Insomnia

Tony groaned as his head dropped onto the workshop table in front of him. He looked up at the clock to see it was 4am. Already? Another groan escaped his lips as he stumbled to the coffee machine in the corner of the room. He pressed the button and frowned when no black liquid came out. He started slamming the button down. It wasn't until Jarvis spoke to him when he remembered.

"Come now, Sir. At least try and sleep tonight. Who knows? Tonight might be the night."

"Yea it might be..."

Instead of trekking up to his room, Tony stumbled through to the bedroom he had built onto the workshop, walking in and collapsing on the bed. He lay there and tossed and turned for about half an hour before he settled on watching out of the window, and sighing softly. He lay there watching the burning amber color of the street lamps outside and smiled. The light was comforting, why he did not know. He felt his eyes growing heavy and within minutes, he was snoring softly, curled up in a ball.

.....

Tony woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. Stretching, he got up and went to go and grab a coffee, checking over the stock market.

"Good sleep, Sir?"

"Very good, thank you, Jarvis."

Tony fell silent and scratched at his arm, frowning when his fingers came back sticky. He rolled his sleeve up to see a series of thin scratches and cuts covering his shoulder.

"Remind me to clear that bed of screws and scrap metal when I next get a chance Jarvis."

"Of course, Sir."

Tony grabbed a handful of plasters from the first aid kit and sat sticking them on before he headed to the workshop to start upgrading his suits.

That night, Tony slid into his bed in the workshop, looking forward to sleep and the calming effect of the street lamps. Sure enough, he lay there staring at them as he began to feel himself drift off.

.....

In the morning, Tony awoke to a sharp pain in his cheek. As his eyes flickered open, he could have sworn he saw something disappear. On edge, he slowly sat up.

"Jarvis, scan the tower for any life other than myself."

He got up and checked his cheek in the mirror, alarmed to see a mass of scratches and cuts.

"Nothing alive in the tower but yourself, Sir."

He walked through to the bathroom and cleaned his cheek up, frowning. What the hell was happening to him during the night. Maybe if he watched the surveillance footage from last night... He settled down and told Jarvis to run the clips. Tony watched himself sleep and frowned as he saw the cuts appear on his cheek, one by one. It was as thought someone were gently cutting his cheek open with a knife.

"Jarvis did anything move in the Tower last night?"

After a few moments, the reply came.

"Nothing but you, Sir."

Tony frowned and went to the workshop, determined to forget everything weird that was happening.

.....

That night, Tony slid under the covers and closed his eyes. He just wanted rest; no more weird stuff. He rolled over, seeking the gentle comfort of the lamps outside, only to be shocked. There were no amber orbs sitting there. He stood up and walked over to have a look out the window. He shouldn't be able to see any lamp lights from the height of the fifth floor. He looked down to see little scratch marks, similar to the ones on his cheek and arm.

Needless to say, Tony's insomnia got worse.