Close Your Eyes

"It's not the same. I don't want Pepper, Happy or JARVIS around while I relax. All I want around me is you. Can't you do that for me? I'll give you a bonus if you go with me."

Dasha could clearly remember the vulnerability on his face the small sheer panic of being left alone made her become closer to him. She knew the feeling. She recognized the feeling of being left alone all too much to the point where she actually comforted Tony in his time of need. Her heart constricted at the thought of Tony being alone.

"I don't want to be alone."

If she didn't know any better it sounded like a plea. Dasha frowned at the turmoil the man has caused her since he has entered her life and she hated it. Oh how much she hated it.

"How was your trip? Other than almost being slashed in half by a maniac." Jak questioned as he sat on the other side of the well-lit table. A small glint in his blue eyes made her roll her own at his suggestion.

"Nothing happened, Jak. I would never let anything happen no matter how pitiful he looked." She mumbled the last part to herself. Dasha could still feel the warmth of his hand laced with hers when they were flying back to Malibu. Her heart did a funny jump when his thumb stroked her skin as if he was the one soothing her.

She could confidently say that the experience she endured was something she rather not do again. Grumbling into her meal, Jak frowned at the sour mood.

"Right, uh. How is working for Tony?"

"A nightmare."

"Of course it is. It's because you don't embrace it. How Tony managed to pull some strings for you to work for him and still get credit for your residency is quite remarkable if I say so myself. You should be grateful you have a job and stop being so bitter about it."

Suddenly the grip on her fork tightened, "Look it doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened. He screwed some chick on the board that let it through. How would I know?" She continued when she saw her friend opening his mouth to interject. "My advisor decided to check up on me the other day while giving Tony a flirty smile. Never pegged him to love all women."

The jab was reasonable in her opinion. When she opened the door to see an older woman nearing her fifties in the front door she almost back pedaled when she introduced herself. Mariah Matters, one of the top pediatric surgeons in the country. The well fitted suit clung to her figure which Dasha could tell that she worked hard for. If Dasha didn't know who she was or didn't pay close attention to her dyed hair or the skin of her hands and neck she would have never guessed she was half a century old.

The conversation that went on between Tony and Mariah was more than enough evidence that something happened with the two. She refused to let her imagination get away from her. The subtle touches and overly calculating gaze that was aimed towards her made her believe that her mentor for the time being did not see anything special with Dasha.

Clearly the famous surgeon was bored with Dasha before even speaking with her, but held her tongue knowing that if she was to behave she might be rewarded by Tony later. That sickened her.

Dasha shuddered at the memory and when she saw the shock that crossed Jak's face she didn't flinch when he slammed his hands on the table. "NO FUCKING WAY!" The commotion had every eye zero in on the table of two. Jak blushed at the sudden attention before sheepishly smiling, apologizing to the crowd around them.

Dasha sighed, "You need to calm down. It shouldn't have surprised you. This is Tony we are talking about."

Jak shook his head, "Why are you so calm about this? This is Tony, remember? Your boyfriend, your lover, your soul mate-"

"My boss. That is all he is, Jak. Pull yourself together. This isn't the time to let your fantasies run wild." Dasha hissed. Dark eyes darted about as the low whispers started to ensue. Dammit. There was something that people will start to recognize her if they keep talking about a certain billionaire.

"I don't believe that. I don't believe that at all Dash. He loves you." When those words came out of his mouth her ears refused to listen to anymore of his nonsense. Tony didn't love her.

"I love you."

There was no possible way that Tony Stark could love her. It was nearly impossible. Hell would freeze over before that even happened. All he wanted was her body; to obtain her for one night and once he is through with her that was the end of it.

Tony looked nonchalant as he grinned in victory, "What? It got you from walking out that door, didn't it?"

Dasha would never give him that satisfaction. She intended to work her way through her residency with as clean of a record as possible and not let her heart fall for the illusion of Tony Stark. No matter what her heart told her; she shouldn't cave in. She wouldn't.

