Lauren found herself lost. And not in a directional sort of way. She was fully aware of where she was and the things around her. However, after she almost made a fool of herself by overreacting to Sam's offer, she was lost.

It wasn't everyday that someone offered her their ear. It wasn't everyday that someone she just met offered their ear.

What's worse was that she panicked over it. What does he think of her now? Or maybe… maybe he didn't notice how panicked she was. Steve called out to them before she could do anything embarrassing.

She really hoped that they didn't notice. They weren't acting any differently. So they probably didn't. She was being overly paranoid.

She decided, then, to act like nothing happened. Go with the flow, as she always would. It didn't matter that for a moment, she felt bare. Like someone had stripped her of everything, and she was left with nothing.

It was only a moment. But it shook her. Scared her. Blinded her.

And then it was gone. It didn't matter. Because she could not afford to dwell on it.

And so, she went on. Interacted with the people around her. Ignored the vulnerability she felt just minutes before.

It showed a lot of who she was as a person. She preferred it when people trusted her. But she was stingy in giving her trust. People would call her a hypocrite. Probably.

Oh, she trusted people with things, tasks, and whatnot. But not her secrets. She saw herself more of a secret keeper. Her excuse was that as someone who kept others' secrets. It was best if her secrets were hidden as well. So her secrets couldn't be used against her and those who trusted her.

It was merely an excuse. She knew that. It was something she had to unlearn. It was a lonely way to live. She was lucky to have friends that weren't too pushy about sharing.

She was so immersed in her thoughts that she didn't notice that they were already back at the Tower. Sam decided to join them in the Tower for the day. She vaguely recalled inviting him for dinner over breakfast. Something along the lines of: "What's one more when I cooked enough for a small platoon?"

'Yes, brilliant idea! Invite the person who unintentionally made you uncomfortable to eat your home cooking. Good job. Not that spending more time with the guy will add more opportunities for him to make you talk. No, not at all.' She chided herself. Her auto-pilot-self hated her. She might as well tell her best friends that she was staying with the Avengers. You know, while she was already self-sabotaging herself.

It was already nearing mid-day and they just finished breakfast, or brunch since they took so long. They'll probably have an early dinner instead. And after running her plans of skipping lunch today with her roommates and the possibility of having take-out for dinner. Lauren went into her room and tried to reclaim the sleep she missed out on.

A few hours later, Lauren found herself in the kitchen. She still was not feeling up to making a full dinner. But her restlessness forced her into the kitchen once more. Where she may or may not have helped herself to a glass of cognac. It was already open so she wasn't feeling too bad about it.

To burn off her restlessness she decided to make some pita bread, hummus, and salsa. A snack for the most part but if you ate enough of it it'll pass for a meal. So she decided to add in some kofta to go with it. Really she just wanted to make a bunch of pita bread.

As she worked, she continued to help herself to the bottle of alcohol. She wasn't really sure how many times she refilled her glass but she stopped putting the bottle back after the 3rd time.

"And I thought I had bad drinking habits."

The statement, not to mention the voice, almost had her choking. Thankfully she was drinking water and not the alcohol she was nursing just moments ago.

Tony Stark was the most visible member of the team. So she was quite familiar with his voice and appearance. It also helped that she was an intern for his company just over two years ago.

Lauren made it a point to reserve judgment of celebrities until she interacted with them. Tony was a perfect example of why you shouldn't base their opinion on what they see on TV. If you did you'd expect him to be a snob, arrogant beyond measure, and to treat you like you were less than dirt. As would be expected of someone who was filthy rich and famous. Not to mention with the reputation he had pre-Avengers.

The man before her had that presence. He was definitely a genius, playboy, philanthropist, and billionaire. His confidence showed that he knew exactly what and who he was.

His eyes showed a different story though. It reminded her of the military people her parents all but adopted back in high school. Especially those who were assigned to high-risk areas. Like they've seen enough of the world and were tired.

"You okay there?"

She had the decency to blush. She'd been staring.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Uhm, do you…?" She answered after downing the last of her drink. It was only right that she offered him a drink. He paid for it after all. "I hope you don't mind that I helped myself to some of your stash."

"Oh, don't hold yourself back on my account. You must be Capsicle's friend. Lauren was it?"

"Tony I need you to sign…"

A woman with strawberry-blonde hair entered holding a clipboard and a tablet. Said woman was another person Lauren was quite familiar with. She worked under her during her internship, but not directly. Virginia "Pepper" Potts.

"Lauren, is that you? What're you doing here?!"

She did not expect that she'd be remembered by the CEO. She interacted with her a few times during her internship but those were few and far between. She was thankful for the interruption though.

"Wait, hold up a sec. Pep you know her?" Tony asked incredulously. "How come you know her and I don't?"

