Because how could I gloss over the first film she was in, right!? And also because writing Tony and Pepper quipping back and forth is way too fun.

Enjoy!

"Pep, hey," Tony said, looking up from the scrolling data on the table in front of him. "How'd you sleep? Good? Good, I hope. You hungry? You want an omelette?"

Pepper arched an eyebrow as she considered his rambling words. "Does that mean you're going to tell me about how you were dying?"

Tony blinked twice quickly, processing her question, then nodded. "Sure. It's kind of a long story though," he said, his hands gesturing absently. "More of a post-breaky kind of thing really."

Pepper stared at him for a moment, before giving her head a tiny shake and exhaling lightly. "Just coffee for now. But we are absolutely going to have that conversation," she added while fixing him with a firm stare.

"You're the boss," he said, this time with a carefree and cheeky grin as he hopped up to get her some coffee. "You are still the boss, right? You didn't reconsider your recently reneged resignation?"

Pepper just shook her head and closed her eyes as she massaged the bridge of her nose. It was far too early to be dealing with the cacophony that was Tony Stark. She absently wondered exactly how it was that so soon after almost dying (apparently in more ways than just being blown up by drones!), he was already back to being himself. Or, more accurately, she wondered how it was that he'd apparently left behind his self-destructive coping tendencies.

Her gaze drifted to the table where he'd been sitting when she'd walked in. "What is all this?" she nodded her head to the constant scroll of text and images visible on the surface.

"Catching up on things after last night," he offered with a casual shrug, mug in one hand and coffee pot in the other. "Trying to get a handle on just how much damage we're dealing with. That asshole not only wrecked the Expo, but did a hell of a number on the surrounding area too."

Pepper considered the implications of him uttering those sentences. Deep down she knew he wasn't as arrogant, dismissive, and as much of an asshole as he led the world to believe. She knew he had a big heart and wanted more than anything to just do the right thing. The trouble was, he'd always had a bit of difficulty with the finesse of making that happen.

"Do I dare ask what kind of damage control and cleanup we're looking at?" he asked as he set down a mug of steaming coffee in front of her. "You know what? Doesn't matter. I'll pay for whatever it takes to fix it."

Pepper blinked. She wasn't used to Tony being quite so upfront about fixing things. He'd always been the type to try and figure out a way on his own, without telling anyone. But if he was going to extend the proverbial olive branch, she'd be damned if she didn't grasp it tightly with both hands…

Tony held up a hand, sensing she was about to dive into the first few steps of how they were going to tackle what would surely be a PR nightmare. "Have your coffee. I'm not asking you to work your miracles before you've even had a sip of coffee. God only knows how you're dealing with me before coffee," he said with a quick grin before taking a long drink from his own mug and turning his attention back to the table's surface.

Pepper smiled, letting herself do exactly what he suggested. There would be a long, long, long list of things to attend to given the events of the previous night, and getting at least one good cup of coffee into her system before she began to think about all of that was probably a very good idea.

But as much as she wanted to treasure these precious moments of peace, she found her eyes drawn to the information on the table in front of Tony. One image caught her eye. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to it.

"Uh, looks like security footage from Hammer's lab," Tony answered, enlarging the video player and hitting play. "JARVIS grabbed pretty much everything related to Vanko, so I'm not sure if there's actually anything-"

"Is that…?" Pepper interrupted as she leaned in, eyes fixed on the figure that seemed very familiar.

Tony mirrored Pepper's movements, leaning in slightly. "Holy shit. It's Romanoff."

Pepper frowned and turned her head toward Tony. "Romanoff? Who's Romanoff?"

"Oh, right," he said, jabbing at the table with his finger and pausing the video feed. "Guess there's a few things that you need to be caught up on." He leaned back in his chair and threaded his fingers together behind his head.

Pepper arched an eyebrow, wordlessly prompting him to provide said explanations. He didn't put up a fight and instead launched into an explanation. He babbled a bit, and the explanation was punctuated with what she had long ago coined Tony-isms, but it did fill in a lot of holes.

"So…let me get this straight," Pepper said after Tony had finished. "My assistant Natalie is actually Agent Romanoff, who works for SHIELD."

Tony nodded.

"And she was assigned to monitor you because they were aware of your…condition…which happened to be leading to your premature death."

"Well, you could argue that with the decisions I've made," he began, trying for some levity, "that maybe it wasn't so premature…" he trailed off when he saw Pepper's expression. "Yeah, that's right," he amended quickly.

"But you're not dying anymore?"

