Lyra Redfield has been pushed around ever since she cut ties with the famous Anthony Stark. When fate happens to bring them together again, she realizes just how little her life meant to her. She wanted to make a difference-be better and do better...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
THE first month after Vanko's scene at the Stark Expo was all about clean-up. Pepper, after climbing down from her fit, took care of getting the company back into the shape it was supposed to be. Now, she was turning into the CEO she was meant to be. Lyra was proud of her best friend because Pepper really did deserve the world after everything she had been through with Tony.
Tony was working on many projects at one time, though he let Lyra do her own work from Agent Hill when it was sent over. When he needed her, she would not complain to help him. Hell, she was enjoying the time with him.
She realized her suit he created for her was more gold than red, practically perfectly inverting Tony's suit colors. He admitted to have made it in case she found herself needing it on a mission. Jarvis was always on watch in case he needed to manually activate the suit. The first thing Tony did when they returned to the Malibu mansion was fix up her suit and add more details than before. Once he finally had her a suit that was more her style, he created the bracelet again, giving it to her while saving the design so Jarvis could make it if needed again.
Iron Man and Iron Princess were on headlines everywhere as Lyra was becoming a part of something bigger than she was prepared for. Clint had called her after he had a chance since he was still in New Mexico, telling her she should have showed him the suit earlier, but she laughed it off saying she did not even know. She also told him that she wanted to visit Lila, Cooper, and Laura whenever was possible, which lead Clint to smile bigger than ever because he was so glad another one of his friends knew about his family—his real pride and joy.
"Hello, dear," Tony said in a strained voice. "Care to help me with dinner?"
Lyra turned as she walked from the lab to see Tony pouting as he leaned on the kitchen counter. "Why are you cooking? This isn't safe."
"I wanted to surprise you for our anniversary, but I'm shit," Tony said with a nod. "So, surprise! Now, help me."
Lyra snorted at his desperate face as she grabbed the spoon from him to see what monster he was creating. Tony nuzzled his head into her neck as he watched her work. He sighed after a moment.
"I don't ever want this to end," he whispered as if someone was listening.
"It doesn't have to," she whispered back.
"Pepper wants me in the office all week to oversee some project ideas from MIT," he said with another dramatic sigh.
"That sounds fun," Lyra stated with a grin and she turned to look at him. "I can come with some days?"
"Oh, would you?" he asked with wide eyes. "I keep telling her you're more of a genius."
"Yeah, right," Lyra said with a smirk, stirring the spaghetti. "I love you, Tone."
"I love you, Ly," he said, kissing her neck once. "I'm going to call Happy to make sure he'll pick us up tomorrow."
A few days later, Lyra woke up next to Tony with a yawn from having being kept up all damn night. Tracing his chest where the arc reactor lay perfectly still, she sighed as he looked so damn peaceful in his sleep compared to his work-face he had all day. She yelped when he suddenly grabbed her hand. Her eyes went to his, and she saw him staring up at her with a smile.
"'Morning," he said with a voice that sent shivers down her spine.
"Good morning, sir! The weather outside is—"
"Nope, J, not you, but thanks!" Tony called as he and Lyra laughed lowly. Tony put his arm around Lyra's waist as he pulled her to straddle him. "Hi."
"Hey," she said softly as her hair made a sort of curtain around their faces.
"Guess what I dreamt of?"
Lyra hummed in a questioning manner as she traced the contours of his face.
"The arc reactor. I think it's time we start working on the arc reactor energy you tried to tell me about," Tony said as his eyes took in every detail on her face. "What do you think?"
Lyra tilted her head as a smile graced her face. "I think we need a shower and breakfast before you try getting my brain to work."
Tony let out a breathy chuckle. "Yeah, shower with me?"
"I guess it would save water," Lyra said with a firm nod.
"Very good on our part, right? I like the idea, too," Tony said as he sat up with Lyra still on his lap. "Ooh, I like this position even more."
Lyra rested her hands on his shoulders. "You're awful."
"I'm honest," Tony corrected as he kissed her neck. "Let's shower before I lose this idea."
Lyra rolled her eyes as she stood, feeling the cold air on her exposed body. She heard Tony snort as she ran to the bathroom to start the shower. "Don't laugh! It's cold!" she yelled as his laughter only grew.
She closed her eyes as she waited for the water to heat up, thinking this is exactly how their lives should be. No pain, no misery... simply love and happiness in their lives.
