Iron and Magic

CHAPTER TWO

Page count: 12

Friday had arrived far sooner than Hermione realised and with it brought the dinner plans she had with her new boss, Tony Stark.

She didn't know what to make of him, all she knew of him she'd learned from the file Fury had given her to examine before she'd left, and despite it being quite hefty in weight, it hadn't been all that helpful to her.

She hadn't seen him since late Monday evening when he'd popped by her lab to quickly give her the security access codes, key card and her contract, as well as to retrieve her required resources list, something that had been marginally small given that most of her equipment was wizarding made and something she'd have to acquire herself.

The next day when she arrived at Stark Tower and stepped into her lab, she'd found boxes waiting to be unpacked. When her lunch hour arrived, she made a visit into Wizarding New York, needing to pick up some equipment and supplies and by Wednesday, the majority of her lab was complete with the exception of one or two items which had been ordered and she was waiting for delivery. Thursday, she'd allotted herself the time to go in search of an apartment as SHIELD had provided funds which only covered her staying in a hotel for two weeks and once it passed, she had to pay her own bills and she wasn't willing to continue paying for a hotel room when she could hopefully find a property to rent for approximately the same price.

When Friday arrived, in all honesty, Hermione had thought Tony had forgotten about dinner (which was understandable given how busy he was) and when it had grown dark outside and reached nine-thirty, she turned off the lights to her lab, hung her coat over her arm and stepped into the lift.

As she leaned against the wall in exhaustion, having been in her lab for fourteen hours that day, she watched as the lights on the keypad indicated which level she was on until she stepped out on the ground floor. She made her way to the door just as Tony stepped through, sporting a black tailored suit, a white shirt and a black tie, his attention being on the device in his hands and he almost walked straight into her.

"Heading home, Granger?" Tony questioned.

"It is Friday night, Tony," she replied, arching an eyebrow, waiting for the penny to drop.

He blinked slowly, his eyes searching her face. "Oh, Friday, right. Shit! I said we'd have a meeting over dinner, didn't I?"

"You did," she confirmed amusedly.

"Right, let's go then," he nodded, making to turn around and leave out the door.

She cleared her throat, drawing his attention and she pointedly looked down at herself, bringing note to her casual blue skinny jeans, white converse and black t-shirt. His eyes darted to his own attire, realising that he wasn't dressed for an informal dinner and she wasn't dressed for the opposite.

"Ah, give me five minutes," he nodded in understanding.

Not giving her the opportunity to reply, he strode towards the lift and disappeared behind the doors. She decided to wait for him outside and exactly seven minutes later, he exited the building wearing jeans, trainers and a t-shirt with a jacket grasped in his hand. She'd been expecting him to summon a car but he surprised her when he walked off down the street and she had to speed up her steps in order to catch up to him.

They journeyed in silence until they came to a quiet diner not far from Stark Industries and when they took seats at a corner booth, Hermione was impressed when the waitress managed to take their order without simpering over Tony, but judging by their interactions, she assumed Tony frequented the diner often. When their food arrived, Tony asked her how her first week had gone and if she had finished setting up her lab, of which, she answered appropriately, and with 'shop talk' out of the way, he said,