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The party was booming. People filled the room in expensive dresses and suits, drinks in hand as they laugh at whatever comment was being made. YOu enter the room nervously, looking around to see if any of your friends had arrived but it was no use. People kept blocking your path as they stumbled by. Some even bump into you and cause you to stumble.
The urge to turn and leave was very present in your mind but you made a promise to be here. A promise to your brother, Steve, your best friend, Wanda and Tony, the man you’ve had a crush on for the longest time.
You had snuck onto Steve’s jet when he crashed into the ice, causing the both of you to be found by SHIELD. It was nice to be with your brother in the new world seeing as you both had no clue what anything was. Steve was very protective of you. You were his younger sister and he wanted to see you safe. Especially knowing that Dr. Erskine had provided you with a serum as well. While you didn’t become a super soldier, you gained the power of invisibility. With Hydra still being active, he didn’t want you to be taken by them again.
Knowing how shy you were, Steve made you promise to come and enjoy the party. While you were friends with everyone, you would rather spend time in your room than hang out with them. Your fears and anxieties just made your mind spin. Steve just wanted to see you be social and get out there more. So you promised him you would attend.
With Wanda, you promised her a fun night full of drinks and gossip. When she first joined the team, she was still grieving the loss of her brother. While everyone was still wary of her and her powers, you found her intriguing. She was quiet like you but you knew she had a lot to say. From late nights sitting in silence, to laughing like children while making cookies, Wanda became your confidant. Someone you could easily confide in.
But Tony…Tony was something different. From the first time you met him, you thought he was a dick. He made a lot of sarcastic and suggestive comments and gave everyone weird nicknames. You weren’t sure when your feelings when from annoyance to admiration but you weren’t one to question it. Maybe it was when you mentioned wanting to make brownies one night and the following day, Tony had shown up with every ingredient possible. Or maybe when you spent the night on one side of the couch and Tony on the other, watching cheesy romcoms until you fell asleep and woke up covered in a blanket and a note from Tony saying you should do this again.
Tony had made your heart flutter with every smile, joke and over-the-top party like this one. He had cornered you in the kitchen yesterday, ensuring that you were gonna make it.
“Cara Mia (My Darling)!” He says with a smile. “Just the girl I was looking for.”
“Hi T,” You say as you dip your teabag into your mug of hot water. “What’s up?”
“As you know I’m throwing a party tomorrow night,” You nod at his words, wondering what he wants. “And I was hoping you would be there.”
While you had already decided to go, you thought it would be fun to tease him a little. “I don’t know, Tony. Parties aren’t my thing.”
“Please, Dolce Ragazza (sweet girl),” He crowds you against the counter, staring down at you with a smirk.
“T-tones,” You stutter.
“It’ll be a fun night. Drinks and dancing."
He leans in closer, invading your space even more. He leans to your ear and your breath hitches.
"Promise me, Cara Mia. Promise me I'll see you at the party."
You stumble over your words as you try to respond causing Tony to chuckle. "Sei così carina, dolce ragazza (you are so cute, sweet girl)."
"I-I don't know what that means," you finally stutter out. You knew the language was Italian and you knew you could always use the internet to translate it but you liked the mystery
"Good." He says with a smirk. He finally steps back and stares at your cup of tea that he placed on the counter. He turns to the cupboard and pulls out honey and then to the fridge to take it milk. "Just honey and milk for your tea, right?" He asks.
"Huh?"
"Well I know you like your black teas with sugar and milk and pretty much everything else with honey instead of sugar. That is peppermint tea, right?" Rather than wait for your response, he takes the mug and adds a spoonful of honey and a splash of milk, mixing it and then handing it back to you.
You watch in awe as he makes your tea to perfection. Your heart is swooning just a little bit more.
He hands you the mug and urges you to take a sip. When you do, you smile. It's even better than when you make it. How did he do it?
"Perfect." You say with a blush, Avoiding eye contact with him.
"Perfect." He turns to leave the kitchen but you call his name. "Yes, Y/N?"
"I'll see you at the party…I promise."
He smiles brightly and nods his head. "Save me a dance, Cara Mia." He winks and walks away leaving you shocked.
This led you to where you are now. Although you still want to leave, you push your way through the crowd and to the bar. Hoping that a glass of champagne will calm your nerves.
As you sit and wait, Wanda comes running up to you with a smile. "You made it! And you look so good!"
You blush at your friend's words. You look down at the red dress you are wearing. It's nothing fancy, just a simple red that you paired with gold jewelry. It hugged your body nicely and had a nice sweetheart neckline.
