Chapter 13! I hope you like it, please let me know what you think! It would be awesome to hear your thoughts. And thanks to everyone who read the last chapter and left a review!

Someone mentioned that the attention seems to shift between this story and 'I'm Iron Man'. After last week, I think so too. It's interesting to see. Unfortunately, you won't get a new chapter of I'm Iron Man this weekend. Maybe next week, I hope I can find more time to write then.

And one more thing. I am so happy to see that you all enjoy my stories, your reviews mean the world to me. But I've already mentioned that I'm working and sometimes, I'm also busy on the weekends. Which means that I can't always give you new chapters within a few days. I'm just mentioning this because sometimes, people tell me to update many times, even if it just isn't possible. I don't want you guys to be disappointed. I hope you understand that I just wanted to mention this now.

I don't own the characters or places!

Pepper

"V, you won't believe it!" Daisy exclaimed loudly and I could hear the excitement in her voice.

"What is it?" I asked, already having an idea what she was going to tell me.

"I proposed! And she said yes!" So I've been right. Even if she couldn't see it, I smiled widely.

"That's great, congratulations!"

"We'll marry next year, in the spring. I wanted to do it this year, but Irina says that it's too soon. She wants to have a big wedding, with lots of preparations necessary. But I should have expected it, shouldn't I?" She sounded slightly annoyed, but I knew that Daisy wasn't really angry at her girlfriend. Fiancé now.

"You know that she wants it to be perfect." I threw in. "And I bet she'll do a good job at planning. Will you help her?"

"You know that I suck at this. I'm an engineer, not someone who plans events." I knew that she was rolling her eyes now. "Irina also says that a wedding in winter is really bad. Because it's too cold for dresses."

I chuckled. "Well, she's right about that." However, I wouldn't mind marrying in winter. If I would even marry, I wasn't so sure about that. And now that I was together with Tony Stark... Was marrying even a possibility? Or would we ever be that serious?

"You have to come! After all, you're going to be my bridesmaid. And Irina says that she already knows what kind of dress you'll wear. She insists that green will look beautiful on you. Like that pretty dress you own, you know? And I have to agree with her." I knew exactly which dress she meant. The one I wore on the evening I met Tony for the first time. She was right, it was really beautiful. And Tony might have said that the colour suited me...

"Of course I'll come. You don't have to ask." I told her, my smile growing wider.

"And we have to find a date for you. You can't come alone. But maybe you already know someone?" Her tone made it obvious that our conversation about my love life from out last call wasn't over yet. I held back a sigh.

"It's summer, Daisy. The wedding will be in months, many things can change until then." I said simply, hoping that this would be enough for her.

Unfortunately, it wasn't. "Oh come on, V! You have to tell me someday!" Just not now, I wasn't ready for that. I decided to change the subject.

"I'll leave for New York tomorrow." I said quickly, giving her no chance to interrupt me. "Stark Industries has built a tower there and Tony will set up a new reactor. I can accompany him."

My tactic seemed to work. Daisy squealed in excitement. "New York?! That's so cool. And with Tony Stark. Or well, maybe not so cool with your boss. But you can have a look at the city if you don't have to work too much. You've already been there once, right?"

"Just a weekend. I didn't see much of the city." I interrupted her before she could say Ben's name. I didn't want to hear it anymore. "And Tony already said that we could do some sightseeing."

"Your boss wants to look at the city with you?" Daisy sounded like it was the worst nightmare you could have. And when I thought of Maria Hill I understood why she thought so. But Tony was different.

"I'm sure that it will be nice. We get along well." That was the understatement of the year.

"I wish that I could meet him. From all your stories, he seems to be a really cool guy. Not like that bitch Maria Hill. Since you're gone, she's terrorizing us even more. And her new assistant doesn't have a plan like you did. Hill's angry all the time and keeps yelling. People are already betting when he'll be gone again. I think soon. He doesn't handle stress well."

"No one can handle her for a long time." I muttered darkly, remembering my time with her very well.

"You did it for years." Daisy threw in.

"I didn't have a choice, did I?"

"You could have left. Searched something new. I mean, it worked now. Then it would also have worked years ago." Just that I would have looked for a job in Griffin then and things weren't that easy there.

"It's better this way." I said simply. "I'm happy here in LA."

"I'm so glad to hear this." Daisy's voice was soft now and just then I realized how much I missed her.

"You have to visit me soon." I told her. "I really miss you."

"Why don't you stop by in Griffin after your time in New York? I mean, it's just a small detour. Then you could see everyone again." I was curious whom she meant by everyone, but I didn't ask.

