the only thing she could think was that, without a doubt, Tony Stark was…
Short.
Allie knew she wasn't tall by anyone's standards; she stood at five foot and one inch and was teased incessantly about her height, not to mention that too often had she been used as an arm rest on various occasions by those who thought it would funny.
So, Allie knew that, by no means, she could really think of Tony Stark as short nor could she be almost disappointed that he wasn't as tall as he appeared on the T.V. Did the suit make him taller? That had to be it, maybe that was why Allie had built up this picture of Tony Stark being a much taller man than he was standing in front of her.
There was also the fact that she had never actually seen him in real life, but when you're used to seeing someone being everywhere and couldn't turn on the T.V without being greeted by their face, they become this almost otherworldly being that didn't seem human. There was not a corner a person could turn in New York without being bombarded with images, videos or murals of the Avengers and seeing them had become so ingrained in the daily lives of the people of America and, indeed, the wider world.
They were revered, almost akin to powerful demigods (with one being an actual god) and there was something completely heart stilling and mind blowing about having one of those heroes in her home.
So, what in God's name was she doing thinking about his height when one of Earth's mightiest defenders was standing in her apartment?
Allie felt as if all the air had been knocked from her lungs, mouth dry and tongue glued to the roof of it, her throat rasping as the drying strands of her hair slithered around her neck, choking her and preventing her from saying anything. What ever sensible thought that might have lurked in the corner of her mind soon scampered and Allie was left with nothing to respond with.
It didn't seem real, couldn't be real because the very idea of this happening was ridiculous, ludicrous and unrealistic. But no matter how much she blink, the vision of Tony Stark standing in her apartment, looking at her with narrowed eyes, would not vanish; she tried to get her mind together, to fathom it all, yet all Allie could think of was how in God's name was it possible that Tony Stark was in her apartment and why was it that she had to look like a drowned rat?
For a moment, that seemed to be all that mattered in in the world, but, in the end, it was such a small, insignificant thing because as soon as those words, those damned words, left his mouth, Allie knew she probably, most definitely should have taken the brief interval of peace to fling herself out the window.
And you're the girl who broke through my security in less than a minute.
Beside her, Lisa clamped down on the nail of her thumb, edging further and further away from her friend, in fear or in order not to be affiliated with Allie, she didn't know. He waited for her to reply, eyeing her with a slight narrowed scowl but still maintaining that essence of amusement – because, maybe to everyone other than Allie at that moment, it was amusing to witness Tony Stark staring down a dripping Allie, the latter with her mouth fallen open and looking like a downright mess; she probably wasn't what he was expecting and Allie thought to just deny everything, to tell him he got it all wrong and she was naught but a simple barista with a somewhat useless college degree and who had led a completely normal, mediocre life.
That was what she meant to say, at least.
What came out was a quiet splutter, comprised of gargles and half attempts to make words but none of it comprehensible; from the corner of her eye, she saw Lisa wince and attempt to seem smaller, eyes darting back and forth between Tony Stark and her gobsmacked friend, unsure of who to be warier of.
Allie almost wanted to thump her friend on the back of the head and curse her for dragging her into this mess – or worse, for not taking the time to say 'Hey Allie, Tony Stark is in the apartment right now. You know, the same Tony Stark who owns the company that Pepper Potts is the CEO of? The same guy who basically funds and supports the Avengers? Yep, he's in there right now!' Despite how much Allie wanted to blame Lisa, she knew that all of it rested on her shoulders and on hers alone.
One is always alone in their actions and Allie knew that she could not shift the blame to her friend.
Tony Stark lifted an eyebrow at Allie's garbled mess of speech and cocked his head to the side, that smile on his face not seeming the least bit friendly. He reached into his pocket, Allie's heart skipping a beat at the thought of him pulling out a gun and shooting her (guns always frightened her, and she could not stand firearms and the violence they brought), but her worry subsided when she saw it was just a phone, a small harmless thing that could do no damage to her.
Unless he threw it at her face at full force and caused it to cave in, she supposed.
Tony Stark glanced down at the screen, staring at something she couldn't see before his brown eyes were pulled back to her. "It is Allison Lawrence, right? Born the first of January 1990? Born in Rhode Island to first generation Irish immigrants? Graduated from – ?"
"I didn't steal anything!"
Tony Stark paused in the middle of his sentence, effectively cut off by Allie, phone held out in front of him but forgotten as his eyebrows crawled up further on his forehead, crinkles and creases digging themselves as he slowly pocketed his phone. Allie wanted to smack herself upside the head, to hit her forehead for being so idiotic and her mouth clamped shut, nearly chomping down on her poor, careless tongue. She just couldn't keep her trap shut and now her plan of denying everything was gone, destroyed by her panicked word vomit.
"I'm sorry?" he asked, but his tone was light, and Allie felt that age old panic rise again, stumbling for words and grasping whatever she could.
"I mean," Allie began, hesitant and casting a glance at Lisa who seemed to find a great interest in the floorboards at the moment, not that Allie didn't put it against her; she would much rather prefer to be in Lisa's shoes than her own, damp ones. Turning back to meet the eyes of Tony Stark, Allie wondered if he could quite clearly hear the panic that made her voice waver. "I didn't do anything, and I didn't steal anything either."
