AN: Good Day everyone. Once again, big thanks to my Beta MegaDiary123. Keeping this short, welcome to every new reader of this story and another thank you to the reviewers. With no further due...

All rights go to Marvel


Skye's POV

- I need to go. Have a mission to prepare for. You can write to me, but I am not sure when I'll be able to get back at you. Don't overwork yourself.

This was not the reply that I was waiting for. I was almost sure that she would pressure me more about my whereabouts. But then again maybe she did have a mission and this wasn't just a plain excuse to end our conversation. Also, she did know me pretty well, no matter the more-than-four-years gap in our conversations and she had probably figure out that I wouldn't reveal any new info unless I wanted to.

Just as I was about to type my goodbye and good luck to my sister, J.A.R.V.I.S.' voice echoed through the room. "Ms. Potts is asking for your presence at the main living room".

"I'll be right there" I informed the A.I. immediately and closed the secure line without the reply that I was preparing. I was still not very used to having J.A.R.V.I.S. around and he would usually surprise me when I would hear his British accent out of the blue. But even I had to admit that Stark had put some pretty decent effort into his programming and the butler himself was a great help while I was reviewing the existing security measures for Stark Industries.

Coming out of my thoughts I realised that I was on the elevator, heading to the pinpointed meeting point. I was in the Stark Tower for about three days now and I found it pretty easy to move around and navigate myself. The Tower seemed so intimidating and confusing from the outside, but once you walked through the numerous corridors, labs and rooms it wasn't as hard.

"We are here" J.A.R.V.I.S. announced instead of the classic bing one would get when the elevator reached the floor.

"Thanks Jar" I simply said.

"I would ask you not to call me that Ms. Skye". I suddenly stopped and a mischievous smile appeared on my face because if that wasn't interesting I didn't know what would be.

I had tried numerous times to find a proper nickname for the A.I. however none of them seemed to ring just quite right. And through all of my attempts and suggestion, this was the first time that I got a reply, or dare I say… objection. "Why would that be?" I didn't even try to mask the anticipation in my voice.

"My protocols prevent me from upsetting Mr. Stark" he simply replied as if this would explain everything. I was out of the lift and, almost blindly, walking without paying really any attention to my surroundings.

I could not see how using the specific nickname your upset Stark, but if this was the case then I was all in. But first I needed to know what the reason behind his possible startling would be. "Please elaborate" I requested and knew that he couldn't really say no so I patiently waited for what was to come.

"The nickname that you used is part of the name of a fiction character created by George Lucas for the movies Star Wars Episodes I to III. I am afraid that Mr. Stark wasn't quite pleased with the movies and the specific character was his least favourite. And since I know all of his preferences, I am also programmed never to speak of that name in his presence and I would greatly suggest you do the same"

"Are you talking about Jar Jar Binks?" I elaborated. He didn't say the name directly and I guessed that it was because of his programming, but I had no such problem. So when it was confirmed, I was quite pleased that I found a new way to tease the billionaire.

"Thank you for the help Jar" I was now in the living room and I could see Ms. Potts looking at me with a smile, matching my own, on her face.

"You know that he is not going to be happy if he hears you refer to his creation with this name, right?" She said but always in a good mannered and playful way.

"I am counting on it" I admitted and turned around to fully face the woman.

I was always fascinated by strong women and the fact that Ms. Potts was a woman who was handling Stark made her a great inspiration. It took a lot of courage, patience and authority for anyone to even try to handle the playboy. Plus, without anyone's help but her own and by not being one of Stark's "girls", she managed to promote herself from just a normal secretary to the face behind the brand who was truly handling everything in Stark's name.

"What can I do for you Ms. Potts? Jar here informed me that you were looking for me?" I said all-serious. She was, after all, my employer. And with the lack of previous employments in my CV, I wasn't really sure how relaxed I could be in her presence.

"Oh, please. Just call me Pepper" she said and waited for me to nod in order to continue. "I haven't eaten anything since breakfast since I got so lost working and getting ready for the Expo that I am starving. And J.A.R.V.I.S. informed me that you haven't put anything in your mouth as well. So I was wondering if you would be so kind as to have dinner with me?"

I was taken a little off guard by her proposal. I meant sure, I would love to hang out and get to know her but it couldn't have been that easy, could it?

