It was Steve that noticed Sasha nursing just her second glass of champagne two hours into the party, deciding to excuse himself from a conversation with Rhodey and Sam to go and speak to her for the first time that evening.

Maria had just disappeared from Sasha's side, leaving her stood alone by the bar with a nervous smile on her face, innocently gazing around the room while she twirled her champagne glass around by the stem, her chest rising and falling deeply as she inhaled a steady, calming breath.

Steve approached her with innate caution, an inviting smile on his face as she finally clocked him heading in her direction, her eyes lighting up at the sight of him.

"Bring it in, come here."

Sasha couldn't help but grin uncontrollably as Steve embraced her, her own arms hugging him tightly as he placed a kiss on each of her cheeks, his hand lingering on the small of her back.

"You look great, Steve. How've you been?"

The two of them hadn't spoken in a long while, besides a few text messages while Sasha was recovering from her injuries. Most of The Avengers had been in touch with Sasha after finding out what had happened, whether it was a text or a phone call, which had made her feel a lot less alone in such an isolating time.

Sasha was grateful for their kindness and consideration, and also thankful that they'd helped keep Tony alive on their mission out of their own world, though she'd kept that to herself so far.

"I'm good, as always. How about you? All recovered now I see? Looking better than ever."

"All better," Sasha said, tipping her champagne glass with a smile.

"That champagne isn't going down too easy though, I've noticed. Everything alright?"

Sasha's shoulders slumped as she looked up at Steve. The two of them might not have been right for each other in a lot of ways, but Steve had always cared about her, and always would.

With a heavy sigh, Sasha pursed her lips in thought for a moment, "My tolerance is low as it is, but after the memory thing...I don't want to forget anything else."

Steve just nodded once. He'd slowly been fed all the details about what had happened to Sasha, whether it be from Tony or from Peter who wasn't able to keep his mouth closed for more than five minutes. Steve felt heartbroken for Sasha, understanding just how bad it hurt to lose everyone, and then lose yourself, too.

Part of him was worried Sasha would've forgotten about their small history, though the way she smiled at him with a light inside her eyes made him relax, knowing that she remembered it all.

"Understandable, totally," Steve said, placing down his own drink on the bar and folding his arms at his chest.

He stood beside Sasha, just far enough for their shoulders to only slightly touch. As he looked around the room, he ended up following Sasha's gaze, finding it landing upon Tony. He was stood on the mezzanine with Fury, both of them laughing about something while Tony talked with his hands, describing something that seemed fantastical by the exaggerations and movements.

Steve stole a glance at Sasha, noticing the way she watched Tony with a smile fuelled by total awe, a glimmer in her eyes that shined differently to the way it did when she looked at him.

"You're good for him," Steve spoke up, drawing her attention away from Tony, "For Tony. Really, you've made him a better person."

Sasha just laughed quietly, shaking her head, "It's the other way around, if anything."

There had been far less questions about her relationship with Tony than Sasha had expected that evening. It turned out that everyone had already had plenty of time to process what had been going on between the two of them, making it old news by the time Sasha became aware the story had even broke.

She didn't mind, however, actually being relieved that nobody seemed to care she was dating Tony. As he'd said before they walked into the party, nobody thought any different of her for it, at least, they'd not let it show if they had.

Everybody Sasha had spoken to so far that night had been more than sympathetic about what had happened, most of the time not even bringing Tony up in conversation.

"Trust me," Steve continued, "You've given him purpose, Sasha, a real purpose. I've never seen him so driven, so focused on a mission like our last one. He wouldn't stop at anything, it was like he was Iron Man but ten times what he has been before. That force, it came from you, I'm certain."

Sasha felt a small rush of blood to her heart, skipping a beat as she listened to Steve. Although still unable to accept another person could feel that way for her, the idea of it gave her something to dream about when she fell asleep at night.

Tony was descending the stairs when he noticed Sasha and Steve by the bar. She was looking up at him with a smile on her lips, a glow in her cheeks. He would've been lying if he didn't feel a twang of jealousy stir in his gut at the sight of the two of them together, but it soon melted away when Sasha glanced over her shoulder and locked eyes with him, watching the way her face flushed red and her eyes curved with excitement.

"Back off, Rogers, you've had your chance."

Tony slipped an arm around Sasha's waist as he reached her side, a smirk on his face as his friend let out a chuckle, holding his hands up in defeat.

"I'm kidding, halfway, not really. Watch it," Tony narrowed his eyes with a playful grin in Steve's direction, pointing a finger at him as he held his glass in the air, "Enjoying the party? Made friends with the kid yet?"

Steve chuckled and took a small step away from Sasha while he topped up his drink, clearing his throat, "Party's great, so is Peter. Kinda concerned he won't wake up for a week with all the alcohol he's been drinking tonight, I think he thinks those mojitos are virgin."

The three of them looked over to the corner where Peter was stood on a table top firing webs from his wrists at a line of glasses on a sideboard, a group of guests applauding as he did so, colour rushing to his cheeks as he grinned widely, bowing at the sound of applause.

"Jesus Christ," Tony grumbled under his breath, shaking his head.

"Let me go calm him down before he ends up breaking his neck," Steve laughed, "Sasha, we're having at least one tequila before the nights over, swear it?"

"Swear." Sasha smiled with knowing eyes as Steve nodded, grinning back before excusing himself and heading over to help Peter.

Tony let go of Sasha's waist and grabbed a bottle of champagne from one of the ice buckets on the bar, filling up his glass with more bubbles before doing the same to her's.

"What's this, doing shots of tequila with your ex boyfriend now?"

Sasha rolled her eyes and sipped her drink slowly, narrowing her glance at Tony firmly who just stood with a hazy smirk painted on his lips, toying with her.

