“I still can’t believe there was a gas leaking in your building,” said a dark-haired young woman to her friend, while they were together eating breakfast. “Oh, horrible things have been going on lately. These explosions, attacks on our city, now this thing with gas – just imagine that the man would do something to your building while this situation!”

Adeline gave Monica a light smile and took a bite of a chocolate cake. She was lying to her friend this whole time, and she wasn’t proud of it. “I know. It’s horrible! I’ll call the landlord, and ask him about the situation. Maybe today I’ll be able to go home, but I’m not sure. Hey, once again, thanks for letting me stay here with you.”

“Hey, it is okay. I’m happy you are here. We had some fun, and maybe later we can have a small party here. Anyway, I have to go to work,” she stood up, wiped her hands on the trousers, took the dishes and put them in the dishwasher. “See you in the afternoon, Ad. I left you the keys in a bowl, next to the door. Take them. Oh, before you leave, please, check the windows, because they are in a devastating condition. Sometimes it is hard to close them. I should really pay for new one. Or I should just leave this dump.” Monica was already in the hall, checking her purse.

“Yes, madam,” Adeline nodded. “I’ll take a shower, clean the kitchen and watch something on the TV. See you at four!”

“Thank you, bye!”

With a sound of a closing door, Adeline immediately ran to her travelling bag and put out the laptop. She took it back to the table, where she left the breakfast. She needed to check the news, and even her apartment. Was Tony already there? Was he angrily looking for her, destroying everything he found there? Her fingers were quickly pressing the buttons, trying to connect to some devices in her apartment. She looked at the camera records. Adeline installed some small camera devices into her place, just in case. Luckily, they weren’t visible. She opened some files and watched a video from camera one. Nothing happened there – no Tony, no Iron Man. Why? Was it some kind of a trick?

Another probability was that Tony would be looking for her at work. And maybe, he wouldn’t be alone. What if he’s going to come to the bar with the police? She was panicking. Yesterday went wrong - mistake by mistake. She should have run away when she had an opportunity.

“What should I do? What should I do now?” she was talking to herself. Adeline was nervous. What would Stark do to her, when they will meet face to face? An extra thought came to her mind – should she call her father? No, definitely not. That wasn’t an option.

Tony knew her identity; he knew what she was capable of. However, normal people didn’t know anything about her. She was in a trap. She only had three solutions: One – she will go back to her place, and wait for Stark; two – she will go to work, and face him there; three – she will leave this city.

“I’m not a sissy,” she sighed. “I’m going to face him like I did with other people.”

That was her last and final decision. Adeline closed the laptop, put it back into the bag, and started to clean the kitchen like she promised her friend. That was the least she could do for her.

When the kitchen was finally cleaned, the brunette took a long shower. The water washed the negativity and stress from her. She felt relaxed, smelled like a coconut, and the world was suddenly a better place. Of course, she was thinking about that billionaire – as always. The night they spent together was good – he was great in bed, but it was a mistake. What happened did.

After the shower, she sat down and watched a sitcom on the TV. There was nothing else she could do until it was time to get ready for work. She put on some dark coloured clothes – mostly black. The funeral was almost a day ago, and she wasn’t ready to wear bright colours, just for another day. This time, she wore skinny jeans, a shirt with a lace on her back, and ballerina flats.

Adeline packed her bag and hung it up on her left shoulder. She was ready to face the new day at work, with Dan by her side. Adeline knew it was dangerous to bring her catsuit to work, but it was safer with her than in the apartment, or in Monica’s place.

When she was on the street, everything looked so peaceful. The people were rushing to their works, some of the tourists had smiles on their faces, they were taking pictures of the buildings and streets, and even the sun was shining – like nothing ever happened in this city. Looking around, there were only some policemen, looking after the people, and securing the neighbourhood. Adeline was slowly walking to the work. From Monica’s place, the way to the bar was much longer. She didn’t even use the subway for it. She loved walking, enjoying the view of the city, inconspicuously watching the citizens of L.A.

You don’t have the strength; these words were floating in her head. They came like a flash and made Adeline close her green eyes. Goth was underestimating her, making fun of her actions. Of course, she was able to kill him, but the situation changed rapidly. They thought she was very close of avenging her friend, made her shiver. Maybe next time, she thought.

