Work Text:
Pansy sat in the corner, sipping at her mulled wine. The party was in full swing, and she was glad that there was a large crowd of people. It made it easier for her to blend into the crowd without anyone noticing her. Not that she didn’t want to be noticed, but it was easier to blend into the crowd.
“Are you having a good time?” Natasha asked, coming to stand next to Pansy. She offered her a warm smile.
“I thought I was hiding pretty good over here,” she said with a pout.
“Yeah, but I noticed you,” Natasha said with a shrug. “Parties aren’t really my thing, either.”
“I just feel like I don’t belong,” Pansy said quietly. “I’m just Tony’s receptionist… That doesn’t mean I’m important enough to be here.”
“Pansy,” Natasha said gently, putting her hand on Pansy’s shoulder. “Tony looks over the guest list himself… You wouldn’t be here if he didn’t want you to be.”
Pansy shrugged, not quite convinced. “I just... It’s all billionaires and Avengers… I’m just me.”
“A kick-ass witch who can do magic?” Natasha shook her head. “You’re not just you, Pansy. Besides, Tony talks about you all the time.”
Pansy’s eyes widened and she felt her cheeks get warm. “Does he really?”
“Mhmmm,” Natasha said, giving Pansy a smile. "Goes on and on about you, actually. Thinks you have a lot of potential. I know we only know each other from brief interactions, but you're a nice girl, Pansy, don't sell yourself short." Taking a sip of her drink, she looked around the room. “Oh, what’s Pepper doing here?” she mused.
“I thought they had broken apart again,” Pansy muttered.
“They did.” Natasha shook her head. “Well, I’m going to go mingle… I’ll see you later, Pansy.”
“Bye, Natasha,” Pansy said before taking a sip of her mulled wine. Maybe she should go mingle too? She felt a little more confident about being at the party since Natasha gave her a little pep talk.
Deciding to make her way to the appetizer table, Pansy slipped through the crowd.
“Pansy!”
Turning, she smiled at Tony in greeting. "Hello, Tony.” She looked him over, noticing that his suit was a deep green as opposed to the black everyone was wearing. It looked good on him, and like usual when she was around Tony, her stomach filled with butterflies.
She had been so busy taking in the sight of him that she didn’t even notice him doing the same.
“You look lovely this evening, Pansy,” Tony said smoothly. He smiled warmly at her.
She flushed. “Thank you, Tony.” She smiled at him nervously. “You look nice yourself.”
“You look like you’re in need of refill,” he said, gesturing to her glass. “I was heading to the bar myself.”
“Lead the way.” Pansy gestured for him to go first.
“I’m glad you could make it, Pansy,” Tony said after a moment, his hand on her lower back as he guided her through the crowd.
“Thank you again for inviting me, Tony.” She smiled at him. “I didn’t expect so many people, though.”
Tony shrugged. “You know I like to do things big.” He grinned. “No half-assing things.”
“No, certainly not,” she said, looking around the room. “You definitely spared no expense.”
“The fireworks display is going to be incredible,” he gushed. “Just wait until you see it. The back deck will be open for viewing.”
“Maybe we could watch together?” She offered. “It’s nearly midnight.”
“Right you are, so let’s get more drinks!” He walked over to the bar. “Want another mulled wine, or do you want to switch to champagne?”
“I supposed I can switch to champagne,” Pansy answered after a moment. “It’s only fitting to welcome the New Year with some bubbly, right?”
“Right you are,” Tony said with a wink, grabbing them two glasses of champagne. He handed one to Pansy before looking around. “Do you want to head outside? I want to start moving the crowd that way for the fireworks.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Let’s take the party outside!” Tony yelled, startling everyone around them. He laughed before leading Pansy and the crowd onto the observation deck of Stark Tower.
“Wow, Tony, the view up here is incredible,” Pansy breathed in awe as she stepped outside. While she wasn’t a stranger to the view from the floor of his office, being out on the observation deck in the open air was an entirely different experience. She pulled her shawl around her shoulders, shivering from the cold, winter air. Good thing they weren’t going to be outside very long.
“Tony, great party!” Someone said, walking by and clapping Tony on the shoulder.
“Thanks,” Tony said with a grin, looking around at all his guests.
"This is going to be a great year," Pansy said, smiling at Tony. “This year will be different.”
“Oh, Pansy, you’ve got big plans? Big aspirations?” he teased, waggling his eyebrows at her before sipping at his champagne.
“Yeah, I do,” Pansy said, deciding to be honest with him. “No more holding back. This year, I’m going for things that I want.” She looked at him nervously before she looked back down at her sparkling drink. She took a sip, wishing for courage.
“Good,” Tony encouraged her. “You should always follow your heart.” He looked over her shoulder, distracted.
“Oh, look! Jarvis is going to begin the countdown!” She gestured towards the front of the crowd, where a large screen showed the number ten.
"Ten, nine, eight…"
Pansy felt her heart racing as she made up her mind. She was going to kiss Tony. He was going to be her New Year’s Eve kiss. The two of them had been dancing around each other long enough… She was going to make her move and just kiss him.
Taking a deep breath, she got ready.
"Three, two, one!"
