I'm Iron Man (March 1987)

Tony’s eyes softened and he kissed Isabella than tried to pull her on top of him. She felt him pause. “Ouch,” he said with a groan. Obviously he was hurt more than he was willing to admit.

The next day a makeup artist brushed Tony’s face. Isabella was in one of her new professional dresses and Tony was in a blue pin-striped suit. Phil Coulson was there with blue cue cards. “Ok Mr. Stark, we’ve prepared a statement for you. Just read the cards and let us do the rest,” he said. Tony looked at the cards. “Well I suppose I could do that,” He said. “A body guard, really?” Tony said. “Trust me Mr. Stark, this is what we do,” Phil assured him.

Out in the main room James Rhodes was there along with several law enforcement and military officials. There was an entire room of reporters ready to bombard Tony with Questions about what had happened and about Obediah Shane’s sudden death. Phil eventually left the room and it was just the two of them alone. Tony looked...concerned and uncertain about doing this but James had suggested it to settle all the rumors that had been running around. It wasn’t often Isabella saw Tony like this. He was usually always just so confident and sure of himself.

Isabella stood with Tony as he prepared himself to go out before the press and explain what had happened the day before at Stark Labs. He was still hurt but Isabella could see he there was something else going on in his mind. He had the cue cards from Phil but he didn’t seem to be focused on looking at them. Isabella walked over to Tony and looked at him. She could tell what he was thinking.

“Tony, I will support whatever you decide to do today. You do what you think is best. Follow your gut instinct.”

As Isabella straightened Tony’s tie he tried to kiss her. She smiled and managed to avoid his lips, he would have smudged her makeup and had lipstick all over himself if she let him. He fingered the cards again uncertainly. “You know Iron man has a nice ring to it but technically its a gold plated alloy,” he said. “And I’d have to have a girlfriend that new my secret identity and she’d be a complete wreck each time I went into danger,” he said as he smiled at her. When she told him that he wasn’t Iron Man Tony nodded and agreed with her. Being a super hero would take up all of his time. He liked to design and create, that was his gift but something in the back of his head took issue with that. Well with just that. When she told him good luck he then headed out into the room. James Rhodes was in his Air Force uniform and he saw Tony come in.

“So without further ado, here is Tony Stark. Just a reminder, he is only making a statement, there will be no questions,” he said as Tony walked up to the podium. “Thanks Rhodie,” He said as James patted his shoulder and stepped to the side. Tony held up the first card.

“Considering how bad I’ve been at this public speaking thing I figured I might try using a script this time,” he said and several people laughed. “So as you’ve heard there has been a great deal of speculation that I was personally involved in the event that happened on the freeway and on the roof of The Stark Labs Building…” he began but a woman Tony recognized. Someone he had slept with once spoke up.

“Do you expect us to believe that it was a bodyguard in a suit? Or that…” Tony cut her off. “So then whats more believable, that I was some kind of Super Hero in a suit?’ He said. “I didn’t say you were a super hero,” she said. “Well ofcourse not, that would be outlandish and well...kind of amazing,” he said as Rhodie leaned in. “Tony, just go by the cards,” he whispered. Tony felt that urge come on strong suddenly. He loved being in the limelight. It was another of his gifts. He lifted up the cards and his eyes fluttered over to Isabella who was looking at him just then. ‘Go with your gut,’ she had told him.

“That fact is,” he said and slowly lowered the cards. “I am Iron man,” he said then the room exploded with reporters standing and trying to get their questions in before those around them.

Isabella wanted to kiss Tony, and do much more than that, but Tony was injured and if she let him kiss her he would smear her newly applied lipstick and get lipstick on himself. That wouldn't look very good in front of the press. She straightened his tie and then smoothed out his suit jacket. Just before he walked out to the podium she gave him a smile. She stood off to the side while Tony spoke. James stood next to her. She considered James a very good friend now and felt lucky that he was in her life and in Tony's. She stood quietly as Tony spoke, but she could tell as he read from the cards that he didn't want to be reading from them. He hesitated after a reporter asked a question and she saw him look over at her. She gave him a smile and a little nod of support. When he finally admitted he was Iron Man the room exploded with questions and lights flashing. Tony didn't answer any questions. He walked away from the podium and they walked down to the car where Happy was waiting. Isabella could tell Phil wasn't happy with the outcome, but it was done now. She sat in the car with him and she reached over and took his hand into her own. She gave him a little smile.

