Chapter 1

Lovisa hadn't imagined- in her wildest, craziest dreams- that she would one day be walking into the Stark Tower for her new job. But today, she was. Finally. Counting out a small amount of bills in her purse, she handed them to the taxi driver. With a tip of his hat, he was gone.

Nervously, Lovisa paused hesitantly on the steps leading up the Star-Avengers now- Tower. After the battle of New York, it had been renamed after the legendary team. After a moment, she walked up the stone steps to the tall building. It was by no means the tallest building in New York, but by far the most impressive. If not by the outside, then by what she knew was inside it. Inside, there were geniuses of every variety. Besides Tony Stark (who was obviously in a category of his own), there was Dr. Banner, and hundreds of aspiring scientists on the lower floors. But that wasn't where she's going. Oh, no- she was going to one of the top floors.

Faking confidence she knew she needed desperately, Lovisa set her shoulders and opened the door. Almost immediately, her faked confidence vacated her. Oh my god… If the outside was impressive, then the inside was doubly so. Her eyes scanned the hoard of professionally dressed men and women. She felt very conspicuous in her casual clothing, but it was what her 'boss' told her to wear- at least according to the letter in her hand.

Sitting down, Lovisa reached for the crumpled letter in her pocket. Smoothing it out, her eyes scanned the black print. Not that she needed, of course. She had read it so many times that the words had lost all meaning.

Dear Ms. Spen,

Dr. Banner and I would be delighted to inform you that we have a position open in our lab for you. We looked at your records and your grades were top of the best. Well- excluding me, of course. ANYWAY, please come in on the 26th of June at eleven o'clock to start. DON'T BE LATE! Well, I probably will, but Bruce won't. You'll start out mostly as a beginner- but you won't just have to get us coffee and stuff! You'll get to do other things…

In addition, do NOT come in professional clothing. Like those ridiculous suit-skirt things- nuh-uh. Don't even think about it.

We look forward to meeting you.

Cordially,

Tony Stark

It was an eccentric letter, at best. Or at least that's what Lovisa had told herself. Tony Stark sounded arrogant already, and she hadn't even met the man.

-Several days earlier-

"Lovisa!" Her best pink-loving friend, Bethany, exclaimed. Lovisa barely had time to blink before a piece of paper was being waved in front of her face.

"What?" Lovisa asked curiously, grasping the paper out of the air.

"Stark Tower is accepting!" Her friend burst out excitedly. Lovisa's look of confusion dropped, replaced with an expression of hope. The Stark industry had been her first hope for a position- not that she'd ever put any serious thought into it. It had been an idle daydream, a wish. Certainly not possible.

"Really?" She demanded, grabbing Bethany's arms.

"Yes!" She squealed. Lovisa joined in and they jumped up and down together. Tony Stark- THE Tony Stark- was accepting job applications! And not just for any other spot, but to work with him and Bruce Banner! This was amazing. Lovisa's thoughts took a dark turn after a moment of excitement. But what if they don't want me? I mean, I haven't been in a lab for at least a year. After college, she had been unable to find a job- despite being heavily qualified for a very high ranking position. She had no idea why, but she suspected sexism had a part in it- along with a wondering if she slept her way into her grades. (She didn't, by the way)

"Wait," Lovisa said cautiously, ceasing her jumping, "What if they won't accept me?" Bethany rolled her eyes.

"What are you talking about?" She drawled, "You're brilliant!" Lovisa still looked unconvinced. Sighing, she continued. "You graduated from high school at age sixteen, and from college only two years later, majoring in Science. Of course they'll want you! You have the highest IQ out of anyone I've ever had the pleasure of meeting." Lovisa's look of concern slowly melted away after a moment. Well, maybe…

Bethany sighed at her friend's still unconvinced look.

"Look," she said, "It won't hurt to just submit your application." Lovisa's expression disappeared.

"I guess you're right," she gave in. Bethany's face lit up with a huge smile.

