Disclaimer: I don't own any of the mentioned characters except for the original (Y/N). This is the first of a three-part story. I take requests so please send them in if you'd like! Enjoy!
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A sharp knock resonated throughout the lab, startling Tony and causing him to snap his head toward the door.
Y/N leaned against the door frame, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips. “Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you” she laughed.
The billionaire grinned back at his PR chief, tense muscles relaxing at the sight of her.
“You're gonna have to do a lot more than that to scare me, Y/N” he replied, smirking.
“That a challenge, Stark?” she said, matching his smirk as she walked into the lab and set down a Starbucks cup on the desk in front of him.
“Coffee” , she stated, pulling out her vibrating phone and frowning at the message she had received.
“Before you ask, yes, I ordered a double expresso with extra foam and no, I didn't forget the extra caramel sauce” she said, slipping the phone back into her purse and looking up.
Tony, who had opened his mouth to ask her exactly that, closed it immediately and stared at her astounded for a second, before slightly shaking his head and chuckling.
‘She knows me’ he thought, his heart warming slightly.
“So what are you doing here this early? The conference isn't until 1” Tony asked, glancing at the clock on the wall near his desk, showing half past 8.
Not that he was complaining. His day somehow became better when he saw her.
Y/N raised an eyebrow at him. “We have to get your prepped. I also wanted to make sure you were awake enough, after spending all night in the lab”, she said, placing one hand on her hip and leaning against the desk.
“I did not spend ALL night in the lab! I just got here a couple of hours ago” exclaimed Tony, feigning offense.
Y/N stared at him, incredulous. “Really”? she asked, before calling out, “Jarvis, did he spend all night here?”
“He did, Miss Y/L/N”, came the A.I.'s reply in a crisp, British accent.
“Damn it, J” Tony muttered, glancing down at his hands, before looking up and sheepishly meeting Y/N's eyes.
“I was under the impression that after a year, you would've realized that I can see through your lies like an X-ray” she said, the frown on her lips melting into a soft smile as she gently touched his shoulder, her eyes twinkling.
“Come on, let's get some breakfast and I can prep you for the conference,” she said.
He nodded, closing his laptop and got up from his desk. “Yes ma'am” he smirked.
Rolling her eyes, trying to hide her smile, Y/N walked out of the lab with Tony right behind her.
‘Definitely knows me’ he smiled at the thought.
He had been smiling a lot when he thought about her, which was becoming a more and more frequent occurence. Pepper had hired her after a lawsuit was filed against Stark Industries by an aggrieved ex-employee for wrongful termination. Pepper insisted on hiring a public relations firm to fix the “damaged image” of the company after the trial.
It was completely unnecessary to Tony.
That is, until he met her.
The company's Head of PR. Ever since that first day, when she had firmly told him to get his head out of his ass, he had been intrigued by her. She was easily the most unique woman he had ever met. Caring, kind, smart, straightforward, affectionate, funny, he could go on.
Not to mention absolutely gorgeous.
He tried to convince himself that it was just a crush, but the way he got uncharacteristically nervous around her, the way his heart rate quickened when she smiled at him, the way he often found himself gazing at her, the way it warmed his heart when she teased him, all told a different tale.
One which he was finding harder and harder to ignore.
She had a rapidly strengthening hold on his heart and he was completely helpless against it.
Pepper and Happy's engagement party, at a posh restaurant in upstate New York.
The conference had gotten over a few hours ago and he had to attend a board meeting before. Tony had just arrived and was at the bar, waiting for his scotch, when he looked towards the window and his jaw fell open.
Y/N was standing near window, talking to Happy about something.
She was stunning. Her strapless black sequined gown hugged her curves and fell to the floor, her soft, dark brown hair falling to her waist in delicate waves. Large diamond earrings dangled from her ears as she spoke animatedly about something, making Happy smile at her.
Swallowing thickly, Tony eyes widened, feeling his heart rate quicken as he continued to stare at her in awe, struggling to control his flustered state. ‘What is wrong with me?’ he thought, taking a sip of his scotch, trying and failing to look away.
He was completely captivated by her, as he tried to form a coherent thought.
“You could at least attempt to be subtle, you know” Tony snapped his head around, coming face to face with a smug looking Natasha and a smirking Rhodhes.
“Uh, what was that Rhodhey?” Tony said, attempting to gather himself.
“I said, you could at least try and be subtle instead of gawking at her like a lovestruck idiot” Rhodhey said.
“Which you are” added Natasha, taking a sip of her whiskey.
“I'm sorry, what?” Tony scoffed, pretending to be shocked at his friends' words.
“Come on, man. Banner hulking out and running through Times Square naked would be less obvious than this” Rhodhey said, gesturing to Y/N.
“Thanks for the image, buddy” Tony grimaced.
“He's not wrong, Stark.” Natasha said, gesturing to the bartender for a refill. “Correction, he is very wrong. Like, really, really wrong. So, extremely-”
“Tony, I've seen how you are when you're around her. You turn into this really nervous, heart eyed puppy dog, it's kinda creepy” Rhodhey said, with a half-digusted, half-amused expression. Tony rolled his eyes.
