"You know, you're free to mingle and enjoy the evening; there's no need to hover around me," she remarked casually, her fingers lightly caressing the stem of her glass before taking a leisurely sip.

With a playful glint in his eyes, Tony swirled the rich, red wine in his glass, the liquid catching the light as he spoke with a hint of mock anger. "Oh, come on, Nora. It wouldn't be very gentlemanly of me to leave my date to fend for herself, now, would it?" he teased.

Nora shook her head sipping her drink, "So, for any specific reason, you are here?" she asked, as she placed her now empty glass on the table with a gentle clink.

"No, not particularly," he admitted. "It was merely a small gathering extended by one of our business associates. To tell you the truth, I had almost decided against coming, but then..."

"But you got a reason to come,"

"A beautiful one at that," he quipped, in response to which she rolled her eyes.

"You have got a beautiful assistant too, though?"

Tony acknowledged with a nod, pouring himself another glass of wine. "Oh yes, she's quite the looker—helpful and exceedingly trustworthy. But" he paused, his voice lowering, "my attention is captivated elsewhere."

"On whom?" she asked, her emerald eyes locking with his, which held the warm hues of a sunset.

"She is in front of me," he said, the intensity in his gaze compelling Nora to avert her eyes.

"Stop kidding," she mumbles, standing up from the table, "I will be back in some minutes," she announced, her figure retreating into the crowd.

"Hey, I was not joking though you know," he said, his voice drowning in the nearby chatter and music. 

─── · 。ﾟ

In the solitude of the washroom, Nora studied her reflection, her hands smoothing down her dress as she contemplated her appearance with a wistful smile. "Never did I imagine a time when I'd be concerned about how I look," she mused softly to herself.

Exiting the washroom, she walked toward the main area, an abrupt tug on her wrist halted her steps, pulling her against a wall. for a brief moment her body tensed up. Her mind reeling, for a fleeting moment she thought they were here. 

Before her eyes met with the sight of two boys in their twenties supposedly, her feature now taking a bored look, "You might want to remove your hand, gentlemen," she said, her gaze settled on the dusky hand that was on her wrist.

"Oh, come on, doll, let us have some pleasure too," the one who was holding her wrist, sneered.

"You can give yourself to that Stark, afterwards," the boy who was standing back, said moving closer, making a vein tick in her head.

"I warned you," she said, before twisting her arm and grabbing the one who was holding her, "and you get your filthy hands off me, you bastard," she said, kicking him where the sun doesn't shine. 

He falls on the floor, groaning in pain, "You bitch," the second one, growled and lunged at her, only to meet the wall face-first. Nora seized his collar, her knee connecting with his stomach.

Seeing them both groaning and withering in pain, she rolled her eyes with a smirk, "Next time, see who you are talking too,"

"For some moments, I thought you ditched me here," Tony commented, as soon as he saw her coming back. 

"Wouldn't want that will you, Tony?" she teased, sitting back looking at the food on the table, "you didn't bother to ask me, what I will have did ya'?"

"Italian Bracoile," Tony said, gesturing toward her plate, "you mentioned that you like it, on one of our nights,"

"Still," she mumbles, "I will manage, I guess, thank you," she said, making him wave a hand in dismissal. 

"You can just repay me, by going on one more date," Nora's glare was swift, but Tony's quick surrender defused the tension. "Just kidding. You can put the knife down now."

"Much better," Nora replied, her focus returning to the steak as she began to cut it into neat pieces.

─── · 。ﾟ

"Mr. Stark," an elderly voice cut short the conversation Nora and Pepper was sharing, Tony was talking with Rhodey about some of the new designs while Nora and Pepper decided to get acquainted. 

"Ah, Mr..." Tony trailed off, to which Pepper lightly jab him.

"Petrov," she whispered to which he nodded. 

"Mr. Petrov, what a pleasure it is to have you join us," Tony greeted, extending a hand to the elder statesman of industry.

"The honor is mine, Mr. Stark," Mr. Petrov replied, his eyes crinkling with a smile that didn't quite reach his gaze. He beckoned to a group of young men, who were huddled at the bar, seemingly detached from the event's formalities. "Leonid, Rodion, come," he called out, his voice cutting through the music like a knife.

