Across the Universe

Scarlett had been wrong to think that Tony wouldn’t follow her even in her anger. Clearly he didn’t know that he should give up while he was ahead. The last thing she wanted to do was to keep arguing with him. She was too angry and considering Scarlett’s rather high tolerance level for bullshit that was saying something. One of them was going to end up with a black eye and she was ninety percent sure it wasn’t going to be her. Tony lost his temper rather easily but not in the same way that Scarlett did. She was very physical when she lost her temper. Despite Tony’s reputation he was mostly a teddy bear.

Tony knew what he had said was trouble the moment it had come past his lips. He knew he shouldn’t have said it and regretted it immediately. But it had been said and there was little he could do to take it back. He still didn’t think he was necessarily wrong either. Then again, he’d been the one to pressure her into going out even if that night had been her idea. He’d been thrilled when she’d suggested it and had made a huge deal about where they would go and what they would do! In the back of his mind he should’ve known it was still too dangerous. Only a few months had past! Did they really think that MedCo would give up so easily? Considering the trouble Scarlett had caused for them thus far, they should’ve known better. After all, she’d been responsible for the deaths of two out of three of their corporation figure heads.

Yet Tony was still angry that she wouldn’t let him help her and he knew that was more than validated. He was angry that her history didn’t seem to scare her the way it scared him. Why couldn’t she understand that fear? It was pretty simple in his head. But if it was so simple then why couldn’t he just say it? She acted like he was trying to keep her cooped up in a cage in order to keep her safe but that wasn’t what he meant to do! Every time he explained it to her, or at least tried to explain it, the words wouldn’t come out right. Now she was mad at him for being worried! But he was mad at her too for not being worried!

How did worry get turned back around on him?

Before Scarlett could make it all the way up the stairs, he chased after her, taking the steps two at a time. Once close enough he grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her to a halt near the top of the stairs. She nearly lost her balance and grabbed onto him to stop herself from tumbling downward.

“Scarlett, you can’t just…”

“I can’t just what? You keep telling me what I can and can’t do so let me spell it out for you. You don’t get to tell me what to do. So, I suggest you take a hint and back the hell off! Let me cool my jets a little bit! I can’t right now!” Scarlett whispered threateningly. She was trying her hardest not to raise her voice. Unfortunately it seemed she sounded much more sinister when she chose not to yell.

“I say one little thing you don’t like so you just run away from me? And here I thought that was my move!” Tony didn’t relent even when she pushed his hands away from her. Scarlett needed fresh air. She needed to clear her thoughts and maybe punch a pillow or two. On top of that she needed an aspirin. Her shoulder throbbed with each move she made and muddled her thoughts further. She couldn’t think straight when she was in such pain and Tony was forcing her into a corner. If it came to that it could end in a number of ways but Scarlett didn’t trust herself to make the right decision. Not now.

“I need a minute to calm down.” She turned again to face him on the stairs but Tony didn’t back away from her as she expected.

“I meant what I said.” He stood one step lower than her and kept his eyes locked with hers. He’d made a mistake, he knew it, but it wasn’t in his nature to apologize so freely. He wasn’t wrong either; he just hadn’t said it the way he’d intended. Digging the knife deeper probably wasn’t in his best interests but he couldn’t help himself. “You shouldn’t be out there with Scott after you. Or MedCo. It’s too dangerous!” He reached to touch her cheek and for a moment she leaned into the touch but then pushed him away. It was then and there that he knew she wanted to be comforted but for some reason was resisting the notion entirely. Sometimes women were absurdly complex.

“You don’t get to make that decision.” Scarlett narrowed her eyes at him.

“When do I get to help you make that decision? I thought we were going to be a team!” Tony shouted at long last.

“When I get to be a part of making your decisions! When you stop lying to me about what’s keeping you up at night! When you stop hiding projects you’re working on when I come in the room! Or maybe when you stop going to everyone else but me to try and fix our problems.” Before Scarlett could further kick open the door to the closet of secrets they hid, Tony wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply, nearly knocking her off of her feet. His lips engulfed hers hungrily, strong arms pulling her closer to the edge of the step where she stood.

Her heart was hammering so hard in her chest she was sure it was close to stopping. Before she’d realized what she’d done her good arm was around his shoulders and she was returning his heated and sloppy kisses. Why did anger and sexual tension have to go hand in hand for them? It made it near impossible for them to find any conflict resolution. His hands slid up the sides of the lightweight dress she wore then gripped her by it and pulled her close against him. When his hands slid back down her sides and to her hips she pulled away from his lips and swatted his hands off of her.

