The Starlight Ball

Pepper called on the morning of the ball, sounding apologetic. Even if it wasn't her fault, Pepper would always apologize. She was so polite sometimes that Tony wondered how she was even real.

"I'm so sorry I can't make it this year," she said, "I tried but my mother is-"

"Pepper please," Tony interrupted before the woman could start a surely prepared speech for his benefit. It wasn't as if he didn't want to hear all about Pepper's mother's recovery but he knew Pepper was only telling him because she was feeling guilty for not being there. It had actually become a tradition for Tony to take her to the annual charity ball, "Don't worry. I understand. Your mother comes first."

"Thank you Tony," Pepper replied, her voice relaxing a little. There was a rustle of fabric from the other side as Pepper probably made her self more comfortable on the sofa, before she asked, her voice just on the verge of being sly, "So, have you decided on a date yet?"

"I'm not taking one," he answered bluntly, enjoying the shocked silence from the other side.

"You're not taking one," Pepper repeated slowly, as if afraid she had misheard his words, "Wow, I never thought I would ever see the day Tony Stark wouldn't take a date to a benefit. What happened?"

"Well, I wanted to ask Harry to go with me but he's already going with Wayne so I've decided to crash their little date."

"Tony!" Pepper scolded, her tone disapproving. Tony resisted the urge to smirk at the predictability of it all. The scolding wasn't exactly real, Tony knew because Pepper was aware that playing with someone's emotions when something substantial was on the line, just wasn't his style. Tony may love sex, but he preferred it when his partner wasn't wallowing in guilt or crying his or her eyes out after a bad breakup. "I know you and Mr. Wayne aren't exactly friends but this little competition between you two got to stop."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Tony protested, mock innocent. If Pepper had been here in front of him, Tony would have even put his hands up in an "I'm innocent" sort of gesture. "And who says Bruce isn't my friend. He keeps calling me to complain about his problems. If I'm not his friend, I'll have to start charging him for my time."

"Tony," Pepper chided, but her tone was considerably warmer. "You know what I'm talking about. You and Wayne has this pissing contest going on." Amusement colored her words and Tony smirked.

"If someone is in a pissing contest as you say," Tony retorted, "it's Wayne and Lex Luthor. They were ready to spend nearly a billion dollars to prove their superiority."

Pepper mumbled something about "spoiled rich brats" before sighing audibly.

"You better not embarrass Harry," she warned, "Or else I'm coming after you. There's no way I'm arranging for a new assistant if he decides to quit on you."

"Pepper!" Tony defended himself, "Harry loves me. Don't worry."

"Whatever you say," Pepper replied, her tone fond, "Now I've got to go. Have a nice party."

She hung up after that.

Tony replaced the receiver before pressing a button to buzz Harry to his office. It took 5 minutes before his personal assistant knocked on the door before coming in.

"Ready for the party?" Tony asked, big grin on his face.

"I am," Harry replied flatly, eyes narrowed at Tony as if wondering what he was up to, "Bruce will be flying in an hour before the party. I will be joining him at our hotel."

Tony made a face.

"As in you and him in the same hotel?"

"Of course," Harry replied innocently, as if he had no idea what Tony was going on about, "I think it'll be fun. There are rumors that Lex Luthor will also be staying there. I hear you and him are friends."

Tony grimaced at the mere suggestion that he and Luthor could ever be friendly. The other man was creepy as hell. Everything about him just screamed super villain for some reason. Even his company logo looked like something out of a comic book.

"I hear he's bringing a male date. I never pegged Luthor to be bisexual."

"Maybe it's a recent change," Harry shrugged, "Now is there something you want me to do? I need to get back to my job."

Tony shrugged.

"No that's it," he admitted, "You don't need a tuxedo right?" He has no definite idea about Harry's financial situation but he figured he should ask just in case. Although, he doubted that a man with ties to royalty could be poor.

"No," Harry smiled, "Thanks for the offer."

