Try Not to Forget

by AlexaNDYE

Pepperony AU: Journalism/Magazine Company. Pepper gets a new job at a magazine company, 'Black&White', reunites with her old friend from college, Rhodey, and meets her new coworker, Tony.

"That'll be five dollars and sixty-one cents," the cashier at Starbucks said.

Pepper Potts dug into her purse, pulled out exact change, and handed it to the cashier. After today, Pepper Potts would no longer be scrounging around for extra cash to buy a cup of coffee, because she got a job at one of the most famous magazine companies in the world, 'Black&White'.

"Thank you," the cashier replied as she filtered the change and tucked the cash in its appropriate slots. The woman handed Pepper her receipt and took the next customer's order.

Three minutes later, Pepper heard her name from the pick-up area; she quickly grabbed her cup of coffee and tasted the hot liquid with the tip of her tongue. She nursed the cup in her hand as she walked twenty minutes and thirty-two seconds to the double doors of her new job.

The job paid very well, considering she lived in the middle of the busiest city in the world, New York. Orientation took up most of the day and everyone she met during the six hours and forty-two minute period were nothing but pleasant. If someone asked her if she liked her job, she'd immediately say yes. Well, anything was better than her old job. Anything.

She had her own semi-cubicle on the sixth floor of the building where most of the writers were kept at. The fifth floor were mostly graphic artists, and the floor above hers mostly consisted of higher ups, conference rooms, and business men that dealt with the more financial related aspects of the magazine company. The building had a total of twelve floors, and yes, the orientation covered it all, but Pepper wasn't particularly paying attention at the time. There was something about long periods of talking that got her mind wandering to other important matters that found its way into her head.

Her first week consisted of learning the ropes, getting to know her fellow co-workers, getting to know how things worked, inside and out, knowing where the printers and its supplies were (as multiple people still complain about the lack of actual printing the printer does when in reality, everyone forgets to refill the paper), and knowing who to call for certain problems, mainly technicians.

They quickly threw everyone (mostly new writers, reporters, and graphic designers) into the bullpen on the second week.

Pepper's Monday morning that week consisted of three meetings, most of which were about articles that needed attention and a deadline that blinked bright red at the end of the week.

The first meeting was easy; everyone filed in, was informed of what articles needed attention, and assigned everyone a specific task for those articles.

The second meeting was rather unorthodox to Pepper. It wasn't as smooth as the first one.

Two of her supervisors sat down at the table after everyone else did. And then there was silence; there was staring and a lot of waiting. She looked up at her supervisors and noticed one of them look at his watch.

She raised her eyebrow in confusion and assumed that everyone was already in attendance for the meeting.

"Where is he?" Mr. Grayson, one of her supervisors, asked under his breath.

She saw a smirk appear on Ms. Lauren's lips. "Do you really expect him to remember about this meeting? He's probably at his cube, working on some piece for the Art Gallery article."

Who were they talking about?

Mr. Grayson let out a low chuckle and scooted his chair out to stand up. "I'll go see if he's there." He slipped out of the conference room while everyone else conversed between themselves.

Five minutes later, Mr. Grayson returned with another man.

"I didn't know." The man behind him tried to explain.

"When do you ever know about your meetings?" Mr. Grayson smiled. It was a pleasant exchange between the two, one that Pepper rarely saw between a supervisor and… someone else. She wasn't exactly sure why the man seemed more important than her supervisors. Pepper immediately assumed that the man they were waiting on was her supervisors' boss. It would explain why they're all so chummy with each other.

She watched the man unpack the contents of his briefcase at the head of the table. Silence fell into the room once he cleared his throat.

"Welcome, everyone, to… uh… this meeting, " he began, sounding a bit nervous. He was cute; he had dark brown hair that was a bit curly at the end; he wore a pair of black thick rimmed glasses and was dressed in a nice dark blue dress shirt and a pair of jeans and… sneakers? Pepper found it odd, but she figured it was normal for all of the veteran workers (to wear what you want with no questions asked). "I'm Tony Stark. I'm a writer, just like yourselves."

Wait, he's not… he's not someone higher up? Pepper asked herself. While her mind asked questions, her eyes were admiring the nice goatee he was sporting, and his nice soft pink lips—Jesus Christ, Virginia. She mentally hit herself on the side of her head.

"Oh, that's embarrassing…" Everyone heard Tony mumble to himself with a hint of worry, and maybe horror. He grinned cutely and put up his index finger. "One second." He slipped out of the room.

A minute later, he came back with a manila folder and started passing out its contents. "I seemed to have the wrong papers in my briefcase, which is odd, because I don't even think that's my briefcase." He paused. "I actually don't think I've ever used a briefcase."

"What you need to use is a damn planner," Mr. Grayson said quite loudly.

Tony threw the manila folder at him and Mr. Grayson chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Maybe when you cough up the money for that Fantasy Hockey League pool," he spoke playfully. "I could really use the extra cash to buy myself a planner."

Pepper's lips formed a thin smile at the small exchange between him and her supervisors. 'If this Tony guy is actually a fellow writer at the company, then he must've been working here for a while considering how familiar everyone is with him'.

