A/N: 11/20/2014 I'm sorry I waited so long to update this! I've been really busy with my other fanfictions :( But it's here now! It's nice to know there are so many people interested in this story, to be honest it's far more than I could have ever hoped :')

Anyway, LUCKILY FOR ME this story is very easy to write. I sit down having absolutely no clue or idea of what I'm going to type or what scenario I'm going to put the characters in, and it quite literally just writes itself. SO, I was able to write this whole thing yesterday. No joke. And as such, I hope you enjoy it :)

Luxraylover: You're so sweet, calling me lady. Really, you are. It's nice to see someone else who loves ThorxPepper too. I think that she would be the PERFECT person to show him the ropes so to speak, and I, too, love pairings that are rare. And thank you SO much for taking the time to read and review all of my SpiceHammer stuff, including the little oneshot I did :) And actually, I do plan on Thor getting advice from Tony and the other Avengers, but we'll just have to see how it goes. And yes, I love the way Thor talks too ;)

hawkkitty44: Thank you! I'm glad you like this story! And sorry I took so long with this chapter! D:

Hyne: Yep, Thor noticed, alright. But he's still not sure about his 'feelings' or whatever they are, so it'll be a while before it finally 'dawns' on him, lol. And yes, he finally got noticed by some bystanders. I never really bothered to have people walk up and talk to him because, well, they're in New York and I figured New Yorkers wouldn't be too fazed by a giant blond man walking around with a cape and armor XD And yes, there are limits to how much I can like something too. I don't understand 90% of fangirls most of the time. And haha good to know I made you laugh XD

sailorraven34: Aw, thank you! I'm glad you liked it so much! And yep, that's right, he downed 3 1/2 subs. Go Thor, right? Tony should bring him to a pizza shop and enter one of those 'eat it in under an hour and it's free' contests :D

aliceindeepdarkwonderland: Haha cool, A7F is awesome XD And yes, Thor was born to be a metal head ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own The Avengers.

Chapter seven: Compliments~

'Number 6. Work in compliments. Be sincere about what you say, but don't make it seem cheesy. The best compliments are sweet and uplifting about a person's character.'

"For the love of God, if you don't move over, I swear I am going reach over there and KILL you!"

Thor sat awkwardly on the end of the bench seat in the back of Bruce's car, watching on as Tony fought with Clint over something called 'elbow room'.

Bruce had offered to drive he and Hawkeye up to see the Statue of Liberty - on the grounds that they had never seen it before - and Pepper, overhearing their conversation and perking up at the thought of getting out of the house, agreed to come along as well. But then Tony heard that his favorite assistant was leaving him and he insisted he go as well, and then...well, that was where they were now.

"That's ridiculous, you've got like three feet of space over there!" Clint protested, voice rising as his irritation grew.

Tony was quick to reply. "Uh, two and a half feet, thank you very much, and I'd like my space. So, if you'd please-"

"We're not in your twenty passenger limo, Stark. And this isn't even your car, it's Bruce's!"

Thor glanced to the front of the vehicle, noticing the man in question pulling at his collar, sweat collecting at his forehead.

"Yeah, the car I bought for him!"

"What are you talking about?! Just because he took a loan from your company to afford it doesn't make it yours!"

"Say that when it's tax time."

"Why, you-"

Pepper twisted around in her seat beside Bruce to try and defuse the situation.

"Tony, please, can we just-"

"Um, excuse me, who's the billionaire, here? ...Just me? Thought so."

The red-head blinked, flabbergasted. "...Excuse me?"

"You're excused. Hey, Bruce, are we there yet?"

Thor watched as Bruce's hands gripped the steering wheel with a tremendous amount of force.

Clint pursed his lips, eyes widening in anger. "Why, you son of a-"

The Thunder god tried voicing his concern as the sharpshooter dove for Stark's throat, only to be cut off by Pepper. "Uh, I do not think-"

"Thor, please, we're trying to work things out here-"

"AAAH!"

"Get off me!"

"Clint! Stop it!"

