Tony x Reader |Resting Place|

She’d heard rumors about him not sleeping after New York. After the President was taken six months later, it happened even less so. Then Pepper left, and it was like he’d forgotten how to do it. And when he started working on the so called “Ultron Program”? He didn’t even know the meaning of the word.

(Name) knew in the back of her head that he wasn’t alright. She could tell. He’d been a lot less coordinated, spending a lot more time on his own, and everything about Tony just seemed off. But they’d only been together a few months; She wasn’t about to press into him and find out what was wrong with him.

At least...directly.

She sighed, sprawled across their “shared” bed as nearly a dozen holo-screens floated around her. JARVIS had done her a solid and hacked into SHIELD, hooking her up with all sorts of information relating to Tony Stark. Including his background, relationships, health and wellness.

And his recent records showed that he was doing much worse than she’d anticipated.

“Anthony Stark, you are gonna get yourself killed if you don’t get some sleep.” She breathed, skimming the walls of text that followed Tony’s health records. He wasn’t just restless; He was suffering from critical insomnia and extreme over exhaustion. (Name) rubbed her forehead, lips drawn into a frown.

’I knew I shouldn’t have let him go work on that stupid robot, last night.’ She thought, slipping off the bed and heading for the lab. The Tower was huge, and full of people, but that didn’t stop her from padding down to her boyfriend’s workplace in a tank top and boxers. ..At twelve in the afternoon.

She ignored the strange looks from people who joined her in the elevator, making her way down to the labs without a second thought. Until Pietro showed up and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Hey, cutie.”

“Paws off, Maximoff. I’m still taken.” She snapped, snapping her fingers and sending him to the other side of the lab. Telekinesis came in handy with situations like these.

“Awww, c’mon, (Name)! You know how lonely I am without Wanda here!” Pietro whined, pouting. (Name) rolled her eyes, folding her arms over her chest. The man had become twice as aggravating since his sister left for a mission with Hawkeye. And since Tony’d literally taken himself out of the pictures for nearly a week straight, she was the perfect target for Pietro.

“Oh, please. If you’re really lonely, why not go bug Natasha, instead? Or you could make yourself useful and train with Steve and Thor. ..And by useful I mean get yourself hospitalized.” She added. One does not simply join Steve and Thor for a training session.

“I don’t feel like being stuck in a bed as the Living Mummy for six months, thank you very much.” Pietro joked, suddenly zipping up to her. He pushed her against the wall of the elevator, caging her between his arms before she could even blink. “I just want a little attention, you know?”

“You’ve got two seconds before I turn you into one of the lights in here.” She growled, just as the doors slid open. He snickered, leaning closer.

“C’mon. Just one little kiss. Pleeease?” He begged, and she turned her head away, about to fling him into the ceiling as promised. But someone else beat her to the punch.

“Hey, Maximoff; Dodge.” Tony called, and he literally had a split second before the billionaire shot a repulsor blast right at Pietro. Quicksilver’s eyes widened and he sped out of the way, and her hands went up, stopping the blast from blowing her face off. And cue glare at both idiot men.

“Do either one of you ever think?” She snapped, tossing the blast back to Pietro, who took off in a second. Since he had a feeling that Tony was about to get in some trouble.

“Sorry, babe.” He said off-handed, not even bothering to look up at her. He focused on the machine work on the massive table in front of him, which just made her even more upset. Though she liked to think she hid it well.

“I know you were aiming for Pietro, but you literally almost killed your girlfriend.” She told him, leaning over on the table and watching him evenly. He blinked, slowly starting to realize she was right.

“...Oh.”

“Yeah, ‘oh’! You’re totally out of it, aren’t you?”

“A little.” He replied, before putting all his focus on the tech. She huffed, folding her arms as she walked over to him. “I meant to keep him off of you. But I’ve had a lot going on, lately.”

“And you aren’t doing anything to alleviate it.” (Name) chimed, standing right next to him. He didn’t even notice. “When’s the last time you went to sleep, honey?”

