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swan-of-sunrise · 5 months

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His Girl Friday

Summary: At Tony Stark's forty-fourth birthday party, the genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist and his longtime personal assistant finally address what's remained unspoken but secretly acknowledged between them for many, many years.

Pairings: Tony Stark X F!Reader

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings/Disclaimers: None

A/N: Hi guys! This is my first time writing a Tony-centric fic and I had a lot of fun with it, so thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoy!

His Girl Friday May 29th, 2014 Avengers Tower, New York City (Fanfiction Masterlist)

Being employed as Anthony Edward Stark’s personal assistant was a challenging and often times perilous job, and that was before he’d announced himself to the world as Iron Man. But (Y/N) (Y/L/N) was no ordinary personal assistant; she stood by the genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist when he vowed to stop producing weapons at Stark Industries after being imprisoned by terrorists for three long months, she stuck with him when his secret illness and subsequent erratic behavior drove nearly everyone else away, and she flat-out refused to believe he’d been killed at the hands of the Mandarin. It was evident that Tony Stark was the closest thing she had to a best friend. Lately, however, she’d begun to notice a significant shift in her feelings towards her employer, feelings that definitely went beyond friendship and feelings that she suspected he was feeling as well; she tried her best to keep them at bay, fearful of ruining such a meaningful friendship and throwing away the only job she’d ever truly enjoyed on a baseless suspicion, and thankfully, there were always plenty of distractions to keep herself preoccupied with in her unique line of work.

From her place at the back of the room, (Y/N) scanned over the enormous checklist in her hands to see if she’d missed anything important; the guests were chatting, dancing and taking full advantage of the open bar while the DJ was playing all of Tony’s favorite songs in honor of his forty-forth birthday. All in all, not one of the worst birthday parties I’ve ever planned for him, she thought to herself, a reluctant smile playing on her lips as she recalled the disastrous thirty-ninth birthday party that resulted in the Malibu mansion’s near destruction at the hands of Tony and Rhodey. That particular birthday party was the reason why she’d initially been a little nervous at the prospect of the Avengers attending the soiree, but it only took a brief glance around the bustling common room to see that they were the perfect guests; Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson played pool with Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff, while Bruce Banner hovered near the back of the enamored crowd of people that surrounded a slightly-inebriated Thor and listened to his enthusiastic re-tellings of the adventures he’d had on Asgard. Pepper and Dr. Helen Cho were seated at the bar and chatted over glasses of Chardonnay while Happy was hyper-focused on his phone, no doubt catching up on an episode of Downton Abbey. With an inward chuckle, the personal assistant returned her attention to her lengthy list of tasks as the classic rock music continued to play.

“Hey beautiful, how ‘bout a dance?”

“Sorry, but I’m worki-” (Y/N) looked up to see Tony Stark himself standing before her, looking as handsome as ever in his expertly tailored black tuxedo and flashing her his signature grin that never failed to make her heart skip a beat. “Hey, you. How’re you enjoying your birthday party?”

Tony tucked his hands into his pockets and shrugged noncommittally. “It’s one of your better-executed extravaganzas, I will say, but it would absolutely skyrocket to the top if I could spend the rest of the evening with my favorite personal assistant.”

(Y/N) arched a skeptical eyebrow. “Tony, I’m your only personal assistant.”

“Exactly, which meant you get the title by default. Yay you!” The billionaire gave her a small applause and she simply heaved an exasperated but fond sigh at his typical theatrics. “C’mon, Girl Friday, you’ve been working your ass off all night and the Birthday Boy says that you should take a well-deserved break.” As his trademark smirk softened into a gentle smile, Tony took his hand out of his pocket and offered it to her in a clear invitation to join him. “Please?”

Although her heart was screaming at her to take his hand and allow him to whisk her into an evening of laughter and coy flirtations, the rational part of her knew that she had a job to complete and that anything more than a friendly conversation could jeopardize their platonic relationship. Masking her disappointment with a shrug and apologetic smile, (Y/N) shook her head and held up her checklist for him to see. “I’m sorry, Tony, but I still have so much to do; I’ve gotta do another check-in with Maria and the security team downstairs, make sure that the pastry chef brings out the cake on time, that the waiters serve the guests champagne at the right tempera-Tony!” She exclaimed when Tony’s hand shot out and snatched the checklist out of her grasp. “Anthony Edward Stark, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Getting rid of an obstacle,” Tony easily replied, holding the checklist above his head and snickering when she unsuccessfully attempted to snatch it back. “Seriously, Girl Friday, just one dance and I’ll let you get back to your boring planning. I’ll even avoid bugging you the rest of the night if it means I can spend a little time with one of my best friends.”

