Tony had JARVIS deal with Coulson, then lifted his chin slightly and asked the four people before him in an ostensibly casual tone, "Well? My tower."
With the way Tony was acting, even Peter, who was the most oblivious in this regard, could see it, let alone Lin Hai, who knew all about Tony's tsundere personality.
At that moment, Mr. Tony Stark was like a student who had brought his proudest creation to school to show his classmates. Beneath that deliberately casual demeanor was a barely concealed desire for everyone's praise.
Lin Hai spoke first. "An impressive building."
One corner of Tony's mouth twitched.
Gwen followed up. "It really is spectacular."
The other corner of Tony's mouth began to disobey him as well.
"Another Manhattan landmark!" That was Peter's answer.
Harry's assessment was relatively brief. "Great."
The uncontrollable corners of Tony's mouth betrayed what he was feeling. He coughed twice. "Ahem, very fair assessments. Come on, let's talk inside."
With that, he turned and headed into the tower.
Lin Hai, Gwen, and the other two exchanged glances. All four saw the barely suppressed amusement in one another's eyes.
After entering the tower, Pepper had already poured six glasses of champagne into prepared flutes. Lin Hai and the other three each took one and thanked her in turn.
Tony took a sip, then casually voiced the question that had been on his mind. "Earlier, I mean, the Mark VI removal process. What did you think? Any thoughts?"
When Tony brought it up, Peter showed considerable enthusiasm. He first offered some heartfelt praise.
For example: "When that circular device rose from beneath the platform, it was straight out of a sci-fi movie," and, "The number of mechanical arms and the way each one coordinated with the others was so smooth."
Then he