The night before Tony was due to leave, neither he or Sasha got even a minute of sleep. The two of them lay beneath the covers tangled in one another's embrace, silence holding the room still while their rhythmic breathing with chests rising and falling was the only movement.

Sasha cried quietly and Tony let her, holding her as closely to him as humanly possible, unable to fall asleep. He had said those words now, uttered the phrase he could never take back and would never wish to, though it made the thought of losing something now known to the universe that much more painful.

Despite them both laying awake staring at the blue and black city skyline, the morning dawned far quicker than they thought it would, sunrise blinding them as their stomachs sank and heart rates increased.

Few words were exchanged as Tony got ready that morning, showering quickly and finding Sasha pulling on one of his sweatshirts to wear instead of her own clothes. He smiled as he watched her fix her hair, now noticing the small things like the way she tilted her head when she put her earrings in more so than he ever had done before.

It was perhaps the most unfortunate timing possible for Tony's job to be pulled in the direction it was, stretching apart two people desperately in love with one another at the time they'd realised just how hard they'd fallen.

Tony didn't say goodbye, choosing to say see you later instead. He hated the idea of planting doubt in Sasha's mind that their parting would be for definite, even though he knew she'd spent hours driving herself insane with that exact torturous thought all on her own. Still, he tried his best to reassure her, and letting her know he very much intended on seeing her again was the only way he could do that.

Deciding which kiss would be their last for the time being was the hardest part. Each time Tony pulled his lips away from Sasha's, he felt himself unable to not kiss her again, her watery eyes and soft pout acting as some kind of inhuman magnetism he couldn't overrule, his hands attached to her waist and his eyes fixed on hers, their souls feeling like one instead of two in that moment.

"It's okay," Sasha whispered, brushing her fingertips delicately across his cheeks, her eyes pouring with love so much it made Tony's heart ache, "You can go."

And so, Tony did. He left her with a requited I love you, and a weak smile that even he couldn't bring himself to fake more convincingly. He felt his soul shatter and heart crumble to pieces inside his chest as he walked away from her, though no matter how much he wanted to turn back and look at her just one more time, he knew that if he did, he wouldn't be able to walk away again.

Sasha felt numb for the first few days without Tony. She carried on her life as normal, working late hours at the office and starting earlier in the morning than usual. She'd gotten used to getting a call from Tony at around five PM every day, asking whether she wanted steak or chicken for dinner and what kind of wine she fancied that particular evening.

They'd fallen into a routine, one that Sasha felt comfortable in. She still had her independence and career, but Tony had found a way to fit into her life perfectly, now unable to imagine what things had been like before she fell asleep next to him and woke up to a cup of coffee on the bedside table.

Sasha didn't want to know the details of Tony's job, and she was sure he would've refused to tell her if she'd asked, anyway. Ignorance was bliss, Sasha initially thought, though it turned out that not knowing anything at all was just as horrendous as knowing everything.

She kept herself awake at night wondering where Tony was and what he was doing, praying to any God that listened for him to be alive and safe. What made it worse was that Sasha had no idea just how long he'd be gone for. Each day felt longer than the last and the fact she had no days to cross off on a calendar with a date to look forward to made the entire situation ten times more horrendous.

Her phone rang the first Friday evening since Tony had been gone. It was six o'clock and Sasha was just finishing up at the office, closing the lid of her laptop when she saw an unknown number flash up on the screen of her mobile.

"Coulson."

"H-hey, Miss Coulson. It's Peter, Peter Parker?"

Sasha furrowed her brows and held the phone closer to her ear, wondering how on Earth Peter had got a hold of her number, then remembering that he was slowly but surely turning into a small version of Tony.

"Hey Peter, how are you?"

"I'm good, kinda. I wondered if you wanted to get pizza tonight or something since Tony isn't around? My Aunt is out of town too so I'm alone and I don't really know how to cook, is that bad? Yeah, it probably is, I need to learn."

Sasha found herself laughing quietly for the first time since being alone. The young boy's personality was like a ray of sunshine without him even trying, and although she had only met him a handful of times passing each other in hallways at the Stark Tower, Peter had always managed to put a smile on her face.

"I'd love to, that sounds great, actually. You want to grab a beer first? Or a soda?"