He grabbed onto the banisters of the stairs on either side of him and tilted his head to the side but never took his eyes off of her. She was dangerous when she was angry and after all this time Tony was still turned on by danger.

Tonight was supposed to have been romantic! It was supposed to be their fresh start. Somehow it ended up dangerous, bloody, and filled with rage. Maybe they’d been expecting too much to want a normal date. Their first time had been after a failed night out to begin with. Tony had tried to trick her into going on a date with him to a charity dinner and she’d refused the notion but had attended after Pepper had convinced her. But then things had exploded, robots had come after them, and it had been one of the best dates Tony had ever been on in his life.

When they worked together things were sexy and exciting! He’d carried her out of the ballroom that night through the ceiling and she’d kissed his helmet for saving his life. Tonight they hadn’t worked together and maybe that’s where things had gone wrong. Scarlett had wound up vulnerable and injured and instead of feeling excited to be working with her, he’d ended up terrified because she’d been bleeding!

But things had changed once they’d gotten to safety. There was no danger other than the kind Scarlett was creating. Her arm was bleeding again after they’d been shoving and pushing at each other. Tony eyed the blood smeared across her flesh and the wound on her shoulder that sparkled red in the dim lights of the stairwell. The dress she wore was ruined, tattered along the bottom and half covered with blood and dirt from the fight she’d been in. Hell, it didn’t even seem to be fitting nearly as well as it had earlier in the day. But he didn’t look much better. At least when she was disheveled she was sexy.

He’d lost his bowtie during his fight before he’d gotten to his suit and his jacket had gotten singed in the fire. A few buttons on his shirt had popped and disappeared into the night. His shirt had long since been pulled away from where it had been neatly tucked into his slacks. Scarlett narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously and waited for his next move because he was clearly going to strike. Part of her wanted him to make his move. Maybe if he did it would be the breath of fresh air she needed.

“I’m not backing down.” Tony whispered and Scarlett took a step closer and leaned so she was only inches away from his face. Her moving so close practically created sparks in the air. Tony swore one day he was going to be electrocuted by her.

“You have no right to be upset about this.” Scarlett gave him the most sinister of smiles and he gritted his teeth.

“When you came home from Moscow with me it became my right! We agreed to be a team!” Tony shouted in return, gripping at the banister a bit harder.

“A team? This isn’t a team! This is who can keep the most secrets the longest and we’re both losing!”

“You can’t expect me…” Tony began but Scarlett immediately cut him off.

“Oh, but it’s okay for you to expect me to spill my guts on a constant basis? To allow you to make decisions about my life but not for me to have any say in yours? You cannot have everything you want, Tony! You know that phrase about having your cake and eating it too? Maybe you should look it up sometime!”

“You know what, Scarlett? I get what I want because I’m willing to cross a few lines! I fought for you! I fought like hell for you!”

“What does that have to do with anything? If this is a contest I’m pretty sure I’m going to win! Not that I was keeping score or anything!” Before she could further elaborate Tony wrapped his arms around her and physically lifted her off of the stairs. Since she didn’t make an effort to grab onto him Tony urged her legs around him, hiking her skirt up around her hips to do so. He kissed her passionately, carefully moving up the stairs until he was onto the ledge that overlooked his living room.

She tugged at his singed jacket and pushed it away from his shoulders. He discarded it from his arms and threw it down the stairs where it remained.

“How do you think I got you, huh?” Tony urged his arms beneath her backside, holding her so that she was slightly above him and engulfed her lips with his. He could taste the blood on her lips and despite how they were sore and swollen she returned the fervor with which he’d attacked. “I had to cross quite a few lines.” With a groan he bit at her already sore lips. She hissed with a wince and pulled from his kiss and narrowed her gaze.

“I’m still mad at you.” She shoved his shoulder but then slid her hand around to the back of his neck and pulled him close to kiss her again. Her lips brushed against the scruff of his mustache and she bit at his bottom lip, hashing her teeth against the very same scruff.

“I’m pretty mad at you too.” Tony moaned, speaking in a low gruff voice.

“No matter what you think,” Scarlett began but Tony backed them up until she was leaning against the wall, “you are not entitled to control me in any way.” Despite how she spoke her fingers fumbled with the buttons at the collar of his shirt. The dexterity in her left hand had dwindled but with the assistance of her right hand she was managing.

“When it comes to this, Scarlett?” His hands slid from beneath her now that he had her supported against the wall and kissed hungrily over her neck. “And if I’m capable?” He growled against her flesh and pushed her harder against the wall. “Which I am, by the way.” Leaning up from her neck he placed his hand against her throat and pushed her head back against the wall. “Then control seems like fair game.”