"Great!"

-o0o-

That had been a week ago, and since then she'd had an interview with Pepper Potts and got the job. The moment when she'd got her acceptance letter was the most shocking moment of her life.

I guess all those weekends studying paid off, Lovisa thought nervously. She was excited for this new job- her first one in a long time. But she would miss Bethany, pretty much her only friend. All her other ones eventually tired of her one-track focus on education. Shifting in her seat, Lovisa fiddled with her turquoise ring on her finger as she waited for someone to come get her.

"Miss. Spen?" A familiar voice said to her. Lovisa turned her head quickly to the voice. It was Pepper. She was standing there looking very professional in her women's suit. (Despite what Tony Stark said, Lovisa suspected that he liked seeing those 'suit-skirt things' on his fiancée.) Her blond hair was done up in a bun, unlike Lovisa's light brown hair that was left in a french braid.

"Ms. Potts!" Lovisa cried, relieved. She'd been worried that someone who she hadn't known would show up. Standing up, she shoved the letter deep into her pocket. Pepper reached out a hand and Lovisa took it.

"Nice to meet you again," Pepper greeted warmly. Lovisa's face broke into a grin.

"Thank you," she said courteously, "I was worried someone who I haven't met was going to come get me." Pepper smiled in return.

"Don't worry," she reassured, "We wouldn't do that to you." Lovisa smiled gratefully.

"Thank you," she repeated as they moved towards the elevator. Once the small doors of the elevator opened, Pepper looked at Lovisa expectantly when she didn't immediately follow her. Great… Lovisa had been hoping that she wouldn't have been tested this early on. Already, her throat was closing up- and she didn't have a hope of speaking.

"Are you okay?" Pepper asked concernedly at her white expression. She wasn't entirely obvious to Lovisa's inner war. Pepper liked this girl. Call it motherly instinct- but she could tell something was wrong by the way the corners of her mouth were twitching into a grimace. She repeated her previous sentence- apparently snapping the girl out of her trance.

"Sorry," Lovisa apologized, sliding into the elevator right before the doors closed shut, "Just distracted." Pepper smiled acceptingly, but a glint of concern in her eye. She could tell that wasn't all…

"Where to, Miss Potts?" An electronic voice called out. Lovisa jumped, gripping tightly onto the inner railing.

"What's that?" She demanded edgily- already uneasy from being in a tiny space. Pepper smiled reassuringly, putting her hand on the younger woman's shoulder.

"It's just the AI system," she answered, "Since Jarvis got transplanted into the Vision, now we have Friday." Lovisa didn't really understand everything about this supposed 'Vision', but she accepted her explanation.

"Right," Lovisa answered vaguely, not actually understanding what she meant. Pepper smiled softly to herself, as if she knew what Lovisa was trying to do.

"Floor seventy-two, please," Pepper called to Friday. Immediately, the elevator started ascending at a rapid pace. Through the entire ride, Lovisa was nervous, distracted only by Pepper's soothing talk. Her knuckles turned white as she hung on the railing for dear life.

The elevator opened with a ding when they reached the lab. Lovisa rushed out, glad to be out of such a small space.

"Woah," Lovisa breathed, finally looking around. The lab was a huge space filled with anything and everything a scientist could dream of. This is amazing. She could tell she would have a lot of fun in here. Sitting at one of the tables were two men talking. They looked up when she entered.

"Oh, hello," one of them greeted, standing up to his full (short) height. Tony Stark had an air of confidence about him, with more than a touch of arrogance. His hair and beard looked perfectly styled- obviously having put a lot of thought into how he dressed. "New recruit, cool! I hope you're fine with snacks in the lab, because I get very hungry and so does Bruce- he just won't admit it." Lovisa eyed him strangely after his odd greeting, but nevertheless took his proffered hand.

"Don't worry, I don't," she answered as best she could with a smile, "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Stark." He snorted.