"It's nothing special. You look phenomenal! The suit looks amazing!"
"You are so sweet." She sits on the seat beside you and orders herself a glass of wine.
"So…red and gold. Isn't that kind of on the nose?" She teases.
You roll your eyes but can't help your blush.
"It was a coincidence," you reply, sipping your drink.
"A planned one."
You both laugh and continue talking.
Across the room, Tony stands surrounded by men and women who are hanging on to his every last word. As much as he loved the attention, his eyes flicker around the room. He was hoping to catch a glance at you.
He always thought you were pretty. Sure you were shy and quiet but you were intriguing. At first, he thought you were like your brother. Patriotic and always fighting for the little guy. And while you did believe in justice, you were so different from Steve.
You were funny and sweet and you always smelled a little bit like lavender.
Your personality made him want to know more about you. He wanted to date you.
"Tony, you're so funny," one of the models on Tony's arm. "Maybe we can continue this conversation somewhere private."
"No thanks. Now if you'll excuse me, I have places to be and other people to see." He walks away from the group and over to the bar when he spots you walking there as well.
He takes a breath and moves to you but is stopped when Natasha crosses his path.
"Stark."
"Romanoff."
"Where are you off to? You seem to be in a rush." She smirks.
He looks past the redhead and to you who is now talking with Wanda. He sighs. "How can I help you?"
Natasha turns her head and sees where Tony's eyes are. "You still haven't told her yet?"
"Nope. Is it obvious?"
"Yes. Mostly because you said at the next party you'd make a grand entrance with her on your arm."
"I know but next time for sure. Tonight is the night. "
"You might wanna get moving then, Tony. I heard some agent say he was gonna ask her out."
Tony's face pales at the former widow's words. He knew that you trained with the agents for extra practice but he never thought one of them would ask you out before he could. "Which one?"
"Davis. He's right over there," Natasha points to the man at the far end of the bar. His eyes watch you pointedly as you laugh at whatever Wanda is saying. Your eyes lit up as he laughed, making his heart squeeze.
"Wish me luck," Tony declares and walks past Natasha. The determination in his steps is shown but falters when Steve and Bucky stop him.
"Hey, Tony. Great party!" Steve says.
"Captain, Elsa, I gotta go."
"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Bucky asks with a knowing smirk on his face.
"Nowhere. I just gotta talk to someone really quick." Tony says urgently.
His attempts to leave are futile as Steve begins to discuss an upcoming mission that he wanted to ensure went well.
Bucky stands, holding in a laugh. His amusement stems from the fact that he knew about your crush on Tony and vice versa.
You and Bucky had always been close. Having grown up following Steve around, getting to know Bucky was easy. He was as protective of you as if you were one of his sisters.
He was the first person you went to when you started liking Tony. You had never experienced a real relationship before and these feelings went so deep in your heart that you didn't know what to do.
You thought you were dying and when you told Bucky he just laughed.
"It's not funny, James! I'm being serious." You say crossing your arms. You sit on your bed while Bucky sits on your desk chair across from you with a smirk on his face.
"I know, I know. It's just funny," he says, wiping a fake tear from his eye.
"What is?"
"Watching you fall in love. It's funny."
Your eyes practically pop out of your head at his words. Love? This wasn't love? Love shouldn't mean your heart constricts every time Tony leaves a room or when he's on a mission.
"This isn't love, James,"
"Yes, it is, Kiddo. Cause that's how I feel about Steve. It feels like your heart hurts when they leave and it always skips a beat when they enter a room. I've seen the way you look at Tony, Y/n. There's no hiding it." He walks to sit beside you and you rest your head on his shoulder.
"Are you mad?" You stutter quietly.
"Why would I be mad?"
"I know you and Tony aren't the closest and I know he forgave you for the winter soldier stuff but—"
"Does he make you happy?"
"Well, yes but—”
“But nothing. All I want is to see you happy. My relationship with Tony has nothing to do with that. I promise.”
“Really?” You ask timidly.
“Would I lie to you, Kiddo?” he shoves into you lightly and you giggle. A wide smile graces your face as you hug Bucky.
“Thanks, Buck,”
A silence falls over you both when a thought crosses Bucky's mind.
"Steve is going to lose his mind."
Those words rang out through your head even weeks after. Steve's opinion meant the world to you and you had no clue what he would do or say about your crush on Tony.
As time went on, the party became more rowdy. Wanda had snuck off with Natasha a while ago, leaving you at the bar nursing your third glass of champagne.