Scarlett smacked him swiftly and he turned his head with the force of her hand. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly with adrenaline, unable to catch her breath. Tony cracked his jaw and looked back to her in mild surprise. His cheek was stinging with pain. She grabbed him by the chin and pulled him back for a passionate kiss. He returned the gesture, placing his hand next to her against the wall, asserting his dominance again by pressing his chest hard against hers.

“You’re sending some very conflicting signals right now, Miss Damien.” Tony urged his hips against hers and gave her a swift push so she could feel the reaction he’d built up since they’d begun arguing.

“Am I? Tell that to the thing between your legs.” Scarlett pursed her lips until he kissed her again. As he rocked his hips against her as if to prove her point, she whimpered softly. The things they did to each other even in their worst moments left her weak at the knees.

“What was that? Can you talk about the thing between my legs a little louder? I didn’t quite hear you with all the crazy in here.” Purposely Tony urged his hips against hers then reached down to unbuckle his belt so it was out of the way. Scarlett wondered if she was a little crazy. It would make an awful lot of sense. After all, she was making out with him against the wall and it was steadily progressing toward far more than that when she should have been at the hospital getting a piece of a knife removed from her shoulder. Did it really matter if she was crazy?

Not right now it didn’t, not with the heat rising between them. Scarlett’s hand gripped at the back of the collar of Tony’s shirt. He pulled at the tattered skirt of her dress, only ripping it further over her hip. She swatted at his hand to keep him from further ruining the dress though she wasn’t sure why since the damn thing was beyond repair. Their lips crashed together sloppily in the darkness as they attempted to pull away the other’s clothing. Scarlett had a thousand things to say in response but none of them seemed to be making their way past her lips and instead she only continued to kiss him with increased fervor.

His body grew warmer with each touch of her hands as she fumbled with the buttons that remained on his shirt. Even when her fingers barely graced the undershirt beneath, his body got chills that sent straight down his spine. Purposely he pressed against her thigh inciting a moan from her throat and sending her lips away from his. She leaned her head back against the wall and gasped for breath, whispering his name hungrily.

Tony gripped onto her dress and slipped his hands around to her back which she arched to give him room. He was angry at her, yes, but he was also angry with himself. There were a few ways Tony knew how to deal with anger. One of them had to do with the consumption of alcohol, another was a very lengthy list of destructive habits, and the other he was in the middle of. This was something he excelled at. Since he couldn’t seem to put his focus into what he needed to he would do this instead. He wasn’t sure it would help, hell he wasn’t even sure that it wouldn’t make things worse, but he was damn good at it, that was for sure.

Scarlett had become his sexual muse in the last few months, though he hadn’t told her that yet. She pushed at his shoulder, trying to gather the room to breathe. Her heart hammered in her chest. She was angry and every part of her logical mind wanted to push him off and teach him a real lesson for his behavior. But she couldn’t. Every shove she made against his shoulder he returned and her body was too weak from blood loss to do much else.

Each time she tried to wiggle out of his arms he grabbed her tighter and made her quiver with excitement as he brushed against her in just the right way. Soon enough it would be beyond teaching anyone a lesson and she’d have to give in. She should’ve known better than to try and play this game with Tony, he was clearly a professional far beyond her level.

When he kicked off his shoes and threw them to the side, Scarlett seized her opportunity and wiggled out of his arms, stumbling as she caught herself on the floor. Her hips objected to being away from his and she whined in annoyance. Why couldn’t she control the effect he had on her? This damn being in love thing was messing with all her plans. Tony watched her momentarily, surprised and disheartened that she was still trying to get away despite how things had escalated. But as she stumbled he knew he’d gotten her. He’d always had a knack for making her insides quiver especially when she didn’t want him to.

Before she could turn to face him or say a word, Tony grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him. Her back pressed against his chest and she closed her eyes when she felt his warm breath against her neck. His fingers lingered against the fabric over her stomach, traveled slowly between her breasts and up to her neck where they finally wrapped around her throat and held her against him. Scarlett, much to his surprise, didn’t object even physically. She placed her left hand over his wrist but didn’t make an attempt to pull him away and only leaned her head back to expose more of her throat. His persistence always surprised and impressed her. If nothing else, she’d made him work for it and considering the physical state he was in, he’d earned a little leeway.

It was the most persistent he had to be in a very long time. They hadn’t fought enough to push the other away since they’d moved to New York together. Scarlett had partially missed the excitement of defiance. Maybe she’d have to start a fight a little more frequently just to shake things up. Not that things weren’t properly shaken between them, but anger added a whole new level of thrill.