"I don't think that we'll have time for that. There are important meetings in LA right after we leave." It was a poor excuse, but better than nothing.

"Can't you take a few days off? I bet your boss wouldn't say anything against it."

"I'm not working there for so long." I threw in. "I can't just go on a vacation now."

"Just a few days, V." Her voice was pleading now.

"I'll think about it." I muttered slowly. Even if I already knew that I wouldn't go to Griffin again so soon. After all, Ben was there, looking for me. And I didn't want to leave Tony's side. I also didn't want to risk him coming to Griffin. Somehow, I just knew that it would cause trouble.

We kept talking for a few more minutes, but then Daisy had to say goodbye. Apparently, Irina had come home from work. Daisy handed me to her and we said hello, but not much more. We always got along well, but we weren't really friends.

When the call ended, I threw my phone onto the bed and began to pack my things for our trip to New York.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. I looked up in confusion and sighed. Who wanted something from me now? I didn't expect anyone. As far as I knew, Tony was busy now, dealing with something for SI. And next to him, no one visited me here.

I looked at the chaos in my bedroom and closed the door carefully before I went to the entrance door. I was still barefoot and didn't wear more than a light dress, but a short look in the mirror told me that I was presentable. I opened the front door slowly and stared at the person in front of me.

Tony was leaning against the door frame, his hands buried in the pockets of his trousers. He smiled slightly and I noticed that he'd pushed up his sunglasses so they were on top of his head now, right in his perfectly styled hair. His suit jacket and tie were missing, he was only wearing black trousers and the red shirt. He looked really handsome and I felt a strong urge to pull him closer and kiss him. However, the look on his face made me suspicious. It looked like he was planning something.

"Hello." I said slowly and smiled. "What are you doing here? I thought you were busy."

He grinned. "I was. Until an hour ago." Tony reached out with his hand and placed a strand of my hair that had found its way into my face behind my ear. "And then I realized that it's a very beautiful evening. One we shouldn't waste." He nodded seriously. "So what do you say to a picnic on the beach?"

I stared at him. "I didn't even finish packing yet." However, it sounded tempting.

He laughed. "You can do that later. I can also help you with it, of course only if you want me to."

"You would only add to the mess." I muttered and couldn't stop myself from laughing. He tried to look offended, but joined me soon.

"So what do you say? Let's go to the beach?"

"I'm not even properly dressed. I have to get changed first." I took a step back and he entered my flat, closing the door behind him.

"You look beautiful in this." He muttered and took a step closer to me. I could see the hunger in his eyes when he looked at my dress. He reached out and ran his hands down my arms. Even if it was a really hot day, I started to shiver. Then he leaned in to kiss me and it took all my self control to break the kiss after a few moments.

"If we continue, we can forget your brilliant idea." I whispered and he groaned.

"It was a stupid idea. We could also just -"

"No, we'll go. After all, you've got everything planned, right?"

He nodded unhappily.

I was already on my way to the bedroom, but when I saw the look on his face I winked at him. "Of course you can accompany me home after the picnic." When his excited grin returned, I laughed.

New York was a great city. I couldn't describe it any other way. The first time I've been there, I had been too overwhelmed by all the traffic, the skyscrapers and the people. I just couldn't enjoy the two days there completely. However, this time it was different. Since I was living in LA now, I was used to big cities. So I saw New York in a different way.

From all the stories Tony had told me about the city I already knew that he liked it there. What surprised me was that I could share his enthusiasm. In our time there, he showed me his favourite places. Of course Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, but also other, not so well-known places. We discovered that we now shared many favourite places in the city. We even left New York to look at the countryside. I really enjoyed those trips.

The Stark Tower was a very impressing building. One of the highest towers in the city, but I already knew that. What Tony had missed to tell me was that the name 'Stark' was written in big letters on top of the building. When he'd seen my sceptical expression, he'd just shrugged sheepishly. I knew that he liked seeing his name there, even if he tried to hide it from me. Somehow, I didn't mind that. By now, I was used to this side of him.

Most of the time Tony was working on the Arc reactor in the tower, I watched him. It was still fascinating to see him work. Then, he could forget everything else. And he was doing it with so much care and passion, I knew that I wouldn't get tired of this sight. Even if Tony kept asking if I wasn't too bored. He couldn't understand how I could enjoy watching him silently. But I liked it. And honestly, there wouldn't have been much work to do either way. Obadiah only sent us the most important papers, the rest would wait for us in LA.