"Okay," Tony spoke up at the head of the table. He pushed his glasses up his face with his pinkie and looked around the room. "You all seem very smart so I'm going to say this once and only once. We have a huge deadline in two weeks, and our gracious CEO has bestowed his fortune upon me by… uh… forcing me to have everyone on this train ride to whatever hell this section of articles is going to send us to." He scratched the back of his head as he felt bad for his next choice words. "Now, I know it's almost the holidays, and everyone wants to get out, go shop for presents and eat, be with their families, etc, but in order for us to meet the deadline, we'll have to work a little bit on the weekends."

"Oh, god…" Pepper heard someone groan beside her, and then she heard everyone else complain with a low, drawn out groan.

"It's not fun, I know, but it's part of the job, and we all know how we'd like to keep our jobs, yes?" He clapped his hands together and flashed a bright smile. "Now, the papers I have handed out are all of the articles that need to be done in two weeks."

'Holy shit…' Pepper widened her eyes at the six page packet in front of her. She flipped through it and saw at least forty articles, all that required the collaboration of various graphic artists and photographers, and they weren't easy two page articles either. She also noticed the lack of abundant writers in the room.

"Um…" Matt, a newly employed writer, just like herself, spoke up. "…Can this even be done in two weeks?"

Tony smiled warmly. "Yes. If I said no, then we'd all panic, and if I said maybe, we'd still all panic. So, yes. It can."

Pepper imagined there'd be a lot of cramming and close calls with this deadline. Her other deadlines would need to be worked on much sooner rather than later so she can start on this one.

"Don't panic – whatever you do, don't think negatively. You all look like very smart and hardworking people, and I know this is a huge project for your first month at the company, but don't worry, if this thing goes smoothly, I'll be sure to put in a very good word for you guys to the CEO."

Tony sounded like he'd been though quite a few of these large projects before, so there really wasn't anything to worry about, Pepper hoped. Dear lord, did she hope. She didn't want to think her job was already at risk on her first month.

"And to make things all a little easier," Tony muttered as he settled into one of the chairs that bordered the conference table. "I'll talk to everyone individually to see what your strengths and weaknesses are so maybe we can uh…" he made a winding gesture with his hands. "…get all the gears moving and such—uh, make things easier, yada, yada."

Pepper could tell, without looking around the room, that a lot of the newer employees, as well as some, if not all, of the interns, are mentally peeing their pants. She wouldn't blame them. She'd actually be peeing her pants alongside them.

It's a lot to ask from a group of newcomers, especially when it's their first batch of articles that were also being published and read by hundreds of thousands of people.

"Anything else to add, Mr. Stark?" Mr. Grayson said after a few moments of silence. Pepper's eyes followed Mr. Grayson's and soon locked with Tony's.

Pepper was mildly surprised to catch Tony staring at her, but a part of her assumed that he was staring into space and letting his mind wander. His eyes didn't tear away from hers, but instead blinked and looked away, almost as if he was being torn out of his thoughts.

"Nope, I don't think so, other than the occasional 'don't fuck up' trope," he replied with a chuckle. No one else in the room was laughing with him, but Pepper's lips thinned into a small smile.

Was Pepper happy to have so much work to do for the next few weeks? No, but she liked keeping herself busy. She liked having something to do at all hours. It helped the time pass by. Some people teased her for being such a workaholic, but it wasn't exactly work if she considered it fun.

Mr. Grayson had a few minor announcements, most of them consisting of new equipment being brought in, larger collaboration projects being worked on that anyone could volunteer for, and the suggestion board, for suggestions on whatever people think can of that'll improve the daily work schedule.

After the announcements, the meeting was over.

Meeting #3 was scheduled an hour later, which gave Pepper some time to organize her work schedule. She liked putting her work, and little reminders, on a large calendar, separated by hours, to see where she could squeeze certain things in.

Her desk contained a couple monitors, a keyboard, a cup of pens and pencils, a huge desk calendar, a few pictures of her and her friends, and one of her favorite stress balls. She liked to squeeze the thing when she was thinking—it turned into a habit after years of working. If it wasn't squeezing a ball, it was tapping her pencil against something, which didn't sound great according to past cubicle neighbors.

"Miss Pepper Potts."

She turned around at the sound of her name and saw a familiar face. "Rhodey!" She smiled brightly.

He laughed and wrapped his arms around her to hug her. "Long time no see."

She squeezed him tight. "It sure has been. I thought you were working for the New York Times."

"A friend of mine got me this job six months ago. If you weren't working so much, I could've told you over lunch or something."

She whacked him on the arm for such a comment – it was playful, of course. "You're a jerk, you know that? I was only working so much because of that stupid daily column—"

"—That never got published," he corrected her.

"That never got published…" Pepper echoed his words. "Thanks." She flashed him a flat and pained expression. "For reminding me."

"But you made it here," Rhodey smiled as he gestured to the open air. "This beautiful mess of a place that I know you'll grow to love."

She furrowed her eyebrows for a moment and hummed in acceptance. "How do you like it here?"