They were at a standstill, breathing heavy in the darkness of the upstairs hallway by the stairs. Scarlett’s heart was pounding in her ears. The cards were in Tony’s hands now. He could let her go and end their night in frustration or he could push her further. Despite his insistence that he was willing to cross lines Tony knew that if she didn’t want the same thing he did then it took the fun out of the encounter entirely. Tony was a misogynist, he was often a filthy pig who treated women like objects, but when it came to Scarlett and it came to sex, he was a gentleman at heart. Half the thrill, the success, came from getting his partner off and making them want him. Yes, getting the ultimate pleasure for himself out of it was on the list of things he liked about it too but it wasn’t just about that anymore. It hadn’t been since his twenties. How else would he have gotten his lengthy reputation? His policy had always been ladies first.

“Tell me Scarlett.” Tony brushed his lips over the side of her neck, pushing her hair over her shoulder and out of his way. He kept his hand at her throat, the other pressed against her stomach and keeping her backside close against him. Every move she made would brush against him and while it was slowly killing him it only heightened his want, his need. “Tell me you don’t want this.” He nibbled the soft flesh of her neck and closed his eyes. She smelled like perfume and blood. Somewhere along the line he’d forgotten she was injured and hoped that he hadn’t hurt her in the process. “Say the word and I’ll let you go.”

Scarlett didn’t say anything. For a moment she resisted his touch and the way he was holding her and considered walking away. Wasn’t that what she had wanted? To ultimately teach him a lesson about the things he did and how they had consequences? Her thoughts were so muddled she could barely recall why they were fighting. She was mad enough to walk away but where would that leave them? Was walking away better than taking out their frustrations on each other in a positive way? It was stupid of them to do what they were doing in the first place.

Her shoulder was a mess and her head was spinning from blood loss. She should’ve been in an emergency room. But if Scarlett did everything she was supposed to do she would’ve been dead by now. She couldn’t help but want to give into what he was offering her. Frustration was coursing through every part of her being and maybe, just maybe, what they were about to do could help release a bit of it. When the frustration was gone all she’d have to deal with was the blood loss and the actual problem at hand.

After all, it was technically their first date and he had been incredibly romantic up until the moment he was accusing her of being careless and reckless and putting everyone around her in danger. Their problems wouldn’t go away no matter what her decision was so why should she deny herself such a wonderful worldly pleasure? She’d more than made her decision by now.

She wondered if, because this was their first date, giving in made her easy. A laugh escaped her lips at the thought and she closed her eyes and leaned her head back. The resistant tension in her body dissipated. Tony took this as a good sign. What she was laughing at he had no idea, but he knew it wasn’t at him. Sometimes Scarlett got lost in her head, he was convinced it was part of their ultimate problem.

Slowly he walked her forward and pushed her toward the balcony of the second floor landing. He urged her so that her chest was pressed against it and she was bent over in front of him. She complied with another short laugh and placed her good hand against the railing to support herself. Tony still hunched over her, but released his grip on her throat. Scarlett gasped for breath, having not realized that she’d begun to hold it as they’d begun to move. Slowly his lips traveled over the side of her neck, her shoulder and down the exposed part of her back up until he reached the zipper of her dress, tasting the saline of sweat over her skin. He left a trail of goose bumps beneath his lips.

At long last he unbuttoned and unzipped his pants and allowed them to drop around his ankles. He kicked them out of his way, having made the mistake of leaving them there and then falling flat on his face too many times before. Once his pants were out of the way he urged his thickness to her backside, pressing against her leg through his boxer briefs. He brushed against her inner thigh purposely, groaning low against the back of her neck as he did.

Scarlett gasped at the feel of him and urged her hips back against him to encourage him further. There were no words that needed to be said, nothing that she really needed to say. Tony must have felt the same way because even though the situation was ripe with opportunities, he wasn’t making a single sassy remark about her bent over in front of him.

Softly, as she rocked her hips back against him to encourage him onward, she whispered his name. Tony let his mouth hang open and stood back to watch her in front of him. He grabbed onto the skirt of her dress and pulled the slit to the side and draped it out of his way. Like lightning he pulled her panties away and allowed them to drop onto the ground. It only took a moment for him to remove his boxer briefs. They’d tortured each other long enough. Tony was in control, which he had fought for and won.

