May 2012, Manhattan

Pepper was used to ridiculous hours, working at Stark Industries. She had started living at the house in Malibu because of Tony's habit of calling at all hours.

After the fight in Manhattan, she had clung to Tony and cried until she fell asleep, but it hadn't surprised her when she woke alone.

Nor was she surprised when he didn't come to bed the following night.

The more she learned about the invasion, the more angry and scared she became. She had seen him flying something towards the portal in the sky on the news, seen him fall afterwards, but at that point the news feed had cut in favour of talking heads.

Then she had seen the missed call.

When she tried to call back, it had gone unanswered. She knew now that was because the suit had shut down in space, but it had filled her with unrivalled terror at the time.

The brief call from Nick Fury confirming she had clearance to land at LaGuardia and that Tony was alive had gone some way to assuaging her fears, but she hadn't truly relaxed until she was back in his arms.

Now all the missing pieces were slowly being filled in - and she didn't like the big picture.

Tony could channel his emotions into the workshop - it might not be healthy, but it was at least productive.

Pepper, on the other hand, had nothing to occupy her except Stark Industries; the day after the invasion had involved an awful lot of damage control, directing the Maria Stark Foundation wherever it was needed, keeping an eye on the stock prices, and reassuring the Board that, no Tony wasn't dead; no, the Tower wasn't about to collapse; and, no, Tony hadn't caused the invasion.

Thankfully, SHIELD had - at least - released a statement blaming the invasion on a rogue extraterrestrial from a realm they had been aware of and was, by and large, a non-hostile neighbour.

Of course this had triggered any number of questions across the world - but that, at least, wasn't Pepper's problem.

Pepper's problem was that she had been woken up at 4am by her boyfriend.

She woke up just enough to realise it wasn't an actual emergency, just Tony making a discovery at a god-awful hour and forgetting that most people actually slept at night, so she manage to stay asleep enough that, when he left, she could get another few hours.

She had practice at that by now.

When she woke again, there was a message on her phone from Peggy.

We'll be over at 10am. Might need you to access the lab for me.

Pepper sighed, realising that Tony had also called his godmother (and probably woken her up too).

When she got to the kitchen, she was half-surprised to see Bruce Banner sitting at the counter with a cup of tea and a tablet, tapping away. "Good morning."

He didn't quite jump, but he did appear to shrink into himself. "Good morning, Miss Potts. I hope you don't mind - Tony insisted …"

"Of course I don't mind," Pepper said with a smile. "You're hardly the worst person I've run into in the kitchen."

This got a small smile out of him, which she counted as a win.

"And please," she added, "call me Pepper."

She knew the man was staying at the Tower, of course, but she also knew how much Tony had to wheedle and coax to get him to agree to it, so she had been expecting him to hide for a bit longer before she met him properly.

Before he could make any excuses to disappear, Pepper poured herself a cup of coffee and took the seat beside him. "Did Tony explain to you what happened? So can you translate it for me so I can tell Peggy when she arrives?"

Thankfully, Tony had, and Bruce could, so Pepper made a few notes for herself and spent the rest of breakfast reassuring the doctor that of course he was welcome to stay at the Tower, and that anyone who could translate Tony's ramblings was something of a godsend.

By the time 10am rolled around, Bruce had retreated to the lab, and Pepper was waiting in the penthouse near the bar, trying to ignore the god-sized craters in the floor - she hadn't broached the subject with Tony yet, because she wanted to fill them in, and she was willing to bet that he not only wanted to keep them, but memorialise them and sell tickets.

"Agent Carter and Captain Rogers have just arrived," JARVIS announced.

"Thank you, JARVIS," Pepper said. "Send them straight up please."

When the elevator doors opened, she was a little relieved to see that they didn't look too tired.

"Sorry about the early wake-up call," she said anyway.

Peggy laughed. "I'm used to it, Pepper; don't worry. Is Tony joining us?"

"He's down in the lab," Pepper answered. "He's only emerged a few times, but Bruce has translated for me, so I'm going to try and explain." She reached out a hand to shake Steve's. "Nice to see you again, Captain."

"You as well, Miss Potts," he said. "Are you worried?"

Pepper sighed. "Honestly? I wasn't, but the more I've thought about it, the more worried I am."

Peggy frowned. "What do you mean?"

"JARVIS," Pepper said. "Pull up the specs please?"

The Tower's systems kicked in, projecting a hologram into the air in front of them, causing Steve to take an automatic step back.

Peggy squeezed his hand. "Tony's about twenty years ahead of most technology."

