ripped at every edge (but you're a masterpiece) (Hp x Mcu) by Lissy

Chapter 19: the feeling you bring to me

Summary:

Hari and Tony's relationship ventures into new territory and then there's Quidditch.

Chapter title:
S&M - Rihanna

Notes:

Timeline:
[x] (2012) The Avengers
[x] (2013) Iron Man 3
[x] (2013) We are here
[ ] (2013) Thor: The Dark World
[ ] (2014) Captain America: The Winter Soldier; Guardians of the Galaxy; Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2
[ ] (2015) Avengers: Age of Ultron; Ant-Man
[ ] (2016) Captain America: Civil War; Spider-Man: Homecoming
[ ] (2017) Doctor Strange; Black Panther; Thor: Ragnarok
[ ] (2018) Avengers: Infinity War

Sweat beads and slides down Tony's back. He grunts as he squats, exhales when he stands up. His thighs burn, ache, but at the same time, he feels great, like he could do this all day.

He's only had this routine for a couple of weeks now, but he surprisingly enjoys it. Working out is different than duking it out in the suit; there's no adrenaline to push him forward, no dying need to save a life or stop a villain. It's just him and his muscles, and the satisfaction that it is his own strength allowing him to keep up this routine.

"You're doing great," Hari tells him, her warm voice encouraging and sweet.

"That's easy...for you to say," he teases in between breaths. "You just have to...lay there...and look...pretty."

Hari lets out a small laugh from her spot draped across Tony's shoulders. She doesn't feel that heavy when he's manhandling her between the sheets, but squatting her weight is surprisingly difficult, probably because she's lean, muscular. "True," she concedes. "Come on, just two more reps."

Tony finishes with a bit more effort, and then he sets Hari down on her feet. He grabs his water bottle and greedily slurps from it, making obscene noises of satisfaction as the ice-cold liquid trickles down his parched throat. After walking in the hot deserts of Afghanistan, he will never again take clean, cold, crisp water for granted, and after a workout like he just had, he needs a few minutes to properly demonstrate his gratitude.

"What's next?" he asks her when he finally pulls away from his bottle.

"I thought you and your bottle might want a room. You know, some private time," Hari teases.

Tony snorts. "Well, I do love taking long objects into my mouth," he says, wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

"Another thing we have in common!"

He really loves that she is every bit as suggestive as he is. She doesn't even bat an eye at his crude jokes, goes along with them like they're commonplace. Hari has ruined him for other people.

That's a little scary because although he's dated and fucked around a lot, he's only truly given his heart to one person, and he's still terrified that his relationship with Hari will end with his heart in pieces. She hasn't given him any indication that she's displeased with him, with the way their relationship is progressing, with how fast he's grown attached to her.

But he didn't really see it coming with Pepper, either. Not entirely, at least.

Yeah, he knew Pepper was a little unhappy at times, thought he was reckless and irresponsible. To be fair to her, she's seen him at his absolute worst, rock bottom, and he shut her out. He gave her his company, but he hadn't confided in her. He hadn't let her in.

Pepper's stuck around for a lot of bullshit that he's not proud to have put her through because she didn't deserve that. And now that he's in a healthier frame of mind, now that he sees what life is like with someone else, he's glad she got out when she did and spared them both even more heartbreak.