“Last night, right? I went to bed with you.” Tony said simply, and she shook her head, grabbing his hand to stop him.

“That was four nights ago, and you came in two hours after I went in. Then you just sat there until three a.m. and came back down here. ..After working for the entire day, already.” She explained, making him face her. Tony’s face flickered, exhaustion more than evident on his features.

“...When did you get over here?”

“You’ve got to be kidding-”

“Doesn’t matter. Look, I’m just not tired. I don’t need to sleep, okay? I’m fine, I’ve been doing fine, nothing’s going on.”

“You are the worst liar I have ever met, Tony Stark.”

“I’m trying to do something right, for once, (Name).” He cut in, matching her gaze with a much more agitated one. “And I appreciate the concern, but I’ve got to get this done. It’s just taking a lot longer than I thought it would.”

“It’d probably go a lot smoother if you had a clear head.” She pointed out softly. She recognized that tension, and the stress pulling on his body. He was a mess. Bags under those beautiful brown eyes, worry lines defined and skin a lot more pale than she was used to.

This wasn’t Tony. This was a shell.

“My head’s fine.” He muttered, back to her as he hunched over another piece of Ultron.

“Yeah, but sleep would make it much better.” (Name) mused, slinking up behind him and slipping her arms around his chest. Tony sighed, relaxing against her touch. He leaned into her like it was a reflex.

“I can sleep when I’m dead.” He repeated the age-old quote, and she groaned, leaning her head against his.

“You will be if you keep this up. Over exhaustion is a thing, y’know. And you’re definitely suffering from it.” She told him seriously, but there was a twinge of worry in her tone that made him stop, setting his things down. He turned to look at her again, facing her chest to chest.

“Then can I at least finish this project?” He asked gently, knowing that she was about to go into full-blown Mommy Mode if he kept this up. Her frown deepened, quirking an eyebrow.

“How much more do you have to do?”

“Just some...minor recalibrations. A couple joint adjustments, some coding...nothing major.”

“JARVIS?”

“The Ultron skeleton is about 27% complete, ma’am.”

“And that’s just the skeleton, Tony.”

“Come on, J! I thought we talked about this. You take my side, not hers!” He whined, and she snickered, wrapping her arms around him.

“I apologize, sir. But your health is my number one concern. Ms. (Name) was the only one who was willing to help you improve it, even over yourself.” The AI replied, and Tony groaned, head on her chest. That system was too smart for its own good, sometimes.

“Let’s go get some sleep, Tony.” She whispered, running her hands through his hair soothingly. “Just for a little while. You need to get your strength back. Then you can finish working on your giant security-blanket-for-the-world project, or whatever.”

“But I’m so close to finishing this part, and-”

“There’s always gonna be something with you, isn’t there? Just get eight hours of sleep, that’s all I’m asking. Then you can come back. Take some Melatonin to help, if you have to.”

“It doesn’t help. Already tried it.” He mumbled against her, and her brow furrowed, hands pausing.

“When did you use Melatonin?”

“A couple weeks ago. Three of four times...didn’t do anything. Tried prescription meds, too. Nothing helps.” He grumbled, and a twinge of concern turned in her heart.

“When were you gonna tell me you were taking drugs to sleep?”

“Probably never. Since they didn’t work, no point in talking about them. They were just useless, it was a lame attempt at getting sleep. No big deal. I just don’t bother with it anymore.” Tony told her, zero emotion in his voice. He pulled away, running a hand through his hair and looking up at her with the most passive, defeated expression she’d ever seen. “So, there’s not really any point in making me go to bed right now. And it’s also the middle of the day, so again; No value.”

“Tony, you’ve got to try.” She persisted, and he groaned, rubbing at his eyes.

“I just told you I did!”

“You’re a mess! You look awful, you sound awful and your head’s a jumble of crap. I get that it’s not easy for you, but you’ve got to keep trying. You just have to.” (Name) said, and he looked away, jaw set. It was then that she noticed that look in his eyes.

It wasn’t just exhaustion; It was culpability.

