A/N: Man, this chapter was a real bitch to write. This is just a filler until Tony and Alessandra meet again. Thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed. Hopefully I'll update soon but this week is going to be crazy. (College, amiright?) Anyway, enjoy!

-E

P.S. I don't speak Italian so if my phrasing is wrong, comment and i'll fix it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Tony, any established Marvel Characters, the Iron Man 2 plot line, or S.H.I.E.L.D! Alessandra, Amanda, Rhonda, Adam, Sophia, Johnny, Benz and Fitzgerald are all mine.

Chapter 5

November 2009

Tony's POV

The next two weeks went by quickly for Tony.

Beginning the day after Halloween, he had J.A.R.V.I.S. monitoring all media outlets looking for new information about his captivity and the battle against Stane. After he sobered up and got a few more hours of sleep he realized that maybe he shouldn't have told a random teenager classified information. It was reckless and dangerous, two things he's never cared about before, but he remembers thinking that it was a brilliant idea at the time. This stranger was willing to listen to him spill his guts and that's exactly what he did; granted, he had been completely sloshed and couldn't remember any of the finer details of the night. So, he waited for the media to blow up with all the details of that last 6 months.

He wasn't exactly surprised when nothing showed up in the following weeks, but he was very curious. Tony had given her a literal goldmine of information to sell to the press and she hadn't made a move yet. Was she just waiting for the right time? Does she plan to sell the story at all? She was not someone he spoke with regularly or even cared to befriend but she was keeping his secrets for him. Why? If someone had given him a story as great as that one, he probably would have done something about it. He wasn't someone to go making light of other's troubles, but he wasn't exactly above it either. Tony Stark was a Grade-A asshole to the people he didn't care for; and even to some he did. So what was this chick playing at by keeping the story under wraps?

After a week of frantically checking in with J.A.R.V.I.S. and receiving no news, he decided to move on to something more productive. He had built another Iron Man suit, something lighter and more flexible to move around in but there was always the problem of portability. He couldn't exactly drag the suit around with him when he went into SI or anywhere else Pepper makes him go, so he was looking for a way to make the suit easy enough to cart around. He didn't want to be caught off-guard again if someone else were to stab him in the back… both literally and metaphorically.

Only, he couldn't come up with anything. He had been tearing his hair out over this for two days straight when he decided to just work on it later. It wasn't like he would anywhere that required a portable suit anyway. Tony had told Pepper to cancel any meetings she had scheduled as he planned on catching up on everything he had to finish in the Lab. A few of his cars had been abandoned mid-build, his new Iron Man suit needed to be fit with gadgets and even Dum-E needed to be fixed. (The stupid robot ruined some wiring trying to make a smoothie.)

Spending all of that time at home also gave him an opportunity to spend with one Virginia "Pepper" Potts. She had been in his life for years, longer than he deserved and somehow she had become the most important person in his life. Sure, Rhodey and Happy were pretty good friends and constant figures in his life, but Pepper Potts was another breed all together. Ever since the first day she had walked into his office half crazed and wielding pepper spray, he'd thought she was gorgeous. He'd wanted her then and there, so, to make it easier, he became a walking cliché and hired her. Yeah, he was well aware of the fact that sleeping with your secretary was top ten on the "Don't Ever Do This Because You Will Regret It" list but he'd always had a thing for red heads, so, c'est la vie, or whatever the phrase is.

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, she hadn't given in to his advances. Pepper was a saint for knowing exactly how to handle him and do so without having any major lawsuits go through (because that was always a problem). She became his Girl Friday, the perfect assistant, friend, babysitter, etc. Tony didn't know where he would be without her. When Yinsen had asked him if he had any family back in Afghanistan, he had said no, but upon his return he'd realized that he did in fact have one. Pepper was more family than even his parents had been. Although, should someone want to sleep with their family? Because that's really fucking weird.

Either way, he loved having Pepper around. They bickered and argued about everything under the sun but when she looks at him and says, "Would that be all, Mr. Stark," with a small smile, he knows that their system works. He'd never thought twice about the attraction he felt for her but after everything went down, he realized that it wasn't lust at all. Tony genuinely cared about her. It was a strange realization to come to at the worst time—hanging over an arc reactor about to blow could possibly be considered worst EVER—but he did and ever since he had been at war with himself. Pepper Potts was galaxies better than he was and she deserved someone who could be that for her… but he was also a selfish man with selfish needs. She didn't belong to anyone but him, and okay that's a bit possessive, but he was Tony Stark, he'd always gotten what he wanted.