One evening, we wanted to meet two of Tony's friends. Their names were Steve and Natasha. He told me that he'd met Steve many years ago on a conference in New York. Steve had been in the army then. Now he was working in a security company, together with Natasha. I suspected that Tony had met Steve when SI had still been producing weapons, but I didn't ask. Ever since we got together, Tony was in a very good mood and I didn't want to ruin this. I knew that we still had to talk about many things. Nevertheless, I didn't dare to mention them. I was too afraid that Tony would freak out again and – in the worst case – start drinking.

We met Steve and Natasha in a club not far away from the tower. Our actual plan to go to a restaurant together didn't work since there had been an important video conference for Tony right from LA. When the conference was finished, Steve had texted Tony where we could find them. To my surprise, Tony hadn't looked pleased at all when he'd seen the name of the club Steve mentioned.

When I asked him about it, he'd just shrugged. "I just didn't expect them to go there. I rather thought that we would talk in private. I bet it was Natasha's idea. She's like this. Steve isn't someone who enters a club willingly." I didn't miss the annoyed tone of his voice.

So now we were on our way to said club. We'd decided to walk from the tower since it wasn't that far. On our way, Tony was holding my hand, like he usually did when we were alone. "What are you going to tell them?" I asked, ripping him out of his thoughts. Ever since we left the tower, he'd been unnaturally quiet.

"What do you mean?" He turned his head to look at me and raised his eyebrows.

"About us. I bet your friends don't know that we're together." Next to Rhodey, Happy and Obadiah, no one knew. "So are we going in there as Tony Stark and his personal assistant?" Secretly, I hoped that we would. I wasn't ready for too many people finding out about us. Nevertheless, a small voice in my head screamed that we should tell Tony's friends about us. And everyone else.

"Yeah, we will." He still sounded a little distracted when he ran his hand through his hair. "Keeping things professional on the outside, I didn't forget that." Tony smiled slightly, but it didn't reach his eyes.

I stopped walking and he frowned at me. "What's wrong?"

"Shouldn't I ask this question?" I replied calmly.

He sighed. "I just thought that we would meet them in private." He said simply and shrugged. "I guess that caught me off guard."

"Normally, something like that doesn't bother you." I threw in thoughtfully.

"Maybe I don't like to share you with so many people." He muttered and leaned in to kiss me.

I chuckled. "You know that I won't leave your side in there."

I wasn't sure if I just imagined things, but it looked like he relaxed slowly. "Sounds great. But since I won't be able to do this in there..." And then he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me again. But this time, it wasn't just a short kiss. In this moment, I was glad that no one seemed to pay attention to us. We were just a normal couple, kissing on the sidewalk. When he drew back, he grinned. And this time, he looked genuinely happy. "Now let's go."

Since it was a Thursday evening, the club wasn't crowded. There were many people in there, but there was always some space between the dancing couples. I was glad about that, I really didn't enjoy being around too many people. Next to me, Tony looked around through narrowed eyes. Then he seemed to see what he was looking for. He took my hand and led me through the crowd slowly. As soon as we'd arrived at the bar, he let go again. I already missed the contact.

Tony was heading towards two people who were talking to each other. However, they seemed to notice him since they both looked up when we came closer.

The man was really tall, with blond hair and blue eyes. I noticed immediately that he was really handsome. He was wearing jeans, a white t-shirt and a brown leather jacket which suited him very well. When he recognized Tony, a brilliant smile appeared on his lips and he stood up immediately to greet his friend.

While they hugged each other and exchanged a few words, my gaze wandered to the woman who must be Natasha. Tall, red hair, green eyes. Of course she was perfectly styled, no hair seemed to be in the wrong place. As well as her makeup. And she was wearing a tight, black dress which fitted her perfectly. And emphasized her curves. She was also smiling widely, but not as enthusiastically as Steve. And she didn't hug Tony, she just waved at him. I couldn't stop myself from feeling really bad next to her. She was everything I wasn't. And suddenly, I felt stupid in my blouse with the skirt. Even if Tony had insisted that I looked beautiful right before we left.

Tony's voice ripped me out of my dark thoughts. "May I introduce Mrs. Pepper Potts to you? She's my personal assistant and a very close friend. Pepper, these are Steve and Natasha."

Steve took a step forward and smiled widely. "It's good to meet you, Mrs. Potts."

"It's Pepper." I replied immediately and couldn't stop myself from smiling back at him.

"Then it's Steve." He said and held out his hand. His grip was firm when we shook hands.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Tony has already told me a few things about you."

