4166/Rest of the Weary

Rest of the Weary
Date of Scene:	18 November 2020
Location:	Stark Tower: Penthouse
Synopsis:	Tony finishes an invention for Supergirl -- but the long days catch up.
Cast of Characters:	Tony Stark, Pepper Potts

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Tony Stark has posed:
At first, the search for Tony reveals nothing -- the manual search, that is. The easier one - via HOMER - reveals his true location as once again being the lab. Which in a sense is and yet isn't surprising at the same time: He's been in there a lot, working on his 'save the world' project. But even after this amount of time he should have surfaced.

Exploration down into the space, though, is allowed by HOMER - and reveals the truth of things. Tony has found some rest, in the form of laying his head on folded arms on the table he's using. An array of equipment is at hand, including some very obviously newly made yellow glasses with elaborate-looking tech metal along the ear sections. Tony himself isn't wearing any, though: he's just got his head on his arm, face partially down, with a glossy spot of moisture from where he's breathing deep and warm against the table's surface.

Various monitors are dim in the space, comfortable, as if aware of and letting the inventor sleep without being jarring if he chose to wake. But for now, he's relaxed, a little accidental shut eye, maybe.

Pepper Potts has posed:
It's a toss-up, really, as to whether or not Tony joins Pepper for sleep once the 'save the world' moments hit. She could sleep an hour, two hours, wake and find either the warm body in bed or not. Tonight?

Not.

Pepper rises from the warm covers, her t-shirt borrowed with the 'AIM' logo printed across her chest, and a pair of sleepy, comfortable lounge pants. She's barefoot, hair down, and looking very much as if she's just woken up- because she has.

The search, thanks to HOMER, is easier nowadays, score one for the 'boyfriend' upgraded model, and it does lead her down the stairs. Even before the change in relationship status, she knew this is where he spent a great deal of time, but now it just feels different. More hers. Theirs. Even if it is his undisputed workspace, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

The glass door opens, and padding inside, led by dim light, she spies Tony slumped over, and it only takes a moment to realize that breaths are coming deep and even. He's not dozing, it doesn't seem. He's finally succumbed to fatigue, and there is something of a twinge of guilt that she's going to be disrupting it. But disrupt it she shall.

Approaching from behind, Pepper reaches out a warm hand to touch his shoulder, laying the flat of it there before she glides it across in a gentle rub. "Hey," her voice is soft in the room. "It's time to come to bed. I think you'll be much more comfortable," is softly spoken near his ear. "You can continue saving the world tomorrow."

Tony Stark has posed:
Tony doesn't startle. He used to do that when she'd wake him, because it was unusual, confusing. Even recently there was still a little of that. But tonight, he doesn't; he's asleep, but knew right away who she was, and was relaxed about it.

"Mmmmhmmm," Tony grumbles in answer, stretching out his arm under his head more, wincing at the tension from the position through his shoulder and shoulderblade. He flexes his partially numb fingers, from the pinched, trapped nerve, and rotates his head more to spy up and towards her. Dark eyes are mostly closed, sleepy.

"I don't want to go to school," Tony mutters at her, but with a tease to his tone, and sleek little smile. He's not dreaming; he's aware enough to be joking at her.

Pepper Potts has posed:
It's comfort, it's trust, and if anyone asks Pepper, probably a small portion of that 'l' word that is rarely breathed. But she sees it; in his looks, in his words, even in a simple moment of contact when he wants to get her attention to see this or that. So, she can feel those muscles tense, but not because of her touch, but more because of the growing wakefulness and the leaning position he's in.

Pepper doesn't move from his side, and her hand slides back in that gentle, rubbed caress as if she's looking to soothe those tight muscles. His tired, teasing murmured words gains a ghost of a smile.

"Come on.. time to put your toys away. Even your friends went to bed." Within the lab, even the robots are silent, though they certainly will activate upon command. There just hasn't been input for a fair bit.

Tony Stark has posed:
"Yes, I'm a bad influence on them," Tony chuckles as she remarks about the robotic assistants all being dormant for the time being. They are patient, of course, willing to wait forever for their creator, until he has need or want of them again. They were created with that purpose.

Tony doesn't get up yet, he stays put, but does adjust his cheek against his arm, eyes watching her with a quiet sleepiness. He's taking in the sensation of her rubbing his arm, through the layers of t-shirt over the comfortably warm light gray long-sleeved shirt it's layered over.

"To bed, then? An attractive proposal, if there's a Pepper in that destination," Tony observes.

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper laughs quietly in the dimly lit workshop. "Yes, yes you are. Keeping them up past their bedtimes. You know they need their rest, too." They're like a little family, the 'bots are all part of it.

Canting her head to the side slightly, she uses her free hand to pull her hair back and around her ear, and her brows crease slightly. "Are you at a good place to actually sleep?" She actually understands work, his work. "Or..."

