4:15 PM - Stark Mansion, Tony and Pepper's Bedroom

"Hey, Pepper, is it just me, or is it exhausting to have to keep track of time?" Tony remarked to Pepper out of the blue.

She looked at him, replying casually, "Not if you have something important to do."

"But if you have nothing to do, why do it?" His point had been made.

Later that night, Stark Mansion, Steve's Bedroom

After everyone had been sorted into their rooms (luggage waiting to be picked up when it arrived (officially moving in to Stark Mansion, it was only right that they had a certain number of their belongings brought over (not that any of them had much to begin with))), Pepper had pulled Tony into their shared room with a good tongue-lashing ready. Having spent time with Pepper during her brief stint at Stark Enterprise, Natasha could imagine what he was in for, better than the others. Clint wasn't entirely sure that Tony deserved it this time, but he wasn't about to stick his nose where it didn't belong. Bruce just hoped that Pepper wasn't too hard on him and made him lose all credibility in a single night. On the bright side, if she did, at least it happened before Loki arrived to make matters worse. Thor had no idea what was going on with Tony and Pepper, having lived a life full of chambermaids, not girlfriends (he had yet to be with Jane long enough to learn that lesson).

Laying with his back to the mattress, arm underneath his neck, Steve stared at the ceiling, examining the poles that held up the navy canopy. He had never slept on such a nice bed before, though he had known of their existence. Finding that fleeting distraction no more enthralling than he had expected it to be, he turned on his side, flashes of before (before being before he had been revived from the ice) obscuring his vision. He had been advised to go talk to someone about his experiences, anyone, but who in all creation could possibly understand? He had wondered if any of the war vets might be a possibility, but either they were too far gone, or they simply wouldn't believe him. And who could blame them for that? Even he could scarcely believe it, and he had experienced it! Groaning, he flipped over so that he was on his stomach. This was going to be a very long night.

CRASHHHHHH!

Something heavy could be heard falling a few rooms over. The something was, from the sounds of it, a flat-screen (apparently they weren't as light as they seemed), and the room in question was Thor's (considering the rules, it really wasn't that smart a move to put televisions in every room). Debating if he should get involved, Steve glanced at the bright red wall clock hanging opposite the door, seeing that he had only been in bed for four minutes.

"Can't a guy catch a break?" He sighed, pulling himself from the silken sheets.

"... Magic box!" He just caught the tail end of one of Thor's rants, the door open wide as the team (and Pepper) bottle-necked the doorway.

Seeing that they had him more than taken care of, Steve turned around and headed back to his room to lay awake in bed. Joy.

Walking slowly down the carpeted hallway, observing the way the shadows danced on the walls, he froze in his tracks, one shadow going against the rest, slipping by through the natural light. Glancing over his shoulder, everyone else still preoccupied with Thor, he thought that there was no need to alarm them anymore, especially poor Miss Potts. That poor woman really could use a break, having to suffer Tony, and now the rest of them. Speaking only for himself, he could imagine that it wasn't easy to have to watch over a technologically-stunted man. Maybe he could go back to his room and try to figure out at least how the t.V. worked, after he dealt with the shadow of course.

Beep. Beep. There was a faint beeping coming from behind the statue (Steve had no idea was it was supposed to be, but it reminded him of a stretched out something, tangled in on itself) between his room and the room that was going to be Loki's (the Avengers had been free to pick their own rooms, on the condition that two of them had be on either side of a specially designated room (Thor was on the other side)).

Not seeing anything at first, he bent down and began to examine the floor, glimpsing some kind plastic mouse-puck hybrid that was cleaning the floor. An odd little creature, he had thought of reporting this, but after watching it for a second, it became clear that the little creature was friendly, so he shrugged and went back to his room, hoping that he could find sleep. Even an hour would be something, though hopefully since Loki would be arriving that afternoon, he prayed for more so that he could be on his toes.

The Next Morning

Having worked through her anger at Tony, Pepper stood in the kitchen, making a pot of coffee, a slightly-too-large robe drawn tight over a sheer camisole with matching shorts. She had no idea how any of them liked their coffee, so she would wait for them to fill in the specifics, so long as it wasn't anything too specific, or hero or not, they would get a pot of hot coffee in their lap. She was usually more gracious than that, but she had gotten less sleep than she would have liked, Tony lucky enough to get to sleep like a log for an additional couple of hours.

