Ultimate Iron Man

Ch: 70 [Natasha’s perfect solution]

AN: Here begins the harem. A little late. But here you go.

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Tony stood there, still holding the smoothie, watching Yelena's back as she tried to walk away.

"Jealous?" he repeated. "Of what?"

She stopped.

Her fists clenched.

And then slowly, she turned around.

"You never looked at me like that," she said quietly.

Tony blinked. "Like what?"

"Like the way you look at her," Yelena said, each word sharp as glass. "I saw you. On the floor. With Natasha. You were... kissing her like she was the only person on Earth. Like she was gravity. Like she was home."

Tony's lips parted, a breath caught in his throat.

"I wasn't spying," Yelena continued, jaw clenched. "I brought food. For you. Because that's our thing, right? We do that. You joke, I roll my eyes. We eat. We train. We don't talk about what any of it means."

She looked away for a second, then back.

"And I just keep wondering," Yelena continued, her voice rising slightly, but still steady. Controlled. "Why didn't you ever kiss me like that? Why didn't you ever even try? Why didn't you ever make a move on me? I... I'm not so good with feelings, but I did try to..."

"Yelena…"

"Is it because I'm not her?" she snapped. "Because I'm not graceful like Natasha? Because I am not good with words like Natasha, or because I was just a mission partner? Or is it because she's more beautiful than me?"

'Damn it! I was so busy with work... Trying to make the world a better place and... Haa...' Tony stepped forward, shaken now. "What? No. God, no, Yelena..."

"Then what?" she asked, voice cracking now. "What did I do wrong? I trained beside you. I bled for you. I stayed beside you, more than she ever has. I was there. Every day. And I thought…"

Her throat tightened.

"I thought I mattered."

Tony took another step, but slower this time, cautious. His voice softened. "You do. You do matter."

She laughed bitterly. "Funny way of showing it."

Tony finally set the smoothie down and ran a hand through his hair. "You don't get it. I didn't stay away because you didn't matter. I stayed away because you do. Yelena, you scare the hell out of me. You see through all the bullshit. You don't give a damn about my money or my tech. You talk to me like I'm just… a guy. Like I'm just Tony. Not Stark. Not Iron Man. Just... me."

Yelena's eyes shimmered, but she blinked hard, swallowing it.

"That's not an excuse," she said.

"I know. I know it's not. But it's the truth." He paused. "Natasha and I? We've been dancing around each other for years. It's easy to fall into that. Habit. Familiarity. Pain with a smile."

He took a breath, voice quieter now.

"But with you... it's something else. Something I didn't see coming. You challenge me. You fight me, not just in the training room. And yeah, maybe I avoided you because I didn't know how to handle that. Or what to do with it."

She looked down at her boots. "You should've just told me."

"I should've," he agreed. "But I didn't know how. I... I am not good with emotions like this. I was in love with Natasha way before the Red Room thing. Then, the last two and half years... You came into my life. You made me feel things, complicated feelings. The same way Natasha made me feel. I was afraid."

"Afraid?" She whispered.

"Yeah. Afraid of breaking both your and Nat's hearts. That's why I never made a move against any of you. I just kept it locked up and went on doing what I do best... Create things. Then, today when Nat came at me... Like... Haaa... I just couldn't... It just happened in the spur of the moment," Tony did his best to explain.

Yelena didn't respond at first. Her eyes were locked on Tony's face,

Natasha grinned and dropped next to her. "We all do."

Tony looked between them, half-stunned, half-speechless. "So... this is happening?"

Yelena reached over and grabbed the smoothie. "I'm drinking this out of spite."

Tony smiled. "Please do."

Natasha leaned back, folding her arms. "Welcome to the weirdest love triangle in history."

Yelena took a sip and muttered, "More like a triangle that just decided to be a straight-up trident."

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