Her mouth clamped shut after the words fell past the tip of her tongue, throat closing and staring back into Tony Stark's eyes, desperately trying to find any hint as to what he was thinking, to what he was going to do.
But all she found was brown, brown and more brown to the point she was going to drown in it and her hands began to fidget, trying to settle the restlessness that was crawling beneath her skin, scratching to be let out.
Faintly, she could hear the hustle and bustle of city life, the horns of cars honking, alarms blaring and the murmur of people's voices rising like a tide, waves of it rushing through the thin walls and mingling with those of the neighbours.
Then, Tony Stark gave a huff, pursing his lips and pocketing his phone, looking at her with something in his eyes that Allie didn't like; it made her unsure – of him, of what has happening, of what was going to happen. It felt as if everything was on the edge of a knife and at any given moment a breeze was going to knock her over to one side. Everything she worked for would be for nothing and even she couldn't be saved if Tony Stark decided to have her arrested.
And that's what Allie waited for – for Tony Stark to call out and have her cuffed and put away with no trial and all for a stupid e-mail. It would be better for that to happen because Allie hated waiting, hated the feeling of being on the verge of falling and wanting it to just be over so she wouldn't have to feel like this.
But the more seconds that passed by, she became uncertain and her fingers stretched and curled at her sides, picking at the cuffs of her too long sleeves on her coat, teeth grasping her lip as she was prone to do while Tony Stark continued to look at her, flicking once more to her wet hair and her pale face, the bag that was dropped in surprise before they turned back to Allie, still not giving anything away, whatever that might have calmed and reassured Allie that she was alright hidden beneath so many waves of brown and flecks of gold. That smile was still on his face, but it didn't comfort her, didn't ease the apprehension she felt.
"I didn't say anything about stealing, or of the sorts," he began, both hands in his pockets and looking far too relaxed for Allie, as if he wasn't in the apartment of someone who had broke through his security all because of a dare. "If you didn't do anything, then how come you focused on you not stealing anything?"
Once more, her eyes darted to Lisa, who remained intent on focusing on the floor, no reassurance to give and no comfort for Allie to seek solace in.
With no other choice, Allie turned back to Tony Stark, watching him as he began to make his way around the apartment, half turned away from her and seeming so uncaring, unbothered by the situation while taking in the sights of the small things that made this place a home. "I, uh… I mean, it's just… being careful? I didn't do anything, and I just wanted to… make sure that you knew I hadn't stolen anything either?"
Tony Stark paused in his examination of the place, angling his body back to her and throwing her a look, one that clearly stated he did not believe her in the slightest and Allie felt a burn in her cheeks, embers of embarrassment hot beneath the skin.
He looked away, eyes moving to the pictures on the wall, stopping in front of a picture of Lisa and Allie that had been taken some years before hand; in it was Lisa, angling the camera from her and wrapping an arm around Allie's shoulder, pulling her into a tricky position that had nearly made them topple over one another. It was an old picture and Allie hated it because of how uncomfortable she looked, barely smiling with her eyes hazy from the flash and the drink combined, while Lisa looked as beautiful as always, lipstick only slightly smeared – either from the lack of careless she had when drinking, or maybe due to some kiss that she had stolen from a stranger.
It had been taken during New Years, if Allie remembered correctly but whether it had been 2011 or maybe 2012, she couldn't quite recall.
Now, as he tore his gaze away from the photo to turn his attention back to Allie, there was something she could pick out from his eyes, something less harsh and hostile, not as cold or clinical as before; it didn't ease Allie's need to bolt but she remained where she was, held in place by the fact he could mostly catch her before she could get to the stairs.
Despite the fact she was much younger, Allie was no fool (not to mention that she was also incredibly out of shape) and had seen the videos of the one and only Iron Man in action and, therefore, she knew that he could probably kick her ass before she could throw a punch.
He eyed her for a moment, most likely trying to connect the image he had in his head of the person who had broken in through his security to Allie; maybe, she could trick him and make him believe that it wasn't her, that he got the wrong person.
Perhaps jumping out the window is still an option…
Before she could break into a sprint to do exactly that, the not so friendly smile on his face split wider, a toothy grin that seemed softer at the edges as he turned to Lisa, seeming far too comfortable in the apartment for Allie's liking.
"Can I have a minute alone with Ms. Lawrence? It won't take long, I just want to have a quick chat," he said, sounding exactly as he would on the T.V whereby his voice sounded almost fake and the politeness of his tone seemed somewhat forced, but there was something in it that made it seem less like a request, and more like a demand. He was a business man, he could navigate his way through a pool of sharks while bleeding, so Allie didn't doubt that he would be able to get what he wanted here – whatever that was, exactly.
At his words, Lisa pulled her eyes away from the knots in the floorboards to meet the eyes of Tony Stark, unblinking and looking as if she would want nothing more than to shrink away. Allie could see the panic that was wracking Lisa, knew how she was so close to falling apart at the prospect of not just having uprooted both of their lives, of not only being arrested, but for being the reason behind it all.
