"Tony…" Pepper warned.

"Ummm, I'm sorry, what?" Lexi asked, not sure if he was being serious or not.

"I am going to help you complete this 'screw the world' list. It'll be fun." Tony said slowly, practically spelling it out for her.

"Wait, you're being serious?" She questioned, still not sure if he was punking her.

"As a heart attack." He replied.

"Tony, you can't do that," Pepper stated, as if they'd done something like this before. "You have other commitments and your schedule is pretty busy."

"Come on, it'll be fun!" He was practically bouncing in his seat from excitement. "Besides, my schedule revolves around me, therefore I can turn up whenever I want."

"Well it's not like I can say no right?" She said, secretly excited and nervous, wondering what mischief they could get up to.

"You wouldn't say no to the great Tony Stark would you?" Tony asked, pulling out his somewhat pathetic puppy eyes. Pepper stared at him with a pointed look, with one perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised. Lexi stared at him with a somewhat bored look on her face.

"You really think I wouldn't?" Lexi said, challenging him.

Tony stared at her, eyes comically wide with disbelief. "You wouldn't." He dared her.

"Oh but I really would." She said, smirking at him.

"Really?" He asked her, his voice reaching an octave higher than Lexi thought was possible for a guy. "You would turn down the great Iron Man for the deal of a lifetime."

Lexi hesitated and opened her mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out.

"YES!" Tony exclaimed rather loudly, his trickery conning Alexis into his request.

"What?! I never said yes!" Lexi exclaimed trying to get out of her deal with the devil.

"Yeah, it's too late for that now, he's made up his mind." Pepper sighed realising that Tony's plotting had gone too far, and that she wouldn't be able to change his mind no matter what she bribed him with.

"Crap." Lexi muttered under her breath half-joking, realising she was stuck with him for a while.

"You know it's getting kinda late, I should probably leave." Lexi said after the silence had suffocated the room for long enough.

"What?! No, you can't leave, we're just getting started." Tony whined, gearing up to pull out his puppy dog eyes if he had to.

"Tony, honey, I'm sure Lexi has to get back home. She can come around later-maybe at a normal time when everyone else is awake." Pepper reasoned with him.

"But can't she-" Tony was silenced by the glare Pepper was sending him.

"Thank you for your kindness," Lexi said politely "but I really must go home."

Tony sighed, but realising he'd lost, stood up for the large marshmallow couch, dragged Alexis up and gave her a big hug.

"Don't be a stranger, Pixie," he muttered into her ear. "Come back soon." Lexi stepped back, and looked him in the eyes, smiling softly.

"Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it." She said, addressing both the occupants of the room.

Lexi stepped into the elevator and turned to face the CEO and Stark. "Thank you for tonight. I'll be back soon." She said, smiling kindly at them as the elevator doors silently slid shut.

"The lobby, Miss Watson?" JARVIS asked her.

Lexi jumped a bit, startled by the U.I, but quickly regained her composure. "Uh, yeah, please JARVIS." The elevator started its gradual descent to the ground floor.

"Thank you JARVIS." Lexi addressed the U.I as the doors opened and she stepped into the lobby.

"You are very welcome Miss Watson, I look forward to seeing you soon." JARVIS said warmly.

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen." Lexi muttered under her breath. She had realised early into her diagnosis that anyone around her was at risk of getting hurt, so she now made it a habit to not get close to anyone new.

She stepped out onto the chilly New York road and walked away from her once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.