Owner	Pose
Tony Stark	The medical procedure for Tony Stark had some complications - because Tony's case is not exactly a regular occurance, and his needs are certainly not normal, due to the arc reactor in his chest - but the problems were managed, and he has been resting in recovery. Recovery at Wakanda is much like a mix between feeling like a resort and a high class medical facility. Unfortunate that Tony has mostly been sleeping, and hasn't enjoyed it as much. But that's turning around, and Tony has disconnected from many of the leads, and sat up. He's currently working on getting a shirt on, and he has it halfway, a green button-up over left arm, but is trying to work into the other side now, while not twisting his torso too much due to chest bandaging. Still, Tony's eyes are aware and bright, focused, as most of the heavier treatment is out of his system now.
Pepper Potts	It only takes a second, doesn't it? Just like before, when Pepper had found Tony in very much the same position in the Avenger's Medlab, she'd only gone to get something light to eat, coupled with a cup of coffee in preparation of settling in. Stopping at the door with the small plate with a sandwich on it (with lots of green poking out at the sides) and a steaming cup of coffee, the redhead makes her presence known with something of a longsuffering yet affectionate *sigh*. Entering the room fully, Pepper sets the things in hand down before she crosses the short distance, "Should you be up like that?" comes in the sound of a concerned fuss. She's not //stopping// him (that'd be like stopping a force of nature), but questioning the action itself? Absolutely. Her lips are pressed together, and instinctively reaches for the other side of the shirt to assist, all the while exuding a, for now, quiet disapproval. "Did you talk to the doctors?"
Tony Stark	"Yep, I need to get up and move around," Tony answers smoothly, turning his head and flashing her a confident, and competant smile. Any worry about potentially losing him is likely dashed against that smile. It isn't /meant/ to reassure, but it IS very him - his strong will swirled in with his relaxed style. "I don't intend to do a wilderness hike, but time to stop being a lazy ass," Tony smirks, with a quirk of a brow, and then movement as he finds the other sleeve with her aid, and manages to get into it. His collar on that side is folded inwards, but he's unaware: he finishes that, huffs a breath. He doesn't stand up yet, just takes a moment with a hooked smile to breathe and look up at her from where he's seated on the bed.
Pepper Potts	It is him. That slightly rumpled, amazingly handsome yet boyish look that rises as he smiles. It's one that absolutely warms her heart every single time. Pepper chuffs a soft, breathy exhale as she steps in front of him, straightening the shirt and leaning in a little to fix his collar. It's something done so many, many times, and in the past, it'd had been one of the few ways she could find to make contact with him.. complete with the light pat on his chest to be sure everything was flat and laying correctly. "Mmmhmm..." comes a dubious sound. "You know, you //can// actually relax here. Nothing will find you, find us. It's," and she leans in between his knees to drape her arms around his neck. "actually better than the place in Malibu."
Tony Stark	"I don't know about that; arguably my chest felt better in Malibu," Tony replies, but as she sets her forearms around his neck, he moves his hands automatically to the sides of her waist, where her body tapers to narrowest. He draws her to step forward, a relaxed welcome of her advancing from assistant-fixing-collar to an embrace with some emotions running through it. It's a relaxed transition to that - the door being open to accept her comfort - and to let her see that it's even needed in the first place. Even if he's not going to /say/ it is. The orientation will bring his nose to her collarbone, since he hasn't stood up, but he doesn't care; he bonks his forehead there and exhales a deep, heavy breath. He's physically pretty battered by the procedure, but he's making himself sit up, get up, and DO. But for just a second he's going to let himself bump his forehead there without talking around it or making an excuse about it.
Pepper Potts	Tony doesn't have to say it. Pepper's been with him long enough to see past the facade, the bravado, to see what lies underneath. To see the man beyond the myth and legend, as it were. Here, in this room, with her arms around his neck, and his hands drawn around her waist, his resting his head against her is all she needs to confirm her suspicions. He's tired. He's hurting. And he's doing this for her. "Let your body heal, Tony," is whispered. "You just had heart surgery." Literally. "The world can wait, and you're going to be okay." That is her acknowledgment that she isn't afraid for him; not the way she had been. Now, it's concern that he isn't getting the rest he needs for a proper recovery. Her fingers play in the short hair that sits at the nape of his neck as his head is tilted forward, resting on her. From this position, she can rest her chin on his head lightly, the embrace soft and intimate for the heartbeats that pass. "We have time." There's a beat, a brief pause before, "And when you're truly feeling up to moving around, we can go for walks. No paparazzi here. No selfies, by order of the King." That last is delivered with a hint of a smile that touches her lips before she rocks her head down to lay a gentle kiss on the top of his head.
