The team had gone back to Stark Tower after the shawarma. Steve and Bruce took the chance to admire the architecture - they hadn't really had the chance to before, being too busy killing creatures from outer space and irritating certain Gods of Mischief.

"Arc reactor, JARVIS," Tony said as he strode into the penthouse.

"Arc reactor functioning at 43%, Sir."

Steve and Thor both jumped wildly at the voice. Bruce looked impressed and Clint automatically went towards his bow, even jumpier than usual due to his recent experience with mind control. Natasha just looked indifferent.

"Scan for any problems."

"Scan commencing, Sir."

"Electronic butler. Nice." Bruce directed the first statement at Steve and Thor who looked disturbed.

"No problems detected Sir."

Thor and Steve looked slight more reassured by Bruce's brief explanation. Clint still looked wary - again an understandable side effect of his recent experience with mind control and also his history as an assassin, despite Natasha's nonchalance.

"Natashalie? Show them round?"

"Natashalie?" Steve was curious. Bruce, however, was also curious but (during the short time in the lab) was also beginning to learn not to voice his curiosity around Tony - it would likely lead to more confusion or an inappropriate response.

"Nickname from when she worked for me."

"She worked for you?" The incredulous tone in Steve's voice was probably intended to be mildly insulting.

"Yes," Tony said as he strode from the room.

Natasha spoke this time. "I was undercover for SHIELD, going by the name of Natalie Rushman."

"When?"

"When Pepper became CEO."

Clint nodded. "When Tony was dying." Natasha nodded in response.

Bruce started. Thishe wanted to know. "Tony was dying?"

"Palladium poisoning. About a year ago."

"What was causing the palladium poisoning?"

Steve muttered, "What's palladium?" under his breath.

Natasha answered, "Palladium is an element. In this case it was powering the arc reactor."

Bruce nodded understandingly. "So Tony couldn't survive on the palladium reactor and couldn't just take it out."

"Why not?"

"Steve, you did actually read the file didn't you?"

"Most of it."

"Did you read about Afghanistan?"

Steve nodded. There was a moment of silence.

"You got it on the tablet, didn't you?" Natasha deadpanned.

Steve nodded, not yet getting it.

"You do realise that Tony Stark is a technological genius, don't you?" Clint asked.

Comprehension suddenly cleared the confusion. "He hacked his own file?"

"He hacks everyone's files." Natasha could believe almost anything when it came to Tony Stark.

Bruce continued, "Anyway, he can't take the reactor out because he has shrapnel in his body too close to his heart to remove, from Afghanistan."

Natasha answered the original line of questioning. "I worked as his PA to infiltrate the company and then revealed that I worked for SHIELD. SHIELD then gave him some help with finding a new element because none of the currently existing ones were viable."

"Tony created a new element?" Bruce was impressed. Again. Perhaps this would become a regular occurrence? Not that he minded - anything was better than the constant rage.

"Basically. I think there was a bit of help from Howard Stark, though."

Steve's ears pricked up at that. "Howard?"

"Yes, he was involved. But I wouldn't mention Howard around Stark. As far as I can tell from the files, Howard wasn't the best father and Tony hates him. You've already not gotten off to a great start." Natasha couldn't really care less about that, but Fury was going to expect them to work as a team from now on and if they were too busy fighting someone would get killed. That wasn't exactly in any of their best interests.

"Howard was a good man."

"And a rubbish father. Don't mention him to Stark," Natasha repeated sharply.

Bruce decided to bring the conversation back to the original topic. They seemed to get sidetracked a lot. That wouldn't be good if the world was ending. "So he created a new element to power the arc reactor?"

"Yes. But when he was dying I was undercover as his PA, SHIELD had worked out a way to slow down his death. I stabbed him in the back of the next with lithium dioxide. Hence why he doesn't trust me most of the time."

"He apparently trusts you with the tower."

Natasha waved a hand carelessly. "He'll trust anyone with his houses. Former playboy who invites anything with legs home and into his bed. Stark parties, the Malibu incident."

Clint winced.

"What happened?" Thor asked stopping his curious looking around and inspection of a statue situated on a small glass table.

"Tony and a friend of his completely destroyed his Malibu mansion."

Stark had a mansion? The idea was bizarre to Steve who had grown up in the Great Depression. Then again, Howard had always had any awful lot of money and it seemed like Tony had even more - just look at the tower.

They'd walked into a lift and waited for a minute in the ensuing silence as the lift ascended. It only took another minute until the metal doors slid open after the lift glided soundlessly to a halt. Natasha waved an arm at the room. "This is the penthouse."

Clint whistled lowly. "Stark may need to redecorate."

There was smashed furniture everywhere and glass covered the floor from the broken window. The curtains fluttered in the wind, billowing into the lounge. Loki had left his own mark on the room. In particular, the floor. Remarkably, the bar seemed relatively untouched. Then again, it was Tony Stark. He was probably more likely to protect his alcohol than himself.