The couple had been separated for most of the evening, admittedly more people wanting to speak to Sasha than they were Tony, neither of them finding a moment to spend with the other.

They didn't mind, though. Tony enjoyed watching her from across the room like he did on the night of her work Christmas party, admiring how her confidence flowed and smile radiated, happiness rubbing off on everybody else.

Sasha reminded him of a flower in the middle of snow, a stunning obscurity so beautiful people had to stop and take it in. She was rare, captivatingly beautiful alone yet still managing to stand out among the rest in a crowded room.

"Jealous?"

Tony scoffed, "Of course. Look at you."

Sasha just rolled her eyes, relaxing a little as Tony stared at her. He did that often, falling into silence while looking at her. A lot of the time he'd smile, just a small, hint of a grin that forced Sasha to mirror his expression, though other times, he was straight-faced the same way he was that evening.

"Why don't you take a picture? It'll last longer." Sasha raised her eyebrows as she questioned Tony, sarcasm dripping from her tongue.

"Great idea, I'll get the camera out when we head to bed later."

Sasha melted at the sleaze of his words, the same ones that once would've repulsed her now made her knees weak. Tony knew this, too. He'd noticed how she'd always look away from his eyes whenever he dropped a cheap line, knowing that she secretly ate it up despite trying her hardest to act like she hated it.

She'd been slightly on edge all evening, avoiding drinking which only made her feel worse. Once she was back in Tony's company, however, her body felt instantly settled, despite her heart always racing around him.

Sasha knew her limit with alcohol and had worked out how much she could drink without waking up the next day with gaps in her memory. That night, she wasn't even close to that threshold, though a deep-rooted anxiety had held her back from truly enjoying herself.

"You're still stressed out, I can tell."

"What?" Sasha furrowed her brows, looking up at Tony.

He stepped closer to her, raising one brow as he stood a handful of inches above her, "Not drinking much, messing with the stem of your glass, touching your hair all night. I've noticed."

Tony wasn't wrong, which both infuriated Sasha and made her feel incredibly safe all at once. It comforted her to know that somebody knew her inside out, yet also terrified her to feel so exposed.

"Just nervous I guess," Sasha finally answered, letting out a sigh, "It's been a while since I've been around this many people, a-and so much has changed. I don't not knowing what a room's going to be like when I walk into it, what people are going to say, ask me. And yeah, it's been fine, but the uncertainty has still managed to eat me alive all night."

Tony tilted his head, resting a hand on Sasha's waist gently. He recalled a time where he would've had to force the truth out of her, happy that now it rolled off of her tongue freely, a trust between them that had been built up over time.

"Guess what? Me neither. I hate a what if, I hate not being able to have a hand on the wheel at all times, you know?"

Sasha let a hand fall to Tony's chest, her fingers curling around the lapel of his blazer loosely. One thing she loved about Tony was that he always made sure she didn't feel like she was alone in her feelings, like she was truly understood and related to as much as possible. He sympathised and empathised with her in a world where he didn't have much time to do either of those things, making the gestures mean so much more to her.

"I feel like there's a but coming, am I right?"

Tony laughed silently at Sasha, looking down at the way her fingers were curled around his blazer. He'd had womens' hands all over him plenty of times before, but he'd never felt as though he was lucky to be touched by someone, until the hand was Sasha's hand, that was.

He never wanted her to let go, constantly feeling like every glance, every touch, every kiss, was all a gift. Tony couldn't comprehend that someone like himself who'd admittedly done their fair share of bad things in their lifetime could ever deserve such good karma. Sasha was like a gift he'd never known anyone receive before, never believing that a man could fall in love the same way he had.

"But," Tony smirked, pulling her closer by the waist, "What I can promise is that every room you walk into, I'll walk into with you. And yeah, neither of us will know what the people behind the doors might say or how they'll act, but we'll deal with it together."

Sasha could never fathom where Tony pulled his profound words from at times like that, especially after he'd consumed half a bar supply of champagne. He never failed to surprise her, or to make her fall even harder for him.

Neither of Sasha's ex-boyfriends had loved her in even a shadow of the way Tony loved her, showing her how much he adored her in different ways each day. Sasha felt lucky to have Tony, wondering at night as she fell asleep beside him what it was she'd done to deserve the universe dealing her such a perfect hand in Tony Stark.

"So calm your little heart and take a big sip of this," Tony grinned, lifting up her hand that was holding the champagne glass, "Because you're safe with me, always."

Sasha relaxed, finishing off the rest of her champagne in one go before setting the glass down on the bar, drawing in a deep, satisfied breath that made Tony smile proudly.

"Kiss me." He said.

"In front of everyone? I didn't have you down as a public display of affection kind of guy, Tony, especially people from work."

Tony shrugged his shoulders once, putting his glass down beside Sasha's and placing his other hand on the side of her face.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, his expression antagonising her in the best way, "The only person I see is you."

Sasha didn't have chance to reply, her imminent sarcastic comment was cut off by Tony kissing her, both of them feeling the other smile against their lips. Tony's hand squeezed Sasha's waist, making her breathe heavily as she clung onto his blazer.

In that moment, they really were alone. Neither of them were sure how in a world so full of noise, they'd found their silence. Tony didn't care to understand and neither did Sasha, both of them content at finally having a chance at their own version of peace.

As they pulled apart, the reality began to settle in when the pair felt an overbearing amount of eyes fixated on them. Neither of them moved a muscle, however, staying wrapped in a secure moment together.

"Everybody's staring," Sasha whispered, her cheeks red from a combination of the kiss and the influx of unwanted attention.

Tony just smiled, looking down into her eyes and feeling that same invincible feeling she never failed to give him, "Doesn't matter. I'm staring at you."