Bruce and Tony stepped reluctantly out of the plane, behind everyone else. They were standing about as close together as they could without touching, and it looked bit like the were leaning on each other, they just weren't. It presented a very united front, Pepper mused.
They were a lot younger than they used to be. Of course, Tony had made an effort to look younger before, in fact he had to die both his hair and his goatee. But Bruce had never tried to look younger, as far as she knew, though she was pretty sure that the Hulk had aged him in a way.
But this wasn't just an effort. They looked like they were college students or something similar. And their faces...they looked vulnerable. They were very battered, though the bruises were fading. But their eyes looked red, as if they'd been crying.
She smiled brightly at them both, though mainly at Tony. He was the one she was more confident about. She was sure she could get his memories back, she knew that much about him.
Bruce sighed and closed his eyes. "Sorry. We don't know who you are. We don't remember you in any way, shape or form and we don't have any gut feelings about you."
Tony didn't say anything and his expression didn't change at all. Pepper felt her heart sink. It seemed Tony didn't remember her after all. She was relying on some form of recognition from Tony. "Okay." She said, renewing a now very fake smile. "Well, I'm Virginia Potts, but never call me anything but Pepper. I used to be Tony's girlfriend and before that and after I've been the person who bosses him around."
Tony smiled weakly.
"We had an incident." Natasha said. "On the quinjet. That's why we took longer than expected." It seemed like a very awkward thing to say, but Pepper understood. They weren't normally like this, they were just a little shaken from whatever happened.
"I need to show you two your floor." Pepper said, going down a set of stairs that lead to Tony's private elevator, which recognized hers, Tony's, Rhodey's and Bruce's voices only. The other Avengers went down the other stairs. "This is where Tony has lived since the Tower was constructed and Bruce moved in about a week before you were kidnapped." Tony nodded, and they both jumped as the elevator doors shut. "This is voice recognition. Penthouse."
The elevator only moved for a short while before it stopped, the penthouse being only a floor down from the roof, of course. "Well, I'll leave you to it. Just come down if you need anything." She said, deciding not to introduce the pair to JARVIS. It would be too much shock for one day, most likely.