Tony’s rare sincerity softened (Y/N)’s heart, and she felt her resolve crumble as she stared into his gleaming brown eyes. “All right, one dance. Do you ever get tired with always getting your way?”

“Nope!” Tony happily popped the ‘p’ and tucked the checklist into the pocket of his tuxedo jacket before offering her his hand once again, and (Y/N) smiled to herself as the billionaire escorted her to the edge of the dance floor and whisked her into a slow dance to Bon Jovi’s ‘Bed of Roses.’ The warmth of his hand on the curve of her waist combined with the feel of his body brushing up against hers caused her heartbeat to quicken its pace, and she silently prayed that he wouldn’t notice the effect he had on her. “You know, I was being serious before. You’ve truly outdone yourself tonight, (Y/N), and can I just say that you look amazing?” Tony’s eyes briefly glanced down at her red chiffon evening gown and he gave her an appreciative nod. “Mm-hmm, hot-rod red is definitely your color. So, what’s your secret? How is it you can organize and schedule a genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist’s entire life and look drop-dead gorgeous while doing it?”

(Y/N) chuckled in amusement, the skirt of her gown swirling around her legs as he twirled her in a circle. “We all have our own superpowers; you fight aliens and terrorists in a red and gold Nitinol suit, and I oversee the hectic life of the man inside the suit to the best of my abilities.”

“Not sure which is the more dangerous job, to be honest.” Tony smirked, expertly guiding her back into his arms and holding her slightly closer than he had before. “But if I could do that death-glare that you’ve perfected over the years, then that would sure make my job a helluva lot easier and people would think twice before messing with Iron Man.” (Y/N) arched a brow and in response, Tony snickered. “Yep, there’s the death-glare!”

“I hate to burst your bubble, but this death-glare is tailor-made for Tony Stark and Tony Stark alone,” (Y/N) replied with a wry smile, and the billionaire’s grin widened as she looked into his sparkling brown eyes. They danced together in a comfortable yet expectant silence, almost as if one was waiting for the other to speak first, but both remained quiet while the 80’s power ballad continued to play; it wasn’t until she noticed the way he was biting his lower lip – one of the few tell-tale signs that there was something weighing heavy on the billionaire’s mind – that (Y/N) finally mustered her courage to address him. “You got a lot of cool presents this year, not to mention hundreds of thousands of dollars in charitable donations gifted in your name. Not too shabby, huh?”

Tony shrugged and replied, “I’m a sucker for gifts and I’m beyond stoked that we’ve raised so much in donations, but…” His eyes briefly flicked downwards to focus on the fluttering movement of her chiffon skirt, suddenly appearing as anxious as (Y/N) felt. “Can we play a quick round of Hypothetical Hold’em?”

A nostalgic feeling washed over (Y/N) at the mention of their old game. Back in the more impulsive and less responsible days of Tony Stark, it had been an effective form of decision-making created out of the billionaire’s respect for her opinions and general advice; they hadn’t played very many rounds in the years since he announced to the world that he was Iron Man and while she was happy that he’d grown and matured so much over the years, a small part of her missed their little game. “I’m a little rusty but I think I’ve still got it. Shoot.”

“A guy I know, Walter, he’s got just about everything he could possibly want in life, except the only thing he really wants is something he can’t have. You see,” Tony expertly dipped her and her breath hitched at the sudden movement, their eyes connecting as he continued. “There’s this woman – let’s call her Hildy – and he’s been in love with her for a while. And Hildy, she’s goddamn fantastic: smart, kind, funny, gorgeous, the whole enchilada.”

Heart sinking into her stomach, (Y/N) mustered up a small smile to hide her pain while he slowly righted her. “Hildy sounds wonderful. So, what’s stopping this Walter guy from telling her how he feels?”

“A couple of things, actually.” He took a deep breath. “She’s not just one of his best friends, but…you see, she’s also his personal assistant.”

The din of the party faded away as (Y/N)’s eyes widened in shock at the billionaire’s candid words; if not for the seriousness written across Tony’s face and the longing gleam that had formed in his brown eyes while he stared into hers, she would’ve assumed that he was pulling her leg. But she knew him, knew him far better than almost anyone else in the world, and it was clear as day that he was speaking directly from the heart. “…Oh.”

Tony nodded, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards in a tried and true attempt to hide behind a more lighthearted façade. “She’s taken such good care of him. He was a loose cannon for a long time…still is, in a way, but she’s gotten him through all the tough spots. He’s good friends with some ex-assassins, a super-soldier and a literal god, but she’s the strongest person he’s ever met and the only person he could ever imagine giving his heart to. But as much as he loves her, he’s not willing to roll the dice and risk losing her from his life forever; that’s why he…” Tony cast his gaze downwards and his hand gripped hers tight. “That’s why I never said anything before.”

