17 | last night in his arms

Hope

[warning: this chapter contains explicit scenes. read at your own risk...please. Like, half of this chapter is just pure smut.]

"You know her?"

I glanced at Tony as we walked down the crowded sidewalk. We just left Rousseau's but still, my mind was still hung up on the fact that I saw Aunt Davina as a baby.

"Who?" I asked, even though it was pretty clear who he was talking about.

"The baby." He said.

I looked at him for a few seconds, contemplating whether or not I should tell him about her. Does anything I do in this timeline change what happens in the future? Well, I hope not. Because what has happened to me here in a month is enough to change a whole decade.

"Yeah." I answered. "She's my Aunt Davina."

Tony raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Your dad's sister?"

I failed to hold back the laughter that escaped my lips because it came more quickly than I thought.

"No. God, no." I denied immediately. "She actually tried to kill my dad a bunch of times before she met and married my Uncle Kol, my dad's little brother."

Now he raised both of his eyebrows at me.

"You guys have probably the most dysfunctional family I've ever known." Tony commented.

That's an understatement.

"I know." I simply said.

"Does that mean we're leaving?" He asked. "'Cause you said if we ran into someone you know, we'd leave."

I thought that running into someone I know and care about would make me back out. But honestly, it kinda felt nice seeing them even if they're not who I remembered they are because they're basically their past selves. But even so, familiar faces really help me get the foreignity of this all.

"No...No, we should stay for a few more hours." I nodded.

I saw the small, genuine smile appear on Tony's face before he looked away. It was only then that I realized, I was just unconsciously walking and following Tony to God knows where. "Wait, where are we going?"

"Well, New Orleans is basically a never ending party. But, I'm sure you already know that." He said.

I do know that. I witnessed one while my mom's coffin was parading down the streets. Can't say I wasn't upset.

"So, we won't miss too much if we go gambling." He said.

I stopped in my tracks and watched him as he noticed I wasn't beside him anymore. He turned around to find me standing there with a bewildered look on my face.

"You're taking me to a casino on our first date?" I questioned him. "Are you kidding me?"

He shrugged and pursed his lips. "I mean, I know it's not what some people go for—"

"Some people? Tony, nobody does a first date at a casino." I said.

New Orleans is a big, lovely city. And the place he'll take me to is a casino? Tony doesn't fail to surprise me. And not particularly in a good way.

"Well, nobody is as special as you." He answered smoothly.

And he doesn't fail to charm his way out of those surprising non-good things.

I simply rolled my eyes and said nothing because I've come to the conclusion that we're both competitive, therefore, the argument would last longer.

"Just, trust me, okay? You'll have a lot of fun."

—

"When I said that you'll have a lot of fun, I meant with me. Not with a slot machine that you have been hogging for the past hour."

I looked at Tony to see him standing behind me with a scowl on his face. It has been an hour since he took me to the casino and the only thing I've been doing is collecting coins from the slot machine in front of me.

"I'm really good at it." I said before showing him the large plastic cups of coins that I've earned just by sitting here and pulling the lever multiple times.

I really am.

"I think that slot machine had enough, don't you think?" Tony said, tilting his head to the side.

I groaned. I didn't want to sound like a stubborn little kid, but I really was enjoying myself in that slot machine. I mean, I did earn a lot.

"Well, what are we gonna do next?" I asked, and he smirked.

Two minutes later, I am now more invested in the gambling world. I think Tony's trying to get me to develop a gambling problem because right now, I'm smiling from ear to ear while I roll the dice on the craps table.

"Will you, Mr. Stark?" I held my fist in front of him with the two dice enclosed in it.

"You want me to blow on it, again?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Yeah."

"Is my minty breath your lucky charm?"

"Your scotch breath is my lucky charm."

He looked at me with an unamused glare and I simply smiled at him. He gently blew on my hand before I threw the dice onto the table.

