Tony/Sara - Nightmares

[penguinknitter]

Sara groaned as the text alert on her phone kept beeping. Reaching over, she grabbed the device, rolling on her back to check it, swearing that she had turned the sound down before she flopped into bed. Squinting, she unlocked it, staring at the sender of the message, its contents, and just what wee hour of the morning it was: Way too early to even think of being awake. But, considering who the message was from, she rolled out of bed, slid on some sandals, and headed out of her room. Her visitor was going to have to deal with her in shorts and a tank top. She really didn’t care what she looked like at the moment.

Arriving at her destination (two floors down, third door on the right), she stood in front of the door, hand poised to knock when she heard the locks slide open. Raising an eyebrow, she pushed the door open, standing in the entryway.

“Ok, what’s so important that you’re calling me, of all people, here at two AM?”

“I apologize for the abrupt wake up call, but something is wrong with Mr. Stark.”

“JARVIS, what can’t wait till morning?”

“He’s in his room, go see for yourself, ma’am.”

“…Do I need to get Tony to reprogram you to not call me that? My name is Sara.” She glared at the ceiling, not really knowing where to look when the AI was talking to her. “Can you raise the lights to…five percent? Just enough so I can see?” On her request, JARVIS adjusted the lighting so she wasn’t running into anything, and she walked down the hallway to the bedroom.

“Tony?” She asked softly, sticking her head into the room. From the light in the hallway, she could see that his face was contorted in pain, and he was gripping the sheets on his bed. Not good. Walking further in, she noticed that JARVIS dimmed the lights again, causing a small bedside lamp to light just a little. She smiled, before sitting on the edge of the bed and looking at Tony.

“Tony, wake up. Come back from wherever you are. You’re safe.” She figured it was a nightmare, but she’d never seen anyone in the grip of one like this. She shifted, leaning forward and running her fingers across his forehead, then down the side of his face. He started, and she removed her hand, trying to figure out a way to wake him up without scaring him anymore than he already was.

“It’s Sara, listen to me and my voice. Wherever your subconscious has sent you, it’s not true. You’re still at the Academy, in your home.” She reached for his hand, taking it between hers and slightly tightening her grip. “Come back to me…” She almost fell when Tony came too, he sat up so fast. She didn’t let go of his hand, waiting for him to calm his breathing and come fully back to reality.

“…Sara? How did you get in here?”

“You have an AI who can hack cell phones and override your locks. How do you think?” She watched as he looked over at her, the sweat still on his face.

“I’ll have to check on that.”

“Yeah, and get him to call me Sara, would you?” She acted like nothing had happened, like she hadn’t seen him caught in a moment of terror from his own mind. He shifted, and she let his hand go, watching as he brought it up to his face for a moment. She knew how this went. She had plenty of terrors where she was stuck under the car in the desert again.

“So, coffee?” She watched as he moved to get up, probably to make a pot of coffee and stay awake for the next twenty four hours. She shook her head, stopping him with a hand to his shoulder.

“We should sleep. It’s Spirit Week starting tomorrow, remember?” She chuckled a moment as he groaned, her reaction also. Spirit Week was a pain; students were up early, stayed out late, and could be a general nuisance. She bit her lower lip for a second before speaking again. “I’ll stay, if you want.” Her saying that was the only recognition that anything odd had happened.

He gave her a look and she could pretty much hear the gears turning. Instead, she made the decision for him, flopping down on her side on the bed, toeing off her sandals. Seeing the new look on his face, she smiled.

“I forgot my keys.” It was a truth, and she really didn’t want to bother anyone with a spare at 2 AM. She heard a chuckle from where he was sitting before he moved, lying back down beside her. “I can always take the couch.” She would still be there though, and she knew JARVIS would get her attention if his mind wandered again. An arm gripped around her waist before she could move, causing her to make an undignified squeaking noise.

“Nope. You volunteered. You stay.” She felt his laugh against her back, and she couldn’t help but smile too. She grabbed at the edge of the blankets, slipping between them and turning to look at him, taking in his face. Sure, he didn’t seem to be a huge fan of going back to sleep, but, under her watch, he would at least rest.

“Fine. No waiting until I fall asleep to run away to your lab.” She said with a smirk, curling against him, resting her hand to one side of the reactor in his chest. “JARVIS, you’ll help me be sure of that, right?”

“Of course, ma’am.” She shook her head at the formal title, seeing Tony smile at his AI’s comment. A few minutes later he had fallen asleep, his arm still around her waist. She smiled, stretching up to press a kiss to his forehead before settling back down to sleep herself.