“So, what changed?” She whispered as she slowly moved the hand that had been resting on his shoulder to press against the spot where his arc reactor once resided, feeling his rapid heartbeat and silently marveling at how perfectly it matched her own.

“Looking across the room and seeing you with your checklist; you’ve planned over a dozen successful birthday parties for me, but that didn’t stop you from treating tonight as if it was the first. It’s one of the thousand ways you show how much you care about me, and that’s what gave me the courage to walk to the back of the room and finally ask you for a dance.”

The booming opening chords of AC/DC’s ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ filled the room and while more guests took to the dance floor for the lively song, (Y/N) grabbed Tony’s hand and practically dragged him away from the crowd, not stopping until they were tucked away from any prying eyes in Captain Rogers’ nearby office. When she closed the door behind them and turned around, she was met with an apprehensive-looking Tony and her subtle smile grew into an all-out grin as her eyes filled with happy tears. “You love me?”

“I love you,” Tony replied, his voice growing steady and his eyes filling with confidence at her obvious happiness. “C’mon, Girl Friday, you’re killing me here. Do you love me or what?”

Beaming with joy, (Y/N) brought her hands up to cup his face between them and nodded. “You’re such an asshat, but I love you with all my heart.” Tony’s grin grew to match her own and he leaned forward to kiss her, but was halted by her fingers covering his eager lips. “And in the spirit of covering both our asses, I’d like to take this moment to formally tenure my resignation, Mr. Stark.”

“Duly noted, Miss (Y/L/N). And since I’m such a good ex-boss, I’ll send your resume and a letter of recommendation to a certain defrosted super-soldier who could use all the assistance he can get.”

“Becoming Captain America’s personal assistant? It’ll be a cake-walk, but at least I’ll have my favorite hot mess to come home to.”

(Y/N) moved her hand and giggled at how quickly Tony’s arms wrapped around her waist to tug her closer, but her amusement soon gave way to passion as their lips finally met in a long overdue kiss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: I figured that we all could use a little fluff, and what better way to deliver it than in a friends-to-lovers trope-fest? Thank you all so much for reading and commenting, and I hope that you have a wonderful holiday season!

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thebibliomancer · 14 days

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Earth X #8

May, stop being in space! You need your oxygens!

Earth X: it’s a Bad Future and it is a mess.

Uatu the Watcher has been blinded and he kidnapped Aaron to be his seeing eye robot. Uatu has bullied and dehumanized Aaron into deleting his own personality.

There’s been a mass empowering event which mutated all of humanity. At first it seemed like it was Reed Richard’s fault but doubt has been raised.

A psychic brat called the Skull has arrived in New New York with an army of thousands of mind controlled people.

Bruce Banner came to Sorcerer Supreme Clea for help contacting dead Mar-Vell. But Clea turns out to be in league with Loki and traps Thor and Hulk in in the Realm of Death.

Everything is apparently the Celestials’ mysterious plan for Earth or alternatively events are off the rails and happening 200 years sooner than they’re supposed to.

Earth X has so much stuff going on. So many subplots. And yet if it was a conspiracy board, all the yarn would connect to the Celestials.

I’ve commented before that Earth X takes the chaotic, kitchen sink Marvel universe and tries to tie it all into the Celestials.

A few issues back, Uatu explained that the Asgardians weren’t gods, they were shapeshifting empathic aliens who looked like Norse mythology because people expected them too.

It wasn’t an explanation I particularly liked.

Then, last issue, it was explained that the Hulk’s various personas were only a result of the Celestial seed in Bruce absorbing more and more gamma and had nothing to do with Bruce’s mental health.

This also I didn’t particularly like.

Now Earth X goes in a similarly weird direction by claiming that Peter Parker’s trademark crushing guilt and responsibility complex are also part of the Celestial plan.

Uatu doesn’t finish explaining how the hell this makes sense because he notices Aaron ask a follow-up question… which means Aaron didn’t erase his own personality!

Yay, Aaron! It would have been a bummer for him to undergo identity death for Uatu’s jerk ass.

In fact, Aaron was pretending to be an emotionless robot because he suspected that Uatu wouldn’t reveal the true secrets behind everything as long as he could still second guess them.

So now he knows (almost) everything. And he is furious.