Squeezing the strap of the travelling bag, Adeline went faster. A glass of water would be nice at the moment. The bar wasn’t that far away. She crossed the road, while she had the opportunity, and quickly ran into the bar. Adeline suddenly froze. Her eyes were looking directly into the chocolate brown one. She held her breath for a while and didn’t move.

“Hey, Ad!” Dan smiled and gave her a wave with a hand. “Mr. Stark is waiting for you,” he giggled.

“Hey, Adeline!” it was Monica’s voice from the back. She came to them with a bottle of the best whiskey they had.

The brunette was speechless. She was holding her bag like her life depended on it. Is Tony going to talk about what happened last night in front of her friends? She opened her mouth, but Tony was the one who started to talk. “Can we speak somewhere more privately?” his voice was calm, he was still looking at her.

“If you want, you can go to the changing room or the warehouse?” Monica suggested.

“We’ll go outside,” said Adeline suddenly. She cleared her throat. “Mr. Stark?” and she cocked her head to one side, giving him a sign to move the way she wanted.

Tony stood up, fixed his dark blazer, and looked at Monica. He gave her a sexy wink, which made her giggle, and slowly went to the door, behind the counter. Adeline had to roll her eyes. She wasn’t happy about this. Her soul was shaking in her body.

“Hey,” Monica stopped her, “what is going on between you two?” she said quietly.

“Absolutely nothing,” she gritted her teeth. “I’ll be right back.”

Tony was strangely calm. Adeline could see it on his face. He waited for her while she put the traveling bag in the dressing room. After it, they both quietly went out on the back street. There were no people, only buildings, trash bins, and a road for the delivery vehicles.

The silence didn’t remain any longer. Tony was the one who grabbed Adeline by her wrist and smacked her against a wall. It was a shock for the brunette. The man with an ARC reactor in his chest was squeezing both of her wrists now and held her against the wall. “What the…”

“Look at little miss special,” said Tony with an angry voice.

“Let me go, Stark, or you’ll pay for it. I swear!” she could feel his breath on her skin. He was strong, but without his suit, this was nothing. “You will regret the day when you were born!”

“Oh, don’t threaten me, Adeline,” he rolled his eyes. “What are you?! Tell me!”

“No!” she made a quick, strong move, and made herself free. With a fast kick, Tony was suddenly on the ground, lying. “I don’t have to tell you anything, Stark.” Adeline’s leg was up, ready to kick Tony’s face if necessary.

His sight was a little blurry. That woman had some strength. “Young woman, you now have two options. You will tell me everything, or I’ll give you to the government, and mark you as Goth’s sidekick. The choice is up to you.”

She wanted to hit him so badly, but she couldn’t. Something was holding her – the thoughts of her being in prison, letting down her family, and the people who known her as The Guardian. Adeline put her leg next to the other one; her tongue brushed the teeth and took a step back. “I am not Goth’s sidekick. I never was, I never will.”

“Then what are you?” Adeline remained silent. Tony slowly stood up; his eyes were looking into the green orbs. “How can I trust you?”

“And how can I trust you, Tony?!” she yelled at him. “How can I know you won’t betray me when I’ll tell you everything, huh?!” Her green eyes were darker, full of anger. “Do you think it is that easy for me?! To tell you what am I? You?”

“And why not?” he asked.

“Because I don’t like you, Tony! While you were trying to play the hero, I was the one who always cleaned the mess after you. I was the one who protected the people and made sure they were okay. Have you ever looked back? Have you seen the damage you had done in this city? Yes, you tried to defeat the bad guys, but a lot of people may have died. But I saved them.”

“Should I congratulate you?” he raised his eyebrows. “Do you think that I would never save them if I had the opportunity? You are wrong, Adeline. Sometimes, you can’t do two things at the same time.”

Once again, she needed to punch him in his face, and knock him to the ground, but she counted to ten in her mind. “I know you can’t, but all you had to do was go back, and make sure the people were fine, or if they needed anything.”

There was a silence between them. They were looking into each other’s eyes, looking for something, that would move this conversation forward. “Why? Why? Why, Adeline? Why are you doing this?” Tony asked, but she remained quiet because those questions were confusing to her. “Tell me who the fuck are you. Are you really this bartender, waitress? Do you really work here? Is your name Adeline?”