The first two weeks of November were a period of contemplation for the billionaire, something he detested greatly. Alessandra had been an enigma of a girl and Pepper Potts had become something far greater than he imagined. Honestly, he was so lost it was ridiculous. Tony Stark had always had a reputation for being amazing with women, but that was a load of bullshit. He personally didn't understand or really care about them, but sitting in his lab with the bots going over the two women who puzzled him the most, he wished his reputation had been true.

Because then he would know how to deal with the next six months.

For Alessandra, those two weeks couldn't have gone by any slower.

She got stuck in a rut, for lack of a batter term. Going to work four days a week had kept her entertained somewhat but that was only when Amanda was working. Despite her annoying habit of having to fill every silence, Alessandra's roommate was hilarious. They had developed a pretty good system of working together; Amanda would be the designated barista (because her drinks were delicious) and Alessandra would be the waitress, taking customers their orders and chatting with the regulars as she went. The coffee shop was a nice place to work at. There were the typical tables, chairs, and small music stands, but in the back corner a small library could be found. There were two towering bookshelves that were filled with old paperbacks brought in by the employees. Overall it led to a nice clientele, a mix of college students and older folk, both groups spending an hour or two reading as they sipped their latte's.

When she wasn't working, she would find herself sitting on the couch watching television or sleeping. It wasn't like she was all that tired anymore, her energy levels being surprisingly high, but there was just nothing better to do and having missed most of the great television shows of the mid-2000's, she thought it was as good a time as any to catch up. Amanda was always out with her pseudo-boyfriend and Malibu just wasn't that great when you barely had enough money for half a tank of gas. That was the primary reason for her walks to and from work. Money had always been a problem for her family and now that her only income was working part-time at a small coffee shop, she hadn't really had the funds to load up the station wagon's gas tank. This went on for over a week before Amanda decided to get her out of the house.

"Come on. You have been sitting in the same spot for, like, a month. You need some serious fun. I can practically see your ass imprints in my couch."

Alessandra scoffed at her friend, "It's been a week! And you're over exaggerating." She knew Amanda was telling the truth but couldn't let her pride get stomped on.

"Sweetie, get up. We are going out tonight." Amanda walked into their hallway closet and grabbed a jacket before chucking it at the girl on the couch.

Alessandra groaned before slowly rising to her feet and seeking out a pair of shoes. She had no idea where Amanda was taking her but she hoped an oversized t-shirt and ratty jeans would fit in—not that she cared either way, she was comfortable and nothing would short of a date with David Beckham would get her to change.

Walking out of the house and into Amanda's car, Alessandra thought about the last few days. She hadn't thought much about Tony Stark since he had dropped her off, but yesterday when she had seen him on the cover of People Magazine, she got a bit curious. Surfing the internet for Tony Stark fanpages was a dangerous thing, she realized. Because of his reputation as a ladies' man, there were various adult sites with his name on them. Finding a (PG) fan site with actual members on it, she couldn't help but create an account to read everything. What she saw had her laughing all day. There were various conspiracies out there about who was in the other Iron suit (some of which were correct) and many more about his more public exploits. There were stories about who he's dated, who he's slept with, the famous Pepper Potts, and even a few that couldn't possibly be true. All twelve cover models, really? It was absolutely fascinating to read comments from overzealous fans and know that she had met the man. He was everything they said and the complete opposite all rolled up into one six-foot package.

Something she hadn't anticipated was the online store. The Tony Stark fan site actually sold merchandise with his face plastered all over it! And not only his face, but that of Iron Man's. There were posters, blankets, t-shirts, and anything you could ever come up with. It had to be one of the greatest things Alessandra had stumbled across in a while. She couldn't help imagining what Tony would do if he ever got a hold of the site. Probably buy everything, she thought with a wry grin.

Alessandra shook herself out of her thoughts as they pulled into a parking space. Looking up at the sign, she saw that they were parked in front of a large bowling alley. COSMIC BOWLING, the sign read.

"Bowling? This is what you do in your free time?" Alessandra asked the question incredulously. Considering that her friend had several face piercings and multi-colored hair, she hadn't thought a bowling alley would be Amanda's typical hangout.