Aaron Stack: “Who knows, maybe man’s every vice and every hunger can be traced to the Celestials. Maybe the Celestials’ manipulation of mankind’s evolution was in actuality a step down. The fall of man. You’ve damned them, Uatu. You and your Celestial Host. I guess this doesn’t surprise me. You’ve set yourself up as God. So you have the power to damn. But do you have the power to save? Could you redeem what you’ve set out to curse? You could. I know it. But you just don’t want to bother with it. You’d rather sit. And watch.”

John Jameson, moon werewolf astronaut, wanders into the Watcher’s home and right into an argument between Uatu and Aaron.

Which is good because it gives Aaron someone else to talk to when Uatu goes to sulk.

Also, somebody to narrate to. John wants to warn Earth about a scary something approaching from space but Aaron runs through the subplot list to show how everything is a mess and nobody is really available to deal with space invaders.

Captain America uses the Lockjaw teleporter (which I guess he borrowed from Reed) to warp right into Tony’s self-quarantine. Freaking Tony the hell out with fears of contamination.

Cap tries to warn Tony about the Skull’s huge army reaching New New York but Tony is sure the Iron Avengers have it handled.

(They don’t. They’ve been destroyed by the Skull’s army)

The Skull also has his forces wipe out the Hyda. Hmm, I really thought the mind control squid would be more important to the plot. I included it in every recap.

The Skull is confronted by Cop Luke Cage (who I also thought would be more important to the plot after he had that scene with Peter Parker in issue 1) and is irreverent and horrible as ever.

He’s the worst. I love him as a villain.

Meanwhile, Reed and Ben walk the streets. Ben has an emotional breakthrough all by himself while Reed is completely engrossed in his own subplot and doesn’t notice Ben is talking to him.

He altered Cerebro to find Inhumans instead of mutants so he could find the missing Inhuman Prince but everyone on the streets is pinging as Inhuman.

At the same time, in Latveria, Luna starts spontaneously undergoing terrigenesis, the Inhuman transformation process. Which should only happen in the presence of the terrigen mist.

Which finally solves the mystery of the mass empowering event. It wasn’t an explosion at the vibranium radio tower. The entire world has been exposed to terrigen mist!

Somehow. We don’t know how. And the Inhumans seem surprised to realize that this is the case.

Over in the Sanctum Sanctorum, Clea gloats to a captive blind child Bruce but is surprised by Hulk and Thor escaping the Realm of Death with the help of ghost Strange.

She asks for Loki’s help but he’s bailed on her. Obviously.

So Clea decides to explode New New York out of spite but Thor transports her and him to Asgard, knowing Loki will prevent him from coming back.

With the Sorcerer Supreme and Thor out of his way, Loki gloats Earth is his.

Still not sure how this fits into everything else going on.

I’m not sure if Cap found any help from Tony but he moves onto Russia.

Currently ruled by Colossus.

There was a bit in an earlier appendix about how due to the mass empowering event, former superheroes were asked to take leadership positions since they were used to leading those with powers.

It hasn’t come up so I forgot about it but here we are with President? King? Secretary? Colossus.

Colossus doesn’t want to get involved because Russia is the breadbasket of the world and he needs to protect it. But Cap points out that the Skull won’t stop at the ocean. He’ll make his way to Russia eventually and he’s a dumb kid who treats this like a game. He won’t think about controlling people to do agriculture.

(If that’s the case, the Celestial plan for Earth must come about really soon after the Skull. Or at least depending on whether that’s been derailed or not by the terrigen jumping the gun by two hundred years. But my thought is, if the Skull is part of the plan, you can’t have much time between him taking over the world and whatever the Celestials need Earth for. Because the kid isn’t going to bother keeping civilization going.)

Back in New New York, Peter continues to try to convince May not to do anything. She just tells him to grow up and jumps into action against the Skull’s army without a plan.

The Skull sends Iron Maiden to confront May Venom. Iron Maiden begs May to withdraw before the Skull takes control of her but May doesn’t listen.

May beats Iron Maiden with a little asphyxiation and then immediately falls under the Skull’s control.

His creepy, creepy control.

Away from the action, Peter is at a loss for what to do now. He contemplates a Peter Parker Spider-Man costume he sees in a shop window but walks away very “Spider-Man No More” ish.

I guess Peter’s identity is out.

The appendix has a bit where John Jameson asks after his father. Aaron tells him that Jonah has himself locked up in the Daily Bugle building, the paper having gone out of business when it was revealed Spider-Man had been taking Spider-Man pictures all along. Jonah also keeps Jack Russell Werewolf By Night locked up with him, under the belief he’s werewolf astronaut John, since NASA lied to John and didn’t tell Jonah his son was going to the Moon.

Phew.