“Should I show you my ID?”

“It can be fake,” he snapped.

“You’re an idiot,” Adeline rolled her eyes. “See?! How can I trust you, when you don’t trust me?”

“I can’t trust you after yesterday!”

“Oh my fucking god! This will be a long day,” Adeline rolled her eyes and brushed her hair with fingers. “You know what, Stark? If there is nothing else what you would like to say then I’m going to get back in, and start to work.”

She took a few steps to the door when Tony’s hand once again grabbed her wrist and pulled her close to him. “You are not going anywhere, Adeline,” he said calmly while he was scanning her face with chocolate eyes. “You and I are going to talk about this problem.”

“No, we are not, Tony. The only one who’s having a problem at the moment is you, not me,” Adeline shook his hand from hers. “Deal with it.”

When she wanted to finally leave Tony alone, he made another move with his hand, trying to stop her one more time. But Adeline didn’t like this touch – it was harder, unpleasant. That’s why she made a quick move and attacked him. Her fist almost hit him in his face, but Tony dodged it and did the exact same thing. A fight started between them. Both of them wanted to hit the other one. Adeline kicked him with right leg right into his hip. When she had the opportunity to knock him down, Tony blocked it and punched her in the stomach. Another move caused her to fall on her knees. They were fighting like children because none of them would like to have a normal conversation.

“Enough!” Adeline moved her hand forward, and a shield appeared in front of her, trying to protect herself. Tony almost made a contact with the purplish magical half-ball, which would mean a disaster for him. “I am not going to fight you, Stark!” she took a deep breath. Her stomach was in pain. This wasn’t right and she knew it. “I am not a bad guy. I’m not your enemy.” And suddenly the shield disappeared.

Tony was looking at the brunette with his brown eyes, loudly breathing, and scanning her figure on the ground. She was kneeling in front of him, her hair was messy, and she held her stomach with one hand.

“I am different than other people. You just have to accept it,” she slowly stood up, and for the last time, she heavily inhaled the oxygen. “I’m here to help, not to hurt.” Those were her last words to him. Adeline slowly went to the door, opened them and went inside, leaving Tony alone.

He was just looking at her, rethinking what just happened. That woman had a strong punch. A smirk came to his face. One day, they had a one-night stand together, and he had to admit, the sex was amazing. The other day, they were fighting against each other. And then he thought of one thing: Maybe they were supposed to meet. Tony didn’t believe in faith. This was just a coincidence.

…

“Hey, you’ve been quiet all day.” Dan was cleaning the last glasses, and putting them into their place. “Is everything okay?” he asked her nicely.

Adeline tangled her hair and checked the money one last time. They were finally closing the bar. This day was very weak – not many people, not enough money in the cashbox. The citizens weren’t probably in the mood for beer, or whisky. They were too afraid to go out. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just,” she cleared her throat, “yesterday was the funeral, and there was a gas leak in our building…”

“Yeah, Mon told me. Is everything alright now? Where are you staying for the night?”
“Oh, I’m going back home, and…” her speech was interrupted by a knock on the entrance door. Both of them look there, discovering it was the one and only Tony Stark. “Oh no, what now?” Adeline was already annoyed. Luckily, Dan was the one who opened the door for him. Adeline could continue with her work.

“Mr. Stark, we are closed,” said Dan with a calm, sweet voice, and gave him a friendly smile. “We appreciate your visit, but…”

“I have to speak with Adeline. It’s urgent,” he said, trying to get inside, even when Dan was against it. Adeline raised her head up, squinted her eyes, and shook her head without enthusiasm. She wasn’t happy about this at all. Why was he still bothering her? Wasn’t that fighting enough?

“Mr. Stark…”

“Dan, it’s fine.” Adeline couldn’t believe what she just said. “Go home, have some rest. I can handle him,” she winked with one eye at him with a teasing smile. “I handled many people like him,” she gave Tony a sarcastic smirk. “One Stark is nothing.”


“Okay, Ad,” Dan nodded and locked the door once again. “I’m just going to grab my stuff, and I’ll leave you two alone.” Adeline knew he wasn’t happy about it. She would be with Tony alone, again. He was afraid of her because he was Adeline’s friend. In a few minutes, he was gone, leaving the two of them alone.

