What Comes With The Suit (April 1996)

The past four months have been amazing! Though the first 2 weeks their honeymoon was still quite firmly implanted into his memory. Some of the things she did to him and for him and some of the things he did to her and for her would not be so easy to forget. That and the lingerie she wore that first night! She absolutely loved her yacht and seeing her floating in the pool ON THE OCEAN with a drink in her hand had been a treat for Tony. He had taken photos and video of her and some he could never show to anyone.

When they returned from the honeymoon she threw herself into the role as more or less, Tony’s manager. He needed her in that role and she had jumped in with both feet to learn the company, who the major players were and what needed to happen to keep it running smoothly. She still had alot to learn but she appeared to enjoy being needed but unfortunately Pepper Potts had put in her resignation and Isabella had said that she would not need a 2 week notice.

Learning how much Isabella could cook had been a pleasant surprise. Tony never really ate that much but he was beginning to enjoy the evenings when she did cook for them. There were evenings that they went out as well though. New York had become their playground and Isabella had already bought several dresses, several pairs of shoes, boots, handbags and undergarments. Jewelry, designer clothes, jackets and coats that came with her station of being one of the wealthiest and most powerful women on the planet.

Also, Tony had been designing Isabella’s suit. Even before he had told her about it he had already advanced it into its Mark III version based on his own suits improvements. Her suit was much sleeker than his, had anatomical differences and was painted in a very shiny silver with a translucent sapphire highlight color. He had installed a complete medical suite that could diagnose and treat most any field medic issue as well as some emergency care as well. He was planning on adding an energy shield system later but for now he made the outer shell ablative to resist light and heat damage. She could be in a fire for quite a long time before her suit began to have difficulty with the heat. He also added a self preservation system and countermeasures that would help protect her from incoming ordinance, targeting and damage. The thing he was having difficulty doing was figuring out how to tell her that he wanted her to be by his side as he went on missions as Iron Man. He had kept it all a secret to this point though he knew she was far from stupid. Isabella was quite intuitive but so far, she left the lab to him. She came in once in a while, they even had sex on a test table a couple of times when he had wanted her but then wanted to get right back to work.

“Sir, the Mark IIIa has been painted and is ready for testing, shall I inform Mrs Stark?” Jarvis said. Tony’s eyes bulged. “No!” He said defensively and looked behind him though he knew Isabella was in the kitchen making their supper. He was supposed to be in the cellar picking out a wine but he had stopped in the lab to do one more thing and he had seen that Isabella’ Mark IIIa was almost ready. Now that it was he wasn't certain how to tell her that he just spent several million in the design and build of her suit. He ran to the cellar and picked out the first, spanish red he came to then hurried upstairs.

Isabella had thoroughly enjoyed their Honeymoon, but coming back to New York afterward had been insane. The media had been going crazy ever since Happy had sent out the official press release regarding his marriage to Isabella Corsetti. The pair were hounded by the press every time they stepped foot outside of their home. Isabella managed to take it all in stride though. She remained calm, poised, and always elegant. If she went out alone she was accompanied by Happy and the pair had become close. Isabella trusted Happy and enjoyed his company.

With Pepper's departure, Isabella threw herself into her new position. Isabella had a natural knack for keeping the business running smoothly and offered fresh ideas and opinions. She was sharp, strong, poised, and charming. People were drawn to her and she had a way of putting people at ease. The board loved her and even teased Tony that she would one day be running the company by herself.

Although Stark Industries was no longer manufacturing weapons, Isabella knew that some were still out there in the world being used to harm innocent people. That bothered her and she wanted to find a way to track them down. Every so often she thought about the suit she had designed, but then she would sigh and shake her head and go back to work.

Isabella was making Chicken Marsala that night and she had sent Tony down to the cellar to get a bottle of red wine for them to drink. Dinner was almost ready, and she wondered what was taking Tony so long when he suddenly appeared.

"I was about to send a search party down to find you," she teased with a little grin.

Tony had come up but he had just stood there looking at her with that look he had when his mind was very far away. He held the bottle, forgotten to him in his hand. He was envisioning them flying together and her doing missions with him. Then there were the press conferences. The press was asking her all sorts of questions and he was just old news. He didn't like that. He liked being the center of attention. He looked down at the bottle.

"Oh, well, I couldn't decide. Chicken Marsala is usually a white wine but I don't feel like a white tonight," Tony said as he stepped up to the kitchen counter and took up the bottle opener. He went to work on opening the bottle. 'She has enough attention on her as it was'. Tony thought to himself as he opened the bottle. 'She didn't need any more scrutiny', He thought.

"It all smells delicious," He said as the cork popped out of the bottle. He attached the aerator to the top than poured the wine into the waiting crystal wine glasses. "Is this your recipe or something you learned from your mother?" He asked. Tony still had the old fashioned way of thinking and the recipes she learned from her mother or grandmother always seemed to him like they'd taste better. A disproven theory Isabella had debunked but he still said it just now as if the theory was still true.