"Sir Stark!"

"Are we there yet?"

Bruce snapped. "SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!"

He slammed the brakes, coming to a very close stop at a red light, and jerked in his seatbelt to twist around and glare at them.

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, SHUT THE HELL UP!"

He looked to Clint. "YOU! LET HIM GO!" The archer released the cocky billionaire.

"YOU!" Tony looked to him, wide-eyed. "WE GET THERE WHEN WE GET THERE, GOD DAMMIT! AND YOU-" Thor snapped to attention, frozen awkwardly between Hawkeye and the car door. "I KNOW YOU'RE TRYING TO HELP, BUT STOP IT! AND PEPPER-" he turned to the red-headed woman, who flinched when his yelling was directed at her. "I AM VERY SORRY FOR YELLING AT YOU! I KNOW YOU'RE TRYING TO HELP BUT I'M JUST REALLY UPSET RIGHT NOW!"

The silence that followed was deafening.

The four Avengers stared wordlessly at one another, giving each other sideways glances as they tried to ignore the throbbing veins in Bruce's face and neck and the green glint in his eyes as they waited for him to calm down.

The light turned green, and the scientist slowly turned back around in his seat. He straightened his collar, put both hands back on the wheel and drove towards their intended landmark.

Pepper exhaled. "...Well...I think Bruce is right, and I agree with him; you guys' behavior is unacceptable."

Bruce exhaled as well, releasing his remaining anger as he nodded. "Thank you, Miss Potts."

"You're welcome."

Point for Bruce, Thor's mind echoed.

It was quiet the rest of the way there.

An hour later, the five friends stood in front of the Statue of Liberty, staring at it in mild interest...well, on everyone but Thor's part; he was very interested.

Tony was the first to speak.

"So...there it is."

"Yep," Bruce agreed, hands in his pockets as he rocked back on his heels. "There it is."

"...It's beautiful," Pepper supplied, to which the other men made sounds of agreeance.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Well, that was fun-"

"Yeah, we should do this again sometime-"

"Yep, let's go."

Tony, Bruce, and Clint began walking away, stopping when they noticed Pepper and Thor staying behind.

"You guys coming?" Clint asked.

Pepper looked to him, and then to Thor. Seeing his obviously enamored expression, she turned to the archer and replied, "Uh, we're gonna look at the statue some more. You guys go check out the gift shops, we'll be there in a sec."

Tony shrugged. "Whatever, have it your way."

Rolling her eyes, the red-head turned and smiled to her Asgardian companion.

"Do you like it?" she asked, gesturing to the Statue.

"Verily, it is amazing," Thor replied. "...Can I touch it?"

Her mouth opened. "Oh, uh...no, you can't." At his crestfallen look, she quickly added, "But we can go inside it!"

He looked up, gauging the height of the statue. "Is there a lift or levitating contraption located at its side somewhere?"

She laughed. "No! There's an elevator. Come on, I'll show you."

She took him by the hand, and, allowing her to lead the way, Thor followed, curious as ever as to what was inside the statue's giant metal body.

"Well? What do you think?" Pepper asked, smiling as she stood by and watched him march forward, gazing around him in awe.

"It is marvelous," the god replied, examining the walls and ceiling and floors, a huge smile on his face.

Pepper stifled a smile from her place near the back, hands clasped in front of her as Thor moved to see the view.

The place was empty; the next tour to view the Statue of Liberty wasn't starting for another half hour, and though they didn't have Crown tickets, once Thor was recognized as one of the heroes in the Battle of New York by the staff, they let them go up and have a look around.

"I can see Sir Bruce's vehicle from this height!" he exclaimed, smiling as Pepper moved to join him.

"Yeah. You can see a lot of things from 305.1 feet in the air," she mused, looking out over the span of concrete and foliage.

They stood there for a while, side by side, until Pepper opened her mouth to speak again.

"You look really good in your new clothes," she mused, and Thor absently looked down at the black t-shirt and blue jeans he was wearing, as though only just remembering he had them on.