The crowd that had huddled around the table because of me erupted in an ecstatic cheer as the dice revealed two four's. I wasn't paying much attention to the fact that I was the center of attention because I was too busy winning. And it honestly felt good because even if it's just a game, the need to win is a huge part of me.

To win against the Ancestral Witches. To win against the Hollow. To win against Malivore. Against myself. The need to win is a complex that I've obtained throughout the years of being caught in a crossfire.

"My turn." Tony said. So, when they returned the dice to me, I gave it to Tony.

"Okay, here we go. You all ready for another one?" Tony asked the crowd and they cheered for him as he enclosed the dice in his hand.

"Will you, Mrs. Stark?" Tony said, his closed hand in front of me.

If my perfect sense of hearing is not in any way compromised, then I think I just heard Tony Stark call me 'Mrs. Stark.'

"Don't call me that." I told him while I shot him an irked glance.

He dropped his hand and arched an eyebrow at me. "Don't act like it didn't give you butterflies."

"It didn't."

"Yeah, right. Fine, just blow on the dice."

"I'm not blowing on the dice."

"Why won't you blow the dice?"

"Because if I blow on the dice then that means I'm agreeing to you calling me Mrs. Stark."

"No, it doesn't! Just blow on the dice, please?"

"No."

"Hope Andrea Mikaelson."

"Anthony Edward Stark."

Like I said, we're too competitive.

The two of us exchanged an irritated glare. I just know that the crowd is waiting for any of us to roll the dice. Now, I'm getting bothered by all the attention.

"Let's make a deal." Tony said.

The last time we made a deal, I didn't follow it. We're dating, aren't we?

"I don't feel like making a deal." I said.

He held up his hand in front of me to politely ask me to shut up, if there is such a thing as politely shutting me up.

"If I roll a number of your choice, you'll take me back to your year." He whispered, to keep the people surrounding us from hearing.

The annoyed expression plastered across my face vanished. I'm now looking at him with what I can only assume is a baffled one. My eyebrows furrowed, my lips parted, my gaze stern.

He can't do that...can he? If I take him with me to my own year, there's a lot that can change. He has life here. He can't just abandon that. What about the Stark Industries?

"Tony–" I was going to talk him out of it but before I could even get two words out, he cut me off.

"I know, it's a very big deal." He acknowledged. "But, if I get the wrong number, I'd stay behind, and let you be."

The world is filled with risk, Hope, and life is meant to take risks. If my Uncle Kol deserves love and happiness after everything he did, then so do I.

"Fine. Eight." I answered.

A little smile tugged on Tony's lips before turning away from me and shaking his hand that held the dice.

"Okay, she said eight!" I don't know why he had the need to inform the people around us. "Will you blow the dice now?"

"Still no." I said. He finally dropped the topic and just nodded.

"No magic tricks, okay?" He warned me.

I actually considered that. But I realized that I have no idea which choice I'm rooting for. I want Tony to be with me for longer, but I also don't want him to leave everything that he has ever built.

When he threw the dice, I could see how they spun in the air in slow motion. I watched as the numbers changed, my heart thrashing against my chest as I tried to predict the outcome.

When it landed on the table and the numbers were revealed, I had no reaction. Because I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about that.

"Nine." Tony said before he slowly nodded in disappointment. "One too much."

"Well, a deal's a deal, right?" I just said, not knowing what else to say.

After I said that, Tony left the craps table and my side. Is he mad at the deal or at me?

I left the table shortly after and made my way towards Tony who is now standing outside of the casino with his hands on his hips and his heart beating rather fast.

"Tony?" I called.

He turned around before replying. "Let's go home."

I think he's mad at me.

"Look, if this is about what I said—"

"No, it's not." He said. He then closed his eyes and sighed before brushing his fingers through his dark brown hair. "I lied to you about the second thing in our agenda."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, but didn't say anything. I just let him talk.

"I need to show you something back home."

—

It is an understatement to say that the over 2 hours of silence and anticipation in the atmosphere while we were stuck in a private jet together is nerve-wracking. He still hasn't told me what he wants to show me. But based on how his knee was bouncing up and down, how he couldn't make eye contact with me, and how he has been clenching his jaw over and over again, I'd say that it is serious.

