Chapter One

Violets on Valentine's Day

It was February 14, and Tony Stark wanted nothing more than a jar of olives drenched in ethanol. He hadn't meant to ruin his date with Pepper, but the flowers were the last straw.

It all started with Rhodes and one of his famous lectures. Seriously, the guy could teach as a professor at Harvard. Ways To Annoy Tony, 101.

"TONY!"

"Jarvis, we have a security breach."

Rhodes stormed into the room. "Tony, we need to talk."

"Hey Jim, did you do something to your hair? It looks so . . . voluminous today."

"This is serious, Tony. The address you put on the letter. Was it real?"

So that was what was bothering him . . . Tony stifled the laughter that suddenly threatened to bubble over in his throat. He pulled a straight face. "Rhodey, whatever happens, I want you to know I consider you my friend."

"Friend?" fumed Rhodes. "Friends don't completely obliterate each other's reputations. Friends don't write each other a Valentine and then say it came from Nicole Kidman. This is unacceptable, Tony. Unacceptable."

Tony maintained his serene expression. "You wrote her back, didn't you?"

"Yes, I wrote her back. And then I realized she hadn't written to me in the first place. You know how I found out? And I quote, 'Iron Patriot sounds so full of truth and justice and the American way!' Nicole Kidman isn't even American! Oh, and did you know the woman has a husband? If that address is real, I'm gonna-" Rhodes twisted the Valentine card in his hands, clearly convinced that words were not graphic enough to explain his current feelings for Tony.

Tony shrugged. "I'm sorry, Rhodes," he said dramatically, "I didn't think you'd actually write her back." He paused, relishing the horror in James' eyes, before continuing, "It's a fake, by the way. The address."

Yep, it would have been a perfect Valentine's Day (prank Rhodes, check; on to candlelight dinner à la Pepper) but then Rhodes punched his arm, delivered a sermon on betrayal, and threatened to tell Pepper. Then, right on cue, Director Fury decided to sweep into the scene and drop another lecture over his head. Fury had referred to it as a "debriefing," but it felt more like a cloaked affront, really. So when Pepper came into the kitchen holding a pretty little violet, he lost it.

The Day Before

"You've got grey streaks in your hair."

"Excuse me?"

"You've got grey streaks in your hair."

Tony stared. He couldn't believe he'd blown off breakfast with Pepper for this kid. But still, there was something about her he couldn't quite place. The girl standing before him was beautiful. Eerily so. She had long, chestnut hair and soft brown eyes that blinked steadily up at him from behind a pair of round, oversized spectacles. And she looked so . . . sweet. Childish, even. The way she just stood there and slowly, almost thoughtfully remarked that Tony Stark's hair was grey—no, that he had grey streaks in his hair. She was just like a character pulled out of a novel. It didn't help that she stood a mere 5'2 and wore pink sneakers. Tony was almost having second thoughts about confronting her.

But even an assassin can pull off a cute act.

He leaned casually against the tall sycamore looming above him (he liked to think the effect gave him a certain advantage) and replied smoothly, "How's your mom? I'm sure she's beaten me on the grey hair scale. With a kid like you, I couldn't blame her. So, are you going to explain to me what you've been doing with those flowers?"

The girl's eyes widened, and her eyebrows creased into a perplexed frown. "Flowers?"

"Don't play innocent, miss. It won't rule in your favor." Tony adjusted his shades for good measure.

"Lily."

"You said?"

"My name's Lily."

Tony narrowed his eyes. He began reading phrases off his cellphone, "June 10, 5:30 p.m. Girl—pardon me, Lily—leaves a bouquet of flowers on commemorative park bench. June 17, 5:30 p.m. new bouquet of flowers on said bench. June 24, 5:30 p.m., flowers, said bench . . . are you starting to get the picture?"

Lily's eyes grew even rounder. "I didn't think it was wrong to put flowers there," she breathed. She had broken her still stance and was fidgeting with the edge of her sleeve.

If this girl was actually innocent . . . Tony suddenly felt sick. He shook the thought away. No. Too late for doubts now. "Did you know," he began lightly, "that the Howard Park Bench is the only bench in the entire park with a view of Stark Tower? A three-minute walk away. Ninety-nine paces."

The girl was looking at him intently. He couldn't explain the look in her eyes, until she said, curiosity evident in her voice, "How'd you know that?"

"My AI measured it."

She frowned. "But an AI doesn't have feet."

Tony stifled an exasperated sigh. "I'm sure he took human anatomy into account."

"That's relative, though, isn't it?"

"Look . . . Lily . . . if talking about AI feet is all you're going to give me, I'm going to have to detain you."

Tony didn't think her eyes could get any rounder. "Take it then," she said, holding out the flower in resignation. Then, much to his surprise, the girl took a tentative step forward, glanced hesitantly up at him, and gently placed the bouquet at his feet.

He stared at it, bewildered, before snatching it up and peering at it closely. The pit in his stomach widened. It was . . . just a bouquet. Of violets, no less. Tony felt his forehead burning. "I thought . . . I didn't . . ."

For once, Tony Stark was speechless.

"Drop that violet right now!" Tony crossed the room. In one quick, smooth motion, he had snatched the flower from her hand and was currently annihilating it with his shoes.