Nora's heart sank as the faces of Mr. Petrov's sons came into view. The very same she had encountered earlier in a less than favorable light. Her mind raced with the implications of her actions—she had defended herself against the children of one of Stark Industries' partners.

"You, okay?" Pepper asked, her voice soft and concerned, to which she nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, feeling a little suffocated here, I will go get some fresh air," she excused herself, attempting to navigate away from the brewing storm.

But fate, it seemed, had other plans. Leonid's voice, tinged with a mix of arrogance and bruised ego, reached Tony's ears. "Your date is quite the bold one, Mr. Stark," he remarked, a smirk playing on his lips.

Tony's confusion was palpable as he sought to understand the situation. "Excuse me?" he asked, his brows knitting together in a frown.

Rodion chimed in, his words laced with insinuation. "We merely wished to introduce ourselves, but she—so convinced of her status as your date—resorted to violence. We would never strike a woman, but..."

Nora contorted into one of disbelief, "Introduce yourselves? You call that forceful grabbing and intimidation an introduction? I just def-"

"Nora," she was interrupted by Tony's firm voice to which she bit her tongue looking away. Her eyes downcast, right they are the son of some important shareholders. She can't expect him to be on her side, if it may cause his company loss. 

"I'm-" she opened her mouth to apologize but was silenced by Tony's interruption. 

"Mr. Petrov, I think we have to really re-consider our deal if your children can't be respectful to my closed ones," he said, his lips pressed into a firm line, his eyes dark. 

"Mr. Stark, they are just kids-- and you can't just do that on such a trivial matter," Mr. Petrov said, trying to calm the situation. 

"Trivial matter?" Tony said, keeping his glass aside, "this is not a trivial matter, they try to harass my guest, someone who is here by my side, Mr. Petrov."

"But Mr. Stark--"

"No," Tony raised his hands, "either they apologize to her properly right now, or you should consider our deal off, right Pepper?" 

Pepper who was looking at this scene with slight concern and amusement, nod her head, "Yeah, he is right Mr. Petrov,"

Nora's eyes were trailed on Tony, with clenched fists and gritted teeth, the apologies came. Nora, her heart swelling with a mix of gratitude for Tony, dismissed them with a wave.

God, it feels good when someone stand up for you, and for Nora it was the first time when someone did, and she was grateful, and happy and so much that she couldn't explain.

─── · 。ﾟ

"So, hope you have a good night, sweetheart," Tony said, his lips gently gazing her knuckles. 

Now, standing in the avenger's tower, they were standing outside Nora's room, where despite Nora's protest Tony come to usher her. "Good night to you too, Tony," she said. 

But her hands on the doorknob hesitated for a second, before she turns around, "Hey Tony," she speak causing him to turn around. 

"Hmm?"

She opened her mouth to speak, before hesitating, at last heaving a sigh, she leaned on the door, "Uh, I know it was just some bargain, but umm, today was filled with many firsts for me," she said, her sincerity shining through. "So, I just want to say, thank you so much... for today," 

In a moment that seemed to still the very air around them, Tony experienced an unfamiliar lightness within his chest seeing her smile, this wasn't the guarded, half-hearted curve of the lips he had grown accustomed to, nor the sardonic twist that often played upon her mouth in the midst of their verbal sparring.

 No, this was a smile of a different caliber altogether. It was the kind of smile that didn't just transform her face; it seemed to illuminate her very soul. Her eyes, those deep pools of emerald that he had found himself getting lost in more times than he cared to admit, sparkled with a genuine joy that was as rare as it was mesmerizing.

"Anytime, Nora," he found himself saying, the words coming out as a whisper of sound that carried the weight of unspoken promises. His smile, a mirror of her own, was genuine—a rarity for a man who had mastered the art of the facade.

As the door closed behind her, Nora slid to the floor, her hands cupping her flushed cheeks. The mirror reflected a woman alight with joy, a stark contrast to the shadows she had known.

And if the fluttering in her heart was a sign, she knew that spending time with Tony might even unlock the one's she never knew she had. 

However, if all of them will be positive or not... only time will tell.