For all Allie's annoyance, she felt it drip away, slowly but surely, for she knew that whatever may happen, that while she was safe to some degree, Lisa wasn't; it wasn't Lisa's fault, not truly, and Allie knew that, for all her complaining, that she could have said no, could have put her foot down and told Lisa that she was not going to do as she asked and Allie could have been in the right to say no, but she didn't – because, deep down, some part of her wanted to do what Lisa had asked her to do. Not to mention, the blame was solely on Allie's shoulders for breaking through the security of the Avengers' and she had kicked herself for being so stupidly drunk for doing so; Lisa had told her not to, saying that she shouldn't, and Allie hadn't listened.
She hadn't taken the necessary precautions back then and Allie had no doubt that it had led Tony Stark to her apartment, to confront her; Allie had brought this upon herself and the blame was more hers than Lisa's.
Lisa was torn, looking at Tony Stark as he awaited for her to leave the apartment before turning to Allie, eyebrows knotted, and lips pursed into a straight line.
Without a moment's hesitation, Allie gave her a nod that was followed swiftly by regret because she didn't want to be alone, didn't want to have the inevitable happen to her. She knew that Tony Stark was going to arrest her, regardless of whether Lisa was in the room or not.
Yet, she still gave that nod and Lisa lingered for moment, as if wanting Allie to retract it before realising that her friend had, indeed, meant it and wanted her to leave. Lisa threw another look to Tony Stark, untrusting and uncertain, before she put one foot in front of the other, head bowed – either in shame or not wanting to be seen, Allie didn't know; all Allie wished was that it was her that was walking out the door and closing it behind her.
It felt much more like a sealing of Allie's fate and then it was just the two of them – her and the Tony Stark.
Allie's eyes dragged themselves back to meet the gaze of Tony Stark, trying not to shrink beneath his stare that felt too sharp and narrowed, judging. Her hands began to fiddle with the cuffs of her jacket, hovering above her stomach as her teeth chewed away on the inside of her cheek, all too conscious of her appearance and her damp hair. She hated to stand still, to be caught and unable to move or fidget in order to quell some of the edginess that was trembling in her.
It was Tony who pulled away first, hands curled in his pockets as he went back to examining the sparse, few photos that were hanging atop of the wall, drinking them in as he began to walk leisurely around the apartment; it was then Allie began to wonder how long he had been there, how long he had spent wandering around her home and peering into her personal life.
To her discomfort, he had managed to find information about her and an onslaught of old anxiety began to rear it's head once more; if he had managed to find out her name and other such information, did he find out more? Did he know more? Maybe the real reason as to why he was here was because he knew more than he was letting on and assumed that Lisa hadn't known, hence why he asked her to leave.
If there was anything that could cause Allie to burst into a hit of hysterics, it was the thought of being confronted with the skeletons in her closet.
She couldn't find her voice to fill the silence and he took it as an invitation to do so instead.
"You know, saying that you didn't steal anything, sounds like the words of someone who stole something," he began, as if attempting to tease her but there was no lightness in his voice. Allie felt her jaw clench, muscle jumping beneath the skin as she kept her eyes glued to his form, watching him move around the place with a carelessness in his step that made her irritation flare. Yet, Allie tried to remain civil and swallowed the flames of exasperation as they began to burn her throat. No one use angering the person who could put her in a jail cell for the rest of her life – or upset the state of her life and ruin everything she had worked for. It spurred her on, giving her the strength to speak.
"I didn't steal anything," Allie insisted, managing to keep her voice level and gradually becoming unwound, the stiffness in her muscles giving way to the warmth of her apartment and the fear that kept her body taut and upright dissipating. "Mr. Stark, I promise you that I did not steal anything."
At her words he turned to her and that gleam in his eyes was brighter somehow, as if the whole situation, while stress inducing to Allie, was absolutely amusing to him. "But, you did do something, right? I mean, of course you did. Otherwise, if you didn't, I wouldn't be here."
If Allie had the energy she might have glared at how completely and utterly cocky he was at having caught her out. Technically, she didn't really break any laws – she hadn't stolen any information and sold it to enemies of the Avengers or of Stark; with regards to Pepper Potts' email, maybe it was slightly more incriminating, but there was no proof left to actually prove Allie broke any law or that could make them send her to prison.
It was a stupid, irrelevant e-mail that was now gone from the face of the planet and the contents of it were so unimportant and ridiculous, there was nothing that could make anyone think that she had actually done something bad.
Despite what Allie was so desperately trying to convince herself of, there was a worry buzzing in her chest, wondering if it was all much more different because it was the Avengers, it was Tony Stark, the man who had saved the entire population of New York by flying a missile into a wormhole into outer space. Allie felt as if she had already lost against whatever case that she foolishly believed that she could win. Swallowing roughly to soothe the ache in her throat, Allie dug her voice up from the bottom of her throat, rusty and covered in dust.
"Mr. Stark, I – "
"I was having a very long and hard day," Tony began, cutting her off and turning to gaze out of the window, the view pitiful and not at all pleasing to see. Allie's mouth clamped down again, voice rushing back down to never be found ever again. He sounded as if they were discussing the topic of the weather, and not the fact Allie may have broken a few laws and the fact she had broken into his security system not once, but twice and only one of those times had she done it while sober. "And I couldn't wait to get to bed, you know? So, there I am, ready to fall asleep and it's quarter past twelve in the morning; just as I'm about to finally get to sleep – get this – I get a notification that someone had broken through my security."