"Tony." I said once we walked past the threshold of the house. "What is it?"

"Just follow me." He said.

He made his way towards the stairs that lead to the basement, and I followed. I haven't been here since he made the repulsors thing a while back. But he spent quite a lot of time here every night. I could hear him tinkering here every time I went to sleep.

"That's the second thing." Tony said, pointing to the huge machine that covered half of the space of the basement. I could not even comprehend what it is, let alone describe it.

"What's this?" I asked as I went towards it, observing it from a nearer distance, hoping that I could make sense of what it is.

"It's a macroscopic quantum tunnel generator." He said.

The more I spend time with Tony, the more I lose my brain cells. In fact, the last time I was in this basement, I lost a couple. I think it would be best for me if I stay away from this room.

"Tony, English please." I responded.

My confusion grew when I saw him swallow hard, as if reluctant to tell me what it really is.

"It's a time machine." He answered.

If anyone told me that a time machine exists before I met Tony, I would've laughed at their faces. I don't believe in science, I believe in magic. It's basically who I am. Every cell in my body radiates magic.

But after knowing how Tony can build such things without the use of magic, how his brain is brilliant enough to turn mere ideas into actual reality, got me frozen on the spot.

"A time machine?" I echoed.

I actually don't know what to say.

"Yeah." Tony said. "Jarvis and I ran a virtual trial and it's 99.38% successful."

I felt my heart start to pick up its pace. 99.38%... I have a 99.38% chance of going home. The odds of that are better than me jumping into Malivore as a fully activated tribrid, not knowing if I would be able to come back out in time before it destroys me.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I asked.

Tony was fiddling with his fingers as he took a few steps towards me.

"Admittedly, I was scared." He said. Now that he said it, I noticed his eyes mirror the same thing. Fear. "When you said what you said earlier, about you jumping at the chance of coming home as soon as it showed itself, it scared the shit out of me."

I clenched my jaw and drew a deep breath because I knew I'm gonna need it the moment he admitted that he was scared.

"I haven't...you know...felt like this towards anyone. So, the thought of you leaving," He said. I could see how he's struggling to say what's in his mind. And I could also see that he's trying his best to form the words. "Well, it hurt me."

"Tony—" I tried to talk to him, to tell him that it's okay, that I understand. But once again, he cut me off.

"Wait. I've been rehearsing this in my head during the flight back. I need to say it." He said while brushing his fingers from both of his hands in his hair.

So, I let him talk, all while my heart slowly broke in each word.

"I didn't tell you sooner because I needed more time with you. I needed more time to figure out the words that could express what I feel for you." He looked into my eyes as his chest heaved up and down. He was just standing there and yet he looked like he was out of breath. And then I found out why. "Turns out, those words are 'I love you'."

Hearing those words come out of Anthony Edward Stark's mouth was something that I never thought would happen. I knew he was falling for me, and I for him, but the need to hear him say those words hadn't revealed itself until now.

"I love you, Hope Andrea Mikaelson. I'm saying that loud and clear while I can because no matter how overconfident and cocky I can be, I become a coward when it comes to admitting my feelings for you." He stated. He then took a few more steps, almost closing the gap as he towered over me. "Do you really have to go back?"

I don't want to answer that. But I have to, don't I?

"I can't just leave them." I said, my voice straining in the process.

He took a deep breath, as if my words struck him hard. He slow nodded with his jaw remaining clenched.

"Well, in that case..."

He closed what was left of the gap between us when he leaned down and caught my lips with his.

My mind was screaming at me to stop, that it'll be harder for me to leave if I do this. But my heart was breaking and it was telling me to at least do one last thing for it.

And who am I to deny the wish of a dying heart?

