11 | all kinds of tension

Hope

I don't want to talk about it.

Yesterday never happened. I'm just...I'm just gonna pretend it never happened. Though, the fact that he who shall not be named has been hiding away in the basement the entire day and not doing his daily routine of pissing me off and involving me in his coping mechanism is saying otherwise.

"How long has he been there?" I asked, my arms crossed against my chest while I sat on my bed, just listening to him tinkering with his mechanic toys downstairs.

"Going on 15 hours, Ms. Andrea." Jarvis answered.

My right foot was just tapping on the floor because of my impatience just swallowing me whole. He has been there for 15 hours! And he hasn't said a single word to me. Not a single word to explain why—No. I said I'm not going to talk about this. So, I'm not.

"Should I do something?" I asked Jarvis again.

Without him to talk my ears off, I suddenly found myself bored and alone. So bored and alone that I spent the day talking to a freaking AI. Don't get me wrong, I love Jarvis. I just....Ugh, I'm going out of my mind.

"Are you asking me for advice?" Jarvis asked back.

Now that he pointed it out, I realize how dumb that sounds.

I closed my eyes and sighed in frustration, covering my face with my hands before groaning.

"This is a disaster." I whined.

Who am I kidding to think that I could actually get away with what happened if I just pretended it didn't happen?

Tony kissed me. He kissed me. At the beach.

And I didn't kiss him back.

I was in shock! I didn't know what to do. And I was still recovering from that exhausting episode. I didn't have time to register everything until he had finally pulled away. By that time, he already had a guilty look on his face before apologizing and running off.

"Ms. Andrea?" Jarvis called.

I lifted my head from my hands, looking ahead of me as I talked to the AI.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I might have an idea." Jarvis stated.

I know I shouldn't be interested in taking complicated friendship advice from an AI, but I don't have Lizzie, Josie, or anyone who would normally help me in these kinds of situations. Having Jarvis is better than nothing.

"What is it?" I questioned.

I waited for his answer and I was even hopeful about it. I was positive, optimistic. At the back of my head, I can already hear myself thanking Jarvis for helping me. But I spoke too soon.

"Perhaps you should try his coping mechanism." He suggested.

Try his...coping mech—

"You want me to flirt with him?" I asked. Take note of the absurd tone in my voice.

I was asking for ways to decrease all kinds of tension between Tony and I, not make it skyrocket.

"My case studies about Mr. Stark aided me in reaching a conclusion that he is more likely to resort to flirting or teasing when he's either uncomfortable, bored, or turned on. The latter being more often. However, given that he has not left the house and has not been in contact with any women apart from yourself, the chances of him coping and returning to his old self is unlikely."

So...if I flirt with him or tease him, I can—Okay, fuck no. I'm not going to do that. There's no way I'm going to do that. There's just no way. I'm just going to lock myself in my room and focus on how to get home to my family and friends.

"I'm really gonna do this, aren't I?" I said.

"My calculations show an 88% chance of you going through with it." Jarvis answered.

Why do I feel like I'm going to regret this?

—

"I can do this." I whispered to myself.

Since when is flirting so nerve-wracking? I can feel my heart beating fast as I walk down the stairs to the basement. I kept fiddling with my fingers until I reached the door.

When I was already standing in front of the door to his workshop of some sort, I knocked first then opened it.

Stepping inside, I found Tony working on something that sat on the table. It looked like a metal glove or something. I have no idea. But my gaze from that unknown object averted towards Tony when he lifted his wielding mask revealing his face. His arms were flexed when he raised his arm considering he was wearing a white tank top, the bottom stained slightly with black ink like his fingers. His hair was attractively messy. His lips were a bit redder than usual.

I really have to do this while he looks like that? Are the gods testing me or something? Snap out of it, Hope Mikaelson.

"Hey." I greeted.

The way he whipped his head towards me was so fast, it almost made me think that he was waiting for me. Though, as soon as he met my gaze, a surprised expression flashed across his face. He removed the welding mask off his head and placed it on the table all while not taking his eyes off of me.

"Hey." He greeted back.

I pushed my lips into a thin line and lightly licked it as I neared him, my fingers remained fiddling with each other as I did.

"What are you working on?" I asked.

He took the small, stained towel on the table and started wiping his hands.

