Tony landed on the tower. Everything was fine. Everything was just perfect. He had finally finished the prototype of Stark Tower and the arc reactor didn't seem to be giving much problems. Maybe it was possible for him to be the first person to have a building powered with self sustaining clean energy. Besides that, Pepper had taken the day. She was still working, they both were, but it was different. It was just the two of them, no meetings in the middle. Every since he had made her CEO of Stark Industries, she barely had time to be with him. But that was their day.

For a minute there, life was great.

For a minute. One split minute. As soon as Tony stepped into the landing zone and started taking off the suit, Jarvis notified him:

"Sir, Agent Romanoff of S.H.I.E.L.D. is on the line."

"I'm not in." the answer was clear and fast; he didn't want to have to deal with a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, nor the fact that is was that agent. "I'm actually out."

"Sir, I'm afraid she's insisting."

"Grow a spine, Jarvis, or she'll just sneak in." Tony warned.

Tony entered the tower and walked down the room. He stopped for a second and thought how strange his relationship with Pepper was. If a year ago, someone asked him if he had ever thought about having a serious relationship, much less with Pepper, he would've told them to go to hell. But now things were different. She wasn't just Pepper, his assistant. She was Pepper, the woman he loved, the one thing he couldn't live without.

He found her looking at the designs and the reports on the reactor's performance. The tower seemed to be holding steady, so everything was ok. But after all, it was just the prototype.

"Give yourself some credit. Stark Tower is your baby. Give yourself 12% of the credit." Tony asked while holding her in his arms.

"12%?" Pepper asked offended.

"An argument can be made for 15%." Tony defended himself.

"12%? My baby?" Pepper continued.

"Save it for the honeymoon." A voice behind them said.

But it wasn't just a voice. That voice was clear as water; it almost seemed a child talking. There was only on person in this world who could have that effect. Who could make people believe in her innocence with just one word. Suddenly, Tony found himself dragged back into the old days of darkness he experienced the previous year. He had almost died of poisoning because of the arc reactor installed in his chest. Natasha Romanoff, an agent for the international secret agency S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division), had been assigned to him undercover as Natalie Rushman, Anthony Stark's newest assistant. Her role in Tony's recovery was crucial and she was one of the people who saved his life at the end of her mission.

"I knocked, but no one opened." She said while walking down the stairs heading their way.

"Natalie?" Pepper asked extremely confused.

"Actually, it's Natasha. Natasha Romanoff." She corrected her.

"Well, Natasha, may I ask what are you doing here?" Pepper kept her voice low and calm.

"I'm here on the behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D.. We need you to look this over as soon as possible." She handed a briefcase to Tony.

"I don't…" he started saying.

"I swear to God if you say you don't like to be handed things, I'll shoot you." Natasha warned very calm.

Tony took the case and went to his desk to open it. While that, Pepper and Natasha were on the other side of the room by their own.

"Natasha, even though everything that happened, I never got to thank you." Pepper started talking and Natasha was confused. "You saved his life, therefore, I owe you mine."

"You have nothing to thank for, but I think I owe you an apology. It was my job, and I wasn't allowed to tell you the truth, but still." She apologized with a sweet smile on her face.

"What happened to Barton?" Tony asked while reading a report on one of the screens.

That one caught Natasha unprepared. If she had ever a week point, that was it. Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye. A master with a bow and arrow who, somehow, managed to own her heart.

"He… Got compromised. Loki did something to him and he switched sides." Natasha said with a whisper.

"Are you ok?" Tony looked at her with a worried expression.

"Yes." She lied. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know, but maybe because of the platonic love you feel for each other. You know, just saying." He said with a smile on his face.

Natasha's chicks immediately turned red. "Love is for children."

"You're not that old." He continued reading the reports. "Miss Potts, got a second?"

Pepper quickly to her partner's side. As soon as she got there, he put a hand around her waist and got her closer to him.

"You know, I thought we were having a moment." He asked and looked at her.

Their faces were at inches of each other and if it wasn't for Natasha's presence in the room, the scene would've gone a different way.

Pepper looked into his eyes and smiled. "I was having 12% of a moment." He smiled. What is all of this?" she asked.

"This? This is… This." He answered and videos, files, pictures and report popped up around them.

The briefcase Natasha had handed Tony was the complete file on the Avengers Initiative and the reports of the incident with Loki and the Tesseract. It was going to take time to be able to read and organize all of that information, and Pepper new it.

"I'm taking the jet back to D.C. tonight." She told Tony, looking around of the room.

"Tomorrow." Tony asked.

"You've got homework. You've got a lot of homework." She said and looked at him.

"Have a safe flight." He told her and leaned to kiss her.

"Work hard." Pepper told him when they separated.

"Do you want a ride, Miss Potts?" Natasha asked.

"Yes, thank you." She answered.

I'm still not sure if I'm going to write more, but I'd like to hear your opinion so far. R&R plz!