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He couldn't hold it in anymore the giggles practically fell out of his mouth.
He’d been trying to fend her off to Carol who was there when it happened, but Janet hadn’t wanted to. He’d tried convincing Janet she might want to work on her designs in her room. Alone. But she hadn’t wanted to.
She’d been dead-set stubborn that she wanted to hang out with Tony , and when Janet decided something was going to go a certain way, nothing would stop her from making it happen.
So, instead of being smart about the situation, tactile as Tony had tried to make it for her sake, the two of them were sitting in the living room of the mansion.
She frowned as if deeply upset with him "Tony" She was making more of a whining sound than actually stating his name.
He looked down at her, gaze practically dripping with admiration as he tried holding back his giggles. A big smile grazed his lips. "Oh, my apologies, Lady Van Dyne"
She frowned impossibly and comically deeper at him and crossed her arms. The gesture seemed funnier that it should have been to Tony, as she was literally in his lap and remained seated despite her irritation.
"Tonyyy!" The end of his name was dragged out in a reminiscent way she used to do when they were younger and she was particularly upset with him.
He reigned it all in and took a deep breath. Gently he rubbed at her crossed arms. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry for laughing. I was just... surprised"
Her frown lessened a bit and her eyebrows rose. "Oh.. Is it because nobody's said that to you before?"
He held in a deep laugh only because he knew it would've upset her and steeled himself as best he could. It wasn't her fault she was incredibly hilarious to him at the moment. "Yes. I assure you nobody's said that to be before, sweetheart"
She was suddenly on the verge of genuine tears and he straightened up. He held his arms around her carefully as his thoughts jumbled frantically. Shit, he worried if he'd really upset her and how he'd done it.
She clung even tighter to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. "But you're so...And it is!"
He sighed and bit the insides of his cheeks for dear god. A small mantra of 'ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod' was shaped by his quiet lips from an angle she couldn't see. His voice hitched as he spoke "I'm glad you think so, Jan"
"It's so pretty and the skin is smooth and soft, even the hair and, and the perfect curve of it, and it's... So long and nice and the balls are exactly the same size and so tight, and, and..."
His chest was shaking but he held himself strong. They didn't call him Iron Man for nothing. "How about we talk about this when you're less..." he hesitated as he turned his head towards her. Their eyes met. "Tired?"
She blinked.
"That alright, honey?" His voice was gentle and she smiled sweetly in response to it. He wanted to kiss her cheeks and also bite them a little.
"How did you know I felt tired!"
"Well," he hummed. Her eyes were red rimmed and her cheeks flushed despite her expensive foundation. "You've just had so much to do today, I assumed you had to be!"
She nodded in a serious manner and he grinned indulgently at her. "That makes sense" She hummed back.
"Good, good"
"But..." She looked at him, her eyes big and doe-like. Her pupils were so big it was difficult to see her deep dark blue color of her eyes. "You're so beautiful, every part of you! Including...mmm" She looked down at his lap. "I'm right!"
"Janet. " His lips twitched and he took a deep breath. "You can't keep stroking my..." He closed his eyes and started over. "You're gonna give me a big head is what I mean"
"Which one, because I think they both work reaaaaal well" She smirked and tried looking up at him through her eyelashes. What usually was a common move for her utterly failed as she kept looking too far up at her eyelashes and twitching her eyelids as she did it.
She looked ridiculous, and he couldn't help it anymore. He kissed her forehead. Her auburn hair was so messy despite her probably having spent the typical hour and a half styling it that morning. He ran a hand through it and gently put the loose stand in front of her face behind her ears.
"Jan, if you keep teasing me like that, I'll turn all red on you" He raised an eyebrow. "And then I'll have to go hide somewhere"
She huffed a breath. "And then I can’t cuddle on the couch…"
"That's a fact"
"So I'll... I'll.. stop then" Her words were getting more and more slurred.
"Only for a little bit. After you've slept I will stop complaining so much" He shook her a bit and shifted around. She hummed.
He stroked her hair some more before moving a hand near the small of her back and hovering another above her thighs. "Hey, how bout I carry you to bed, hmm? You alright with that?"
"Yeah..m'sleepy"
"That's alright" He lifted her carefully in a sort of fireman's carry, careful to use one hand to make sure her skirt was covering her. "You'll be less sleepy after some rest"
She yawned and moaned quietly as he walked through the mansion. He hummed to himself as he got closer and closer to her room.
He worried about the headache she'd have in the morning, after all, it wasn't everyday one had to deal with drug inhalation when crime fighting. He hoped it was a small enough dosage that it wouldn't be too awful on her.
When he got to her room she was already asleep and drooling on his shoulder and back. He carefully lifted her off and laid her in bed. He removed her shoes, mask, and jacket oh so carefully, but left everything else.
Her suit would be too personal and helping her remove her make-up would surely wake her... He also definitely couldn't get away her brand-stuff with just water. He put the duvet on her and stroked her hair one last time before leaving the room.
Her suit would be in need of an upgrade and it took priority. He needed to brainstorm, he needed to plan. She was alright, but who knows what could've happened had she been on a solo mission. He didn’t want to think about it. If he could add a sort of filter to her mask that she could toggle, maybe he'd help prevent the incident from happening again.
He hesitated by the door outside her room. Selfishly he’d enjoyed sitting with her, despite the circumstance. He wondered if she would have been as enthusiastic about him if she knew he was hiding a secret identity right under her nose. Moreso, with the way she had been waxing poetics about his…parts… he wondered if his life-long damn crush on her wasn't as one sided as he'd assumed.
But, again, if she liked him like he liked her, would it even matter when she eventually realized he had been lying to her for years?
He’d come to terms with the fact that she’d only ever love him platonically a long time ago. He hadn’t been some miserable tween upset that his one true love Janet was friendzoning him for years on years. After all, he’d quickly realized at the age of about fourteen that her friendship was more valuable than anything, and a different kind of love didn’t mean it was a lesser kind.
But being shown the possibility of something else, maybe, just maybe, being possible was…well, he felt a bit like a stupid kid again.
He stepped away from the door and walked in the direction of his lab. He was a coward, that’s what he was, but at least he could be a coward with a close friend, able to give her just the smallest amount of safety in his own way.
He could never get himself to tell her that he loved her, but he hoped he showed it enough for her to know.
He hoped it was welcome, regardless or which way it was perceived and what way it reciprocated.
He hoped she’d like her armor upgrade.