She must have noticed the mental argument that I was having with myself because she quickly added. "You don't have to if you don't want to. But since you're the only other woman here who isn't afraid to call Tony out on his bullshit I thought that it would be nice to get to know you" the smile never left her face as she spoke.

"And you got all that from the brief few times that we met since I arrived here Ms. Pot–" that earned me a pointed look and so quickly I corrected myself, "Pepper?"

"It's true that we haven't spoken much, about anything really. And, also true, I figured all that in this short period of time. Women usually crawl to Tony's feet trying to get his attention" she pointed out with disgust. But then her tone grew softer and friendlier as she added. "Yet you are not that kind of woman, or dare I say girl. It's nice to have someone who isn't afraid of Tony and his influence"

I made a mental note of the way that Pepper called Stark. I would expect her to call him either Stark or Mr. Stark given her position in the industries and based on how the media portrayed their relationship. I could tell that Stark was very fond of her and she did go everywhere he did.

But it seemed like even if Stark didn't know it, Pepper cared a lot about him.

"Well, I can't say that you are mistaken" I moved to one of the many sofa's in the room. "He is like a child trapped inside an adult's body. An adult who, unfortunately, has more money than he knows what to do with". I watched as Pepper moved to a nearby fridge and got some water to pour to a couple of glasses that were patiently waiting to be used. "And you do need someone to help you with him" I got the glass that was offered to me and Pepper relaxed on the same sofa, only a comfortable distance away.

"So how about we try and be friends?" The older woman suggested.

"I would love to try that" I admitted. "And let me start by telling you one truth about myself. I am a terrible cook".

Silence folded the room for a couple of seconds before Pepper burst out laughing as if I had just cracked the most hilarious joke. "That makes two of us. When I suggested dinner, I was thinking of take-out. What are your thoughts on Chinese?"

"Chinese sounds great"


Pepper's POV

I had finished the dinner that I had with Skye and was back at my desk working endlessly for the Expo that was coming closer and closer by the day. It was obvious that the Expo was a huge convention that would probably not have as much profits as it would have expenses.

Had I said that to Tony a million times already? Of course I had. Had he bothered to change anything or stop it? Of course not. If Tony put something on his mind, then it would be almost impossible to change any plans that he had considered. And I had a feeling that it was the same with Skye. Geez, those two could be so similar at times that it was annoying. Though it did help as the girl wasn't afraid to talk back to Tony and it was actually quite funny to watch their interactions.

I leaned back on my chair and thought of how the dinner went. We talked about everything and nothing, keeping it to a relaxing and easy going vibe. Based on her reactions on some questions that were going to be more personal, the girl kept a lot of secrets.

One, she had always had her arms and hands wrapped up. I had never seen that before. And the other was that she seemed very closed off, and needed a bit of a nudge to open up. And by open up, what I meant was just start talking. Apart from the dinner that we had she had mentioned that we hadn't really spoken since she arrived. But it wasn't completely my fault. True, I was head to toes in work for the upcoming Stark Expo, since Tony didn't lift his finger to arrange a thing, but whenever Skye wasn't working on one of the mainframe computers, she would be locked in her apartment.

I would get that girl to open up, that was a promise that I made to myself. And since we had Tony to tease as a common ground, I guess it wouldn't be too hard.

My thoughts were abruptly cut when the floor started shaking and the objects that I had on my desk started falling over and on the floor.

"J.A.R.V.I.S.?" I asked as I got up and moved to the nearest exit to take the stairs to the ground floor.

"It appears that an earthquake has occurred with our Industries being at the centre of it Ms. Potts. I would suggest you get out of the building as fast as possible" he instructed even though I was already at the stairs and heading down. It was only a few minutes later when his voice echoed again through the microphones closest to me and I jumped a bit from the surprise, not expecting him to say anything else. "Ms. Potts, it appears that almost everyone is out of the building" that had me stop dead on my tracks.

"What do you mean 'almost everyone'?" I requested while panting.

"The little personnel that had remained has all left, however Ms. Skye is still in her room. She appears to be sleeping heavily, not responding at all to my calls. Should I call someone to get to her?"

Damn it! I knew that Skye didn't sleep well at night. It was pretty obvious from the dark circles that she had every time that I was in the same room as her. And I was really glad that she finally got some sleep into her system, she really needed it, but out of all the times this was the worst possible one for that to happen.

Without a second thought I change the destination that I was running towards. "J.A.R.V.I.S. open the doom to her room as soon as I get there!" I screamed not diminishing my speed at all.