Allie barely managed to suppress a wince at his words, hands wringing themselves in front of her as she took to gnawing on her bottom lip, watching as Tony Stark moved away from the window, a half smile on his face and far too at ease for Allie's liking, continuing to recount his tale to her unwilling ears.
"I thought that it was a fluke, some malfunction that I had missed because it was just impossible for someone to do what I was being told had happened," he continued, sounding exasperated to some extent, taking a hand from his pocket to give it a small wave, as if to capture the ridiculous notion of it all, that someone had manage to crack through a firewall that Tony Stark himself had created and protected. "I mean, how on God's green Earth could someone manage to do that? And in thirty-seven seconds? It's nonsensical – it's ridiculous, right?"
He gave her a pointed look and Allie felt put on the spot, straightening her spine. "Uh, yeah, it's – "
"See! I know it is," Tony laughed, though it was forced and didn't alleviate the uncertainty and worry Allie was carrying. He drew closer, taking his sweet time and moving at a leisurely pace that seemed akin to a lion haunting the footsteps of its prey. "And I went to just forget it, because nothing was taken, so why would it be a cause for worry? But then, then I get another notice yesterday that not only had this person decided to get into the e-mail of Pepper Potts', the CEO of Stark Industries, a company my family has built and nurtured for so many decades, and not only have they done it in less than half a minute…"
He was closer now, standing in front of her and Allie did not bat an eyelid, worried that she might miss even the most subtle of actions as he paused in front of her, closer than she ever thought possible.
Her head was tilted up slightly to meet his eyes and, suddenly, Tony Stark didn't seem so short to her anymore. He looked to her like a giant, towering above her quivering self, ready to crush her beneath the immense strength of his power and influence.
She held eye contact, to trapped to look away; he was so close she could see the ring of honey coloured flecks in his eyes and how smudges of violet lay hanging beneath them, deep set and like bruises remaining from the fists of exhaustion. In his beard were flecks of grey, splattered and sparse. He paused in his words and Allie gulped, letting herself give way to the shaking of her hands.
"But they did it on a Toshiba laptop."
Allie blinked.
A pause, then her face screwed up.
"Well, actually, it's a Dell."
Damn you, Allie; you and your big mouth.
At her words, the man in front of her finally broke into a sincere grin, looking far too much like the cat that got the cream as Allie cursed at herself. His entire stance shifted, leaning into something less rigid and uptight as the hand in his other pocket pulled free, clapping with the other as the grin on his face deepened the crinkles near his eyes, the shimmer in his gaze gleaming and twinkling.
"Fantastic! I mean, that's even worse, but this is brilliant!" he exclaimed, looking far too pleased at realising that the person who had broken through his superior technology with a Dell laptop was standing right in front of him. Allie found her voice again, air rushing in to fill her lungs and mind scrambling to find any sort of excuse or find any coherent word to string a sentence together.
"Mr. Stark, I am so sorry," Allie spluttered, hands knotted in front of her and heart skipping in her chest, unable to keep up with her racing thoughts. "I never meant to do it, I wasn't thinking clearly – "
"Oh, nonsense, it's not every day I meet someone who even comes even as close as you did in cracking my security," Tony said, waving her words away but Allie persevered, trying to quell the panic in her as she took a step closer, reaching up to tangle a hand in her hair. She felt desperate, trying to cling on to reason and not resort to using tears as she tried to string together an apology; all the while, Tony Stark seemed indifferent to her deteriorating self, more focused on moving onto the next topic of conversation he had in mind.
"Please, I never meant to do any harm; it was a dare and I was really drunk, and I was acting like a stupid idiot – "
"I'm sorry, what?" he said, reeling Allie from her word vomit and making her finally pay heed to his face, watching his features morph into something like shock. "What did you say?"
Allie stared at him for moment, hesitation flowing through her and mingling with bewilderment at his shock. "I said I was being a stupid idiot."
He shook his head, strands of his perfectly styled hair falling free and shaking at the action, face still screwed up as though he was trying to believe her words. "No, did you just say that you manage to get into a system that I, Tony Stark, created… while you were drunk, and that you did it… for a dare?"
Allie opened her mouth, pausing to consider her words and ponder on the decision of lying again. But there was no point, she had already admitted to it, yet she was uncertain of her confirmation even as she gave it, looking at his somewhat pale and stunned face. "Uh… yes?"
A splutter left him, air rushing past his lips as he was reduced to dramatics, placing a hand over his heart and seeming overly offended at what Allie had just said, making her realise that telling the truth was not the best course of action and she reeled back, stutter as she tried to cover her ass. "I mean, no, I wasn't drunk at all. I was stone cold sober when I did it."
He glanced at her through narrowed eyes, not believing her pathetic attempt at recovery and her lips pulled together to form an apologetic curve, no longer feeling held down or choked by the seriousness of the situation; the tension in the room shifted, no longer stuffy or making it hard to breathe as Tony Stark corrected himself, no longer overacting being offended by her words, but still remaining ing peeved to some degree at the fact his system had been breached by someone who had been completely and utterly wasted.