“Who's a jackass?” Y/N asked, setting her empty glass on the counter.
Tony turned around, his heart speeding up instantly at the sight of her.
“Uh, R-Rhodhes” he stammered.
‘Come on, Stark. Get your shit together.’
Tony took a sip of his scotch and tried to calm his racing heart.
“Really? I assumed it was you.” Y/N casually commented, taking a sip of her wine.
Natasha tried to suppress her laughter while Rhodhes chuckled at the dumbfounded expression on Tony's face.
“Ouch, that's brutal ” he said with an exaggerated hurt look on his face.
Y/N shook her head slightly and laughed.
His heart fluttered. He loved her laugh. He loved it even more when he made her laugh.
Natasha and Rhodhes glanced at each other.
“We should go congratulate Pepper and Happy. Enjoy the evening” Rhodhey said, sending a smirk the billionaire's way. “You too, guys” Y/N smiled. Tony finished his drink and set it down on the counter.
“I, uh...you, uh,” Tony stammered, rubbing the back of his neck, heart racing, “Wow” he managed to finish.
‘Seriously, Tony? Have you lost all sense of the English language? And since when do you stammer?’ he scoffed at himself internally.
Y/N smiled and looked down, tucking her hair behind her ear.
“Thank you, Tony. You look good too” she said, gently pulling her lower lip between her teeth.
“I always do” Tony smirked, desperately trying to ignore the way his knees went weak when Y/N bit her lip.
“Sure, Stark” said Y/N sarcastically, taking another sip of her wine.
“It's a beautiful restaurant” she said, glancing around smiling softly.
Tony couldn't bring himself to look anywhere but her, his eyes following her face, breathing hitching when she bit her lip once more.
To him, she was the most beautiful thing in the room. In every room.
“Do you uh... w-want to go for a...a walk outside?” Tony asked, craving the fresh air.
“Yup, sure” Y/N said, finishing her drink and thanking the bartender.
They left the restaurant and walked through the garden in the back.
“You were good at the conference” Y/N said, glancing at Tony and smiling. “Thanks, but it wasn't all me. You deserve like, 12% of the credit” he said, laughing when she lightly smacked his arm with the back of her hand.
They walked close by each other, the smell of Tony's colonge wafting in the air around them. Y/N looked up at Tony, admiring the way his chocolate brown eyes shone in the moonlight.
“It's really nice out here” she whispered, still looking at him. Tony turned towards her and smiled.
Hearing footsteps behind them, they stopped and turned to see Sam Wilson running up to them.
Tony grunted. ‘Great, this guy’ he thought wryly.
“Hey guys,” he said, stopping in front of them.
“Y/N, you look incredible” he smiled, wrapping his arms around her, for a few seconds too long, Tony thought. Hugging him back, Y/N smiled back at him and replied, “Thank you Sam. How's your evening going?”
“Pretty decent, except for Happy and Pepper arguing about the music every 5 minutes” he laughed.
Y/N chuckled, making Tony's jaw clench.
“Hey Wilson” he said, giving him a small smile.
“Hey Stark”, Sam replied, acknowledging the billionaire with a nod.
“What are you doing out here?” asked Tony, jaw still slightly tense. “Just getting some fresh air, I suppose you guys are doing the same?” he asked, looking at Y/N.
“Yeah, we're walking to the fountain, it's really pretty” she replied.
“It's not the prettiest thing in this garden, though” he said, winking at her.
As Y/N laughed again, Tony's blood begun to boil. Instinctively, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him.
Through clenched teeth, he said “Well, it was nice seeing you Wilson, but we should get going now”.
“Sure”, said Sam, glancing at Tony's arm, “Enjoy the rest of your evening. See you around, Y/N.” Giving Tony a curt smile, he leaned forward and kissed Y/N's cheek before walking away, with a seething Tony glaring harshly at his retreating figure, subconsciously pulling Y/N closer to him.
‘What's the matter with me?’ Tony thought.
‘I'm not jealous. Nope, Tony Stark does NOT get jealous. Nope, that's not what this is’, he attempted to convince himself, even as images of Sam's lips on Y/N's cheek began to arise in his mind, causing him to involuntarily clench his jaw once more.
“You REALLY don't like the guy, do you?” Y/N asked, raising an eyebrow and snapping Tony back into reality.
“What? No, not particularly,” he replied, still looking in Sam's direction, suddenly becoming aware of his arm still tight around Y/N's waist.
He quickly pulled it away and stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets. “He gets on my nerves”, he muttered, not meeting Y/N's eye. She glanced at Tony's arm, confusion flashing in her eyes for a second, before shaking her head and looking up at him. “Um, so, do you want walk more?” she asked. Tony's phone buzzed. He pulled it out, giving her an apologetic smile and looked at the message, his smile disappearing and his eyebrows furrowing as anger took over his face.
