Esté was stressed. In fact, even stressed might've been an understatement for the sheer amount of panic that was running through her veins in that moment.

She was pacing back and forth in the hallway of her home, dressed to the nines in a black velvet ball gown with gloves covering her forearms and decorated in frosted diamonds across her skin. Her heels were high, though covered beneath the train of the beautiful dress, and her hair was blown out in her classic Hollywood curls, a muted red lip complimenting the look of her dark-lined eyes.

She fanned herself with some unopened post that she'd left on the sideboard, trying to not sweat of her makeup and keep her cool, which was proving incredibly difficult as every call she made was met with an answering machine.

An incoming call from Tony Stark caused her to sigh heavily, though she answered it anyway.

"Tony I'm sorry, this really isn't a good time and I-"

"Woah, slow down. What's going on?"

It had been two weeks since their first date on the Hudson River, and while their schedules had kept them busy, the pair had made time to see each other on a handful of occasions over those fourteen days.

They'd kept their budding relationship under wraps from the rest of the world and they liked it that way, enjoying the intimacy of private moments in their homes and knowing that what they shared, was shared between them and them alone.

They hadn't slept together by then, though that wasn't for lack of Tony trying, nor was it for lack of Esté wanting to. The simple fact of the matter was, they were too busy. Esté either had an early wake up call for a shoot after an at-home date night or Tony was due to fly halfway across the world to do whatever his superhero fight thing consisted of.

That, and Esté liked seeing the way his eyes would smirk with submission whenever she told him goodnight after he'd spent an hour trying to drag her upstairs, enjoying the kick she got out of forcing him to be patient.

And patient he was. Tony didn't care about sex so long as he got to spend time with Esté, which from as young as he could remember was all he'd ever actually wanted. Still, it really felt like nothing had changed between them. They still teased each other and kept their childish spirits alive, only to find a stolen moment to share a kiss amidst what was an otherwise perfect friendship, reminding them both what they were holding in their hands.

Considering he'd never dated before and was sworn off the idea completely until he kissed his best friend, it came as a pleasant surprise to him to enjoy being a one-woman man. He'd attended events over those two weeks and not felt like he'd lost anything when he didn't leave with a pretty girl on his arm or wake up in between two different women. Instead, he woke up alone with a heart that was beating with anticipation at the thought of being able to see Esté, being able to kiss Esté, being able to hear her voice say his name.

The lifestyle change had hit him suddenly and all at once, though it didn't knock him off his feet the way he thought it might. No, Tony found himself with his feet planted firmly on the ground, held there by Estélla and only Estélla.

"My car was suppose to be here twenty minutes ago and I can't get hold of anybody, I'm going to be late for the event and I was already running behind because my hair and makeup team took so long. This is a nightmare, look, I'll have to call you back later, I'm sorry."

"Hey, no don't hang up," Tony said quickly, "I'll drive you there myself. I can be at your place in ten minutes. You're heading to The Plaza, right?"

"Really?" Esté breathed a sigh of relief, and almost disbelief, too, "Y-yeah, The Plaza. Are you sure?"

She listened to a muffle of sounds down the line before hearing a car door slam close and the growl of an engine, "Leaving right now. Don't panic, sweetheart, I'll get you there on time."

Estélla wasn't sure how he managed it since New York City was almost always gridlocked with traffic, but she heard the engine of Tony's car from outside when he was halfway down the street, rushing to check her makeup and hair in the mirror before grabbing her purse and walking outside.

Tony jumped out of the car with the engine still running and walked around to the passenger side, opening the door before turning around to look at Estélla.

She turned on her heels once her front door was locked and Tony physically felt the air being pulled from his lungs when he looked at her. He froze, staring up the stairs outside her home with lips parted in shock, a hand rising to his chest, placed over his heart as his eyes lit up.

"You look beautiful," he said, shaking his head with a gasp as he held out his hand to help her down the stairs, "Really, truly."

Esté blushed as he helped lift her dress off the floor as she sunk down into his car, thanking him with a timid smile and red cheeks. She watched through the window as he walked around the front of the car and pulled his sunglasses over his eyes, running a hand through his hair before jumping in beside her.

"Thank you," she said quietly, "And thank you for helping me out, too."

"You don't have to thank me," he laughed and began to drive, turning his head every so often to glance at her, "What's the occasion, any how?"

"It's some kind of dinner, a social event type thing for all the Angels. I'm walking the VS show in November and since it's the first one in a few years and there's plenty of new faces, they want all the girls to get to know each other."

"You're walking in the Victoria's Secret show? That one where the girls all wear those huge wings?" Tony asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah," she just nodded, "First time."

