Tony bit his tongue. To him it hurt so much more than telling someone that they weren’t his type. Because he wanted her to be. But he had too many demons, too many bad memories.
And those demons, and his desire, were picking at him as he sat there, forcing one hand to leave the safety of his knee and to find its way to hers. It sat there gently as he tried to decide what to do.
When his hand covered hers, she jumped. All his pain and fear rang down the touch, and she couldn’t help it anymore; she started to cry. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you again. I’m sorry. I’m not, I’m not what you say I am, truly. I’m just me, plain ordinary me.”
“No, hey. It’s all right,” he murmured, his brows pulling together. He moved his hand to wipe a few tears away from her face. “It’s okay. I’m just a mess all around, but I am trying to work on it. It’s not your fault.” He sighed, tilting his head to the side. “I don’t think you can convince me otherwise, really… But maybe, maybe we could try to make it work? If you want? I just don’t want to hurt you. I’m not exactly known to have successful relationships…”
She couldn’t breathe. Everything was moving too fast. Who was comforting whom here? She thought she was just being a friendly person, and now he was … he was asking her out? Tony Stark was asking her out, an hour after meeting her, was talking about a relationship.
“Yes?” She said hesitantly.