Where Have You Been?
Where Have You Been?
Where Have You Been?
You gathered your things into your messenger bag as your last class of the day came to an end. You slung the bag across your shoulders and waved goodbye to your professor before leaving the classroom.
Your dorm was all the way on the other side of campus, which was a real drag in the winter, but summer was here now, offering you a pleasantly sunny walk back to your room. Today’s schedule only consisted of one class, allowing you to only carry your notebook and writing utensils rather than heavy textbooks.
As you walked down the concrete path that led to your dorm, you happened to look around, and a figure entering the campus grounds caught your eye.
Could it be?
No, it couldn’t. You hadn’t seen that man in three years. He just up and left you. Why would he come back now? To your school?
Curiosity got the better of you and, instead of continuing the path back to your room, you strayed into the grass, headed for the newcomer.
He grinned as you approached. That had to be him. You knew that grin anywhere.
“Hey, (y/n)!” he greeted.
“Tony?” you gasped, stopping a few inches in front of him.
“In the flesh,” he grinned.
Anger and hurt at being abandoned three years prior bubbled inside you, and before either of you knew what was happening, your hand raised and came down hard against his cheek. He stumbled back, resting his own hand on his now cherry red face, widening his eyes at you.
“What was that for??”
“Where the hell were you?!” you demanded. “You stop talking to me out of the blue for three years and now you think you can just show up at my school like nothing happened?!”
He held his hands up defensively. “Easy there, (y/n). I can explain.”
You crossed your arms impatiently, silently urging him to do so.
“I kind of got recruited into the Avengers,” he began. He looked around, noticing a few students that had stopped in their tracks to stare, undoubtedly recognizing the famous Tony Stark. “Maybe we should talk somewhere private?”
You rolled your eyes and agreed. “My dorm’s over there,” you said, pointing to the building a few feet away.
“Lead the way.”
Once inside, you closed and locked the door to escape rabid fangirls and sat on the couch. You had the whole dorm to yourself, having never been assigned a roommate.
“Keep explaining,” you ordered, fetching yourself a glass of iced tea.
“Like I said, I had to join the Avengers. And shortly after joining- you heard about the attack on New York, right?”
You gestured to the room you were in. “This whole building had to be rebuilt because of those damn alien things.”
He winced. “Sorry. We couldn’t stop that. They were huge! Anyway, that took up a lot of time, and SHIELD kept bringing us back for other threats and it wasn’t safe for me to see you for a while.”
“Wasn’t safe?” you deadpanned. “You know what wasn’t safe? Me and a few hundred other students running around like headless chickens, having absolutely nowhere to go because our houses were being destroyed and the news was making it seem like your stupid Avengers couldn’t do anything about it!”
Tony winced again. “If I had known you were in the middle of the destruction, I would have tried to help you and your friends. But I had to fight off the invasion.” He stood and moved to stand in front of you, gently resting his hands on your hips. He rested his forehead against yours. “I’m sorry, (y/n). If I could have dropped everything to make sure you were okay, I would have.”
You pouted slightly, still wanting him to feel guilty for abandoning you. “I couldn’t even get a phone call? A text message to let me know you still cared about me?”
“Is that what this is about?” he inquired, pulling back to look into your eyes. “(y/n), I’ve always cared about you. I’ve thought about you constantly since I left. Ask anyone – I was always worried about you. But I couldn’t do anything about it. I had to keep a low profile. There are a lot of bad guys out there that want to kill the Avengers and if they knew about you, you’d be in even greater danger.”
You looked back at him, finding nothing but honesty and love in his eyes. You offered him a soft smile and stepped forward, allowing him to wrap his arms around you. Your own arms wrapped around his waist, pulling closer. You inhaled his scent – Old Spice, coffee, a little bit of booze and Tony’s own personal musk. It brought back memories.
“I guess that makes sense…” you sighed, looking up at him. “But you’re a genius. I know cell phones can be tracked but can’t you invent something to fix that? At least for our phones? Something to make text messages untraceable so you can just let me know that you’re alive and waiting for me once in a while?” Embarrassed by your request, you looked back to the ground. “It’s been hell these few years. I honestly thought that… that you didn’t love me anymore…”
“Oh, (y/n)…” He pulled you closer, resting a hand on the back of your head, pressing a kiss to the side. “I’ve always loved you. I don’t know how untraceable I can be – there are a lot of bad guy geniuses too, you know. A lot of big and powerful people with high-tech computer systems.” The hand on the back of your head slid down to hook under your chin, lifting your face to meet his eyes. “But I’ll try. For you.”
You smiled. “Thank you, Tony.”
“Anything for you, babe.” With that, he pressed his lips to yours, wrapping his arms around your waist. Your arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer, silently telling him to never leave you again.