"Yeah! My friends and I come here every Thursday night. It's Happy Hour." With that, she stepped out of the car, Alessandra not far behind.

"You do realize that I'm underage, right?" She called weakly, hoping to get out of participating.

"Oh. I totally forgot. Whatever, they have soda too. Come on!"

Entering the shabby looking building, Alessandra was surprised by the neon lights and large crowd of people hanging around. It looked like everyone over the age of 21 was hanging out here. Glancing around, she spotted Amanda going up to a group of guys and one girl at the end of the row. They all looked like her roommate; tattoo's lit up by the neon lights, piercings in every place imaginable and hair colors ranging from the normal brown to a brilliant shade of green. Overall, if she were walking down the street alone, they were not the kind of people she would have made eye contact with. At Amanda's waving, she pushed herself forward and tried to adopt a casual attitude, something she's sure she failed at.

"There you are!" She grabbed Alessandra's arm and twister her to face the group standing will stoic faces. "Guys, this is my new roommate Alessandra. Alessandra, these are the guys."

She began gesturing to each person around. Adam had a dragon tattoo curling up his arm and a septum piercing, Benz was a shorter guy with jet black hair and plugs she could probably fit her whole hand into, Sophia was a gorgeous girl who looked like a 50's pin-up with tattoos, Johnny was the guy with the neon green mohawk and large jean jacket and Fitzgerald was a guy with bright white hair and polka dot pants.

Not knowing what else to do, she gave a small salute and said, "Hey."

Almost immediately they all relaxed and smiled at her. Sophia—who could give Dita Von Teese a run for her money—approached Alessandra first and gave her a soft hug.

"Thank goodness another girl arrived; I was beginning to think I'd have to listen to these guys talk all night!" Sophia laughed softly at the serious of indignant sounds that echoed around her. "Oh please, I can't listen to another lecture on proper music tonight."

Rolling his eyes, Johnny stepped up, "Don't listen to her, she's just jealous Adam and I have tickets to see The White Stripes Saturday night."

"I love them!" Alessandra hadn't realized she spoke out loud until all eyes were on her. "I… one of my friends was a huge fan, so he gave me their album." And by friend, she meant one of the nurses who had worked the night shift at the hospital.

He smiled brightly and wrapped an arm around Alessandra's shoulders, "I like her Amanda, let's keep her."

Seeing that some of the other guys were nodding and Sophia was smiling at her, the last of the tension in her shoulders faded away. These guys weren't nearly as bad as they looked. She could almost hear grandmother scolding her, Non giudicare un libro dalla relativa copertura, Alessa. (Don't judge a book by its cover, Alessa.)

So, she spent the rest of the night and early hours of the morning bowling with Amanda's group of friends. She found out that Fitzgerald was just a nickname they gave him because of his fascination with Ella Fitzgerald, Adam was a junior at Pepperdine on a full academic scholarship, Benz was the son of a famous designer and had gotten his nickname when he showed up to Johnny's house in a Mercedes, Sophia was a photographer and both Johnny and Benz were software developers. They were all incredible bowlers, something Alessandra was not, but they only laughed and helped her set up correctly. By the end of the night, she had scored straight spares, a miraculous feat considering her horrible hand-eye coordination.

As they were getting ready to leave the Alley at closing, Benz came up to her.

"I can't believe you haven't seen The Big Lebowski!" He had made obscure references all night and it was only around midnight that Alessandra had the nerve to ask. "It's such a great movie. You definitely have to watch it."

Shooting him a smile, she said, "Yeah, sure. I'll add it to the list."

As Amanda drove them home, she couldn't help but smile at the recent turn of events. First, a billionaire drops into her life, next Amanda comes crashing into it and now an entire group of people wanted to be her friend. It was all so new! Of course, they had no idea that she wouldn't be around more than a few years. That morbid thought wiped the smile straight off of her face. She'd be dead in a few years at most. Alessandra couldn't help but remember why she had decided to make a 'No Friendship' rule at the start of her road trip. In the end, she would be dead and they would be left wondering what happened. She had almost lost it when her nonna died, she couldn't do that to anyone else. It was unfair sure, but it was just the way things had to be.

With new determination, Alessandra decided that she wouldn't be seeing any of them again. Not if she could help it.

A/N: There you go! You can see Alessandra's mentality is a bit morbid and that'll affect Tony when he shows up again next chapter. I'll post again in a few days.

Until then.