"Is it bad that this is nothing compared to the Malibu incident?" The five walked further into the penthouse.

Steve asked disbelievingly, "Why is there a man-shaped indent on the floor?"

Bruce replied sheepishly, "The Other Guy may have gotten a little bit irritated with Loki."

Clint laughed, loud and harsh. "You smashed Loki into the floor?"

Bruce nodded.

"Good."

Thor only looked mildly upset.

Tony took that moment to stride out from a previously closed door and stopped in surprise. "Didn't think you'd be done with the tour that quick, Natashalie."

"We weren't. They can get the tour later."

"You seem so sure they'll be around for that."

"We both read SHIELD's files," Natasha deadpanned. "They're going to be around for it. And probably living here."

Tony smirked. "I heard."

"You mean read," Clint said, edging closer to the broken window. "What happened here?"

"Loki threw me out of the window."

"Loki threw you out of the window?"

Tony shrugged.

"Loki threw you out of the window!"

The shout came from outside and Clint tensed up automatically, Steve and Thor reaching for their weapons, Bruce also freezing.

Natasha and Tony however didn't move. In fact, Tony seemed to relax further. "Relax, Peps. I had the suit."

A woman with red-blonde hair stormed into the room, heels clacking. "Was it on you when you were thrown out of your own window?"

Tiny bit his lip. "No?" The answer was more of a question.

'Peps' gave Tony a harsh glare, staring him down.

"Miss Potts has arrived," JARVIS suddenly announced from the ceiling.

"You're a bit behind on that, J."

There was no reply.

In fact, the room was deathly silent, watching the fuming red-head stare down the billionaire. Suddenly, he burst into speech. "Come on Pepper, what was I meant to do?"

"Let someone else take care of the nuke?"

He edged towards her slowly. "Peps, there wasn't anyone else to do it. I had to."

"No you didn't!" The red head looked ready to burst into tears - and it looked like she already had.

"Yes I did. And I'd do it again. For you." He wrapped her up in his arms.

The long silence was broken by Clint nudging Natasha and whispering, "Is Stark being romantic?"

"What constitutes being romantic to him, yes."

"Because nothing says I love you like flying a nuclear missile into another dimension."

Pepper, realising they weren't alone in the room, pulled away from the embrace flushing a light red that clashed horribly with her hair. "And who is this?"

"Clint Barton," he said holding out his hand.

"Pepper Potts."

They shook hands and then when she turned to Steve and stuck out her hand to shake, he took it gently and kissed it. "Captain Steve Rogers, ma'am," he said charmingly.

"Oi, spangles, back off," Tony scowled wrapping an arm around Pepper's waist.

"Bruce, meet the love of my life, the lovely Miss Pepper Potts." He pressed a kiss to her temple. She threw him a hard look out of the corner of her eye and then smiled at the other scientist.

"Lovely to meet you Miss Potts."

"Please, call me Pepper."

Thor bounded forwards then, like an abandoned puppy. "It is lovely to meet you Lady Pepper. I am Thor Odinson of Asgard." Pepper grinned at him.

Tony turned her around. "And you already know..."

"Natasha!"

Natasha smiled at the other red-head breaking the stoic mask for once. "How are you Pepper?"

"Better when he's not pulling stunts like these." She jerked a thumb at the inventor. "You? How was that mission in Turkey?" Everyone but Tony looked at her. "Not that I know anything about that." She turned away to avoid eye contact and choked as she took in the scenery for the first time. "Tony, what happened?"

"There may have been a short fight between a giant green rage monster and a Norse God?"

Pepper blinked.

"But on the upside you can take this opportunity to rebuild your baby."

"I'm not like you Tony. I don't start the rebuilding immediately after finishing the last one," Pepper said dryly. "Or breaking it."

"I don't break my toys! And I don't rebuild. I ... improve?"

"Well we can improve this by letting me have more than twelve percent."

"I told you, you could make an argument for fifteen."

"Fifty?"

"No."

"Forty?"

"Mmm. Maybe. But the bar is part of mine."

"Have it. And the couch."

Tony pouted. Still bantering, the pair wandered off to inspect the damage to their home.

"Stark has a girlfriend?" Clint couldn't believe it. Neither could Steve.

"Yeah."

"She puts up with him?"

"She worked with him for eleven years before they got together. I think she's seen just about everything he's capable of."

"She stuck around for eleven years?"

Natasha nodded.

"She must have the patience of a saint."

"Believe me, she does."

Without another word, Natasha sashayed out after Tony and Pepper.

I've had this in my head since I first watched the Avengers in the cinema :) I wasn't sure about the ending - I've had this on my computer/written for a while but I couldn't think of how to end it xx I think I'll leave it here and if enought people like it, write a short second chapter xx Please read and review and tell me what you think xx