Hello! This is first fan fiction I've written in over a year, and the first solo project at all for six months. I'm very excited to work on it as I've had some brain crack for these two ladies for a long time and only now that university is out do I have time to work on it. Please, since it's been a while since I've written here, feel free to comment negatively (as long as it remains respectful) or positively. Thank you very much and I hope you enjoy it!
The first time Pepper met Natasha it was under a false identity, one Natalie Rushman who had been hired to be her personal assistant just as she was getting her feet on the ground as the new CEO of Stark Industries. It was a hectic and chaotic time in her life and though that did give her some slack in terms of making mistakes, she did think she should have noticed something as big as the fact that her new secretary had government ties, but she hadn't looked farther than the fact that she had been an underwear model in Japan, though neither had her boss. As enigmatic as the woman tried to be, there was something strange about her that Pepper could pick up right off the bat, though; the woman was perfect in every way. It was almost erie how her assistant could work so well and efficiently and how she could tell her information she needed before she could even ask for it and how she was always so eager to do her job. Frankly, the only person she thought could do that well at being someone's personal assistant had been herself but Natasha literally made it like there were two of her.
It was a week or so later that Natasha met Tony for the fist time that day when he had been taking lessons from his body guard and had insisted on seeing her. It was only in that meeting that she found out that Tony hadn't been the one to find her and had never in fact met the woman before; she could tell by the way he looked at her, his first time meeting an attractive woman look. Pangs of jealousy went through her when he looked at her that way and she couldn't put her finger on why exactly; there were lots of women he flirted with, including her. There was something in the way, too that he brought up her pictures and flicked through them that made her want to watch and as much as she wouldn't think to look the pictures up later or remember that she was doing it now, she watched almost as intently as he did.
"Oh my god are you googling her?"
"Just looking her up."
"Stop ogling her."
"I thought I was googling her. I want one."
"No."
Pepper gave up on that front, but only because the owner of Stark Industry's body guard came crashing down inside the ring and Pepper's attention was snapped to it. "What just happened?" She'd seen the rough and tumble man deal with a lot and a model and secretary was surely one of the things that he could handle on even a day he wasn't feeling so hot. "Are you okay?" She wasn't entirely sure whom she was addressing with that statement as Happy was the one who looked hurt but Natalie the one whom she had expected to be hurt. However, it was Happy that slowly got up from lying down on the mats and her assistant who was both unhurt and agilely coming down from the ring and as if nothing had happened asked for Tony's impressions. As Pepper mad sure Happy was fine she listened to what Tony had to say with a slight smirk on her face; though she didn't admit it to anyone, even herself, she agreed with him.
The burly man got up and dusted himself off, and Pepper found herself relieved that he was okay; that had been a very hard fall on multiple levels and anyone could have been hurt by that. He leaned down to her and muttered, "don't know why you're so interested in Tony. He's a great guy but he'll always flirt with the ladies like that. Come on, let me take you on a date; you look stressed."
Pepper had long grown used to disappointing him, though she did feel badly about it; he was a friend of hers and he did mean a lot to him and she didn't like to see the look on his face when she declined. "I've been pretty busy lately; I don't know if this would be the best time to start a relationship, you know?" Behind her she kept an eye on the following as Tony got his impressions taken and casually hit on the woman he'd been eyeing for the last long minutes. "Miss Rushman, are you finished?" She wanted to get out of the awkward situation as quickly as possible and it was as if every encounter these days that involved the three of them was awkward.
The red haired assistant looked up from the marks she was getting and answered swiftly and formally, "Yes, Miss Potts," and started to put her things together and follow her out.
Pepper found herself wanting to know more about her, where she learned to do that and what her past really was; a few semi nude pictures and a resume hardly made a woman. But for some reason she didn't ask. In stead she went back to work, ever few minutes seeing her in and out of the office, not taking much notice of her as she did so. The world didn't stop because her secretary was just a little on the rough and tumble side and could seemingly take down one of the best body guards in the world. It just added the mystery surrounding her already extreme perfection and her impecable manners, the way that she was always so put together and had the right answer.
It was perhaps a day or two later that Natalie started flirting with her, just subtly. If Pepper hadn't been astute, she would probably have missed all the little things she did; the way she left her shirt unbuttoned a little more than she maybe should have or the fact that her heels were getting higher, the way she winked when she walked away, and sometimes got a little more touchy than was strictly needed. She couldn't say that she disliked it, however, and besides the fact that it was kind of cute that she was dressing up, Pepper didn't even know if the gestures were strictly intended towards her. As the days wore on, though, and the little touches continued, the way Natalie would look at her directly in the eye like every little things she said mattered, the latter of the two insecurities was found unfounded.
A little too early for comfort and yet well into Pepper's day, Natalie came in for work and came in with a steaming cup of coffee for her, which Pepper gratefully accepted from her. "Thank you, you're an angel." She knocked back the cup and practically groaned when she tasted the coffee and the energy it brought with it. She saw, however, that her assistant was still standing there looking at her expectantly, not making a single move to go away. "Is there something I've forgotten to do, Miss Rushman?" She tried to remember if she maybe wanted to be paid back for the coffee or something, but if that wasn't it she couldn't put her finger on it.
The assistant smiled and cocked her hip to the side as she stood, drawing Pepper's attention, but strictly not her gaze, down to it. "No, Miss Potts, you haven't forgotten anything. I just wanted to ask you had plans this evening?"
Pepper for a second didn't understand; if anyone would know if she had plans for the evening it would be her personal assistant, would it not? She tried to remember and then it hit her; she wasn't being asked about her business meetings or anything of the like. "Natalie, I'm not sure if that's the best idea." She was unsure about the idea of dating her assistant, and had never really considered dating a woman; it was always men for her. She let her eyes flick over her assistant. Maybe if she was fifteen years younger and still in the mood to experiment Natasha would have been the kind she would have chosen. She gave the same apologetic glance to Natalie that she had become accustomed to giving Happy.
The assistant was little deterred, however. "Are you sure, Miss Potts? You don't even have to be sure, I'm only asking for one date, it won't affect how we work together, and it'll be nice." Pepper had to admit, the other woman did sound inviting in her offer, Pepper had to admit that. It was just one evening, and in all honesty, she did like talking to the other woman and wouldn't mind getting to know her as friends maybe. There were a lot of things she admired about her like the way she dressed and the way she was able to be so perky and chipper in the morning.
She cocnseded, though not without a little warning. "Miss Rushman, I need you to understand, if we're going to spend the evening together, you really can't expect anything to happen. I'm very busy and also, I'm interested in men." It was entirely true. No matter how she found Natalie to be attractive, that didn't stop the fact that she was fairly sure she wouldn't want anything to do with kissing or otherwise touching the other woman. "But my answer is yes. I would like to get to know you better. As friends."
The other woman gave a little nod. "Of course, Miss Potts. I would hate to do something that might make you uncomfortable. Will seven o' clock work for you?" Natalie gave her a little questioning look.
Pepper thought through her schedule and then remembered that if Natalie was asking for seven, she had time for it. "Seven works for me, thank you." She got a little smile from the other woman before she turned on her high heel and went back to the desk on the outside of Pepper's office. Pepper's mind wandered and she idly worked at picking out the way that she was acting while she worked. On some level, she was very aware of what she was getting at and on another she was trying as hard as she could to justify it and tell herself that they were indeed just going to be friends and that was all.