"This still overwhelms me at times, and I live with it," Pepper agreed. "Anyway, this is the blueprint of SHIELD's system that JARVIS downloaded."

Steve sighed. "That doesn't really help me. What are we looking at, exactly?"

"Well, that could take a while," Pepper admitted. "And, for the most part, I don't know. This is the bit that worried Tony." She pointed to part of the hologram in the middle, zooming in with a flick of her wrist.

"There's nothing there," Peggy said.

"Exactly," Pepper said. "The way it's been explained to me, this kind of data kind of … fills the space. More like a gas than a solid. The only reason there would be a huge gap like that right in the middle is if it was deleted very recently."

"What's wrong with that?" Steve asked.

"Because deleting something from cyberspace is a lot more complicated than most people think," Peggy answered, her frown deepening. "It leaves a footprint and it can be recovered. In order to delete it completely, someone would have had to go to a lot of trouble."

"Right," Pepper agreed. "Normally, that wouldn't be a concern - SHIELD has its secrets after all - but this was deleted in the middle of an alien invasion, probably just before Tony got to the carrier."

"That makes sense to me," Steve said. "Maybe they knew he'd hack the carrier."

"Maybe," Peggy said slowly. "But then why didn't they delete Phase 2?"

"Maybe they didn't think it would be a problem," Steve said. "I mean, he was a weapons dealer; maybe they thought he wouldn't worry about it."

Peggy didn't respond for a second, stepping forward to examine the hologram. "JARVIS, can you please give me a summary of what's here?"

The image changed to lines of text that scrolled in front of her, her eyes darting over it. The more she read, the more obvious it became that something wasn't right.

Steve touched her arm. "What is it?"

"I don't know," Peggy said. "With the exception of Phase 2, there's nothing here I wasn't aware of, which is good, but … I don't think there's anything missing either." She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "JARVIS, can you please call Director Fury?"

A second later, the line connected.

"Carter? Wasn't expecting to hear from you for a few days."

"I have concerns," Peggy said flatly.

"If this is about Phase 2 …"

"No," Peggy interrupted. "Well, I do have concerns about that, but we'll discuss that when I come in tomorrow. This is different. Before Tony got to the carrier, did you have anything deleted from the system?"

"What do you mean?"

Peggy sighed. "The information that Tony hacked - there's a giant gap in it, suggesting that someone completely wiped something from the system just before he landed. That's a lot of effort to go to in the middle of an invasion and not something I would have considered a priority. Was that on your orders?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "No. It wasn't. What was deleted?"

"That's just it, Peggy said. "I'm not sure. I don't think there's anything missing."

There was another pause, this one longer than the last. "Send me a list. I'll cross-reference."

"Yourself?" Peggy asked sharply.

"Myself," he confirmed. "I want to get to the bottom of this, if there is something to get to the bottom of."

"Good," Peggy said. "What's happening with the Council?"

"Officially, they're still reviewing the facts," Fury said. "Unofficially, Maria has the recording of the missile launch. She will use it if she has to."

Peggy smirked. "Good for her." Her smile wavered. "What about … When are the funerals happening?"

"We don't want the Council to use them for political points. So when that's been sorted."

Peggy nodded. "Okay."

"Have you heard from Barton?"

"Last I heard, Nat was getting him off the grid," Peggy said.

"Good," Fury said, not entirely unexpectedly. "Make sure she keeps him there. If they cause trouble …"

"Nat will have a way to know," Peggy said. "I'll get a list over to you. Keep this off the books."

"Obviously."

The line went dead, and Peggy rolled her eyes. "Not one for niceties, that man. JARVIS, can you summarise what's here and send it over to Director Fury's private line?"

"Already done, Agent Carter."

"Thank you." Peggy turned to Pepper. "How's Tony doing?"

"About what I expected," Pepper said. "He's working. Bruce seems to be helping."

"Yes, I'm glad he's still here," Peggy said. "I need to speak to him. Is he in the lab?"

"He is, but I was hoping to show you your apartment while you were here," Pepper said.

Peggy smiled. "That's sweet, Pepper, but we stayed there the other night."

"I know," Pepper said, "but there were a few things you probably didn't notice. When we heard that you had been found alive, Captain, I assumed that SHIELD would not be particularly helpful in helping you acclimatise."

"Did you have a reason?" Steve asked.

"Tony was dying," Pepper said flatly. "Fury had an idea of how to help and said nothing until he could use it to manipulate him."

"Still mad at him for that," Peggy muttered.