Tony gave a sniff, tugging at the cuffs of his jacket and moving away from Allie to take a seat on the sofa, reclaiming the spot where he had been when Allie had burst in through the door not so long ago. Her eyes followed him as he did so, her thoughts drifting to think about changing into a different pair of clothes and having dinner and a nice cup of tea, but she was pulled from these fantasies when he turned and drew her attention to him, brown eyes seeming that bit more friendlier and less cold.
"Take a seat, Ms. Lawrence, I feel like we have a lot to talk about. Well, I have a lot to talk about and you have a lot to listen to," he said, gesturing to the empty space beside him as if it was his right to do so, as if this was his home and that he wasn't a guest, a stranger trespassing in her apartment. She could feel herself seething, bubbling beneath the skin and Allie was ready to open her mouth and justly tell him that he was in her home and she would do as she was please – then he patted the space beside him, smiling all the while. "No need to worry, I don't bite. It's best we talk things over."
She complied.
Because, of course she did.
When someone who could have you arrested says they want to talk things out, you best do what they say until you're in the clear.
Allie felt stiff and awkward, scooping the strap of her bag into her hand and lifting it up from where it sat slumped on the ground, toes cold and near numb as she made her way to the space beside Tony Stark. While part of her was infuriated at the fact she was being told what to do in her own home by the man, the other, small part was still in shock at the fact that Iron Man was in her apartment and that he didn't look as threatening when he was smiling sincerely, but part of her was still hesitant to trust that he had only good intentions in coming to her home.
Allie sat down, hands going between her knees to stop them fidgeting as she awaited for him to speak, to say something before she launched herself into another long, apologetic spiel and dig herself into an even deeper grave. She kept her teeth firmly set on her tongue, preventing her from saying anything even if she wanted to as Tony twisted on the couch into a more comfortable position facing her, leaning back into the cushions and looking more at home than she did.
"So, Ms. Lawrence – "
"Allison," Allie interjected, blurting the words out before she could stop herself. He turned to her, eyebrow cocked, and Allie shifted beneath his gaze once more "My name's Allison – I usually go by Allie."
"Well, Allison," he continued, stretching his arm to let it rest against the back of the couch, fingers drumming a nonsensical rhythm as he spoke. Allie wished he would get straight to the point instead of dancing around what he wanted to say; Tony Stark always seemed to be saying something, just never saying it right. "Tell me, what was the point of it?"
Allie stared at him, trying to not get increasingly annoyed at the drumming of his fingers. "I'm sorry?"
"No need," he said, waving his hand and Allie curled her fingers in towards her palm, trying so desperately to keep herself in check. "What I mean is: why risk yourself getting caught? It was your second time doing so and we'd eventually catch on – we, meaning I, also meaning my dear helper, F.R.I.D.A.Y. You're good, no doubt, but using a Toshiba – "
"Dell," Allie stressed, stupidly angered by his mistake and making his lips curve upwards around his words at her doing so. Ass.
"Sorry, using a Dell laptop is probably not the best idea," he sighed, clicking his tongue as his fingers picked up a new rhythm on. "And I guess what I'm trying to say here is: how is it a person as smart as you would do something so stupid as to risk it?"
There was a backhanded compliment hidden in there somewhere, Allie knew, and she felt it stinging on her cheek, burning and shaking her train of thought as she found it becoming more difficult with each passing moment to withstand the great Tony Stark.
Once again, the thought of lying reared its ugly head once more but Allie was so far in her grave that she might as well dig herself down even further; what could lying get her at this point? He already knew the majority of the story and twisting it would only prove difficult to keep the charade later and she would eventually be caught out in her words, causing the situation to deteriorate in an even worse way.
"Okay, the first time I was being stupid, but, in my defence, I was drunk," Allie explained, feeling a small bit pleased at seeing him give her a side glance at her words but she didn't bother to correct herself; she wanted to rub it in his face that, even when she couldn't stand straight or piss without falling off of the toilet, she could still get pass his security and prove herself to be, in some sense, better than Tony Stark. "And the second time… I was helping Lisa out. She sent something to Pepper Potts that might have… affected her being able to get the position as Ms. Potts' assistant and I was… I was just helping a friend out."
Tony chewed on her words for a moment, digesting them before he reached into his pocket to grab his phone, silent and not looking at Allie, leaving her in suspense as she watched him, confused at his unexpected actions.
Part of her thought that maybe he was doing so in order to call the police, the other part was wondering would he be able to see her coming if she went to slap the device from his hand and throw it to the other side of the room, or, better yet, out the window.
As the thought ran through her mind, Allie was pulled from her daydream as Tony Stark shifted closer to her, the seat of the couch dipping due his weight as he held the phone in front of her, thumb scrolling through what seemed to be miles and miles of information that left Allie dizzy.
He gave a small murmur beneath his breath, more so to himself than her, then pulled something up and turned to smirk at her, the two of them too close for Allie's liking. There was too little space between them and Allie could smell his cologne, not as over powering as most men tend to wear it and she could see the laugh lines that etched themselves above his cheek bones; across his nose, there was a small splash of freckles, gathering close beneath his left eye before bursting along the bridge and becoming sparse beneath the top of his right cheek.