"Hopefully only the good ones." Steve raised his eyebrows at Tony, but the smile didn't leave his lips.

"The worst, you know me." Tony grinned and held up his hands in a defensive gesture.

They both started to laugh and again, my gaze wandered to Natasha. Who was standing right in front of me now. "I didn't know that Tony has a personal assistant." Natasha said when we shook hands as well. She was smiling, but her voice sounded thoughtful.

"I only got the job a few weeks ago." I explained.

"That explains it." Natasha muttered and looked at Tony now. "I always thought that you preferred working alone."

"Times change." He threw in and shrugged. "The paperwork was getting really annoying."

"I don't think that she's just doing your paperwork." Natasha glanced at me again and I couldn't stop feeling uncomfortable. The tone of her voice and the way she looked at me made it obvious what she was thinking.

Tony seemed to notice this as well since his eyes narrowed slightly. "You don't have to think anything. After all, it's none of your business." He said sharply and turned to me. I noticed immediately that his smile looked forced.

"So what are you doing here in New York? I've heard that the tower is finished." Steve, who had noticed the sudden tension as well, threw in quickly.

"Yes, it is." Tony used this change of subject and began to tell them more details about the tower and his current project. I listened to their conversation silently and only said something when Steve asked me a question. However, I didn't mind remaining silent. Not when Natasha was glancing at me from time to time. And she didn't look really happy about me being here.

Was this why Tony had been so silent on our way here? Because he knew how Natasha would behave? I wasn't sure how good he knew her. He'd mostly told me stories about Steve.

"And you're not from LA?" Steve's sudden question ripped me out of my thoughts.

I nodded. "I went there for the job. I'm from a small town in Georgia. But I really prefer LA, now that I know what it's like to live in a big city."

Steve chuckled. "LA is really great, I've lived there many years ago. I also left for my job. That's when I came to New York. But you never forget what it's like to live at the west coast."

"I know what you mean. I never thought that a city could be this impressing."

"Did you see many cities by now?" Natasha threw in. Only now I noticed that she and Tony had listened to our conversation silently. Tony was smiling while there was a thoughtful look on Natasha's face.

"No." I answered honestly. "Just Atlanta and a few years ago, I've been here in New York."

"Typical small town girl, huh?" Now she sounded amused and I raised my eyebrows.

"What should that mean?" I really didn't like the way she was talking to me.

"Well, you've always lived in your small town. And I bet you had a nice life there until something happened that made you leave. Then you came to LA and noticed that life wasn't what it always seemed to you. Your pretty worldview has been destroyed. Now you're searching for your new place. And I can see that you think that you've already found it." She smiled slightly and bowed her head in Tony's direction.

I stared at her. Normally, I could deal with situations like this really well, but right now I was at a loss of words. Maybe because I'd expected a nice evening with a few of Tony's friends. And not this.

"Natasha..." Steve said slowly and in a calming tone. It was obvious that he was trying to prevent a fight.

"Don't talk to her like that!" Tony snapped, making Steve fall silent again. When I looked at him, I saw that he stared at Natasha angrily. "You know absolutely nothing about Pepper."

He opened his mouth again to say more, but I placed my hand on his arm quickly. I felt how tense he was, however he turned his head to me now and raised his eyebrows. "It's fine." I said urgently, hoping that he would just drop the subject.

But I knew Tony. And just like I'd expected, he shook his head. "Pepper -" He began, but I interrupted him.

"Just drop it." Then I turned to Natasha and smiled sweetly. "You're right with most of your assumptions. But not all of them." When a frown appeared on her face, I grinned. "Thought that I'd start a fight now? Then you're wrong." I looked at the others. "Now who would like to dance?"

Tony's face light up at this, but before he could say anything, Natasha had grabbed his hand. "I'd love to. Let's go, Tony." And then she was already dragging him onto the dancefloor, ignoring his protests. When she looked over her shoulder and winked at me, I would have loved to stand up and slap her. However, the thought of causing a scene in here made me uncomfortable. So I just stared at them when she placed Tony's hands on her hips and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. It was obvious that he didn't like this at all – he was moving really stiffly and kept staring at her angrily – but just like me, he didn't seem to want to cause a scene.

"Don't let her get under your skin." Steve said suddenly and placed a hand on my arm.

I turned to him, not able to stand the sight of her in Tony's arms any longer. "Is she always like this?"

To my surprise, he chuckled and shook his head. "No, it surprised me as well. Normally, she's really nice. I think she felt challenged because you're here with Tony."

