It was the day of the party and you headed into your office, coffee in hand. You didn't work out of there very often but you had to pop in occasionally to clear out mail and paperwork that the people that didn't know any better left on your desk. Your gaze fell on the small stack of folders in the middle of your desk with the sticky note on top and you frowned. And some people that did know better.

As it had the last three times he'd left the pile on your desk, the sticky note said 'you'. You rolled your eyes and picked up the files and went to find Tony. Jarvis informed you that he was in the lab as usual so you made your way there. "Morning, Bruce," you greeted as you stepped into the lab. "Stark."

Tony didn't even look at you. He knew why you were there and why you were irritated. He simply smirked and continued with his work. You sat the pile on his desk. "We've been over this, Tony. I do not want to be CEO of Stark Industries. Pick someone else."

He looked at you then, his hands spread to his sides in a gesture of innocence. "You're the only one I trust to do the job. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

You leaned forward and kissed him. "It means the world, but I am still not going to do it. Pick someone else."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Just give me a good reason why you won't do it and I'll find someone else."

This is the first time he actually wanted to talk about it, so you took that as a positive sign you were getting through to him. "There are many. However, have you considered that if I become CEO that I will no longer be your assistant or the team's and I will have to work in an office all day away from you. And travel without you. Go to dinners without you."

He held up his hands. "That's enough. I'll pick someone else."

"I knew you'd see reason." You leaned forward and rewarded him with another brief kiss. "Now about the party tonight." You pulled up a list on your tablet. "The space has been fully set up. The florist will be here in about an hour. The caterer will arrive at five."

Tony nodded. "Yeah, that's all been canceled."

You blinked at him as you ran your tongue across your suddenly dry lips. "I'm sorry?"

"Well, not completely. I had some changes they wouldn't accommodate so I got someone else." He said it as if it was the most normal thing in the world. As if you hadn't spent weeks planning this stupid party that he insisted was for the two of you even though you wanted nothing to do with it. As if you hadn't bent over backward to make certain everything was ready for the insane number of guests he'd invited.

You took a deep breath. "What sort of changes did you make, Tony."

"Uh oh," you heard Bruce mutter under his breath behind you. Perhaps you didn't sound as calm as you'd intended.

"I had to add some people. I wanted roses, which your florist refused to add to the arrangements and I added an appetizer to the list." His tone was a little more cautious, as if understanding perhaps he had messed up.

"And what appetizer did you add?" you asked through clenched teeth.

"Shrimp in peanut sauce?"

"For the love of..." you trailed off with a sigh. "Jarvis, please contact the caterer and nix the peanuts. Tell them we'll pay for any wasted ingredients. Have them do a garlic shrimp instead. Then call the two guests that are allergic to roses and tell them that there will be roses on the premises due to an oversight and we understand should they choose not to come."

"Of course, Miss."

You simply stared at Tony until he started to squirm under the attention. "Perhaps next time I have spent many hours planning an event you should check with me before you make any changes. You know, just in case there is a reason I didn't ask for roses although they are my favorite flower, or I was avoiding peanuts because I didn't want to kill anyone." You were yelling by the end and Tony winced slightly away from you.

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. "I am going to walk down the street and get a coffee. I'll be back."

"But you have coffee right here." Tony lifted your mug and held it toward you.

You lifted a brow and gave him a tight smile. "I'm taking a short walk and getting a coffee. I will be back later."

"Um...yeah. Sounds good." He sat the mug down and watched you walk out of the lab with wide eyes.

At least he was smart enough to just let you go. You needed to cool off before you said something you didn't mean. It didn't escape your notice that he'd wanted your favorite flower and one of your favorite foods at the party. He was trying to be sweet, which is probably why he didn't discuss it with you first, but after all the time you'd put into making sure everything would run smoothly...ugh.

A short walk and some fresh air would do you a world of good. When you hit the lobby, you realized that you brought nothing with you. You groaned. The trip upstairs would take longer than the walk to the coffee shop at this point. The security office was just down the hall and you ducked inside, smiling at the young man that greeted you. "Happy in?"

"Sure thing." He buzzed you through. Evidently, you'd been in enough they knew you by now.

You rapped your knuckles on Happy's door to get his attention. He glanced up and smiled when he saw it was you. "Hey. What's up?"

"First I wanted to make sure we were set with security for tonight?"

He leaned back in his chair and nodded. "Yep. I've got two on the door down here. Two more on the floor."

"And you're coming to the party, right? No working."

He ran a hand over the top of his head. "You and Tony both insisted so yes, I'll be there."

"Good." You smiled. You genuinely liked Happy and he had been one of the few people you made sure to invite yourself. "Do you have ten bucks I can borrow? I want to go get some coffee and left my purse upstairs."

"Sure." He fished a bill out of his wallet and handed it over. "Do you want me to go with you?"

You shook your head. The paparazzi tended to leave you be as long as you were alone and not with Tony. "I'll be fine. Thanks, Hap."

***

As predicted, it only took you a few minutes to get to the coffee shop. You sat outside enjoying the sun while you drank your coffee. Once you finished, you tossed your cup in the trash and headed back toward the tower, your hands in your pockets as you strolled along.

Your little jaunt had done you a world of good and you were ready to get back to finalizing everything for the party. As much as you were dreading the event, you also couldn't wait for Tony to see you in your dress. Wanda, Nat and you had spent a whole afternoon finding the perfect attire for tonight.

You were jerked rather rudely out of your daydream as you felt a sharp pinch in your upper arm. "Ow," you grumbled and turned your arm trying to get a glimpse of where you had been stung. Your head swam causing your stomach to roll. Something was very wrong.

A strong arm wrapped around you and pulled you into someone's side. "Just stay quiet and stay with me. You'll be fine."

You tried to scream, tried to push away, but you were too weak, too sick. More hands grabbed at you, pulled you into a car and in seconds they were speeding away with you still unable to protest. You cursed loudly in your head as your body was sucked down into unwanted slumber.