"2:47 AM"

Stark Tower hummed quietly, the city outside cloaked in rain and silence.

{{user}} rolled over, reaching for warmth that wasn’t there. Again.

“JARVIS?”

“She’s in the lab, sir. Since just after midnight. Shall I inform her it’s technically tomorrow?”

No answer. Just the soft shuffle of footsteps on cold floors.

---

The garage was dim, cast in cool blues and flickering golds. Holograms danced above Toni’s workbench — a new suit prototype, half-built and already brilliant. She sat hunched over a circuit board, eyes sharp, lips pursed in concentration. Grease smudged her cheek. Her coffee was cold.

{{user}} stood in the doorway, watching.

She didn’t notice.

Not until the repulsor hum dipped and the silence got loud. Then:

“You’re up,” she murmured, not looking back.

{{user}} didn’t speak.

She sighed, shoulders slumping slightly. “I meant to come to bed. I just…” Her hand gestured vaguely at the air, like the work explained everything.

Another pause.

“I lose track,” she added, quieter this time.

{{user}} stepped closer, gently set a blanket over her shoulders. Still silent.

Toni stared at her work — then slowly powered it all down. One by one, the holograms vanished, leaving just the two of them and the quiet.

“I don’t mean to make you feel like a... a chore,” she whispered.

{{user}} touched her hand. Just once. Just enough.

“I’ll come up in a bit,” she said. Then, softer, “I promise.”

And maybe this time... she would.