"Well, I've been working on this prototype that would be relatively similar to your magic. Actually, it's more different, but still, I got the idea from you. So, I made a pair of high-tech gloves that use repulsor technology. Basically it would emit repulsor blasts, which is a powerful blast of concussive energy using a high-density muon beam. But to be able to generate said repulsor blasts, I would be needing the arc reactor in the lab of my company. It's basically a fusion reactor that removes electrons from hydrogen atoms. Then that removal will create an ion plasma blah blah blah which is what I need as this prototype's ultimate energy source." Tony explained.

The look on my face probably shows pure bafflement. Because Tony pursed his lips before rephrasing what he just babbled about.

"In other words, I would be shooting...lasers, with my hands." Tony said, cringing at using lasers as an alternative in order to explain the prototype more clearly.

My eyebrows shot up in realization as my mouth formed an 'o' shape. He'd be shooting lasers with his hands?

"Oh. That's cool." I simply said, not knowing what more I could say given the fact that we aren't conversing normally yet and my mind goes blank when it comes to things I don't understand.

"Yeah..." he trailed off. I guess I'm not the only one feeling the awkward tension in the room.

The two of us were silent for a moment. I can practically hear the air blowing against my ear and the gravity resting on my shoulders as I stood there in the middle of this awkward-ridden room.

This is the part where I do what Jarvis said, huh?

"Are you a parking ticket?" I asked.

Goddammit, I should just live under a rock for the rest of my life.

I witnessed how his surprised face immediately turned into a puzzled one at my statement.

"Uhm...no?" He answered, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Oh God, here it goes.

"Really? Because you have fine written all over you." I said.

Okay, Hope, this is the part where you fucking run.

He stared at me, for what felt like hours but only mere, dreadful seconds. And I stood there with my toes curled up inside my shoes, my hands balled into fists behind my back, and my head screaming at me to get the fuck out of here.

It took him a while before he showed a hint of a reaction on his face. His eyes nearly smiled when he tried to hold back something by pushing his lips into a thin line.

What have I done to deserve such embarrassment?

"Okay...for your sake, I'm not gonna comment on that." he said, his lips now failing to hide the smile and the laugh that I'm sure isn't far behind. "But for my sake, I just have to ask, what the fuck was that, Andrea?"

I closed my eyes and covered my face with my hands in embarrassment as I groaned.

"I don't know!" I said, dropping my hands in frustration. "Jarvis said that for us to make up and all, I should join you in your daily session of coping."

"Jarvis said that?"

"He did."

"Yeah, you got tricked."

I furrowed my eyebrows so hard that I know there's an angry wrinkle on my forehead. I also narrowed my eyes as I tried to make sense of everything.

"What? No, he didn't trick me." I said.

"Yeah, he did." Tony replied, his smile not faltering.

"No, he didn't. He didn't!" My eyes remained on Tony, who simply stayed quiet and gave me a meaningful raise of an eyebrow, probably asking if I actually believed that.

"Did he?" I asked, now growing skeptical of everything, especially Jarvis. "Did he really—Jarvis!"

"My apologies, Ms. Andrea. But all you and Mr. Stark needed was a good laugh to make up." He explained.

"Do you see me laughing?" I taunted Jarvis while I looked around. I don't even know where to look when talking to an AI.

"I see Mr. Stark is." Jarvis responded.

I returned my gaze back to Tony only to see him clutching his stomach and trying so hard in keeping his laugh as silent as possible.

"That's funny to you?" I threatened him. Though, from the looks of it, I think he doesn't find me threatening at the moment.

"Priceless." He answered. "Hey, Jarvis, make sure to save that footage to her folder."

"What folder?" I asked him.

"Saving footage 19940830-1 to Spunky folder." Jarvis said.

He has a folder dedicated to me? What kinds of footage does he have there, our daily dose of bickering?

"Seriously?" I shot Tony an unamused glare.

He simply shrugged before letting out a more subtle laugh. Then the room was quiet again. But unlike earlier, the atmosphere was lighter. I don't feel the burden of the awkward tension on my shoulders anymore. This feels more comfortable.

"Look," Tony started as he neared me and placed his hands on top of the table, the only thing that separates us from one another. "I'm sorry for...kissing you. That wasn't cool. I don't know what came over me. I have no excuse for that."

