Here's the last little installment. It's very short and sweet (but hopefully still good). After this, we move on to the team's perspectives. Whose would you like to see first?
When Pepper entered the Avengers' home and she heard noise coming from the living room, she knew that the team was home from whatever mission Fury had sent them out on. She took a deep breath in relief—there had been no phone call from the team or Tony, so she could assume that everybody had made it out alright. She dropped her keys on the bar behind where the majority of the team was sitting and watching the news.
"Hello," she greeted with a soft smile she reserved for people she liked. Clint and Natasha were sharing the couch, while Steve was sprawled across the floor and Bruce occupied a chair, idly turning his glasses. They all turned to give her smiles or nods. "You seem to be missing two of your members."
Clint brushed her comment away with a wave. "Thor is spending then night with Jane," he said.
"Don't worry Ms. Potts," Bruce said with an understanding smile. "We brought Tony home with us."
"We sent him to bed," Natasha said without looking back at her. Steve pulled himself up from the floor.
"I'll walk you up there," Steve offered. Pepper was about to say that she didn't need someone to walk her to her bedroom but Steve look preoccupied, so she figured lending an ear to whatever was bothering him wouldn't set her back too much. "We got back early this morning," Steve started.
"Has he made adjustments to the suit yet?" Pepper asked.
"Natasha forced him to bed right away. He's pretty much okay physically, just some cuts and bruises, but he's the only one who can monitor for life signs…"
Pepper sighed. It wasn't the first time they had given her this excuse for Tony's exhaustion. She knew where this was going. Of the five day mission Fury had given them, Tony had been on duty for probably about…four and a half days.
"I really need to get on him about creating something so that he doesn't get stuck doing this," Pepper said. "Has he at least eaten in the last couple days?"
"Natasha force fed him on the trip back." Steve pulled to a stop outside of Tony's room. Pepper made a mental note to thank the spy-turned-assistant-turned-spy later. "We had Jarvis check the arc reactor when we got home and he said that it was still functioning nearly at full capability."
"Steve, you shouldn't feel guilty about driving him to exhaustion," Pepper said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "He knows what's expected of him and you wouldn't be able to tell him to take a break anyway. Thanks for looking after him." She waved her fingers at him, then disappeared into Tony's room.
"Welcome home Ms. Potts," Jarvis' voice said quietly. "Mr. Stark has been sleeping for the last eight hours. Physical health is satisfactory." As expected, Steve hadn't been lying to her. Pepper wondered if Steve had the ability to lie. "Arc reactor is working at 80% capacity."
"Thank you Jarvis," she whispered.
"Pepper?" a groggy voice said from beneath the covers. She moved forward and saw Tony blinking his eyes at her.
"Hey sleepy head," she said, sitting down on the side of the bed. "I was just coming to check on you. You should probably eat again soon."
"Mmm, later." Pepper rolled her eyes.
"Then I leave you to your sleep." She kissed his forehead, then relented and kissed his lips before standing up. She hadn't got more than a step when his hand clamped around her wrist.
"Don't leave. Stay," he said, his pouty two-year old voice coming through. A smile played at her lips. Whiny Tony? Not so fun. Whiny, sleep deprived Tony? Much more endearing.
"Stay and do what? Watch you sleep?" Yet she complied, slipping underneath the covers and curling up against his chest.
"Know you love the view," Tony said from where his head where buried in her hair. She tapped the arc reactor lazily.
"The view from down here is awfully bright."
"Mmm," Tony said and she could tell, seconds later, that he had drifted back to sleep, his arms wrapped tightly around her. She sighed, realizing he had effectively trapped her. Still, it wasn't all bad. The last five days had been exhausting while she divvied her attention between hers and Tony's part of Stark Industries, monitoring her phone for a phone call from Tony, Fury, or the team, and constantly having the news in the background everywhere she went, just in case their mission made news. It was nice just to lay there and relax. Tony and the team might get sent out on another mission tomorrow, for all she knew (though if they were, Fury would definitely get to hear her two cents). But for now, the team was home, she was home, and Tony was here, alive, with his arms wrapped around her. Sometimes, she couldn't ask much more than that.
I hope you enjoyed this little arc as much as I did! Remember to let me know which team member you would like to see first :)
Thank you to all my readers and reviewers!