Isabella finished setting the table and glanced over at Tony as he just stood there with the bottle of wine in his hand. His mind seemed far away tonight. She was rather used to that. She would often say something at breakfast when his mind was focused on something else and it would sometimes take up to two days for him to finally respond to what she had said because his mind had just gotten around to processing it.

"I think either is fine with Chicken Marsala as long as it isn't a heavy red."

Finally, Tony started moving and uncorked the bottle. "This is actually my grandmother's recipe," she told him with a little smile. She then scooped a little bit of the Marsala sauce onto a spoon and offered it to him for him to taste.

Tony tasted the sauce and, as always told her the same thing. "It's delicious," He said. And her food always was. 'Was he being selfish?' He wondered. He knew he was...often. Except during sex. But that didn't really apply here. 'Professionally selfish', He amended as he kissed her cheek. 'I need to fix the power drain problem', he thought as he moved to pick up the glasses to take them to the table. Their dining room table was huge but they right next to one another with him on the end and her to his right. He turned, straightened and looked at her.

"Am I selfish? I mean...do you think me a selfish person?" Tony asked her outright.

Isabella put the Chicken Marsala onto a serving platter and topped it with some chopped fresh Parsley. She put the serving platter on the table as Tony put down the wine glasses. What Tony said though caught her off guard and she looked over at him. She was suddenly worried about him.

"Tony, what's going on? I'm starting to worry about you tonight."

Tony just shrugged. "Oh, I'm alright, I'm just wondering if we should be giving more," He lied as they sat down to eat. The plates of food she set down looked amazing but he ate almost mechanically even taking sips of the wine at specific intervals as his mind went through everything he was thinking about right then. He was decidedly quiet though which was not like him at all. He normally talked alot. Tony always had things to say, alot of it she might not understand when it got too technical but he had said very little.

Tony didn't know why he lied to Isabella just now. 'Why did I do that?' he asked himself. This whole thing with the suit, wasn't it supposed to happen? He had seen this in his head before they even got married. He knew full well that Isabella had seen it happening. She wanted to be involved and a part of what Tony did. But he also needed her to be doing what she was too. Would that change? He didn't know but he shouldn't have lied to her just then.

Isabella knew Tony was lying, but she didn't say anything to him right then. She just watched him while they ate. She could see that something big was on his mind, but she wasn't going to pester him to tell her. Finally, though, she put down her knife and fork and she turned to face him.

"No, I don't think you're selfish," she told him and he would be able to see from her eyes that she was telling the truth. "I think the Tony you were during the time after we broke up and before Kazakhstan you were." She reached over and picked up his hand and held it. "But this Tony...the one that argued with me in that cave and tried to get me to put on that suit instead of himself is the least selfish man I have ever met. You are passionate and protective of the things that mean something to you...that is different than being selfish."

Tony felt horrible at what he was considering doing. 'Not telling her that he built her a suit because he didn't want her to be the center of attention and stop being the women that she was for him right now!' He finally just relented...with himself.

"I finished your suit but..but I'm not certain I want you to be Sapphire," He said. 'There, it was out!'

Isabella blinked at what Tony told her. "You finished the suit? How? I deleted the model I had been working on."

Tony tilted his head in that way he did when he thought she was being unusually naive. He set his napkin down on the table next to his plate and stood.

"C'mon, I'll show you," He said as he gestured for her to come with him. he saw the uncertain look on her face but he ignored that for now. He was uncertain too. Uncertain that he should have told her. Together they walked to the stairs and then down to the lab. Her Jag was right there in line with the other cars. The test tables and equipment was there and the robots that helped him get into his suit were there. He drew her over to the large platform. "Jarvis, please extended storage contained 3 A," Tony said. "Right away sir," Jarvis responded and the 4th metal container, there were 12 in a row sunk into the wall, began to extend. Once it was fully extended Jarvis opened it up. The metal doors shifted and the Silver and blue suit was exposed to the world for the first time. It even smelled new and freshly painted. Tony just pursed his lips in thought as he looked at it.

Isabella followed Tony down into his lab. She was uncertain about what was going on right now, but she stood there quietly as Tony instructed Jarvis to extend storage container 3A. She watched as the 4th metal container in a row of 12 was extended outward. As it opened up Isabella saw the suit she had designed. It was even more beautiful in person, especially knowing that Tony had completed it. However, glancing over at Tony she could see that he was conflicted. Iron Man was his creation and she could only assume that he liked the positive attention he got from being Iron Man. She also knew that the kind of work they would be doing would be dangerous and he didn't want to put her in danger. Isabella desperately wanted to wear the suit and help him, but she loved Tony and she didn't want for this to be an issue between them.

"It's beautiful Tony, but...I can't accept it."

She turned and walked back upstairs to start cleaning up from dinner.

Tony's jaw hung open as he just looked at her. His shock only lasted for a moment though as he followed fast behind her.

"Oh, no you don't!" he said, obviously irritated by her response. "I know what you're doing. This reverse psychology won't work. You want this, I know you want it!" He said as he chased after her. He got in front of her to stop her.