Tony shook his head. "Nope. New ticker appears to be working fantastically," he said, tapping one finger to the spot glowing through his t-shirt.

Pepper chose not to respond and leaned forward, tapping the table to restart the video playback. They watched and winced as guards were dropped and incapacitated with ease. After the final guard fell, the video stopped and both Pepper and Tony found themselves in shock.

"Holy shit," Tony said.

"What kind of agent is she?" Pepper whispered.

Tony shrugged. "Super secret agent probably."

"Oh my god," Pepper whispered suddenly, shaking her head. "She was booking my travel plans, and filing documents, and…and…."

"And…" Tony prompted, unable to keep the grin off his face.

"And she is most certainly not qualified for that!" Pepper said in disbelief.

"That's a little harsh, Pep," Tony drawled, enjoying the moment entirely too much. "She did manage to keep up with what was surely the unending list of tasks you assigned her. I'd wager she was almost as good an assistant as you were to me."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it, Tony," she replied quickly. "I meant that all of that was so far beneath her abilities!"

Tony let out a short laugh. "I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure she knew what she was in for when they assigned her."

"She made me coffee!" Pepper added weakly, her hands covering her face in total mortification. An apparently very accomplished spy, and she'd had her filing documents, making appointments, and brewing coffee.

Tony leaned over and patted her on the back in a show of comfort. But he was unable to keep from adding one more light-hearted jab. "I'm sure it was great coffee. The very best."

"Tony!" Pepper said in exasperation.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said, holding up his hands in apology. "But hey – added benefit was that you didn't know it, but you had a supremely qualified bodyguard with you." He went uncharacteristically quiet for a moment before continuing. "Meant I didn't have to worry about you, once I knew who she was."

Pepper offered a smile at his honesty, but suddenly remembered Hammer being thrown against the desk, arm twisted painfully behind him, being pressed for information.

"Hey, hey," Tony said, pointing at Pepper. "What's that about? That's your 'I-want-to-laugh-but-it-would-be-inappropriate' face."

"She threw Hammer onto a desk last night and nearly broke his arm getting Vanko's location out of him."

Tony's eyes widened a moment before a wide grin split on his face and he let out a laugh. "I mean, of course she did. Shame I missed it. I hope there's footage of that somewhere."

Pepper had thought Tony being Iron Man would be the shock of her life (after realizing that she was falling in love with him, that is). Who knew things would become so much more complicated after that?

"Oh my god, now I'm going to have to hire someone else," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "How are we going to hire anyone after last night?"

Tony stared in confusion. "Pep, people will line up out the door to get a job here. Don't worry about that."

"That's exactly what I'm worried about," she countered. "We clearly aren't good at vetting potential employees if we didn't notice an undercover agent!"

"Well that's not really on you. It just means I'm good at my job."

Tony and Pepper both jumped, each letting out a noise of surprise as they turned to find the very woman they had been discussing, standing in front of them.

"Agent Romanoff, long time no see," Tony said, snapping his fingers and then pointing finger guns at her in a very poor attempt to mask his surprise.

"If only," she said drily, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes, well, I thought our time together was done, so I'm really not sure what you're doing here looking ominous and like you could break every bone in my body with your pinky."

"Director Fury sent me to check on things," she said as her eyes swept over the room appraisingly. "And to let you know you have a meeting with him later today."

Tony frowned. "I definitely don't remember that being on the books. But then again, the role of my PA is unexpectedly vacant, so I guess some things could've fallen through the cracks."

Natasha just glared. "2pm. Don't keep him waiting."

Tony half-heartedly mock saluted. "Sir, yes, sir."

Her gaze narrowed fractionally at his antics and to Natasha's credit, Pepper swore that Tony shrunk back a little bit.

"Thank you," Pepper said, breaking the silence that had unexpectedly formed. "For everything."

"No thanks necessary. I was just doing my job."

"All the same, you saved his life. And Rhodey's. So thank you, uh…" She paused for a moment. "I'm sorry. I've just realized Tony didn't tell me your first name."

A sly smile curled on her lips. "That's because he doesn't remember it." She stepped forward and held out her hand to Pepper. "Natasha Romanoff."

"Nice to meet you, Natasha," Pepper said with a smile, shaking her hand.

"Hang on," Tony said, leaning in between them and pushing their hands apart. "If you're an undercover agent, isn't rule numero uno to not divulge your identity?"

Natasha's gaze dropped pointedly to Tony's hand which was still touching her arm, and then back up to his face. He pulled his hand away hurriedly and crossed his arms in response.