The party wasn’t that bad. You had seen a few of the other Avengers who you held conversations with before being pulled away by other partygoers. It saddened you that you hadn’t seen Tony yet. You knew he was a busy man who had a lot of people wanting to talk to him but you had hoped he would carve out just a little time to see you.
A tap on your shoulder rouses you from your thoughts. You wondered if all your hopes had come true but your smile falters when you saw Agent Davis. You plaster another smile on your face, hoping he hadn’t noticed. He slides into the seat where Wanda sat and scoots closer to you. The smell of his Axe bodyspray overpowers your nostrils, causing you to turn your head and gag. Tony would never wear Axe, he claimed it was for pubescent teenage boys who don’t shower. He preferred a simple cologne from some expensive brand you couldn’t remember. His class and elegance were just a few of the many reasons why you were attracted to him.
When you finally turn back, Davis is smiling at you but something about it is unsettling.
“Y/N, always a pleasure,”
“Agent Davis…nice seeing you as well.”
“Please, it’s Alex. None of the formalities tonight.”
You nod with an awkward smile and glance around the room for Tony. Alex’s hand rests on your arm and squeezes it. “How about you and I get out of here? We could go somewhere quieter and…talk,” The way he says talk makes you shiver, knowing that he would want to do anything but talk.
“No thanks, Agent Davis. I’m supposed to be meeting Tony here any second so—”
“You mean Tony who is currently in between some models?” He points across the room to where Tony is smiling as he stands between two models. He moves with them as they dance and your heart gets crushed just a little. He was a grown man who owed you nothing. He didn’t know about your feelings for him and even if he did, he is still free to do whatever he wants, even if it broke your heart.
“Did I say, Tony? I meant Steve.” You say with an awkward laugh. “ I should probably go find him,” You slide off your seat, legs a little wobbly as you land on your feet. “Nice seeing you Agent Davis.”
As you begin to walk away, he grabs your wrist, squeezing it tightly. His nails dig into your skin and you groan in pain at the stinging feeling. “How about a dance?” He asks quietly. The pain continues to grow as he squeezes harder and harder. “You can think of it as an apology for rejecting me,”
When you finally nod, he lets go of your wrist and smiles. “Good.” He stands and looks down at you with a sadistic grin. You look to the ground and come up with an idea to get rid of him.
“Your laces are untied. Wouldn’t want you tripping while we dance,”
He thanks you and gets to his knees, only to see that his laces were tied perfectly. When he stood back up, you were gone. You had never been more thankful for your powers. Being invisible had its perks, especially with creeps like Davis.
You make your way to the balcony, happy that no one else was out there. Once you closed the balcony doors behind you, you made yourself visible again. You walk to the edge of the roof, resting your arms on the railing as you rub your bruised wrist. The skin was red and had little half-moons from Davis’ nails.
The cool breeze of the night washes over you, making you shiver lightly. The city was lively tonight. Being in New York meant that parties happened all the time. The lights of all the buildings lit up the dark skies. It was one of your favourite sights in the world. Brooklyn wasn’t like this in the 40s. As you watched the city below you, the balcony door opened, you hide yourself, not wanting to be disturbed from your relaxing moment when a voice calls for you.
“Y/n? Are you out here?” Tony calls.
As much as you want to respond, the images of Tony dancing with the models played in your mind and made you frustrated.
“Y/n?” No response.
“Is she out here?” Natasha asks Tony from the door.
“I don’t think so.” He groans. “Did I ruin things, Natasha?”
His question piqued your interest. What could he have possibly ruined?
“I don’t think it helped that you went off and danced with those girls,” She replies.
“I know but I saw her with Davis and I panicked. What was I supposed to do?”
“Maybe not dance with strangers?” Natasha suggests sarcastically. She walks over to Tony whose head is down.
“I like her. What if I ruined it?”
Nat sighs at his words and your urge to speak continues to rise. Tony hadn’t ruined anything. He was his own person smart enough to make his own decisions. Even if it was a shitty decision.
“You are a good guy, Tony. Y/n knows that.”
“And if she doesn’t?” He questions, fears lacing his voice.
“Well if she didn’t, I don’t think she would be on the roof still,” She says with a knowing smirk.
“What?” The man asks, baffled that he hadn’t noticed.
“She might be invisible but she forgets I’m a spy.”
With a squeak, you make yourself visible. Your head dips as you blush. “Hi, Natty. Hi, T. How did you know I was here?”