"—nd you love him." Her eyes finally stared into Jak's blue ones; they held truth and belief that what he said was honest. He was confidently telling her that she was lying to herself. That she was more involved than she lead on and that small detail scared her half to death.

For the first time, Dasha was speechless. Loosening her grip on the utensil in her hand, she twisted it around the pasta on her plate and continued eating letting her mind go in a state of denial.

Dasha and Jak finished their meal in utter silence letting their words sink in. The heaviness of the conversation overtook their dinner for a while until Jak picked it up again as he shared the disaster date he just had while she was away. Dasha grinned at the story with the theatrics and sullen expression on his face she couldn't help, but stifled a chuckle.

"Never let me go on a date again with a dancer. They are too pretentious."

A scoff came from her lips before giving him a knowing look. He was the definition of the word. Jak couldn't stand having someone trying to outshine him in every possible way. He could stand to be self-centered when chatting amongst friends which Dasha can appreciate since she didn't want to discuss anything in her life. It was one of the many reasons why she keeps Jak around.

Now they were relaxing in his comfortable adobe with her legs on his lap as they talked about everything and nothing at the same time. Dasha felt a wave of relief hit her as she brushed passed the nagging feeling that she should check on a certain man that has been plaguing her life. Lucky for her that Jak wasn't aware that it was Tony's birthday; the woman wanted to be away from as much of the foolishness as possible.

Dasha wanted some peace before the incoming call of Pepper that was bound to happen later on that night.

When Jak single handedly started to paint her toenails the chatterbox would slowly stop his incessant ranting and concentrate on the work before him. His lips that went a million miles per minute slowly started to decrease in speed as he focused on painting the navy blue nail polish onto each toe nail. A lighter shade was already on her fingernails given the time that one of her close friends Emma decided to showed up in town for her job.

Everything seems to come back into place now that she was safely back home. It felt like everything she went through was erased the minute her feet touched American soil. Tony was breathing down her neck and decided to give her a few days off given it was odd that he would do such a thing she didn't question in. Then spending time with old friends, Jak and Emma was just icing on the cake.

She could say she was in bliss for a moment until her phone started to ring with a sense of urgency. She couldn't place it, but she felt it in the air. Twisting her upper body away from the couch, she could hear the mutters of Jak as he continued to finish his work of art.

Once her thumb pressed the call button, she pushed the device onto her ear with the dull tone of her voice drawled, "Hello?"

"Dasha."

"Emma?" Jak's head instantly perked up at the name. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, uh I think you should go check on your boyfriend." The small pause didn't go unnoticed. Dasha furrowed her brows when she heard her friend emphasize the next part. "Now."

"Why? What is going on, Emma?"

"I was driving down Malibu when I saw a freaking beam of light on top of this cliff and I realized it was Tony's house. So me being the person that I am decided to check what's going on. When I reached his house I see that there is a party going on—a party that I wasn't invited to."

"Get to the point, Em." Dasha mumbled.

"Anyways, I easily got by the way. No security around this place whatsoever and once I walked in I see Tony dancing with a few skanks. Thought you might want to come in and check up on him, he looks…a bit worn out."

Dasha glanced at Jak to see the intense gaze he was giving her. She bit the inside of her lip knowing that the stupid nagging feeling was right. There was something wrong. "Dasha-"

"Alright, I'm on my way." Dasha pinched the bridge of her nose. "Thanks for the heads up." Sighing heavily, she ended the call to look up at Jak with aggravation. "I guess our night is officially over."

"Do you want me to come with?" Jak asked worriedly, he watched Dasha who was happy suddenly become drained with a five minute phone call.

Something told her that she should bring Jak along, nodding they both picked themselves from the couch. Dasha slipped on some sandals and followed Jak towards her car. Taking deep breaths, she turned on the car before headed towards Tony's household. She almost groaned when she saw the beacon of light that Emma was speaking of as she drove up the hillside.

