(My Lady) Pepper/Thor

Takes place in a slightly AU version of the Avengers' Loki-and-Thor send-off scene because it's kinda necessary for Pepper to be present in a Pepper-centric fic, you know? I know that a lot of fics have Asgardian soulmarks coming about differently then "Midgardian" ones, but for this fic we're saying that Asgardian soulmarks work the same way as Midgardian ones and are, apparently, even universal so that Thor and Pepper are soulmates.

Pepper really didn't want to be here. She hadn't met any of the Avengers or truly been surrounded by the battle they'd gone through, and she would've rather stayed out of it entirely. She would've done so too, had Tony not already been showing signs of PTSD – she knew what that looked like on him from previous experience thanks to his Middle Eastern "vacation" – which led her to believe it might not be such a good idea for him to be around Loki without "adult" supervision… which almost always meant hers or Rhodey's accompaniment. No need to bother Rhodey when she could just woman up and go herself, especially since it was just going to be a little visit in the park to beam Thor and Loki back up to Asgard, right?

So here she was post-well… everything, warily staring at Thor's chained and muzzled brother as she kept herself all but glued to her boss's side.

Thor went around the little circle that Pepper and Dr. Selvig had formed with the other five Avengers, giving each of them in turn a handshake or man-hug. Tony was the last one that Thor stopped in front of, but Pepper hardly noticed. She didn't quite dare take her eyes off of Loki; he was a magician and the god of mischief, lies, and trickery, after all.

Once he had given Tony's hand a hardy shake, Thor's eyes flickered down to take her in, pale and on edge as she knew she was, before he followed her line of sight.

He sighed, suddenly looking like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders as he murmured, "Many apologies for whatever distress my brother has caused you, Lady Pepper."

Pepper didn't question how he knew her name – Tony had probably mentioned her – because she was too caught up in what he'd just said. What he had said were the exact same words – the very Shakespearian words – that zigzagged between her shoulder blades.

She felt whatever little bit of color had been left in her face flee as she took a shocked step back. Thor's arms snapped up as if to catch her should she pass out, but she took a steadying breath and her vision cleared before she gave him a brazen once over. And then color flooded her cheeks as she realized that she had yet to say anything in reply.

So she tried to play her nerves off with flippancy, saying with a smile that suddenly felt natural, given the circumstances, "Don't worry about me; I'm fine, Sir Thor."

"Prince Thor, actually," he muttered, eyes blowing wide with shock and then melting with adoration as he scooped her delicate hands up into his huge ones. "Which, I am afraid, my lady, is quite unfortunate."

"Why?" she asked, suddenly feeling nervous. Did his being a prince imply some sort of reason that they couldn't be together despite being soulmates?

"Because being royalty means it is more necessary for me to fulfill my responsibilities then it might otherwise be. I must leave you for now and return Loki to Asgard for his trial and judgment. But I swear upon my life that I shall return for you."

"And I'll be here waiting," she promised just as quickly. "It's okay; I understand. I have responsibilities too." She glanced pointedly towards Tony and Thor nodded in understanding. "You take care of your man, I'll take care of mine, and I'll see you when I see you. I've waited for over forty years to be with my soulmate, I can wait a little longer."

Thor grinned and it struck Pepper that he had been waiting for her real centuries longer than that. "Thank you for understanding. I shall return to you at the very earliest that I am able."

Then without warning, he tugged her into his arms and gave her a searing kiss. By the time Pepper could think straight again, she had just enough time to see Thor and Loki each grasp one end of the tesseract. The god of thunder looked straight at her, mouthed "I love you, my lady," and then was gone.

"I love you too," Pepper whispered into the air.