My hands snaked their way to his hair, my fingers tangling with them as I pulled him closer. I felt his hands tug me closer as they rested on my back. As soon as I tasted his lips, I was suddenly sucked into his world. Where everything is only about him. The warmth of his skin, the soft waves of his hair against my fingers, the dance of his tongue, the caress of his hands against my body. It was all I could think about.

His hands went lower on my back until he caught my thighs. He pulled me up until my legs were now wrapped around his waist, all while our kiss never broke. I was so drunk in everything about him that I didn't realize we had already reached his room until I felt the soft mattress against my back when he laid me down.

He balanced his weight on his one arm pressed against the bed while his free hand traveled from my neck down to my chest, the slightest caress of his fingertips, even from over my clothes, sending goosebumps throughout my body.

"Andrea..." He pulled away slightly to catch our breaths, but still with our foreheads touching. "As much as I enjoy this, I'm gonna have to ask you if you're really sure about this."

Meeting his gaze, I noticed how his pupils dilated as I watched my reflection in them.

"I'm sure." I simply whispered before leaning in to kiss him again.

His hand went lower to the hem of my shirt before tugging it upwards. I sat upright and took my shirt off myself while he did the same to his. It didn't take long before we were both left in our undergarments, the cold air fondling my skin making me aware of how exposed I am in front of him.

"God, you're beautiful." He muttered under his breath before attacking my neck with wet kisses, making my eyes flutter close in pleasure. The touch of his hand against my clothed breast added to the wave of lust that took over my body.

He left a trail of kisses from my neck down between the valley of my breasts. The pornographic moan that escaped my lips made me bite my lip, to suppress the ones that are yet to come.

I arched my back when his hands trailed over to the clasp of my bra, unhooking it before peeling it off me. He pulled away for a few seconds, staring at my bare chest as I laid under his touch.

"Stop staring at me." I breathed.

He ripped his gaze away from my chest and to my face. "I'm admiring you. There's a difference."

Tony didn't bother to spare me a second to come up with a retort to his statement when he leaned down and grazed my breasts with his lips. He took one into his mouth and the sound that came out of my mouth was louder than I thought.

I don't know how much longer I can last with just his lips on my skin. I want all of him. Every inch of him. And the longer this takes, the more I want it to happen. Maybe that's me manifesting because I suddenly felt his hand grip my last piece of underwear before he ripped it off me.

"I could've handled that." I said with a glare.

"It's sexier that way." He simply answered before diving his hand in between my thighs and the glare I was giving him broke when my eyes closed, my mouth left a gasp, and my body arched at the contact of his hand on my core.

"Fuck." I heard him curse under his breath.

The series of moans that left my lips filled the silence in the room. At this point, I didn't bother to stop them because the more I hold them back, the harder it is to do so. I don't know if it's just me or if Tony is doing all that he can to get those sounds from me.

His hand left my core and it left me with an almost inaudible whine before I opened my eyes to look at him. When I did, I watched as he removed his boxers, revealing all of him.

"Now, who's staring?" He teased while he made his way over to me again.

"I'm admiring you. There's a difference." I retorted.

He simply smiled before kissing my lips again, feeling his tongue dance around mine for a few seconds before pulling away again.

"Are you ready?" He asked me.

My chest was rising and falling as he stared at me. The mere touch of my breast against his chest was edging me closer to insanity. I needed more of him.

"Yeah." I said while I nodded.

When he slowly thrusted in me, the pain that creeped in caused me to clench my jaw and look away from him. The lightbulbs in the room suddenly burst due to my own magic being out of control as I crumbled underneath his body.

"Holy shit!" He was startled by all the lightbulbs breaking.

I opened my eyes and saw him looking behind him checking the bulbs. "I'm sorry." I said.

He looked back at me and his bafflement was replaced by an astonished one. And I was about to ask him what was wrong when I saw the reflection of my own eyes in his. Seeing my glowing yellow eyes and the veins bulging under it made me close my eyes again and look away.

"No." He said. Then I felt his palm against my cheek, his thumb caressing the veins under my eyes. "Look at me."

I shook my head.

