#tonynat hollywood au

[katebishopofearth]

I know this is out of nowhere but do you have any tonynat fic snippets you can share with us? I really love your writing 🥹

Ahhhhh this ask means so much to me you don't even understand 🥹

Here's... a thing...? that started out as a response to a prompt from a million years ago, it takes place in a Hollywood AU, but in order to write for that AU I obviously had to develop the entire elaborate backstory, after which... I did not finish writing for the prompt I am so sorry 😭 it's in the works I promise

But for now, here's the backstory:

In the glamorous world of Hollywood, money alone wasn't enough to open doors. You also needed status and fame, the ephemeral currencies of Hollywood.

And Tony Stark was nothing if not Hollywood royalty. He grew up in the limelight, the only child of celebrated actors Howard and Maria Stark. He had cameos in blockbusters before he could walk, became a leading man at the age of sixteen, and made a name for himself as not only a brilliant actor but also a notorious playboy following in his father's footsteps. Everywhere he went he had a different girl on his arm, he courted the affections of a handful of men, and when an interviewer asked him about settling down, he shrugged off the idea with his trademark devil-may-care smirk.

Natasha Romanoff found it all rather amusing. Because for a year now, Tony Stark hadn't been going home to his sprawling beachside mansion with a carousel of beautiful and interchangeable men and women. He had been going home to her cozy townhouse, cooking dinner in her kitchen, and spending his evenings curled up with her on her couch.

It had started as a chance encounter at the friend of a friend's, which led to an evening of lively, engaging conversation over drinks. He had seen her debut movie, which came out eight months ago, a small indie picture about two sisters that made barely a splash critically or in the box office. But he had seen it, and he had some surprisingly deep and pointed insights into it. It proved to her that there was a brain behind all his bravado, and broke through any reservations she might have had about his status as the A-lister of A-listers.

Then Tony expressed interest in her new project, and she cast him in a supporting role. They spent a lot of time together during that project – two months in the middle of nowhere. When Natasha was deep in the mires of rewrites, shooting schedules, and editing, it was Tony who brought her a sandwich, a cup of tea, or an aspirin. Sometimes, he acted as a sounding board, letting her bounce her ideas and frustrations off him. Other times, he cajoled her into taking a break – watching old spy movies, going for a walk, or drawing her out of her hyper-focus with a lively debate over something as pointless as almond milk or the Star Wars prequels.

It was on one of these breaks, in the last two weeks of shooting, that she kissed him. It might have been in the middle of From Russia With Love, in the middle of a field at dusk, or  in the middle of a discussion about aliens. The details didn't matter – what did matter was that despite his reputation, despite the energy that fizzled between them, Tony didn't make the first move. That had always been reserved for Natasha. When she pulled back and asked him, "was that okay?" he smiled so that the edges of his eyes crinkled, and he said in wonderment, "no one's ever asked me that before", before he leaned in for another kiss. When their lips met, it was with a sense of inevitability, like they had been, all this time, finding their way to each other.

After that, the world shifted imperceptibly. It was the subtlest of paradigm shifts. Even after the shoot wrapped up and they went back to LA, and Natasha dove into the post-production phase of her film and Tony started shooting a new movie in his superhero franchise, there was no picking up their normal lives again.