Tony Stark

Tony is sitting outside - not his normal choice most nights, but tonight he feels like sitting outside and he's Tony Stark and that means he can do what he wants to do. It's not a full moon night so he's not at risk of being eaten by supernatural were-beasts, and things have been relatively sane and quiet in the bar.

Plus, it's a relatively pleasant evening - all he needs is a hooded sweatshirt to be comfortable. It's not parka season yet.


He's at a table a few dozen paces from the back porch with a to-go cup that contains some ridiculously caffeinated coffee-like beverage (we say coffee-like since the ratio of actual coffee to all the other stuff he had the Bar put it in is horrendously ridiculous) and a package of Oreos. DoubleStuff.



Oh, and there's also one of the gauntlets for the suit sitting next to the Oreos, and Tony seems to be tinkering with a disassembled bit of it.

They'd stayed in New York City after the attack for nearly a month - until Tony found it nearly impossible to escape the memories of watching the city streets burn and buildings crumble every time he stepped out of the tower. The 'official' reason for retreating to Malibu was to work on the West Coast's R&D division.

But in reality, Tony wanted to be as far away from New York as possible; away from the noise and the rush and the questions from everyone from the press to the public about going through the wormhole.

In California, he could take a glance at the sky out over the ocean - open, clear, calm - and focus on other things. He spent time in the labs beneath the garage, hours upon hours trying to perfect each new suit design.

The majority of the lights in the house are off, aside from those in the living room. The coffee table is full of scattered papers - drawings and sketches of the suits in development - and Tony himself is stretched out on his stomach on the couch, face smashed into a pad of paper, dead asleep.

A newspaper headline blares silently from the floor: RECOVERY AND REBUILDING: TWO MONTHS AFTER ATTACK ON NEW YORK. The image that accompanies is a before and after shot of the New York skyline, highlighting the damage to one of the skyscrapers and the progress that has come so far on the construction effort.

[After that thread with Tony and Coulson]

Entering the apartment, he's glad the door from the bar drops him off in a somewhat-convenient location as he steps through from Milliways. The tote boxes with remains of yet-another failed suit prototype are left near the front door (out of the way and hopefully somewhat out of sight) and he very quietly closes and locks it behind him.

Moving gingerly through the room, it takes most of his effort to stay silent in hopes of making it to the bedroom undetected. If he can make it to the bedroom, he can make it to the bathroom and grab a hot shower and some painkillers, hopefully before Pepper realizes he's limping and wincing with every step that puts weight on the right side of his hip.

Thankfully, the Central Park property isn't wired with complete JARVIS capabilities, so there isn't a 'helpful voice' to announce his arrival.

Tony's just hoping she's not in the bedroom.