Sorry I haven't updated in foreverrrr! But I'm home for the Christmas holidays now and have no work to do so all my stories will be getting updated! :D :D I'm going to try and round this one off in the next couple of chapters and am toying with the idea of a kind-of sequel :)

As ever, please read and review my darlings and I will try to get back to all of you :)

HAPPY CHRISTMASSSS :D :D

When Tony next woke up, it was to the sight of a concerned and worried looking Pepper Potts sitting up and leaning over him with her hands on either side of his face, gently stroking his sweaty skin.

'Huh?' Tony said; never very articulate when he'd just woken up, blinking the nightmare out of his mind and replacing it with his girlfriend's beautiful face. Worryingly, it hadn't been one of his nightmares, from the gunfire and the smoke and the feeling of his too long red hair being in the way he guessed it was one of Natasha's.

'Is there something you want to tell me?' Pepper asked, laying back down onto his chest and holding him tightly, tracing the rim of the Arc Reactor with one finger. The sky outside the window was still black and the stars were obscured by clouds as the Helicarrier moved silently through the sky.

Tony turned his head and burrowed his face into her hair, breathing in her safe warm scent and feeling his heart slow as his body relaxed. 'What do you mean?' he asked, kissing the top of her head then using it as a cheek-rest, running one hand lazily up and down her arm.

'You kept moaning,' Pepper said softly, eyes closed but not sounding particularly sleepy.

'That's nothing new, especially when you're here,' Tony said cheekily, earning himself a nudge in the ribs.

'I wouldn't have been worried, except you kept moaning "Clint",' Pepper said, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow. 'Hence why I asked if there was something you wanted to tell me.'

Something must have changed in his face because Pepper was suddenly instantly sat up and staring at him.

'Tony?' she said softly. 'What's the matter?'

Tony pulled her back down onto the bed and wiggled down so he was lying next to her, one arm under her head and the other around her waist, pulling her to him and playing with her hair. Pepper recognised this as his stress relief, it used to be drinking, and now it was playing with her hair. She could always tell if something was wrong if he suddenly sat next to her, pulled her onto his lap and started playing with her hair.

'It wasn't my dream,' Tony said quietly after a pause, plaiting a few strands of her hair. Where he'd learnt to plait, she didn't ask.

'Natasha?' Pepper asked. She felt him nod.

'I saw a couple of hers in the quarantine; I guess the drug isn't completely out of my system yet.'

There was a moments silence as Tony un-plaited her hair, tangled his fingers in it and closed his eyes, resting his forehead against hers. Pepper could feel the steady beat of his heart under his t-shirt and she gently placed her hand on it, stroking the Arc's casing absentmindedly with her thumb.

Tony's eyes opened again and he drew a breath, a sign that whatever it was he was about to say, Pepper may or may not like it. Usually it was the latter, but occasionally he surprised her.

'Pepper…' he started, then faltered and frowned, obviously having an internal conflict.

Pepper tilted his chin slightly so his brown eyes met her blue ones. There was something in them, something she didn't see very often. Instead of his usual cocky self-assurance, he actually looked afraid. Afraid of what Pepper wasn't sure, but judging by the way his grip on her hair and waist tightened softly, she could safely assume it had something to do with her leaving.

'Yes Tony?' she said gently, stroking his cheek as assurance that she was there, and she wasn't going anywhere.

Tony drew another breath then looked her square in the eye.

'I love you.'

There was a pause while Pepper processed what he'd said and Tony looking worried but still held her gaze. Pepper wasn't sure how to take it. Yes, she cared about him and yes he meant the world to her but the first and only time she had ever heard him say he loved anything, he'd been talking to a bacon sandwich. So surely that meant something if he wasn't the kind of person dropping the 'L' word every five minutes?

Pepper remembered the hug she'd given him when he came back from Afghanistan, after the press conference fiasco and before he'd left to go home. She'd walked up to him and asked him carefully and jokingly if she needed to schedule a meeting with a psychiatrist. He'd chuckled and run one hand through his hair then grinned at her.

'Like I need one,' he'd said. 'You keep me sane, Peps.'

Then she'd responded with 'I do my best' and had given him a brief hug. It wasn't the first time she'd hugged him, and it certainly wouldn't be the last, but this hug was different. He'd wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly like he was afraid that if he let go she would fade away. It was quite a long hug too; she'd intended it to be brief but Tony had other ideas. Surprisingly (or not surprisingly? She still wasn't sure) it hadn't been awkward. They'd held each other for a few moments, then they let go and continued their lives, Pepper going to the office to write a press release, and Tony going home to sit in his empty house and contemplate existence.

