For flipflop_diva. not mine, no profit garnered. Title and opening quote from Andy Stallings's Foundation Theory. Thanks to A.
I parked the car perfectly, no matter
the car, never mind the car.
"So you work for SHIELD," Pepper said.
"I do," Natalie, no, Natasha said. Her posture had changed, her eye contact. Her lipstick, too.
"What is that lipstick? Does it have secret powers?"
"The lipstick?" Natasha communicated a certain kind of very thinly veiled contempt. "It's MAC."
"Last season, though," Pepper said.
"A perfect shade is a perfect shade," Natasha said.
"I have a whole vault Tony built me for my favorite Shiseido red. They changed the shade in 2007 but I liked 2006, so Tony built a temperature controlled vault for me. A vault that Tony built me. Apparently I've forgotten how to speak," Pepper said.
"How is Tony?"
Pepper understood the question. "We're negotiating," Pepper said. "We'll see how it goes."
"Are we negotiating?" Natasha had a loaded smile.
Pepper smiled slightly. "Are we?" Pepper took out her tablet and chose something for lunch. She handed it over to Natasha to choose her own lunch. "Catered by Stark Industries," Pepper said lightly.
"It's very nice of Tony to buy us lunch," Natasha said, sounding like Natalie. Pepper had figured out the difference. At least she thought so.
"Actually, it's more me than him. I've been CEO for a number of weeks now," Pepper said.
"I believe you," Natasha said. "Did you want to talk more about make-up?"
"So you didn't really model in Japan?"
"Not as Natalie Rushman and not for as long as my cover implied," Natasha said. The food staff person came in and served them both. Natasha started eating her salad. Every time Pepper saw a woman eating salad she thought, you don't have to do that, honey. But then she'd look down and she was eating salad, too.
"Have you had a lot of jobs like being Natalie?"
Natasha looked at her and added more vinaigrette to her salad. Natasha broke her steady gaze and Pepper thought the woman had made a decision as she looked at baby spinach with tiny bit of onion. Natasha said, "I've had a lot of covers. I didn't always work for SHIELD."
"But you do now," Pepper said. "This is where you are. You did good work, I would totally hire you if you're ever tired of being a spy and want to be an executive assistant, my executive assistant, I would totally hire you."
"Will you pay me in hoarded lipstick? I'm more of a MAC girl," Natasha said.
"I probably could, sometimes I'm amazed what people can get a hold of," Pepper said.
"For you," Natasha said.
It was a successful lunch in Pepper's estimation. They scheduled a second one, which was not a lunch, but a trip to the kind of store Pepper had access to now, where she made an appointment and no one told her the prices and she didn't ask. She loved this part of the CEO position. She'd had access to Tony's wealth, but it wasn't really hers and everyone knew. Plus Pepper would never have taken advantage of Tony's wealth for herself.
Natasha looked more comfortable in the store then Pepper felt. Pepper tried to figure out how Natasha was doing that, so Pepper could fake it until she made it, as they said.
The saleswoman had a large selection of La Perla. Someone had figured out Natasha's sizes perfectly, judging by how the elaborate lingerie looked on her. Pepper blinked twice looking at Natasha in that one. She noticed Natasha's frank look of appreciation as she looked at Pepper. So, Pepper thought, that was interesting information.
She and Tony kept negotiating. Pepper went to bed alone and reached for her vibrator. Tony had made it for her, in the world's most embarrassing gift on Admin Professional's Day. Pepper still used it because Tony was damn good at what she did. She had a moment of thinking of Tony and another moment thinking of Natasha and she wasn't sure which made her come.
She'd dated while she worked for Tony. Not just men. She was always discreet, whomever she dated, because protecting Tony and protecting herself loomed large in her life. She'd done tons of research on the women and occasional man who drifted through Tony's bed, she'd done even more on the people she spent time with. She had a recurring nightmare that someone would try to screw her to get to Tony. It was a different nightmare that Tony would get screwed by one of his bedmates.