The brunette put the last glasses on its place, cleaned the marble, and took care of the money from the cash box. She tried to ignore the man as long as she could. “Adeline…”

“A fight is not a solution,” they said at the same time. She had to look at him. They had the same thoughts. “Wow, I can’t believe you said that,” she shook her head from surprise. “You, the greatest Tony Stark.”

“Oh, no-no – I am the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist,” there was a smirk on his face.
“Ah, what a narcissist,” she laughed under her nose. “Tony, you have to understand this isn’t easy for me,” she sighed. “I never said anything about me to my friends, and now you want me to tell you everything? We don’t even know each other.” Before he could say anything, she continued. “One-night stand doesn’t count.”

“So how about this – try to see me as a work partner. If we work together, and try our best to stop that son of a fire bitch then…”

“Are you offering me a team work?” Adeline raised her eyebrows and look into his chocolate brown orbs. “Why? Yesterday you wanted to kill me, today we were fighting, and now this?”

“I didn’t know it was you! I thought it was some weird crazy woman…”

“You called me weird crazy bitch,” she crossed her arms on breasts.

“But you are! Just look at you,” he laughed. Tony was making fun of her but in a friendly way. She wanted to slap him on his shoulder, but he dodged it. “In fact, you called me a dickhead.”

“I know,” she smiled brightly at him. “Okay, Tony, back to being serious – well, if you can do that,” she snapped her fingers.

“Okay, I’ll try,” he nodded. This whole time, he was standing on his feet, next to the chair, trying to have a conversation with the woman. He finally sat down, put his hands on the counter, and scanned her face. “I know we will have trust issues, but I was thinking about this situation, and I came with a great plan.” He took a deep breath. “Me and you – we will try to work together. You have your weird, but interesting ability.”

“My shield is awesome,” she gave him another smirk. “I was born this way, Tony. I can create a shield, and, in fact, you are not the only genius in this room.”

“Oh, I have another competitor. But you are no way better than me.”

“Oh honey, you wish,” she created a grimace on her face. “So, how should we end this? Are we a team now or what?”

They were looking into each other’s eyes. Tony’s hand slowly reached for her. He was waiting for a handshake to seal the deal. “We are now working partners. No more killing, no more fighting with each other. But you have to promise me, you are not working with Goth. I would be very unhappy if I have to kill a sexy woman like you.”

“Stop flirting with me, Stark. Nothing’s going to happen between us,” she rolled her eyes and gave him her hand for a handshake. “We have a deal. And I promise on my life, I am not working with Goth. He’s my mission, my enemy.” That was it, they sealed the deal. Famous Tony Stark became a work partner with a normal woman with special abilities.

“Are you sure you don’t want another one night stand?” he winked at her.

“Very funny, Stark. I need to close this place and finally go home. Hey, I thought you would be looking for me at my place, but you never showed there. Why?” she was curious. Their hands separated.

“I knew you wouldn’t be at home. That’s why I came here today. I have to admit, you are pretty strong. Nice fighting skills. You were pretty sexy.” He did his best to flirt with her again.

“Thank you, I’ve been practicing, and no, Tony, we won’t have another one night stand,” Adeline rolled her eyes. “Today afternoon we were fighting. Don’t you expect now, we will be something like super best friends with benefits or what.” She took the money in a special box. “Wait here, I have to put them in the safe,” she was on her way when she suddenly stopped, and turned to him. “Would you be so kind, my dear work partner, and drive me home?”

“Oh, so you won’t sleep with me, but a lift home would be suddenly nice, huh?” he mocked her.

“If I had a bottle in my hand, I would throw it into your face, Stark.”

“Less talking, more working. You have five minutes, Adeline,” he pointed at his watch while she showed him her tongue. Suddenly she was gone with the money.

Tony was still sitting on a chair, looking around, scanning the bottles of alcohol they had there. He liked some of the brands of whiskey they had. They were one of the best. He took a special phone of his from a pocket of jean and connected it to his system. While he was waiting for the brunette, he started to work on his latest project.

“Nice device you’ve got there,” said the brunette. She was holding her bag, the apron was already gone, and her hair was in a ponytail. “You created it?”

“What do you think?” he ended his work and put the device back into the pocket. “Come little miss special, time to go home.”

Notes