Then Pepper remembered how her heart had flown up her chest and out into the air when she'd seen him fall through the portal on the TV, unconscious, unmoving, dead for all she knew, and she remembered the feeling that something precious had been taken from her. Then she remembered the sensation of his soft lips against hers and his warm arms wrapped safely around her waist when she found him again afterwards, bruised, battered, but very much alive. Just the two of them in their own little world, blocking out the four confused looking Avengers stood behind them (Natasha of course being the exception, who was frowning at her fingernails and mentally reminding herself to book a manicure).

Question: Tony Stark had just told her he loved her, was he lying?

Soft passionate kisses, warm safe embraces, falling asleep entangled in each other's arms on the sofa, movie nights with Ben and Jerry's, going to sleep and waking up naked and not feeling ashamed about it, sleepy cuddles, cooking together, eating together, disguising each other and sneaking off to the movies where they kissed in the back row like teenagers, walking down the street (and occasionally through the corridors of Stark Industries) hand-in-hand and not caring who saw or how many pictures were taken, kissing in public then giggling about it afterwards, lazy Sunday afternoons lying on their bed using each other as tables and finishing paperwork, up-against-the-wall-legs-wrapped-round-his-waist kissing, trying to make Rhodey feel uncomfortable by making out in front of him, whispered declarations of adoration, falling asleep in each other's arms, waking up in each other's arms, making Steve feel uncomfortable by kissing in front of him, dancing round the living room to old jazz hits, flirting outrageously in front of employees to make them feel uncomfortable, photoshopping pictures of the Avengers with stupid captions, singing along to the radio way too loudly, picnics on the roof under the stars, sending stupid pictures to Fury, mucking around on live video conferences, pillow fights, food shopping at midnight and enjoying the confused look on everyone's faces, playing in the toy section, sitting on the sofas in the entertainment section and watching a bit of a movie on the TV's, Wii Mario contests, doing the Coke-and-Mentos experiment then turning it into a rocket and shooting it out the window.

Answer: No, he wasn't lying.

Pepper realised she'd left Tony waiting a bit too long with her internal monologue and he'd now gone from looking worried to looking flat out terrified. So she bent her head forwards and caught his lips in a passionate kiss, wrapping one arm around his waist and running her fingers through his hair as her tongue traced his and her body lit up like it was on fire.

When they pulled away, both breathing heavily, Tony's eyes were bright and shining and his skin was flushed. Pepper pressed one last kiss against his swollen lips then smiled. 'Oh Tony,' she said. 'I love you too.'

Needless to say, despite the fact Tony was on bed rest and wasn't supposed to engage in strenuous amounts of exercise, the camera in the corner of the room was hacked into and turned off (luckily the agents on the bridge had closed the screen to give the couple some privacy so they didn't notice) and neither of them got much sleep that night.

XxXxXxX

Clint got up in the middle of the night, unable to sleep. Natasha was warm beside him and at some point in the night they'd changed positions so she was lying on her side and he was spooning her, one arm under her head. But despite the security he felt lying with her in his arms, his body was buzzing and sleep was eluding him.

The Helicarrier was quiet, only the sleepy glances of the night staff as they worked witness to his insomnia, and that in itself was nothing new. The training room was empty and Clint enjoyed the silence as he turned the lights on and pulled his quiver onto his back, setting up the targets and relishing in the feel of his bow strong and sturdy in his hand. He pulled two arrows from his quiver and fitted them onto the bow string slowly, enjoying the feel of the familiar burn in his muscles as he pulled the string back, took aim, and released.

The two arrows hit their targets bang-on the bullseye of the two separate targets. Clint felt that rush flow through him just like it always did when his aim was perfect, which it always was. He continued in the training room for a few more hours as the sun came up, firing arrow after arrow and every time hitting the target perfectly. It took a few more moments before he realised he was being watched and glancing up into the rafters above his head, he spotted Natasha crouched, watching him.

'You need to sleep,' she told him sternly.

Clint shrugged. 'You snore, Nat.'

That one earned him a pillow straight to the face and a hissed 'I do not!' Clint realised guiltily that the only reason Natasha would have a pillow is if she'd been up there for some time.

Clint turned back to the targets and loaded another arrow, shooting it perfectly. 'I didn't mean to wake you,' he said.

'You have the grace and elegance of a baby giraffe when you wake up,' Natasha quipped, eyebrow raised.

Clint didn't argue.