"No prob," Tony replied and waved him off. If he watched Harry's ass as he walked away? Well, no one has to know.

Much to Tony's distain, Bruce Wayne has gotten even better-looking than the last time Tony had met him just about 5 years ago. Those magazine covers really didn't do him justice. Wayne was taller than Tony – something that made him seethe in the inside. Tony had always been pretty sensitive about his height, which was way he wore custom designed lifts to appear taller – and was built like a professional model, all power and muscle, without a single ounce of fat. It was enough to give anyone an inferiority complex and judging by the way some of the nearby guests were tugging self-consciously at their clothing, it probably already did.

"Wayne," Tony said, tone levelled, refusing to let the younger man intimidate him. Although he had to give it to him, Wayne's glower was pretty impressive.

"Stark," Wayne nodded, smirk creeping on to his fate. Damn it, was Tony showing something he shouldn't? "Where's your date?"

"I didn't bring one," Tony admitted and the smugness practically oozed out every pore of Wayne's body, "I figured I would just crash yours."

The smile promptly disappeared.

"You got to be kidding me," Bruce deadpanned, "There's no way I'm letting you stalk Harry the entire evening."

"Well too bad," it was Tony's turn to smirk, "It's a free country."

Wayne was obviously about to reply with a scathing remark when a familiar voice spoke up from behind them, interrupting their argument.

"What on earth are you two doing? Standing around making a bigger fool out of yourselves than you already are?"

"Luthor," Tony and Bruce hissed at the same time before turning to face the new arrival.

Despite having lost all his hair – from reasons that no one really knew – Lex Luthor was still a sight to behold. He was dressed in a custom made suit that probably cost him a pretty penny, one that fit his muscular form to the T. He stood tall and confident and the gorgeous blond accompanying him did nothing to ruin the whole image.

"So that's Clark," Tony heard Bruce mumble. He turned his attention to the blond as well, taking in the tall figure – why was everyone taller than him? – the almost-too-perfect-to-be-real shoulder to waist ratio, the self-deprecating smile that only made him look cuter, and the whole boy-next-door look and wondered why such this Adonis was with Luthor, besides the obvious of course. Clark looked really young, as if he had barely graduated from university.

"This is Clark Kent," Luthor introduced his companion when he noticed where their attentions were, "He's an old friend of mine from Smallville."

"It's nice to meet both of you," Clark nodded and shook their hands.

Bruce and Tony repeated the sentiment and Tony found himself actually meaning his words. Clark looked really nice despite his choice of dates.

Harry took that moment to descend the stairs, looking absolutely gorgeous in a tailored dark blue suit and tie combination, his hair messed up artistically. He looked completely at ease as he greeted Luthor and Kent which made Tony narrow his eyes.

"Have you guys met before?"

"We bumped in to each other when we checked in," Harry admitted, "Clark and Lex's room are actually near ours."

"And what room is that?" Tony asked because Bruce had refused to tell him on the phone when he had called earlier.

"It's 412," Harry admitted, ignoring the way Bruce was shaking his head at him.

"Thank you Harry," Tony smirked before rushing off to ask the receptionist to change rooms. His was on the fifth floor and there was no way he was missing anything because of that.

After he had done so, he came back to rejoin the group. He found Lex and Bruce in a staring contest of some kind, frowning at each other without saying a word while Harry and Clark were discussing work as a reporter.

"It's a dangerous job," Clark was saying, looking self-deprecating, "But I enjoy the rush."

"Oh I know what you mean," Harry nodded, "Sometimes I feel the need for adrenaline in order to feel alive."

"I can give you all the rush you need," Tony interjected smoothly coming to stand next to Harry, "You know I will."

"You can't handle me Stark," Harry replied just as smoothly, not even turning to look at him, "I'll eat you alive."

Kent snorted before adopting an innocent expression when Tony turned to glare at him.

"Come on," Tony said moodily, "Let's get this party over with."

TBC