You gathered your things into your messenger bag as your last class of the day came to an end. You slung the bag across your shoulders and waved goodbye to your professor before leaving the classroom.
Your dorm was all the way on the other side of campus, which was a real drag in the winter, but summer was here now, offering you a pleasantly sunny walk back to your room. Today’s schedule only consisted of one class, allowing you to only carry your notebook and writing utensils rather than heavy textbooks.
As you walked down the concrete path that led to your dorm, you happened to look around, and a figure entering the campus grounds caught your eye.
Could it be?
No, it couldn’t. You hadn’t seen that man in three years. He just up and left you. Why would he come back now? To your school?
Curiosity got the better of you and, instead of continuing the path back to your room, you strayed into the grass, headed for the newcomer.
He grinned as you approached. That had to be him. You knew that grin anywhere.
“Hey, (y/n)!” he greeted.
“Tony?” you gasped, stopping a few inches in front of him.
“In the flesh,” he grinned.
Anger and hurt at being abandoned three years prior bubbled inside you, and before either of you knew what was happening, your hand raised and came down hard against his cheek. He stumbled back, resting his own hand on his now cherry red face, widening his eyes at you.
“What was that for??”
“Where the hell were you?!” you demanded. “You stop talking to me out of the blue for three years and now you think you can just show up at my school like nothing happened?!”
He held his hands up defensively. “Easy there, (y/n). I can explain.”
You crossed your arms impatiently, silently urging him to do so.
“I kind of got recruited into the Avengers,” he began. He looked around, noticing a few students that had stopped in their tracks to stare, undoubtedly recognizing the famous Tony Stark. “Maybe we should talk somewhere private?”
You rolled your eyes and agreed. “My dorm’s over there,” you said, pointing to the building a few feet away.
“Lead the way.”
Once inside, you closed and locked the door to escape rabid fangirls and sat on the couch. You had the whole dorm to yourself, having never been assigned a roommate.
“Keep explaining,” you ordered, fetching yourself a glass of iced tea.
“Like I said, I had to join the Avengers. And shortly after joining- you heard about the attack on New York, right?”
You gestured to the room you were in. “This whole building had to be rebuilt because of those damn alien things.”
He winced. “Sorry. We couldn’t stop that. They were huge! Anyway, that took up a lot of time, and SHIELD kept bringing us back for other threats and it wasn’t safe for me to see you for a while.”
“Wasn’t safe?” you deadpanned. “You know what wasn’t safe? Me and a few hundred other students running around like headless chickens, having absolutely nowhere to go because our houses were being destroyed and the news was making it seem like your stupid Avengers couldn’t do anything about it!”
Tony winced again. “If I had known you were in the middle of the destruction, I would have tried to help you and your friends. But I had to fight off the invasion.” He stood and moved to stand in front of you, gently resting his hands on your hips. He rested his forehead against yours. “I’m sorry, (y/n). If I could have dropped everything to make sure you were okay, I would have.”
You pouted slightly, still wanting him to feel guilty for abandoning you. “I couldn’t even get a phone call? A text message to let me know you still cared about me?”
“Is that what this is about?” he inquired, pulling back to look into your eyes. “(y/n), I’ve always cared about you. I’ve thought about you constantly since I left. Ask anyone – I was always worried about you. But I couldn’t do anything about it. I had to keep a low profile. There are a lot of bad guys out there that want to kill the Avengers and if they knew about you, you’d be in even greater danger.”
You looked back at him, finding nothing but honesty and love in his eyes. You offered him a soft smile and stepped forward, allowing him to wrap his arms around you. Your own arms wrapped around his waist, pulling closer. You inhaled his scent – Old Spice, coffee, a little bit of booze and Tony’s own personal musk. It brought back memories.
“I guess that makes sense…” you sighed, looking up at him. “But you’re a genius. I know cell phones can be tracked but can’t you invent something to fix that? At least for our phones? Something to make text messages untraceable so you can just let me know that you’re alive and waiting for me once in a while?” Embarrassed by your request, you looked back to the ground. “It’s been hell these few years. I honestly thought that… that you didn’t love me anymore…”
“Oh, (y/n)…” He pulled you closer, resting a hand on the back of your head, pressing a kiss to the side. “I’ve always loved you. I don’t know how untraceable I can be – there are a lot of bad guy geniuses too, you know. A lot of big and powerful people with high-tech computer systems.” The hand on the back of your head slid down to hook under your chin, lifting your face to meet his eyes. “But I’ll try. For you.”
You smiled. “Thank you, Tony.”
“Anything for you, babe.” With that, he pressed his lips to yours, wrapping his arms around your waist. Your arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer, silently telling him to never leave you again.