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She had been curled up on her couch in her small but comfortable London flat enjoying a rare quiet evening to herself when her phone buzzed on the table beside her. Considering that very few people utilized the muggle technology and even fewer contacted her so late in the evenings, it was easy for her to determine the identity of the caller without needing to spare a glance at the screen.
"Hello, Tony."
"Have you checked your email today?" came the abrupt voice through the small speaker.
"I'm well, Tony, thank you for asking," she teased with a laugh, unable to take offense at the man's typical behavior as she moved to settle herself into the chair at her desk and began to open her email in response to his prompting.
"Yes, yes…okay fine. Hello, Hermione, how are you? Good? Great. Now, have you checked your email?"
"I'm checking now, just give me a moment," Hermione bit back another quiet laugh.
"It wouldn't take this long if you'd just let me outfit your apartment," Tony grumbled.
"So you've said, but my flat is just fine as it is," she insisted, opening the unread email file. "Tony. What is this? Greece?"
"Yup. We leave in two days. A short stop into Athens and then on to Laconia. Just us with no need to rely on booking errors."
"Errors, right," Hermione snorted. She still wasn't sure that she fully believed that Tony hadn't been responsible for that small mess. "I don't know, Tony. This is very short notice."
"Look, it's already booked. So all you have to do is pack. Remember it's just us, so keep that in mind while you pack."
Hermione could hear the teasing smirk in his voice and rolled her eyes though, admittedly, it was more affectionate than it was irritable. "I've also got to be able to let the Minister know, Tony. I can't just drop everything and go like you can."
"Hermione. I know you have time off on the books and your boss isn't gonna tell you no. It's Greece. Laconia? Does Sparta ring a bell? Just get packed, and I'll be there on Saturday."
She tapped the fingers of her free hand thoughtfully on the desk as she mentally debated with herself. That man really did know her buttons entirely too well. "Okay, fine, Tony. I'll send Kingsley an owl, and I'll see you on Saturday then."
"That's my girl. So about that apartment of yours--"
"No, Tony."
"Oh come on…"
%%
History was fascinating. It was capable of teaching so very much if one was patient enough to listen to the lessons it taught. Admittedly, much of the history was romanticized in the modern retelling. True, there was nothing romantic about war though no matter the century it was fought. But there was more to any culture, ancient or otherwise, than merely the wars they won or lost. It was that something more that had Hermione Granger so very excited for the opportunity to visit the remains of the ancient city Sparta, Greece.
She had always wanted to travel more, but following her own decidedly unromantic war, Hermione had known that she was needed to help pick up the pieces and rebuild their fractured society. So she had done what Hermione Granger did best and threw herself into the task in its entirety. It was utter exhaustion heaped onto an already diminished and exhausted young witch.
But they prevailed. Even though it had taken nearly a decade of endless uphill battles and countless breakdowns on her part, Magical Britain had regained a mostly steady, albeit scarred, footing. And just like after every battle, every war in the history of humanity…life went on. Diplomacy succeeded and failed. Families came together and fell apart. The scars were still there. Mentally and physically. They were far from being 'wonderful' or even 'great', but they were finally able to claim that, as a whole, they were doing alright.
It wasn't until just over four years ago that she was able to begin traveling at all, though most of that travel was for international diplomacy matters through her liaison position within the Ministry, most often to MACUSA. It was on one such trip three years ago that she had happened upon Tony Stark…and had not been impressed with the snarky, self-important businessman. For nearly a year after that, it seemed that every trip she took, she would somehow find herself dealing with the man again and again. The man was persistent; she would give him that. In the end, his unique brand of impetuous charm wore her down…she still wasn't entirely sure when or how, though she had long since given up fighting her thoughts on the matter.
A week in Hawaii together certainly did wonders for their relationship…even though it was supposed to be a solo, self-indulgent retreat.
But Greece? There was so much to see! So much history to learn.
Though, granted, never in her life did she expect the "short stop," they would be taking would involve seeing Athens from ten thousand feet in the air.
"Tony, no. I'm not doing this. Absolutely not. You're officially insane." Hermione insisted, sliding as far away from the man as she possibly could and clinging to the edge of the seat beneath her.
"Oh come on," Tony laughed, a grin on his obnoxious face that she was sure she would hex the moment her feet were back on solid ground. "I'm not just throwing you out of the plane. It'll be fun."
"No, you're throwing me out of the plane attached to you with a flimsy piece of fabric to hopefully slow us down!" She returned, voice turning shrill as her anxiety peaked.
