"I've always lived like this;
keeping a comfortable distance.
And up until now I had sworn to myself,
that I'm content with loneliness.
Because none of it was ever worth the risk.
But you are, the only exception...
I've got a tight grip on reality,
but I can't
let go to what you do to me here.
And you are, the only exception,
And I'm on my way to believing..."

"You know I didn't think there would ever come a time where you surprised me," said Pepper Potts as she sat primly in a leather high-back chair. "But I stand corrected," she continued. "Because I am quite surprised.

"Well, it has been said that I'm full of surprises," the man across from her said, with a slightly arrogant grin. "And surprised is good. I was expecting the word you used to be more along the lines of; annoyed, flabbergasted, or frustrated. So I'll take surprise."

"Oh, I didn't say surprised was the only thing I was feeling," she said with a slight smile. "But really, Tony, with as much as you adore publicity and being in the spotlight, I'm surprised that you're not more enthusiastic about this."

Tony Stark leaned back in his chair, his posture displaying a casual sense of ease. "Pepper, there's a big difference between my publicity as Iron Man and the publicity regarding the Avengers."

"Is that because of what happened with Bruce?" she asked quietly.

He shifted in his chair uncomfortably. "Partially. The last incident with the Hulk causing all that damage, well, it not only ruined a lot of buildings and scared the hell out of a lot of people, but it really affected the way the public views us as a whole."

"The Stark relief foundation took care of most of the wreckage and the wounded," Pepper responded.

Tony shook his head. "The damage is nothing compared to the negativity that is now permeating throughout the publics opinion of us. Yes, we stopped Ultron, and yes we saved the world. But that was yesterday's news. And todays news is how dangerous superheroes can be. People are afraid Pepper. And they're afraid of us. The damage control we're going to need to preform on the attitudes of the people is going to take a lot longer and be more precarious than anything a relief fund can manage."

Pepper felt suddenly alarmed. "Tony...are you okay? I've never seen you so concerned over something like this before. That's usually my prerogative." She let out a weak laugh. "Looks like for once our roles are reversed."

He looked unusually troubled. "It's just...this feeling that I have. That something's coming. Something only we can stop. And we need the world behind us if we are going to succeed. And that includes us not getting rotten vegetables thrown at us every time we leave the facility, because people fear us and hate us."

"You've had people throw vegetables at you? Really?" Pepper asked, her eyes dancing with amusement.

"Well, I'm Tony Stark, in case you've forgotten, so no. I don't get things thrown at me. Except money. And women's' underwear. But that's beside the point. I mostly said it because I'm looking out for the others, especially Barton. He seems like the kind of guy that gets crap thrown at him all the time. Being that he's so incorrigible."

She stifled a smile and nodded, pretending to agree with him. "Of course."

"So why are you so interested in this?" he asked Pepper.

"Well I do run Stark Industries after all," she replied wryly. "Public relations is an important part of it." She folded her hands in her lap. "Look, I'm just as worried about publication as you are. Probably more so, since I've been the one to deal with all the previous bad publicity. But I met her. The girl I'm interested in."

"The girl you're interested in? Well I could get used to hearing that!"

"Tony, for god's sake," Pepper snapped. "Can you keep it together please?"

"Right. Sorry," he said, not sounding the least bit sorry.

"Anyway," she continued, "I didn't approach her, she approached me."

"Most vultures usually do," Tony said under his breath.

Pepper ignored him. "She came to me with the idea. A novel featuring an inside look at the Avengers and their lives and most importantly, what they stand for."

"Sure," Tony said. "They all say that's what they're going to write about, but then what they actually produce is some drivel making us sound like either a laughingstock or that we're out to destroy the world, not save it."

"My, aren't you a bitter one," Pepper remarked.

He grimaced. "That just might be because of that witch of a reporter called me a 'Michael-Bay-wannabe-having a midlife crisis."

She burst out laughing. "I had nearly forgotten about that! Now I see why you're so worried. Well, that's what you get for giving an interview completely intoxicated, Tony."

He grunted. "All it's done is made me very, very wary of writers."

"Well, you don't need to be. Not with this one," Pepper said, looking through the file that was on her lap. "Normally, I would agree with you. But in this case I think we may have unintentionally stumbled upon a diamond in the rough. Her name is Rebecca Foulks. She's a fairly accomplished author, with three books under her belt so far." She looked up at him. "Have you heard of her?"

"Books? Reading? Who has time to read? I'm too busy creating things to read books. You've seen my schedule, when would I have any time to read?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You had a completely free day last Saturday."

"I was busy on Sunday."

"You played water polo with Rhodey all day on Sunday."

He was quiet for a moment before abruptly changing the subject. "Books are more up your alley, anyway. Have you read her work?"

"I hadn't," she admitted. "Until after our interview. And then I read one and was pretty impressed, to be honest." She smiled. "It was good Tony. And not just good, it had real feeling in it too. It was well written and had a lot of heart. Carried a real positive message that stayed with me even after I finished it." She tapped the folder in her lap with her finger. "This is the kind of writing we need to promote the right kind of publicity."

He threw his hands up in the air. "Alright, I give up. You've obviously made your decision already anyway. Do you want me to talk to her?"

She smiled. "No need. I've already briefed her on what's going to happen next, and I'm sending a car to pick her up and take her to the facility next week."

"Next week?" he exclaimed. "So why did you even bother to ask me if you already had everything arranged?"

She stood up and patted his cheek before walking out of the room, calling out over her shoulder, "I have to let you feel like you have say in SOME things, don't I?"

As the door shut Tony Stark shook his head and wondered just what Pepper was getting him into.

~*~ To be continued