Without any further pretense he urged her to spread her legs a little, held her hips still and pushed within her eager body. A strangled cry passed from her lips and she leaned against the balcony, both hands gripping onto the railing. Even if this wasn’t what she was supposed to be doing it was one of the only ways she found she could truly let go. The constant worry in her mind, the constant doubt, it drove her completely crazy all day and night long. But wrapped in Tony’s arms, even half hanging over the balcony, her worries completely disappeared.

Once his hips were flat against hers he urged his hands over her hips and the front of her thighs, kissing over her shoulder and up to her neck. His stomach was pressed flat against her back. Nuzzling his nose against the side of her neck he grunted as he readjusted his body and secured his feet in place. One hand pressed against her stomach to urge her as close as he could. Then he leaned up just enough to watch the motions he made as he rocked against her. She gasped and cooed in response, closing her eyes and immersing herself entirely in the way he made her feel.

His lips trailed over her shoulder and up the side of her neck, leaving a trail of saliva against her skin that was already covered in a thin layer of sweat worked up between their fighting and their foreplay. The reactor burned hot in his chest, brighter than usual as it did whenever he even thought of being with Scarlett. Sometimes he swore that just looking at her the wrong way was going to burn through his shirt. He was careful not to press the reactor to her back. They’d made a deal once they’d moved to New York in regards to it. The mark on her chest that had been burned and become a scar was now a symbol of their union. While she’d hated it at first and had felt branded, it had become much more with time. However, Scarlett did not want a mark to match it on her back and had made it perfectly clear.

When this “from behind nonsense” as she referred to it became a recurring thing for them, Scarlett had made him promise he would be careful with her back. Tony had reluctantly agreed after much teasing in regards to her phrasing. But even now, in the throes of passion he remembered to keep his back arched so the reactor wouldn’t burn her flesh. It had become so commonplace that it didn’t throw him off in the least. He bit at the side of her neck, nibbling playfully on her skin. Much to his surprise she cooed softly, which was one of Tony’s favorite sounds.

“Like that, do you?” He grumbled against her skin before giving it another playful bite. She gasped and groaned as she urged her hips back against his in hopes he would increase the friction. He hadn’t bothered building up speed from a slow start, no, not this time. With the frustration they’d built up and the tension that had mounted his body was practically throbbing with need. Her hips pressed against the railing and he kept her pinned as he urged himself up against her. She was surprised by how dominant he was being.

Tony was always a bit like a hound dog. He marked his territory on a constant basis and Scarlett had very clearly become his over time. This, however, was something new, something exciting. With each motion inside of her, the tension built in her hips and the warmth in her thighs spread, making her toes curl against the wood floor. He kissed over her shoulder, holding her stomach tightly as he bucked his hips against hers to illicit further cries from her lips.

Nipping at the cloth of her sleeve, Tony pulled it down her shoulder with his teeth before allowing his lips to trail back up. He urged her stomach to press against the railing, releasing it from his grip. Grabbing onto the front of her dress he pulled until the sleeves complied and urged the material beneath her breasts, exposing her over the side of the railing. His hands greedily caressed over the now revealed flesh, growling as he bit over the side of her neck.

“Tony!” Scarlett gasped, making a move to grab his hand to stop his rough grip but then she hesitated and stopped. Instead she chose to egg him on and arched her back and the motion worked. His hands squeezed and pulled at her sensitive flesh, the wound on her shoulder completely put out of his mind despite his proximity. This hunger, this frustration and anger that he was putting toward their lovemaking had blinded him in the best of ways.

His other hand gripped onto the banister and he grunted as he continued each motion within her. Her body pulsed and ached with pleasure, his sounds sending her senses alight. His lips traveled over her neck again and bit again at the flesh that he had earlier nibbled at. But now he bit harder. Soon the skin beneath his lips broke and throbbed as his lips bruised her skin. Despite having already left a mark, Tony kept sucking and biting, urging his gaze over her shoulder to watch his hands as they caressed her chest. Her moans of excitement and pleasure were all he could hear and all he could think about.

“Oh, oh god…” Scarlett gripped harder at the banister and she urged her hips wildly against him. Tony felt her twitch and felt her ache and knew that he’d struck a chord inside of her. From her neck he kissed up to her ear and nibbled on her lobe, pulling on the earrings she wore.

Her body writhed with pleasure behind him, the excitement reaching a point where she couldn’t keep the steady pace that he’d set for her. The way he felt within her numbed her senses and filled her body with nothing but the pleasure that it could attain if he just moved a little bit further, a little bit harder.

