Word count : 2654
Warnings : angst, language, Bitch!Pepper, fluff.

Requested by : Khushi-Stark I changed the plot just a little bit. Hope you don't mind. Also, I tried not to focus as much on details, so the imagine would be shorter and hopefully not boring, but let me know what you think.

Summary : Y/N and Tony like each other, but none dares to confess. When they finally decide to do that, however, Pepper makes sure to destroy their plans.

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Being a hero was definitely a difficult task, especially since nobody never knew for sure whether they were going to come back home safe and sound or not at all.

However, teamwork has always proved to be the best choice. Why was that? The answer was very simple... By being a part of a team, people had no other choice but to help and communicate with each other, which meant that they had to become friends at some point.

What neither Y/N nor Tony expected, on the other hand, was to fall in love with one of their teammates. Yep, you've read that well. Y/N, a girl that used to murder people, was in love with Tony, a genius whose parents have been killed by her and Bucky. As messed up as that sounded, it was true. How did that happen though? Let's start with the beginning...

Y/N was Bucky's best friend. Just like him, she's been captured by HYDRA and brainwashed, then forced to kill whoever she was ordered to.

Steve thought they were both dead, so when he found them, he didn't know what to believe. Of course, they explained everything and helped him understand the situation, and the soldier ended up feeling almost as happy as he would feel if he had met Peggy once again.

The bad news, however, were that Y/N and Bucky were the ones who murdered Tony's parents. When Tony found out about that, his first instinct was to get revange and kill them both right away, even Steve, who was trying to stop him.

As expected, he lost the battle and decided to never talk to Steve ever again, but after moths and months of thinking, not only did they end up becoming friends again, but he also gave those two a chance.

Funny how his hatred for Y/N turned into something very beautiful sooner than anyone would have thought... The more he got to know her, the more he started to care about her, to like being around her, talking to her, seeing her.

She looked so beautiful to him and her personality was just as astonishing. If he hadn't known better, he never would have thought that she could ever kill or even hurt anyone, let alone someone's parents, but again, she wasn't in her right mind at that time.

In vain had he tried lying and denying that he liked her. He was clearly not fooling anyone, not even himself. However, for once in his entire life, Antony Edward Stark was scared to make a move. Why? Because he didn't know if she liked him back and didn't want to push her away either. He once attempted to give her a hint, but she either refused to acknowledge it or simply decided to ignore it, which only discouraged him even more.

Little did he know that the girl felt the same. She would always visit him in the workshop and watch him working or bring him food whenever he refused to leave the lab. Just seeing him was enough to make her day and feel at peace. Not to mention how worried she would get during every single mission. She knew he was Ironman, but he was probably the most vulnerable Avenger, especially without the suit, so she always felt the need to look out for him and protect him at all costs.

It was obvious that they were in love with each other, everyone knew that, but both of them were scared to admit their true feelings in order not to scare the other one away.

Pepper, Tony's assistant, was aware of that too. Unlike anyone else though, she didn't like the thought of Y/N and Tony ever being together. She's been working for Tony for years and right when she thought something was about to happen between them, Y/N decided to come into their lives and destroy everything.

The blonde wasn't going to allow that. She didn't know what she had to do, but what she knew for sure was that, no matter the consequences, she was going to put an end to whatever was happening between them.

~Time skip~

It was 28th of December and Tony was pacing back and forth in the living room, too lost into his own thoughts to notice Rhodey entering the room.

Rhodey frowned as soon as he saw his friend, his feet leading him closer to the billionaire, so that he could somehow catch his attention, which fortunately worked.

"Oh, hey Rhodes." Tony stopped pacing, turning to face the cop as he smiled tightly.

"Tony, man, are you ok? You look like you're about to have a panick attack."

The engineer sighed, sitting on the sofa and motioning for his friend to take a seat next to him. "I just... I'm scared as fuck."

"Uh, yeah, I can see that." Rhodey nodded, placing his hand on the billionaire's shoulder. "What happened?"

"The right question is : what is about to happen?" he corrected, rubbing his hands over his face in frustration. "Look I... I think you've already noticed that I uhm... IkindalikeY/N."

"Everyone did, dude." his friend agreed, visibly amused. "What about that?"

