So, a quick note about this one. Pepper is going to come across in the beginning as being a little bit of a quitter. I'm basing this on the idea that moving between a small town and a large city can be overwhelming for anyone.

Anyway, hopefully everyone likes this,

- Illusinia

Pepper sighed, tipping her head backwards until it thumped against the bench she was sitting on. God, what was she doing? She wasn't cut out for this. Hell, she was from a small town along the Virginia coast. She had no right to be here in New York City. What was she thinking when she accepted a spot at NYU?

"Maybe I should just go home," muttered Pepper as she stared up at the sky. She knew this wasn't her, not at all. But she was only 18 and in way over her head this time. Seriously, what was she thinking?

Letting out a frustrated growl, Pepper sat forward, burying her hands in her hair as she shut her eyes. What is wrong with me? I don't give up, not ever! But she could admit she was frustrated. Frustrated by her tendency to get lost, the overwhelming number of people jammed together in the city, and by her almost naive attitude when it came to so much out here.

A sudden force hitting her leg pulled her from her thoughts. It jerked her knee out from beneath her elbow, sending her pitching sideways onto the bench. Startled, her eyes turned to the projectile that had collided with her leg.

A little girl was sitting on the ground, probably no more than eight. She was rubbing her head slightly and, for a moment, Pepper thought she might be hurt. But the little 8-year-old just shook it off and stood up, offering Pepper a smile which displayed several gaps in the girls teeth.

"Hi," offered the little girl. "Sorry for running into you."

"It's alright," assured Pepper as she sat up herself, straightening the sleeves of her slim workout jacket. She's thought a jog through Central Park would clear her mind, only to lead to her almost getting followed along half the trail. Thankfully, she was more than capable of sprinting when need be. Glancing around now, she realized the bench she was seated on was at the edge of a large span of open grass. She must have run further than she'd thought. "Where am I?"

"Central Park," replied the little girl factually. Her head tilted slightly to the side as she stared up at Pepper with calm blue eyes. "Are you lost? There's a map over there." One little hand gestured to a wooden sign in the ground which displayed a map of the park, complete with key and off-branching streets.

"Thank you," thanked Pepper. "I'm afraid I might be a little lost."

The little girl nodded sagely, as if she knew exactly what Pepper was talking about. "Daddy got lost too a few times when we moved here. It's alright. Everyone does."

Pepper smiled gently at the child. "Where are you originally from?"

"Just outside the city," replied the child with a grin. "Daddy needed to be closer to work though, so we moved here."

"I see," stated Pepper, slowly relaxing. "That must have been a change."

"It was," agreed the little girl. "Where are you from?"

"A little town on the Virginia Coast," replied Pepper.

The little girl's eyes widened. "Are you a student?"

"I am," confirmed Pepper. "Business."

The child looked like she wanted to say something more, but a man's voice drew her attention away from Pepper.

"Darcy!" The man sounded upset, perhaps even a little frantic.

"Over here, Daddy!" called the little girl, Darcy.

The man turned toward Darcy and Pepper immediately, practically running to where they were. Pepper could tell he was more than a little frantic, but who could blame him? New York wasn't exactly a safe place as her little jog had taught her.

"Darcy, there you are," muttered the man as he knelt to hug Darcy. "Don't scare me like that."

The man wasn't very old from what Pepper could tell, maybe in his mid-thirty's. His hair was a dark brow color, though she could see where a few gray strands were starting to emerge. His eyes were covered in what she could only describe as G-man sunglasses, the simple black-framed sunglasses with no distinctive markings or identifying markers. From there though, everything changed. He was in what looked like a vintage Captain America t-shirt and dark jeans that were definitely showing signs of wear.

"Daddy, I'm fine," objected Darcy, even as she hugged her father in return. "I was just talking to this lady. She's a lost student."

"Darcy," groaned the man. "What have I told you about talking to strangers?"

"But she's lost.," argued Darcy. "And everyone is always saying that helping people is good and-"

"Alright Darcy, it's alright," soothed the man as he finally released Darcy. "You did a good thing by offering to help. But you can't just disappear like that. I was afraid someone had taken you away."

Any residual anger Darcy was harboring at her father immediately dissipated as she hugged him again. "Sorry Daddy. I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's alright, Darcy," assured her father, his eyes finally rising to look at Pepper as he released his daughter. "Did you ask the nice lady for her name?"

"No," admitted Darcy sheepishly. "But you're always telling me that I shouldn't give anyone my name!"