Tony Stark	"I am up to it; I don't like just laying here," Tony chuckles softly. That, in fact, is not bravado: Tony is notoriously difficult to keep in a hospital bed for any period of time. Though, well. Fun drugs are sometimes effective. But otherwise, the man is just too driven, to into a new idea or a project to be down for long. He is showing it here, too - this drive to get healed. But that's a good thing: a patient driven to improve, not lay and languish, heals far faster. The mind is a powerful thing. "Give me a tour of this amazing hallway?" Tony suggests, a tease -- but he is also bartering. He's agreed not to go too far, to do a short exercise only, in that.
Pepper Potts	Pepper can understand completely, this multifaceted man is far from the shallow playboy billionaire that others acribe to him. It's never a sure thing, even for her, to know which way he will go with almost anything. A quiet laugh emerges from the redhead as she steps a half-pace back, offering up first the sandwich. The coffee brought in is no longer hot, and tepid caffeine? Eeeeerk. "Cucumber and lettuce sandwich? Something light." There's the pause before, "I'll share." The hallway walk, as suggested, brings a brighter smile to her face, and another half step is taken back in order to give him a little room to stand. "The hallway has an amazing view of the city. I've walked it a few times myself," and her expression remains bright, naturally warm, "though you might catch a few things that I might have missed." Like, all the little tech additions to the walls, windows.. panels.
Tony Stark	"That sounds like a salad, on bread," Tony says with pointed dismay at the sandwich, but it isn't really negative. He may or may not nibble, though he doesn't stay on the food topic, which may suggest he's just not hungry at the moment. As Pepper steps back, Tony drops his hands to the bed and leverages himself up without preamble or warning. He's on a track - and that track is leading him to get up and move, not lay on his back any longer! "You're already doing great at the tour thing: setting the bar a little high on it though," Tony teases her. He stretches his back a little, and then begins to move, with clear intent to do what he got into his head to do - walk around and start to return to life as soon as possible! But then, he realizes he has a lead still stuck to him, and he unclips it at a switchpoint hanging loose out of the bandages, and lets the lead hang near his stomach. "Seems I was powering the room," Tony jokes.
Pepper Potts	"Mmmhmm, that is exactly what it is." Salad on bread. No.. salad on whole grain bread. Pepper is away from her usual sources of exercise, so her diet does change some when away. Nothing has changed there, really. Pepper watches as Tony rocks forward and gains his feet with the least amount of using his chest muscles. Green eyes scan for signs of large amounts of discomfort in the action, and not finding it to be too bad, looks relieved. "Oh, it's not like you don't see that stuff first. I don't think you could walk four feet without noticing something you want to take apart." Pepper notices the lead to his CHEST, and as he pulls it off, her eyes widen slightly. It's that quip that gets her, albeit briefly, with the, "Tony!". It's the expression with which he pulls it, though, and the fact that the room remains-- She knows she's been had. Shaking her head, there's that soft laugh that sounds, "Don't do that to me.." and she moves to take his arm, his hand. "I really don't know why you do that to me," comes as soft complaint. She's laughing, the embarrassed relief in her tones. "You're horrible."
Tony Stark	"Have them put turkey on it next time; I'll steal it out of it," Tony asides to her in sly whisper, as if turkey were some kind of secret item to be snuck in for him to enjoy for his turkey deli meat addiction rehab. "We need to work on your trust," Tony answers gently, brows lifting a little as she moves to hug his arm and then hand. He turns his hand responding, but ends up catching her hand fully with his, palm to palm, secure. It's enough of a 'moment' to make him look down at it. A weird little sense of something flicking behind his eyes. It disappears into play, quickly: "I am entirely horrible, you are not the first to note it; but that's why you love me, isn't it?" Tony jokes. ...Except that the L word has some deeper context now, with the two of them, doesn't it. And it makes the joke .... shift a little. He was smiling, with a spark of energy to his gaze, but it reduces to a slightly more /seeking/ look, that has some seriousness there. A show that he remembered what she'd said to him before. Tony tries to bail out of the Scary Feels though, and tugs her towards the door, starting to walk; slow but purposeful.