He smiled at her, eyes racing across her face briefly before he turned back to the road, resting his arm on the door with his other hand on the top of the wheel, "You just keep getting better and better."

Thanks to Tony running a few red lights that he absolutely shouldn't have, Esté arrived at her event right on time. Tony's car crawled down a busy street with models stepping out of cars from every direction, but it didn't take long for the cameras to turn their attention to the orange Audi R8 that didn't quite fit in.

"God, this is going to cause such a circus," Esté muttered, sighing and shielding her face from the flash.

Tony parked the car and turned to look at her, a brow raised and smirk on his lips, "Did you want to get here on time or not?"

She tilted her head with a glare, "Please just don't say or...do anything, alright? Let me handle this."

"Yes m'aam." He saluted, "Can I at least help you out of the car?"

She nodded and Tony opened the door to a deafening sound of paparazzi's voices and cameras, a red carpet a few feet away from him adorned with models and photographers with a handful of selected interviewees getting their exclusives.

Esté steadied herself with a deep breath, knowing that she was about to be hounded by questions that she never in a million years thought she'd have to answer.

Tony opened the door for her and the sound hit like a wave, though it wasn't anything she wasn't used to. She looked up at him and his dark eyes met her with a nod and a smile, taking his hand as she lifted up her dress and stepped out.

"Guessing you don't want me to come pick you up later?" He said quietly, sarcasm in his words and his eyes.

"No, I don't," she matched his playful tone, "But I'll call you when I'm home."

Tony was no stranger to the cameras but it was the first time in his life he felt watched. He had Este's fingers wrapped daintily around his palm and could feel his heart willing him to pull her closer to him and kiss her in front of everybody, only to swallow the urge that felt like shattered glass to his soul.

He told her all he could through his eyes instead, giving her hand a gentle and discreet squeeze before she let go, "Thanks for the ride."

"Anytime, princess." He said, smirking before getting back into the car and keeping his head down as he drove away.

Once he was back at the Stark Tower, Tony grabbed himself a beer with the intention of letting time pass by spending the night in his workshop before Esté hopefully called him, only the sound of the TV blaring out from his living room pulled him off track.

He wandered down the hall and paused when he saw Steve and Katy sat together on the couch, brow raised as he leant against the doorframe and took a swig of his beer, neither of them acknowledging his presence before he cleared his throat.

"Tony, hey," Katy grinned and waved him over, "We saw you on TV like twenty minutes ago, what's going on?"

The Avengers didn't usually hang out in Tony's home on a weekend but he and Steve had been working on something together earlier on and clearly, he'd decided to stick around even after their project was over for the day.

"I had to give Esté a ride, that's all. Is this live?"

He threw himself down onto the couch beside Steve who had helped himself to a beer, clinking it against Tony's in cheers before they both took a drink.

"Sure is. Are you going to tell us what's really going on?" Steve nudged his friend in the ribs, earning a dark glare in return.

"Nothing is going on," he replied, "She needed a ride and I gave her one, that's it."

Katy shrugged, "I don't buy it, but maybe she'll tell us herself."

She grabbed the TV remote and turned up the volume when the camera cut to Estélla being interviewed. She looked just as beautiful on the screen as she did in real life, smiling politely at the interviewer and waving at fans behind barricades who could be heard screaming her name in the background.

"So Estélla, how does it feel to finally be an Angel?"

"It's such an honour," Esté nodded, "It's been a dream of mine for so long and I can't believe it's finally happening. I'm so grateful to the team and everybody involved, I really hope I can do the pieces justice and I can't wait for the show."

"We're all sure you'll be absolutely amazing. Now, want to shed a little light on your ride here tonight? You certainly turned a few heads, that's for sure."

Estélla laughed though her face remained calm, "I'm not surprised, Mr Stark couldn't have picked a brighter colour for his car."

"Is there any truth behind the rumours about you and the Iron Man, Estélla?"

She just shook her head, giggling once again, "No, no there isn't. Tony has been my friend forever and he jumped in at the last second to help get me here on time tonight, that's all."

"Are you sure that's all you have to spill about this, Estélla? The rumours sure have been hot recently."

Tony expected Estella's cheeks to flush red at the pressure and he could feel his own face growing warm as the three of them stared at the TV, though Esté did what she'd been trained to do, keeping a polite expression on her face and upholding a convincing smile, her tone not dropping or inflicting and her eyes sparkling just as bright as they had done at the start of the interview.

"I'm afraid that's all there is to it, I can promise you that," she nodded and turned to the camera with a playful grin, "And I promise that to everyone watching at home, too. Hand on heart."