[ The silence, now, isn't as disconcerting as it would have been a few months before. There's less tension and more of a specific, mutual understanding because she wouldn't tolerate it now. Not after everything that's happened, how much they've both dealt with considering. Still, it's always enough to give her pause, reaching the top of the steps and turning to look back at him. He's wild from working, but she wouldn't have that any other way either.
Pepper rests her hand against his chest as if to stop him, fingers barely brushing the collar of the shirt he's wearing. The feel of the arc reactor is evident, but she says nothing, offering him that much in the way of comfort. She's long since accepted this, him, and it's the reassurance in knowing he's still alive that grounds her. ]
Welcome home, Tony. [ Because she hadn't gotten a chance to tell him, to express everything in such simple terms. Her fingers move to lightly touch his jaw, thumb rubbing at what she suspects - hopes, in all honesty - is oil from, well, something. Perhaps a touch mothering, but there's other affections mixed with it too. ]
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Pepper rests her hand against his chest as if to stop him, fingers barely brushing the collar of the shirt he's wearing. The feel of the arc reactor is evident, but she says nothing, offering him that much in the way of comfort. She's long since accepted this, him, and it's the reassurance in knowing he's still alive that grounds her. ]
Welcome home, Tony. [ Because she hadn't gotten a chance to tell him, to express everything in such simple terms. Her fingers move to lightly touch his jaw, thumb rubbing at what she suspects - hopes, in all honesty - is oil from, well, something. Perhaps a touch mothering, but there's other affections mixed with it too. ]