“Right there?” He whispered haughtily to her and she nodded her head frantically in response. Scarlett reached behind her and found his hair with surprising accuracy. She gripped onto his short locks and pulled him back to the spot on her neck that he’d bitten and made sore. Each motion they made together the other made small sounds of approval and excitement as their pleasure heightened and grew with each motion. Tony’s hands couldn’t get enough and Scarlett was relieved for the banister that kept her balance. “Didn’t think you’d like that so much…” Tony growled against her neck and bit at the skin there again. Scarlett whimpered softly in response. She had very little to say on the matter.

He urged his body faster against hers, finding that spot that she’d responded to so wildly. Slowly he withdrew his hands from her breasts and down to her hips. He couldn’t keep his pace and stay hunched over. Instead he stood up straight and urged himself harder. Scarlett couldn’t handle it anymore. He was hitting her in all the right ways, touching her in all the right places. Her body couldn’t handle the built up tension any longer and soon she couldn’t control herself. Pleasure flooded her senses and sent stars through her vision. She let her mouth hang open, muttering his name over and over as she gripped tighter at the railing beneath her.

Tony gritted his teeth to keep his composure as he felt her orgasm overwhelm her and watched her bow her head as she often did when she resisted crying out for him. Surely it was some kind of punishment for her to deny him of the sweet sound of her voice crying his name in the heat of the moment. Even the small mutters sent him reeling but he longed for that cry.

Though he hadn’t quite gotten what he wanted from her he felt more than accomplished. Despite how their date hadn’t at all gone according to plan, how she was likely in quite a bit of pain, and that he had angered her to a point where she’d had to take a walk to keep from hitting him, at least he could still make her feel this good. But still, he wanted that cry. Maybe it was the dominance starved monster inside of him, but he still needed it to get to his end. He spanked her backside and felt her jump forward. At last she cried out for him in response, having not expected the sudden pain in her backside during the waves of pleasure that coursed through her.

She reached for his arm and pulled him closer to her, wanting to feel the warmth of his body pressed against hers through this intimate moment. Tony leaned his chest against her back, forgetting about the reactor and no longer caring what it did. Scarlett let go of his arm and gripped at his hair, pulling him back to her neck. Turning her head to the side she kissed the sweaty hair that met her there and closed her eyes as she urged her body back against his.

Slick, callused hands gripped at her side beneath the cloth of her ruined dress, urging his hips harder and faster against her until at long last he shouted against her shoulder. He bucked his hips against hers as he reached his ultimate point of pleasure. Heat ran through his hips and down his thighs, making his toes tingle.

“Scarlett!” Sometimes Tony wasn’t so sure he was as in control as he thought he was in these particular moments. She somehow always seemed to call the shots. Even when he’d thought he’d been ahead of the game she had taken him by surprise and urged him to exactly where he’d been headed in the first place. Sweaty, grunting, and overwhelmed with pleasure Tony and Scarlett moved together through the end of their excitement. After a few more moments past they were physically spent and Tony rocked his hips behind hers slowly to a stop until at last he could find no more energy to move.

Slowly he kissed over her shoulder and up her neck to that spot that had already turned purple beneath his lips. Groaning quietly he kissed back to her shoulder, his breath heavy between motions with his lips. Scarlett relaxed her grip on the railings and opened her eyes, blinking her vision back into focus. Her body was exhausted and the pleasure fading though her toes and thighs left her tingling with the remnants of what they’d done together.

Tony pulled his hips away from hers and allowed her dress to drop back down to where it belonged. But he let his head rest down on her shoulder and closed his eyes, brushing his hands gingerly over her sides. His frustration had faded but it left him with sorrow and worry about what would happen next. Scarlett was feeling just about the same way. With the tension melted away into pleasure all that remained was frustration. On top of that with how she’d gripped at the balcony pain had spread all the way into her chest and through her ribcage. She most certainly had done some muscle damage in her shoulder that night.

Despite how good it had felt to be with Tony all she could hear in the back of her mind was him blaming her for what had happened. Did he think she didn’t already feel guilty about how the night had ended? She’d wanted to make him happy and instead had put dozens of people in harm’s way by sitting, even for a second, in the limelight. Scarlett wanted a drink and to sleep, nothing more.

Tony wondered if she was pliable enough now to take care of her shoulder. It hadn’t been his ultimate intention, but it definitely couldn’t hurt. Slowly he reached for her shoulder, continuing to kiss over her neck in hopes of keeping things intimate. Scarlett knew what he was up to and was not having it. Carefully she pushed him away from her and fixed her skirt so it laid properly since Tony hadn’t bothered with more than letting it go.

It took her a pained second but she managed to put her sleeves back where they belonged and to cover her chest properly. Tony felt guilty watching the pain on her face as she maneuvered herself. Without another word she walked away from him and down the stairs to the living room.