"I love it." Rhodey dipped his lips into the brown rejuvenating cup he was nursing in his hand. "Environment is friendly, everyone is really open and bright – trust me, it grows on you – except for the printers. Those things will never grow on you."

Pepper laughed. A printer is usually a writer's worst nightmare, depending on how close the deadline is and at what hour the printer stops working.

"What team are you under?" Rhodey asked.

"Mr. Grayson's," Pepper replied with a nod.

"Ah, so Jake is the one that took all the new people." He paused. "And I assume you've already met Tony Stark."

The name clicked in her brain immediately, not because she kept thinking of his big brown chocolate eyes staring at her or his tongue that traced over his pink lips whenever he was deep in thought, but because he made quite the memorable first impression. She mentally shook her head and quickly nodded.

"He's quite the… uh… writer." She tried not to smile but couldn't help it. She didn't know her lips curved into one until Rhodey returned the smile.

"He's actually the one that got me this job."

"Oh?" She raised her eyebrows. "So, you two know each other pretty well?"

"We've been friends since High School, actually. I would've introduced you to him, but you never seem to accept my invites, on account of—"

"—working too much, yeah, yeah. I know." She rolled her eyes.

"He's a nice guy once you get passed the inability to remember any meeting or date in general."

Pepper remembers his entrance being quite delayed. "He actually did that this morning," she informed Rhodey. "Apparently he didn't even know we had a meeting this morning, and then he grabbed the wrong papers, and also someone else's briefcase."

He let out a laugh. "That does sound like Tony."

"I heard that, Platypus," Tony said as he rounded the corner and approached Pepper's little cubicle. He looked at Rhodey and shook his head in displeasure, and then he looked at Pepper. His eyes drifted between the two for a few seconds before asking, "You two, uh, know each other?"

"We worked on UCLA's paper together," Rhodey replied first.

"I was working on sports articles and Rhodey was—"

"—Listening to her complain about working on the sports articles," he finished her sentence and received a slap on the arm.

"Was not. You were always complaining about how Mr. Headley kept giving you terrible assignments."

"And he was." Rhodey nodded to her. Tony heard the two erupt in laughter; Although he and Rhodey knew each other in High School and went to different colleges, they still kept in touch, but Rhodey never mentioned knowing the beautiful red haired girl in front of him—Potter—uh… Porter?

"I'm sorry," Tony held his hand out to Pepper. "I don't think we've ever met officially."

Pepper gladly took his hand and gave it a firm squeeze. "Pepper Potts." His hand. Oh god, his hand. It was soft, a little smooth, but a little calloused. They were warm – oh so warm – and very strong. Strong, strong hand. Pepper swallowed hard as she tried to push the invading thoughts out of her head.

His eyes briefly wandered down to her freckles. "Interesting name." He laughed. Rhodey opted to stay off to the side and sip his coffee as he watched the two interact. The last thing Rhodey wanted to do was interrupt a good conversation between his two friends, minus the obvious eye fucking.

"My name is actually Virginia," she corrected him.

"Oh."

"Pepper was an old nick name in High School that kind of stuck."

"That's… That's incredible. I can think of a dozen nicknames people give me while I'm driving, but nothing as interesting as 'Pepper'," he joked with a warm smile.

Pepper almost snorted. Almost. She ended up covering a small chuckle that managed to escape.

Rhodey finally spoke up. "Pepper tells me you're whipping them into shape early, Tony."

Tony turned to Rhodey and then back at Pepper. "Oh right, you're, uh, you're on my team." Pepper nodded. He tucked his hand back into his pocket and gave a little shrug. "Well, Obadiah was forcing this project down everyone's throats and everyone else was too busy to take it on since it's almost the holidays, so I took it."

"Only a work addict like you would take it on," Rhodey commented with a shake of his head.

"Working late nights doesn't mean I'm a work addict, Platypus." Tony narrowed his eyes at Rhodey as Rhodey rolled his.

"Whatever." He smiled.

"Which reminds me," Tony pointed to Pepper. "I need to talk to you about the project, uh, sometime today. I try to pencil people in—" Rhodey snorted into his coffee.

"That's a sight I'll pay to see."

Tony hummed in disapproval at his friend. Pepper merely smiled at the two.

"I have a meeting in a little under half an hour. After that, I can swing by," Pepper spoke up.

Tony nodded. "Sure, that'd work. Awesome. Well, I'm going to leave you to deal with this guy, as painful as that sounds." He gestured to Rhodey and promptly backed out with a wave of his hand. "See you later, Miss Potts."

"Bye."

Rhodey looked at Tony and then at Pepper; he watched Tony turn around to greet a few other people he bumped into, but Pepper kept staring. "Like someone you see?"

"Yes." Pepper batted her eyelashes at Rhodey. "It's called work." She gestured to the open air. Rhodey tried not to laugh.

"Only you." He shook his head at her.

"How long has he worked here?" Pepper asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Who, Tony?"

Pepper nodded.

"About six years, give or take. Why?"