"I was planning to... finally confess to her since the New Year is coming. I was thinking about surprising her at first and then kissing her as to prove my point at midnight, but as you can see, I'm nervous as fuck." he sighed once again. "What if I'm gonna screw everything up?"

"Tones, first of all, you need to calm down, otherwise things won't get any easier for you. Secondly, we both know how Y/N is. She wouldn't judge you, no matter if she feels the same or not. Just trust your instincts and everything is gonna be ok. Trust me."

Tony nodded, listening to his friend carefully. What nobody knew though, was that Pepper heard everything too. Her fist were clenched in anger and her eyes were narrowed, dangerously staring at the two men as they kept talking to each other. No, she wasn't going to let that happen.

"You're probably, right." Tony agreed. "Thanks, Rhodes. I don't know what I'd do without you. I can't wait to see her reaction." he smiled.

"Hmm... Not on my watch, babe." the blonde muttered to herself, smirking devilishly. "Not on my watch."

~A few days later~

It was finally the New Year's eve. Y/N was in her room, dressing herself up for the occasion, her mind drifting to Tony as she did so.

Today was the day. After a long discussion with Natasha, she finally decided that tonight she was going to finally confess her feelings to the billionaire. She was still scared, of course, because it was either going to be the best day of her life or one of the worst instead, but she was going to take the risk nonetheless.

"Miss Y/N." a robotic voice said out of nowhere, startling her as she finished applying her makeup. "Mister Stark is waiting for you on the rooftop."

"W-why? Did something happen?" the girl frowned, assuming the worst.

"Not really, miss. Is nothing to worry about."

"O-kay..." she agreed, still a little bit unsure. "Let's go."

~Meanwhile~

Tony was standing on the rooftop, watching over the city and trying to control his emotions. It was 11:30PM meaning that in the next 30 minutes he was either going to cry out of happiness or out of sadness instead.

Hearing someone behind him, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

'This is it.' he thought. 'Man up and get this over with.'

"Hey, Y/N." he turned around slowly. "I-" he stopped, his eyes widening. "Pep? What... What are you doing here?"

Instead of replying, the blonde approached him with long, quick steps, wrapping her arms around his neck and forcing her lips onto his. Tony gasped into her mouth, trying to push her off him, but her grip was too strong.

"Tony, I heard you-"

As soon as he heard the familiar voice, the genius pushed Pepper off forcefully, before turning to face a shocked, teary eyed Y/N.

"- were looking for me..." she finished quietly, feeling her own heart shattering into pieces. Laughing through the tears, she shook her head, taking a step back. "Is this... Is this why you wanted me here?"

"No, I-"

"Yes." Pepper cut him off. "Tony and I are together so-"

"That's not fucking true!" the engineer snapped. "What the fuck is wrong with you, Pepper?"

"You know what? I... I'm done with you. Both of you. Never talk to me again."

With that, Y/N ran away, leaving Tony and Pepper alone.

"We're not done yet. We'll discuss about what you just did later." Tony threw her a death glare before following Y/N.

The girl went into her bedroom, closing the door shut behind and throwing herself on the bed. Her body shook with sobs, the pain in her chest increasing with each passing second. How could he do this to her? Why did he have to break her heart like that?

The door snapped open all of a sudden and Tony entered her room in a heartbeat. Seeing that, she cursed under her breath for being so stupid and forget to lock it.

"Fuck off." she cried. "I don't wanna see you. I fucking hate you!"

Without saying a word, Tony joined her in bed and pulled her close to his chest, holding her tightly. Y/N struggled to push him away, hitting his chest and making him grunt in pain, but he didn't let go nonetheless.

Giving up, she stopped fighting and cried on his chest, her tears and makeup destroying his shirt, but nobody gave a shit about it. All Tony wanted was to explain everything and make her smile instead. He couldn't handle seeing her in that state, especially when he knew it was partially his fault.

"Honey, look at me." his voice wavered slightly as he cupped her face. "I need you to listen to me. Please... What you saw a few seconds ago was not true. You were the only person I wanted to kiss tonight."

"Then why were you kissing her instead?" she sniffed.

"She just came out of nowhere and kissed me. I tried to push her away, but she wouldn't let me. Then you came there and... You know the rest. I swear I don't like her at all. Please, trust me. I'd never do that to you."

