Lamborghini | Tony Stark

THIRTY FIVE - PEACE

It was Steve that noticed Sasha nursing just her second glass of champagne two hours into the party, deciding to excuse himself from a conversation with Rhodey and Sam to go and speak to her for the first time that evening.

Maria had just disappeared from Sasha's side, leaving her stood alone by the bar with a nervous smile on her face, innocently gazing around the room while she twirled her champagne glass around by the stem, her chest rising and falling deeply as she inhaled a steady, calming breath.

Steve approached her with innate caution, an inviting smile on his face as she finally clocked him heading in her direction, her eyes lighting up at the sight of him.

"Bring it in, come here."

Sasha couldn't help but grin uncontrollably as Steve embraced her, her own arms hugging him tightly as he placed a kiss on each of her cheeks, his hand lingering on the small of her back.

"You look great, Steve. How've you been?"

The two of them hadn't spoken in a long while, besides a few text messages while Sasha was recovering from her injuries. Most of The Avengers had been in touch with Sasha after finding out what had happened, whether it was a text or a phone call, which had made her feel a lot less alone in such an isolating time.

Sasha was grateful for their kindness and consideration, and also thankful that they'd helped keep Tony alive on their mission out of their own world, though she'd kept that to herself so far.

"I'm good, as always. How about you? All recovered now I see? Looking better than ever."

"All better," Sasha said, tipping her champagne glass with a smile.

"That champagne isn't going down too easy though, I've noticed. Everything alright?"

Sasha's shoulders slumped as she looked up at Steve. The two of them might not have been right for each other in a lot of ways, but Steve had always cared about her, and always would.

With a heavy sigh, Sasha pursed her lips in thought for a moment, "My tolerance is low as it is, but after the memory thing...I don't want to forget anything else."

Steve just nodded once. He'd slowly been fed all the details about what had happened to Sasha, whether it be from Tony or from Peter who wasn't able to keep his mouth closed for more than five minutes. Steve felt heartbroken for Sasha, understanding just how bad it hurt to lose everyone, and then lose yourself, too.

Part of him was worried Sasha would've forgotten about their small history, though the way she smiled at him with a light inside her eyes made him relax, knowing that she remembered it all.

"Understandable, totally," Steve said, placing down his own drink on the bar and folding his arms at his chest.

He stood beside Sasha, just far enough for their shoulders to only slightly touch. As he looked around the room, he ended up following Sasha's gaze, finding it landing upon Tony. He was stood on the mezzanine with Fury, both of them laughing about something while Tony talked with his hands, describing something that seemed fantastical by the exaggerations and movements.

Steve stole a glance at Sasha, noticing the way she watched Tony with a smile fuelled by total awe, a glimmer in her eyes that shined differently to the way it did when she looked at him.

"You're good for him," Steve spoke up, drawing her attention away from Tony, "For Tony. Really, you've made him a better person."

Sasha just laughed quietly, shaking her head, "It's the other way around, if anything."

There had been far less questions about her relationship with Tony than Sasha had expected that evening. It turned out that everyone had already had plenty of time to process what had been going on between the two of them, making it old news by the time Sasha became aware the story had even broke.