Hello. I'm back! I know I have stories hanging, but hey, I cannot get this story off my mind. I waited so long for some Steve-has-a-crush-on-Pepper kind of plot but I haven't stumbled on to something like that so I decided, while waiting for Civil War, why not have a Tony vs Steve story but not bec of politics or anything else but because of Pepper! Yey!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Well boo yah Marvel you should really include Pepper in all MCU so that we should not get crazy writing some ff to comfort ourselves! So there, all mistakes are just mistakes. So no biggie. No beta.

It's been an uneventful day for the Avengers. Anyone who'd get a look at them would really think that they are bored to death. Steve is sitting in the couch wiping his shield clean as if it needs some cleaning.

"Careful, you might have a new shield, white and pink." Clint managed to say to Cap without even looking at his direction while playing with a ball he's tossing back and forth in the glass walls. Steve just sigh in defeat. He really has nothing to do. He already did his rounds in the gym, did his daily routine, jogged around the city, and now, he already wiped his shield to whiteness- if it will ever fade but given his incessant wiping, it may come to that.

Natasha is just lying on the couch watching Steve with amusement in her eyes. Who would have thought that the first Avenger would settle for such an activity. But then she thought, she could mop the floor clean if she tired out of lying in this softness that is the couch. She turned her attention to Bruce who is silently playing with his tablet. He's so lost in concentration and he's frowning so much he must have been losing the game to Jarvis, whatever mind game they are playing, she does not know if she would worry he'll hulk up out of boredom.

Good thing Thor is back in his world or he would be joining the Superheroes-not-playing-heroes-dying-of-boredom club. Well, in reality they should be glad they aren't busting anyone or kicking someone's ass in some Godforsaken place or fighting off alien invasion. None of that as of the moment. So they are just a bunch of people pretending to love the non-action packed day. Until Steve suddenly thought of something or rather someone who has been bugging his mind. He just can't find the right timing to ask, well, now might be the right time.

He hesitated for a while, raised his eyebrow and rubbed his chin a bit.

"Uhh, Nat, how long do you know Ms. Potts?" He said trying to appear cool. He wants them to think he's just starting up a conversation out of boredom and not because he's really interested.

"Not that long. I have gotten to know her when I was tasked to assess Stark and had to go undercover in Stark Industries." She said with a smirk, good thing Steve decided to break the ice and let them talk of something.

"So, how was she?" Steve said slightly hesitant, trying to gauge Romanoff if she's still willing to answer his not so weird questions. When he saw nothing, of amusement or suspicion, he went on asking. "I mean, how do you find her?" When he saw in the corner of his eyes that Bruce finally looked up from his piece of tech,and suddenly giving him a questioning look, he cannot help but be defensive about it. He looked in his direction abruptly, "Just curious." He said noncomittaly. Banner just shrugged and waited for Natasha to answer. Clint also stopped his ball playing and sat near Steve, suddenly interested in the conversation. If he ever notice the way Steve reacted to Bruce, he wouldn't say, he thinks finally something eventful will happen-at the expense of Cap ofcourse and whatever crush his having on Ms. Potts.

"Well, when I first met her, she thought I am from legal. She's all business and formal." Nat shared with a smile on her lips, looking thoughtful. "At first, I could really feel that she does not like me, but only when Stark is around. Back then Tony still has a reputation. If you know what I mean." She smirked. "Oh yeah, I know what you mean," Clint replied also smiling. Steve is just looking at them both. He knew Tony was a womanizer and still, he doesn't know what Natasha means.

"But then after a while, she got to see that I am efficient and dependable and she started to warm on me. She's really a nice person, Steve." When Steve looked like he's about to ask, Natasha already stopped him. "Well, I know what you're thinking Cap, what's a girl like her doing with a guy like Stark?" She said with raised brow. Bruce smiled having the same thoughts as him but then again, he got to know Tony and the 'Pepper's Tony' that's why he can't help but butt in in the conversation.

"Actually Steve, Tony is a different man when he's with Pepper." He said it like it was some fact, some laws of Physics.

"What kind of different Bruce? Like some love sick puppy? " Clint babbled, ball still on hand,even if he does not admit, he,too, is a little curious about the "Pepper Potts". He only heard about her in Shield once when they were talking about Stark Industries, since he's not so much of a man who sits to watch the news, he knows only the basics about her.

"He really is different. I mean, Tony can really be a.." before he could even think of a word Clint already clipped, "an ass."

"Ehem. I mean ,Tony can really be difficult sometimes, but when he's with Pepper, he's tame and sensitive and what's that word, uhm, attentive." He said while adjusting his glasses. "Yeah, that's the word."

"I could honestly say that Pepper is one of the most intelligent people I got to know. She's a business genius. She really handles herself well. She could dodge all Tony's innuendo without batting an eye. I witnessed all that before when they still weren't a couple," Natasha said. "Yeah, Stark is definitely different with her."

"Actually, I was kind of wondering why Stark is still not marrying her." There he let it out. Steve has thought of it for some time now since he got to meet the woman who has a leash on Stark. He definitely wondered how a beautiful, smart woman like her is still unmarried and settling for the biggest ass he ever met. He knows Stark has some good points but then again, he's a jerk to him most of the time that he can't help but wonder how she's not with someone better. Not that he thinks that he's better than Stark, but one cannot dodge the fact that she can do so much better.

All heads turned to look at him. He has this serious Cap face, like his thinking of some war strategies. Bruce looked at Steve cautiously, he's starting to wonder that this is not just some curiousity. He could only imagine the trouble that would brew in if ever Tony get caught up on this. From what he observed, Tony is really possesive of Pepper. Well, who wouldn't. She really is one of a kind that even the cold, sleeping heart of Cap has stirred awake because of her.

"Maybe, they are one ofĺ those couples who do not want pressure." Surprisingly, Clint was the one who answered first. "I mean, if they are comfortable where they are, why complicate things. Right Doc?"

"Well, you have a point. Maybe. Or they are just both busy."

"I think, Stark still has some commitment issues," Natasha added.

"Whatever Stark's issues are, they should not be more important than the one woman of his life," Steve said suddenly serious. " A woman of her quality is hard to find nowadays, if I were Stark, I would put things in the right."

Bruce looked at Natasha, conveying some message that he thinks Cap is seriously smitten with Pepper, and it's not good. . Natasha caught on Bruce's thoughts but unlike the green guy who wants to abort the 'conversation', she wants to know where this will lead on.

"Stark must still has not gotten to his senses." She said looking mischievously in Bruce's direction, the Doc can only shake his head.

"Yeah. I think someone must knock some sense out of Tony. I mean, who on the right mind would let a woman like her, running around in this world untied. Right?" Clint said dramatically, he's caught on the look on Nats' face and the hell with this, he's starting to enjoy himself. If he's lucky, he could get to see some action. Tony Vs Steve. Now, that's a fight he wants to see.

Steve seemed oblivious to the meaningful glances the people around him are exchanging. Instead, he's looking so lost in his thoughts, enjoying his own mirage of things in mind.

"Maybe Stark thinks Ms. Potts will not leave him. Or she could wait until he's ready to ask her the big question. But you know back in the days, a fine woman like Ms. Potts should not be kept waiting. I would instantly put a ring on her finger. Make her mine forever." Steve said thoughtfully, a soft smile on his lips.

And that was when Tony appeared from the stairs below. Hearing everything Steve said.

TBC.