"You're right," agreed the man. "Normally we don't, but I think in this case we can make an exception."

Standing, he offered Pepper his hand as if none of the last five minutes had even happened. "Hello, my name's Phil. Are you lost?"

"Virginia," offered Pepper. She paused a moment, considering the next part before biting the proverbial bullet and pushing forward. "But my friends call me Pepper. And yes, I'm afraid I am lost."

Phil nodded, smiling slightly. "You're a student, correct?"

"Yes," confirmed Pepper a little uneasily.

"I'll assume NYU, given a lot of students go there," continued Phil. "Did you walk, drive, or take the subway out here?"

"Subway," replied Pepper with a sigh. "It was just...easier."

Nodding, Phil frowned a little. "It's the easiest way to get around."

The sound of a second man calling out drew both Darcy and Phil's attention, though this one was much closer and a lot less frantic. "Darce? Phil?" A blond man appeared suddenly on the path, head turning this way and that.

"Over here, Clint," called Phil, waving the man down.

The blond man, Clint, spun towards them easily while balancing two ice cream cones in his hands. Pepper wasn't sure how the ice cream hadn't fallen out when he'd spun around, but she assumed he had a great deal of balance. His head moved minutely as he glanced from Phil to Darcy and finally looked straight at her. Aviators covered his eyes, hiding them from view. He was in a simple t-shirt and jeans, nothing notable or flashy about his clothing that would make him stick in anyones mind. Well, except for the bow on his back. And the nerf gun hanging at his side.

"Dad!" exclaimed Darcy happily, darting towards the man. "You found me."

"Yep," confirmed Clint. "And I found us ice cream, as promised."

"Yay!" cheered Darcy. "Ice cream!" Clint handed her one of the cones with a grin, which she returned easily. "Can I practice with the bow again when I'm done?"

"Of course," replied Clint. "It's your bow."

"I still don't know where he found that thing," muttered Phil with a sigh and shake of his head.

Pepper shrugged. "You can find them at most toy stores. A lot of students on campus have them."

"I'm not surprised," admitted Phil, his attention turning back to Pepper. "So, you said you're trying to get back to NYU?"

"Really just the subway stop," explained Pepper with a sigh. "I can find my way back to campus from there."

"Mhm," hummed Phil as he pushed his sunglasses off his face to study her. It wasn't creepy like the other guy had been though, the one who'd followed her. His was more of a 'making sure you're unharmed' look. "How did you get lost, if I may ask."

Pepper wasn't sure why, maybe it was knowing this man had a kid or that he was apparently with another man. Or maybe it was just the fact that, on some level, he reminded Pepper of a younger version of her own father. Either way though, she found herself suddenly spilling the whole story to this stranger in a rather ungraceful lump of words. Completely unlike her in every way. "I got off the subway just outside the park to come jogging, but there was a man standing at the entrance watching everyone. And when I started on the trail, he left the gate and started to jog after me. He kept his distance, but he was always keeping pace with me. The first time I turned a corner though, I took off running and just started making as many turns as I could until I couldn't see him anymore. And by then, well, I was here."

Both of Phil's eyebrows had risen during her story, his expression reflecting concern. "Did you get a good look at this man?"

"Yes," confirmed Pepper. "But all he did technically was jog behind me and that's not illegal."

"No," agreed Phil, "it's not, but following someone is if there's malicious intent behind it. That man sounds like he was stalking the entrance to the park."

"Oh god, what if he's there when I go back through?" asked Pepper, suddenly realizing that the man might have gone back to his original location. "God, what if he follows me onto the subway?"

"He won't," promised Phil. "Clint, Darcy, and I came here by the subway, so we can walk with you to the entrance and get on the line with you."

Pepper knew her eyes were wide, but she hadn't been expecting that from a man she didn't know. If it had been anyone else, the offer would have sounded suspicious. But seeing him with his daughter, she knew he was projecting some. "Thank you, but I couldn't impose like-"

"It's no imposition," assured Phil. "We really are going that way ourselves."

"Are you sure?" asked Pepper, even as she relaxed a little more. This was the most anyone had offered to do for her since she came to NYU.

"Positive," confirmed Phil. "Clint would agree, if he weren't off teaching Darcy how to shoot a bow."

Pepper smiled a little at the mention of the cheerful child. "How long have you two been together?"