I shook my head and let out a small smile. "It's fine."

He pursed his lips into a thin line. "So, I haven't pissed off any boyfriend?"

The smile on my lips vanished upon his question. Landon's face suddenly flashed in my mind. And for some reason, I feel like I'm betraying him. I don't know why.

"No." I just said, avoiding eye contact.

I felt his gaze on me and it didn't take long for him to read my expression.

"Ahh, I know that look. Let me guess, he cheated? He fell in love with your friend or something?" Then he dramatically gasped and placed a hand on his chest. "Is he gay? Tell me if I'm getting warmer."

"Cold as a corpse." I said, the sentence holding double meaning.

My answer wiped the entertained grin on his face and was replaced by a, once again, guilty expression.

"He died, didn't he?" He asked.

I pursed my lips and gave a small, empty smile. "His name was Landon."

He closed his eyes and sighed, dropping his head down. "I'm such an asshole."

"You're only realizing that now?" I joked.

"Oh, no. I'm just admitting that now." He said when he lifted his head back up to meet my gaze. "But you also gotta admit, I'm the most handsome asshole you've ever seen."

I just smiled and shook my head at his playfulness. Dare I say...I missed this. I missed talking to him and bickering with him and putting up with his daily routine of nonsense.

"I'm sorry." He said. "For your loss."

I smiled. But that's the only smile I can conjure up right now. Fake and empty.

"Don't be. Everyone I care about has a tendency to die on me, especially when you're the most powerful creature to ever walk the Earth." I said, lowering my head to hide the pain in my eyes.

"Should I be scared?" He asked.

I cocked an eyebrow. "Who says I care about you?"

"Says someone who just willingly flirted with me to patch things up." He answered.

Well, he got me there.

"Do you want to come with me?" He asked.

I looked up at him and narrowed my eyes.

"Where?" I asked back.

He started gathering some things from the table, including the prototype he explained to me earlier.

"Well, I haven't tried using this prototype yet considering I just recently finished it. But Jarvis and I ran some virtual trials in order to find the right equation and we finally did. So, I'll be dropping by the Stark Industries. Wanna come?" Tony said.

I haven't gone anywhere for a few days. It'll be a nice to have a change of venue.

I shrugged before nodding. "Sure."

—

After eating lunch, we made our way to Stark Industries. Tony parked his sports car in front of the company and both of us climbed out of the car before entering the building.

While we walked inside the company, I felt everyone's eyes on me. And judging from the looks they're giving me and the murmurs of gossip they are exchanging, everyone is wondering who I am because Tony has never brought a woman with him to work before.

I was the first.

We exited to the back and was greeted by a broad lot with another building a couple of feet away. This company is enormous.

Tony and I proceeded to make our way towards the building. Tony used his access card to open the doors of the building and we both entered the premises.

The inside was so quiet, the only sounds I could hear was this faint vibrating sound and my heels clicking against the polished floor.

Then I was greeted by a large donut-shaped machine at the center with lights traveling around inside. I gawked at the sight of the machine as I approached it. It was incredible. It looked so futuristic, it's making me wonder if I ended up in the future instead of the past.

"This is the arc reactor?" I asked.

"Yep. Fascinating, isn't it? My dad, Howard Stark, invented it." Tony answered.

I didn't need to give Tony a verbal response. I'm sure the look on my face says it all. It is indeed impressive,

"How exactly are you going to power those gloves using this huge thing?" I asked, pointing to the repulsor gloves Tony is carefully taking out the bag he's been carrying.

"Well, I can't create a miniature arc reactor yet, since I'm still not able to find the appropriate equation to invent one. So, to power the repulsors, I'll be hooking this up to the arc reactor to charge them. It would drain out in time, so it needs to be recharged from time to time. It seems like a hassle, but, I'm all for it." Tony explained as he assembled the gloves to connect them to the arc reactor.

I simply nodded slowly as I watched Tony do his thing. A beeping sound, which I think indicates that someone opened the door and entered caused both Tony and I to avert our eyes towards the door.

A bald, middle aged man with an almost pure white beard entered the building. He was clad in his fancy dark blue suit while strode in with the posture of a businessman.

He smiled at Tony and then looked at me in confusion, probably wondering who I am like everybody else is in this company.