There was silence for a few minutes while Clint continued to shoot arrow after arrow, each time hitting the targets dead centre until eventually he ran out of arrows and had to collect them from the bullseye of each of the targets.

'We can't ignore this,' Natasha whispered, so quietly Clint was surprised he heard her.

'Ignore what?' he asked, though he knew what she meant.

'What happened to us,' Natasha said. 'We can't ignore that. The others now know more about us then we want them too, and vice versa.'

'Unless you're suggesting we somehow wipe their memories, there's nothing we can do about that,' Clint said, picking up a towel and wiping his sweaty face with it, reloading his quiver with the arrows he'd pulled from the targets.

Natasha said nothing for a few minutes, and then suddenly she was there in front of him, taking the quiver out of his hands and wrapping her arms around him. Clint responded, gently holding her and resting his cheek on the top of her head.

'We need to sleep,' Natasha said. 'We still have a few more hours left before dawn; we can talk more in the morning.'

Clint said nothing, but he nodded and the two of them walked back to his room arm in arm and were asleep in seconds.

XxXxXxX

Natasha woke a few hours later and kept her eyes screwed tightly closed as she tried to block out the images of Obadiah's Iron Monger armour pointing a gun barrel at a terrified Pepper and tried to suppress the emotions that came with it because she did not have feelings that strong for Pepper.

Once Tony's nightmare and the emotional trauma that went with it had faded from her mind she climbed out of bed to shower and dress. Outside the window, the sun had risen and the cloud coverage had gone, so she could see the rays of light reflecting on the water below.

Leaving Clint still asleep in bed, Natasha climbed out onto the deck and sat on the side on the Helicarrier, well away from the rotors as she watched the sun climb higher and higher into the sky.

She was joined a few minutes later by Pepper, who handed up a mug of hot coffee and silently sat beside her, seeming perfectly content to sit in silence.

But Natasha was a spy, the best at her job and she knew exactly why Pepper was there, within a few seconds of her sitting down Natasha knew her mood and the question that was playing on her mind.

'You want me to talk to Tony about what happened,' Natasha said, not looking at her but staring out across the ocean.

Pepper nodded. She knew Natasha well enough to not be surprised that she'd guessed the reason she was there. There was a reason Tony had taken to maintaining a blank facial expression every time she was in the same room as him, not that it made any difference. Tony's emotions could be read in his eyes just as easily as his face.

Natasha tilted her head at her, reading her expression, and then looked back out at the post-dawn sky.

'Okay,' she said. 'I'll talk to Tony. We'll figure something out.'

Pepper smiled. 'Thank you,' she said, softly. 'I really appreciate it. Do you think maybe you could ask Clint to talk to Thor? Everyone is avoiding each other, it's uncomfortable.'

Natasha said nothing but she nodded again and Pepper said goodbye and stood up to go back onto the deck, leaving Natasha to her coffee and her thoughts.

XxXxXxX

When Natasha made it back inside the Helicarrier a few hours later, she was pleased to find Tony and Clint lying in the Recreational Room playing Mario Kart Wii and arguing with each other over the amount of bananas that was getting thrown around. Thor and Jane were sat on the other sofa eating Pop Tarts.

'They let you out then?' Natasha said, plonking herself down next to them and picking up that morning's paper, the scrawled numbers in the Sudoku section indicating that Tony had already read it.

'Yep,' Tony said distractedly, trying to manipulate his car so it would crash straight into Clint's. 'Oh and Pep?' he called out as she entered the room. 'I'm breaking up with you.'

'Okay,' Pepper said, not sounding particularly bothered and seating herself down next to him; picking up a book which had been left discarded on the coffee table. 'How come?'

'I'm madly in love with Captain America,' Tony explained. 'We're adopting Spider-Man and raising him as our own.'

Thor and Jane were giving the pair very odd looks at this, but Natasha and Clint didn't seem bothered and Clint let out a cheer as he successfully forced Tony's car off the road and over a cliff.

Unfortunately, Steve had entered the room in time to hear this and was now stood in the doorway like a rabbit in the headlights, clearly unsure as to what the protocol was here.

'That's okay,' Pepper said. 'I appreciate you being honest with me; in fact I think it's only fair to tell you that Natasha and I have been married for a few weeks now and are considering adopting.'

Tony sighed. 'I knew it,' he said. 'I always knew there was something going on with you two.'

Spotting Steve, Tony leant back on the sofa and winked at him, waggling his eyes suggestively and Pepper and Natasha held hands and smiled sweetly at him. Jane had figured out the joke and was smiling but Thor looking confused and Steve looked like he was a few seconds away from hurling himself out of the window.