Phil blushed a little, his eyes turning towards the sound of a shrieking laugh to where Clint was apparently playing tag with Darcy on the grass. "Almost seven years, though it's really eight if you count the year before that when we weren't together but we were living together."

"Eight years, huh?" stated Pepper as she watched Darcy and Clint as well. There was a question she was dying to ask, but she wasn't sure it was appropriate. Especially given how nice Phil was being. Still, curiosity won out now that the imminent threat of danger and the stress of being completely turned around were gone. "So, if I may ask, who's child is Darcy? Biologically I mean. If she's either of yours biologically, that is." God, where was this barrage of verbal spew coming from?

Phil chuckled a little, pride taking over his features. "She's mine biologically, but Clint officially adopted her about five years ago."

"That was sweet of him," commented Pepper with a smile. "Though, it sounds like he's been around since she was born."

"Five days after," confirmed Phil, the pride falling away to a deep sadness. "He came by to help out after Darcy's mother passed and just ended up staying."

"Oh," muttered Pepper, suddenly feeling embarrassed for having pried so much. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Phil shrugged weakly, trying to show that it didn't effect him. "It was a long time ago."

Pepper nodded, wondering how long Phil had been married before he lost his wife. No matter what he said, her death still effected him. Deeply.

Darcy suddenly appeared from seemingly nowhere, dodging behind Phil with a giggle. The little girl's presence seemed to break whatever thoughts had been going through Phil's head, because the sadness fell away as he looked down at his daughter. "Darcy?"

The little girl glanced up at her father's questioning tone, offering him a smile. "Dad's trying to catch me."

"And you're hiding behind me because..." prompted Phil with one raised eyebrow.

"Because he can't hit me if I'm behind you," explained Darcy as she knocked a suction-cup arrow into her toy bow and glanced around for any sign of Clint.

Phil's eyebrow fell back to it's normal place as he sighed, glancing around for some sign of his partner. "And Clint is..."

"Up here," called Clint as he suddenly popped out of a tree with the nerf gun in hand. Darcy was fast though and she let go of the arrow just after aiming at the blond man hanging upside down from the tree. The suction cup caught him right between the eyes, even as his own shot missed. His eyes crossed as they looked at the 'arrow' resting between them. "Nice shot, Darce. You're going to be better than me before you know it."

"Yep!" exclaimed Darcy with a big grin. "I've been practicing!"

"So we can tell," cut in Phil, drawing both their attention. "Now, if you two don't mind, we need to get home. We're going to ride with Pepper," he gestured at her casually, directing Clint and Darcy's attention at her, "to her stop on our way home. Alright?"

"Really?" asked Darcy, apparently happy to get the chance to spent more time with Pepper.

"Really," confirmed Phil. "Now, do you two have all your things?"

Darcy nodded, slinging the bow across her back as she moved to stand next to pepper. "Yes, Daddy."

"I've got everything," confirmed Clint as he flipped out of the tree, not bothering to remove the nerf arrow. One of his eyebrows rose at Phil though, and she could tell they were having a private conversation. After a second though, he shrugged and stuck his own nerf gun in a backpack Pepper just realized he was carrying. "We heading to the nearest station?"

"Yes," confirmed Phil nodding for Pepper to stand as well. "Shall we?"

"Thank you," repeated Pepper, the rest of the tension in her body fading. "I really do appreciate this."

"It isn't a problem," assured Phil again. "I'd want someone to do the same thing if Darcy was in your shoes."

"Agreed," added Clint with a grin. "The more the merrier, so long as you aren't in a ditch in the middle of a war-torn desert. Then company becomes a pain. By the way, I didn't catch your name."

"Virginia," offered Pepper with a smile and an extended hand which Clint shook. "But my friends all call me Pepper." She noted there were specific callus' on two of his fingers, indicating he probably did actually shoot a bow.

"Pleasure," offered Clint in return, a touch of a mid-western drawl in his voice. "I'm Clint, by the way."

"It's nice to meet you, Clint," returned Pepper with a smile as they all started towards the subway station.

Clint nodded as Phil spoke up. "So, Pepper, where are you from originally?"

The subway trip was uneventful with Phil and Clint along for the the ride. Even with Darcy in tow, everyone seemed to give them, a good amount of space. Or maybe that was just in response to the way that Clint seemed to glare at anyone to came too close to them. Darcy was resting in his arms at this point, tired out by the amount of walking they'd done. Pepper offered to take her halfway through the ride, but Clint assured her he was alright. She saw the urge to keep the little girl safe written clearly across his face and didn't push her offer. He ended up passing the 8 year old off to Phil halfway through the trip anyway.