"Thank you, Lady Pepper...I am going to be honest, I feared I looked ridiculous and stuck out as an injured thumb."

She chuckled. "It's sore thumb, and no, you don't look ridiculous. In fact, you've got more fashion sense than most Earthlings do."

"Oh, well...thank you."

"You're welcome. I just wish the other guys dressed as well as you do."

"...Pardon?" he asked, confused.

Her eyebrows lifted. "Oh, well you know. Tony dresses like a prick, Steve dresses like an old man, Clint dresses like an uptight businessman on his way to a funeral, and Bruce...well..." she put a hand over her mouth to whisper to him, even though there was no one else there. "He dresses like a bit of a nerd sometimes."

The Avenger hardly had any idea of what any of those things were, least of all 'nerd' or 'prick', but he was smart enough to know by her tone of voice and body language that they weren't desirable traits to have on Earth.

He laughed, as one would laugh at something they knew was supposed to be funny but didn't quite understand, and Pepper laughed with him, eyes darting to the ceiling and turning back to look at the view.

"...It was kind of Sir Bruce to bring us here," Thor said after a while, and Pepper nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah, it was. I just wish Tony hadn't come along. I mean, he's okay to work for and all, but...God, I can't stand him sometimes."

The Asgardian's eyes snapped in her direction, eyebrows knit in surprise. "But...do you not love him?" he blurted, and her eyes widened.

"In love? With- with Tony? No! God, no! I mean...he's nice, but, I don't love him!"

"But...you are always at his side. I- I thought-"

"I'm his assistant, Thor," she said, brows raised. "That's my job. Trust me, there was never anything going on between Tony and I."

"So, the rumors...none of them were true?"

She nodded. "That's right."

The hammer-weilding Avenger turned to look back out the windows of the Statue, cogs slowly turning in his brain.

"...Oh."

Pepper sputtered a laugh. "'Oh'? You find out everything you've ever known about me and my boss has been a lie and that's all you have to say?"

Thor stuttered. "U-uh...well...yes."

She burst into laughter. "Oh, that's rich! Hahahahaha!"

He reluctantly joined in her fit of mirth, not quite understanding its purpose, while at the same time trying not to give away the fact that she had just completely blown away his lead suspect for her affections.

"Come on," Pepper said finally, still in giggles as she took him by the arm. "Let's get out of here. They're gonna be starting another tour soon."

The ride home was far more pleasant.

After practically buying out the gift shop, Tony had plenty of things to keep his attention for over the course of an hour, and with Thor sitting (uncomfortably) in the middle seat between he and Clint, things went by much more smoothly.

With nothing else to do, the blond Avenger listened intently as Pepper conversed with Bruce.

"So I was thinking, do you want to go out for coffee sometime? I know you're always busy with work and all, but I figured it'd be good for you to unwind. What do you think?"

"That...actually sounds pretty good, Miss Potts. Thanks."

"No problem. And please, it's Pepper. 'Miss Potts' makes me feel so old."

"Haha, okay, Pepper. I just wanted to play it safe in case we weren't on a first-name basis or anything."

"Pfft. Since when did you think that? As far as I'm concerned, we've been on a first-name basis since you walked into the Tower."

Bruce laughed. "Okay, then. Good to know."

"Any time. And by the way, where do you get your hair cut? If you don't mind my asking?"

Thor's ears pricked up, remembering another point in his notes.

'When he gets a haircut, for example, ask him where he got it. If you tell him you like it, you're saying that you like his style and paid attention enough to notice.'

He flustered at her question. "Uh...why?"

"Well, it's just that I noticed Thor's is getting a little long and I was thinking about taking him to get it cut." She turned in her seat to look at him, an easy smile on her face. "If you want to, of course."

Thor, none too keen on having an inexperienced Earthling slice away at his hair, merely nodded politely and smiled, "Perhaps, Lady Pepper."

Satisfied with his answer, Pepper turned back in her seat to talk to Bruce, waiting for him to speak.

