Natasha was silent the whole way back to the tower, whether that was by choice, or whether it was just she couldn't get a word in edgeways; Tony wasn't sure.
Clint was more than compensating for her silence; talking none stop, asking 100s of questions and bouncing excitedly in his seat. Where Natasha had assumed this was a test which she would be punished for for failing; Clint seemed to have decided this was an adventure, and he was going to enjoy every moment! Steve just hoped some of his carefree childish attitude rubbed off on Natasha. This whole thing would be a lot easier on him and Tony if they were both a bit more relaxed and easy going...

When they finally reached the tower, Clint looked at it in awe, obviously amazed by its size and power. It was a long way from the circus in Iowa he'd come from. Even Natasha looked a little shocked that this was where they were staying, but she quickly shrugged it off when she noticed Tony watching her staring.

They rode the elevator up to the 63rd floor, and as the doors opened; Tony quickly remember Pepper. He had wanted to see her face when they turned up with the two kids, but never intended to actually spring it on her like this; he felt guilty at not giving her any notice.

"Jarvis, where's Pepper?"

"She is on your floor sir"

Natasha jumped at the AIs response, and Clint smirked at her defensive posture.

"Could you ask her to come down here please?"

"Right away sir"

"Who is that?" Clint asked

"Thats Jarvis; it's the computer system that runs the tower" Steve answered, purposely oversimplifying it.

"Oh he is so much more than that!" Tony started, not hiding the exasperated tome to his voice. But at the elevator had started it's decent so he stopped and shooed the other three into the back room. Clint and Steve got the message, but Natasha stood defiantly to watch until Steve came back to drag her out the way.

"Tony? What are you doing down here?" Pepper asked, strolling from the elevator with a handful of paperwork while scrolling through her company phone.

"Erm, I have something I need to tell you..."

"Oh Tony. What did you do now?" she asked an air of disappointment in her voice already.

"What? I didn't do anything! But this is important, and I know it's not exactly what you want to hear but-"

Tony stopped talking when he noticed Natasha peering back in the room, apparently having escaped from Steve and far too curious for her own good. Tony suspected she still didn't completely trust them; and this was just far too like secrets being kept from her in her eyes.

Pepper turned to follow his gaze, she froze as her pale blue eyes locked onto Natasha. Her jaw went slack and the paperwork fell from her hands, unable to form a coherent sentence; she looked helplessly to Tony who just shrugged apologetically.

Steve reappeared, with Clint trailing behind him; "Sorry Tony. She got away from me"

"S'alright, it's not me she sent catatonic"

Pepper looked from Natasha, to Clint, and back to Natasha again, her brain failing to comprehend what was happening right in front of her.
Sure, this had happened before (well, sort of), but that time she'd had some warning; Coulson had tried to give her a summary of events before introducing her to the kids, this time it had just been dropped on her; and she had been wholly unprepared.

Her mouth opened and closed a few times, trying to form words but none came. Eventually tony pushed her down gently on the sofa and Steve handed her a glass of water.

"Is she okay?" Clint asked, not so subtly, to Steve as he followed him to the kitchen.

Natasha hadn't moved from the spot she'd frozen on when Pepper's eyes had first locked on her, her eyes were still locked on the older redhead, trying to read her; decide if she were friend or foe, ally or enemy. It made Tony a little uneasy, but Pepper didn't seem to mind. She was starting to regain her composure and smiled warmly at the little girl.

Natasha seemed to decide Pepper wasn't a threat and took a seat at the other end of the sofa, watching Steve and Clint who had started playing on some racing game on the brand new PlayStation 4 Tony had bought.

"Pepper, can I talk to you?" Tony asked quietly, glaring at Natasha to stay put. Steve changed the game to three player mode and handed Natasha a spare controller; she looked at it like she had no idea what she held in her hands. It was a little sad; an eight year old that could take apart and reassemble a gun in seconds with her eyes closed and still have time to shot you before you'd even comprehended the fact she had a gun; didn't know how to play a game. Clint took it upon himself to explain the buttons to her in the same way Steve had for him, while Tony and Pepper left on the elevator.

"Tony, what the hell?! Again?!"

"I know Pepper, and I'm sorry. But we had to bring them here"

"No Tony, I'm glad you brought them here. I just wish I'd had some warning"

"Also my fault, I got a bit distracted when we were attacked at shield"

"You were attacked?!"

"You didn't notice the bruising on Clint's face or the bullet hole in Natasha's arm?"

"Bullet hole?! Tony what on earth?"

"Pep, we don't know all the details. But Hydra did this; a way to weaken them and get rid of them once and for all I guess. Coulson says this is different to last time; they have less familiarity with the aspects of their adult lives. Natasha is still convinced this is all a test set up by the Red Room. She's difficult to get through to, but we're making some progress with Clint. At least, I hope we are"

"This is going to be tough"

"Yeah, I think it is. And I'm sorry to dump this on you again"

"Tony, I loved looking after you and the others when you were kids. those months were some of the fondest of my life. Don't be sorry, let's just keep them safe"

Tony smiled gratefully and wrapped his arms round the waist of the woman he loved. His lips found hers and for a moment they were completely lost in each other.
Pepper eventually pulled away, taking a pause for breath and smiling at Tony. "We need to get supplies again don't we?"

"Yeah, they have nothing that fits; they haven't even got any shoes on"

"Okay. Tomorrow; we go shopping!"

Tony didn't like the glint in Pepper's eye as she said that. He followed her back to the elevator and as they emerged on the 63rd floor they heard Clint exclaiming; "How did you win?! You don't even know how to play!" as Natasha smiled smugly from her corner of the sofa.