"You and me both," Pepper said darkly. "The point is, Captain, during your war, there was a very obvious bad guy. Doing the right thing was … not quite black and white, but close. Nowadays, everything's a lot more political. If they keep you in the dark, they're more likely to keep you on side without you questioning things. I assumed - and forgive me if I'm wrong - that you would have access to Agent Carter's apartment."

Peggy nodded with a smile. "Of course."

"So I made some amendments to help," Pepper said. "Honestly, Peggy, I wouldn't be surprised if Tony built the apartment in the hopes that you would move here. Since Afghanistan … Well, you know how he is."

Peggy smiled. "I wasn't planning on moving from Brooklyn."

"I know," Pepper said. "You're both welcome whenever; JARVIS knows you both have full access to the Tower, unless Tony has shut down the labs. But I would like to just explain what it is I've done."

Peggy glanced at Steve, who was clearly a little overwhelmed. "That sounds brilliant, Pepper. I had noticed that they hadn't really been helping with the catching up."

"I don't know where to start," Steve admitted in a low voice.

"I'm not surprised," Pepper said bluntly. "But I did a bit of thinking and a bit of research, and … Well, let me show you."

Peggy and Steve exchanged a look, but gamely followed her to the elevator.

JARVIS opened the apartment door as they approached.

"So first of all, it's not as ultra-modern as the rest of the Tower," Pepper said, "although that is partly because I know you're like me, Peggy."

"I did notice that," Peggy said. "And I do appreciate it."

"So first things first," Pepper said, "bookcase."

Peggy had noticed the bookcase the night before - it was hard not to, since it took up almost a whole wall - but she had not really paid any attention to it. Like the rest of the apartment, though, it was fully stocked.

"I've split it in half," Pepper continued. "Non-fiction at the top, fiction at the bottom. The non-fiction is split into history, science, art, and technology. I've tried to cover the basics of the last seventy years - obviously, covering everything would be impossible, but hopefully this at least gives you some starting points."

Peggy stepped a little closer to examine the titles, pulling a face at a couple of the authors.

As if reading her mind, Pepper smiled. "Yeah, some of the history books will make you angry. But I figured putting all one side wouldn't be right either."

Peggy sighed. "Yeah, fair point."

Steve frowned. "How does that work? I mean, history is history, isn't it? It either happened or it didn't."

"Oh, the what isn't in question," Pepper said. "It's the why and the how and the impact that's the problem. Think about the Crusades," she added, seeing that Steve looked troubled. "You read the English history books, they're portrayed as brave and pious and heroes for liberating the Holy Land. Fairly sure if you read the history books in the Middle East, they're shown in a very different light."

"Point taken," Steve murmured.

"Now, fiction," Pepper said. "This was a bit harder. I have included a few books from just before the war, because they're classics and you might have missed them. For the rest of them, I actually sent a survey round to the SI employees and asked them for three books - one they considered a literary classic, one they considered a cult classic, and one they considered their all time favourite."

"That was a good idea," Peggy said.

Pepper nodded. "Thanks. I actually do stuff like that all the time; it facilitates discussion among colleagues that's not work-related; really helps morale."

Scanning the shelves, Peggy pulled another face. "Pepper, why is that there?"

Pepper chuckled. "I know it's not the greatest book out there, but it is also referenced a lot in pop culture." She turned to Steve. "I'm not expecting you to like all of these, by the way. I don't like all of these. Some of them are, quite frankly, a crime against literature, but people know about them."

Steve nodded. "So even if I just scan them, it'll help me feel not so lost in conversation."

"That's the idea," Pepper said. "Obviously, I have a lot of employees, so this is not every single book mentioned. I have," she pulled out a folder from the bottom shelf, "put in here a list of all of them, as well as a couple of similar lists compiled by various places. New York Times does a good one. JARVIS is also pretty good a recommendations, so if you do enjoy a book, just ask him, and he'll let you know anything similar, or by the same author."

"Pepper, this is …" Peggy shook her head, lost for words. "Thank you."

Pepper turned a little pink. "I also compiled a list of movies and TV shows; they're in here to. Again, they're not all cinematic masterpieces but that doesn't mean they're not worth watching. For the most part, they're listed chronologically, which is probably a good idea, to ease you into the change in special effects and so on."

"I agree," Peggy said, flicking through the list. "Ooh, Rocky Horror!" She paused, thinking about it. "Yeah, that's going to be a later watch. Might give you a heart attack otherwise."

"Do I want to know?" Steve asked.

"You'll love it," Peggy said with certainty. "I just feel like we should easy you into it culturally." She turned the page and grimaced. "Titanic?"

"It's a classic," Pepper said. "I would advise not watching it on your own though. Although if you ever want a movie buddy for that one, give me a call, because I love that movie and I will happily sit and cry with you."