"Uh...well, I just go to a barber, but-"

"Where?"

"Uh, it's down on 34th street, but-"

"Great! I'll put that in my notes for later."

Bruce smiled, eyes crinkling with laughter. "What, are you in love with my hair or something?"

She rolled her eyes. "No. But I do think it suits your personality."

'Try complimenting aspects of his personality. Tell him he was loyal not to snitch on his friend, or sweet for giving you a lift when you needed it. Going beyond surface-level compliments is important.'

He glanced at her as he drove. "Really?"

She nodded. "Yep. It makes you look smart and dignified."

"I am smart," he countered playfully.

"Smart-er, then."

Thor smiled at the two mortals.

Even though it was clear that Pepper was the one leading the conversation, he could tell that Bruce was thoroughly enjoying her quips and questions.

Another point for Bruce, he decided.

Pepper continued in her animated conversation.

"Oh, and before I forget, I wanna THANK you for bringing us out here. That was really sweet of you." She turned to look pointedly at the three silent Avengers in the back seat. "WASN'T it, guys?"

Their attention caught, Tony, Clint, and Thor all jumped to appease her.

"Oh, uh, yeah, totally-"

"Very nice-"

"Indeed!"

Pepper, satisfied, turned back in her seat for the umpteenth time and turned on the radio, keeping it low to suit Bruce's preferences.

It was quiet the rest of the way home, but in a completely different (and better) way.

After getting home, the friends went their separate ways - Tony retreated to his workshop, Clint went to the kitchen to get a bite to eat, Pepper went about cleaning the house, Bruce drove back to his lab, and Thor disappeared to his room.

He sat at the edge of his bed, notebook in hand, as Pepper's confession replayed in his mind over and over.

She didn't hold any romantic feelings towards Sir Stark at all.

Which was, to say the least, surprising. Shocking, even, considering that he was so sure the Iron Avenger would be the answer to this mystery. But, he supposed, at least it made his job a bit easier. One less person to think about.

Gripping his pen, he reached toward the paper and crossed off Tony's name and all his tallies, looking instead to the considerable number Bruce had collected.

...Maybe it was Bruce that Pepper was interested in.

It would make sense. After all, they had much in common. They both dressed well and were very neat. They were both equally kind and easygoing. And they both did things together that they didn't do with everyone else, such as going to see films or eating at 'cafes' (whatever those were). So maybe it wasn't so far-fetched to assume that-

Thor turned the page in his notebook, scanning through the notes he'd made and quickly comparing them to Bruce and Pepper.

His eyes landed on a particular note he'd taken, but it wasn't Bruce that he thought of as he read it-

'Try to work the compliment into a bigger conversation. If you just say, "I love your shirt!" he might not know how to react. Find a way to talk about clothes in general, and gradually let him know that you like his shirt more than his friend's, which are (let's face it) just plain ugly.'

-it was himself.

He froze, eyes glued to the paragraph.

That strange feeling was back again, though he wasn't sure what it was.

A thought began to form in the back of his mind, the tiniest of voices, but the Thunder god shut it down as quickly as it had formed, instead choosing to go back to the previous page in his notebook and record Bruce's points.

He wasn't quite sure if Tony's elimination would make things easier after all.

A/N: I think my favorite part to write of this was the beginning, it was fun to imagine Bruce nearly Hulking out because Tony and Clint were being so insufferable, haha XD I know hardly anything about the Statue of Liberty (except for its height) so sorry if I got stuff wrong about it.

So Tony is finally out. Can you believe it? Even I can't believe it. I hadn't planned on doing that at like, all, but like I said these chapters practically write themselves.

Also, has anyone seen the new trailer for the new Avengers movie? I don't like it :/ It looks too serious. I liked the 'fun' Avengers, with witty banter and epic action sequences. Idk. I don't plan on seeing it in theaters, but I'll probably end up watching it when it comes out. Maybe it'll be better than I think, but I have my doubts.

Anyway, fave if you want, follow if you must, review if you care. lol :D

'Til next time!