’Ohhh.’

“Tony…” She breathed, taking his face in her hands gently. “...This is about guilt, isn’t it?” Tony practically froze, and she knew she hit the nail on the head. It was still about New York. About Aldrich Killian, about Pepper.

“Maybe.” He mumbled, and she smiled sadly, running her thumbs along his cheeks.

“You know none of that was your fault.”

“Directly, no. But I was still the cause.” Tony argued, but (Name) shook her head, hands falling to his. She wove her fingers with his, pressing her forehead against Tony’s and looking him right in the eye.

“Loki was insane, Tony. You couldn’t have stopped what happened. Killian made the choice to do what he did, and Pepper... well, she was being Pepper. That’s all there is to it.”

“But-”

“No buts. Unless it’s your hand on mind.” She said with a wink, and Tony scoffed, smiling weakly. “Point is, you’re losing sleep over mistakes you can’t fix. And it’s been going on for months. I’m worried about you, Tony. Every night, I’m not sure where you are or what’s going on, and I want to make sure you’re okay.”

“I won’t lie, I’ve been better. But I’m okay.” He promised, but she didn’t buy it. She kissed his nose, saying, “If you were okay, you’d know that when your girlfriend invites you to bed, you come.”

“...That’s true.” He agreed, and she giggled, coaxing him up from his chair and back to the elevator, taking the both of them back up to the room before he could even argue. Though she could tell that he was still grumpy about having to leave.

“You’re not still thinking about that robot, are you?”

Yes. Of course he is.

“Just some coding improvements I could make. Maybe if I just switch around the fourth column’s z-figure with the-”

(Name) cut him off with a kiss to the lips. No time for any of that programming mumbo jumbo. There was sleep to be had.

“Later. Your brain desperately needs a cool down, big guy.” She told him, and he rolled his eyes. But he didn’t object to another kiss. ..Or three.

“Ew. Get a room, you horn dogs.” Pietro said, his nose scrunched in disgust just as the doors slid open. (Name) pulled away, winking at the kid.

“Already on it.” She mused, tugging Tony along behind her towards their bedroom. They heard Pietro making gagging sounds behind them, earning two flipped birds. “I’ll get him for that later.” She muttered, and slid onto the bed, bringing Tony down with her.

“I still need to test out the repulsors on Ultron’s hands.”

“Tony…”

“Remind me to find the kid later.”

“Good boy.” She kissed the top of his head, leaning against the headboard and gesturing for him to put his head on her lap. He was happy to comply, making her grin warmly. Her fingers ran through his hair again, stroking away the stress and headaches he’d been piling on for months.

“...Thanks for this, (Name).” He mumbled, eyes closed in total bliss. She hummed, massaging his scalp and watching his whole body relax. “You’re the only person I know willing to put up with all this. For now, anyways.”

“Try forever.” She whispered, leaning down and pressing one last kiss to his lips. “Now get some rest. You’re gonna need it if you want to work some more, tomorrow.”

“About that.” He started, opening one eye lazily. “I think I might have to call in, tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah? And why is that?”

“I’ve got this really hot chick who’s been gettin’ on me to sleep, and she’s like, this amazing miracle worker. And she does this real nice thing with my hair when I’m stressed, and it’s just the best thing ever. I figured the least I could do was take a day or two off. Y’know. Just a thought.”

“I like the sound of it.” She murmured, laughing when he fist-pumped. “Come on. I’ll put on a movie while you chill. You’ve earned a few days off, for sure.”

“Got that right. But I’m only doing it on one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“You have to stay with me the entire time.”

“Do I have to?”

“Yep. No questions asked.”

“What if I have to go to the bathroom?”

“Hey. I said no questions.”

“But-”

“No butts. ..Unless it’s my hand on yours.”

“...Well played, Stark. Well played.”

And the rest of the afternoon was full of naps, movies and the occasional bathroom break. ..Which may or may not have involved frisky shower time. That is all.

_{And then Tony ended the world with Ultron.}

~Ende~