"Okay, okay, stop and breathe," Tony said, scrambling to push her shoulders forward until she was hunched over herself. "Now listen, alright? We're jumping tandem, yes. You see this right here?" Tony carefully took her hand and pressed her fingertips over the watch-like device attached to his wrist. When her head tilted his direction to stare at him wearily, he smiled and squeezed her hand. "In the unlikely event that something does go wrong, we've got back up right here. This is the safest skydiving trip you could have."
The indication was given that it was time for them to get ready and Hermione groaned. "I cannot believe I'm letting you talk me into this Tony Stark."
"I know, I know, terrible person," Tony agreed far too cheerfully. He carefully ensured that she was adequately geared and the guide double checked their harness to ensure Hermione that yes Tony did know what he was doing.
And then they were falling.
Hermione could vaguely hear Tony's happy laughter and then nothing but the sound of rushing winds in her ear as her mind scrambled with panic.
Hermione squeezed her outstretched fingers tightly through Tony's, and he squeezed back insistently. Gathering her courage, she slowly opened her eyes behind the thick plastic goggles.
Oh.
Oh wow.
She felt utterly breathless for an entirely different reason. Her overwhelming sense of fear, forgotten for just a moment. The view! Dear Merlin no wonder the men in her life loved being in the air so much if this is what they saw! She felt a burst of surprisingly joyous laughter escape her, unheard through the rush, but the squeeze of her hands told her that Tony had at likely felt the vibration against his chest.
Hermione wasn't quite sure how to keep time during their descent, but after a short time of enjoying the gorgeous view she felt Tony squeeze and then detangle his hands from hers, and she shrieked at the feel of the sudden jolt of the being pulled upright with parachute deploying above them.
Despite more than two decades worth of friendship with Harry and Ron encouraging her to fly, not to mention one thestral and one dragon flight, Hermione had never taken to the air the way the nearly every man she knew had hoped. But…this? Hermione took a moment to absorb the beautiful view of Greece stretching out below and before her and felt little more than awe.
"What do you think?" Tony asked, just over her shoulder.
"Tony…" She said, voice displaying her wonderment. "This is…this is beautiful."
"Not so bad, huh?" He teased, though his tone was softer than his usual mocking cadence.
Hermione shook her head and smiled, "I don't think I'll be jumping on my own or with anyone else any time soon, but no, this isn't so bad."
"I thought you said I was insane?"
"You are," she laughed with an awkward shrug against her harness. "But I trust you."
"Well, just pick the next view you want to see like this and let me know."
%%
The pair had landed smoothly enough, and Tony couldn't help but grin at the beaming smile Hermione wore as they made their way back to the car that awaited to take them into Laconia. Before he could usher her into the vehicle, Hermione had kissed him tenderly and smiled that familiar sweet smile, "Thank you, Tony."
"Go on," he said, unable to quell his own affectionate grin before sliding into the car next to her. Despite her abundant eagerness to see everything, his witch spent the majority of the two and a half hour drive from Athens to historic Sparta with her head on his shoulder and arms curled snuggly around the one of his she leaned against, sound asleep.
Adrenaline Crash.
It was only lunchtime when they reached their final destination, a small, rented villa not too far from the sites that he knew she would want to visit. He didn't suspect that they would be utilizing a car all that much, but he had planned for a private rental for the remainder of their stay anyway. Tony carefully nudged Hermione awake and offered a hand to help her out of the car before accepting their bags from the driver with a nod of thanks.
"This is lovely, Tony," the witch murmured, voice still groggy from her nap.
"I figure we get things settled in and then find some lunch?" He suggested, hand on the small of her back as he guided her towards the house.
Tony wasn't nearly as fascinated with the historical aspects of the trip. His nature was to be purely forward facing. But he could also understand her perspective of learning from history. After all, hadn't he learned from his own? At one point he had worn the mantle of "Merchant of Death" with smug, belligerent pride. A name that was now an ever-present shadow in the back of his mind. There was little doubt that there were still caches of his weapons hidden in locations around the world. Someday he would be able to neutralize them all before anyone else got hurt. Hopefully.
He also knew with little doubt that had he not learned that lesson; he definitely wouldn't be exploring the ancient ruins of Sparta, Greece with the fiery Hermione Granger. There would have been nothing he could have done to change her mind about him had he not changed his methods and his ways even if hiking was also not his favorite hobby. This was worth the sacrifice.