"You mean this e-mail?"
Allie turned her gaze downward to the screen and, to her horror (and to some slight hilarity) there, in full brightness, was Lisa's e-mail, complete with the picture of her teenage self, the ever-present acne prone skin and her unfortunate brace-face, wisps of uncontrollable black curls escaping around her temples.
"I'm not going to lie," Stark said, a lilt in his voice as he, too, turned to look at the rather terrible and unflattering picture of Lisa. If Lisa had known that Tony Stark saw her photo, she would have fainted from the shame. "I did laugh the first time I saw it. I mean, I doubt anyone would want pictures of them being McDonald's workers to surface – especially when looking like this."
"Actually, it was Chuck E. Cheese," Allie breathed, trying to not cringe at the God awful self-description Lisa had written down on the resumé; teenager or no, someone should have told her that putting down animal lover was not a good idea beneath a heading that quite clearly stated quality traits.
Beside her, Tony gave a whistle, as if he was having a hard time looking at it too.
"Just as terrible," he muttered, placing the phone back into his pocket, shuffling away from Allie again and giving her some much-needed breathing space as he tugged at his jacket around him, straightening it. "Just so you know, just clicking 'put into trash' and then deleting it, doesn't actually get rid of it."
"I know that," Allie frowned, finding herself becoming more relaxed at his somewhat easy-going approach to the situation. "That was Lisa; I just got her in and out."
"Ah, then that explains the sloppiness of it," he muttered, though more so to himself until Allie, unable to help herself, shot him a glare from where she sat and, quite comically and to her surprise, he hastily tried to recover. "Not you, of course, just that she wasn't exactly very – how should I say? – thorough. But that's not the point – "
"Then what is the point, Mr Stark?" Allie asked, turning to face him wholly and finally being unable to contain the strange concoction of curiosity, fear and worry that was brewing within her for so long. She couldn't stand it anymore, the smiling, the tip-toeing around the conversation. Stark paused in his words, looking to her, confused by her small outburst and she took the moment to plough on before he could start up again. "I really am sorry for what I've done, and I don't know how I could ever make it up to you but… but if you plan to arrest me or have me thrown into jail, please just tell me now because I don't think I can take any more of this."
Allie regained her breath, pulling herself upright and gripping the material of her jeans as she tried to find the courage to not back down and cower away beneath his eyes, wishing that he would stop staring.
They maintained eye contact, neither willing to break first as Allie tried to resist the temptation to follow through with her previous idea of flinging herself out the window; Tony shuffled in the chair, elbow up against the back of sofa and hand half covering his mouth, a crease forming between his brow as if he was deep in thought, looking at Allie but not seeing her
Then, his hand moved to press against his cheek, head tilted. She felt uncomfortable as he continued to study her, too conscious of how dreadful she looked from her damp clothes, the blotches of red that were blooming on her pale cheeks, her hair that was drying, albeit too slowly for Allie's liking.
"Who taught you?"
The question stunned Allie and momentarily she forgot what to say, what she was supposed to say.
"My brother."
At that his eyebrows lifted, questioning as Allie realised at what had slipped past her lips, cursing herself inwardly for being so stupid and reckless. "Your brother?"
"He was a half-brother – same dad, different mother," Allie attempted to explain, ignoring the quickening in her chest that was so often present during times like these, moving with speed to step away from the subject before he could ask more. "I taught myself for the most part, but when I couldn't understand something, he taught me."
"So, you're self-taught?" he queried, leaning forward towards Allie, trying to pick her apart and dissect every aspect of her.
"As I said, for the most part," Allie repeated, trying to ignore the croak that hung onto the end of her sentence. Stark gave a hum, pursing his lips and screwing his eyebrows up, creasing digging themselves along his forehead and between his brow. Allie almost wanted to ask him if he was alright due to how pained he looked (maybe it's just because he isn't used to thinking so much) but was stopped before she could when he sat up again, as though a revelation had hit him – one Allie was sure she didn't want to know about.
"You know, Allison, I have just the idea to resolve this," he chuckled, beaming and looking too pleased with himself. Stark was grinning at her, shuffling closer, his weight causing the cushion seats to dip, and Allie felt herself roll slightly towards him, trying not to be ensnared by the new, ember of hope that things were going to work out for once. "You can come work for me!"
Those embers of hope were quickly snuffed out and Allie was left stunned.
Allie felt her mouth part, lips dropping open to suck in a sharp gasp of air that felt too cold and harsh for her throat, cutting through her as she reeled from his words, from how delighted he seemed to be with himself and how oblivious he was to her reaction.
"I've been sorely lacking an assistant these past few, well, years," he shrugged, half rushing through his words, making them a mumble that Allie could barely decipher with her short-circuiting brain until he regained his composure, preserving that smile back into its place once more. "And it's just the thing for you! For one, I'll be able to stop you from putting your sticky hands into places you shouldn't be dipping into. And you'll gain life-long experience from me. Quite the bargain and all for the price of not going to prison for the rest of your life – or a couple of years, but we could work it out."