"Of course I do. She was our intern about two years ago. We offered her a permanent position, which still stands by the way." Pepper answered. Her last statement made Lauren's eyes widen in disbelief.

She remembered the offer. She just didn't think they'd still want her. It's been two years after all.

"So let me get this straight. Lauren the intern and Lauren the baker is one person?" Pepper nodded. "Well then, you're hired."

Lauren just stood there slack-jawed. If what happened that morning was a whirlwind, this was a lightning storm. Or maybe it was the other way around. Point is – shit was happening before she could even comprehend what was happening.

"Do you have a bank account? Never mind, Jarvis! Make sure that Lauren here is all set up and settled into the company. The whole shebang. Give her a floor. Nat said you lift. You want a personal gym? Of course you do. I'll let you and Jarvis work out the gym. Also…"

Lauren couldn't really reply. Because she was in shock, but also because he kept prattling on. And proceeded to leave. That saved her from forcing her mind to think of a reply.

She was left with Pepper. Who could only welcome her back to the company. It wasn't how she expected to be officially welcomed by the Tower's owner, but she wasn't complaining.

Before Pepper went back to her work. She left a few words for Lauren.

"We really liked your work as an intern. So whatever arrangement Tony has set up with you – I hope we'll be able to work together next time."

And wasn't that something. The duo seemed set on keeping her speechless. Not to mention they just threw out all the worries she had for the past week.

She was now officially a resident of the Avengers' Tower and employed. (The nature of her employment was an unknown but she didn't really care at the moment.) All that happened in a matter of 5 minutes. Less even.

She definitely mixed it up. Tony was a whirlwind. Pepper was the debris that caught up in it. It made for a very frightening force of nature. At the same time together they made for a mesmerizing image. They were called a power couple for a reason.

She continued working on the dough in a daze. Bottle of alcohol almost forgotten. She had poured herself another glass but had yet to drink it.

Her inattention turned the last batch of dough into a wide circle that leaned more into pizza territory. So she went off and completed that. They were having pizza now too.

"That smells good."

She really needed to pay more attention to her surroundings. Thankfully, her surprise didn't ruin the pizza she was about to put into the oven.

"Steve and Bucky are on their way back."

They were earlier than expected. It wasn't a bad thing though. The pizza wouldn't take long and it was best to eat it fresh out of the oven. Mouth burning heat be damned.

She put the pizza in. The oven was pre-heated to its highest temperature to mimic the heat of a brick oven. Pizza can be a finicky thing to cook. She wanted browning but not burnt dough. Also you also just want the cheese to melt and not burnt. So she was watching it cook very intently. Definitely not because she was avoiding conversation. No. Definitely not.

She was not embarrassed nor scared of whatever impression she had made on the man earlier. She just wanted to make sure the pizza was cooked properly.

Which would cook in less than 5 minutes. Which meant that conversation was unavoidable.

"Steve would always brag about your food you know. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed when they said they'll be getting take out today."

Yup. Definitely unavoidable. She turned to face Sam. She didn't want to be rude after all.

"Well, luckily I got restless and ended up making something anyway. I'm not sure if there'll be enough for everyone though. The last batch turned into pizza."

He grinned and shrugged. Which she took to mean as 'I ain't complaining bout that'. It was odd that she directly translated it to how he'd say it. The mind was weird that way.

"I gotta ask though…"

He started. And it took all of Lauren's willpower to not hightail it out of the kitchen. Not that she would. The pizza would burn. Which she should check right about now. She turned around to check after telling him to continue.

"I know about the sack of flour thing. But there's gotta be something else?"

He didn't elaborate but she got what he was trying to say. So after getting the pizza out since it was ready she answered.

"You mean that you're curious how a civilian like me could make friends with Captain America?" She elaborated for him. He nodded but didn't say anything. Which meant that he wanted her to answer. She didn't have to. But it would be odd for her not to. It wasn't a big secret anyway. And Tony will probably find out soon enough if Steve's stories were accurate.

"I'm not exactly a normal civilian. Ugh, that makes me sound so shady." She mumbled the last part, mentally chiding herself. He seemed to have heard if his questioning look was an indicator. So she continued. "I have sibling figures in the military. My family would spend most of our summers near one of the military training camps. Mostly graduating cadets from the academy. I'd join in their training from time to time. So we'd bond over that. Most of them keep in touch with us. He reminded me of them. So yeah…"

"You sure it wasn't his old man charm?" He teased. Apparently satisfied with her answer.

She was thankful that he didn't ask more. So she just rolled her eyes and let out a snicker. She really was just overthinking things.

I tried writing this while drinking. It didn't work out too well. So I had to write it in the course of three-ish days. Thanks to my friend arsenouselation for helping with Sam! Thanks for reading and do leave a review. 'Til the next chapter!