"Really? Awesome, yeah. Text me the address and a time and I'll meet you there."

"Sure thing, see you soon."

"Later, Sasha!"

With the weight of an impending miserable evening alone suddenly lifted from her shoulders, Sasha felt lighter for the first time in a while. She was actually looking forward to spending her night with Peter and took comfort in the fact that she could make sure he was OK while his Aunt was away, knowing just how much Tony worried about Peter's wellbeing.

She text Peter the address to O'Shea's and spent some time tidying her office before heading across the street. It was still light outside, even at seven o'clock, and Sasha found herself staring up at the cloudless sky as she waited to cross the street, unable to stop herself from wondering what Tony was doing at that exact moment.

Peter gave Sasha an excited grin as he saw her approaching him, sliding his phone back into the pocket of his jeans before hugging her tightly.

"Hey," he said with a smile, "This is where you and Mr Stark come, right?"

"Yeah," Sasha replied and the two of them walked inside, heading straight to the bar, "I used to come in here with my brother, too. You're special, you know, I don't bring just anybody with me to O'Shea's."

Peter felt his cheeks go red as they leant on the bar, Sasha waving over a bartender with curly hair and bright eyes.

"Sasha, hey! It's good to see you, who's this?"

"Oh," Sasha froze for a moment before glancing quickly at Peter and looking back at Robbie, "This is Peter, he's an intern at the firm, thought I'd show him the best place to drink in town."

Robbie nodded, un-phased by the blatant lie and the fact that Peter was dressed in jeans and a hoodie when he was supposed to be a law intern.

"Sweet, nice to meet you, man. What're you drinking?"

"I, uh, I'll get a-"

"Beer for me, please, and you should probably get a soda since you're driving home, right?"

Peter gave her a breathless smile, nodding, "Sure, just a soda, please."

Sasha paid for their drinks and had a quick catch up with Robbie before she and Peter took a seat in the usual booth.

"So," Sasha started, glancing around and checking nobody was close enough to catch wind of their conversation, "How's school going?"

Peter shrugged his shoulders and took a sip of his soda, "It's fine, I guess. I barely have time for my homework sometimes, though. Tony calls me and tells me we're going on these crazy trips, I've missed algebra for two weeks in a row now."

Sasha smirked and shook her head with a muted chuckle, "I'd offer to help but I was awful at math. I can teach you to cook, though."

"Really? That'd be super useful for when my Aunt May isn't here, it's getting embarrassing ordering tacos from the same place every night."

"Of course, I'll teach you to cook and then when Tony gets back you can cook dinner for us both, how about that?"

Peter grinned, nodding with enthusiasm, "That sounds great, thanks, Sasha. H-how are you doing, by the way?"

The switch in Peter's tone from light conversation to careful concern played havoc with Sasha's mind and emotions.

"I'm fine, I think. I just worry, you know?"

"Yeah," Peter said quietly, bowing his head for a moment, "I get it. I miss him too, but don't tell him that."

Sasha laughed for a second at the flush of embarrassment on Peter's cheeks, "I won't, but I know for a fact he misses you just as much. He talks about you all the time."

"Really? Because when he's with me, all he talks about is you."

Sasha's heart sank to the bottom of her rib cage. It made her chest tighten knowing that Tony talked about her, her soul feeling a slight bit warmer at the reminder of how much he really did love her, even if he wasn't there to tell her himself.

"Seems like we're the lucky ones, huh? Somehow finding a place in his heart where nobody else has."

Peter smiled, tilting his head slightly. Sasha knew Tony would have told Peter to check up on her while he was gone, but she didn't mind. In fact, Sasha was glad that she had someone with her that was going through the same feelings she was, both of them deeply missing someone they cared about so much.

"Yeah, so many people think he's cold and calculating or whatever, but he's one of the nicest people I've ever met. He does have a heart, you know? It's sad people don't know that, but I feel lucky to be close enough to him to know for myself, y'know what I mean?"

Sasha's lips curved into a sad smile. It warmed her heart to hear somebody talking so highly of Tony, knowing just how much trash tabloids and magazines talked about him.

Peter was right, Sasha felt lucky to be close enough to Tony Stark to know that beneath the genius mind and the expensive suits, there was a man with a heart of gold, one that she prayed was still beating.