Taming of the Shrew - Part 2
Posted on Wed Aug 28th, 2024 @ 3:27pm by Charles Xavier & Emma Frost
Edited on on Wed Aug 28th, 2024 @ 3:28pm
Mission:
Episode 0: X Lang Syne
Location: Manhattan, NY
Timeline: 1986
Now The Conclusion
Tony didn't sleep at all the night before. After catching his breath outside Emma's elevator, he had driven back to Stark Tower and tinkered in his workshop until sunrise, at which point he knocked off, mixed himself an extra strong screwdriver on the rocks, took a cold shower, and then jogged laps around the helipad at the tower summit.
“What to do… what to do…”
The mantra repeated over and over as Tony circled the helipad wearing only his underthings. Emma had been right. Few people ever told him no. It wasn't that “no” was a new word but the conviction in which she'd said it to him. She wanted him to try harder, to give her a piece of himself, to make it worth her while.
Well, two could play at that game. Tony quickly implemented a plan to woo the no right out of Emma's mouth. Ditching the helipad, Tony activated the beeper he kept for his assistant, Pepper Potts. There was much to do before the evening and not much time in which time to do it.
Emma's Penthouse - Later That Evening
Emma had cancelled all but the most urgent business activities and scheduled personal spa activities. A massage, facial, refreshed nails and hair, and a sea salt scrub took most of the day. In between the physical activities, she met with her fashion stylists.
At the end of the business day, she was delivered home. She meditated as she awaited the moment.
The callbox chimed from the private elevator. It seemed she had a caller. Upon investigation, it was a delivery. After allowing the delivery up to the penthouse, Emma was surprised to see an older man in a three-piece tuxedo complete with black tie and white gloves. In one hand was a bouquet of roses and a violin in the other. He handed the bouquet to Emma before producing the bow and playing a song.
“Emma Frost, oh what a delight,
With that icy charm, you shine so bright.
You turned me down, but that’s just fun,
This little game… has just begun.”
It was clearly to the tune of “Unforgettable” by Nat King Cole but not even the operatic skill of the classically trained singer and violinist could smooth over the rough edges.
“Tony Stark, yeah, you know my style,
Playing it cool, but I made you smile.
Now I’m mesmerized, that’s plain to see,
By your sharp mind… and your mystery.”
If the singer felt ridiculous, he didn’t show it. He might as well have been center stage at Carnegie Hall for all the professionalism he put into his performance.
So here’s to you, and here’s to me,
Where this will go, we’ll wait and see.
This bouquet and my little song,
To show my admiration… is lifelong.”
Having finished, the singer stowed his violin and produced an envelope of vellum paper with a pearlescent sheen. The Stark monogram was visible on the front with a red wax seal. Inside was a brief letter which briefly stated:
"Miss Frost,
Something came up at the office. I’ve always been a fan of grand gestures, and I thought this might be a suitable way to express both my admiration and regret for a woman of your caliber. Consider this a humble apology from someone who would rather be anywhere else than stuck at work.
Looking forward to our next encounter.
Yours truly,
Tony Stark"
A smirk came over Emma’s face. The games had truly begun. Now they were in the high stakes round.
Stark Tower
The next day, Tony sat with his feet perched on his desk, leaned back in his chair. In his hand was a remote control that clicked through the wide-screen monitor anchored to his office wall. While nobody could ever accuse him of being overly involved in the administration of his company, Tony still liked to keep a weather eye on things.
“Pepper!” he called out. “Pepper, it did it again!”
The clack-a-clack of high heels darting across the marbled tile of Tony’s office echoed throughout the cavernous expanse. “So sorry, Mr. Stark! I’m sure I don’t know what’s happened. Allow me…”
“That’s every appointment for today!” Tony exclaimed as if he hadn’t even heard. “Wozniak, Koch, Miss Universe! All cancelled! How could this happen?”
Poor Pepper shook her head, sending her rivulets of strawberry blonde hair swaying across her heart-shaped face. “As I said before, Mr. Stark, I don’t know but I will get to the bottom of it immediately!”
“See that you do,” Tony harrumphed as he squeezed a stress ball. “I hate being stood up!”
His displays of the security systems of the tower demonstrated low risks. A lot of people were gathering into a growing crowd at street level. Several low level tech types were assembling audio and video gears for an unknown purpose.
“Pepper!” Tony called back after she’d already left. “Why are there peasants outside my castle? I think they might be… roadies? What the hell!”
A few musician types took instruments and after a few moments, the unmistakable guitar of Angus Young began to play the driving riff of “Thunderstruck” that could be heard through the thick walls of the tower.
“No way…” Tony hopped over to the window with an incredulous grin on his face. The security cameras didn’t do it justice. Hands splayed out against the glass like a little boy, Tony’s grin spread ever wider. His blue eyes were bulging out in wonder. “Pepper! Get my schoolboy uniform!”