She shrugged. "Just wondering." She paused to look at Tony, who was cheerfully talking to a few higher ups dressed in pristine suits that were worth more than her monthly paycheck. She recognized one of the as the chief editor, but she didn't know the other two. "He seems to be really friendly with everyone. For a guy that has worked here for a long time, I thought he'd be at a higher position." She watched Tony whack the chief editor in the chest as all of them laughed, probably at some comment Tony made.

"He likes writing." Rhodey mentioned. "Obadiah is a really good friend of his father's. He's offered Tony dozens of higher positions, but Tony always opted to stay with the herd of writers." Obadiah Stane was the CEO of 'Black&White'. Anything and everything went by him no matter what. She briefly saw Obadiah during her orientation to the company, but that was it. From her point of view, Obadiah looked friendly, yet strict.

"Why, because he loves writing?"

"Because he can't see himself as anything else – and I'm pretty sure his whole aversion with calendars would destroy this company alone." Rhodey tried not to smile.

"What is with him and not writing things down?" Pepper asked quite harshly.

Rhodey shrugged. "I've bought him several desk calendars but he never uses them. Maybe he likes the thrill of being surprised."

"What, being surprised to find that he's unprepared for a meeting that's supposed to happen… I don't know… twenty minutes ago?" Pepper couldn't help but poke fun of Tony for such a crime. One of the many silent rules is always arriving on time for your meetings – actually, arriving early was the rule, but arriving on time was a must. It promoted professionalism and a sense of hard work. She never once touched upon the idea that Tony wasn't a hard worker, but it was something everyone in the working, professional world knew.

Her next meeting went well; she, along with a few other people that were in the meeting, was given a small project that could be finished in a couple days, so she wasn't in full blown panic mode, but she did want to get the smaller projects to be taken as soon as possible.

Her meeting with Tony went well and it was fairly straight forward. He asked about her strengths, weaknesses, how much of a work load she could handle in a single week, and how she felt about extra work. He assigned her a few articles that were due at the end of the week as a small test run; Pepper assumed he did the same with the rest of the team.

She was with a few other people when she talked to him, so she couldn't ask any personal questions, but she had to remind herself that she wasn't there to ask about his personal life. She was there to work, to do a good job, and make a living. The only thought that ran through her mind at the end of the day was how good it would feel to lay down, curl up in her own bed with a bowl of soup and a little bit of Netflix.

She left an hour and a half than she was supposed to, and even managed to grab a small bite to eat on her way home. That was the perk of living in New York City – the people never slept and neither did the food vendors.

She slept comfortably that night and already thinking of what she was going to write for her articles. Work was on her mind more than her own health; she liked seeing results when it came to her life and work was the only way.

She didn't date much, although she went on a few in the last year, but nothing too serious. She liked her privacy, she liked making her own routine, and she loved the feeling of being free. She saw all sorts of couples on her way to work and on her way home, holding hands, kissing, and sharing special moments with each other. Of course she would love to have someone special in her life, but the thought of the commitment alone made her double back.

"You're early," she heard someone say as she approached her desk the next morning. She turned her head and saw Tony leaning against the side of her cubicle with a steaming cup of coffee in his hand. He looked at her lazily, probably in exhaustion. "Usually people come in at eight or nine, not… uh…" he checked his watch. "…five thirty."

Pepper smirked. "I like getting an early head start."

"Mm," he hummed in acknowledgement. His eyes traced her early morning look; her skin looked silky smooth, her nose a bit red from the New York City winter weather, her lips pink and soft, and her hair curled at the ends and was neatly tied in a ponytail. He drank her in like the cup of coffee he had each morning, and he was nearly hooked.

"It makes me feel…"

"Accomplished?"

Pepper's smile grew. "…Like I'm not a robot." She took off her gloves, and reached for her empty mug. Tony followed her to the small kitchen in the back. He watched her pour herself a cup of hot coffee, and then watched her sip the contents and make a noise, almost as if in disgust.

He couldn't help but smile. "If you didn't get in so early, you could've ditched the terrible office coffee and gotten Starbucks on the way."

Pepper briefly rolled her eyes at him. "Why are you in so early?"

"Because I am a robot and I plan on taking over the world, one magazine publishing company at a time," he joked. Pepper chuckled against her cup of coffee. "I like the silence," he finally admitted. "It's about the only time there's any in this building. Helps me concentrate."

"Ah," She nodded. "Do you always come in this early?"

"Almost. Sometimes I let myself sleep in." He shrugged.

"Well, since you come in this early, maybe you can use the time to check which meetings you're needed for," she teased.

Tony laughed. "It's not like I do it on purpose."

"Okay, Mr. Stark." She rolled her eyes.

"I get immersed into my work long enough and deep enough to forget that there's another world out there." He juggled the warmth from the coffee cup in his hands. "It's what makes my work, my work."

Pepper could understand where he was coming from. Sometimes she would do the same; she'd allow herself to be so wrapped up in work, she'd forget what time she's supposed to go home or when she's supposed to eat.

That morning went by fast for her; she finished an article by the time the rest of the employees filled the office and the constant chattering between colleagues rose considerably. By the time the day was over, she finished one of her smaller projects and half of another. She had yet to touch the one for Tony.

