Ravageuse

Jade pulled on her black strapless dress and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Tony said fancy so she decided to dress herself appropriately. At the thought of Tony, she pulled the dress up a bit more to cover her chest. The last thing she needed was him staring at it all throughout dinner. She still couldn't believe she was doing this and there were about three or four moments earlier where she almost called him and backed out. But then she remembered the puppy eyes and his near death experience with her and she knew she had to follow through.

It was odd to Jade, feeling like she owed someone something. She never let herself care about that before. But since she started working for S.H.I.E.L.D. she supposed that it made her more of a human than before.

The doorbell rang, snapping Jade out of her thoughts. She opened the door and had to admit it, Tony looked… well… really damn good.

He looked her up and down. "Well, don't you look delicious."

"And you're definitely not getting a taste of it tonight. So don't get any ideas," Jade said before locking her door and shutting it.

"Maybe another night then?" Tony asked as they walked toward the elevator.

Jade pretended to think about it for a moment before replying, "no. Never."

The elevator doors opened and the two stepped inside. "We'll see about that," Tony replied as he pressed the button labeled 'Lobby'.

The second the elevator doors closed, there was a tension so thick that the knife in Jade's purse could cut through it. Jade kept her gaze ahead and refused to look at Tony. But then she felt a finger on her shoulder and she watched as it trailed all the way down her arm, forcing her to shudder.

Jade wanted to grab his finger and snap it, but all she could do was watch as it trailed back up her arm. Going against her own mind's protests, she looked up at him. The look in his eyes was so intense and so inviting… She almost gave in. But as the saying goes, she was saved by the bell. The elevator had made it to the lobby and the dinging noise snapped her out of the gaze.

She exited the elevator as fast as she could with Tony in tow. He didn't say anything about their little moment in the elevator so she kept her mouth shut about it too.

All thoughts of their moment were immediately erased though once Jade saw the Bugatti parked on the street. It was even more gorgeous than she thought it'd be. Tony watched with pride as Jade's jaw dropped at the sight of it.

"This is the sexiest car I've ever seen," Jade said.

"I know," Tony replied as he opened the door for her.

Jade gave him an odd look, "I wouldn't have pegged you as a chivalrous man."

"I'm full of surprises," he answered before going around to the driver's side and taking a seat.

Jade dug her nails into her leg. Tony drove fast and it scared the shit out of her. Jade can handle fighting baddies, killing them and dealing with superhumans. But she can't handle Tony Stark's driving.

"You look sick. Do you need to throw up? Please don't throw up in this car. Open the window. Or better yet, I'll pull over and then you can throw up on the side of the road," Tony said and Jade could hear the worry in his voice. Of course he'd be worried about the car.

"I'm fine, can you just… Slow down a bit? Please?" Jade pleaded.

"Got it. Okay. Slowing down. How about some music too?"

All of a sudden a Black Sabbath song came blasting through the speakers. Jade looked at Tony in surprise.

"You're a Black Sabbath fan?"

"Of course. They're my favorite." Tony said, as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.

Jade nodded her head in approval. "I'm impressed."

"Well, I'm pretty impressive," Tony answered.

Since Jade couldn't disagree with that statement, she just smiled and enjoyed the music until they arrived at the restaurant.

Once they were inside, she realized he wasn't kidding when he said "somewhere fancy". There was a gorgeous water fountain inside that looked like it belonged in some Greek mythology world. The whole place was dimly lit but it was fitting.

"Mr. Stark, Miss Collins," The host greeted the pair with a nod and a smile. "It's a pleasure to have you here."

Jade raised her eyebrows at the greeting, but smiled nonetheless.

"Please follow me."

They followed him to a room with big mahogany doors that were closed. The host opened them and Jade was in awe. The room was huge but only had one table with two chairs in the middle. There was a large fireplace in the room and beautiful paintings on every wall.

They sat down and were given a glass of wine each and the bottle. The host left the two alone and Tony looked at Jade expectantly.

"So? What do you think?"

Jade took a sip of the wine and then took another. "This stuff is amazing."

"Not the wine. I meant this," Tony waved his arm, gesturing to the whole room.

"Oh, yeah, that's incredible too."

"Thats what I thought. I'm a great date," Tony said before taking a sip of wine.

"Why are you so cocky?" Jade asked.

Tony looked confused for a second before answering, "why wouldn't I be?"

There was a silence before they both laughed. She couldn't deny the fact that so far she was enjoying Stark's company for once.

--------------------------------------

"That was without a doubt the best meal I've ever had," Jade said after their table was cleared of their dinner.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. But now… I need some answers," Tony said.

Jade sighed. "I was waiting for when you'd bring it up."

Tony gave her a look that said, "I'm waiting…"

"Look… It's complicated and I don't even understand how it happened or why. But ever since I can remember, I've been this way," Jade explained.

"What way? An assassin?"

"No. Destructible." Jade picked at her fingernails. She never opened up to anyone before, especially not about this. It was her deepest, darkest secret and she intended to keep it that way. And then Tony Stark came along and ruined that.

"I don't remember much of my childhood. I do remember being thirteen and getting transferred from foster home to foster home constantly because nobody wanted me. Not even foster families. I was a freak. Weird things happened when I was around. Everyone thought I was the devil." Jade couldn't look at Tony. Not when she was showing vulnerability. "It was like that until I was eighteen. I got into some bad things and got involved with some even worse people. I learned to adapt and to not use my power. I learned how to hide it away and to never ever let it come out. And then something snapped in me recently and it just… happened."

The room was completely silent, save for the sound of the crackling fire. It made Jade uncomfortable and she desperately wanted to fill the silence.

"So… There you have it. That's my story. There's your explanation," Jade said, finally letting herself look at Tony.

There was no trace of pity on his face, instead there was the one thing Jade had hoped most for but least expected. Understanding. Tony understood.

And that was the moment that Jade realized that Tony Stark was just as broken inside as she was.