Cursing under her breath, she parked her car by the entrance to have valet politely greeting her. "Would you like me to move your car, Ms. Swan?"

"No, I won't be long. Thank you." Dasha stormed inside the house, music blaring that muffled the cheering of Jak as he saw the party goers. "Stick with me. We're not here for the party." Jak instantly pouted, but followed instructions as he trailed behind her like a duckling.

The sea of people suffocated her, bodies smashed together, bumping and grinding against one another. The stench of alcohol on everyone's breath made her gag. Pushing through the crowd, she almost reached the end until a body collided into her. If it wasn't for the condensed space, Dasha would have fallen onto the ground.

"What the fuck?! Watch where ya goin', ho."

Dasha rounded on her heels to give the tramp that was pushed against her a piece of her mind until she met a familiar pair of brown ones identical to her own. The irritation on the younger woman's face was still etched on when she saw who it was. "Ivy? What the hell are you doing here?"

Ivy rolled her eyes with her arms crossed, "What the hell does it look like I'm doin'? I'm here for the fucking party."

"Where's Willow?" Concerned eyes scoured the area to look for the little girl; she hoped that Ivy had enough sense not to bring her daughter to a party such as this.

"With our dad, who the fuck else?"

Dasha growled as she forcefully grabbed her sister by her arm and dragged her off the dance floor. Ivy thrashed under her sister's strength, finally being released she yanked herself from Dasha's grip. "Get the hell off me! Who do you think you are, Dasha? The fucking police?!"

"Go home, Ivy-Rae." She narrowed her eyes at her younger sister; clearly she wasn't going to be following instructions. Ivy snickered as she flipped her hair and sauntered away from the duo. Dasha gritted her teeth knowing she was fighting the inevitable when it came to her sister. "Jak. Make sure my sister doesn't go home with anybody."

Jak nodded before taking off. Dasha glanced around the room to see that almost every single person in this room was indeed dressed skanky. The tight dresses, the low cut cleavage and the dainty drinks in their hands. There were more women at this party than men. Dasha was disgusted. Weaving in and out of the crowd of people she finally found the person she was looking for.

"Emma!"

The familiar blonde turned around with a look of relief crossing her face. "Dasha! Thank God you're here! What took you so long?"

"Where's Tony?"

Emma blinked, shocked that Dasha showed concern. Turning around, she looked around to see if he was right where she left him. "Um, I think he went that wa—hey!" Dasha patted Emma's shoulder before heading in the direction that led towards Tony. For some reason she felt a sense vulnerability hit her in tidal waves. Her feet slowed down when her eyes found Tony in his iron clad suit; his lips were attached to another woman's lips.

The image made her feel like someone punched her in the stomach, her breath hitched at the sudden loss of words. Her mind couldn't process what she was seeing. The more she stared at them the more she started to see the whole picture. The dark raven locks that hid the woman's face was pushed back to see that the woman was her sister.

It was her sister sucking Tony's lips right off his face.

Anger seeped into her pores at the sight. Fists clenched tightly, she stormed towards the couple peeling Ivy away from Tony. Dasha couldn't think. She refused to think when her fist collided into Ivy's face. This was the last straw. She couldn't deal with her little sister anymore. All the tiffs and quarrels they had just escalated and there was no mutual respect for one another.

Dasha felt betrayed.

All Dasha saw was red; right when she was going to take a step towards her sister she felt someone restrain her. The screams emitting from Ivy's mouth was muffled, she couldn't hear a thing as her mind continued to race. Everything in her mind felt jumbled.

"Dasha." The soft smooth voice of Tony brought her back to her senses.

Dasha blinked furiously feeling the tears of anger come rushing forward. "Get the hell away from me, you fucking asshole!" Dasha twisted her body away from Tony, refusing to answer his calls. The sound of metal could be heard behind her as she walked out into the balcony.

Don't cry. Don't you dare cry now.

