"Did you have fun at the beach yesterday, Calico?" Pepper asked when her tiny companion bounced into the kitchen early the next morning to grab a cup of coffee.

"Er, yes?" Calico asked, smiling up at Pepper with a tilt of the head. Pepper rested her mug on the counter.

"Anything happen?"

"Tony taught me how to swim."

"Anything... else?"

"You got sunburned because I didn't wake you up. Also, we're out of aloe. Sorry, I thought it was juice*"

"But you had all that time to figure out that it wasn't!"

"I was thirsty."

At this, Pepper groaned and rubbed her temples. Calico bit down on her lip, trying to keep from giggling like a madman.

"Damn it, Calico, I was talking about you and Tony getting together!" Pepper finally exploded, frantically waving her arms. Calico stopped her giggling and felt her smile drop, replaced by an embarrassed blush.

"Am I in trouble?" she asked, hunching her small shoulders and pouting.

"If you were in trouble, would I be smiling?"

"But I'm confused. You said me getting with him would end in a one night stand... or something along those lines. And then you said would go to jail for murder."

"Tony's been interested in you since you got here. I mean, he would have lost interest by now if he didn't sincerely like you. Vice versa, because I know how you work when it comes to your crushes." Pepper said, smiling and pinching each of her cousin's rosy cheeks. Calico swatted away Pepper's hands, but looked taken aback at Pepper's cheerfulness all the same.

"There has to be another reason you're okay with us being... I mean." Calico covered her cheeks, trying to conceal the red that seemed to have permanently claimed the area as it's home. Pepper blushed slightly also, looking around to make sure there was nobody near.

"Rhodes." she whispered.

"Oh, you mean James, right? He likes you." Calico stated bluntly, smiling.

"Y-You don't know that, Cal!"

"You're going to ask me to ask Tony to set up a double date."

"I - wait, how did you know...?"

"Because he asked me the same thing. I'll do it for the meal, but it's pointless." Calico said, giggling. Pepper rolled her eyes, cheeks still a slight pink tint, and walked out of the kitchen with her mug in hand.

"Should I ask him?" Calico called after her. Pepper gave a very audible sigh.

"No, I'll just ask James!"

"You don't have the balls, Pepper. Let's be honest." Calico said, mimicking one of Tony's favorite phrases.

"... The man's rubbing off on you already."

Calico was sandwiched awkwardly between a Tony and a strange man in a suit. Across from her, on the other chair, was Natasha and a bald man (also a stranger to her) with an eye patch.

Tony was pouting with his arm around Calico, and seemed to be under dressed - wearing a simple black tank top and jeans.

The man on the other side of Calico was glaring at Tony. His hands were folded and resting on his lap.

The man on the other couch was also glaring at Tony (With his one eye, at least) and he looked like he would jump across the coffee table and slap him if Calico wasn't there.
Natasha was trying not to laugh at the awkward (and slightly horrified) look on Calico's face.

Calico finally asked the question that had been lingering in the back of her throat for the past few minutes.

"W-who are you guys?"

"Phil Coulson." the man next to Calico said, holding out her hand for her to shake.

"I'm pretty sure your first name is Agent."

"Shut up, Stark." Phil said smoothly, looking straight ahead.

"Nick Fury. Here to make sure your boyfriend's dumb ass doesn't do anything..."

"Anything stupid that he would normally do?" Calico offered. Fury nodded.

"I'm glad you know your man's an idiot." Natasha said, smiling.

"Way to defend my honor, Kitten. Natasha, you're fired."

"We've been over this, Stark. It's not up to you."

"I thought your name was Natalie."

"That was a cover."

"... Alright." Calico sniffed, still disgruntled by the intruders in her home (or rather, Tony's home that she had claimed for her own).

"... Tony is sort of in a group called S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Sort of?"

"We're trying to get this asshole in the system, but he won't sit still long enough for us to finish." Fury said, turning to glare at Tony again. Tony, in return, shrugged and shifted, a smug smile on his face.

"Don't look so pleased with yourself." Natasha scolded. Calico sat up straighter.

"Um, I could keep him under house arrest if that's the issue. I mean, how long does he need to stay in?" she asked Fury.

"At least a week, but he's an asshole."

"I can manage." Calico offered with a shy smile. Fury, Phil, and Natasha all exchanged the same look before shrugging.

"What do we really have to lose at this point?" Natasha said, rising to her feet and walking out of the room. Phil and Fury said their goodbyes to Calico (taking special care to ignore Tony's snide remarks) and exited as well.

A few minutes after the trio had left, Tony turned to Calico and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"So, I'm gonna go grab some Starbucks..."

"Sit down before I castrate you, Tony."

"Oh, you don't have the balls."

"I will if I have to castrate you."

* I can't be the only idiot that tastes everything!...
Okay, I probably am, never mind. XD

I'm sorry for not updating sooner. I could give you guys my MAIN reason, but it's so STUPID that there's a 9/10 chance you'll all collectively punch me in the face! XDDD

I feel like I should make a Twitter, or maybe a Tumblr. It will amuse me. *pushes up glasses*