"What does that mean?" We didn't tell them anything about our relationship. Or were we that obvious?

"Natasha made it her goal to wrap every beautiful man around her finger. She also tried it with Tony a few years ago, back when they first met. It didn't work. He kept turning her down. And now you're here with him." He looked at me significantly.

"But I'm just his personal assistant." I threw in automatically. However, my mind was still trying to process the things I'd just heard. Tony had turned her down? And now she felt challenged because of me.

Steve chuckled. "Doesn't matter to her." He told me and I could see that he believed it. So maybe we weren't that obvious after all. "Tony Stark shows up with a beautiful woman. That's enough for Nat."

I raised my eyebrows slowly. "You think that I'm beautiful?"

To my surprise, Steve blushed and looked down sheepishly. "You are. Everyone sees that."

Slowly, I leaned back in my seat and looked at him thoughtfully. I tried to resist the urge to look over my shoulder and stare at Tony and Natasha, but after a few moments, I couldn't resist anymore. She still had her arms wrapped around his shoulders, but his hands rested on her back now instead of her hips. Even from the distance I could see that he was trying to keep a distance between their bodies – which didn't work since she always moved closer again. They were talking, but Tony had his back turned to me most of the time so I couldn't see his face. I only could see that Natasha was looking amused.

"Do you want to dance?" Steve seemed to have noticed my unease and now he held out his hand to me. "Of course we don't have to."

"Dancing would be great." I whispered and took his hand. When he led me to the dancefloor, I could see that Tony had his head turned towards us now. I could feel his gaze on my back, but then Steve already began to move with the music and it would be impolite to turn away from him again.

"I'm really sorry that Natasha ruined the evening for you." Steve said and his tone made it obvious that he was genuinely sorry.

"You don't have to apologize. It's not your fault." I threw in. "You couldn't have known that this would happen."

"But it has been my idea to invite her." He muttered. "I thought it would be nice to talk to Tony again. They always got along well, once she'd accepted his rejection."

"Well, now it happened and no one can change it again. I just hope she'll drop that subject now. I don't like to be judged because of my past."

"I know that feeling." He said and I looked at him in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"Tony has told you that I was in the army when we first met?"

I nodded. "He mentioned it."

"Not long before I left the army, I led an important mission. And it went wrong. Lots of people died. Even today, people are referring to that and doubting my worth." He looked sad now and I felt bad for leading the conversation into this direction. "I still feel guilty because of this, even after so many years. But as if that wouldn't be bad enough, people keep mentioning it." Steve breathed in deeply and smiled at me. "I know that you can't really compare this, but now you know that I can understand how you're feeling."

"People have a habit of mentioning the past too much." I said simply.

Steve nodded meaningfully. "You should ask Tony about this..." He muttered and suddenly, there was an absent-minded look on his face. "I bet he has enough demons haunting him."

This caught my attention and the smile on my lips vanished. "What do you mean?"

Only now Steve seemed to realize what he'd just said. "Nothing. I just voiced my thoughts. Forget that I said anything."

"You mean that he produced weapons once, right?" I asked, ignoring Steve's attempt to change the subject.

He sighed. "Yes, but don't mention this to him. He doesn't like talking about it."

"I know." I said darkly, remembering the press conference and what happened after that.

Suddenly, Steve looked at me through narrowed eyes. "You care about him."

Too surprised to say anything, I just nodded. Why did he change the subject?

"And I bet your name isn't Pepper." Now Steve was smiling slightly. "Did Tony give you that nickname?"

"My name's Virginia." I whispered. "And yes, back when we first met."

Steve smiled. "You must be very important to him."

Before I could ask what he meant, the music in the club changed. Until now, the songs had been slow and easy to dance to. Now it were disco songs and Steve grimaced. "Let's get back to the bar." On our way back, he kept holding my hand.

To our surprise, Tony was already sitting there again, watching us with an unreadable expression on his face. Natasha was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Nat?" Steve asked when he let go of my hand and sat down next to Tony.

"Found another guy." Tony said and shrugged. "Someone who's more willing than me."

Steve looked around in the crowd and suddenly, his eyebrows shot up and he started to laugh loudly. When I followed his gaze, I could see why. The man now was the complete opposite from Tony. Brown, long hair, tanned skin, about two metres tall and wearing jeans and t-shirt. He had his hands on Natasha's hips and his face was hidden in her hair. It wasn't hard to see that they were enjoying their dance very much.