When they reached her stop, Pepper was surprised when both Phil and Clint got off the train with her, riding the elevator up to the top and exiting onto the street. She would have been more nervous, except it's hard to feel threatened by any man with drool on his shoulder and a kid almost asleep in his arms.

"I'm sure I can make it back from here alone," assured Pepper as she scanned the street signs, making sure she knew which ones would take her home.

Phil nodded, passing Darcy back to Clint as he pulled out his wallet and withdrew a crisp piece of white card stock. "We don't actually live far from here. One more stop over, at most." He held out the piece of white paper to Pepper. "Here, my business card. If you get into trouble again, please don't hesitate to call. I always answer my cell and I can send someone to help you if either Clint or I aren't immediately available."

"Oh, thank you," whispered Pepper, again surprised at the kindness these two men were showing her. They didn't even know her and they were offering all this help...glancing at Darcy, Pepper didn't think twice before speaking. "Do you have a piece of paper and a pen?"

Phil's brow furrowed a little, but he withdrew a notepad and pen from the backpack Clint was carrying none the less. He offered both to Pepper, who took them and quickly scribbled a number onto the first page, which was surprisingly blank. She then offered both notepad and pen back to Phil.

"That's my number," explained Pepper. "I have past babysitting experience as well as experience as a nanny. If you ever need any help with Darcy, please don't hesitate to call. It's the least I can do after all of this."

Clint nodded, shifting his hold on Darcy a little. "Careful, we might actually take you up on that offer. We have to go out of town or pull late nighters a lot."

"That's fine," assured Pepper. "I'd be more than happy to help."

"Thank you," replied Phil, tucking both note pad and pen back in their original pocket. "As Clint said, you might be hearing from us soon."

"I'll look forward to it," confirmed Pepper with a smile. "And thank you again, for everything."

"It's not a problem," dismissed Clint with a grin. "We're just happy to help."

"Well, thank you none the less," insisted Pepper with a smile and a wave. "I'll look forward to hearing from you."

Phil nodded in return, waving back as he and Clint turned to head down the street. Pepper watched them until they turned the corner, then made her own way back to campus without incident.

(14 years later)

"I'll be home later today, Clint," assured Phil as he pressed through the doors to the main entrance of Stark Industries where Tony was currently holding a spontaneous press conference after spending 90 days in a cave in the desert. S.H.I.E.L.D had received reports of the incident, but Fury wanted him to debrief Stark personally. Which sounded as much fun as having teeth pulled if the man's file was any indication. "I need to go, I'm at Stark Industries." He paused as his longtime partner spoke, eyes scanning the crowd for any signs of Miss Potts, Tony's personal assistant. She would be easier to reach than Tony at this point. "I'll call you when I get out, promise. I love you, too. Bye."

Flipping his phone shut, Phil caught sight of a flash of red hair which was one of the indicators of the woman he was looking for. Virginia Potts was a red-head with a business degree from NYU. How she'd come to be Tony's personal assistant, Phil wasn't sure. At least on paper, the woman looked way too smart to remain a simple assistant. They didn't have a photo, but Phil doubted there were many other red-heads in the crowd. A quick scan of the area confirmed his suspicions. Besides, the woman was fiddling with a pencil and looked to be tensing up more and more as Tony spoke.

Approaching the woman, Phil was careful to keep his voice down when he spoke. "Excuse me, Miss Potts?"

The woman turned around, eyes going wide as they landed on Phil. "Phil?"

"Pepper?" countered Phil in surprise. Sure, he'd seen the file, but he'd hardly made the connection between Darcy's former babysitter and Stark's aid. "What are you doing here?"

"I work for Tony Stark," replied Pepper, still in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"Business," replied Phil. "I work for the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. We need to debrief Mr. Stark about what happened in Afghanistan."

"I could see how you might need to do that," agreed Pepper with a smile. "Do you have a new phone number or is the old one still good? I have your card on my Rolodex back in my office."

"Same number I believe," replied Phil, fishing another business card from his pocket anyway. "Just in case though, this number is good."

"Right," muttered Pepper as she took the card. "I'll be in contact with you as soon as I can."

"I'll look forward to hearing from you," replied Phil with a smile before refocusing on the rest of the press conference.

Ten minutes later, he was back outside Stark Industries and heading to his car, phone in hand and a smile on his face. "Clint, you will never believe who I just ran into."