The emergency elevator dropped 110 stories from the penthouse to the street level. Tony came bursting out of it in wool shorts whose hem hovered just above his knee-length socks, a navy blue blazer to match, and a striped silk tie. “Thunderstruck” had just reached its chorus and he threw his fist in the air until it finished.
Walking right up to the microphone, it took everything he could manage not to gush at Angus Young.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I thought I was the king of surprises, but this... this takes the cake. AC/DC rocking out in front of Stark Tower? Someone pinch me because this has got to be a dream!" He handed the mic back to Angus and said, “Let's rock this city like it's never been rocked before!”
Angus began to duck walk back across the stage away from Tony, starting the first chords of one of their smash Hits.
”She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean
She was the best damn woman that I ever seen
She had the sightless eyes, telling me no lies
Knocking me out with those American thighs
Taking more than her share, had me fighting for air
She told me to come, but I was already there
'Cause the walls start shaking, the Earth was quaking
My mind was aching and we were making it
And you shook me all night long
Yeah, you shook me all night long”
At the other side of the adapted stage area, a tall blonde in pitch black leather tights and an ivory blouse stood swaying to the music. There were thousands of fans rocking out in the immediate area, but she stood out like a diamond amongst pebbles.
Tony’s eyes zeroed in on the jewel in the sandy shore of people. She did this. How was beside the point. That would be revealed in time. What mattered most in this moment was why.
Marching over to her, his face still plastered with surreal excitement, Tony stopped within arm’s reach. “You’re guilty for this, I presume.”
His eyes sparkled with wonder. She looked as hot as she did in her elegant evening wear from when they shared their first dance. So many sides to this woman. When she turned him down and he riposted with a rain check of his own, she went for the killing stroke. In that instant, Tony knew he was hooked. All that remained was whether or not to admit it.
She offered a delightfully warm smile and an arched eyebrow that threatened to climb into her hairline. He had seen the chill in that smile before, but there is nothing but amused delight in it now.
“Despite my attorney's advice, yes, I take full responsibility for this particular moment." The blonde's vivid blue eyes met his before glancing down and then back up again with a cool appraisal. Her voice was an amused drawl that turned her Mid-Atlantic accent into a mewl. “I don't think I've seen you before in a school boy uniform. It's quite fetching, if unexpected. What's next? Lederhosen?”
“Maybe for Oktoberfest.” Tony smirked at his quip. “If you aren’t a fan, I have other attire up in the penthouse.” He nodded to the top of the tower where his name was displayed in lights. “You could help me pick out something more fashionable.”
Admission. That was going to be his play. He was hooked and wouldn’t deny it. Tony’s grin abandoned all plays at subtlety. After such a wild and unexpected gesture, he was going to give Emma precisely what she wanted. Everything.
Emma took a small step closer, casually reaching out to slip a finger through one of his belt loops. “One of my favorite degrees is the one I have in education. I kind of like the idea of the schoolboy that needs special attention from his teacher. Do you require special attention, Mr. Stark?"
“I’ve always been an avid supporter of special education,” Tony quipped. “Just ask my charitable foundation.”
"Oh, I've quite thoroughly vetted your operation….so to speak.” Emma purred. "I'm a woman difficult to impress. But you do have potential, Mr. Stark. A quite impressive potential indeed.” She bit her lower lip for a moment as she sized him up. "To be frank, my thoughts about fashion at the moment are inconsequential. I'm thinking less clothes, not more.”
“Wow, it’s like you’re reading my mind,” Tony said with a flat deadpan delivery.
“Well, it's no challenge to read someone's mind whose randy thoughts appear over their head like the word balloons in a Peanuts cartoon.” She moved close enough so the warm scent of her perfume wafted through his mind like a clarion call directly into his libido. She reached up to take his hat off and pull it onto her head. "Mine.”
“Keep it.” Tony slid his arms around her waist and took a handful of her leather tights. “But what do I get in return?”
Emma smiled saucily as Stark's hands found a posterior of the highest grade tier on any scale. "An encore?”
The third and final one of the band's set exploded across the stage. Shoot to Thrill, one of his favorites, erupted from the speakers.
Emma extracted herself but it was only to lead him towards the tower and his private elevator. “What's your security protocol in the tower? Knowing you, it's probably a palm print."
Emma turned away from the reader for the elevator, and wriggled back into it. The palm print that was still fresh on her posterior made the sensor ding happily.
“You wicked thing.” Tony’s smirk turned rogue and daring. “You know I can’t let you leave now. Into the dungeon with you!”
Emma chuckled and rolled her eyes.
"Promises, prommmmm….”
Before she could finish that final wisecrack, Tony took Emma in his arms and pushed her into the elevator. Their lips came together hot and heavy. Tony pulled back his wrestling tongue long enough to press the intercom.
“Pepper, cancel the rest of my week and lock the office door. I’m signing off.”
Tony released the intercom before Pepper could respond. Emma pulled at his bottom lip with her teeth as the security elevator doors closed behind them.