So while he wasn't awestruck by the ruins, he could appreciate her fascination with history. Besides, he already got to share his love of flying with her, sort of. It was only fair that he indulge in her desire to do the same.
Tony followed with fond amusement when Hermione pulled him into the Archeological Museum on their third day, easily allowing the witch to pull him by the hand or their linked arms from exhibit to exhibit. It was a good time. Despite technically being his idea to bring her there, he surprised himself with how much he was enjoying it.
As they worked their way past a display of armor and helmets, Tony tugged her hand to pull her back beside him. Before she could formulate a question, he nodded towards the display with a smirk, "We should find Cap a set like this, he'd fit right in."
Hermione laughed and shook her head, "No, he would be mortified!"
"That's the fun of it! Besides, it's not like his current get up leaves much more to the imagination," Tony pointed out.
She tilted her head to the side in slight agreement and laughed again, "That may be true but…you know what, I know better than to debate this one with you. Poor Steve would be the one stuck dealing with the fallout."
Tony smirked and turned on his heel to face her, "Just for that, I might do it anyway."
"Oh, leave him be, Tony," she said with a smile as she pushed him playfully.
"You never let me have any fun," he replied with a mock pout.
"Oh?" Her smile shifted to a teasing smirk. "I'll remember that for later."
"I'll tell you what. I'll leave Cap and old Greek armor alone," Tony said slyly.
"But?" Hermione prompted, eyes narrowed slightly.
"You let me fix your apartment when we get back."
"Tony…"
"No, no, just listen."
"Okay, state your case," she sighed.
"Let's walk," he said, leading them to continue their way through the museum. Staying still for any length of time had never been Tony's strong suit. "You would never have to worry about slow tech again. Everything you need, want, or desire in an instant."
"I don't mind being patient," she shrugged.
"It would be a lot easier to check your email," Tony pointed out.
Hermione stopped walking once again and tilted her head up, eyes narrowing speculatively, as she studied him curiously. "We've had these conversations before, Tony. What's this really about?"
Tony sighed and turned his gaze to the exhibit nearest to avoid her focus for a moment. "It's about you and me living very public lives. Me especially. That kind of publicity, no matter the reason, is automatically a potential danger. Better security is always a smart idea, and right now, you have none."
Hermione was quiet for a moment before tilting her head to the side, "So this has more to do with protection than simply slow tech."
"Protection. Peace of mind," Tony shrugged almost dismissively. As though the conversation was little more than banal chatter.
Her expression softened in understanding, "Okay, Tony."
"Okay?" He repeated, blankly. "Okay as in…?" Tony spotted the familiar sweet smile and an odd tension released in his chest. Taking that as his answer, he eagerly shifted their focus to something...less. "I'm hungry. Are you hungry? Let's go find dinner."
Hermione ended up talking him into a picnic since the sun would still be up for a few more hours.
Tony was still picking away at the surprising variety of food that she had packed when Hermione finished, and he watched appreciatively as she stretched out on her back over the blanket they had used to cover the ground to enjoy the evening sun. It didn't take long for him to decide to join her.
Eventually, her head came to rest on his chest with his arm curved around her back with his hand settled at her waist as they watched the sky begin to change colors.
"Tony?" Her voice was soft and thoughtful.
"Hmm?"
"You know I love you too, right?"
Tony swallowed thickly and let out a nervous sigh as quietly as he could. She was always able to read what he didn't say from what he had. "I know."
After a few moments of silence, Hermione spoke up again. "Tony?"
"Hermione?"
"When did you figure out how to get the suit schematics into your watch? I knew you were working on it, but I hadn't realized that you'd figured it out."
"Oh. Ah, right," Tony paused and grimaced. "I'm still working on that."
There was a beat of silence.
"Tony!" Before he could react, small fingers were teasing into his sides, and he tried to bite back the reflexive laughter. He wasn't very successful, and the witch quickly used her advantage to straddle his hips to gain better access to the ticklish points, her delighted laughter echoing his own. Just before the laughter started to become painful, Tony planted his feet and lifted his hips enough to knock her off balance. Hermione quickly braced her hands onto the blanket on either side of his head as they both attempted to catch their breath.
"It was worth it, though, right?" Tony prompted with a smirk, his hands resting at her waist, thumbs dragging over her ribs.
"It was. The whole trip has been," Hermione smiled softly. With a slight shrug, she added, "It always is with you, though."
"Good." He tugged lightly at her waist, and she ceded to his urging, and their lips weren't used for anything remotely conversational until well after the sun had fully set.