Lamborghini | Tony Stark

THIRTEEN - LUCKY OR UNLUCKY

Sasha was miserable.

It had been just two weeks since Tony's careless words had made her abandon their evening together at O'Shea's before he'd even had time to look up at the TV and see that the Mets were losing again.

Though the lack of his sports-related misery wasn't what was making Sasha sluggish and unhappy, it was the lack of him.

It would've been so easy for Sasha to pick up her phone and call Tony, letting him know that she might have overreacted the other evening but that his words still hurt.

Of course, though, admitting she was partially in the wrong was the last thing Sasha was going to do, especially when she hadn't even had so much as a one worded apology text from Tony.

She'd expected a message perhaps the day after their argument, though she received nothing, which only angered her more. Sasha didn't hate Tony for what he'd said, in fact, she wanted to forget about the whole thing and finally have the catch up she'd wanted to have last week, but her pride and busy schedule hadn't allowed that to happen.

Even Steve had picked up on her change in mood, asking her one night at dinner 'Is this fight with Tony still bugging you that bad?' to which she answered a firm no, though that had been a lie.

Steve knew Sasha and Tony were close. He was used to listening to Sasha talk about Tony while they were spending time together. She'd ask about him often and bring him up both when it was and wasn't relevant in conversation, but Steve didn't mind, he was happy that Sasha had him as a friend.

Steve loved spending time with Sasha. She was beautiful, intelligent, and kind, though Tony's wit had certainly rubbed off onto her. He tried to find as much free time as he could to spend with Sasha, though it was rare that both of them had an evening spare on the same night, making pursuing things slightly more difficult than they'd first imagined.

They tried not to let busy schedules get them down, however, both of them enjoying getting to know each other and deciding that taking things one day at a time was the best thing to do.

Sasha saw her first glimpse of sunshine the next time she found herself in Maine for work. She was there for an entire week and had used the weekend to recharge by the beach, taking long walks in thick coats and boots, wrapped in a scarf with nothing but a head full of cleansing sea air.

The time alone had brought her solace, finding it easier to sleep in a hotel room rather than her own bed. Sasha was working harder for shorter hours, making time to have dinner with her co-worker who was up in Maine with her for the case. She was also getting a full eight hours of sleep at night, allowing her to wake up without bloodshot eyes and dark circles for the first time in a long while.

The change had been refreshing and it was only then that Sasha realised perhaps a change after Phil's passing might've been what she'd needed all along. She could picture herself living in Maine, in a quaint little property by the beach with a porch and a swing, spending her days reading in the evenings sipping wine with the waves in the background. She fell asleep every night that week dreaming of a peaceful life, her imagining a possible future being the only thing to cool the fire Tony had started inside her.

It was late on the Sunday afternoon when Sasha's phone rang. She'd been out walking by the sea all morning and had spent the afternoon in the spa at the hotel before freshening up for a dinner with her colleague later on.

She frowned when she read Tony's name on her screen, though answered the call anyway, holding the mobile to her ear.

"Coulson? Are you there? Tell me you're alright, tell me you weren't at home, please."

Sasha hadn't even had chance to say hello before Tony started shouting frantically down the phone, immediately making Sasha begin to panic.

"I'm in Maine for work, I have been all week. Tony, what's going on? What's wrong?"

The sigh of relief he let out was deafening, making the line crackle. Sasha perched on the edge of the bed, clutching the phone in her hand as she furrowed her brows, trying to make sense of the ruckus in the background of the call.

"Turn on the news."

Sasha did as she was told. Every news channel she flicked through was showing the same breaking news story, live video feeds of buildings in New York crumbling to rubble at the hands of something Sasha couldn't describe. She didn't quite know what she was watching, unable to make sense of the horror that was on her television. All she did know was that she recognised most of the videos were taken in the Upper East Side.

"Oh my God." She whispered, listening to the screams of terrified civilians as they ran to find safety, knowing that there was no mercy in their world at that moment.

"Your home is gone, Coulson. I'm sorry, I didn't know how to tell you that nicely, there's really no way to sugarcoat it. I'm just glad you're alright, do you want me to-"

"Are you alright?"

Sasha's eyes were still glued to the TV, watching clips of Tony and the others put their lives on the line for the city and it's people. She felt sick thinking about what Tony had just endured, grateful that she'd escaped the paralysing worry of whether he was alive or not by having him break the news to her first.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me, I'm always fine. Do you want to talk to Cap? He's fine, too, I'm sure he's around here so-"

"No," Sasha answered, not wanting to hear anyone else's voice in that moment but his, "I need to come back, I need to-"

"Absolutely not," Tony took his turn to interject, cutting her off abruptly, "It's not safe here, not right now."

Sasha felt hollow as she stared out of the window. The ocean in the near distance was lapping peacefully against the sand and the sleepy town in front of her she'd been staying in for the weekend instead of the city was tranquil, almost as if it was frozen. It made no sense to Sasha how her home had been reduced to rubble and half of the city she lived in destroyed while the world in front of her was so seemingly perfect.

Nothing made any sense and Sasha didn't know how to feel. She felt guilty that she wasn't at home when so many people were, though she felt grateful for the same reason. It was almost impossible for her to comprehend that the life she lived before had now gone. She had no home, no belongings, no car, but none of that meant anything to her, not compared to all the photographs and clothes, jewellery and signed baseballs, any tangible memories of Phil and their parents were gone.

Her bottom lip began to quiver as she imagined the cracked glass and burnt corners of all her framed pictures, rings and necklaces being melted down to nothing in the flames of a burning fire. Anything that held any importance to her no longer existed, making Sasha feel like in that moment, her own life held no meaning if she had none of those things.

"Coulson, are you still there? Hello?"

Sasha choked out a sob, covering her mouth with her hand as she began to cry, dropping to the floor with the phone still by her ear. She soaked her cheeks with tears, unable to get any words out as Tony continued to call out her name down the other end of the line, desperately trying to get her to say something.

"Fuck." he cursed, feeling his heart shatter as he listened to her cry down the phone, the image of her holding herself in a moment so painful made Tony almost drown in guilt.

"Alright Coulson, stay put. I'm coming to get you, you hear me? Just stay where you are, I'll be there soon. Everything's going to be alright, I promise."

an;;
crying again I love this man
i hope you're still enjoying this book, thank you for reading, I really appreciate it!!