"First," she began, her voice steady and deliberate. "As soon as Director Fury revealed my identity to you, the op's nature changed. Not to mention you've already told Ms. Potts about me, so your point is moot."

Tony opened his mouth to retort, but she pressed on. "And second, how do you know that's actually my identity?" she asked, an eyebrow arched and gaze locked with Tony's.

"Oh, you're good," Tony said, jaw dropping as he leaned back and shook his head in amazement. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Ignore him," Pepper suggested with a roll of her eyes. "It's what I do most of the time."

Another smile curled across Natasha's lips. "Sounds like an excellent idea."

"By the way, big fan of how you kicked ass at Hammer's lab. Seriously impressive," Tony said, unable to keep himself out of the conversation.

Natasha tilted her head. "I need you to wipe that footage."

"What? Why?" Tony protested. "That's going into my personal archive."

Pepper's head whipped around, and both her and Natasha's glares settled on Tony at the same time. "Whoa, whoa. Calm down," he said, holding up his hands in surrender. "I didn't mean it that way. I just meant that I need something to embarrass Happy with."

"Wipe it," Natasha warned. "Or I will."

Tony stayed still, trying to figure out if he actually needed to heed her warning, and if she was actually good enough to get into his system. Before he could reply, JARVIS' voice filled the room. "Sir, I suggest you do as she asks. She accessed a number of my files and databases during her time here without your knowledge."

"What!?" Tony exclaimed, his voice rising in pitch ever so slightly. "J, you're supposed to tell me things like that."

"Agent Romanoff ensured I would be unable to do so."

"Yet you're telling me now," he said in exasperation with a wild gesture of his hands.

"She released the protocols she put in place before announcing her presence to you this morning."

"Guess I have a bit of reprogramming to do."

"I'll remind you that she also hacked into Colonel Rhodes' suit, and would assuredly be capable of doing so on yours in future."

Tony's gaze swung over to meet Natasha's. His right hand's fingers drummed a fast rhythm on the knuckles of his left as he let out a heavy exhale. "Okay, 007," he relented finally. "Have it your way. But know that I could've made another fortune with that footage. And I would've cut you in on the profits."

"You should probably erase the footage from the day we met you," Pepper added, remembering the ferocity with which the redhead had taken down Happy.

"Pep," Tony whined.

Natasha said nothing, but nodded to Pepper and then swung her gaze back to Tony once more.

He let out a puff of frustration. "Fine. Are we done now? Because I feel like we're done. This is my home, after all. And if I remember correctly, and by the way I do, I didn't invite you in."

"Thank you for your cooperation," Natasha said with a slight tilt of her head and an amused tinge to her tone. "And good luck with the search for a new assistant, Ms. Potts," she finished, her tone feeling decidedly more sincere.

"Please, call me Pepper. I'm not your boss anymore," Pepper said with a smile. "And thank you Agent Romanoff."

Natasha looked thoughtful for a moment. "Please," she said with a smile, "Natasha is fine."

"Okay. See ya, Natasha," Tony said with a grin and an obnoxious wave of his hand.

Natasha whipped a glare over to Tony. "Agent Romanoff," she corrected.

Tony frowned. "But you just-"

"I said Pepper could call me Natasha. You are not Pepper."

Tony let out a dramatic sigh. "Oh just get the hell out of my house already, Agent Romanoff."

"2pm," she reminded him. "Location's been sent to your phone. Don't be late."

"Bye, Natasha," Pepper jumped in before Tony could say anything else.

Natasha nodded and then turned on her heel before walking swiftly out of the house.

"Okay, what the hell?" Tony said with a shake of his head. "Seriously, when did you two become besties?"

Pepper rolled her eyes. "We're not besties. We are just able to have a professional work relationship, something you are clearly not capable of."

"I may have been drunk, but I know you weren't exactly happy with her at my birthday party, so what gives?"

"It was misplaced anger," Pepper said pointedly. She paused for a moment before adding quietly, "And she saved your life."

Tony nodded gently, the weight of Pepper's added thought settling in his mind. "So just me you hate then?" he said softly with a smile, the cheeky, teasing tone having given way to one of fondness.

"There are many, many things I hate about you," she replied, matching his tone.

Tony smiled, eyes crinkling as he leaned in to kiss her. "Still not weird, right?" he whispered after they ended the kiss.

Pepper couldn't help her own smile from spreading. "Not weird at all," she answered with a shake of her head.

"Good. Let's give that another go then," he suggested with a grin.

So, did you enjoy Tony's quips? Pepper's mortification?

Have an idea for a future moment to cover? Let me know! Always nice to see what y'all think!