𝐒.𝐇.𝐈.𝐄.𝐋.𝐃. 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐑

ELEANOR

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Finding my trail around the helicarrier was easy to figure out. With more distinctly labelled routes unlike most government agencies, Director Hill and Fury had both invested time and energy into the sky-born cradle that housed nearly five hundred cadets from SHIELD. Once I found the entitled garage that Maria had mentioned to me about—warned even—I pressed down my palm over the scanner to unlock the door. Upon gaining access, the apparently soundproofed room was rattling the walls and panes with loud band music, my hands cupped my ears instantly. 

'Tony!'

Deeply immersed in his gadget mending with his bent back towards me, I couldn't help but notice the number of greasy smudges and tears growing around the edges of his dark-coloured tee. His thew built arms were racked and toughened with concentration as some fiery sparks shot out where the device met metal and the resistive gear he wore around his head rebuffed it. The bluntly brushed hair curled around the edges of his ears, dripping sweat inevitably. Knowing he was probably stuck in here for days till the end, I reached for the music system that was wrapped between millions of wires and turned the knob down. 

'Turn it up before I lose my train of thought,' was the restless command delivered to me without a single glance as he continued to prod at the device ingeniously. 

I rolled my eyes. 'Seriously, what in—'

'Hold on a sec, babe. Let me just get past running the compiler phase before I forget what I'm doing,' he said, so fast in verbal seconds, I couldn't catch the latter portion. I remained reticent, brooding in private at his disrespecting antiques. 

'Sure take your time,' I mumbled under my breath, not low enough. 'Only a modish medical miracle, is all. Up and walking sans steel cane after being completely busted up,' I shrugged, forcing myself to forget about the tech that was modded into me. 'Not a big deal at all.'

'I heard that!'

'You were supposed to,' I grumbled.

I pushed my hands through my hair to gather it to aside to let some air hit my neck since it felt like I was standing in a boiler room with him. There was minimal lighting around the garage, a large number of blue-tinted holographic screens pertaining to his suit of armour and every wall lined with some weirdly shaped mechanical tool which wasn't my area of expertise to figure out. 

Speaking of expertise, after Rhodey left me to fend for myself on the flying boat, I realized Cal, my assistant, was on board with me. I scratched it down in a mental note, to drop Cal a visit.

'Look at you. Elle Preece,' I heard Tony's compliment, making me merge my dull gaze with his. I felt the sweat accumulate on my forehead and arms, already starting to stick to the skin of my oversized t-shirt. I wore some sweat shorts underneath, courtesy of a kind cadet on board, and my feet were left bare. 

'After everything, still as gorgeous as ever.'

'It is a hard cross to bear.'

'One of us has to. Seriously, the whole bedhead and bruises are really working out for you.'

I laughed. 'Much obliged, sir.'

I stayed put, moving my eyes around the room to avoid eye contact. I wasn't even invited in and since my manners were still intact unlike my heart, I was forced to remain standing however badly want to receive a hug from him.

'Why are you still so far away from me?' he asked, slipping on a significant grin and sticking an arm out as if awaiting an embrace. When I cocked a brow, his grin widened. 

'C'mere, honeybunches.'

That did it. Hot on my heels, I reached him only to sling my craving arms around his shoulders and breathe in him deeply. His hug was larger than my own as if merely keeping me wasn't enough but to feel every measure of me against every bit of him. I didn't want to let go and so I didn't, just closing my eyes and indulging the moment in his arms.

'You feel so good,' I murmured in pleasure, fitting my chin aloft his shoulder and taking a whiff. 'And smell awful. Is that petroleum?'

'It's grease, you lowlife.'

'And you're a sack of dicks on a daily basis,' I said honestly. 'But, you don't see me complaining.' 

'I guess that answers the question of how much you missed me,' he spoke into my hair, rubbing my back to soothe me. I had to hold my happy tears at bay since crying at such a moment would ruin it all. So I didn't answer only nodding softly. It took me a moment to retrieve my thoughts and focus on the more important matters.

'How are you, Tony?'

I reluctantly pulled away, traversing my hands up his neck to make him face me completely. The deep brown in his eyes wasn't so bright as before, swimming in insomnolence and red-rimmed in the corners. I pitied him a bit, tiring his ass to save the world from an omnipotent threat in the name of Zeke Stane. Never had I ever hated a man so much in an instant.