"Is that about what it sounds like?" Steve asked.

Peggy nodded. "Yeah. Man freezes in icy seas. Not fun. I can't watch it without crying, and for the most part I don't cry at movies."

"JARVIS has all these movies and shows on his servers," Pepper continued, "so feel free to come and hang out even if you're not going to live here, and feel free to use us like a library. I also added a couple of extra rooms, one of which will probably help both of you."

Peggy raised an eyebrow. "Well, now I'm intrigued."

"So last time I saw Rhodey," Pepper said, "I saw an interesting picture."

"Oh, yeah," Peggy said. "I may have gifted one of your sketches."

"That's fine," Steve said immediately.

"Colonel Rhodes is Tony's best friend," Peggy said. "When Tony went MIA, he risked everything to find him. Gabe was his hero, so I had one of your sketches of him framed."

"I didn't know you were an artist," Pepper said.

"I wouldn't say I'm an artist," Steve said. "I just like it."

"I like it too," Pepper said with a smile. "My drawings look like bad stick figures. Anyway, I thought this would come in use." She opened one of the doors that had remained closed to reveal an art studio, fairly simple but well-equipped.

Steve took in the sight with wide eyes. "This is too much, Really."

"Well, it comes with a caveat," Pepper said with a sheepish smile. "I'd really appreciate a few lessons."

Whether she had planned it or not (and knowing Pepper, she probably had), Steve relaxed a little at that. "I think I can manage that."

"Thanks," Pepper said. "The other room is more for both of you. Peggy, you've told me before that the enhanced senses mean that the city gets really loud sometimes, even out in the suburbs."

Peggy grimaced. "It does. Normally, I can shut it out, but when it's been a long day, it's sometimes impossible."

Pepper's smile widened and she led them to another door. This one led to a fairly standard sitting room, except the window was a hologram, and when the door closed behind them …

Silence.

Steve seemed to deflate, and Peggy could sympathise. She thought she had shut out the sound of the city, but now she realised just out loud the background noise was.

"It's one of those tornado rooms," Pepper whispered. "It's completely sealed when the door's closed. There are air vents, but we've got them down as quiet as possible."

"Pepper, you're an angel," Peggy murmured. "I could honestly stay in here all day."

"Well, you're welcome to," Pepper said. "You know that."

Peggy sighed. "Yes, but I do need to speak to Dr Banner. Steve, are you going to hang out here while I do?"

Steve nodded. "Yeah, I'll do that. Perhaps one of you could suggest a good book to start with?"

"I can do that," Pepper said easily.

"Great," Peggy said. "I won't be long."

Peggy hadn't had a chance to see the labs in Stark Tower yet, but she wasn't surprised when the elevator opened on a floor that any other scientist would balk at. The equipment was top-notch - obviously - but it looked more like a mechanic's garage than a high-end laboratory.

As soon as she entered, Dum-E came wizzing over, making little noises that she wanted to classify as excitement, and she patted his claw automatically.

The only difference between this lab and the one in Malibu was the conspicuous absence of U and Butterfingers, but she knew that Tony and Pepper hadn't made the permanent move to New York and that they would still be in California.

Well, their absence, and the corner of the lab that looked less like a garage and more like a yoga retreat.

How Tony had managed to customise a lab for Dr Banner in such a short time should have been a mystery, but Peggy wouldn't bet against Tony on anything.

Tony didn't even notice her over the music, but she wasn't here to see him in any case, so she shooed Dum-E back to his side.

Bruce, on the other hand, did notice (and his hyperawareness of his surroundings wasn't a surprise either).

He greeted her with a smile and a handshake, and looking far more relaxed than he had the last time she'd seen him.

"Tony looking after you?" She asked.

"He's been brilliant," Bruce said. "I can't thank him enough, but he doesn't seem to think so."

"Howard was the same," Peggy said, "but don't tell him that. Anyway, I came to let you know that the little girl Hulk saved is fine."

Bruce sagged a little and sat down, tugging off his glasses. "She's going to be okay?"

"She's probably going to lose her leg," Peggy said frankly, "but that was from the wall falling on her. She and her mother were very happy to see me, and very thankful to 'the green man'." She pulled out her phone and opened the photo Amelia's mother had sent her. "Here she is."

Bruce took the offered phone, gazing at the photo. "I … I remember her," he whispered. "Or he does. I'm not sure."

Peggy rested a hand on his shoulder, unsurprised when he leaned into her. She had no doubt that Bruce had spent a lot of time staring at the damage Hulk had done. She was determined to let him look at the good for as long as he wanted.