Re: Tony & Pepper
Tony stopped trying to think about this. He put his problems out of his mind, relaxed into that churning multi-faceted focus that allowed him to muse on different engineering principles while still giving the majority of his attention to the person nearest. It made him relaxed, the lines around his eyes easing, the ones around his mouth deepening. His shoulders relaxed down his spine, his calves into his sneakers. He was relieved she didn't focus on the sling or harp on anything else about his appearance, because he didn't want to talk about how he didn't meet medical standards just then.
The motion to straighten his shirt was one she'd indulged in hundreds of times, and for the first time he thought that maybe it didn't actually have a purpose. Maybe his shirt was fine. His smile warmed up, and he came a little closer to her, winding his arm around her waist, moving close enough so he could inhale her scent and see her eyes laugh.
Inevitably he looked down at the dress when she did. "Very you," he said, voice low, smile smooth. He spread clean palms down the inside of her waist and leaned closer. The blue glow met the green dress and mingled there as their chests nearly touched.
Tony felt... something. A vague sensation in his chest, a almost a butterfly flutter, but he barely noticed. She was very warm. "Are you hungry?"