'Oh y' know. Awesome now that I have you. Locking the course on Stane, living life—the usual,' he sighed, placing his hands over mine that lingered over his neck. 'You, on the other hand, look exceptional.'

'Since you spent thousands and millions and billions of dollars on me, you better be getting your dime's worth,' I spoke out, a smile breaking out my face. 'Thanks for everything.'

'Hubbub, all in good time,' he raised his voice to silence my own, peeling my hands away from his shoulders to bring it to our sides, entangled. He had a smirk etched on his lips, extending as he took in the confusion broiling in my mind. 'Wanna dance?'

'No,' I declined instantly, trying to force my hands out of his. I felt myself blanch at the notion—I couldn't dance at all. 'God, no. I just dropped by. I have some matters to take care of.' 

'Excuses,' he teased. 'You can't dance.'

My eyes slid down to his lips coyly. 'How did you even know that?'

'Easy,' he shrugged, 'I've never seen you dance.'

'I would like to put forth a wager.'

'No.'

'A dance or,' I tucked my tongue into my cheek to lean forward and softly graze my teeth over his earlobe. My hand went over his back, my fingertips sliding down the holey tee to the seam of his pants. He sucked in a breath and willing a shake of his head.

'On an intelligence carrier,' he muttered. 'Absolutely not.'

'I beg to differ.'

'Stop arguing and take me to zen,' he reached out to slip a finger under my chin to jerk my gaze up to his. He had a haughty smile widening when my lips trembled with a grin of their own. 'I've got time. About fifteen point three six minutes of it.'

I narrowed my eyes with a deeming challenge, tilting my head dubiously. 'That's not going to cut it. Give me the night; you won't regret.'

He had his strayed on my lips and intently watching as if waiting for me to breathe fire. I saw a strangled amusement return from the seriousness in him, shaking his head.

 'Ever the strategist.'

I anticipated as he tapped the side of his ear, the earpiece coming back online. Tony's arms snaked over my waist, tugging me closer and a laugh leaving me as I looped my arms over his neck, caught in the moment. 

'Help me out here, buddy. You know what to do,' he sought out, speaking to his AI assistant. Almost immediately, a soulful sultry tune bled out through the speakers and my gears shifting to place the song in my head. I recognized the musical mastermind behind the song, Can't Help Falling In Love, the music legend Elvis Presley whose almost every song I knew by heart. 

'No, I can't—'

'Ssh, no one's around,' he shushed. 'I'm not even recording this'

I laughed. 'That is convenient.'

He hummed the tune with a mesmerizing grin on his face, his warm hand that set over my back and our feet gliding in odd angles since we both couldn't dance with synchrony. I heard him mutter angrily when I squished his toes every now and then or when the two-element objects that were modded into us clashed together with a clang. 

'Oh god,' I dropped my forehead onto his shoulder. 'I hate you for doing this.'

He kissed my hair softly, laughing breathily. 'I think it's adorable that you can't shake your hips to save your life.'

He had even offered to let me stand on his feet like in the movies but his appearance was on the contrary. I denied him favourably to which he sighed. What really mattered was Tony, that he was in front of me with a smile over his gaunt features and enjoying himself. Just being near him, unwinding and moving slowly to the rhythm, was lighting me up on the inside. It felt so damn good. 

'Something on your mind, Ellie?' 

I broke out into a smile at the nickname. 

'I'm fine,' I assured him with a single shift of my fingers down his spine. The music wound around us like a thread, his arms suddenly guiding me to a delicate twirl and fluidly pressing me against him. I laughed when his lips pressed to a tight smile.

'Pain manageable? The progress is exceptional so I figured rehab wasn't—'

'I said I'm fine,' I confirmed sternly. An unamused glance was sent my way at the tone of my voice, my lips leaving a large exhale. 

Being tampered with by the arc-reactor was not all fun and games when there was a terrorist out there browbeating you. The burden that laid over my shoulders was unshakeable, the financial settlement and Tony's laid back nature of it seemed like a travesty of justice.

'It's just—' I tried to share and I was convinced to speak out when the music died down into a buzzing silence. That's when I knew he was all ears. 'I can feel it? Heavy, weird and alien. Like, I'm invincible.'

'Not digging it?' He asked, slightly amused by my choice of words. 'It's a lot to take in.'