At that moment, the sky exploded in bright lights, the firework show beginning, filling the sky with colors and sounds.
Hermione watched, her eyes wide as she was entranced by the amazing display in front of her. Turning, she went to put her arms around Tony, but froze when she realised he wasn’t standing in front of her.
“Tony?” she whispered, her voice soft, confused as to where he had gone. He was just standing next to her!
Looking around, she spotted Tony a few feet away, his arms wrapped around Pepper as he kissed her passionately.
Pansy let out a small gasp, feeling as if her heart was being torn into two. She stood there, shocked as she watched them. She took a gasping breath, trying to remember to breathe.
She felt like a fool… A complete fool. She had thought that Tony had felt the same way towards her… All the flirting, compliments, lingering looks and touches… Over the past few weeks, she had really thought something was there.
Apparently, my feelings were one-sided, she thought to herself bitterly.
She huffed. How could he have led her on like that? Like what type of man flirted with women while in a relationship with someone else?
Anger coursed through her and she felt her glass shattered in her hand. Shocked, she looked at the crumpled. It had been a long time since she had lost control of her magic like that, and she knew she needed to leave before anything else happened.
Throwing the glass on the ground, she turned and went to storm through the room to leave. She froze when she felt a hand grab her wrist.
“Pans, wait!”
Turning, she took a deep breath as she looked at Tony.
“Hey, what happened? You cut yourself, do you need a bandage?” He looked at the cut in her hand.
She snatched her hand away from him. “I’m fine, Tony.”
“Pansy, what’s wrong? You seem upset. Did something happen?”
Pansy shook her head. “Tony, I’m resigning. Effectively immediately.”
“Wait! What? You can’t leave! Pans, you’re the best secretary I’ve ever had!” he protested, looking at her pleadingly.
His words stung deep. “That’s all I am to you, though, isn’t it? I’m just your secretary.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “This whole time I thought…” She shook her head, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. “Nevermind what I thought, because it doesn’t matter.”
“You thought what?” Tony pressed, taking her hand and pulling her close again so she couldn’t leave.
“I thought you had feelings for me!” Pansy spat at him angrily. “I thought all the flirting and everything meant something to you!”
Tony dropped her hand, his eyes wide in shock. “You…”
“I thought what I was feeling was mutual, but I can see now that that’s not the case.” Pansy took a step back. “Tony, I really enjoyed working for you and Stark Industries, but I think it’s time I took my leave.”
“I’m sure we can work something out,” Tony said quickly. “I can stop flirting-”
“See? You don’t even understand the mind games you’ve been playing on me!” She glared at him. “Right now, all you care about is losing your secretary, you don’t care about losing me!”
“Yes, I do, Pansy!”
“The damage is done… I’m done,” she took a deep breath. “Please, don’t reach out to me. I’ll send someone to clean out my desk tomorrow.”
Turning, she stormed from Tony, resisting the urge to turn around and look at him. She knew if she did, she’d feel weak for those gorgeous eyes of his.
But no, she was done, and she would remain steadfast in her decision. Tony didn’t have feelings for her… She needed space and to move on. If he wanted to go back to Pepper like he always did instead of looking at other options, that was his choice. But she was done waiting for a miracle to happen.
“Pansy!”
Looking over her shoulder, she saw Natasha running to catch up with her. “You need a ride home?” she asked once she was close enough.
“Did you see what happened?” Pansy asked as she waited for the elevator to arrive.
“I couldn’t hear what was said, but the heartbroken look on your face as the clock struck twelve was enough for me to piece it together.” Natasha looked at her sympathetically.
“I quit my job,” Pansy said. “And that’s all he cared about… Was me quitting… Not that he hurt my feelings or led me on these past few weeks.” The hurt in her chest ached.
Natasha frowned. “He's my friend, and he knows I love him to death, but Tony can be very… Narrow-minded,” she offered gently.
“Selfish?” Pansy offered. She huffed angrily. “Self-absorbed? Narcissistic?” She shook her head. “I could honestly go on and on.”
Natasha laughed. “Well, that too.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out her car keys. “So, what do you say? Should we get out of here?”
Pansy looked at her and shook her head. Truthfully, she just wanted to go home, eat some ice cream, and cry in her bed. “Natasha, it’s late, but if you want to bring me home and wouldn’t mind, that would be great.”
“It’s New Year’s Eve!” Natasha said. “Let me take you out for a real drink.” She looked at her pleadingly. “You deserve it.”
“I thought you didn’t do parties,” Pansy pointed out, arching a brow at Natasha as she waited for her response.
“I don’t, which is why I don’t mind bailing on here, but I do love drinking and bars… So, shall we?” She offered her arm to Pansy, grinning as she waited for Pansy to take it. "Come on, you know you want to get drunk and forget all the shit that just happened here."
“What the hell,” she muttered, taking Natasha’s offered arm. “Let’s go!”
“Yes!” Natasha said, pulling her into the elevator. “Girls night out!”
“Besides, how much trouble could we get in?” Pansy laughed, looking at Natasha warily. She knew that Natasha could likely drink her under the table, but she never heard another negative about her.
Natasha looked at her, a wicked grin on her face. “Let’s find out.”