The next day, she finished both of the smaller projects and turned her articles into her managers. She was certain they'd be given back for corrections and adjustments, but she wasn't going to wait around for it. She was on full acceleration mode and she wanted to start on Tony's assignments as soon as possible.

It was about forty minutes into her first article when Tony swung by her desk. He called her name as he came up to her, but Pepper was too engrossed into her article to realize that he was standing right next to her.

He moved behind her and looked over her shoulder, playfully wondering how long it would take for her to notice him. He raised his eyebrows at the faint sound of classical music that came from the earbuds that protruded from her ears. He didn't recognize the piece, but he did enjoy its soothing melody.

He took the opportunity to look around her cubicle and admire the various decorations. He noticed the calendar of puppies on the wall, the little tiny desk accessories to her right (stapler, little food erasers, post-it pads, and a small tape dispenser), and the small figurine of a black and white dog to her left. He saw the half empty mug of coffee on its coaster next to her computer, and the small tiny digital clock that sat behind it. And then he saw the pictures of her and her friends, some of them were from, what he guessed, her earlier school years, and others were recent. He saw a picture of her and Rhodey, and one of her and some guy he didn't recognize. Boyfriend? Ex-Boyfriend? Just a friend? All were possible.

Tony cleared his throat.

Thirty seconds later – no response.

That didn't work.

Tony tapped on her shoulder, and she reacted almost as if her shoulder caught on fire; she whipped her head around so fast and spun in her chair, she almost lost her balance. She pulled her earbuds out of her ears, letting the classical music drop next to her computer, and tried to regain her composure.

"Mr. Stark," she breathed in surprise. She could feel her heart boom in her chest. She wasn't expecting anyone to need her for the rest of the night.

"Miss Potts." He smiled warmly. "Hard at work, I see."

"Uh…" She spun around to glance at her monitor. "…Yeah." She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I just got really caught up in this—"

"It's okay." Tony flashed a warm smile. "No need to apologize." He paused admire the small smile on her lips. "I was actually wondering if you were going to Rhodey's thing."

"Oh, the dinner slash party slash get together on Saturday?"

"Yeah. I'm not really familiar with Rhodey's friends. I usually decline, but I don't think he'll let me since I've declined his invites for the past three months." Tony shrugged. "I was hoping you were going so at least I don't feel like a complete loner."

Her lips spread into a toothy grin. "Rhodey's friends are harmless, unless you meet Scott or Victoria. They will make sure the night doesn't end until someone throws up."

Tony nodded and joked, "Very reassuring."

"But yeah, I'm going – well, it depends if I can get this work finished before hand, but, as you said, I don't think he'll let me decline either."

"So, you know them?"

"Huh?"

"Rhodey's friends."

"Ah, yes. We all go quite a ways back. Some of them I've known since Junior High School, and others I've known since college."

"So…" Tony paused, almost as if he's uncertain. "…You and Rhodey are pretty close, huh?" He wasn't exactly sure where Rhodey and Pepper stood in terms of friendship. He admitted that they sounded close, but he wasn't sure how close. He wanted to ask Rhodey, but that only asked more questions than it gave answers.

Pepper smiled at the thought. "He's like a brother to me." It was the truth. Rhodey helped her through all of her college troubles and life's tough obstacles.

Tony released the air in his lungs he didn't realize he was holding. "Oh, because the way you two were talking…" he stumbled with this words, "…I, ah, I assumed—"

She quickly shook her head. "Oh no. Rhodey and I have only ever been really good friends. If we ever dated, we'd probably be at each other's throat every single second of the day." She tried not to laugh.

He laughed lightly and pushed against the bridge of his glasses with his index finger. Pepper beamed at the small habit; she thought it was cute the way he had to readjust his glasses and the way his nose scrunched together when he laughed. There were certainly some sort of fondness for him, but in no way was she overly addicted to his personality. There were thoughts of the possibility of dating, but it wasn't a necessity.

Pepper liked it when things fell into place; she didn't see the point in rushing something grandiose like dating or relationships.

"So, uh, I'll see you on Saturday?" He had to remind himself why he came to her in the first place.

She gave him a nod. "Yes, Mr. Stark, you will see me on Saturday, and hopefully not drunk."

Tony laughed. "Good. I'll see you then." He left, leaving Pepper to all sorts of thoughts about the 'get together' on Saturday.

"Oh, don't forget about the meeting in half an hour!" she called after him.

She saw a hand appear from the top of the wall of her cubicle. "Yup, thanks," he replied.

Saturday came fairly quickly. Work was hectic, as to be expected from such a large project, and the only thing she was looking forward to on the weekend was seeing Rhodey, a few of her friends, and Tony. She worked on her articles Saturday morning, but once it hit two in the afternoon, she dropped everything, took a nap, and got ready.

She wasn't there to dress to impress. It wasn't a date. It was just a little party – a kickback.

She finalized her attire: skinny jeans, a white blouse, wedge heels, a thin and light dark gray jacket, and a small white Kate Spade purse with a thin golden chain-strap.