'You do it like it is a breath of air,' I mused. 'Commendable, really.'

'There's this and that. But, what gives?'

I sighed, releasing a breath. Where to begin?

'I don't want this weapon of yours in me, Tony,' I murmured sullenly after a beat, my fingers tracing the circular ridges of the glowing arc-reactor on my chest. Tony caught my hand before I touched the lustrous centre, his own moving the collar of my shirt away to examine it himself. I tried to figure out his expression; pensive and doubting. 

'Honey?' I called quietly.

'Say it, Elle.' It was the strangest sound I had ever heard.

'Whatever that's in it for me. A wheelchair or a cane or-or more surgery—I don't care.' There was no heat in my voice since I was not stating an argument rather sharing my thoughts. He baulked at my words as if not accustomed to this type of talk.

'I'm not a bomb,' I whispered with a heaviness that held longing. 'I don't want to be a bomb.'

'That's how you see me?' He said after a pulse of quiet, shaking his head desolately. 'A walking timebomb just ticking away.'

'No, of course not, Tony—' I moaned as he pulled away, turning his head back to the table and his head bowed with effort. He had his hands braced on the table and almost looked lost for emotion. I dragged a hand over his arm and when he didn't respond, placing my cheek over the edge of his shoulder. 

'I love you, I do and you know that. You just made me a walking, talking, billion-dollar wonder. And I'm so grateful.'

'But?'

'But,' I continued from where he left, 'I know how hard you toiled to push Stark Industries out of militant trades. This thing,' I pointed to glorified and remodelled reactor on his chest, 'it has roots which plunge into some bloody soil.'

'Understood,' was all he said and not even bothering to confront my dilemma.

'Tony.'

'Eleanor,' he mimicked my abrasive voice. If he was using my full name, he was onto something big. 'I'm not repeating myself.'

'I'll be no one's tinkering weapon,' I murmured gravely. 'I'm sorry.'

Devoid of any sort of a battered visage, he was in a state of confusion. Tony, who rarely ever reciprocated any sort of eloquence, had gone speechless and he wasn't doing a great job at shrouding it very well. 

'You're right in a way,' he said, eventually moving his head to lean into the crown of my head. 'Iron Man was designed to be a weapon. To run a battle array, keep up with the Avengers and save my life—that's what I built it for.'

'I know that—'

'Just hear me out,' he said, leaning over to clamp a palm over my mouth. I grumbled. 'This one,' he dragged his finger over to the modded miracle in my chest and tapped it gently, 'it's not weapon-established.'

' ...What?'

'Don't get mad,' he said quickly. 'I only wanted to know how you feel before—ow, ow, ow!' 

I cut him off by grabbing his chin tightly to make him face me entirely. Every time, irritation comes into play so does a bad idea. And Tony Stark was the rendition of rogue ideas turning a new leaf.

'Tony,' I bristled, 'what are you hiding from me?'

He sighed when I moved to the side, keeping to myself as I crossed my arms and hunched over myself. I let a curtain of hair caress the side of my face, turning away and pulling at a random wire on the table near me all the while anticipating his next words. 

'Danny Rand, owner of Rand Industries,' he shared in a low voice and I heard the sound of his palms rubbing together. 'The Iron Fist—kung-fu dude and a bit cuckoo. His company came up with some great discoveries on electromagnets. Well, they've never been weapons concerned so zip, zap, zoom—I borrowed it.'

It was my turn to be speechless as I felt my lungs softly deflating; exhaling the heaviness and leaving space for the lightness to settle. My lips jutted-out softly, directing the air-flow to my long bangs and fanning them upward as they rested back over my eyes. Tony had sped back to watch the relief flood to my face and even the longest sigh in mankind's existence to leave my mouth.

'Elle?'

'Tony I—good lord,' I swallowed the thick emotion down before attempting again. 'I assumed whatever it was—'

'You were never a bomb,' he said, hesitating as he stretched out to the side of my face to push the hair away and get himself a good look before saying, 'honey, you're a battery.'

I felt like a marionette for a second, moving gawkily with a jumping motion of my fingers over the crest-side of his armour on the table and trying to hide my stunned surprise.

'God I'm so sorry,' I mumbled. 'I should put a leash on myself sometimes. I say shit like this and it only gets me in—'

'Hey-ey-ey,' he susurrated, squeezing my hand to ease me out of my misery. 'Don't go mature on me.'