"So, I think I'm going to need a suit now. I mean someone needs to keep you safe and alive."

She was partly kidding and partly being serious.

2 weeks had passed and Isabella had hired a personal assistant for herself, Angela Thompson. She was pretty, beautiful in fact and she spoke several languages and knew corporate etiquette. Isabella was the CEO of the Stark Foundation and also, a new development, James Rhodes had taken a leave of absence from the Air force to take over as acting CEO of Stark Industries. Isabella found being the CEO of the foundation was extremely rewarding but extremely stressful as well. That and very time consuming where she wasn’t able to spend as much time with Tony as she wanted to. Very little in fact though they spoke often on the telephone.

Tonight Tony had invited her over but Isabella insisted that he let her cook for him. Tony agreed and they ate in the massive dining room he had but at a small, 2 person table where they could be close to one another. It was an intimate setting with a white table cloth, fine china, crystal and candles all over the room. She cooked pasta and availed herself of Tony’s magnificent kitchen that had everything. Tony kissed her knuckles. “I think I could get used to this,” he said with a smile. “I like your domestic side more than the sexy CEO, boss side I think,” he said as he rubbed the back of her hand softly with his thumb. He was dressed in dark gray slacks with an off white silk shirt with a couple buttons undone at the neck. He wore a gold chain on his neck, matching bracelet and a ring on his hand. His hair was done just so and his goatee was perfectly trimmed and this time he did not wear his usual sunglasses so she could see his eyes. Everything he did and said spoke volumes about he felt about her but he had never said that he loved Isabella. He only acted as if he did which was not the same thing.

Isabella greatly enjoyed the work she was doing. However, it was long, hard hours and she and Tony weren't able to spend as much time together as they wanted to. Since announcing he was Iron Man, he had been laying low. James had taken over as CEO of Stark Industries, while Isabella ran the Stark Foundation and acted as Tony's personal assistant. She had hired a personal assistant for herself and found some of her workload was taken off of her shoulders. This meant she and Tony could finally spend more time together.

They were having dinner together for the first time in days and Isabella had insisted that she cook so they could stay in. She loved cooking and hadn't yet been able to cook a meal for Tony. She made stuffed shells and had fresh Italian bread and a salad. Tony seemed quite impressed and she smiled at him. She could tell that Tony loved her, but he hadn't yet spoken those words, although she told him she loved him all the time. She wanted to hear him say it, but she wasn't going to force him. She knew that all of this was new to him after all and making him say it when he wasn't ready yet was not something she wanted to do. She didn't want to hear him say it that way.

"Well, I think I can manage to be both a CEO and continue to show you this domestic side as well," she replied with a soft smile. "Since Angela started assisting me I've had a few things taken off my plate so we can spend more time together."

Tony’s plate was nearly empty and he swirled the last bit of wine he had in his glass idly as he listened to what Isabella said. The physical contact soothed him and it did much to curb his need for sex. Sometimes Tony just showed up at her apartment...or her Expo office or Stark HQ office. Isabella had to have special blinds installed because when he did that...so spontaneously she knew he was borderline desperate for sex, if not for her specifically. Tony was who he was after all and she could either ignore his needs or entertain them. In most relationships when one person’s needs, one or both persons involved, the relationship suffered. They didn’t argue about money or mundane things or events. In fact they rarely seemed to argue at all. For one Tony had a dismissive way of arguing that did infuriate her greatly but holding back her love for him...holding back sex to punish him would likely only force him to find it elsewhere. In that way alone was Tony a more basic of a creature. In every other way he was more complex than anyone she had ever met.

“I do have something to show you,” he said as the silence and sexual tension between then began to fill the space between them. It had been days after all and Tony’s eyes looked...hungry for her. “I’ve changed the suit...upgraded it. I’d like you to be the first to see it,” he said as he laid down his napkin and stood. His eyes changed to that of a boy who had just gotten something new and was excited to show his friends.