She left her place a half past four to walk to Rhodey's place. She stopped by one of her favorite bakeries on the way and picked up a pie. It was a little something to show an appreciation for the invite, and she was pretty sure it was somewhat of an apology for declining the last twenty or so.

She hiked up the stairs and arrived on the fifth floor. She walked down the hallway until she saw the big numbers '506' nailed on the door. Her lips formed a wide and happy grin as she heard the muffled sound of her friends' laughter.

She was about to knock until she heard someone's heavy exasperated breathing down the hall.

"Evening," she greeted Tony as she tried to keep herself from laughing. He was hunched over in a leather jacket, hands on his knees, and panting loudly.

"I..." he began, "I do not like stairs." He held up an index finger. "Just, uh, give me… give me a year or two."

Pepper laughed at that. "It's only five flights of stairs."

"Only?" He exclaimed. "You'd think they'd have an elevator in here."

Pepper laughed again. He made his way to her as he tried to regain his breath. He glanced down at the brown box in her hands.

"Pie?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Pie." She saw that he too had a pink box in his hands.

"Well, Miss Potts. We'll have to see who has the better pie."

"Won't be a competition since there is none."

"Rude of you to talk about your own pie like that." He teased.

Pepper knocked on the door. "As if your pie would stand a chance to mine."

"What is it, blueberry?"

"Apple, actually."

"Strawberry. Apple is too generic."

"Apple is classic." She watched him push up his glasses. So cute.

"And boring." He finished with a husky whisper into her ear. A shiver ran down her spine.

The door opened, and a redhead, that Tony has never met before, greeted them with open arms and a glass of, what he assumed was, alcohol.

"Nat!" Pepper screamed excitedly.

"Pep, long time no see!" The redhead embraced Pepper. She looked behind her and flashed a sly smirk. "And with a boyfriend? How dare you keep him from us. No wonder why you've been saying you're 'busy'. I'd be busy too if I had him all to myself." Nat winked at Pepper. Tony almost blushed.

"Boss, actually," Pepper corrected her.

"Sexy boss." Nat hugged Tony as well, and he welcomed her with open arms.

"I'd rather be considered as a colleague."

"Sexy colleague, then." Nat humored them and gestured for them to come in. "Pepper and her sexy colleague brought dessert?"

"Mine is better," Tony let out playfully before he shrugged off his coat and hung it on the coatrack behind the threshold. He took Pepper's and hung it next to his.

"As if." Pepper rolled her eyes.

"I'm liking him already." Nat winked at Pepper. "It's not a party without a little dessert competition." They followed Nat through the foyer and into the kitchen where Rhodey and six of their friends were gathered at.

"Ginny!" Everyone cheered.

"And her colleague…?" Nat gestured for Tony to finish.

"Tony." He finished.

Rhodey walked over and hugged the two. "Glad you two workaholics could make it."

Pepper elbowed him in the ribs. "Enough with that word."

"I'm sorry." He laughed. "Well, anyways, we have pizza, chips—Nick brought homemade lasagna, Maria brought some of her famous spaghetti and meatballs, and Bruce grilled some steaks. Please, help yourselves."

As they all ate, they laughed at some old memories and some new ones. Tony met all of the people there, some of which he's met before at one of Rhodey's parties. They drank and ate, watched some basketball game on the television, and told tons of embarrassing stories about each other. Everyone mostly told them for Tony's sake, because who doesn't like a good embarrassing college, or childhood, story.

Tony learned about the day Pepper kicked some boy in the balls for Nat back in Junior High School, and how Bruce and Rhodey started off as college roommates. Everyone was friendly and inviting. He could tell everyone was really close with each other the way they spoke about each other, and the way they joked around. He noticed how most of them playfully hit each other on the arm for terrible remarks.

At a certain point in the evening, he noticed Pepper wasn't in the room with them. He quietly left in search of her and found her standing outside on the balcony, leaning against the railing with a drink in her hand. She sipped it a few times and let her eyes wander to the busy and bustling streets of New York City.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked as he approached the doorway.

Pepper smiled at him. "Of course not."

He leaned forwards and gazed at the breathtaking view in front of him; the city was always awake and always offered something new. The occasional honks and sirens of passing cars made the city feel like home to him.

"Ginny, huh?" He smirked into his glass.

Pepper gave a little chuckle. "Short for Virginia. Only my parents call me Virginia."

"Can I call you Virginia?" he teased.

"No."

They both laughed.

"I like Pepper." He nodded. "Suits you."

"Is it because of the freckles, Anthony?" She teased back.

He cringed. "Oh god, don't ever call me Anthony. Brings me back to the days when my mother screamed my full name whenever I did something horrible."

She laughed and took a sip of her drink. "Do you have any siblings?" He raised a questioning eyebrow at her. "If I'm going to be working for you for the next few years, I might as well try to get to know you."

"I don't," he replied simply. "You?"

"I have an older brother." She swallows her drink. "He lives in Canada."

"Are you from Canada?"

"Maryland," Pepper corrected him. "Parents still live in Maryland. My brother got a job in Canada and I moved out to New York for my first job in journalism."