Now that she was standing beneath the lights near the couch he could see how pale her skin had become and saw how limp her left hand was. Maybe he’d hurt her through the process of their torrid lovemaking. All he’d wanted to do was to make her feel good. She laid on the couch, keeping her bad shoulder elevated but didn’t bother with much else.

How could he be so stupid? Why did he have to say that about MedCo? He practically outright told her she was responsible for everything that had happened that night. At least a dozen times he’d harassed her to the point of anger in attempts get her to go out with him to some red carpet event. Now she’d finally been willing to go out with him in a public setting and he’d blown it.

But technically she had been the reason that chaos had exploded at the restaurant. Those men had been there for her, regardless of who had sent them. He was as sure as she was that MedCo had been behind it. Maybe he should have let her look at the surveillance footage and have things her way. He’d been so panicked and fueled by worry that he hadn’t even considered it was worth pursuing. Now he knew that something had to be done about it. If they were ever going to try to live a normal life together then MedCo had to be taken out of the picture. Scott had to be subdued. Scarlett would never be free until that happened.

That wasn’t her fault. How many times had he told her that Scott was crazy and no matter how bad a girlfriend she’d been it wasn’t her fault that he’d gone off the deep end and gotten involved with MedCo? Now he had essentially told her exactly the opposite. Watching her on the couch in the living room he’d never seen her look so defeated. Earlier he’d been worried she’d stain the white furniture with her bleeding shoulder and now he was just worried that he’d broken something far worse than her flesh.

How would she forgive him? Especially if he couldn’t find a way to say he was sorry. What else could he do? Tony knew what he could do now. Hopefully she wouldn’t argue with him about it. He collected their discarded items of clothing off of the landing and walked into the master bedroom. Discarding his shirt and undershirt Tony caught sight of himself in the mirror.

The scarring on his chest around his reactor was extensive. There were several scrapes and bruises from the bad end to their date, but still his old scars shone through. He’d have those scars for the rest of his life. The reactor too. It was what kept him alive. But that wasn’t always how he’d looked at it. For awhile it’d tried to kill him, poison his blood with the very effort to keep him breathing.

Scarlett had once told him that she’d loved his arc reactor. In fact, the nights when they’d first made love she’d kissed it as though it was a real part of him. Tony had said a thousand times that he was one with his iron man suit but he’d never really meant it like that. When he’d argued with her about how much she loved it she’d sat him down and explained herself. She said she knew that he looked at it as a crutch, as another piece of machinery that he relied on each day. He knew it wasn’t supposed to be there and spent half his time trying to adjust his wardrobe to cover up its bright light.

But when she looked at his reactor she saw life. She saw the one thing that had brought him to her. Without it he would’ve died in the hands of terrorists in Afghanistan. The arc reactor was the very thing that brought Tony to Scarlett. She had no idea where she’d be now without that reactor in his chest. It may have been what saved his life. But in a way, him being saved was what had saved Scarlett as well. Through all of the trauma, all of the terror he’d experienced when he’d gotten that reactor he had never once been able to pull the good out of it the way Scarlett had.

When he saw that reactor in his chest now he saw her collapsing in the sand in Africa. Where would she have been without him and his reactor? Dead or worse. She may not have realized it but when he picked her up out of that desert she’d saved him just as much as he’d saved her. Neither one of them had wanted it that way but there they were. He was on his way to becoming a better, happier man and she was finding a life she never would’ve had otherwise.

Tony changed into a black t-shirt and comfortable pants and grabbed a nightgown for Scarlett that wouldn’t constrict her shoulder. Then he pulled the blankets off of his bed and gathered them in his arms. He made his way downstairs and through the kitchen.

“Jarvis, dim the lights down here will you?” He whispered and the intelligent computer did as he was instructed. From the counter Tony grabbed the first aid kit he’d attempted to use earlier in the evening. “Television too.” He whispered. The wall across from the couch hummed and slid open to reveal a large flat screen television that blinked to life.

Scarlett turned her attention to the screen as she heard the familiar voice of Bruce Willis whispering one of her favorite catchphrases. Jarvis had put on Die Hard, which happened to be one of their favorite series to watch together on lazy Sundays. Tony sat down on the couch in front of where her knees were draped over the side of it. She softened and finally stopped scowling. Tony wanted to help her, she shouldn’t have been so angry with him.