Pepper froze, shocked. Then a stern expression took over. "Tony!" she scolded, crossing her arms. "That was a gift."

The Day Before (Again)

Pepper was having an off day. She was getting used to it, too.

It wasn't really because of Tony. She'd lived with . . . all of that for years, and she'd even grown to love it. To love him. But living with Tony's profession, his hobby, his being a superhero, because that was what he was, no matter what he or Natasha or anyone else called it—that was what worried her. No, not worried her. It drove her crazy. Fighting bad guys, saving the country, rubbing elbows with secret counter-terrorist agencies that had way too many syllables in their name to be pronounced properly—

Pepper wanted normal. Everything about her life screamed not normal. Like the fact that she lived in Stark Tower and worked for a genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist. Or the fact that she was dating him. But that was all Pepper wanted: a happy life with her genius, albeit occasionally (scratch that, habitually) irksome, obnoxious, egotistical Tony Stark. Minus the iron suit, he was perfect.

And he'd just skipped breakfast a few minutes ago to go save the world. Again.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. There was nothing wrong with blowing off breakfast, but to do what? To confront a "potentially dangerous and deadly threat." That's what he'd said. After he'd added, "Reason to suspect planted bombs near the Tower," how could she not be anxious and upset with him?

Tony, I'm going to kill you. If you're not dead already.

She sighed again and absent-mindedly pulled a coat over her button-down shirt. It looked like a chilly morning today, but she really needed to de-stress. Some fresh air would do her good.

It was chilly. Pepper hugged her arms to her chest as she walked, puffs of breath coming out in front of her. And to think it was almost springtime. Suddenly, she stopped. A young girl was standing in the middle of the sidewalk (blocking the way, thought Pepper, feeling slightly annoyed), when she noticed what the girl was doing.

She was picking up violets from the street curb.

When she looked up, she saw Pepper staring and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was in the way." Her voice was soft, steady.

"No, not at all," said Pepper. She nodded to the flowers. "They're early this spring."

The girl smiled and returned her gaze to the flowers in her hand. "Yes. It's strange, isn't it? Did you ever wonder how patches of grass and violets ended up here, of all places? Sprouting up from their little shells into a world full of taxis and walls and windows?"

"Manhattan isn't so bad," said Pepper, smiling slightly.

"No," said the girl thoughtfully.

Pepper couldn't resist asking. "Why are you out here all alone? Shouldn't you be with your parents?" The girl couldn't be a day over thirteen, fourteen maybe.

"I'm seventeen."

Close enough.

She gave another apologetic smile, though why, Pepper couldn't say. "And besides, I don't have parents. I mean, not anymore."

Oh. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," said the girl brightly, standing up. She still cupped the violets in her hand.

Pepper looked at her curiously. "What are you going to do with them?"

"Do you know the Howard Bench over at Bryant Park? That's my landmark. I leave my flowers there at the end of my walk." She noticed the confusion on Pepper's face. "It's just a little hobby," the girl explained, "I like to think maybe someone feeling low might see them and feel better. That's how I feel, anyway, when I see violets. It's silly, I know." She looked down at her sneakers and began pulling at her sleeve.

Pepper smiled. "I think it's sweet."

The girl looked up quickly, as if unsure whether to believe her or not. When she saw Pepper smile, her eyes brightened, and she grinned widely. What a precious girl. Pepper stepped forward slowly and said, "May I have one? I've been feeling a little down, myself."

The grin widened. "Here," said the girl, holding out one of her violets. "I hope you get better soon."

"Thank you," said Pepper. She continued her walk, but she stopped suddenly and called after the girl. "What's your name?"

"Lily," she replied, somewhat shyly. "Lily McClellan."

"That was a gift."

Tony was paying no attention. He muttered angrily to himself, and Pepper caught phrases, like played me and clever little assassin girl.

"Lily is not an assassin."

Now Tony looked at her. "What?" he said flatly. It wasn't often that Pepper saw this side of him. Dead serious. "When exactly did that girl talk to you? Pepper, you need to stay away from her . . ."

A light was beginning to dawn on Miss Potts. "Hold on a second," she said, holding her hand up. "When you said 'potentially dangerous threat,' you didn't mean Lily, did you?"

"Uh, I said 'potentially dangerous and deadly threat, and yes, I meant Lily."

"She's a teenager!"

"Who managed to fool me into thinking her flowers were harmless and then found a way to sneak one into Stark Tower. By giving it to the person I care about most in the world, no less! It could have killed you!"

"Uh-huh. How?"

"This is the 21st century, Pepper," Tony huffed. "Explosives can be disguised as violets."

"Oh yeah, like the cookie robots in Despicable Me, right?" Ignoring the look Tony gave her, Pepper tugged at her ponytail and sighed. "I met Lily on the street yesterday. She told me she puts flowers on Howard's bench to help people. Think, Mother Theresa. Not everyone is trying to kill you, Tony."

She started for the stairs, before remembering something and stopping. "By the way, I invited her over for dinner tonight."

Tony gaped as Pepper walked calmly away.

"You have impeccable taste in women, sir."

"One more word, Jarvis."

"Sorry, sir."

Yep, this was turning out to be the best Valentine's Day ever.