'You did this on purpose.'

'Sort of,' he laughed. 'I wanted to know what's going on in that head of yours. I didn't think it was this... magnanimous?'

I made a face.

'Selfless,' he corrected, smiling. 'I love you for that.'

I tensely laughed, the embarrassment still heavily present in me. My cheeks flamed hotly and warm breath leaving me as I turned to him with a faltering grin. I couldn't look him the eye so I immediately busied myself with ends of my shirt.

'You seem fidgety.'

'For someone who's been told a whole lot different,' I mused under my breath. 'This is actually rather levelled.'

'I guess.'

'It buzzes when I walk pass machines and I can feel it,' I shared as it felt like a noble responsibility. 'Like it's picking up some sort of frequencies, fields from all around me.'

'It's exactly what you said,' he nodded, awed by my understanding and phrasal. 'Color me impressed.'

 I finally looked up expecting to see hostility or even flecks of guilt but finding the exact opposite. There was a softness in the dewiness of his face, the perfectly trimmed scruff around his chin not twisted up at odd corners. I rubbed a thumb on the other side of his eye, bringing him forward to press my lips over his for a sweet kiss. He made a deep groan at the back of his throat when I angled back, his face contorted into amusement. I felt his hand latch over my wrist.

'You stopped—why'd you—Elle?'

'I'm gonna take a walk down to the bridge,' I shared with a lopsided grin, trying to slip back to the door. 'Surprise a Cal on board.'

'The wager,' he quickly put forward. 'I would like the second option.'

'On an intelligence vessel?' I used his words against him with a smirk. 

'You promised me a night,' he reminded me, still not letting go. 'And technically speaking, the schedule says tonight is date night. Right, JARVIS?'

JARVIS was quick to react to his orders, committing fully. 'I believe so, sir.'

'You gave me fifteen minutes. I made the most of it,' I clucked my tongue. 'Now, you've got work to do.'

'The doors are shut, Miss Preece and the walls are soundproofed,' he said, tucking his tongue in cheek and backing me up on the table unrelenting. 'I'm taking my chances.'

'Stakes are high, Mr Stark,' I sang under my breath. 'Eyes everywhere. Especially with Fury on board, I would expect no less than a full audio recording.'

'You're somehow always one step ahead of me,' he sighed, placing his forehead into my neck. 'Later tonight? I'll find you.'

'Director Stark.' 

A sharp call from a nearby blue-lit screen prattled through the closed room. I snapped my gaze to the pragmatic female on the screen, her dark eyes distinctly set on my flustered figure. I saw her clad in the SHIELD uniform, her badge spelling out Dep. Dir. Maria Hill, upgraded from the usual probably because of her clearance level. She stood tall with her hands behind her back, and brows raised. I forced myself away from Tony, clearing my throat awkwardly.

'Hill,' he said, irritation evident but he never took his eyes off me. I stood shifting weights on my legs, watching Maria strangely. 'I believe the comms are online, you could have just buzzed in—'

'We've got intel on Stane. We need you here in ten.'

The screen went blank, returning back to its normal state and a tiring exhale left his lips. Like the weight of the world rested on his shoulders, he rubbed his eyes with the balls of his hand. 

'Tony,' I muttered, blithely touching the side of his face. He looked up from my palm. 'You will be fine.'

'We are,' he corrected, leaning into my palm on instinct. 'I wish I had more time.'

'Me too. I would've finished that kiss.'

He didn't say anything more, only glancing up with a smile. I made no promises either, shrugging on one shoulder. I fought my urges to go back to his side and kiss him breathless for another hour, grabbing the cane I departed at the door—a therapeutic mockery—and tossing him a knowing look behind my shoulder.

'Maybe I will take up that offer for tonight,' I whispered out on purpose, cupping a hand to make it seem like I was speaking a secret. 'I might even—hm, what do you Americans say?'

He looked amused, tilting his head. 'What?'

'Ah,' I snapped my fingers. 'Go commando.'

If it were visible, the want around him would have been a lustrous blue. He looked as if he wanted to grab me back into his arms then and there, dumbfounded by my words.

'Goddamnit, Elle—'

I winked at him. 'See you later.'

∞

[ update (17.01.2020): edited! ]