Tony's pulse beat like a drumbeat punctuating some sort of foreboding death march as he ascended the stairs. He couldn't even begin to think of the things he might have screwed up over the course of last night's events. Scores of things he might have said, things he might have done. All he knew is he really needed to talk to Harmony to clear things up about last night's events.

However, she was nowhere to be found. Not in the workshop, obviously, not in her room or bathroom, kitchen, living room, den, not anywhere.

Shit, Tony thought. I must have done something absolutely crazy or ridiculous last night. I hope I didn't try to get her to sleep with me! I don't think about her in that way. I don't do that stuff since…well…since Afghanistan.

Tony sat down on the couch with an icepack and some aspirin that had been next to the couch in his workroom. Letting out a loud burst of air through his lips noisily, he left himself to the course of his restless thoughts. Why had he had to drink last night? Why, why why? He probably had messed up the close bond he had developed with his intern.

Finally, after several minutes, he laid back on the couch and closed his eyes. He needed to sleep the hangover off anyways before he could fathom talking to Harmony.

Three hours later, Tony was awakened by the sound of someone entering the through the kitchen. Their keys jingled noisily as they tossed them onto the kitchen counter and dropped their purse. Tony sat up quickly, running his fingers over his head to tame his wild hair. Harmony entered the room very apathetically, but stopped abruptly when she saw Tony. Her eyes turned stony.

"We need to talk," Tony said, as humbly as he knew possible.

"Why?" she said, remaining completely emotionless. "There is nothing I want to talk with you about." Not sure how to proceed, Tony let her walk stiffly out of the room, leaving behind a thick, heavy silence. Damn. She was pissed.

But Tony couldn't just let her walk off. He had to solve whatever mess he had made. Slowly sitting up, fending off the loud pounding of his head, he climbed the stairs to her bedroom and knocked softy on the door.

"What?" came her snappy voice.

"Please, may I come in?" Tony bit back every once of pride in his body.

"Why?" she quickly retorted.

"We need to talk," Tony repeated himself lamely, pinching the bridge of his nose and staring down at his face, studying the wore tips of his tennis shoes he had pulled on in the workroom earlier.

The door swung open slowly to reveal Harmony standing, arms crossing in front of her, legs spread in a defensive position, lips pursed and brows furrowed. He r long, silky ponytail was dangled over her shoulder and cascaded in ripply waves down her chest.

"You're really…cute when you're angry," Tony smiled, trying to add some levity. She frowned.

"That's all you can say?" she snarled. "That I'm cute while withholding myself from breaking your hungover little neck? Well, then, I'm about to get real adorable." Tony's smile fell from his lips, and he cleared his throat nervously.

"Listen…I really want to talk about what happened last night, but…I don't exactly remember the turn of events that transpired."

"Figures," Harmony sighed, letting her arms drop by her side. Tony took it as a good sign. "You came home drunk. In the Iron Man suit. I took it off you, put you on the couch. Where you proceeded to sleep off your drunken stupor."

"Oh," That was all? Why was she so angry?

"As Iron Man, I would have expected more responsibility from you then that," she proceeded, barreling through her annoyance.

"It's been…" Tony gulped in some air and shrugged his shoulders, "It's been a long time since that's happened, believe me."

"It doesn't matter," Harmony bit off each word carefully. "The point is, it did happen." She turned to shut the door, but Tony caught it mid-swing.

"Why are you so angry? Everyone gets stoned sometimes," Tony blinked in confusion. Harmony paused a bit, then turned back to him.

"I thought you were better then that. Guess I was wrong," she tried to shut the door, but Tony held it fast.

"I should have been," he admitted. "But I wasn't."

"Yeah…so?" she gritted her teeth.

"So I guess…I'm apologizing," Tony nearly choked on his words. "I'm sorry." Harmony seemed surprised by his total humility. "I shouldn't have broken your trust in me like that. You trusted me to be sober and reliable, and…I wasn't. So, I'm sorry."

Harmony was frozen, as if turning over the authenticity of his apology in her head.

"Okay," she said. "I forgive you. I guess. But I'm still angry."

"I would expect you to be," Tony shrugged casually and tucked his free hand in his pocket. They stood in silence, his hand still holding the door in place, hers still gripping the handle. Finally, she let go of the handle and stepped close to Tony.

"I've never had a reliability figure in my life. At least a man," she whispered, as if sharing a deep secret with him. She lifted her dark eyes to his. He could feel her sweet breath, hot and quick. Tony kept his grip on the doorframe, his open arm almost receiving her advance in a protective manner.

"Well, I'm not a very good role model," he said, willing to keep cool. She blinked a bit.

"Of course you are, Tony," she murmured, her eyes unwavering. "Just because you blew it, doesn't mean you're not capable of it."

Tony moved a bit closer, decreasing the gap between them. He felt her hesitate a bit, almost as if contemplating her comfort level with how close they now stood. She almost seemed like a frightened deer, who at any moment, could dart away. Somehow, Tony almost found her injured spirit and vulnerability intriguing.

"I wish I could be one for you," Tony said. "But I can't." And for the first time in his life, Tony turned away from a women and left her hanging.

Harmony stood in the doorway for a moment, catching her breath.

It been a long time since a man had provoked strange stirrings in her heart. Maybe she far from hated Tony Stark now, despite what he had done. She turned and retreated to her room. Today, she would not work with Tony on the project. For some reason, she felt a need to keep some space between them.

Well, finally some romance between them. Hope it wasn't too rushed, but I felt it was a good time for some prequel romance. There will be more to come, but I'm not gonna rush it!

Please please please review! I need reviews to keep writing.

Me likey! You likey?

RomanceDoneWrite