When Isabella had been with Frank she had thought that his sexual appetite was big, but it was nothing compared to Tony. She had feared that Tony might be selfish when it came to sex but he seemed to enjoy pleasuring her. They were becoming used to what each of them needed and wanted but making love for them was never boring or ever exactly the same. They hadn’t had sex in a few days and rather quickly the sexual tension between them was growing. The way Tony looked at her made her shiver in anticipation of what was to come. However, the look in his eyes changed as he began to talk about the changes he had made to his suit. She couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm and excitement.

“Well then,” she said as she stood up, “we should go see it.”

If she didn’t know know him better she’d have said he was giddy. Very much like a boy about too reveal something he had made to a friend, or his mother, or to his girlfriend. He had had the lab area brought back to order. All the glass was replaced and his cars were in the middle of being repaired. That he did himself because he loved to tinker. It was in his blood. The lab was clean for a change and his old Arc reactor was put in a frame by her with the caption, ‘Proof That Tony Stark Does Have A Heart’. All of his suits starting with the rough one that he had made in the cave all the way to his last one were set in a row into the east wall. He took her past those and past the robotic arm area that helped him put on and take off the suits he wore.

“This upgrade will double the power and effectiveness of my last prototype,” he said as he beamed at her but as she looked at him his smile faded. Where they were wasn’t a wall at all. It was made of metal that looked like the wall but there were edges to it and she could tell the front of it must shift in some way. “Jarvis,” He said in a conversational tone. “Open it,” he said.

“As you wish sir,” Jarvis intoned and she heard the motors kick in and the wall began to move. It was a quick, smooth movement as what was inside was quickly revealed. Tony’s suit all shiny and perfect was revealed and when the wall continued to move there was a second suit next to his. Slightly smaller in stature it was blue and silver in color and the chest armor was decidedly...female by the way it had been shaped. In fact, the entire structure now that she looked at it was more sleek and femanine. Tony looked up at them as if he were looking at it for the first time though she knew he wasn’t. “I made it for the woman I Love,” he said nonchalantly and his gaze shifted over to her.

Isabella walked with Tony down to the lab. Inside, he had cleaned everything up and put things back in order. A sense of normalcy (well as normal as Tony’s life was) had returned. Isabella knew he had taken Obediah’s betrayal hard, but having projects to work on helped.

They walked past the old suits and stood in front of what at first glance appeared to be a wall, but wasn’t. It was metal and by the edges Isabella could see that it moved. She watched as Tony instructed Jarvis to open it. The first thing she saw was Tony’s new suit. She could tell it had been upgraded, but the colors remained the same. However, something beside it then pulled her attention away. It was another suit. It was a beautiful blue and silver color but it was smaller than Tony’s and more feminine in its shape. Her breath caught in her chest as she realized it was hers. That realization paled though in comparison to what she heard Tony say. He had told her he loved her. Tears of happiness came to her eyes. She was overwhelmed and she moved into his arms and kissed him quite thoroughly. She pulled back slightly to grin up at him.

“You are going to get so lucky tonight.”

Tony kissed Isabella back quite thoroughly though she half had him throwing her on one of his tables right then and there but he wasn’t quite done yet and he made certain he was facing the suits. “Oh? But we’re not done yet,” He said in a whisper. “Jarvis, present,’ He said not taking his eyes from hers. Her suit suddenly seemed to come alive as a pale blue light filled her mask’s eyes and its left arm bent up at the elbow and its hand bent down slightly at the wrist to reveal a massive ring. It was made of gold with three princess cut stones upon it. The largest of the three was in the middle of them and it was bigger than anything she had seen in her life. He grinned as he saw her face and heard her gasp. “And here I thought that you didn’t really like surprises,” He said in a sarcastic tone. He moved away from her and plucked the ring from her suits ring finger. He turned with it and approached her with it in his fingers.

Now even closer up the diamond wasn’t just big it was borderline obscene and it sparkled beautifully under the lights. He shifted and took up her hand in his then slowly, painfully slowly slid the ring on her finger. The band was too large ofcourse, it had fit on her suit but Tony appeared to twist it slightly and somehow the band sharnk until is sat comfortably snug on her finger.

“You are the first and last woman I want to say I love you to Isabella, marry me and lets be done with the pretense. If I love something I want to possess it and call it my own. I want to call you my own Isabella, I want you to be mine, forever,” he whispered and kissed her once more.

