Unfiltered

Part Two

When Tony stumbled half-awake into his lab the next morning, he expected his mug of coffee to be on the right top corner of his main work table like it always was. It wasn't. He expected the mess of his work on his desk he had left last night to have been cleaned, but it was all still there, flashing up at him like a red warning light.

"FRIDAY, where's (Y/N)?" Tony said, confusion mixing in with his sleepy daze.

After a second of processing, the AI responded, "She is not in the building, sir."

Tony's eyebrows furrowed. "Is she over on the Stark Industries grounds?"

"She is not, sir."

Tony shook his head in confusion, "Then where the hell is she?"

"I do not know, sir." The AI responded, "I cannot find her."

"Shit," Tony muttered, "FRIDAY, prep my suit."

"Certainly, sir."

Tony planned to fly out and scan the city for you, hoping he wouldn't find you in danger. It was unlike you to not show up for work and he didn't see any record of you calling out for the day, so he assumed the worst.

"Incoming email from (Y/N)." FRIDAY said suddenly. The email opened on the closest screen to Tony, his laptop. Tony stepped out of the iron suit and rushed to his computer.

Mr. Stark,

I, (Y/N) (Y/L/N), hereby submit my resignation as personal assistant at Stark Industries effective today, May 2nd. I have decided to resign for personal reasons. Thank you for the opportunities and support during these years.

All my best,

(Y/N) (Y/L/N)

Tony read the message again. As smart as he was, he couldn't find a reason why you would resign so suddenly. After reading your email over and over in his barely awakened state, his eyes caught on two words: "personal reasons".

In his tired, non-caffeinated state, he had forgotten what you two had done in the elevator yesterday. "Oh, shit."

The next hour was spent doing everything he could to reach you. He tried emailing you. He got no response. He tried calling you. He only got your voicemail. He tried every method of contact you had given him since your employment and every one FRIDAY could find, and he was left dry with no response.

He didn't want to do this, but it was a last resort, and if all else fails.

"Ah, fuck it," Tony said, pinching the bridge of his nose, "FRIDAY, can you tell me where the email was sent from?"

"It was sent from the JFK Airport, sir."

Tony's breathing had gone ragged with the realizations settling in. You were leaving. You were really leaving and he only had a number of hours to stop you, because he didn't know what he'd do with himself his he couldn't.

☽

It had been a last-minute decision on your part.

You had felt the high of his kiss for the rest of the day. Your lips buzzed with the lingering pressure and there was an ethereal glow around you. And when you woke up the next morning... it was gone. All you felt was dread.

"I made out with my boss yesterday. Oh my god, I almost jumped my boss yesterday." You whined to Annie, the barista at your favorite coffee shop and your best friend the next morning. "What am I going to do? God, I'm not even going to be able to look at him without turning red as a tomato."

Annie didn't look up from the drink she was making, "You could quit your job," She joked, "I could put in a good word about you here."

"Not funny." You sighed and looked down at your lap. You couldn't walk back into his home or Stark Industries after what you had done, you couldn't face Tony. Hell, what if the entire staff knew? They'd be giving you weird looks, talking and giggling about you behind your back... God, this was a nightmare- a nightmare that seemed to have only one way to wake up.

"You know what," You looked up at Annie, "Maybe that's not such a bad idea."

Annie finally looked up at you and handed you your drink, disapproval written on her face. "(Y/N)..."

You shot her a smile as you grabbed your drink and belongings, hurrying out of the café. "Thanks for the idea, Annie!"

☽

As life went on, an unrecognizable Tony Stark searched the airport for you. Hiding was the only way he could find you, unless he wanted to be searching through heavier crowds of paparazzi and fans. Tony loved them, he really did, but there were times when he didn't want them coming up to him asking for autographs or a picture. Especially now.

After searching every corner of the airport he was permitted to be without a ticket or clearance, he knew he was going to have to talk to someone. Tony didn't want to do this, but he was getting used to doing things he didn't want to do today.

"Uh, hi. My friend, she's getting on a flight today and uh, she forgot these." He held up his keys, hoping his story was convincing enough.

The clerk looked unamused. "Do you know what flight she's on?"

"No," Tony shook his head, "But her name is (Y/N) (Y/L/N)."

"We're really only supposed to use it for delayed flights-"

Tony sighed and pulled down his sunglasses, "Please."

The clerk thankfully didn't scream or draw attention like he had expected her to, and, after snapping out of her star struck daze, haphazardly began to clamor around her workspace. Tony held back the urge to roll his eyes as she found what she was looking for.

"(Y/N) (Y/L/N), please come to the check-in desk. (Y/N) (Y/L/N) to the check-in desk please."

Tony nodded at the woman, "Thank you."

"Of course." The clerk smiled. "Can I get an autograph?"

Meanwhile, you raced to the front of the airport, going through a check list in your mind. Your ticket was in your hand, phone was in your pocket, and your suitcase was zipped tight.

"What the hell..." You panted, dodging around other people walking the opposite direction. You slowed as you got closer to the check-in area, taking a minute for a breather. You looked up, your eyes scanning the room until you saw something that you would have never believed. Your feet stopped moving and your heart stopped beating as you stared across the room at your crush- no, your ex-boss Tony Stark.

His dark sunglasses hid his eyes but you knew he was staring at you. You could see the thoughts going through his head. What's going on? Why weren't you running to him? Hell, you told him that you loved him, did it not mean anything anymore?

It broke you.

An internal debate, one half of you wanted to run to him, jump in his arms and kiss the life out of him until you were seeing stars. But that other half of you, made of logic and reason, knew that you should leave now, that going to him would fuck everything up even more than it was already fucked.

You watched him take his sunglasses off, and even with the distance you could see the tears welling in his eyes and the way he mouthed 'please, baby' to you. The emotions that you had buried deep down were crawling back up your throat. You could feel your heart helplessly shattering right before you, but you knew your heart would be completely unmendable if you didn't turn back now, if you didn't leave and never look back. You didn't want to feel, didn't want to think about it anymore.

You shook you head and turned around, ignoring the pleading look in his eyes. Ignoring the way his heart shattered as you walked back to the gate of your flight.