Energy

“So…” Christie breathed in a trembling voice. Her eyes fell to look at their entwined hands. Though she felt like a mess inside, she didn’t want to go into her room and compose herself. Christie wanted to be with him.

“Here we are,” Tony smiled, feeling as nervous as her. He knew the date had gone well, but a part of him had expected the worse. Now that he was here in the moment, he was practically speechless.

“I, uh… I was going to say earlier tonight that I had thought about us, and…” Christie trailed off. They had already kissed; her words seemed redundant. She grinned and looked up to see a soft smile on Tony’s lips. The gentle and sweet lips she had now kissed… “I would love to try us as something more. If you want to as well, obviously.” Christie unwillingly stumbled over her words and felt her cheeks redden. Tony gave her small hands a quick squeeze.

“Of course I would,” he told her. Tony reached into his pocket and pulled out a thin black box that fit in his palm. “I want to give you something as a sign of good faith.” He easily flicked it open and revealed the silver necklace: a thin heart with a few perfect diamond studs along one side. Tony watched as Christie’s jaw fell down and her eyes enlarged.

“It’s so beautiful…” she gasped before flicking her eyes up at him. “Is it really for me?” Christie could barely believe that a man was giving her such a gift.

“Of course,” Tony grinned. He slipped the necklace out of the box and gestured for Christie to turn around. As she did, she grabbed her long hair and pulled it to one side, allowing for Tony to reach around and effortlessly secure the necklace. Christie trailed a finger down the little links of metal until she reached the heart. She felt like she was dreaming. Beaming from ear to ear, Christie turned and embraced Tony.

“Thank you,” she breathed before pulling away, leaving her arms wrapped around him. “So does the notorious playboy Tony Stark officially have a girlfriend?” Christie gave a short chuckle, knowing that not only would the press enjoy the story, but so would the rest of the Avengers.

“Yeah…” Tony said. He had lost interest in their conversation and was mesmerised by her lips. Tony leant in and kissed her lightly, noticing how right it felt. Every time their lips met, it felt more pleasant and highlighted their meaningful connection. Tony adored it, and so did Christie.



Jasmine had a high demand for Tony over the next few days. Contracts needed to be signed, businessmen needed to be contacted, prices for products had to be set, and countless other things. Whenever he had a break, Tony went straight to his workshop to continue inventing an important new function for his latest Iron Man suit design. Christie understood the value of both duties, as his job held great importance to him and his Iron Man suits could be the difference between life and death. However, she couldn’t help but feel lonely and bored. The times that a tired Tony did emerge from down below, they shared lovely moments, talking over a meal or cuddling while watching a movie or a sports match. Christie loved it and desired more time with her new boyfriend. She hadn’t waited this long to finally have a proper boyfriend and then hardly see him.

Christie left the house, taking a taxi to the closest supermarket and buying a few supplies with some cash she pickpocketed with her energy. Once she returned, she headed down to the workshop and punched in her code. Christie almost dropped the bags when she saw Tony was injecting himself with something.

“What the hell are you doing?” she exclaimed while rushing over. Tony jumped with surprise, almost misfiring the machine he had built a couple of days ago.

“Jeez, Christie, don’t sneak up on me like that!” he remarked with frustration. Christie arrived at his side and noticed the pinpricks of blood in a perfectly straight line up his arm. “Give me a hand, would you?” Tony held out the machine, but Christie continued to gape.

“What are you doing?” she repeated.

“Injecting myself with nanochips,” Tony said casually, gesturing for her to take the injector. She snatched it out of his hand, but only to prevent him from using it again.

“Why?”

“So the Mark 42 can recognise me and go to the right places,” Tony answered before pointing at the black dots on his right arm. “Can you do these ones?”

“Will you come upstairs if I do?” Christie wondered after a short pause. She’d do anything to aid him in a heartbeat, but she still wanted to put her plan into action. Tony winced, pondering the appalling thought of leaving his precious work just as he was making an advancement, but Christie’s begging eyes made him give in. He knew he couldn’t strain their relationship any longer.

“Okay,” Tony agreed with a curt nod, and Christie began to inject the chips into the pre-marked areas.



“When are you telling me what’s in the bag?” Tony asked as he jogged up the stairs behind Christie. His eyes were wandering, but he couldn’t help it.

“Once we’re in the kitchen,” she replied. They were soon there and Tony switched on the TV to the news channel, wanting to know more about the current events. He turned around and saw Christie was turning on the oven.

“We’re not cooking, are we?” Tony questioned with worry. Christie laughed as she pulled out flour from the bag. “You remember what happened yesterday, right? I failed at making an omelette for you.”

“We’re going to make muffins, and because we’re doing it together, we should be fine,” she smiled. Tony relaxed slightly, hoping that her help would ensure the food turned out to be tasty. With many laughs, they began the preparation, and Tony found himself becoming less stressed with every moment that passed. His muscles immediately tensed once a horrific news bulletin was announced.

“Officials are reporting that yet another Mandarin bombing has occurred. Three people are confirmed to be dead, while many have been hospitalised,” the reporter said, catching Christie’s attention as well. They watched the screen and saw the video of burnt items, all so distorted that it made the location unidentifiable.

“Oh my…” Christie whispered, wondering how could anyone do something so horrendous.

“Authorities are keeping quiet about the details, though it has been said that there is once again little evidence left behind. No leads have been confirmed,” the woman finished before another news piece showed.

“That makes me sick,” Tony commented.

“Me too,” Christie agreed. “There’s nothing we can do about it, right?”

“If there was, I’m sure Fury would have called us in by now,” Tony sighed as he grabbed the blueberries. Christie too diverted her attention back to the baking. “Hang on, that sounded to me like someone wants to be a superhero.” Christie grinned at the teasing tone.

“I don’t want to be one,” she said sternly. “I just don’t like innocent people dying.” Tony started tossing the blueberries into her bowl. Once Christie had finished stirring them into the batter, she looked up and saw a smudge of blueberry across Tony’s cheek. Uncontrollably she started giggling, wondering how he had managed that.

“What?” Tony questioned, truly puzzled about what was so funny.

“You have blueberry on your face, sweetie,” Christie chuckled and Tony frowned. He moved a hand up to remove it, but noticed the blue stains on his fingers from a berry he had accidentally crushed. Christie approached Tony, stopping a few inches from him. She used her index finger to wipe off the mark, then popped it in her mouth. Tony found her actions seductive and scooped her into his arms. He passionately pressed his lips against hers, loving the heat between them. Eventually they pulled away, Christie practically breathless and Tony lingering close for more. She almost went back to his lips and arms, but she knew she wasn’t quite ready yet. Filled with excited nerves, Christie distracted herself by finishing off the muffins and trying not to think about her anticipation of what could have happened next.