— lightly on the edge of a console, the playful edge in his expression softening into something warmer and more sincere. “Ready to get back to work, or you want the full tour first?”
Tony let out a low, warm chuckle as Jessica’s finger poked just beneath his folded arms, the contact light but deliberate. He didn’t flinch—just tilted his head, the familiar crooked smirk spreading across his face as the soft blue glow of the arc reactor pulsed gently —
Jessica could tell how Tony genuinely wanted her back on the team. He respected her space and knew not to force the issue. But now that she’s indicated is ready to be back, he was welcoming her with open arms.
“Watch it, Tony. That’s more than enough incentive for me to return.
— going to walk back through that door, the place ought to be worth walking into. So… welcome home, Jess. Really. The team’s been a little quieter without you around. And between us? I’ve been saving the good projects for when you showed up again.”
He paused, one hand resting —
“Quiet night in the penthouse. No suits, no suits calling. Just me, the latest high-score run, and Janet curled up next to me stealing my snacks between matches. Best kind of victory.”
— encrypted feed from Tokyo with a casual wave of his hand. “Come on, then. Pull up a stool that isn’t covered in shrapnel. Let’s see just how deep this rabbit hole goes before Drew shows up and starts collecting favors.”
Tony didn’t even look up from the half-disassembled gauntlet on the workbench, the arc reactor casting that familiar soft blue glow across the scattered tools and the faint scorch marks that never quite came out of the concrete. He let Logan finish, one eyebrow slowly —
“Well,” he began, “She reckons you and ‘er both got wind of a little foreign problem that’s washed up here on New York shores. The Hand. She’s heard what I’ve heard ‘n there here up to no good.”
Logan would watch idly as Tony did his work, an occasional sniff +
— across his face, “—watching you try to navigate modern surveillance tech without accidentally clawing through a three-million-dollar prototype is going to be the highlight of my month.”
Tony jerked his chin toward the nearest holographic display, already pulling up the —
“Just spent twenty minutes arguing with FRIDAY about “romantic itineraries” while Janet’s across the table pretending not to notice. Trying to plan a normal trip. Me. Normal. FRIDAY is already judging..”
“Just told Friday to clear the calendar, fire up the private jet, and keep the destination on lockdown. Surprise holiday for me and Janet Van Dyne: Sydney first, then Melbourne. Beaches, skyline, zero world-ending threats. For once, the only thing I’m upgrading is our downtime.”