Anxiety overflowed in Sasha's belly like a waterfall as she stared at herself in the mirror, trying to catch any flaws in her appearance or makeup. She was to meet another one of Tony's closest friends today, James Rhodes, her boyfriend's roommate during college. This wasn't as daunting as Pepper for sure, and thankfully she wasn't going to be disheveled and be dressed in Tony's shirt, a sure indicator that they'd slept together the night before.
After doing a final one-over and smoothing down her shirt, Sasha made her way downstairs to greet her boyfriend.
Tony gave her a soft smile when she came downstairs. "Hello," he said. "You look gorgeous."
A blush spread across her cheeks. "Thank you."
"Rhodey is waiting for us at the coffee shop," he said, holding his hand out for her to take.
Sasha smiled as she took it, though she was getting more nervous by the minute. Pepper hadn't liked her, and she wasn't sure if that had changed at all. She wanted to get along with Tony's friends, especially since she didn't have many friends herself. It wasn't for a lack of trying, she'd just never clicked with anyone at college or with her coworkers, but it could get lonely. The only friends she had were back in Ireland, and due to time differences and just general life differences, they hardly ever talked anymore.
"Tony...what if he doesn't like me?"
He frowned. "I'm sure he'll like you. He was just happy to know that I've got someone that makes me happy when I was telling him about you."
Sasha's body relaxed a little, and she let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "Alright. Thank you." She got into the car. "Can we drive with the top up?"
He nodded, as he got into the car as well, putting the top up. Once he was buckled in, he leaned over to kiss her forehead. "I'm glad you two are gonna meet."
"So am I. I really want to get along with your friends. It's important to me."
Tony smiled. "Okay." As he started up the car, he reached over to squeeze her hand. "I'm positive you two will love each other."
She kept a tight grip on his hand while he drove, her nerves not calming down whatsoever.
Tony soon pulled up to a small coffee shop, parking the car. "Oh, Rhodey's here already," he said, gesturing to a sleek grey car across the parking lot.
Sasha looked from James's car to Tony's, a soft smile spreading across her face. "You seem to have the nicest car here," she joked as she stepped into the fresh air, smiling as the breeze blew through her hair. The smile quickly faded, though, when she noticed a group of young adults glaring at her and Tony. Actually, they only seemed to be directing their scowls at her boyfriend.
"What the hell...?"
Tony frowned too. "Let's just go over to Rhodey." He led her to a corner table where Rhodey was sitting down already.
Sasha smiled at Tony's friend, her heart pounding as she held out her hand. "I'm Sasha. It's so nice to meet you, Tony's told me so much about you. All good things, though!"
Rhodey smiled. "It's nice to meet you too, Sasha. I'm James, but you can call me Rhodey if you'd like. Heaven knows that's all Tony'll ever call me."
Tony smiled, looking at Sasha. "Do you want anything to eat or drink?"
"No, I'm okay," she assured, smiling at him as she sat down at the table. "So, Rhodey, what do you do?"
"Well, I'm gonna go get me some coffee," Tony said, going up to the counter.
Rhodey smiled at her. "I'm a Colonel in the army," he said.
"Oh, that's cool." She smiled at him. "How long have you been there?"
"I've been there since shortly after college," he said, smiling.
"Damn, that's a long time," Sasha chuckled. "So...how did you and Tony become friends?"
He smiled. "We were roommates in college. He was a young little shit, and I took him under my wing to help him experience college better."
Tony came back just then, putting a muffin in front of Sasha. "I know you said you didn't want anything, but they were doing a buy one get one free thing, so there you go." He gave her a soft smile.
She smiled and kissed him gently. "Thank you, love." She took a bite of it.
Tony smiled, sitting next to her. He put an arm around her. "So, what're we discussing here?"
"How you guys met." Sasha leaned against him.
Sasha frowned when her phone started vibrating. "Oh...oh, shit, it's my boss..."
Tony frowned. "You should answer that," he whispered.
"I'm really sorry..." she got up and went to a quieter part of the coffee shop. "Hello?"
"Sasha, I need you to come in right now. It's urgent." Sasha flinched at her boss's tone.
"Uh, what's wrong, Stephanie?"
"We'll discuss it when you get here." There was a click and the line went dead.
Sasha shut her phone off, walking back to the table while dread settled in her stomach like ice. This couldn't be about the photo with Tony...she hadn't even seen that published anywhere. It couldn't be, maybe there was just an emergency. Yes, there was an emergency, and Stephanie needed her help.
"There's a work emergency. I have to go, I'm so sorry."
"Okay," Tony said, kissing her forehead. "We can always reschedule this, right, Platypus?"
Rhodey nodded his head. "Absolutely. Sometimes work just calls, and you have to take that. Good luck, Sasha."
"Thank you." She smiled and called for a taxi.
-------
The picture was what the meeting had been about after all, much to Sasha's dismay. And...she'd been fired.
