Always Been You | Tony Stark

Captiolo (17) Diciassette ~ The Party

I stood at the back of the party, watching Tony do one dumb thing after the other.

"Hey, Avery." I turned around to see Rhodey walking toward me.

"Hey, I was just about to get some air."

"What's wrong?"

I turned around and moved out of the way so Rhodey and I could get a clear view of the birthday boy.

"I don't know what to do anymore."

"You gotta be kidding me." The two of us watched as Tony, in his Iron Man suit with a bottle of what might have been champagne in his hand, fell over and off the stage. The sound of glass breaking could be heard as Tony stood back up, laughing as the crowd started cheering.

"That's it. I'm making..."

"No, no, no. Don't call anyone." I grabbed Rhodey's jacket before he walked away.

"Avery, this is ridiculous. I just stuck my neck out for this guy." He pointed at the waisted billionaire.

"I know. I know. I get it. Trust me I do. Let me try one more time. I'm gonna handle it, okay? Just let me handle it."

"Handle it. Or I'm gonna have to."

I walked over to Tony on the stage, who somehow got his hands on the mic.

"You know, the question I get asked most often is, "Tony, how do you go to the bathroom in the suit?" He took a breath, closing his eyes before opening them again. "Just like that." He and the crowd started laughing, and I tried to put on my best fake smile and do my best fake laugh as I joined him on the stage, taking the mic from his hand.

"Does this guy know how to throw a party or what?" The crowd cheered at my words.

"I love you." Tony drunkenly said into the mic.

"Stop it, Tony," I warned, moving the mic away.

"But it's true. Thought I would say it now since I'm dying." He whispered in my ear, making me shiver.

"Anthony, seriously, stop it. You're drunk." I tried to smile.

"Ooh, you used my full name. I love it when you use my first name. Just like I love you."

"Unbelievable," I whispered, holding the mic back up. "All right, thank you so much, Tony, we all thank you so much for such a wonderful night. And we're gonna say good night now, and thank you all for," The crowd of guests loudly grounded, showing their disappointment. "For coming."

"No, no, no, we can't...wait, wait, wait." Tony stuttered as I moved the microphone away again, holding it behind my back. "We didn't have the cake. We didn't blow out the candles."

"You're out of control, okay? I told you not to do anything stupid and so far I have watched you doing around fifteen stupid things since this started. Trust me on this one, okay?"

"You're out of control, gorgeous." Tony leaned into me.

"It's time to go to bed. It's time."

"Will you join me? Give me a smooch." He continued to lean in, closing his eyes. "Come on you know you want to."

"You remember what happened when we first met?" I asked, leaning away from him.

"Yeah, when you almost broke my nose?"

"I'm about to do it again." That made him lean away, finally. "Just send everybody home, okay? It's time to..."

"If you say so."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Okay. I'll take this, you take that." I took the bottle out of his hand and replaced it with the mic.

"Avery Lynn," Tony said, the crowd clapping a bit. "She's right. The party's over. Then again, the party was over for me, like, an hour and a half ago."

"Oh, no." I ground.