'Oh please,' Tony muttered, pulling his girlfriend onto his lap and planting a kiss firmly on her lips, throwing the paper in Steve's general direction where that week's 'Gossip Column' indicated Natasha and Pepper's nuptials and mentioned Steve and Tony's relationship.

Steve's eyebrows rose so high into his hairline that Bruce gave him a concerned glance when he walked in for a coffee refill.

'We've broken Steve already?' he said, surprised. 'I think this is a record. What did you do to him?'

'Got married,' Tony said, shrugging like it's no big thing. 'We've been in love for some time now.'

'I'm happy for you both,' Bruce said, nodding seriously at him. 'And Pepper? How do you feel about all this?'

Pepper was still sat on Tony's lap but wrapped an arm around Natasha who actually kissed her cheek. 'I don't mind,' she said. 'I have Natasha to come home to every night.'

Bruce raised his coffee mug in a mock salute to the two couples and Jane started to explain the situation to Thor when he looked like his face had actually broken. Tony and Clint were impressed; they didn't know that facial expression existed.

Dr Penlock came in approximately half an hour later to clear all of the Avengers medically fit, but banning them all from active duty for a week. None of them were particularly bothered; they were watching Natasha and Clint fence in Wii Sports. Even though they were effectively just waving their arms around it was still the most terrifying thing they'd ever seen.

The group arrived back at Stark Tower via a Quinjet at approximately eight pm that evening and Pepper dragged Tony straight to bed. Although he'd been cleared by medical, the drug's effect on him had left his body and his heart completely exhausted, and both needed a good night's sleep to recharge. Bruce did have the presence of mind to stick a heart monitor on his chest before Pepper dragged him off and now the group were watching Elementary while Tony's cardiac rhythm flashed cheerfully across the screen next to it.

It took a while for Clint and Thor to notice that they were the only two left awake. Steve had retired a few moments previously and Natasha had fallen asleep curled up on the sofa. Jane had fallen asleep on Thor and Bruce had retreated to the lab to run some more tests on the drug in an attempt to determine what exactly was in it. Why, no-one was sure, but Bruce was restless and Betty had been curious so that's where they were.

Clint was perfectly happy to continue to watch the program in companionable silence, but Thor seemed uneasy and Clint realised he couldn't let that slip. Plus, Natasha had mentioned to him before they boarded the Quinjet that maybe it was a good idea to try and talk to him to sort out the emotional mess the six of them were currently in.

'You know that I don't like Loki,' Clint said quietly, causing Thor's attention to focus on him at once. 'But even I think that having your mouth sewn shut is a bit much.'

Thor sighed. 'Loki has done wrong,' he said. 'And by law for such an act of treason he should be put to death. Although I don't agree with the punishment my father chose at all, I must admit that it was the kinder alternative.'

Clint couldn't argue with his reasoning, although the image of Loki with the thread taunt through his mouth made him feel a little sick inside.

'Who was the girl?' he asked. 'I can't remember her name… Hela? She called him "father"?'

'Hela is Loki's daughter,' Thor said. 'She is the Goddess of Death, the ruler of Helheim- the Underworld.'

'And her face?' Clint said, gesturing to his own. 'What happened there? It looks like her flesh has all rotten away.'

'She was cursed,' Thor explained, seemingly perfectly happy to talk about his niece. 'Cursed by Odin, it is a long story, but now half of her body is dead while the other remains young and beautiful.'

'She loves Loki,' Clint said, a statement rather than a question.

'They are very close,' Thor said. 'Hela was banished from Asgard, again it's a long story but my mother lets her in occasionally so she can meet with her father.'

'Your mother seems awesome,' Clint said.

Thor smiled. 'She is,' he said. 'The love and devotion she has shown for Loki throughout the years, raising him as her own when he is the son of Asgard's sworn enemy… she is a wonderful woman.'

The two continued talking late into the night and Clint even opened up about Barney a little and described some of his life while he was in the circus, which was something he had never spoken about, apart from Natasha. Speaking of which, when he bade Thor goodnight and stood up to go to bed, she winked at him, then closed her eyes again and drifted back to sleep.

Please review! Hope you enjoyed it :) More coming soon :)

So basically the outline for the sort-of sequel goes like this:

- Thanos wants to take over the world and the Avengers are all like HAHAHANOFUCKINGWAY.

- Tony and Clint take a trip to the underworld and meet Hela who is all like 'WTF?'

- Pepper gets to be a BAMF

- Hela saves the day a couple of times and yells at Odin.

- And loads of other cool stuff :)

Let me know what you think! :D