The cool air rushed against her face as she leaned against the railing. Why did her heart betray her like this? All of those times she kept telling herself that this was nothing. Nothing was going on between her and Tony, yet there was something there. That tiny speckle of trust that was gained throughout their time together was fucking there and she didn't know how to handle something like this.

"Dash-" Tony paused as he watched Dasha trying to remain calm. Anger rolled down her back in waves and he could easily feel the energy emitting from her. "Da-"

"Why?" Tony blinked in confusion. "Why are you acting like a total ass?" Dasha swerved around, eyes narrowed, lips curled and ridged form. "Are you trying to prove something here? That you're better than everyone else? That you can have anyone you want with a flick of your wrist?"

"What are you talking about?" Tony sighed, he sounded tired and dealing with an emotional woman was something he was never good at.

Dasha stood her ground, her feet digging harshly against the floor. "Why would you tell the media that I'm your girlfriend? When you can have anyone and I mean anyone in the world, you decide to drag me into your godforsaken mess saying we're together. We're not together Tony and even though you are very persistent about it, we're not. So stop saying that we are."

The blank expression that was conveyed on his face made her fume. His mind clicked at the connection of what happened and why she was being so dramatic. "Are you jealous that some woman kissed me?"

"Don't avoid the questions Tony."

"I'm not. I'm entitled to ask questions just like you are. If you aren't jealous you wouldn't be verbally attacking me right now. You wouldn't be reduced to tears if you weren't hurt by what transpired and it's obvious you have feelings for me." Tony observed the flicker of emotions flashing through her face. He grinned, taking a few steps closer to her. "I'm right, aren't I?" He trapped her in between the railing and himself, hands held onto the railing to create barriers.

Dasha stared right into his eyes showing she wasn't afraid of what he said because it was a lie. "…No. You're not."

"Yes, I am." Tony leaned in close to her face with a sly grin. "There is no other woman I rather be with than you." His voice was soft and soothing. The billionaire was confident enough to be this close to her with his suit knowing that the last time he crossed his boundary he ended up on the floor wheezing.

Dasha glared viciously before her fist hit his face. Stunned, Tony took a few steps back not expecting her to lash out after that tender moment. "Dasha!" He turned around to see the brunette muttering darkly to herself how stupid he was. A frown appeared on his face. He was aware that the kiss was a risk and he knew that if Pepper was around then Dasha was bound to be around too, but he had to do it.

Tony wanted to see what he truly felt and when what's-her-face gave the opportune moment and kissed him, he knew. Tony Stark knew from that moment what he was feeling and it made him feel nervous.

Watching her weave through the crowd, he focused on the party instead. The emotions that were overriding his senses were getting a bit much. Pacing himself towards the DJ, he grinned as he scratched the track waving his hand in the air like a fool. This was his last birthday party and he wanted to make the best of it.

Giving his last announcement, Tony drawled out his speech as he watched Pepper stalking towards him. She snatched the microphone away from him dismissing the crowd around them. Tony rolled his eyes as Pepper tried to control the situation and with the quick exchange of the liquor bottle and microphone, he announced the after party.

"Tony, you're out of control." Pepper hissed under her breath, back against the crowd as her blue eyes gazed into Tony's.

Tony scoffed, "You're out of control. Can't even let me throw my own damn party."

"You can't even think straight. Call off the after party."

"No."

"Tony."

"Pepper."

Pepper took a step to the side, blocking him from escaping. "Whatever you did or said to Dasha you better apologize. She's—" Pepper didn't want to out Dasha; she witnessed the emotions that surrounded the woman when they bumped into each other a few minutes ago. Dasha refused to explain what happened and excused herself from the party stating that Tony was now her problem.

"Yeah, I'll do it later." Tony pressed the microphone to his lips with a victorious smile, "Let's get this party started!"

Because right now Tony didn't want to think about the future, he wanted to focus on the right now. Pushing the image of Dasha into the back of his mind, he tried to surround himself with the people that were there and it wasn't until the Rhodey practically beat him to the ground that he realized that he might have gone too far.

He might have.