1363/Losing Sleep

Losing Sleep
Date of Scene:	25 April 2020
Location:	Stark Tower: Penthouse
Synopsis:	Nat and Tony discuss the tangled web of their fake marriage and a decision is made.
Cast of Characters:	Tony Stark, Natasha Romanoff

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Tony Stark has posed:
It's late in the evening. The kind of late where even Tony would normally be asleep. Except he's not. Instead, he's sitting on the end of the bed in a pair of dark sweats and a black tank top. The room is dark, illuminated only by the pale blue glow of the arc reactor embedded in his chest. His arms are folded over his knees and his head is in his hands, the room entirely silent save for the ambient noise of the building and the city below.

He takes a deep breath after a moment, lifting his eyes up to stare out through the window and the blinking lights of the evening. Both hands rise to rub his face for a bit before they draw back through his hair, holding them there atop his head thoughtfully for a moment.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    Illuminated only by that blue light, it brings a certain amount of reflection to the window that is Tony's only hint that Natasha Romanoff has come out from under the covers and is now silently sliding into place beside Tony on her back, hands folded on her stomach, wearing a long half-buttoned white dress shirt that reaches just past her thighs.
    Normally this is the last thing someone sees before they die, but luckily Natasha's supposed to be here.
    Sort of.
    "I'm not supposed to fall asleep before you." She says in that passive gentle tone she tends to use, either by choice or some side affect of wrestling a Russian accent away. "It's unprofessional."
    That said, her expression isn't playful or lighthearted. It's honestly a little hard to read except for a vague sense that she thinks something's wrong. Nat being Nat, her approach to this, having announced her presence, is simply to say, "Tell me what's bothering you."
    In fairness it doesn't *sound* like a demand. It's just phrased like one.

Tony Stark has posed:
Tony doesn't hide it. He doesn't try to mask what's on his mind. He knows what he wants to say and he's been articulating it in his mind for hours now. Still, a part of him hesitates. How will it sound? Will it sound too demanding? Pushy? As complicated as all this is, he likes what he has with Nat. Maybe the fake marriage is starting to lose its sheen, but the rest of it? This is what he wanted. Still wants.

"I've got to tell Pepper," he says suddenly, looking up towards the reflection in the window as though the final decision has been made, "I need to let her know that I didn't just run off and decide to get married without even discussing it. I need to let her know what this is ... what you mean ... to me. She's always been in my corner, Nat. Backed every play. Iron Man. Getting out of the arms business. She's never bat an eye ... "

A sigh, then he straightens his back and lifts his chin: "You don't have to take the blame for it. I'll explain it to Fury. Let the bastard glare at me." Then, because he can't help himself, he mutters, "Half-glare at me."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    Natasha's narrow brow arches slightly incredulously as Tony speaks. Of all the relationship troubles she expected to spring up early on, this isn't one of them. Her first instinct is a hard no, but when the history is more or less laid out, her mouth closes and she looks up at the ceiling.
    "... I don't like it." She admits softly. "I don't even like the Avengers knowing. They sort of... drill that into you at spy school." She says, casually maintaining the fiction that her training was anything resembling normal. "Too many mouthes that can get careless. Get drunk. Have some kind of moral epiphany behind your back. Turn out to be Hydra." She says, idly listing off possibilities; either feeling a need to clarify, or just... kinda tired. "... You really trust her." It's not spoken like it's a question, she just sort of... wants to hear him say it.

Tony Stark has posed:
"Three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead," Tony answers flatly, dropping his hands down to his lap and staring at them, "I know what you're saying. Believe it or not, they drill a little of that into defense contractors, too. They don't exactly want you talking about the latest tactical fighter prototype at the Neon Bunny. Not that I've ever been."

