Pepper took a deep breath and exhaled heavily, pulling back just enough to touch his face, his neck, then his shoulders, making sure he was whole. "Are you alright?" she asked. He didn't seem to be in pain, but she knew the last challenge had to have been rough on him in ways most people wouldn't even consider. The Arc Reactor wasn't the only mark left on him by his time in Afghanistan, but the number of people who truly knew that could be counted on one hand.
Slipping her hand into one of his, Pepper tugged him into the living room to the couch and sat down, pulling him down close enough for her to put her head on his shoulder and wrap an arm around his waist. It was odd, after a decade of carefully crafted walls, but she wasn't ready to have him at any distance yet; and the demonstrative child within her needed that reassurance and security, given and received.