"Sir, you have a visitor."

Tony had his focus fixed on a hologram of a new suit, twisting and turning around his new design while he meticulously picked apart and critiqued his own work. His eyes were narrowed and his breathing steady, locked into the process without sparing a second thought to the outside world.

"I'm not home, J."

"I'm afraid it's too late for that, Sir."

The sound of high heels clicking against the concrete floor made Tony's ears prick up like a cat, his interest in redesigning a new suit suddenly plummeting to below zero.

The echo grew louder and soon enough he heard the sound of the glass door to his workshop opening and closing, spinning around on his desk chair to see Estélla.

She wandered in with her arms crossed and her eyes wide, staring at her surroundings with an impressed look on her face.

"Not home, huh?" She said with a smirk.

It had been a week since she and Tony had caused a stir when he'd dropped her off at her dinner event in the city and since then, Esté had been constantly putting out PR fires every time she left the house. She denied the rumours at interviews and in meetings, dismissed the topic when her makeup artist brought it up and quickly changed the subject when her friends asked about it too.

Between her and Tony, though, things were just as sweet as ever.

"I didn't expect it to be you," Tony said with an apologetic smile as he walked over to her, "And not that I'm not glad to see you, but...why are you here?"

Tony hadn't expected to see Esté that day, his ask to go out for dinner that night being shot down when she told him a few days ago that she was booked and busy the entire weekend.

He knew just how busy her schedule was and didn't hold it against her, knowing that they'd always find time at least a couple of nights a week to cook together and share a bottle of wine if nothing else.

"I got done at my Prada shoot early and it wasn't far away so I thought I'd drop in. Sorry if I interrupted your work."

He shook his head as he approached her, smiling as he placed a hand on the side of her face and kissed her lips. He felt her smile against him, letting out a little sigh of happiness that he'd notice her always do whenever he kissed her.

"Not at all," he said once they pulled apart, taking a second to glance at her body, "You look pretty, whatcha got planned?"

She blushed, always feeling shy under his intense stare and at his affectionate words. Esté was used to the world calling her beautiful but it meant more coming from Tony. In fact, everything meant more coming from him.

"They let me keep the dress from the shoot, isn't that nice of them?" She said, twirling around on her high heels and making the hem of her grey mini slip dress spin around her thighs, "Dinner and drinks with the girls."

"So that's who you're blowing me off for, is it? The girls? I see how it is."

Tony kissed his teeth and shook his head playfully, perching on the edge of a workbench with his arms crossed and head tilted.

Esté just rolled her eyes, "I'll make it up to you."

"Yeah?" Tony said, cocking a brow and grabbing her by the hand, pulling her against him before resting his fingertips on her hips, "Right here, right now?"

Esté looked down at Tony with narrowed eyes, her hands falling to his shoulders as he squeezed her hips before dropping his hands to her ass, a smirk spreading across his face that matched the glint in his eyes.

"I'm not hooking up with you for the first time in your workshop, Tony."

He let out a laugh, "Alright, not the first time, but how about the second? I'll even settle for third."

Esté couldn't hold back her giggle at his charm, feeling her heart skip a beat and her face burn hot with embarrassment. She felt vulnerable when he looked at her and although it almost made her feel weightless, she was still inherently shy at her very core, even in front of the person that perhaps knew her the most.

She kissed him then, escaping his teasing words with a silencing kiss that he was more than happy to receive. Esté liked the way Tony kissed her and she liked the reasons why. Her relationship with Giovanni was running dry towards its end, the only time she recalled kissing her boyfriend was before they parted ways every morning or when they would sleep together. Esté couldn't remember Gio kissing her when she was in the middle of talking or losing his words because of how beautiful he thought she was, never not knowing what else to do apart from kiss her.

But Tony, he did. He wasn't sure he'd ever wanted to kiss a girl because he felt like he couldn't breathe if he didn't. He'd never dreamt about a girl's lips or the way she tasted, how her hands touched him or how sweet her voice sounded saying his name. Tony kissed women to get them into bed, and that had been as far as his intentions went. Only with Estélla, his intentions were limitless, endless and he hoped, infinite, not knowing what he'd do if he couldn't kiss the girl again.

They pulled apart and Esté glanced down at the silver watch on her wrist, stacked prettily beside a Cartier band and a Van Cleef bracelet.

"I have to run," she said, rubbing a smudge of oil from his forehead with her fingertips, "What're you doing tomorrow?"

Tony smiled at the innocent action, heart-warmed by her thoughtfulness even though he was sure she hadn't thought twice about something as simple as cleaning his face. Still, he noticed it.

Her question sparked memories of different girls he'd spent the night with asking him the same thing, to which he always told them he was busy the following day, and any day they would suggest after that until they gave up. When Estélla asked, however, Tony's answer couldn't have been any different.

"Whatever you want me to do," he said, eyes flickering between her sapphires and her lips.

She grinned and bit down on her bottom lip, letting go of his shoulders and taking a step backward, only for him to grab hold of her hand and keep them tethered together.

"Okay," she said sweetly, looking along her arm and across her fingertips to where Tony's hand met her own, "I'll let you know."

He stood up and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a tight embrace that lifted her off the ground ever so slightly before he placed her back down, her arms around his neck and his on her waist. Tony kissed her once more, just a peck, though one that he'd never get tired of giving her.