Somehow Natasha seemed easier than Tony, which was a horrible reason to have sex with someone. At least it seemed like that to Pepper.
They ate together again. Pepper stumbled through possibly saying maybe they would be good together when Natasha cut her off by kissing her. Pepper said, "Good idea."
"I thought so."
Natasha slowly took off Pepper's clothes, lingering with kisses at the inside of Pepper's elbow, her collarbone, the curve of her hip. Then Natasha gently spread Pepper's legs and felt her way up Pepper's thighs. Natasha opened Pepper up with her fingers and her mouth and her tongue and Pepper came like the softest slam. Pepper laughed and said, "Get up here."
Natasha had scars, bullets that went through and through, slashes from knives. Pepper neither ignored or dwelt on them. She listened to how Natasha breathed, listening was one of Pepper's greatest strengths. She figured out when Natasha wanted something hard and fast and then when she wanted to be slowly stroked to orgasm.
They were both very happy at the end. Natasha said, "What are you thinking? What were you thinking, just then?" She traced a circle around Pepper's nipple.
"Right now I'm thinking of you," Pepper said.
"But before that," Natasha said.
"The Maria Stark Foundation, specifically Tony, frankly, has a prize for elementary school and high school science projects. This kid, this great kid, Davonte, invented a cheap solar panel. He's from LA, not the best part, and he has this idea to put in these solar panels that can run the household, so no more electricity bill, no more getting cut off when you miss a bill. Tony loves it. He meets Davonte and he and the kid talk for hours. They're going to start a factory, right in Davonte's neighborhood. Which is when I first got involved. Because Tony has only a vague idea of how these things happen. So I set up the joint project between the Maria Stark Foundation and Stark Industries. Then I have to intervene again because we need someone to run the project in Los Angeles and the people at the Maria Stark Foundation are awful with these things. They want to hire people with MBAs from Wharton who've never left Connecticut to do it. So I tell them no, they need to find people who live there who can get things done. Then I have to intervene again because they don't want to hire one of the best candidates since she was arrested twice for solicitation 10 years ago."
"No hookers with a heart of gold," Natasha said. "Ex-hookers."
"She was 16, okay? And she's great. Things are finally happening. So I have to intervene again and make sure the Stark Industries code of conduct for contractors is being followed, and I have to help everyone navigate getting health insurance because it's always complicated. Then it turns out everyone thinks the best way to go is to put the new panels into the schools. But the schools are falling apart so now the Maria Stark Foundation is offering to completely update these 13 schools. Tony hears about it and he insists on great wiring, art supplies, music instruments, and computers. Then we get all these complaints because how come Stark will rebuild these schools and not those schools? Why isn't this for all of Los Angeles?"
"Of course they said that," Natasha said.
"Everyone handles that, but I have to come in to help them deal with the school districts. We've finally got 3 schools being renovated, the factory's up and running."
"And you were thinking about it right now? More ways to change the world for the better for Davonte and his neighborhood?" Natasha had turned away and Pepper could only see a bit of her jaw and her hair.
"Davonte's at Cal Poly, Tony made sure of that. He's doing great. One of the idiot construction contractors wants to prosecute some of his employees for taking home supplies, like that's not ridiculous. Let them go, fire them, but we're not taking anyone to court for walking home with some 4 by 4s."
"You shouldn't date me," Natasha said, sitting up. Even in bed, she had this perfect posture and the line of her back reminded Pepper of some fine art.
"Because you don't want to hear about the travails of my job?" Pepper forced a smile.
"I like hearing about your job," Natasha said. "It's just too different from mine."
Pepper sighed. "Is that what you think?"
"It's true," Natasha said, getting out of bed. "We can still hang out."
"Not like this?"
"I think Tony would object," Natasha said.
"I don't care about Tony's objections," Pepper said.
"You love him," Natasha said.
Pepper just sat up.
"But we should still hang out. I like when you buy me things."
Pepper nodded and watched Natasha leave.