Vogue | Tony Stark

FORTY - BACK TO NORMAL

That afternoon, he carried a hamper beneath his arm filled with gifts for George and Leonie's wedding anniversary, spending the morning picking up orders from wineries and boutiques in a quaint neighbourhood not far from Esté's home.

He'd text to let her know he was coming later that day to drop off the presents but hadn't received an answer, which wasn't unusual. Esté had walked more shows in the past month than she had in the last three months combined, and although all her hard work took a toll on her mentally and physically, she still somehow found the time to spend a few hours every week with her friends, even if she did never get round to replying to their texts.

And so Tony thought nothing of it when he walked up the concrete steps outside Esté's brownstone home, knocking three times on the front door before taking a step back, happy to stand and wait in the warm sunshine.

"Tony?"

The door swung open and revealed Esté stood with a raised brow, hair slicked back in a pony tail and dressed in running shorts and a sports bra, perfectly laced white trainers on her feet.

"You, uh, you didn't get my text?"

She shook her head and stepped aside to let him walk into the house, closing the door behind him and scratching the side of her head.

"No, no I didn't. I'm sorry it's been so hectic recently, I've not had time to look at my phone this morning at all."

"That's alright," he shrugged with a smile, placing down the gift hamper on a sideboard, "I was just dropping off these presents for your parents, that's all. There's a couple bottles of champagne, some crystal glasses from Tiffany, a week away in the Bahamas."

"You did not," Esté placed her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes.

Tony just chuckled, "No, you're right I didn't. It's actually the Seychelles. Going somewhere?"

Nodding to a duffel bag by the foot of the stairs, Tony watched as Esté's smile faded, an awkwardness pooling into her eyes as she parted her lips, stuttering over her words.

"I- no, actually. I, that's not-"

"I'll be down in a minute, love. I just have to give my agent a call back."

The voice from upstairs dropped a dense silence between Estélla and Tony. His face fell in the blink of an eye and she watched him desperately try and cover up his shocked despair with a harsh swallow and slow nod.

He knew the voice belonged to Christian but he didn't want to believe it. Tony had no right to be upset, no right to feel angry or betrayed the way that he did. He felt as though something had been taken away from him, like he'd lost her all over again, even though that time around, he never had her heart to begin with.

Tony felt the world fall away from beneath his feet, a stab through the middle of his heart that had healed day by day since the Fourth of July, a miracle that assured him all he really needed to feel alive was her. And while in that moment as they stood at the foot of the stairs, nothing had actually changed between them, Tony couldn't bear to look into her eyes any longer.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were back together."

"Tony," Esté said with downturned lips, "I haven't told anybody, I'd appreciate it if you kept this to yourself."

The secrets Esté used to tell Tony were ones of fantasy and dreams, scandalous rebellions of teenagers finding their way in the world together navigating around the watchful eye of their parents. She used to trust him with her deepest regrets and disbeliefs, worries and things that kept her young mind awake at the darkest hours of the night. She shared herself with him in a way that she never shared herself with anybody else, only now, the secret he had to keep for her was one he wished he'd never found out in the first place.

"Sure," he nodded again, inhaling deeply before heading towards the front door, "No problem."

"Thank you," she smiled with a small sigh of relief, "And thank you for the presents, I'm sure my parents will be thrilled, they'll really appreciate it."

Hyper aware of the presence upstairs, Tony suddenly noticed the pair of men's running trainers on the floor and a leather jacket hung up by the door. He glanced through into the kitchen and saw two empty coffee cups on the countertop and a bunch of fresh flowers in a vase, the sight turning his stomach as he imagined them sat together having breakfast or Esté throwing her arms around his neck in the hallway when he surprised her with the flowers after a long day.

Above all of that, what hurt him most was the fact she'd taken him back. He didn't know the details about what happened and he didn't want to know, but the thought that Esté had made the decision to sit down and hear him out when she wouldn't even so much as look in his direction after their breakup was a pain that burned like nothing he'd ever felt.

"I'll get out of your way. See you later, Esté."

Tony was quick to pull open the door and disappear down the street, walking off with his hands in his pockets and head hanging low before Estélla had chance to say tell him that he wasn't in the way.

Christian came down the stairs a few minutes later in a pair of black shorts and a white Nike t-shirt, grabbing his trainers and lacing them before standing up and pressing a kiss to the side of Esté's head.

"Ready now, sorry," he said with a sigh, "Who was at the door?"

"Just Tony," Esté said, turning a twisted ribbon on the hamper back to face the right way.

"Tony as in ex-boyfriend Tony?"

Esté looked up at him with a raised brow, head tilted and unimpressed, "Tony as in my friend Tony. That alright with you?"

Christian swallowed, nodding quickly as soon as he realised that the ice he was lucky enough to be still walking on with Esté was thin enough to break at the use of any careless, unthought-through comment that might slip through his lips.

"Of course," he said, smiling as he pulled open the door and grabbed the keys, "After you, darling."

an;;
to anyone who said in the last chapter that I wouldn't make this relationship fall back into place so easily - you were right lmao you know me too well

ALSO exciting news, the first chapter of my Bruce Wayne fic is now up!! It's called Gods & Monsters and I'd really appreciate you taking the time to have a quick read if any of you are interested!!

More updates coming soon besties, thank you <3