"If you don't wanna go, just say the word. I'll tell them I'm sick or something and we can start that TV series you keep talking about."

Two months had passed. Sasha had started a phased return to work, the term work being used loosely. She was commuting to and from the office every day the same way she was before her injuries, only now she was having to re-learn everything she'd forgotten, which was difficult when she didn't know what it was that she'd forgotten.

Thankfully, her boss Ryan and other colleagues were more than helpful, revisiting old cases to help jog her memory and fill in any gaps that became apparent.

Sasha instantly felt better the minute she stepped foot back into the office. She'd driven her car across town to work that first morning and worn her favourite suit, her hair and makeup just as flawless as it always had been, though a nervous smile was painted on her lips where usually, a coffee cup would hide her expression.

Having a purpose and a passion was what fuelled Sasha. She felt like she was wasting away being sat at home while she recovered, and although she loved spending all the time in the world with Tony, she missed her job.

Tony couldn't remember seeing Sasha in a better mood than the one she was in the night she returned home from her first day back at work. He'd been busy himself that day, but had finished up early to make sure he had dinner on the table ready for her when she walked through the door, as well as a fresh bunch of roses sitting in a vase.

She spoke without barely pausing to breathe for thirty minutes, telling him every small detail about her day while grinning ear to ear, her eyes and cheeks glowing with clear passion as she talked. Tony found himself hearing white noise as he listened to her, captivated by how animated she became talking about what she loved.

Since then, they'd fallen into a routine of Sasha's hours growing slowly by the day and Tony being the one to cook dinner while she made her way home. He didn't mind, finding providing for Sasha fulfilling, enjoying seeing the way she would drop her bag and shoes by the door and immediately kiss him as soon as she walked in every day.

She still had moments of hardship, times when she'd cry with frustration over not being able to recall memories and moments other people talked and laughed about, though Tony was always by her side to calm her down.

He still felt guilty, though helping piece her memories back together had slowly began to chip away at the guilt consuming his heart, allowing them both to move on, together.

"No I want to go, honestly. I'm just not a huge fan of this dress."

Sasha pulled a face as she looked at her reflection in the full length mirror in her dressing room. She was wearing a backless black dress with crystal piping and a rhinestone collar, a large diamond pendant hanging from her neck with matching earrings and a white faced Rolex.

"Which dress did you go for?" Tony called out, walking from the bedroom into the dressing room, "I like it, beautiful. Like a jazzy funeral outfit."

Sasha spun round on her heels with a disapproving look on her face, glaring at Tony who was buttoning up his dress shirt in the doorway. He was laughing to himself with a smug smile as he approached her, tucking the shirt into his trousers before giving Sasha a kiss on the forehead.

"I'm kidding," he said, "The dress is beautiful, you are beautiful."

Sasha just rolled her eyes, blushing ever so slightly as she pulled out the curlers she'd left in her hair and ran a comb through them, spritzing some hair spray across her dark waves.

That night, The Avengers were having a get together to celebrate Peter officially joining the team. There had been no other threats to Earth since that day on the bridge, and according to Tony, things were all well and good in their galaxy for the time being. Sasha wasn't sure if she believed him, but she chose to anyway, enjoying the idea of not having to let him go again anytime soon.

"Thank you," Sasha gave him a smile, "Shouldn't you get going? They might think something if we turn up together at your place."

Tony paused, pursing his lips for a long moment, long enough to make Sasha notice and raise an eyebrow.

"What?" She said.

"About that," Tony drew in a breath through gritted teeth, "The team, they uh, they know. All of 'em. They've known since I got back."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

Sasha's face dropped as Tony stood frozen to the spot, tensing awkwardly with his eyes barely open as he prepared for a fierce wrath for not telling her sooner.

Silence was the response he was met with and as he slowly opened his eyes back up, Sasha was stood with her arms folded at her chest, head tilted and eyes lazily staring, still unimpressed.

"And you didn't think to let me know?"

Tony let out a deep breath and walked over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders and tracing up and down her arms, looking at her with wide eyes that he knew always made her weak at the knees.

"I know, I should've told you sooner. I'm sorry, honey. At least we can disappear to have sex now without anyone starting any rumours, right?"

"Tony!"

Sasha just pushed Tony off her with a bewildered laugh, grabbing her heels and fastening them around her ankles. He just chuckled and disappeared back into the bedroom to continue getting ready.

Forty minutes later and Tony parked his car in the garage underneath the Stark Tower, rushing around to the other side to help Sasha out, closing the door behind her.