"Don't call me that, that's my father. You can just call me Tony." He sounded like he said that a lot. Lovisa arched an eyebrow at his directness. She didn't bother to comment about how it was unprofessional, already coming to the conclusion that nothing about her new boss was professional. Dr. Banner stood up.

"I…" He glanced at Tony, "Apologize for him. He's mentally a three year old, please excuse him." Lovisa giggled at his greeting, shaking his hand also.

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Banner," she greeted warmly. Dr. Banner was much more unassuming than Tony. With his messy brown hair that was obviously ruffled often, and almost forgettable features, the Hulk in his human form didn't leave as much as an impression as Tony. He smiled at her.

"No need to call me that," he reassured, "Just Bruce will do." Lovisa nodded acceptingly. She could already tell which of the two she liked best.

"Right then," she said awkwardly. "Thank you so much for accepting me," she thanked in a rush. Tony chuckled.

"Oh come on," he sighed playfully, "You definitely qualified and I think you deserved the job." Lovisa's cheeks tinted slightly pink.

"Thank you," she repeated.

"But don't get a big head," he ordered sternly, "I refuse to work around those kinds of people."

"Probably because you already have one," Bruce muttered under his breath.

"Hey!" Tony exclaimed, turning to his friend. Bruce shrugged unapologetically and Lovisa had to stifle a laugh that was bubbling in her throat.

"Anyway," Tony continued, turning around to face her again, "You get to join Team Science! Sorry there aren't any other females- there are others in the tower, of course, but none in the lab. Foster occasionally comes in, but she's usually too busy out in the field. Always in love with the stars, that one." Lovisa wrinkled her nose at the thought of no other females.

"Oh, that's fine," she brushed the thought off. Well, could be better- but I'll stick with what I get. It wasn't like she was going to get another offer like this. And if that came at the price of being around testosterone most of the day, then she would just have to deal with it. (Or so she told herself.) Tony grinned, clapping his hands together.

"Awesome," he exclaimed, waving a hand at Pepper to come over. She obeyed, standing a few inches taller than her fiancé with her heels. Without them, Lovisa suspected they would be the exact same height. That must get on Tony's nerves… Not that she cared much for the man-child's ego. He had enough of it.

"If you need anything, feel free to talk to Pepper," he went on, "And your living and sleeping arrangements are already made." Lovisa's eyes widened as she broke in.

"What do you mean, 'living arrangements'?" She interrupted quickly. Tony gave her a surprised look.

"In the tower," he said slowly. Lovisa's eyes widened even more.

"I'm living here?" She squeaked, looking very overwhelmed.

"You didn't tell her?" Pepper demanded, stepping away from Tony to stare at him. He looked sheepishly at his feet.

"No?" He phrased it like a question. With a sigh, Pepper hit him on the back of the head, albeit gently.

"You don't just spring that on someone!" She exclaimed, exasperated. Letting out a deep breath, she turned to Lovisa.

"I'm sorry, Lovisa, he's scatterbrained," she apologized. Lovisa nodded, accepting it. Now that the idea had sunk into her slightly, she'd calmed down. But the idea of staying in the Avengers Tower was still overwhelming. "No, no, it's alright," she reassured, "I was just… surprised, is all." Pepper didn't look entirely convinced, but she let it go with a relieved look on her face.

"Alright," she sighed, "I'll leave you with the boys, but be sure and call me if you need anything." Lovisa nodded with a smile.

"Of course," she answered. Pepper smiled back at her before giving Tony a kiss and leaving. There was a moment of silence as Tony stared after her.

"Right," Tony said, clearing his throat, "Let's get to work." Lovisa smiled before settling in. She had a feeling she would like it here…

Yay! I just saw Age of Ultron, and I fell in LOVE with Pietro. Also, this fic is inspired by the fantastic fic called Look at Them by Lucky Strike's alter ego. If you haven't read it yet, go do so. It's amazing! Anyway, please R&R!