"Interesting."

"And you?"

"My parents live everywhere; California, New York, Italy, Germany—everywhere. I stayed in New York. Went to High School here. Rhodey left to go to LA for College, but I stayed here and attended NYU." Pepper noticed a hint of discomfort in his voice when he talked about his parents. She assumed it was a sore subject and decided to avoid it.

"Didn't care to follow Rhodey and go to LA?"

Tony let out a small laugh. "As if. I can only take so much of that guy until my head explodes." Pepper laughed alongside him.

"Any lucky woman that doesn't make your head explode?" Pepper asked, almost nonchalantly.

Tony tilted his head to the side in thought. "Not really. I'm not much of the dating type."

"I doubt that," Pepper mumbled into her cup.

"I was dating this woman for a while, but it was a year ago." His gaze locked with Pepper's. "She was beautiful. Her name was Maya. Beautiful, smart, funny…" He played with the drink in his hands and swirled the contents around a few times.

Pepper wasn't jealous. No. She was never jealous. "She sounds perfect."

"She is." He shrugged. "It's… It's just…" he paused. "…I'm not."

She was confused.

"You've seen me at the office. I forget meetings – important ones, and I tend to get too engrossed in my work..."

"Forget about a date night?" she curiously asked.

"Yeah, and a few more after that." He shook his head in disappointment. "And then it was birthdays, holidays—"

"—dear lord." Pepper almost chocked on her drink. "You're terrible." She was joking, of course, but Tony stared at her with a solemn gaze.

He knew, in the pit of his stomach, how horrible he was. The day he and Maya broke up was when he finally realized how much of a jerk he was, how he wasn't dating material – or any kind of material, for that matter.

"I am," he admitted. "I mean, what kind of guy forgets his girlfriend's birthday or a dinner with her parents, or Valentine's Day?"

Pepper raised her eyebrows. "Really, Valentine's Day?"

He nodded. "I'm not dating material, Pep. I never was."

Pepper didn't agree with him. She never believed that someone was destined to be alone. There were over seven billion people living on planet Earth. Everyone has to have someone. Her eyes fixated on the piece of thread that sat on his shoulder.

She reached forward and brushed the strand away. She smoothed out the fabric and rested her hands on his shoulders. He stared longingly into her deep ocean blue eyes and waited for her to agree with him. Her hands burned against his shirt and sent shivers down his spine. He watched her gorgeous orange hair flutter in the wind alongside the neon lights of New York City.

He couldn't deny that he was attracted to her.

"You are dating material, Tony," she tried to reassure him as she stared into those warm brown eyes of his that effortlessly brought her comfort "You just have to find the right person that respects who you are and how you are – that will look past your flaws and see you just as you are."

Tony's lips curled into a warm charming smile. He didn't realize how close they were to each other until he felt her breath brush against his cheeks.

"Thanks," he muttered as he felt a familiar warmth in the pit of his stomach. Her words calmed him, brought him at ease, and at the same time, he wanted more. He wanted to get to know her, listen to her talk about her morning routine, ask about the black and white dog that sat on her desk, and tell her how beautiful she looked when she got in first thing in the morning.

She didn't deny that he had flaws. His attraction to her grew every passing second.

The two stared longingly at each other for a few more seconds, waiting for that spark to turn into something much more, but Rhodey's voice from the hallway broke them out of their trance.

"Hey, you two. Are we going to fight over whose pie is better or what?" Rhodey looked oblivious to the moment Tony and Pepper were having.

Pepper couldn't help but break out into a wide smile. "And whomever that person may be should know that your pie is vastly inferior to mine."

He shot her a look. "As if."

The rest of the night was spent as a group; they all shared a few laughs and a couple more stories before evening ended. Everyone hugged each other goodbye, and while Rhodey and Pepper's friends went their separate ways, Pepper and Tony walked together on a common route.

"Told you apple pie was the best," Pepper widened her smile.

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I still like strawberry more, which you," he bumped his shoulder against hers. "Never ate."

Pepper laughed. "Which you will never see unless you want to call an ambulance."

He blinked in confusion. "What?"

"I'm allergic to strawberries."

He mentally chastised himself. "Wow. Now I feel like an ass. No wonder why Rhodey laughed at my pie."

Pepper laughed again. "It's okay. You didn't know." Tony shook his head, mostly at himself, in disappointment.

He made sure to remember that she was allergic to strawberries. He had to remind himself, unless he wanted to see her puff up into a blowfish and almost kill her.

The night ended with them parting ways at a streetlight crosswalk. They hugged each other goodbye; Pepper crossed the street and Tony watched her leave, making sure she made it safely across.

Neither of them forgot about the moment they shared on the balcony.

The next week was more than crazy and hectic, if that was even possible; the deadline for the huge project was at the end of the week and everyone, even Tony, scrambled to get everything together. There were a few moments of panic here and there, but at the end of the week, everything seemed to come together. Everyone submitted their articles on time and the Chief Editor approved them with more than enough time to spare.

Everyone waited in the conference room after Tony left to submit the finished product to CEO Obadiah Stane.