He was wearing black jeans with a white shirt and navy blazer, opting to keep the top couple of buttons open instead of wearing a tie, taking Sasha's advice. His shoes were freshly polished suit shoes and his watch was a slightly larger faced version of Sasha's, a thick ring on his little finger and an expensive tennis bracelet on his wrist, brushing against matching cuff links.

Sasha linked her arm through Tony's as they walked through the garage, feeling somewhat more nervous knowing that everybody now knew she and Tony were together compared to earlier when she was under the impression everything was still a safe little secret.

"You alright?" Tony said, holding open the door for her.

"Yeah, I think so," Sasha breathed, instantly grabbing hold of Tony's arm again as they headed towards the elevator.

She had been quiet the entire car ride to the party and Tony had noticed, knowing that there was something rattling her subconscious. He hated when Sasha was withdrawn because of an anxious thought, being able to now tell the difference between a comfortable and uncomfortable silence.

"Hey, hey stop for a sec."

Tony pulled Sasha back by her hand as they walked towards the lounge where the party had already started. Loud music could be heard coming from down the corridor as well as a mirage of familiar voices, everything only making Sasha grow increasingly anxious at what questions might be posed towards her, what people might think or say.

She turned to look at Tony, taking a few small steps back towards him as he tugged on her hand, holding her by the waist when she was finally as close as he wanted.

"Talk to me, what's wrong."

Sasha swallowed. She loved how Tony could see straight through her, the notion forcing her to get everything off her chest since she knew he wouldn't give in until there was a smile on her face that reached her eyes.

"I'm just nervous. What if people think differently of me, o-or, what if they say-"

"Let me stop you there," Tony interjected, raising his brows as he looked at her, their faces just inches apart, "Nobody is going to think any different of you. Everyone in that room loves you, Sash, they think the world of you. And if I'm going to be honest with you, most of them had a hunch way before we even got together, so it's nothing new to them, understand?"

"Oh my God," Sasha groaned, throwing her head back in frustration for a moment, "That's so embarrassing, do you know how embarrassing that is? For all those people to have known I had a crush on you this entire time?"

Tony's comforting expression fell into a cocky smirk, his eyes narrowing slightly as his lips pulled to the side, "You had a crush on me this whole time?"

Sasha just rolled her eyes again, "Oh please, you would've slept with me in the backseat of my car the day we met if I'd given you the chance."

"Damn right I would've, can we arrange that?"

"Shut up, Tony."

Sasha shook her head as she tried to conceal a laugh, taking hold of Tony's hand and lacing their fingers together, taking a step down the corridor.

"Ah, come back here," he said, pulling on her hand again.

As Sasha spun round, her dark hair flew over her shoulder as to perfectly frame her face. Her eyes were dark, lined with black like they always were when they went out, only this time her lips were a pale nude instead of red, a welcomed change that Tony enjoyed looking at.

She looked beautiful holding onto his hand the way she did, looking back at him with a playful smile on her face an lively colour in her cheeks, the vision before him being the one he'd imagined coming back to while he was away, the thing that had kept him going at his most difficult moments.

Tony pulled her back closer to him and in one swift motion, dug his fingers into the curls of her hair as he kissed her passionately, her lips tasting like sweet vanilla and her perfume smelling like sugared whiskey, everything about her made breaking the kiss feel like climbing a mountain.

Sasha smiled into the kiss, her other hand clinging onto the lapel of his blazer as he mumbled something against her lips.

"What was that?" Sasha whispered breathlessly as they pulled apart, finally walking down the corridor together, still hand in hand.

Tony just cleared his throat, wiping his lips clean of lipstick with the back of his hand, "I said I can't wait to get you out of that dress later on tonight. After you, princess."

Sasha bit down her bottom lip as Tony held open the door for her, the impending pressure of the party disappeared as she walked into the room, feeling Tony's eyes so painfully obviously crawl across her entire body in front of everyone, an outburst of cheers and welcomes coming from the guests that had already arrived.

"It's alright everybody," Tony shouted, placing a hand on the small of Sasha's back as everybody paused their conversations to look at the late arrivals, "Mom and Dad are here now."

an;
I really hope you're still liking this story, I'd love to know your thoughts if anybody has any comments!!

ALSO I said it this morning on my profile but thank you SO much for 50K!!! My mind is constantly blown that so many people enjoy reading this story as much as I do writing it, so grateful to every single one of you, thank you all so much !!