Her worth is priceless and she is fully aware of that. It is why she doesn't attract many and only those with quality taste and genuine hearts can afford a woman like her.
• • •
"Don't forget to feed Peeve, Tony," Eve reminded for the sixth time, but it was like she was speaking to a brick wall.
He was entirely focused on his new suit, and payed absolutely no attention to her.
"Alright, sweetie, I have to go." Pecking him on the cheek, she jumped down from the metal bench, hugging Bruce goodbye and slipping out of the room.
"Are you alright, Tony?" Banner asked, interrupting the billionaire's work much like Evelyn was doing.
"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" The troubled man replied, earning him an unsure look from his friend.
"Really, Banner. Don't get all mushy on me, I'm fine." He nodded, reassuring him.
"Alright. If you say so."
***
Madison gulped and cowered away from the judging looks her friends gave her.
Leon was nowhere to be found, and she found herself needing his comfort as selfish as it made her.
Carter had just finished dressing up for his date with Dani when he bumped into a nervous Madison.
His glare was set on her, and although he may not be as intimidating as Leon, he sure as hell did a good job at making her uncomfortable.
"I apologised to Eve, I promise." Madison blurted out, playing with her hands.
"And that's supposed to make it better?" He spat.
"Carter. Knock it off." Dani grabbed his arm, shaking her head.
She wasn't in the mood for fights right now, she wanted a peaceful evening.
"Fine." He huffed out, bumping Madi's shoulder on the way to the door.
"I'm sorry about him. Both him and Leon have always been protective of Evelyn. You know that." Dani smiled sweetly, rubbing her arm before leaving after her boyfriend.
Rubbing her face, she moved forward towards the couch before the sound of female giggles stopped her.
Spinning around, she was not so surprised to see Leon with his arm around his girlfriend, she assumed.
"Mads?" His eyebrows were up in surprise at seeing her here, there could only be one reason she was here.
And it was to apologise to Evelyn, but once he noticed a few bags in her hand, he realised that she probably already did apologise to Evelyn, taking his advice.
"Hey, Leo." She smiled, and trailed her eyes over to the shy brunette.
"Hi, I'm Madison." Madi grinned, and if Leon didn't know her like the back of his hand, he would actually think that she looked happy to see Penelope.
"Madi this is Penny." Leon smiled, introducing his girlfriend.
"It's very nice to meet you, Leon has told me a lot about you." Madison shook her hand, dropping her bags.
"Good things I hope." Penny smiled nervously a little jealous of how much prettier Madison was than her.
Or maybe it was just her insecurities talking.
"Yeah, of course. Well since you're here, I could head up and show you some of Leon's baby photos."
"Mads, please don't."
"I would love that!"
Dumfounded, Leo stood in his place eyeing the genuine smile on Madison's face.
***
"I mean, are you sure there is nothing I can do to help?" Evelyn massaged his shoulders like she used to in the past, relaxing his muscles.
"No, Vee. I'm good." He leaned back on his chair exhausted, he hadn't left the lab since this morning.
"You know some people think that I'm the smart one in this relationship." She boasted, chuckling at the stupidity of her words.
"You are." He nodded, giving her a small encouraging smile.
Her smile fell, and she gave him an are you fucking kidding me look.
"Hon, not to burst your bubble or anything, but you graduated summa cum laude from MIT. And I-"
"You're still smarter." He kissed her lips, and stood up, stretching.
"Well, I won't argue you with you. Especially when it makes me look good." She ran her fingers through the ends of his hair, waiting for him to start a conversation, but unfortunately for her. He stayed silent.
"Hey, Eve." Nat winked, joining them in the lab.
"Hey, Nat." Turning her eyes away from her boyfriend, she gave the former spy a cheeky grin.
Nat stopped for a second to stare at a photo of them on the beach.
"Say Evelyn?"
"Yeah?"
"How hot was Tony back in his youth?" Tony's eyes darted back up to Evelyn, clearly wanting to know how she preserved him back then.
"Oh god," Evelyn fake drooled, and Tony's eyes sparkled in amusement, "you have absolutely no idea. I had a very hard time containing myself." Evelyn teased, earning her a raised eyebrow.
"Oh really?"
Nodding, she gave him an approving look.
"But, I still got it, right?" He frowned quickly.
Eyeing him up and down, she bit her lip and smirked.
"Not too shabby for a 40 year old."
"You did not just say that." He gaped at both of their laughing figures, pouting afterwards.
"If it makes you feel any better you're almost as hot as Loki."
Tony's jaw dropped, and he looked like he had been stabbed repeatedly in his chest.
"You think Loki was hot?" He snapped, the matter absurd to him.
Evelyn raised an eyebrow, testing if he was serious.
"Are you kidding? He's gorgeous. Too bad he's not on the same side though." Evelyn feigned hurt, wiping fake tears from her eyes.
Nat kept quiet because surely agreeing with Evelyn would only send Tony into an infinite stream of anger.
"That's absurd." He scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"And please, don't get me started on Thor." She smirked, as if imagining him in her mind.
"Yeah, thanks." Tony huffed, rolling his eyes at his girlfriend's state.
"Aw hon. You could beat Loki," she paused for a second before cringing, "okay that was a lie."
"How very comforting." He snorted, getting back to work.
"I'm kidding, Ton-y."
"No, you're not."
"Okay, I'm not. But hey, look on the bright side, Tone-"
"There is no bright side." He mumbled under his breath, focusing on making this suit more streamlined to decrease the air resistance, so it can be able to-
"Well honey, I chose you in the end, didn't I?" She planted kisses all over his face, as he moved away.
"You didn't choose me, you're stuck with me!" He pushed her away, and huffed.
"And now, you sound like Rachel." Nat rolled her eyes, and uncrossed her arms.
"Whatever. You two suck." He frowned, avoiding eye contact with Evelyn, looking like a pissed off 5 year old.
"Tony?"
Silence.
"Honey?"
Again. Silence.
"Tony, come on."
"No."
"Now you're being petty."
"Fine. Adriana Lima is much hotter than you." Stark smirked, and Evelyn gasped.
"How dare you!" She growled, and stomped her foot on the ground, letting Nat enjoy the show to the fullest.
"And I like her eyes better."
Her eyes widened, and she pinched him.
"Ow!"
"Take that back!"
"No, dear. Your parents taught me never to tell lies." He shrugged, and dodged her petty punch.
"Brown eyes are boring." She blurted out, not knowing what else to say.
Truthfully, she didn't love anything more than his brown eyes.
But he didn't need to know that.
"And, now I know you're lying." He wrapped both his arms around her waist quickly, and twirled her around with a laugh.
"How about we let bygones be bygones. Yeah?" Evelyn raised an eyebrow, angling her head backwards to observe his face clearly.
"We need to establish some ground rules first. No mentions of Thor or Loki-"
"Easy. No mentions of Adriana Lima."
"Done. No insulting my eyes because we both know you love them."
"Right back at you." Evelyn grinned, leaning in close to his face.
"Now...how 'bout we seal the deal with a kiss?" Tony winked, and Evelyn landed a sloppy kiss on his lips.
Rolling her eyes, Natasha turned around with a grin, mumbling something about loving their relationship.