They waited and waited for whatever news was to come from the meeting. An hour later, Tony walked into the room with a solemn expression.

Everyone held their breath as they tried to read him. Everyone was worried that Stane didn't like their work, but at the last second, Tony broke out into a wide grin.

"He loved it," he said with a little laugh. "Which is odd because that man rarely associates anything with that word."

Almost everyone sighed in relief as they finally processed his words.

"Good job, everyone," Tony praised them. "I even managed to sneak a word or two in about 'Christmas bonuses' for everyone's hard work over the course of these past couple weeks, and he said he'd think about it." He paused. "Really. Great work. I couldn't have asked for a better team."

As everyone celebrated, Pepper and Tony shared a look and a mutual smile. For a few seconds, they were oblivious to everything and everyone around them.

The next Friday; the day before the holiday break…

"Hey," Rhodey passed by Pepper's office with a Santa hat, that sat skewed, on top of his head and a warm cup of eggnog in his hand.

"Hey," she greeted as she glanced over her shoulder.

"Have you picked your Secret Santa yet?"

"I have not. Last I heard, the hat was still going around."

Rhodey brought out the hat from behind his back. "It is." He smiled. "Go ahead. Pick away. If you happen to get me, I've been eyeing this gray Lamborghini—"

"—You wish," she interjected and shared a laugh with him.

She mixed the hat, giving it a few swirls, before finally picking a name. She unfolded the piece of paper and read it to herself. Despite Rhodey's constant pleas to know who she got, she did not disclose it.

"Hey, you going to let me pick a name?" Tony asked as he came up to Rhodey and Samantha, Obadiah's secretary. Samantha was in the middle of picking out a name.

"Uh, no." Rhodey smirked. "You didn't put your name in."

"Yeah I did." Tony reached in the hat after Samantha pulled a name out.

"You did?" Rhodey raised an eyebrow at him.

"Sure did."

"I thought you hated participating in these things."

"Yeah, but I thought to myself, if I get you, I can finally buy that set of flowery fragrant bath bombs you always wanted, or maybe a free manicure?" Tony flashed a wide smile.

Rhodey gave him a flat look. "Funny. Well, I haven't picked yet. I might just buy you a giant stick so you can shove it up your ass."

Tony laughed as he picked a name.

Everyone left the office a bit early that day, eager to celebrate the holidays with family and friends.

Tony flew to Malibu, California, to spend time with his parents and their friends. He only left for Christmas weekend and was back a couple days after.

Pepper flew to Maryland to spend time with her parents, her brother, and a few of her friends.

Rhodey stayed in New York City, and took a trip upstate to visit his parents and childhood friends.

Tony and Pepper didn't talk much during the holidays. All three of them exchanged various 'Happy Holiday's, 'Merry Christmas', and 'Happy New Years' text messages, but other than that, they all spent their holidays with their respective families and friends.

The Monday after New Year's Day was always grueling. Work was always hard to get back into after a long break.

Tony got in a little later than usual that morning and when he arrived at his desk, he saw a large and thin object on his desk, wrapped neatly in holiday giftwrap.

He didn't forget about the Secret Santa gift exchange (he got the Chief Editor and bought him a fountain pen), but he was very curious to know who got him for Secret Santa.

He shrugged off his coat, and yanked off the scarf from around his neck. He dropped his things on the spot next to his desk and began to unwrap the gift.

He tore at the corner and then tugged the wrapping off in one clean motion. He chuckled to himself as he unveiled a calendar that contained a few words of wisdom for each day, said by famous authors and philosophers from around the world.

"I didn't know what to get you," he heard the voice next to him. He flipped through the calendar, reading one or two 'words of wisdom' along the way. "So I thought to myself, 'What should I buy a very forgetful man that can't remember dates, of any kind, and meetings, and holidays'?".

He gazed up at the redhead with a warm smile. He got calendars all the time from coworkers, but there was something special about the one that Pepper gave him.

"Thank you, Pepper." He beamed at her.

"I know it's a longshot, but try not to forget about any meetings, especially ones with important people." Her smile alone could've been his present, as cheesy as it sounded. "Maybe write all of your meetings on it, or at least write the important ones on it."

"I'll try, but no promises," Tony replied. Before she could leave, he flipped to 'January' and handed her the calendar. "Want to be the first to break it in?"

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"What day are you free to have dinner?" he clarified.

Pepper's thin pink lips slowly curved into a wide grin, one that could light up a whole Christmas tree. She took one of his pens from his desk and scribbled something into one of the squares. She handed the calendar back to him and returned his pen.

"Try not to forget," she teased before she walked away.

He gazed down at her handwriting and smiled to himself. The warmth in the pit of his stomach wasn't enough to explain how he felt about it. He was excited, and he was certain no amount of work could pull him away from an evening with a certain redhead.

He reached for a pushpin in one of his bowls beside his computer and hung up the calendar. He leaned back into his chair and observed it from afar, staring longingly at words 'Date w/ Pepper' written under the current date, 'Monday, January 4th 2016'.

He didn't forget.