Allie was still trying to catch up with herself, face screwing up as her mouth opened to protest, trying to make sense of it all; his solution after having her cause a security breach in his system and for getting into the email of one of the most powerful women in America, if not the world was…
To have her work for him?
It was so ridiculous and insane that Allie's addled brain couldn't get itself together fast enough; work? For Tony Stark? It was a disaster in the making and was something that Allie knew would be completely forbidden, if not for herself but for those around her – Allie would not, could not, be so stupid as to accept.
If it wasn't her situation that made it impossible, it was the fact it was such a foolish and impractical thought!
The only long-lasting job she had was pouring coffee and Allie had a feeling that working for Tony Stark would be just a tad more difficult; she had no experience as an assistant and she had always been in the customer service industry. How on Earth could she ever work for someone like Tony Stark, someone who was always in the spotlight whether he liked it or not? Not to mention the fact she had no idea how it would even work due to the fact she could barely organise her own life, let alone another person's!
There was so much that made Allie almost revolt from the idea of it, of working for him; apart from the lack of experience (meaning that she had absolutely no experience) as working as an assistant to one of the most powerful and influential people in the world, there was just too much at risk to let herself actually accept the job.
What did Stark even do in his spare time when he wasn't saving the world? Wasn't he, technically, retired? Allie had remembered briefly reading some years ago about how he left his position as CEO of Stark Industries and appointed Pepper Potts in his place. What would she be even able to do? Though the idea of actually gaining some, as he put it, 'life-long experience' from Tony Stark was tempting, Allie wasn't foolish enough to actually accept the offer.
Finally, Allie caught up with herself as Stark continued to remain ignorant of her silence.
"You really could learn a lot from me, not to toot my own horn, but I really think it can only be an upward slope from working on a Dell laptop of all things – "
"I can't accept."
The words left her, an echo that pulled Stark from his own world, crashing to a screeching halt as Allie stared, wide eyed. Disbelief shrouded him, mouth opening once, twice, three times as he blinked. "When you mean you can't accept, you meant…?"
"I mean, I really can't accept," Allie stressed, nerves jittery and trying to ignoring her stomach turning over as the grin on his face was slowly falling from his lips; was that regret she felt? Or maybe it was her wanting to kick her own ass for being so stupid as to decline the offer of a job from one of the richest men in the world as opposed to having him getting her arrested. "I've never worked as an assistant before, I have no experience at all in the area and I wouldn't even know what to do. Mr. Stark, I… I only know how to make coffee and it's mediocre at that."
"Costa?" he asked.
"Starbucks," she told him before shaking her head and getting back on track. "Listen, I'm flattered, really, but… I'm just not equipped for this job at all. What I did, it was a one-off thing – well, a twice off thing and I would never think to do it ever again; I like my life too much to do that. I just can't accept your offer. I'm sorry."
She ended her small spiel, taking back her voice and awaiting his answer with bated breath as her pondered on her words, as if unused to rejection.
For what it was worth, it was the truth for Allie, even if not the whole truth; worry began to settle in her, worry for how he might react, worry for what might happen. Her lip found itself caught between her teeth once more as Tony continued not to speak, slumping back into the chair as if deflated from his earlier delight. Allie couldn't help but think as to how he might reject her rejection and give her an ultimatum: either work for him, or face jail time. She knew that she wouldn't be stupid enough to say no to him then, but every sensible thought in her mind was screaming at her to get up and leave, to relocate somewhere else, far from Tony Stark and his ever-piercing gaze.
Then, Allie found herself beneath his scrutinising stare, the older man leaning in close to her and trying to pick apart whatever uncertainty that lingered in her face as to poke and prod her to accept the job.
"You'd be mad to turn this down," he said, low and steady to Allie. "The pay is good, you'd only have to put up with me for a short amount of time. Not to mention we have dental care."
Despite it all, Allie felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips and she ducked her head to hide it, taking back enough control so as to push it away and be able to turn back to Tony with an apologetic gaze. "I'm really sorry, but I have to say no."
Once more, he appeared deflated and defeated, a sigh bleeding past his lips as he slumped into the sofa once more, lips pursing and tongue clicking, reaching up to ruffle the strands of his hair, freeing Allie of his stare. Allie couldn't even hear the other neighbours, who had been so loud before and were now almost non-existent.
Another heavy sigh brought Allie to look once more at Stark, who already had his eyes on her but there was something in his eyes that Allie could not name, could not place as he tsked once more, seeming as if he was peeved at her but that million-dollar smile was put back on for show once more.
"Alright, I know when I'm beat, and no means no, and all that," he sighed, pushing himself towards the edge of the sofa, reaching into his coat pocket, fingers shuffling and grasping for something before his left hand was pulled from the jacket, twisting and turning a small, white card between his fingers; whatever writing, if there was any, too small for Allie to make sense of. Both stared at the card as Stark twisted and turned it in his grip, debating as to whether he should pocket it once more or if he should do what he had first intended. The latter won against the former and Allie watched as he stretched it out to her, clutched between his index finger and middle finger. "But, if you ever change your mind…"
He trailed off, words hanging off, but Allie knew what he meant, and she stared for a moment, wondering if she should affirm once more that she was serious in saying no but it wouldn't do any harm to take the card, would it? He might be waiting for two weeks for a call that would never come and she could throw it away, burn it, make sure that it was gone from sight and out of mind.