Pepper Potts	"If I do that, I might as well go for the roast buff- beef," Pepper corrects herself, probably a touch theatrically. Didn't T'Challa mention something about water buffalo? Pepper is on his arm, and the quip regarding trust? Couple that with that pause, the moment, and she's shifted briefly from playful to something completely different. "I'd trust you with my life, Tony." Probably, no, definitely not the 'trust' that he was talking about, but the one that finds response. There's a pause before, "And I trust that you will continue to give me heart attacks." That one is said with a definite bemused laugh, complete with a quick shake of her head. There's that second moment, where there really is nothing else in the room that is vaguely as important as the man beside her, and she looks back up, meeting brown eyes with green. "That's only one of many, many reasons why I am in love with you," is returned, barely above a whisper. Now, she leans to lay a featherlight kiss on the side of his cheek, her breath coming to whisper in his ear, "The other reasons? You'll find them, I'm sure." Now, it's time to walk, and Pepper is more than happy to take the stroll to see the sights anew with a recouperating Tony.
Tony Stark	Tony had turned away some to lead towards the walk. There IS some walking, in fact. That 'stroll with recouperating Tony and the sights' lasts almost to the door, before Tony instead turns to her and pulls her in by the hand, leaning in and forward to put a strong kiss right on the lips. His other hand comes around her lower back loosely. He's hurting physically, sure, but he can still carry a lot of power and intent through the kiss. That flare of strong will. If he's not at a place to talk through the serious feelings, he can express some of it, though. A kiss that leads to a deeper one, with an undertone of the seeking he'd shown before: but it's this newer brazen, open trust, that expects her to be there with him in this.
Pepper Potts	To the door. Tony's walking, moving, getting some exercise that can only be good for him, to be part of the healing process once again. Hopefully, this won't ever have to be addressed ever, ever again, and that it's growing farther and farther in the past. It's the sudden turn, the pull, and the kiss that Pepper's at first surprised before her heart starts to pound in her chest as she leans against him. She's still got his hand, but that other also sneaks around his waist as she returns the kiss. Everything is there in the moment; the relief, the knowledge that all will be fine, and with that touch of passion behind it, the lack of any doubt how she feels about him. She's here, and he has her heart fully. Pepper's knees weaken some in the moment and there's a bit of a firmer hold on him for balance as she leans on him for that physical support that she knows he can give. He's her anchor, and has been for years, whether he realized it or not.
Tony Stark	When the kiss ends - it's easy to anticipate some verbal nonsense from Tony. That's always his move: after something like that, something with serious meaning, /depth/, he's got to let up on the valve with a joke or quip. Tony doesn't let her down there. As the kiss breaks softly, Tony lingers close, to say, "I'm going to hold my own statements for now, because I don't want you to think what I'm saying is maybe just because I'm really high on painkillers," Tony teases her. A joke, but... it's more than that. He stands there a moment, still holding her; his hold is low, keeping pressure off his upper chest, but he has her solidly. "You deserve-- the best of me." Tony clears his throat a little awkwardly, smirking at himself, and tips his head and gaze to the door, then back to her eyes. His flush has come in, though it's not shame with Tony, it's some other thing, akin to a light anxiety - but not a /bad/ anxiety. It's an anxiety that shows he cares about this.
Pepper Potts	Regardless of the moment, there's always something to be expected from Tony. It is who he is, and if that ever changed? Pepper wouldn't know what to do, what to say, what to think? When the kiss ends, she's found herself with her eyes closed, and opening them slowly once more, her dreams are still her current reality, and she's still held so close, and holds him close in turn. Her face glows with that outward shine of a woman in love, her lightly freckled cheeks pink with the blush. Her eyes search his own, and at the threat of a quip, she looks affectionately expectant; nothing that could break the moment, but she's waiting. Thing is? He doesn't disappoint. It's a quip, a lightness of comment, but deep beneath it is the precursor to something else, and no... Tony doesn't disappoint. If Pepper thought she was finding that standing was a little rough, the next unexpected bit gains a look so filled with surprised affection, it looks like she was just given the world on a silver platter. In her eyes? She has. "Oh, Tony," is whispered. There's that moment, though, she looks as if she'll say more, but doesn't. Instead, she meets his eyes before she looks to the door as well, and back. She lifts a hand to stroke the side of his face, her thumb to trace the line of his shaped beard line dropping from his mustache. "I feel like I have it."