Author's Note: Thank you all of you beautiful readers and reviewers! And thank you for the 12 Days prompts. I now have half the days taken. (I will do a full twelve even if I have to come up with the ideas, but I want to leave the opportunity open for now.)

Bond #9 – The CEO

JARVIS remained quiet as the elevator opened to a large room that looked like it had been designed for lounging. Cushiony chairs and couches created a comfortable sitting area overlooking the city and Darcy could only imagine the spectacular view it must be at night. She spotted an odd section of ceiling and then realized it must allow for a large screen to be lowered. Probably for movies…this must be the media room. One end of the room held a full bar like one would find in a private club. Tony Stark just did not do things in a small way, did he? She shook her head and continued looking around. A half wall with a granite countertop created a small bar separating the main room from a full kitchen. A kitchen graced by state of the art appliances that probably cost more than a full semester's tuition.

How was this her life again?

She opened the refrigerator door and blinked at the variety of food choices. Curiosity sent her digging around every shelf and drawer. Some of the containers possessed labels to delineate them as private items as opposed to communal. Her nose wrinkled as she examined some of the ones marked 'Bruce' and 'Tony' as she could not quite tell what they were supposed to be. A disturbing thought crossed her mind and she narrowed her eyes. It those turned out to be some future experimental something or others, she would have to stick with her own refrigerator. The containers should keep things from being contaminated, but these were scientists! Weirder things had happened – especially when it came to 'unforeseen results'.

Thank you Betty, Jane, and Erik for teaching her the meaning of that phrase.

Her stomach rumbled and she sighed. She would just have to hope for the best. Another container caught her eye and she bit her lip. How unhappy would Tasha be if she stole some of the redhead's kotleti?

"May I suggest the Chinese?' came an amused voice. "They had it for lunch, so it should be the freshest. Or you might consider a sandwich."

The slight stinging sensation in her wrist brought Darcy around faster than the voice itself. Her eyes went wide as she found the speaker sitting at the bar looking back at her with a welcoming, if curious smile. That smile highlighted a face more striking than beautiful, framed by strawberry blonde hair and set with murky blue eyes that held a multitude of secrets. "Oh my God," Darcy managed, "you're Pepper Potts."

Pepper straightened, her eyes going wide in surprise before something that looked like relief flooded into them. "Oh, thank goodness," she responded, a light chuckle in her voice. "Someone who will understand!"

Darcy blinked at her, confusion swirling with the first stirrings of amusement as a giddy relief coursed down the new-formed connection. "I'm…sorry?"

"You are Darcy Lewis, correct?" Pepper prompted. "Doctor Foster's assistant?" When Darcy nodded, the other woman's smile returned full force. "Natasha tells me she is an absent minded scientist who has a tendency to forget the basics and requires you to keep her healthy. From which I take it that Doctor Foster believes sleep and food come far below science on a scale of priorities?"

"That's Jane," Darcy agreed, rolling her eyes. "I adore Jane, I really do, but some days she could try the patience of a saint. Especially when she hasn't slept in three days and gets teary-eyed over a broken piece of equipment."

"Precisely." Pepper all but sparkled with delight.

"You are going to have to explain how this all correlates," Darcy admitted. "I haven't exactly had a lot of sleep myself and some…odd…unexpected changes in my life suddenly, not the least of which is that I am the soulmate of…well…you."

"Me?"

The delicate question came in a steady nondescript voice, but Darcy could feel the uncertainty in the bond. "Well, yeah," she continued with a shrug. "You're pretty much the most powerful woman on the planet and if you can look this put together after a full day of work, I get why." Humor bled into her gaze as she tilted her head. "Plus you've managed to rope in the richest and most eligible bachelor on the planet who seems to have done a one-eighty on his previous playboy ways." Her eyes grew serious. "And Phil respects you."

Now their link warmed with a soft sense of respect as Pepper gave a gentle laugh. "Pretty much everything I currently have came from being a simple assistant," she offered with a wry grin. "Some of what Tony went through forced him to grow up and I…I gave him a safe space to finish growing up." She paused and rocked one hand in a seesaw motion. "Or mostly anyway."

"I kind of doubt you were a simple anything," Darcy protested.

"And I doubt you are either," Pepper chided.

"Of course not!" she exclaimed as she pulled out the fixings for a sandwich. "I am a Scientist Wrangler Extraordinaire."

"Precisely why I'm so excited to have you as a soulmate," the other woman laughed. "Stark Industries takes up a good deal of time and involves travel. I can't keep as much of an eye on Tony as I would like and he tends to get caught up in a new project for days on end." A hint of cunning mischief entered her smile. "I'm hoping to lure you into helping him since you'll be in the labs with Doctor Foster."

Darcy tossed her a look of sheer disbelief. "I'm sorry," she said, "but I could have sworn you just said you wanted me to add Tony Stark to my babysitting list."

"Correct."

"Well, I guess?" she temporized, trying to think as she spread mayonnaise on her bread. "I mean…I'm Jane's chief caretaker first and all."

