ＩＭＰＥＲＩＡＬ ◼TONY STARK◼

ｅｉｇｈｔｙ－ｆｏｕｒ

"Tony, I don't like this,"

"The building you were in was just bombed, I'm sure you're just shaken up-"

"You know what I'm talking about, Tone,"

Tony Stark let out a sigh, rubbing his temples as Audelia Motter paced in front of him. They were in the conference room stationed in the middle of the CIA's building. The walls were all glass, giving them a view of everything happening around them as agents ran back and forth, preparing themselves for what was coming any second now.

"Dell...they're not going to hurt Steve. They're just going to bring him and Wilson in and question Barnes-"

"And then what, Tony?" Deli looked back at her lover, exasperated and truthfully just tired. So much had happened within the span of just a few hours, and she was still trying to wrap her head around it all. "Steve and Sam didn't sign the Accords, are they going to be arrested? And here we are, siding with the CIA who is preparing to arrest them when they're our family. Let's not even get me started on Bucky and how the entire world is pinning this on him when the only evidence they have is that he was in the general vicinity-"

"Audelia!" the shout from Tony, paused her rant as he rose from his seat, cupping her cheeks in his hands. "Just breathe for me, please."

Deli closed her eyes, trying to block out everything that had to do with today as she wrapped her arms around Tony, burrowing into him. He was her safe space, he always had been, even now. Tony held her back just as tightly, hoping to relax her.

"I'm just stressed, Tony. There's...it's all so much. You don't understand what I've been through today, or even what I now know- I'm just stressed. This job...it's so stressful and every second of every day I just want to climb onto the jet with you and fly back to Slovenia and just take a vacation like old times-"

"Then fly there with me...and marry me,"

The question caught Audelia off guard as she pulled away. Her eyes were as wide as saucers as she looked up at Tony, trying to process what he had just said to her. Leave it to Tony Stark to propose in the middle of a crisis inside a CIA building...Audelia really should've expected this with his track record of unpredictability.

"What?"

Tony sighed, reaching into his pocket and producing the ring. Audelia's face softened as she realized who that ring originally belonged to.

"Look, this isn't how I wanted to do this. Not at all, actually. When this was all over I was actually going to fly us out to Slovenia and do this the proper way, big party and lots of champagne," Tony chuckled to himself, holding Audelia's left hand as he looked at her with a smile that said it all. "I dragged you into this life, and brought you even more stress than just dealing with me ever did. But I need you to know that I don't think I'd still be doing this without you by my side. I have loved you, since we were just young kids, and I need to do this now because our lives are never certain with what we do. I...I don't know what else to really say because I am not good at this in the slightest and never dreamed I'd be doing this but...marry me, Audelia Motter."