"And I see that you also had fun?" Tony asked lightly and I turned to look at him. He was smiling and there was no tension in his shoulders. Nevertheless, I had the feeling that something bothered him.

"You know that I can't resist a dance when there's good company and the music's acceptable." Steve said with a smile and I noticed that his eyes wandered to me when he mentioned the good company.

Tony seemed to notice this as well since his eyes narrowed slightly. "Hard to resist her, isn't it?"

"Why didn't you keep dancing with Natasha?" I asked quickly, hoping that Steve wouldn't answer this question. If he would have even been able to find an answer to that.

"She was getting annoying." Tony muttered and rolled his eyes. "Last time, I made it perfectly clear that I don't want her. But she just can't stop trying. And I didn't like the way she was talking to you."

"You said no to her years ago, Tony. I bet she just wanted to try again." So Steve tried to avoid an argument once more.

"Let her talk. I don't care what she thinks about me." I muttered.

"And if I do?" Tony raised his eyebrows.

"She was trying to provoke us. With your reaction, you told her that it worked."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I did, didn't I?"

"Let's not think about this any longer." I glanced at Steve. "I would say let us dance now, but it would be impolite to leave you alone, Steve."

"I don't care. Go and have fun." Steve had followed our conversation silently and now there was a thoughtful look on his face.

"Now that I think about it, there's something I wanted to ask you." Tony smiled at me before he started to ask Steve a few questions about his job. This time, it was easier to include myself into the conversation and soon, we were all laughing and having fun.

Until Natasha returned. Then Tony stood up abruptly, took my hand and led me to the dancefloor. It was much easier to dance with him than with Steve. It felt natural.

"I'm so sorry, Pepper." Tony said over the music. "I wanted this to be a nice evening. But she ruined it."

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault." I smiled. "The evening is not over yet. It can still get better."

He smiled slightly, but there was still a frown on his face. "Did you have fun with Steve?" Did I just imagine it, or was Tony sounding insecure now.

"It was nice. Better than watching you with Natasha."

Tony grimaced. "I really don't know what's gotten into this woman. I would have loved to push her away, but I thought that causing a scene wouldn't be the best option."

I chuckled. "I thought the same. Slapping her in a club full of people wouldn't have been that smart."

He stared at me. "You considered doing that?"

"For a few seconds." I admitted and felt that my cheeks were burning now.

Suddenly, Tony pulled me closer. "You don't have to be jealous." He whispered into my ear. "No one can compare to you."

"Says the man who's jealous of Steve." I muttered, finally understanding why he'd behaved like this around Steve.

"He really likes you." Tony muttered, not sounding pleased at all.

"And he's a nice man. But not my type." I replied immediately.

Tony raised his eyebrows. "And what is your type?"

I grinned. "Let me think... Black hair, brown eyes, a beard, not too tall, really handsome. And he always says that he looks best when he's wearing a suit .But I don't think so, because he's always beautiful."

His expression turned soft. "I would love to kiss you now." He whispered and there was longing on his face.

"Why don't you just do it then?" I asked and suddenly, all my doubts of the last weeks seemed to vanish. If we were keeping things professional and acted as if nothing was between us, things like that would happen again. Many times. Because Tony was a handsome man and I would bet that many women would try to get him in the future. Honestly, that thought made me furious. If we were together openly, the risk of more misunderstandings might be smaller...

"Pepper, are you sure?" Tony sounded insecure now and I saw the hesitance on his face. "You didn't want anyone to know."

I nodded. "But I also don't want hundreds of women flirting with you when I'm around just because they think that I'm nothing more than your assistant."

"Hundreds of women, huh?" He repeated, sounding amused. However, he got serious again very fast. "You don't have to decide this now. I won't rush you into anything."

"In here, about two people know us. And I bet they won't tell anyone." Steve wouldn't tell anyone and Natasha was distracted again. I'd seen her with a new man from the corner of my eyes. "It would be a good first step."

He opened his mouth to reply again, but I had enough of it. After watching him with Natasha, I just had to kiss him now. Which I did. In a club full of people. And when no one even reacted to what we just did, my last doubts vanished. This evening, we could just be ourselves.

When we returned to Steve later, it became obvious that he didn't notice anything. And Natasha also didn't see us kissing on the dancefloor. She'd already left the club with someone. After another short conversation, we left the club together with Steve. When Tony took my hand possessively, Steve looked at us in surprise, but he didn't say anything. They agreed to call each other soon and then we were on our way back to the tower.

Once we reached Tony's personal quarters, he pushed me against the next wall and kissed me passionately. And then the best part of the night began.