Lamborghini | Tony Stark

FIFTEEN - PLUS ONE

Sasha had been living in the Stark Tower for two weeks when Tony found himself sat in front of the TV with his eyes glued to the screen.

He'd had no music on that day while he worked, instead having the TVs playing the livestream of the court case Sasha was working up town.

She'd settled in nicely to her temporary home, at least that's how it seemed to Tony. The two of them didn't see each other that much, barely passing ways in the hallway some days since Sasha left for work early and rarely came home before eight, heading straight to her room while Tony was often still in his workshop.

They'd spent a couple of evenings together watching a movie or making dinner, but they hadn't spent any more time together than they would have if Sasha still lived in her old building.

It appeared as though she was dealing with the loss of her home and belongings fairly well, and by that, Tony had noticed Sasha refusing to talk about it at all, which he knew was her way of coping.

She'd got in touch with a couple of neighbours and thankfully, everybody she knew in the building was safe. Sasha decided she didn't want to know how many casualties had occurred, though, the survivors guilt being painful enough without knowing the haunting details.

One of the first things she had done upon arriving back in New York was talk to Steve. The two of them had gone to a bar not far from Tony's place and had spent three hours sat opposite one another talking about everything.

Steve wasn't surprised when Sasha told him that she simply didn't have it in her to peruse a relationship at that time. He'd seen it coming, knowing in himself that their busy schedules made things difficult enough to get to know each other without a life changing traumatic event thrown in on top.

Sasha needed to focus on herself, and Steve knew that, being able to tell how tired she was from the curve of her blue eyes and sad smile. He wanted the best for her, and he knew that the best was the support of someone that already knew her well enough to be able to take care of her, not someone trying to get her to open up about the things that hurt the most in order to learn how to help.

As usual, work had been the perfect distraction. Sasha had thrown herself straight back into the case as if nothing had happened, the court hearing was finally up on that Friday afternoon and Tony was anxiously sat waiting to hear the verdict, his heart in his throat every time news had an update.

"On behalf of myself and my wonderful team, we're delighted today to celebrate the serving of justice to our client and their family. We'd like to thank everybody that's been involved in this case, from the very beginning up until today, we couldn't have done it without each and every one of you."

Tony beamed with a heart-warming amount of pride when he saw Sasha stand at the top of the court house steps above a plethora of reporters with microphones and cameras.

Her hair blew behind her shoulders in the light breeze and her eyes seemed brighter, happier, as she addressed the cameras. Her smile was hiding behind a professional expression but Tony knew as soon as she turned her back, the brightest smile the world would never see on TV would be shown to the rest of the court house.

"Smashed it." Tony said to himself, watching the screen until the camera turned away from Sasha.

He headed upstairs to the lounge, walking over to the bar and cracking open an expensive bottle of rosé he knew she liked as a celebration. He drank a glass for himself first, but decided he wouldn't tell her he'd started without her.

He stood by the window, staring out at the city with the wine glass in his hand. The landscape of part of the city had changed for the foreseeable future, huge gaps where towers once stood gave Tony an ominous feeling in his bones, making the hairs on his neck stand up when he thought about how different things might've been if Sasha hadn't been in Maine.