Hello, my lovelies! This is just a little one-shot for SunsetWanderer, who was the 200th reviewer on my other story, Exclusive Rights. You don't need to have read that one to read this one, but if you wanna read that one, go ahead. It's pretty good. :D
Hope that you like it Sunset!
Pepper straightened out her pencil skirt for what felt like the hundredth time, but it did nothing to soothe the nerves that were tingling under her skin. Every muscle was jittery, and if she were to focus on her hand for too long, she knew that she would see it vibrating.
The influx of alcohol into the room also wasn't helping the situation any.
"Babe, you need to chill out. They are going to love you. Not as much as me, but you know," Tony chirped happily, setting down another box of beer onto the granite countertop. He came over to her side, wrapping his arms around her middle and nipping playfully at her jaw. "I never would have thought that I would ever see Pepper Potts nervous. You live with me - what more could there be to be nervous about?"
The strawberry blonde giggled with an unladylike snort, which made Tony smile gleefully. She sobered then and looked at her boyfriend, trying to see a deceptive look in his chocolate brown eyes. "These people have super powers, Tony. I don't."
"Hey, I don't either. I'm just a genius with money," he comforted, the words making her nose scrunch up.
"I don't even have that," she said quietly.
"They don't like me, if that makes you feel any better," he tried again, this time earning a small smile. "Rogers especially. Old Fart thinks that I'm selfish."
"Ridiculous notion," she responded with a soft smile.
The door began rattling with the heavy fist that fell on it, and Pepper tensed right back up again, nervous as ever. Thor bustled in excitedly, a wide grin plastered on his golden face, which was enough to make Pepper feel partially faint. Or at least faint enough to need to grab onto the countertop for support. The thundering god instantly had his bulging arms around Pepper, lifting her from the ground and hugging her in a tight embrace that made her eyeballs feel as if they were about to pop out of her skull. His booming laugh echoed in her ears, and while the noise level was making her cringe, she laughed along with him, shocked at the display of affection he was providing.
Tony laughed as well, putting her more at ease. When the god set her back down on their marble floor, she instantly moved to straighten the skirt, flashing him a smile. "You must be Thor," she started, slipping into a more controlled smile, hiding her fear.
"And you must be Lady Potts," he returned. "I daresay that Mr. Stark did not speak well enough of your beauty. Though I imagine putting it into words would be difficult to accomplish." He turned his gaze over to Tony who was currently giving Pepper a bright smile. "I invited Jane to accompany us, I hope that you do not mind."
"No, no, no, not at all," Pepper rushed, feeling a wave of relief wash over her at the thought of another mere human attending the meet and greet as well.
A timid, mousy looking girl peeped her head around the corner, brown eyes wide in wonder as she beheld all of the wealth.
Pepper rushed to her side, feeling a strong sense of sisterhood towards the smaller woman and outstretched her hand in welcome. "I'm Pepper," she introduced.
"Jane," the young woman said quietly.
The rest of the Avengers seemed to flock inside all in one giant rush, leaving Pepper feeling flushed as Tony ran her through all of the names. Not their superhero names, which she had already definitely memorized along with the rest of the world, but their secret identities, which were more gentle and natural on her worried mind.
Steve seemed pleasant and was talking quite openly with Pepper, seeming almost more shy than she actually was feeling. He was a gentle man by nature who blushed far too easily for his own good. But out of all of the Avengers, he put her most at ease, being a rock of sorts to remind her that, when it came down to it, he was still just as human as she was. He still had dreams and basic thoughts just like her. After some weaseling, she was even able to learn that he had a thing for brunettes.
Banner also being rather soft-spoken, she learned, was probably one of the most gentle people she had ever known. Reminding her much like a father-figure, his approval meant a great deal to her. Like Steve, he blurred away her anxiety with gentle words and kind laughs, making her feel right at home in their little niche of friends.
The other three were different, and they were the ones she was the most nervous of when Tony told her that she would be meeting them. Less keen on actually socializing and having a natural hate towards people, in general, Pepper knew she had her work cut out for her.
She wanted to start with the easiest, figuring a lonely archer wouldn't be so terrible. Watching the festivities from the kitchen with a bottle of bear, she approached warily, well aware that he probably saw her coming from the moment she decided to join him.
When she finally approached his side, words evaporated from her mouth, and she was almost ready to abandon all hope and flee. When she caught Tony's happy gaze from across the room though, she smiled, turning back to the archer with new found courage. "You're Clint," she stated, figuring that he would appreciate a direct approach.
"You're Pepper," he said obviously. She nodded with a smile.
"Is there anything I can get you?" she asked, denying herself the urge to straighten her skirt again.
Clint chuckled, holding his beer up. "You're a good hostess for it being your party and everything," he said coolly.
"Isn't that my job?" she argued, taking a seat at the counter.
"Your job should be to enjoy yourself," he reminded. "You worried they're not gonna accept you or something like that?"
"Am I that see-through?"
"Could be," he remarked, tipping the bottle back. "Then again, I am a spy, and that's my job."
Pepper laughed, feeling more at ease with the man. Fingers skated around her hip, catching her attention, and she looked back to see a jealous looking Tony admiring her. "You trying to pick up my woman, Legolas?"
"There are worse guys she could do," Clint said dryly, the attempt at humor making Pepper fall out of her comfort zone again. However the tender squeeze she felt around her hip and the sudden wink Clint gave her made her smile and relax once more into Tony's embrace. She spoke a little more with Clint before Tony decided that his own manliness was being threatened.
"Nat and Loki should be safe," Tony said, mostly to himself, she figured, but smiled anyway.
The couple were quietly speaking to one another - Loki with a mischievous looking face nuzzled against Natasha's reddened cheek. At their approach however, Natasha made quick to push her lover away, staring up at Pepper with a blank stare. Loki's face appeared to be the perfect mirror of hers. "Oh come on, it's not like we don't see that," Tony excused, their blank faces flashing to playful annoyance with an eye roll. "We even do a little more -"
"Tony!" Pepper scorned, blushing madly and slapping at her boyfriend's arm with embarrassment.
"It's alright, Pepper," Natasha started empathetically. "I know how possessive men are."
"You certainly don't mind that very often," Loki grumbled.
Pepper smiled at the other woman, taking solace in the fact that she at least already knew Natasha fairly well and was able to relate to her about the possessive boyfriend issue. "In public, women typically do," Pepper mentioned, getting a curious glance from the god present.
"When it reaches an extreme," Natasha added, but settled back into Loki's arms anyway.
Pepper grinned once more, "We should compare sometime," she invited, a mischievous gleam in her blue eyes.
"I don't like that idea," Tony announced.
"I do believe that we agree on something, Stark," Loki added.
"Oh, but it would be fun," Natasha said with an excited nod. "I've got some stories."
"Guess that comes with the territory of having guys like ours," Pepper confirmed.
"Well, then you'd need to include me as well," Jane claimed, stepping into the conversation. "I've got the god complex meets arrogant asshole complex all jumbled into one," she teased, Thor giving her a hurt look. "Oh, and a kicked puppy complex," she teased, standing on her toes to barely kiss the tip of his chin. "You know I love you."
Thor brightened at the words and hugged Jane close.
"Jane should join," Pepper agreed.
"Give me your number," Jane called, reaching into her pocket and retrieving her cell phone.
So, this one was pretty fun, I gotta say. Thanks for the great idea, Sunset! I hope that you liked it a whole bunch!
Everyone leave a review!
Love you all lots!
- Books