Disclaimer: Not mine. Sad, but true.
It's late when Pepper finally steps off the elevator on the penthouse level. Her feet don't hurt—but only because they went numb about three hours ago. Her back hurts though. And her shoulders and her neck and there's a spot behind her left eyeball that feels kind of like it could explode at any moment.
She just wants to curl up on the couch, preferably with some company if her boys aren't down in the lab right now, and not think about anything related to work until at least morning.
She slips out of her shoes, sighing as the cool floor underneath soothes some of the heat from them, bending and hooking her fingertips in the heels, then straightening with a crack of her spine. She twists a little more, grimacing, then sighs when the rest of her spine pops into place.
She saw the TV on when she came in, but that isn't necessarily a sign of life, so she glances at the couch as she passes. The sight that greets her tired eyes is sweet enough to curve her lips and loosen the muscles on one side of her neck, tilting it involuntarily.
Steve is sprawled on the couch, almost horizontal from his neck to his knees, which are at right angles to keep him from sliding off, feet planted on the floor. One arm is stretched along his side, fingers dangling over the edge. The other curls around Tony's waist, loose, but still possessive.
His eyes are hooded and she's pretty sure he's not actually paying attention to the screen or the movie playing on it. If she had to guess, she'd say he's probably most focused on the strip of skin between Tony's sleep pants and his tank top, the latter rucked up almost to his armpit on the side she can see. Steve's thumb is rubbing back and forth over a fresh bruise that stretches from Tony's ribs to a spot below the hem of his pants.
Pepper frowns at the sight of the injury, turning from the bedroom to the couch.
Steve shifts, eyes widening with new-found alertness as she perches on the edge of the couch, one hand ghosting over where his fingers suddenly tighten.
"Evening," he says, soft and rough from the hard day, low in deference to Tony's sleep.
"Hello," she says, smiling and leaning forward. He pushes up with his other hand to meet her in a kiss, chaste and short, but reassuring to her nonetheless.
He eases back down and she doesn't miss his wince, but she knows that if it were that bad Tony wouldn't be asleep already.
Tony, on the other hand, doesn't have super healing abilities. She rests a hand on the middle of his back, rubbing gently and smiling fondly when he sighs and nuzzles up into the crook of Steve's neck.
"And how is he?" she asks.
Steve's eyes go down to the messy hair just below his jaw and he says, philosophically, "Could have been better, but it also could have been a lot worse. He'll be grumpy for a week, but he's not off the active roster."
Pepper hums and her hand goes up to the nape of Tony's neck, circling the warm skin for a moment and just breathing through her worries and her fears while she feels the thump of his pulse under her thumb.
He's okay, she reminds herself. Steve would make him stay home if he wasn't.
Still, she sends a wish into the universe that no supervillains' grand plans mature this week. Let them have one week off, she silently pleads.
She bends to kiss Tony's head, resting her cheek there for a moment, then rises just enough to steal another kiss from Steve.
"Are you going to bed?" Steve asks as she stands, stretching languidly, his eyes tracing over her curves and kindling a warm glow in her stomach. None of them are in any shape to do anything tonight, though, so she banks that fire and just enjoys the pleasant fizz under her skin.
She shrugs. "I don't have to. How long were you planning to stay out here?"
Steve's eyes flick to the TV and then he says, "Not much longer."
She hums again and then circles around to his other side. Slipping off her jacket and undoing the top few buttons on her shirt, she sits and then snuggles into the spot created when he lifted his arm for her.
Her tucks her in close and she sighs as she lets herself melt into the warmth that he offers.
Her eyes drift down to Tony, his visible arm secured across Steve's waist. She can feel the hand of his other arm between her hip and Steve's, and she maneuvers her own hand into the space there so she can tangle her fingers in his.
That wakes him enough that he turns his head and says, "P'p?"
"I'm here, Tony," she assures him. "Go back to sleep."
She's not sure he's actually awake, but he wiggles and twists around until he's got a firmer grip on Steve, doing a fair impression of an octopus as he swings a leg over and twines it around Steve's thigh. Steve and Pepper share a smile, one amused, one fondly exasperated.
Pepper presses a kiss to the side of Steve's head, then lays her own down on his shoulder.
She falls asleep before she's even sure what they're watching, and half wakes up when Steve picks her up in his arms and carries her to bed.
She knows that it's Tony she's set down next to, has enough awareness to latch onto him, and thinks about turning to see where Steve went.
The bed dips and then Steve's there, spooned against her back, Tony's breath puffing lightly against her chest as he pulls in more tightly.
She's surrounded by her boys, by these two incredible men who love her—and each other—so much, and she lets go once more, knowing there is no safer place in the world than right here.