"Pepper," Bruce (in his clothes from yesterday) was already seated at the solid maroon island, a meager breakfast of toast and the morning's paper spread before the scientist, "You don't happen to know the time he'll be arriving do you? There was something I wanted to check on, but I don't want it to look like I'm not taking this seriously."

Smiling warmly at the adorably goofy scientist, she shook her head, "Sorry, no. I'm not even sure that Thor knows exactly. If it helps, my thought is around noon."

Returning her smile, he nodded, "Thanks."

Sweet, but not that helpful.

"Morning, Bruce." Natasha, in a fluffy pink bathrobe (which completely took Pepper off guard), beamed at him, unaware of Pepper's presence (she had wandered into the pantry for spare coffee mugs), "I really enjoyed last night."

"Just what I wanted to hear first thing in the morning." Clint had walked into the kitchen at the wrong moment, assuming the worst.

Natasha rolled her eyes, turning to face her fellow assassin, "Not everything is about sex. Bruce and I just so happened to have been having a most compelling conversation about the decaying morals and ethics of society."

"Sounds like someone's in the 'friend zone'. Sorry about that buddy," Adding his two-cents, Tony ambled into the kitchen, his ACDC shirt on inside-out and backwards. Was it possible that that was both the best and worst that he's ever looked?

"Morning." Pepper pecked Tony on the check as he sat down next to Bruce.

"It is a glorious day to be alive!" Thor thundered, joining Tony and Bruce (Natasha and Clint were both digging around in the cabinets on opposite sides of the kitchen (which was large enough for at least twenty chefs), having some sort of silent war).

Rubbing his temples, Steve followed behind the Asgardian, sitting at the corner of the island, mumbling a brief greeting to his teammates, and Pepper. Tony glanced over at him, thinking to himself that he looked better after the fight with the Chitauri. He was about to say so, but he caught the look on Pepper's face and decided that it wasn't worth getting chided again.

"Sir," Jarvis addressed Tony, "There is someone at the door. She says that it's urgent."

He looked at Pepper, "Who comes over to someone else's house this early in the morning?"

Ignoring Tony, though she personally agreed, Pepper asked Jarvis, "Display."

A second ago, the counter-top was flawless, made of granite, then at her command, all at once, the surface opened in several places, the counter-top now appearing to be a mass of computer screens. On the screen was a young woman appearing to be in her early twenties, maybe her late teens, with dazzling hazel eyes that seemed familiar somehow. Half of her dark auburn hair was piled on her shoulder, the other half in a very slim ponytail.

"Steve, would you...?" Pepper turned to the hero closest to the door, her hands suddenly tied with cups waiting to be filled with coffee.

Being the nice guy that he was, he got up, going to the door. It wasn't too far of a walk from the kitchen to the front door, which would be handy for days that didn't have the best of starts. Shoving away the immaterial thoughts of late breakfasts, he opened the door, realizing that he had no idea if he was supposed to send the woman away or invite her inside.

Opening the door, he looked at the woman, his baby blues locking momentarily with her hazel orbs. Thwack! Her hand collided with his cheek, "That's for not coming after me, you dope!"

The woman shoved her way passed a shell-shocked Captain, heading straight for the kitchen. She looked like she was going to murder someone, though she didn't appear to be armed. Like that mattered? Following her inside, wondering how she knew exactly where to go (and why she had slapped him), he almost bumped into her as she froze in the doorway, her eyes fixed on Pepper.

So I take a few days to write the last chapter, but I finish this one in a day? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense... Anyways, I'm sorry, I was hoping to put Loki in this chapter, but thanks to me writing their experiences before his arrival, it got pushed back, boo. But on that note, wonder who this woman is? Naturally I know, but do you? Sorry, half tired... Anyways, I love you guys, and I can't wait to hear more of your reviews!

EDIT:

Wow, so I re-read this chapter, and oh my GOD, it was terrible! Spelling/grammar errors, poor formatting, and lackluster description? Why did I post this so prematurely? Can you ever forgive me? Can I forgive myself?