“It's cold enough for us to see your breath, Y/N.” She says with a laugh. “I’ll leave you both to talk. See you later.” She walks back inside and closes the door, ensuring that you both have the utmost privacy.
Tony moves to where you are on the balcony and finally gets a good look as he faces you.
“My, my, my, Cara Mia… Non ho mai conosciuto la vera bellezza fino a quando non ti ho visto stasera (My Darling…I have never known true beauty until seeing you tonight). You look amazing, Y/N.” He says. His eyes gloss over your body, admiring the dress, the jewelry, the makeup. Admiring you.
“Thanks, Tony. You look really nice too. I know red is your colour but navy blue suits you well,” You say, watching as his arms stretched above his head. The suit he had on was a three-piece from Armani or Gucci or some other fancy brand that he loved to wear. He could be wearing a garbage bag and he would look amazing.
“I’ve been looking for you all night,” He says after a beat. “I wanted to talk to you about something.” He glances at you and notices that your fingers are still running over your wrist. When he sees the red marks, he gasps. “What happened?”
“Nothing important.”
“But you’re hurt. Who would hurt such a Dolce ragazza?”
“Just some handsy Agent.”
“What? Who?” he asks, a growl coming from the back of his throat.
“Tony,” you beg as his head whips back and forth between your wrist and the doors to the party. “I’m okay. It’s nothing a little aloe won’t heal. I promise, Tones.”
He grabs your wrist softly, bringing it to his lips. He kisses each mark, hoping and praying that there won’t be scars. “I don’t like seeing you hurt, Cara Mia,”
“I’m fine, Tony. Especially now that you’re here.”
Tony smiles as he leans on the railing. You shiver lightly and he immediately removes his jacket and drapes it over your shoulders.
“You didn’t have to do that, Tony. Now you’ll get cold.”
“I’ll be fine, Principessa. Besides, I like seeing you in my clothes.”
You move to stand closer to him and smile at his words. “Thanks, Tony. That’s kind of you.”
A calming silence falls over the two of you. It’s relaxing being in the same space as Tony. With Tony being who he is, you always assumed chaos followed him around. But standing with him here and now, you knew you were wrong.
“I wanted to ask you a question, Cara Mia.”
When you look at Tony, his eyes are on you already, seeming to have been watching you when he could have been watching the stars in the sky.
“Okay. What’s your question?”
“I, um, wow. I don’t get nervous but I’m really feeling the nerves right now,”
“What’s making you nervous?” You ask him.
“You are. Standing in front of you when you look like a fucking princess makes me nervous, Y/n. You’re so beautiful, Dolce Ragazza. Every time I see you, I’m genuinely shocked at the beauty you carry and how you carry yourself, Cara Mia. My God, you amaze me.”
“Tony,” You begin but he interrupts.
“No, Please let me finish before I chicken out again. I really like you, Y/n. I’ve liked you from the first time you rolled your eyes at me,” You laugh at his words, remembering the moment very well. “My thoughts are constantly consumed by you and I would love to take you out and prove to you I’m good enough to date you and to hopefully be your boyfriend,”
Your eyes gloss over as he speaks, your heart thumping wildly in your chest. You rest four hands on his cheeks, hoping to convey your emotions with the gesture but it’s not enough.
“I made a fool of myself, right?”
Rising on your tippy toes, you press your lips to his. His lips taste like whiskey. A drink you normally hate but love when it comes from Tony. His hands fall to your waist, pulling you close to him, needing you to be even closer than you already are. His tongue runs over your lips, pleading for access and your grant it easily, allowing him to explore your mouth as much as he wanted. He bit your lip slightly and you whimper at the feeling. He runs his tongue over the bite, soothing your pain. When you backed away, the smile on your face was uncontrollable. You giggle to yourself.
“What’s so funny?” Tony asked. He presses his forehead to yours as he pants lightly.
“Nothing I just…I’ve thought about kissing you and this surpassed every expectation I’ve ever had,”
Tony laughs too. He kisses your nose lightly before kissing your lips as well. “Well, I’m glad, Principessa. I wanted to wine and dine you first before I kissed you but you kind of jumped the gun.”
You slap his chest lightly and laugh quietly. “You’re lucky I like you, Tony. Not a lot of people would put up with you.”
“I think you like this side of me, Y/n. It’s part of my charm.”
You roll your eyes at him but smile anyways, giddiness washing over you.
“I like you, Tones. I really like you.”
“I really like you too, Cara Mia.”
You kiss again and then you rest your head on his chest as he holds you close.
“You know we’re gonna have to tell Steve, right?”
“Fuck.”