It wouldn't do any harm to take it and, as such, Allie reached a hand out, ignoring the stiffness in her fingers, and took it from him, eyes washing over the front of the card that held his name and what was clearly his number.
She was unsure of what to do with it, to pocket it or place it on the coffee table, so she held it, staring at it, at the black font against the white background and how minimalistic it was. TONY STARK, it said, and she still could not believe how the very same man on the card was in front of her, standing to his feet and fiddling with the buttons on his jacket.
"I guess, I'll show myself out," he commented, reaching into the other pocket to take hold of his phone as Allie pulled her eyes away from the card to look up at him, half ready to get up and join him in standing but seeming too shell shocked to do so. "Good chat, apart from the fact my job offer was completely decimated in front of me."
"Oh… sorry," Allie said, feeling sheepish and clutching onto the card as Tony waved her words away, showing that he wasn't as bothered as he pretended to be.
"I'll survive, somehow," he murmured, before turning fully to Allie, making her get to her feet so as to not appear rude, still fiddling with the edged of the card before Tony thrust out a hand, palm facing outwards, an olive branch. "Good-bye, Allison. Try not to break into any more high security places for the next while."
Allie gave a hollow laugh, unwinding one hand to reach out and, after a pause of hesitation, took his hand in her own; his palm was rough, calloused and Allie could feel the dents and scars that marked themselves into his fingertips. His hand was warm and large than hers, his tan skin contrasting against her own, making her appear that bit paler than she actually was. She wondered if he could feel how sweaty her hand was and hoped that he assumed it was from being out in the rain.
His grip tightened on hers for a moment, not sore or bone breaking, and she responded in the same manner, before the two gave a brief shake twice; they held onto each for a moment, waiting for the other to pull back and, for a total of two seconds, Allie held hands with the one and only Tony Stark, unsure if she should take her hand back and trying to ignore the burn of his skin against her that seemed to push away the chilliness that coated her poor bones.
Then the two pulled away from one another and Allie took a small step back, taking a sorely needed breath as she flashed him a forced smile. "I'll try not to."
Looking somewhat unpleased with the outcome of the visit, Allie watched as Tony Stark give one last nod of acknowledgement and turn to go, crossing over the apartment and Allie felt as if it had not really happened, that it was all some dream that she had concocted in her head.
But in her hand, she still held his card and her hair was still limp and loose around her, hanging out to dry as she glanced down to the sofa where, sure enough, lay a wet spot from where she had been sitting seeping into the cushion. She heard the door open and a squeak drew her gaze upwards, to see that, to complete hilarity for Allie and embarrassment for the remaining occupants, Lisa had indeed been standing outside with her ear pressed against the surface of the door and she now stumbled in, just about knocking into Tony Stark before he managed to side step her barrelling self.
Allie quashed a laugh that was threatening to burst past her lips as Lisa turned red, ears pink and attempting to remain innocent as well as ignorant as Tony Stark looked to her, the door still wide open for him to leave.
"Do watch your step, Ms. Turner," Tony said, voice deadpanned and casting a look of disbelief to Allie, who gave a shrug as he shook his head. Lisa remained silent, biting down on her cheek and giving a small nod towards the older man. "Well, then, good day, ladies."
With one brief inclination of the head to Allie, Tony Stark left the apartment, phone in hand and thumb already moving on the screen, attention stolen away from the two women as he exited the door, closing it behind him with a small click.
All the tension and stress left Allie in a flood, body falling back down into the couch and she never felt so comfortable before in her life as she did then, damp and cold and sore but safe. She took her hand up again, eyeing the card once more as she held the edges of it with both hands, index fingers running along the thin, sharp edges that teased a paper cut. It was lamented, clean cut and smart and it seemed so small in her hand, too small to hold something as big as Tony Stark's name as well as his number.
Behind her, Lisa let out a whistle.
"He's a lot shorter than I expected," Lisa said, breathless and voice low, as if she was afraid he might hear her and break the door down; she gave an unthinking small noise of agreement to Lisa's words, more so to remind the other that she was still here. The apartment filled once more with silence before the black-haired woman spoke again. "A Hell of a lot handsomer, too."
"Oh, quiet you," Allie hushed, lost in her own world but able to hear a snort from Lisa, and she could perfectly image the eye roll that was given to her behind her back. Allie tried to tell herself that she needed to change out of her damp clothes, but Allie stared at the card, teeth gnawing on her lip as she was prone to do, before she gave a shake of her head, turning to pocket the damned thing in the back of her jeans.
It wasn't like she was going to need it but, out of sight and out of mind, as it went.
At least, that's what Allie dearly hoped.
have i mentioned how astounded I am from the feedback i've gotten from this fic? because i am so flattered and happy by how much you guys are loving this!
and, as some of you may notice, I have changed the rating from T to M because of some adult themes that do take place, such as graphic death later on. I don't want to give too much away but I just wanted to give you all a warning about the rate change!
Thanks for reading!