It's at his quip, however, that the smirk rises, and her green eyes gleam in echo of her light amusement. "Mmmhmm.. there is. Unless something happened that I'm not aware of. I didn't get any emails, or text messages calling me away. Besides, I'm pretty sure our colleagues in Australia can handle whatever it is if they needed me at this hour." Which isn't likely, so...

"I can pretty much guarantee there will be, yes," is finished with a nod. Her hand on him shifts slightly, a touch more energetic as if to encourage him to rise from his spot.

Tony Stark has posed:
Tony's eyes move to the table and the various items on it. He clears his throat, following her question about his place and ability to sleep. "Yeah, I finished what I was doing," Tony answers evenly, extending one hand to pluck the yellow-tinted tech glasses up, to put them on his face. He gives her an immediate, flashing and charismatic grin, with a quirk of brows.

Tony then plucks the glasses off and sets them down, with an //enormous// yawn. "Done and done." He presses his arm to the table, to leverage himself up to standing, taking her energy as the hint it is.

"A guarantee, huh. Guess I'll make sure," Tony says, starting to walk towards the stairs. "HOMER, shut things down in here, but run the other duplicates. I want eight of those made."

"Yes, sir."

Pepper Potts has posed:
Pepper's brows rise once more at the modeling of the glasses, and her head quirks once more in quiet askance. She knows there's a lot of tech in those glasses, and he's happy with whatever he's got in there. If she was to guess? HUD. Maybe a spot for JARVIS to interact, or HOMER.. nope, if he's making duplicates of them? JARVIS. "Very nice." It's a pronouncement, though it's followed again by,

"Time to--"

As Tony rises to his feet, Pepper's got her 'victory' smile, though it really is for him, the gathering of the genius for bed. "I have to be sure you're actually coming to bed, so I have to be there."

She doesn't move from his side, then, as he begins to walk towards the stairs. "Christmas presents?" It is, after all, coming up. "Or is that part of your solution for the mansion?"

Tony Stark has posed:
"Neither," Tony answers. "Supergirl needed some psychic-protection against some brain-squishing monster. I just added some flare to that," Tony explains. Because stylish glasses are a lot better than some kind of dorky bucket-helmet or hat. Heaven forbid!

"Also, if I /were/ making a gift for you, I'd tell you it was to save the world. Though in this case, no, I didn't lie." Or did he? He didn't, though, he smirks and adjusts to lean against her a little as they come up and out of the stairs.

"Messed up my neck sleeping like that," Tony observes, rubbing it as he does, in fact, move towards bed, though he pauses to pull his shoes off part of the way there, with loose, exhausted tosses in the general direction of the closet. Good enough; he's spent, really. "Heroism, at the price of a crick in the neck."

Pepper Potts has posed:
"'Brain. Squishing. Monster.'" Pepper repeats slowly as they take the stairs. Once up, she turns briefly to look at him, and she tries to read his face to see if he's kidding or... "Tony, brain-squishing--"

Putting a hand up quickly, she waves it in the air as if to dispell the words, adding, "No. Never mind. And I really hope you wouldn't use the excuse of 'making glasses to help protect against monsters' to lie to me about presents."

There is a touch of sympathy in the crick in the neck, however, and Pepper 'tsks' softly as they cross the distance to the bedroom. Entering, she moves around the bed to the side where she's claimed as 'hers', and climbs onto the bed, on her knees. Setting down on her heels, Pepper gestures, following it up with, "Okay, we can't have that. Not if you want to keep heroing. Let me see what I can do."

Tony Stark has posed:
"Well, mental control. Some preventative measures against it taking heroes into it's thrall while they try to fight it," Tony explains, tired, but entirely able to articulate what he was doing without getting technical. He never minds explaining.

Tony pulls both shirts off, with the automatic squint at the flare of arc-reactor light, and then climbs onto the bed-- face down, mostly, into a pillow. "Mmmhmm, can't have it," Tony's muffled reply comes from the pillow.

Pepper Potts has posed:
She does honestly like it when he explains, as she's really interested in what he does, what he's thinking, how his approaches may be different than others given the same situation. All in all? Pepper's proud of him, of his genius, of his creativity, of his problem solving and his willingness to help. And she's proud to be part of it, even in some small way. (Even if there are those that claim she has a larger part in it all than she admits to.)

She watches as he peels his shirts off, leaving barechest before he flops gracelessly, face-first. Arms, shoulders.. and like that, she can forget for a moment there's a glowing blue reactor center of his chest.

The mattress shifts under her, under him at the side as Pepper changes position, and settles in beside him, half-seated, half-leaning. Her hands move to his neck, his shoulders, and her fingers begin to work the warm skin. She can feel the tense, the knots, and as she works the muscles, there is a twitch here, a soft grunt there, and it's not too long before those noises subside, to be replaced with light, even-sounding breathing.

Pepper sits up a little straighter, and just.. watches him sleep. A million thoughts hit her, all keeping that hint of a smile on her face; and in response to all of them, she leans over to kiss him on the back of his head and whisper, "Good night, Tony."

Now, she can sleep.