She hadn't known what was more humiliating: clearing her desk as she'd wept or the silence of all her colleagues when she'd come out of Stephanie's office. It was so embarrassing; they all knew that she'd slept with Tony. And that...well, it was going to leave a black mark on her record forever.
Sasha couldn't understand how she could have been so stupid. She'd worked so hard and for so long, and for what? To throw her whole career away on one night of passionate sex with a man who probably wouldn't keep her around past the next month?
Yeah, really smart, Sasha. Good thinking there.
For once in her life, she was glad her mother was dead. She wouldn't be around to see this or be disappointed in her daughter. The thought of her mother being disappointed in her just made Sasha cry harder; she'd always wanted so much to be just like her...and she'd turned into a slut.
She had to tell him. There would be far fewer consequences for him than for her, which was the bitter way of the world, but she still had to tell him. With that, Sasha wiped her eyes and dialed Tony's number.
Tony answered immediately. "Sasha? Darling?"
"I was fired, they saw the picture of us that the paparazzi took on our date."
"Oh..." his voice dropped off. "Do you need me to come pick you up?" He asked.
"No, I'm home," she whispered. "I...I just thought I'd tell you it's definitely going to be making the rounds."
"Okay," he whispered. "Do you mind if I come over tomorrow just to visit you? I just want to make sure you're okay."
"Sure. That would be lovely, thank you."
"Of course. I'll see you tomorrow," he said.
"Okay, bye. Sleep well." With that, Sasha hung up the phone and went back to crying.
------
The next morning, Sasha woke up feeling completely awful. Her eyes burned as though they were the Sahara Desert, and her throat was just as dry. Her nose was stuffed up from all the crying. If she looked this bad, how much worse did she look?
Sasha soon dragged herself out of bed and forced herself to eat something and doll herself up for Tony.
When her door buzzer went off, Sasha buzzed Tony in, not even bothering to talk to him through the speaker.
The billionaire then came into her apartment, smiling warmly at her. "Hello," he said, handing her a small bouquet of flowers. "How are you this morning?"
Sasha stared blankly at the flowers. "I'm alright."
He frowned. "I'm sorry I made you lose your job," he whispered.
Sasha shrugged. "It takes two to tango. Besides, it isn't your fault. I'm the one who made the decision."
"It's still partially my fault," he whispered.
"No it's not," Sasha murmured.
"But you just said it takes two to tango. Therefore, it's partially my fault." He frowned. "You don't...you don't want to break up with me because of this, do you?"
Sasha shook her head. "No, no, I don't want to break up."
"Okay," he said, clearly relieved. "That's good."
Tears started to pool in Sasha's eyes, try as she might to stop them. They began to fall, and before she knew it she was sobbing and ranting about how she'd probably never be able to get another job and how everyone at work had made her feel like a whore. In her slightly hysteric state, she was slightly aware that Tony had wrapped an arm around her, and led her over to her couch, sitting down with her. The redhead instinctively moved closer to him, and was slightly aware of his whispering soothing words to her.
Sasha hugged him to her tightly, sobbing into his shoulder, his scent calming her. He smelled of sawdust and the oil in his workshop, and of...wait.
Sasha pulled back. "Are you wearing Axe Body Spray?"
He turned slightly red. "I was out of my normal stuff, and I had a spare bottle of it in my medicine cabinet that Rhodey bought me last Christmas as a joke."
Sasha started to giggle, but it turned into full blown laughing after a few minutes. "I think you should keep it. I...I kind of like it."
He laughed too. "Okay," he said, smiling. "I'll keep that in mind when I go shopping again."
Sasha wiped her eyes and smiled softly at him. "I think I'm okay now. If you're late for something..."
He shook his head. "I'm good," he said. "I think I'm gonna stay here with you today and we can order some food in." He kissed her forehead gently.
She smiled when he did. "Alright. Only if I pay, though."
Tony grinned. "But I want to treat you."
"Okay." She blushed.
Tony grinned, nuzzling her. "What do you want to eat?"
"There's a really good burger place down the street. We could order in from there."
Tony grinned. "Alright. I'll look up their website and order something." He nuzzled her gently.
Sasha returned it, smiling as he ordered her her favorite from the place.
------
As she lay with Tony in her bed after a relaxing day and a delicious dinner, Sasha reflected on how lucky she was. Her ex-boyfriend had never been so gentle or kind to her. He'd be nice for a little while, sure, but after some time he'd leave her to fend for herself and tell her to stop crying. Tony...he wasn't like that.
He really cared for her and wanted to see her happy. The only other romantic partner she'd had who'd been like that with her had been her first and only ever girlfriend in her teenage years in Ireland. She was glad to have found that same caring, gentle streak in Tony.
Maybe getting fired would be the best thing that had happened to her in awhile, she thought as she fell asleep.