"Naturally," Pepper agreed, accepting the comment with an easy nod. "I would not dream of disrupting that type of long standing working relationship." She took a sip of her tea. "I would like to offer to put you on the SI payroll though."

"What?"

"The SI payroll," she repeated, one elegant eyebrow lifting at Darcy's surprise. "I would never ask someone to volunteer to help Tony. He has a tendency towards egotistical commentary on a frequent basis, somewhat annoying nicknames as a matter of course, and nitpicking insults when he's busy, tired, or unhappy." Her lips pursed. "And his idea of casual comments sometimes lead to sexual harassment lawsuits."

"Are those your selling points?" Darcy could not help but laugh.

"No," Pepper chuckled. "Usually the salary and benefits sell people on the job. It's just when they start actually working with Tony that we run into trouble."

"I doubt he'll bother me that much," Darcy shrugged. "I work with a woman who can and will rewrite the laws of physics while losing every pen she owns when she's working in her own lab. Usually by using them as hair sticks."

"I'll put a packet together for you then, shall I?"

"Rent free apartment, access to necessities, and a contained, non-SHIELD lab for Jane," Darcy mused as she finished making her sandwich and putting things back in the refrigerator. She gave Pepper an amused look. "Sure, I guess I can take a look at the salary you'd like to give me on top of all of that to babysit the world's most famous billionaire."

"And you'll have JARVIS to help you. You have met JARVIS, right?" Pepper asked as Darcy hopped up onto the stool next to her.

"…yes."

"Darcy?" She lifted a brow, concern warring with puzzlement in her voice and along their bond. "Did something happen?"

"Kind of?" Darcy bit her lip. "It wasn't bad…or at least I don't think it was, but I think…I think I managed to confuse him, not to mention get confused myself, but he said he had to talk to 'Mr. Stark', so I definitely think we'll be hearing from Tony, probably sooner than later." She pushed her plate away and began to tap her fingertips on the countertop. "I didn't expect a voice to be coming out of the walls, though that's cool," she hurried to add, glancing around. "If I'd had someone like that in New Mexico I wouldn't have had to catnap in the lab so often just to make sure Jane ate."

"I wish I could have been here to welcome you to the Tower," Pepper sighed. "We would have included that in your orientation." She pulled out a tablet and made a few notations. "I don't want you to worry about whatever it was," she continued, giving Darcy a strict look. One hand reached over to move Darcy's plate back into place. "You'll need to keep up your strength to help with the Scientists Three."

"Three?" Darcy blinked and then she shook her head. "You're right though," she acquiesced, picking up her sandwich. "Jane's going to go from zero to light speed when she recovers from the trip."

"You eat and then we can discuss whatever happened," Pepper nodded. She held up a hand when Darcy frowned. "We will need to discuss it," the redhead informed her, the sympathetic smile on her face somehow meshing in perfect synchronicity with the determination thrumming along their bond. "Anything that affects JARVIS tends to get Tony worked up – both good and bad – and I need to know so I can help encourage or head off whatever plan pops into Tony's head."

Darcy examined her soulmate's face before lifting a brow. "Exactly how weird is it going to be if I pick up Tony as a soulmate?"

Pepper stared at her. "Why do you think you would?"

Hesitation kept Darcy quiet for a moment, but then she let out a sigh. "I'm a…multiple," she admitted, her eyes doing a quick scan of the room. "Though I'm going to wait to get into details because…well, I don't want to repeat myself if I don't have to…" Her voice trailed off, but she managed to give a small chuckle. "Besides…I've got a pretty good track record with the scientific genius sorts."

Worry flickered in the other woman's eyes. "Are you on register as anyone's soulmate?" she demanded.

"Ah…" Darcy blinked at the sudden force in Pepper's tone. "Yeah?" Caution tempered her own voice. "I'm registered for Betty and Jane. Since they're professor and doctor level and I'm still a student."

"Perfectly understandable," Pepper nodded. Thoughts and emotions seemed to flit through the woman's eyes though she kept her face still and serene. "If you prove to be Tony's soulmate as well, then we'll get you registered with SI security as mine." Her lips firmed. "You'll be under Stark protection anyway, but having it registered will mean I can get various security protocols set up with both security and legal. We will protect you."

"Uh…okay…."

"Betty, Jane, Phil, me…possibly Tony…" Pepper fixed her gaze on Darcy as she listed the names. "And I have no doubt there are others I don't know." She reached out a hand as Darcy tried to duck the look. One slim finger forced Darcy's chin up until she met Pepper's gaze. "And you don't have to tell me," Pepper assured her. "I'm content to wait until you're comfortable."

"Really?" Darcy did not mean to sound disbelieving, but she still had trouble accepting the luck she had thus far possessed in finding her soulmates.

"Darcy." Pepper gave her a wry smile. "If I can wait for Tony to grow up and actually see me, I think I can wait for you to feel easy around me. After all," she said in an arch tone, "you have a great deal more common sense."