Astrid simply smiled at Amelia, feeling some sort of pity for the young woman as the greasy man she called a boss warbled for her presence. She shook her head and waited for both her meal and partner, eventually pulling her legs up and crossing them in her seat. With a few peering eyes directed her way she decided not to pull out anymore of her devices except her phone. She engaged in a few rather intense games of QuizUp, Candy Crush, and the newly released Captain America game. She only paused when her meal was brought to her, checking the time. He was running late. She gave him ten minutes before scarfing down her food and ordering seconds, a lone steak resting on the other side of the table.
There were a few passing glances of pity as the other patrons as they assumed she had been stood up. She was starting to wonder the same. Perhaps he had been distracted with a more important task or maybe he had even forgotten. The latter certainly wasn't good for a woman's ego. Still, she would wait and entertain herself with games and texting as though the world as they knew it wasn't crumbling all around. She was eventually interrupted again, though it was a man this time. She looked up to see Steve Rogers hiding beneath a baseball cap, lifting a brow in response to his appearance and words. She had been hiding under her hood and headphones. Still, she picked up his voice with ease over the soothing melodies of a budding Welsh pianist.
“Astrid...”
She stood and pushed back her hood along with the red and white pokèballs that were pumping sounds through her ears. Despite her hands being rather pale, her face showed her true mocha complexion; It had been ages since she had gotten an even tan. Still, she perked up with a chipper smile. She never divulged her surname to any person and she doubted that Steve, despite his good four years with S.H.I.E.L.D., knew her name. She was more or less just a myth among the ranks. A mercenary some few swear they saw handing and taking files from Fury. No, he wouldn't know her. Still, she offered a twinkling gaze before letting her fingers curl around his hand, tugging him into the seat directly next to her, making him turn towards her slightly. She removed the aviators from his face and quickly replaced them with dark black sunglasses.
Moving closer, she ducked her head close to his, giving the illusion that they were locking lips. One hand resting out of sight against his leg held a device, her fingers manipulating the images on the screen. “Word of the day, Poughkeepsie.” Her gaze flickered up towards him as the device in her hand gave a light ping. She reached out with her free hand, brushing the side of his face gently. To those looking, it would appear an affectionate gesture. In truth, she slipped a device into his ear. Waiting for the safeword, she put on her own shades to match his. Once they'd activated the device given to her by Fury, their directive would show across the shades. Astrid wasn't one to exchange pleasantries in such dire situations. She preferred to get her objectives first and have fun along the way. Still, she had to admit the handsome man before her smelled nice. Almost as nice as the sweet pea perfume she wore.
By the time Tony exited the shower Steve was gone. The genius finally sported a mostly clean face, still retaining his trademark mustache and beard. He wasn't feeling one hundred percent yet but he was slowly getting there. He looked into the mirror and stared into the reflection of his heterochromatic eyes that were brown around the iris, bright hazel with tints of blue and flecks of gold making up the rest as it went further outward. He could see the hurt behind them and it displeased him. This wasn't him. This was not Tony Stark. This was a shell of the man he once was but he knew that he couldn't stay this way forever. He had to recover.
He refused to let the company his father founded fall apart while he whined like a child. Shit happened. He needed to deal with it because the world needed him now more than ever. He had people depending on him. Lives were at stake and he could not afford to stand by and indulge in selfish desires because things weren't going his way. Anthony Stark was not a quitter. He gave himself a pep talk, smacking his face a few times before leaving the bathroom. He headed down the stairs, calling out to his computerized companion. “Clothes. Something snappy. Daddy's back.” He clapped his hands together as an outfit fit for... Well, Tony Stark, was presented to him. He dressed quickly, making stops around the lavish room to grab gadgets and put them into his pockets.
Tony had destroyed every last one of his suits to please Pepper, having agreed to stop being a superhero for a while so that he could be a better boyfriend and perhaps husband one day. He obviously salvaged what he could and had all the scrap remains in his personal lab within the tower, figuring that he'd need them again one day. Tony knew that once he announced that he was Iron Man there was no going back. He couldn't just retire. He ran his fingers through his recently styled hair before straightening his tie, moving towards a larger table. The table, like many he had, was transparent. Long, calloused fingers danced across it intricately to bring up floating screens of files.
Focused intently, he brought up videos. He watched as a mysterious figure darted in and out of his warehouse at various times, always leaving with some of his supplies. “The raids occur every two days around ten... The next hit should be tonight. I can get a suit up by then.” Tony clapped his hands together, the lit up screens shrinking and disappearing between his hands as he made his way out and to the elevator. Already his mind was racing as he wondered what suit to work on first. Perhaps the original... Or Igor. It was ugly but it was big and it packed one hell of a punch. He decided Tin Man would take up his attention, giving waves to the employees he saw wandering about. There were mixed expressions of surprise, relief and joy to see their boss up and about and ready to get down to business.
Their view of him was short, the man disappearing into a room that none but he and Banner had access to. The security was all biometric and any single attempt to bypass it without their finger prints, hand scans, and retinal identification would result in the potential intruder being stunned and taped to the wall. Tony was feeling a bit immature and humorous when he was designing the security measures. The metal door slid to a close behind him as he removed his jacket and set to work, clapping his hands to activate the lights while J.A.R.V.I.S. booted up the devices within the room. “Welcome home, sir.”