"Have fun tonight," he said, brushing hair from her face and kissing her cheek, "You look gorgeous."

She thanked him and walked over to the door, turning to look back at him when her hand was pressed against the glass and he was in exactly the same spot, simply watching her.

"Don't worry," she called out, "If I see anyone on my way out, I'll tell them you're not home."

He grinned and winked at her, nodding once, "Atta girl."

Esté spent the first half of her evening in an upmarket tapas restaurant in SoHo with Katy and Alicia. They'd seen one another sporadically but that night was the first time in two weeks that they'd been all together as a trio, and so they spent three hours at their dinner table catching each other up on what had been going on in their lives.

They shared two bottles of white wine between them before finishing off their meal with a round of tequilas. The restaurant was packed but Esté's security guard kept a watchful eye on the girls while they enjoyed their meal, making sure they could have a normal night out without being drowned by the public.

Once dinner was over, the girls were escorted a few blocks away to a rooftop bar for more cocktails, heading out onto the terrace to soak up some of the warmth that was still in the summer air after the sun had set.

The bar was known across the city was one of the most exclusive joints and so the clientele were a little less bothered by the three supermodels laughing loudly in the corner, only having two people with the nerve to approach them in the first half an hour.

As the night drew on, the bar became busier and a DJ lifted the atmosphere with good music that got people out of their seats and congregated on an intimate dance floor overlooking the city. Esté rarely had any rhythm but she perhaps had even less after consuming enough wine to sink a boat, though that didn't stop confident men from trying their luck with her.

"I didn't know it was possible to dance so well in heels that high."

A deep voice caught Esté's attention, turning her away from Alicia and Katy whose eyes were wide with excitement at the latest prospect to shoot his shot with their friend.

She met the gaze of a six-foot-five man with tanned skin and a buzz cut, sunken cheekbones and pale green eyes. He was wearing jeans and an expensive blue shirt that he'd left unbuttoned at the top, a diamond tennis bracelet on his wrist and an aftershave Esté easily recognised as Hugo Boss.

"Y-you think I'm a good dancer? Are you blind?"

The gentleman laughed and shrugged, "Maybe. Or maybe I just wanted an excuse to start talking to you. I'm Pierce."

He held out his hand and Esté shook it with a tipsy smile. He was handsome, incredibly handsome in fact, and she could feel the prying eyes of her friends staring into her back while she talked to the stranger.

"Estélla."

"I know who you are, and it's a pleasure," he smiled warmly, "Can I buy you a drink?"

Esté sighed quietly, a polite grin still painted on her lips as she gave her head a small shake, "I'm good, actually, I just got one. But thank you, though. It was nice to meet you."

Pierce immediately understood the kind rejection and accepted it with a humble nod, his smile defeating a little though he requited the comment and told Esté it was nice to meet her too, before walking back over to his friends who greeted him with laughs and pats on the back.

"What are you doing? He was totally hot!" Katy said, grabbing Esté by the arm and pulling her over to a table away from the dance floor.

"Yeah, and he's not some famous douchebag like you usually go for. No offence."

Esté gave Alicia an unimpressed stare, shrugging her shoulders as they sat down around the table together with their drinks.

"I told you guys, I'm just not interested in dating right now."

The silence Estélla was met with was deafening, her two best friends giving her knowing looks to let her know that they didn't believe her excuse for even a second, prompting her to groan and roll her eyes.

"Alright. I have something to tell you both, but you have to swear to God to keep this strictly between us, got it? This goes nowhere."

Alicia and Katy looked at each other with a smirk before turning their heads back to face Esté, both speaking at the same time, "You're dating Tony."

Estélla's jaw dropped and her eyes widened, lips meeting and parting as words struggling on the tip of her tongue though ultimately, she was left speechless.

"W-what? How did you...what?"

Their conversation was paused when a waiter came over and placed down three more shots of tequila, insisting that they were on the house.

"Oh come on," Alicia tilted her head with a patronising tone, "It was obvious. He'd do anything for you without you having to ask. He's obsessed, Esté, and I think you are too."

"She's right, you totally are," Katy nodded in agreement, "You weren't like this with Gio, you actually seem happy around Tony, it's like you gravitate towards each other."

"Hold on," Esté held up a finger and laughed, "I didn't even say if you were right or not."

"You didn't have to, sweetie."

Esté broke out into a smile and let out a sigh of relief. She hadn't necessarily wanted to tell her friends about the fact that she was dating Tony, but she trusted them and in the moment, felt excited to share the news.

Having other people know about her new relationship made it suddenly seem all the more real. Esté and Tony had wrapped themselves in a bubble for the past handful of weeks while they got used to the change in their dynamic, though keeping things friendly in public toned down the intensity more than a natural progression would've shown.

Neither of them minded, wanting to do everything they could to protect their privacy at that stage, but as Esté sat and talked about Tony as her Tony for the first time, the idea of everyone knowing about them didn't seem as daunting as it once had.

"Don't worry, we won't tell anyone. Besides, Alicia still has her own secret relationship to keep out of the public eye." Katy said.

"Welcome to the club," Alicia grinned and picked up her shot of tequila, "To hot superheroes."

Esté and Katy raised their glasses too, clinking them together with drunken laughs.

"To hot superheroes."