Chapter Fourteen - Rhodey, Pepper and Happy, Part One

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New semester of college. I am exhausted as fuck. Sorry guys. :(

Also sample pillow fort.

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Chapter Fourteen - Rhodey, Pepper and Happy, Part One

Tony opened his eyes up downstairs, looking up at a collage of blankets.

He was sleeping an assortment of different pillows, with four or so cats on top of him. Looking around him, he spotted the other three on top of Elle.

Elle.

What they did last night was more fun than he'd had in a long, long time. It reminded him of the really fun nights with Rhodey in college; not the ones where they went out and partied, but the ones where they stayed in and did stupid things and talked all night.

And the song...

God, that fucking song.

He understood what she meant about the importance of it.

The first two lines still got to him.

You don't have to be a hero to save the world. It doesn't make you a narcissist to love yourself.

Even as Tony Stark, he can be a hero. Not the same way Iron Man can, but he had the power and influence and genius to change the world.

He looked fondly over at Elle. And so that's what I...no, what we're going to do.

And as for the second line...he doesn't think he can just start loving himself so easily, but maybe he can try to stop hating himself.

"JARVIS, what time is it?" he asked, stretching.

"It is exactly 10:18 AM," JARVIS said promptly. "I was going to wake you soon if you did not wake on your own, but I didn't want to disturb your sleep. I do not believe I've ever seen you sleep that soundly."

"It was probably some lasting effects from Elle's spell," Tony said, cracking his back.

"It wasn't."

He turned to look at Elle, who was trying to shift underneath the cats without disturbing them (it wasn't working).

"What do you mean?" Tony asked.

"Kicking off the spell...maybe there was some latent magic left, but it's sort of like hitting a RESET button. You should fall back into a proper sleeping habit all on your own." She smiled. "Why don't you go shower before Pepper, Rhodey and Happy come over, and I'll cook some breakfast. Anything in particular you want?"

"Chocolate chip pancakes?" Tony asked hopefully.

"Alright," Elle said, shrugging and shifting off the kittens.

"You know you don't have to cook for me, right?" Tony asked.

"I know," she said. "But I want to. I like cooking, and I like taking care of people, so this is me being what you need me to be. A caretaker, a cook, an assistant...a friend..." she smiled at him.

"...I'll go take that shower now..." Tony said, picking off the cats and making a break for it.

To be honest, Elle probably had a point with the 'newfound communication' skills. With the exception a handful of people, he's never been good with open affection (Tony blames Howard). Even Maria wasn't allowed to be overly affectionate to him when Howard was watching (he's not a child, Maria, stop mollycoddling him). Of the main three who gave him affection, Jarvis and Ana are dead now, and half the time Peggy thinks he's Howard (and it's not like Howard had that type of relationship with her, so not a lot of hugs from that corner). Tony can sometimes get away with hugging his uncles, but he doesn't get to see them as often as he'd like, especially because they try to keep a low profile because of their Howling Commando background.

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