"Andrea, please, look at me." He pleaded.

With my chest heaving up and down slowly, I turned to him and slowly opened my eyes. He stared at me...no, he admired me while he traced every vein with his deep brown eyes.

"I've always loved your eyes. Whether it's blue or yellow." He muttered.

At that I smiled slightly.

"Does it still hurt?" He asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah, a bit. But you can move."

He nodded in response before slowly pulling out and pushing in again. I hissed in pain at the same movement until the pain dissipated and all I could feel was utter pleasure.

"Feels good?" He said.

I couldn't open my mouth without a moan escaping through so I simply nodded.

With that, he started to pick up his pace. Each thrust he's making was inching me closer to moaning his name. At first, I didn't want to give him that satisfaction this early. But when he hit something that sent a wave of pleasure throughout my body, the words left my mouth before I could register what I even just said.

"Shit, Tony." I moaned.

And I knew that the sound of me moaning his name was exactly what he needed before he started pounding into me at a relentless pace. His lips attacked my neck as he thrusted and it was driving me crazy. I don't know where to focus my attention, the fact that he's kissing my neck or the fact that he's fucking me so good.

"Fuck, Andrea." He mumbled against my neck.

The sound of him moaning my name turned me on even more, causing me to flip us over. I straddled him while he looked up at me in surprise, taken aback by the sudden switch.

I wanted him to say my name again. I wanted him to say it more than I can say his. And I know he wants me to say his name more. Like I said, we're competitive.

I moved on top of him and watched as he closed his eyes and hissed in pleasure. I held on to the headboard of the bed and I could feel it almost breaking under my grasp because of how hard I was gripping it as I moved on top of him.

The way he started moaning my name countless times made me move quicker. He then caught me off guard when he once again flipped us over. He didn't waste any time and just thrusted in me.

My mind was hazy at that point and I didn't realize that we had finished until his body crashed beside me. Right now, the only sounds were the both of us catching our breaths.

I felt him shift beside me and turned to him to find him staring at me again.

"What?" I asked.

He smiled and nodded. "Nothing."

He sat upright to get the duvet from the bottom of the bed and pulled it over my body before covering his as well. I scooted over to his side and rested my head on his chest while he hugged my waist before planting a kiss on my forehead.

"Your dad's going to kill me." He said.

A soft laugh escaped my lips. He actually would. But it's not like I would tell my dad.

"I can't believe this." I muttered under my breath.

"What, that you had sex with the genius, most handsome man in the planet?" He said.

"That the genius, most handsome man on the planet likes someone who's damaged beyond repair." I responded.

I slightly moved away when he lifted my head with his finger on my chin before gazing into my eyes.

"You're far from damaged." He said before placing a kiss on my lips.

I smiled at him before placing my head back on his chest and closing my eyes, just listening to the sound of his heartbeat.

"It's crazy how at first, you hated me so much and now we're here." Tony commented.

"I know." I simply said, my eyes remained closed.

"You were so cold to me back then." He added. "You can even beat Elsa if you wanted to. That's how freaking cold you were."

My eyes jerked open at his statement. My eyebrows furrowed before I slowly pushed myself up and off of him. I looked at him and saw him looking at me in confusion.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

He's not supposed to know that yet.

"You said Elsa." I said.

He shrugged. "Yeah, you know, the snowblower."

I moved away from him while holding the blanket against my body to keep myself covered.

"Tony, how did you know Elsa?" I asked.

Frozen didn't come out until 2013. And I haven't mentioned it to him ever. There was no way he could've known about it beforehand.

Tony opened his mouth to answer my question with confidence. But slowly, his eyebrows started to scrunch together while his mouth began to close again. He looked away from me as he thought about his answer. When he looked back at me, he shook his head.

"I-I don't know."

—

Sorry for the typos and the delay. The freaking smut was what took so long to write slsksksks. Anyway, the next chapter would be Tony's POV since the night he met Hope! And Merry Christmas in advance my loves<3