Isabella gasped when she saw the ring. Her eyes doubled in size and her mouth dropped open. She was absolutely speechless. She tried to speak, but only little sounds came out. She was stunned to say the least. At first she thought she must be dreaming. However, as she began to realize that what was happening was real tears of happiness came to her eyes. She felt Tony slide the ring painfully slowly onto her finger. Of course he had worked out a way to adjust the band size and soon it was sitting snugly on her finger. She looked up at him and tears began to slide down her cheeks as she listened to what he had to say. This was the man she had yelled at and called scum the first day they had met. Now, she was in love with him and they were going to be married. She couldn't believe how much her life had changed since she had met him and she couldn't wait to see what the future held for them.

"Yes, Tony..." she said through her tears. "I will marry you."

To y was so happy that he carried her up the stairs and up another flight of stairs to his bedroom. For the first time a feeling of liberation flowed through him and he made love to Isabella like he had never made
Love to her before.

The next morning she had gotten a dozen messages and emails. A CEO’s job was never done and Angela had been heading off all of the minor things herself. Tony had made her breakfast in bed, toast, some berries in cream and coffee...likely all he knew how to make and he laid next to her with a mug of coffee in his hand. “So…you like the ring?” He asked. It made her finger look small and dainty but ot had an elegant, old world flair to it as well. The setting and style could have have been something from the 60s but it had a unique charm as well. That and a modern flair as well. Tony had whispered the word ‘Lock’ on the ring and the size had locked for her finger size and would never change again.

“I know your busy but do you have time for me this weekend?” He asked. She really didnt but circumstances had changed drastically within 24 hours.

When Isabella awoke in the morning she prayed that what had happened the night before hadn’t been a dream. However, when she looked down at her hand she saw the ring was actually there. It was beautiful and uniquely hers. Isabella loved the fact that Tony had taken the time to pick it out himself. That made it even more special to her. She sat up in bed and pulled the sheet up around her as she accepted a cup of coffee Tony had made. She knew she needed to get to work. She had a lot she needed to do. She also needed to figure out when to tell her parents and Luca their good news. She wanted them to hear it from her and not from the media.

She took a sip of her coffee and set the cup down to pick up the parfait cup of berries and cream.

“I’m sure I could make some time for my fiancé,” she said with a smile. “What exactly did you want to do?”

Tony’s eyebrows drew up at the question. “Training,” He said as if it were a foregone conclusion. “The Expo isn’t until next year and there is alot that I need to show you before you can properly use the suit,” He said excitedly. “You know, work out the bugs, troubleshoot, make modifications based on your preferences,” He said. Obviously Tony was excited about her working with him but they both knew it was dangerous as well. And then there was the feeling, the strong feeling that they’d be needed in the near future.

Isabella nodded and was excited at the prospect of doing some training in her new suit. She couldn’t wait to get up in the air. She had watched Tony before but she knew it wasn’t going to be as easy as it looked.

A thought then came to her and she looked at him.

“Can we wait to announce our engagement? I want my parents to hear it from me and not from the media and I would like to try and find Frank and talk to him.”

“Ofcourse, I’ll leave all that up to you,” he said as he sipped on his own coffee. As if that wasn’t his plan all along. Tony tended to concern himself with what he wanted to and little else.

The first thing was teaching Isabella how to get in and out of the suit and to teach her all of her HUD systems. There was alot of things to learn and her HUD was able to be used with just her eyes and voice commands as well. Next came flight control. He was smarter this time and they did this outside of the house. Isabella quickly found out that this was alot harder than it looked. Even at 1% thrust keeping her balance was a challenge but Tony said it just took practice. As he put her through her paces though he began to jot down things he felt needed to change. It didnt make much sense to have the same weapons and addons that his suit had and he was making a list of changes he was going to make.

Isabella was excited to get into her suit. It had a new car smell that she loved. She tried to keep her excitement at bay long enough to hear what Tony was telling her. They were outside and she was practicing flight control. She was only a few feet off the ground and only at 1% thrust but it was still difficult. She knew it would just take some practice to get the hang of it.

“Well, I can see now how you destroyed your lab,” she said with a little laugh.