And she wasn’t angry with him anymore. Scarlett was angry with herself. Her stomach was bubbling with guilt. How come every time she tried to do something genuinely nice or good it backfired in her face? People around her always got hurt including those she cared about. Now that she was paying attention she could see that he was scraped up and bruised. Those men who had come for her had purposely created a distraction for Tony and had put his life in mortal danger.

As she watched him adjust the blankets over her lower half and discard the nightgown he’d brought down for her she could see the hurt in his eyes. He was only worried about her. How many times would she have to remind herself of that before it really sunk in? She wasn’t used to having someone there for her, someone like Tony, whose thoughts and feelings mattered beyond the bedroom. Despite her attempts she couldn’t seem to recall how many times he’d begged her to go out for the night. It hurt him not to be able to live his life the way he desired. How much longer would he tolerate the chaos she brought into his life before he gave up on her? Why did she think she deserved this normalcy with someone who was willing to work as hard as Tony was?

Tony didn’t think he could convince her to get up and get changed so he let her rest on the couch and made no attempts to move her. Painstakingly he cleaned the dried up blood around the wound and the fresh blood that continued to drip from it on either side of her shoulder. Once done Tony held gauze over the wound to keep it from dripping further. Scarlett gripped tighter at the couch to keep from showing the pain that she felt but was too tired to do much else. Blood loss had finally gotten to her. Pain was something Scarlett could handle. She’d always been good at choking back the ache in her body.

Tony dropped the gauze a few times but in the end managed to wrap it around her shoulder tightly enough to keep it from bleeding any further and encourage the wound to scab up while they got some rest. In the morning he would make sure that she called a doctor to get it looked at. He didn’t know what had happened and hadn’t been able to convince her to properly discuss it. Still, he was relieved that she was letting him look at it now that their anger had dwindled.

She looked sad. Tony couldn’t help but notice. He didn’t know how to handle Scarlett when she was sad. She’d been many things while they were together but sad had never really been on that list before. What was he supposed to do? Should he ask her what’s wrong? Then again if he asked her then she would likely tell him and Tony wasn’t sure he was prepared for that. He knew that it had to do with what he said, but he thought that she’d be mad. So, in Tony’s mind, it had to be something else making her sad.

“Doctor in the morning, okay?” He whispered but his voice sounded strange to his own ears. He sounded hesitant and Scarlett could tell. Her eyes flitted to him but then back to the image of Bruce Willis trapped in an air vent in an airport in an attempt to save his wife’s life. Sometimes Tony was pretty sure Scarlett was far more in love with John McClane than she was with him. Scarlett nodded her head to let him know that’s what she would do without argument. Her shoulder hurt too severely for her to not get it looked at. She’d do it right now but she was no longer fit for human interaction.

Tony observed her as she watched the television and wondered if he should let her have her space. It was the only thing he could think to do. That’s what she’d wanted before they’d gotten together on the stairs so maybe that’s what she still wanted. He discarded the dirty gauze in a pile on the coffee table. After an awkward moment of watching Die Hard 2, Tony got up and patted his hands against his legs.

He couldn’t watch this movie without Scarlett enjoying it with him. Turning once more to see if Scarlett would ask him to stay he received no response or even a glance from her. So he decided to walk away and go upstairs to bed. But before he got even a step away he felt a tug on his hand. Scarlett had taken it and turned her gaze toward him. She didn’t want to ask him to stay and hoped he would know that he should.

Thankfully Tony got the signal. She still looked sad. Maybe he didn’t have to ask her what was wrong. Maybe he could just wrap his arms around her and lay next to her on the couch until Die Hard lulled them to sleep. He let go of her hand and sat back down next to her. Carefully he readjusted her on the couch and pulled her into his arms. It took him a good few minutes but he managed to get her comfortable with the couch reclined as far back as it would go. Then he pulled the blankets over them both. Scarlett buried her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes.

Tony watched her for a long moment with his brow furrowed and wondered if she’d find sleep. He hadn’t realized it until then but she’d stayed awake with him every night since they’d gotten home and he’d been struck with terrible insomnia. Pepper had told him she wasn’t sleeping a handful of times but somehow it didn’t really sink in until that moment.

She’d bent over backwards to take care of him and here he was accusing her of being selfish. How was he ever going to make up for what he’d said and what he’d done? He closed his eyes and listened to the movie he’d practically memorized play in the background. Perhaps a good start would be finding a way to get MedCo off of her back and free her at last from their clutches. Actions spoke louder than words didn’t they? It wasn’t her fault that things were the way they were. Maybe he could do something about it to keep her from worrying about her past as much.

Before he realized it Tony had fallen asleep, plotting ways to free them both from Scarlett’s past. It was the first time he’d slept and really slept in a very long time.