FENRIR ※ Tony Stark [2]

11 - AT THE EDGE

THAT NIGHT, Angie lay in bed for hours, staring at the ceiling, not really surprised that she couldn't fall asleep. There was just too much on her mind. Sleeping would've been a luxury at that point.

It was around two in the morning that she decided to get up and do something productive for a change — like exploring.

The Avengers' facility was absolutely massive, as big as a village, and she'd barely seen a portion of it. Since it was going to be her new home — at least for the time being — she may as well get familiar with the place.

Angie pushed the sheets away and slipped her feet into the boots at the side of her bed. She walked out silently into the main hall of the residential area, taking the time to memorize as many of the rooms and corridors as she could. A small yawn escaped her as she wandered around the ground floor. It made her sigh a little... of course, sleep was catching up to her now.

A fast clicking sound caught her attention. It was coming from one of the lounges. Angie's brows furrowed slightly. Why would anyone be awake at this hour? She followed the direction from which the movement came. It was with very little surprise that she met with Tony's back facing her. He was sitting at the mini bar, clicking away on an electronic tablet, too absorbed in his work to even notice her presence.

"I thought I was the only one still up..."

She had spoken softly but Tony jumped out of his skin the second the words left her mouth. It all happened very fast. He raised his arm to a corner of the room. In a fraction of a second, the gauntlet of his armour covered his entire forearm and hand. He turned around firing his blaster in the direction of the intruder — in Angie's direction.

Thankfully, the Harpy's senses fired up and she ducked down just in time. The blow left a dark mark as it hit the wall behind her.

"Are you fucking crazy?!" she exclaimed, painfully hoisting herself up from the ground.

Tony was panting, a horrified look on his face as he realized what had just happened "Holy shit... Oh my God I'm so sorry, are you okay?!" he rushed to her side, helping her up "You startled me, I thought you were a burglar or something..." he tried to explain.

"Oh, you were startled...?" she frowned dusting herself off "What the hell Tony, you could've killed me!"

"I'm sorry," he winced "To be fair, it wouldn't have killed you..." his eyes landed on the dark stain on the wall and he gulped "But it would've left a nasty mark, I guess."

She heaved a long sigh "What are you even doing up at this hour?!"

"I could ask you the same thing!"

"You lost the right to ask questions the second you tried to blow my head off!"

He forced a smile "Again, I'm sorry. It's a reflex, I wasn't thinking."

Her piercing stare bore holes through him as her question still lingered in the air. For a second he thought of telling her about his recurring nightmares, or at least about his insomnia, before shaking off the idea completely. No need to open this can of worms now.

"I had some work to finish," he let out as an answer to her previous question "Why aren't you asleep?"

"I don't know," she shrugged simply "I haven't been able to sleep much lately."

The honesty of her statement surprised him a little "Me neither," he admitted "I've got something that might help though."

"If it involves blasting me into sleep, I'll pass."