Y/N shook her head, pushing his hands off. "Look, Stark, if this is just one of your jokes, I-"

"It's not." he cut her off desperately. "I swear to God, I- Look."

The girl watched as he searched for something into his pocket, before taking out a little box. Kissing her forehead, he placed the box into her hand, his eyes never leaving hers.

"This is not how things were supposed to turn out tonight, but... The reason I wanted to talk to you was because I couldn't deny it anymore." he started. "Y/N, sweetheart, I know we didn't have a great start... And I'm sorry for that. I know you must have felt guilty and I made things even more difficult for you... But ever since you came into my life and I got to know the real you, everything changed for the better. You're one of the most genuine people I've ever met. I know I never got to say this, but just having you around is enough to make me happy. I had to try my best not to pull you into my arms whenever you came into my workshop to watch me and make sure I was ok... Or whenever you smiled and laughed at my silly jokes. I swear I'd give everything to see that smile every day."

Y/N was listening to him intently, her heart warming up slowly. His voice and facial expression were so soft, his eyes boring into hers. She didn't even know when she stopped crying. All she knew was that Tony was there. He was holding her and making her feel better.

Tony cupped her face once again, watching as the corners of her mouth twitched upwards slowly. "I'm not the best at doing this, but... I love you, Y/N."

There. He finally said it. "I have for a long time, but I was afraid to admit that, cause I didn't know if you could ever feel the same. Tonight I wanted to confess to you, but... I ended up destroying everything. I'm so sorry for making you suf-"

The genius stopped rambling as soon as he felt a pair of warm, soft lips pressing over his. Closing his eyes, he pulled Y/N closer to him, kissing her back as if he's been waiting to do that for months. Which was true.

Their lips molded perfectly, moving in sync against each other. With each passing second, the kiss grew needier and needier, Tony and Y/N holding onto each other as if their lives depended on it.

Running out of breath, they pulled back hesitantly, both of them grinning from ear the ear.

The girl glanced at the box in her hand, then back at Tony. "Come on." he encouraged. "Open it."

The moment she did that, her eyes widened at the sight. "Is... Is that a-"

"A ring, yes. A promise ring to be more exact." the genius explained, taking it out of the box. "Y/N Y/L/N... Will you be my girlfriend?"

"God, yes!" the girl exclaimed almost immediately, watching as Tony placed the ring on her finger. Smiling, she jumped into his arms and pecked his lips multiple times, making him giggle and tighten his grip. "Just in case it wasn't obvious though..." she pulled back. "I love you too."

Tony smiled brightly, feeling happier than ever. The sound of the fireworks caught their attention, meaning that it was finally midnight.

"Come on. Let's go see them." he took her hand, leading her out of the room. The girl followed him happily, her smile fading as soon as she saw Pepper however.

The blonde gaped at them, feeling her blood boiling with anger. "Seriously, Tony?" she snapped. "Her? You must be kidding me."

The genius gritted his teeth, getting ready to approach her, but Y/N stopped him, sending him a small smile.

"Why is she better than me, huh?" Pepper continued. "She's fucking worthless. Let me remind you that she is the one who killed your parents!" she exclaimed bitterly. "You deserve so much better, Tony." she took a step closer, pressing her hands flat on Tony's chest. "Just give me a chance to show you how happy I can make you feel."

Before he could push her off, Y/N stepped in front of them and slapped Pepper hard across the face, making her stumble and fall on her butt.

"Sorry, honey, but I'm pretty sure Tony is not looking for whores." the girl smirked, looking down at her amused, before throwing her a death glare. "Touch my man once again and I'll make sure you won't be leaving this house in one piece."

Huffing, Pepper got up and ran away, muttering curses under her breath. Tony laughed, wrapping his arms around Y/N's waist.

"Wow... That was hot as fuck." he bit his lip, pulling her closer. "You never stop to surprise me."

"She deserved it." you grinned, shrugging in defence. "She has no right to touch you."

"Damn, I love you."

With that, he kissed her again, putting all his love into the kiss. Y/N smiled against his lips, before pulling away.

"Happy New Year, Tones."

The engineer smiled, kissing her cheek. "Happy New Year, princess. I love you 3000!"

The end.