Nat's statement, however, earns a sharp nod from him, though: "I do trust her. Absolutely. She's never done a thing that would make me think otherwise. She already thinks you're going to insist that I fire her and she signed a five year non-compete and an NDA without anyone asking her to. She cares about this company. She's ... my friend, Nat. My best friend. I owe it to her not to drive her off because I want to be president."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    Natasha lets that hang in the air silently for a good little while. She's not sure she's... moved by it exactly. But she gets it. Clint is the only person who knows what she really is and still treats her like a human being. If there's anyone else who might be inclined, they're her employers and aren't of a mind to show it. That makes him the only guy on Earth.
    That level of trust can still be a mistake. They drill that into you, too.
    Still.
    "Mnnf." She finally grunts. "... I really am playing professionalism Jenga at this point." She says blandly, eyes closed, and then turns her head slightly, opening her eyes to look at Tony. "... which still doesn't sound as bad as telling someone I'm *dating*." She sighs and closes her eyes. "... I'll go with it." She says, admittedly partly just so Tony doesn't go rogue on the matter, "... But if you convince one more redhead to take your side, I'm having you tested for Mutant genes."

Tony Stark has posed:
"I don't want to get you in trouble with the cyclops," Tony tells her, turning around to rest a hand on her leg and giving her a wan look, "I know I'm asking a lot from you. I have a habit for that. Bet you're starting to think it would've been easier in the long run to let those Hydra guys shoot me, huh?"

His mouth ticks up into a smile though it doesn't quite reach his eyes. Slowly he flops back onto the bed, lying there with his hands behind his head and staring mutely up at the ceiling.

"Thank you," he tells her in the still of the night, "I ... needed to do this. I didn't want to do it without knowing you were in my corner."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    Natasha gives an uncommitted "Mmf." In regards to Tony's habit of asking a lot of her, but she smirks a little in the dark and says, "Wouldn't even have gotten chewed out for it." She says with a hint of merriment to her soft tired voice, regarding Tony's hypothetical execution. "I'd be flying to the Trsikelion in an Iron Man suit, and probably get a raise."
    That's... probably nonsense.
    Probably.
    When Tony lays back, the two of them are now essentially laying in a yin-yang position. She'd... really like to say something nice in response, like 'I'll always be in your corner' but her heart wouldn't really be in setting that particular romantic land mine down where she's sure she's going to step on it.
    Instead, she picks the simpler lie of "... It's no problem." as Natasha slowly sits up and spins herself around a bit so she can lay back onto the bed the right way up like a normal person. She lets a moment of silent pondering pass before she says, "Do you want me there? In case she tries to beat you to death or something? I'm still your bodyguard."

Tony Stark has posed:
There's a long silence from Tony. Natasha's answer doesn't fall on deaf ears, and as much as he can spend most of the time completely absorbed by his own problems he does have a frustrating habit of picking up on some things with a surprising amount of insightfulness from time to time. He doesn't move in the dark, though his mouth twists faintly in thought.

His tone isn't bombastic. It isn't over the top or full of that charisma he's known for. It's quiet, thoughtful. Almost like the voice of another person, save that he's right there speaking them to her.

"I think I'll be okay," he murmurs, "But you probably ought to be there so she can, you know, meet you. We might not be married but we're still together."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    Natasha looks a little wistful and says, "... Yeah, we are, huh." while rolling lazily onto her side to drape one arm across Tony's chest, nestling under his arm a bit. "Wasn't expecting to meet the folks so soon, but I'll be brave." She says, a bit sleepily. "I feel like I should pick out an intimidating authority figure to introduce you to, but you've already met Fury and made fun of his eyepatch."

Tony Stark has posed:
"And I'll make fun of it again," Tony says with steely determination, shifting his arm to wrap it around Natasha and draw her close to his side, "I won't rest until he bedazzles that thing. That, or a 'Hello Kitty' design. Either one."

He turns his head now, no longer staring at the ceiling but instead focusing his attention on her. His voice remains soft, ebbing back away from the joking tone of just a moment before. It's here that they can be more honest, less guarded - even if neither of them can fully let that guard down in the end.

"You'll get along with her," he promises, "This ... her being upset? That's not on you. She's not ... jealous. She just feels like I'm boxing her out. This'll fix that. I swear."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    Natasha's shoulders shake with a contained laugh and she very lazily raises her arm, and just as ineffectually drops it to swat at Tony's shoulder in response to his grim determination.
    That done, she grins a little and says, "Well..." and pulls herself a bit tighter against him, proving unusually cuddly for an ice cold killer super spy, "... if there's one thing I trust you to do, it's fix things."