Isabella sighed and stopped. She looked at Tony. “Ok, yes. If I’m being honest I would love to have that suit, but we just got married and I’m not going to let this cause problems between us.”

Tony just looked at her a moment. Then an idea popped into his head. Turn and turn about. "Well, that is a good point," He said as if she had helped him make the decision in his head. If she was willing o let it all go that easily, maybe she really didn't want this. "I'll go scrap the design and then we can be done with it," he said and shifted around her headed toward the stairs again.

Isabella heard what Tony said and she felt herself becoming upset at the thought of him destroying the suit. “Tony, I don’t want you to destroy the suit,” she said as she followed after him. “Can’t we work something out?”

Tony said nothing as he led her back down to the lab. He felt as much as heard the urgency of her words. 'Can I honestly deny her this? Ca I deny her anything?' Tony asked himself. In his heart he knew he couldn't. This is what love was all about. He could not say no because he knew she wanted this. She wanted to be beside him and a part of him wanted that to.

"Its not so easy...flying as you might think. And you still run the company and manage our home," he said as he looked at her. Tony spent most of his time developing new products. Life improvement products he called them and the board members were so enthusiastic about these new inventions that they were more than willing to retool all of their factories to develop them. Isabella had become Pepper Potts AND the CEO AND Tony's wife. If she took this on to he worried that she'd become overwhelmed. But the look on her face right then...

"I think we can," He said simply as he looked at her. He saw her looking at the suit and a note of relief came across her face.

Isabella knew that this wasn’t going to be easy. She was already doing a lot, but she wanted to do something to help and she believed she could help. She walked back over and looked at the suit again. “Just the fact that you made this for me means a lot Tony,” she said as she walked over to him. She slipped her arms around him and kissed him.

Tony accepted her arms and her lips and kissed her back. "Yes, it does," he agreed. "I'm certain you'll make it up to me...somehow," He said as if he knew full well how. "Perhaps you can...clean up dinner, later?" He asked as he got that look in his eye right then. He smiled when she led him up the stairs and headed straight for the bedroom.

The next morning Tony had typed up a training schedule. Flight training, he projected, would take weeks. There was alot she needed to know just to learn the HUD and the suits capabilities. Flying was balance and muscle memory as her body's movements controlled that. With most of the thrust in the feet and ankles any over compensation in her body would make her suit pitch too far. Like his her suit also had an over thrust module that popped out of the back when she asked for more speed but for right now, just watching her try to hover was a series of cringes and winces as she tried to control her suit.

"You don't need to keep saying your sorry babe. Anything in here can be repaired," he said as she got up off of the Bentley. She had over compensated and then tried to cut down her thrust to such a degree the engines shut off. The Bentley was totaled. Its engine was now sitting embedded into the concrete floor beneath it. Tony had loved that car and he had rebuilt the engine from scratch twice. But what was done was done and the Bentley was certainly...done. He did not go into what damage he had done to the lab though when he was learning how to control the suit.

Isabella was excited to get into the suit and start learning everything she needed to know. She listened closely to Tony’s instructions, but it was still just trial and error. Tony was patient with her, but even so she still often felt frustrated. The thrusters in particular were difficult to learn. She kept over compensating and as a result she had destroyed the Bentley. She felt terrible about that and couldn’t help but apologize profusely. She knew how much Tony loved that car. She decided she would try to find another one for him.

“Maybe we should move the rest of the cars out of here before I continue to destroy things. Please tell me it was this difficult for you to learn.”

"More," He said truthfully. Isabella appeared to be more coordinated than he but if he were being honest, she had the benefit of upgraded systems. When he worked out the bugs he had had to deal with power spikes, engine issues and everything else that could go wrong during startup testing. Her suit was the 3rd generation. All troubleshooted and ready to go.

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Day 3

Isabella flew in formation with Tony though her limbs still shifted around as if her body was uncertain of how to be as she flew along the skyline. Horizontal like this was the most difficult and so Tony had them doing acceleration drills right out of the gate.

Day 6

Changing direction quickly had resulted in Isabella falling for several hundred feet before she was able to get back control of her suit. She had ran into Tony's training drones twice playing tag with them. At half a million a pop those were expensive mistakes but Tony still told her she was doing extremely well.

Day 10

Isabella would wake to the aroma of fresh coffee as Tony waived it under her nose. She had slept in and Tony had tried to wake her twice before she finally got up out of bed. They had sex in the shower because she had fallen asleep on him the night before and today her schedule was completely booked.

She knew what waking up late meant too. A disgusting green smoothie that Tony made her drink. It was one of the few things he knew how to make and it tasted horrible. She gulped it down on the way down to the lab and her suit.

Tony had Chase and Hunter drones today. Drones she needed to catch and those she had to avoid. Her HUD could identify them but avoiding and catching them was all her. Tony flew nearby her as she chased down the last drone. She had not been touched by the chasers and to show off she had pivoted and used her repulsor beams to blast the one behind her. Tony was extremely impressed.