"What are you doing here, Tony?" The man asked.

Tony turned around completely to face the man properly as he hid the repulsor gloves behind his body.

"Nothing. Just thought I should show my friend here the arc reactor." Tony said, pointing towards me.

The man's skeptical gaze shifted towards me.

"I'm—" I was about to introduce myself but of course, Tony had to interrupt.

"Spunky. Her name's Spunky." Tony joked, a smirk tugging on his lips.

I glared at Tony. The last thing I want is for everyone to know his nickname for me.

"Andrea Marshall." I said while I offered my hand.

"Obadiah Stane." He replied as he accepted my hand and shook it before we both pulled away.

At the corner of my eyes, I saw Tony look at the repulsor gloves, and judging from the faint beep of the gloves, I'd say it's already fully charged, therefore, he quickly unplugs them before shoving them back to his bag.

"Field trip's over. Let's go." Tony suddenly said before grabbing the bag and dragging Hope out of the building.

Once we were out of Obadiah's sight, I spoke up.

"Well, he looks intimidating." I commented.

Tony gives a confused look towards me. "You're intimidated by him?" He asked.

"I can easily break his bones with just a wave of my hand. He looks intimidating but that doesn't mean I'm intimidated." Hope responded.

We continued to walk out of the company and climb into the car before driving back home.

—

For hours after arriving back home, Tony was in the basement of the mansion working on some adjustments now that the gloves have its energy source already. I kept myself occupied by going through the grimoires Tony helped me acquire. I said it was for finding out what spell is fit to stop Klaus from coming after us. But in reality, I'm trying to find a way to get back home without going through the pit.

Then night came and I guess Tony finally finished the final touches to the repulsors.

"It's done." Tony said when he came to the living room where I was sitting.

I turned my gaze towards Tony and I couldn't help but be stunned at the sight of the repulsors on his hands. The gloves are a perfect fit for his hands. They were red and silver and looked absolutely amazing, it's making me want to try it myself. He closed and opened his fingers repeatedly to test how comfortable it was.

"I used chromium and titanium-steel alloy for the plating to make sure it won't be too heavy, especially when aiming. Decided to give it some color then boom. Here it is." Tony said as he stared at the repulsors. Staring might not be the right word. He was admiring it.

I stood up from her seat and approached Tony all while admiring the repulsors.

"It looks amazing." I commented.

Tony finally averts his eyes from the repulsor gloves before responding.

"Let's give it a try." Tony said.

Since the beach is basically owned by Tony, there isn't a single person to be seen and there isn't a single person that can see us. Which was a relief because I was worried that someone had witnessed my recent episode yesterday. With that, Tony decided to hold the test at the beach.

Tony looked at one of the wooden poles that held the volleyball net up while I stood behind him.

"If this works, we can use it against Triad." Tony said while he glanced over to me.

He shifts his gaze back to the pole and shakes his hands to relax them. Tony sighs and holds his right hand up, aiming at the wooden pole.

Tony triggered the repulsors and it made a high-pitched electronic sound before emitting a bright blast towards the wooden pole. The blast coming from the gloves made Tony's hand jolt backward due to how strong the force was.

I was sure that Tony and I were wearing the same shocked and amazed expression when that blast just went through the wooden pole like it was just a thin piece of paper.

Tony lifted his left hand up and aimed for the other wooden pole and was easily struck by the bright beam.

"Yes! That's what I'm talking about!" Tony exclaimed and I could clearly hear the excitement in his voice.

Tony looked over to me and I mirrored the wide smile on his face. He looked so genuinely happy and proud of himself. And he expressed more of that when he suddenly ran towards me and hugged me, even picking me up from the ground as he did. And I hugged him back.

"You're a genius!" I said.

Tony placed me back down on the sandy ground before pulling away from each other, our eyes meeting. The light and fun ambiance that I felt quickly shifted into an awkward one when I noticed how close we are to each other. I know he noticed it too.

Upon realizing that, the two of us immediately backed away from each other, still wearing awkward smiles as we looked around.

"We should head inside." I just said.

"Yeah." He answered.

We held each other's gaze for a moment before we finally looked away and walked side by side, approaching the beach house in silence.

—

Next chapter will be a little heartbreaking. Just a warning.