"Miss Potts, it is now 10:00 AM." JARVIS announced.

Pepper began to stir. So… tired… She thought, trying to block out the sun that was invading the room she was sleeping in. Wait… 10:00 AM? She sprung up from under the sheets and carefully fluttered her eyes open. She looked around the room and noticed the lack of her apartment décor.

She patted the space next to her and noticed that half of the bed was made. Tony. She glanced over at the closet and saw a pile of clothes next to the door. Pepper's lips formed a small smile when she remembered what had happened last night. She came in from work later than expect and exhaustedly collapsed on the bed whilst cuddling next to Tony, using him to warm her up. It wasn't what she expected her night would comprise of, but she was a bit glad to be able to spend the night with him.

"JARVIS, where is Mr. Stark?" Pepper asked, scooting her legs out of bed and onto the carpeted floor.

"Mr. Stark is in his workshop." The AI responded.

"Thanks." She replied, getting up from the bed and walking towards the closet. She picked up Tony's pajamas and tossed them on the bed. She turned back to the closet and opened the doors. The light flickered on, presenting hundreds of articles of clothing and dozens of pairs of shoes.

"But," JARVIS continued, "He does not wish to be disturbed until further notice."

Pepper poked her head out of the closet and furrowed her eyebrows up at the ceiling. "Why?"

"He did not state a reason."

"Am I allowed to override him?"

"He did mention that you could not."

Pepper stood there. She was confused as to why Tony didn't want to be disturbed. He only did that when he was planning to get drunk, a little depressed, regretting his previous actions, thinking about things, angry, or a combination of all of the above. She could override his request and go down stairs to his workshop to see what the matter was, but she would like to respect his space just as he (sometimes) respects hers.

"Just make sure Mr. Stark doesn't do anything that'll result in a 911 emergency call, okay JARVIS?" She told the AI.

"Of course Miss Potts." JARVIS responded.

Pepper quickly picked out her business attire for the day and eventually made it down the stairs before noon. She walked towards the kitchen while focusing on her e-mail inbox on her Blackberry. Once she arrived at the counter, she looked in front of her, expecting to see an empty pot of coffee, but the pot was one-fourth full. She furrowed her eyebrows. Did Tony…Does he even know how to make coffee?

"JARVIS?"

"Yes, Miss Potts?"

"Did Mr. Stark make himself coffee this morning?" She pointed and stared at the dark brown liquid in front of her.

"Indeed he did."

"When did he get up this morning?"

"Approximately 7:21 AM. Is everything alright Miss Potts?"

"Um… yeah… was he called on a mission? Because—" Pepper tried to say but was abruptly cut off by the AI.

"He was not." JARVIS responded rather quickly.

"Is he okay?" She curiously asked, still staring at the pot of coffee.

"Using the scanner he implemented in my programming core, he seems to be perfectly healthy."

"Um… okay." She nodded suspiciously. "Tell Mr. Stark I'll be at Stark Industries, in my office, if he needs me."

"Of course. Is there anything else you'd like for me to tell him?"

"Tell him to call me when he has time." Pepper quickly grabbed a coffee mug and poured herself a cup. She drank the liquid rather fast in attempt to make it to her office by 1 PM. She raced out the door with her Blackberry, keys, and purse in hand.

"Excuse me, sir."

"Hm?" Tony hummed. He was sitting in front of his desk, staring blankly at the monitors in front of him.

"As requested, I have come to inform you that Miss Potts has left the premises." JARVIS announced.

"Thanks…" Tony pressed his lips together in frustration. "I didn't want to lie to her... not again, but I had to…"

"I didn't need an explanation." Natalie responded through one of the camera feeds on one of the monitors. "She's your girlfriend. What you tell her and don't tell her doesn't involve any communication of the sorts to outsiders. Especially me."

"But you're a girl—woman." He quickly corrected himself, sensing an intense glare from Natalie.

"Doesn't mean I want to discuss your romantic life, as if I actually care." She said coldly.

"Sir, as instructed, I must inform you that Miss Potts requested that you call her whenever you're available." JARVIS suddenly said.

"Thanks…" Tony muttered, feeling utterly disgusted with himself. He didn't want to lie to her about his day's tasks. But, it felt like it was necessary to since he and Natalie were in fact going on a covert mission. He wasn't taking the suit anywhere and neither did he inform Fury about their decision. He only asked Natalie early in the morning if she would accompany him in ransacking a suspect's home.

Of course, Natalie didn't know what to think when he asked her. She always thought that Rhodey and he were the best of pals. She didn't think that he would ask her before asking his best friend.

"Natalie." He called out to her.

"Yes?" She responded, looking through her monitor at her end.

"Meet me five blocks away from 156 Junabee Ave. near the coffee shop."

"Are you sure you're not going to get noticed? It's a covert operation, Tony. Not some outing with friends." She reminded him.

"We'll be fine. Just make sure you're not wearing that tight suit of yours. You'll end up attracting attention." He pressed his lips together and wound up flashing a small smile.

"Right, because the great Mr. Stark doesn't attract enough attention." Natalie sarcastically replied with an evil grin on her face.

Natalie shifted in her seat and looked over her shoulder. She whipped her head around to face Tony and quickly nodded. "Ten minutes." She told him before ending the conference call.

"Right, ten minutes…" Tony looked at the blank screen and saw his own reflection. He saw how horrible he looked. After promising Pepper that he wouldn't lie to her anymore, he immediately did it again. But he really didn't lie to her, did he? He certainly didn't tell her what he was doing or why he didn't want to be disturbed. If he strode down to his workshop and asked why he wanted to be alone, he would've told her. So, technically—

"Who am I kidding?" He muttered to himself. "A lie is a lie. It doesn't matter how I lied. It's still a lie."

Tony looked at his reflection once more before pressing his lips together in frustration. He abruptly stood up and walked towards one of his many sports cars.

"Take care of the place for the day JARVIS. I won't be home until dinner time." He swiped the keys from a nearby desk.

"Of course, Sir. Should I inform Miss Potts about your leave from the house?"

Tony stopped midway in his tracks. He didn't want her to worry… thus circling back into the whole lying predicament. "No. If she asks, tell her I'm still in my workshop… working on… stuff…"

Tony climbed into his Audi and raced off, still thinking about his last excuse. Is this what the great Tony Stark was reduced to? A lying boyfriend that can't seem to make his girlfriend happy? He still kept the same concept in his head. If he didn't inform Pepper about his activities that could physically harm her, then she was safe. But he tried that excuse last time and she still got mad at him. Did he not know how to make her happy?

Tony raced down the freeway with one hand on the wheel and the other rubbing the side of his forehead. I want to keep her safe… yeah; I'll go with that until it backfires. He sarcastically thought in his mind. But he did want to keep her safe. He really did. Heck, she was all that mattered to him (besides Rhodey, and the rest of the world).