So, this story turned four back in May, and as a belated birthday present I decided to spruce it up, something which I've been meaning to do for about a year now. The plot it still the same, but I've cut out some lines and interactions that made me cringe, and I've added little bits here and there so that it's a bit longer than the original. To anyone who's read the original, thank you so much for coming back to look at the changes. To anyone who's here for the first time, welcome, and enjoy your stay.

"Mm. God, I love shawarma" Tony said. He and the rest of the Avengers had assembled at the shawarma place a couple of blocks from Stark Tower, just as the billionaire had suggested. They were now headed back to the nearly decimated skyscraper, left-over boxes in hand. Tony desperately wanted to shed the Iron Man suit and Bruce, though he wouldn't admit it, really wanted a look around the R&D floors that Tony had taunted him with, even if they were currently ruined.

"Hold tight, Doctor," Tony called as the group reached the base of the building. He grabbed hold of Bruce before the other man could protest, and rocketed the two of them to one of the upper levels. Clint fired a grappling arrow upwards, wrapped an arm around Natasha, and the two were pulled up to the top.

"Want a ride?" Thor asked Steve as he began to twirl his hammer in a circular motion.

"Ah, no thanks," Steve declined. As much as he trusted his teammates, shooting bodily through the air simply did not appeal to him. "I think I'll take my chances," he said, motioning to the elevator just through the main doors.

"Suit yourself." Thor shrugged, and took off in a rush of wind.

Up top, Bruce was taking great pleasure in examining the holographic blueprints that Tony's tablet was projecting (he had very nearly dropped the tablet when Tony tossed it to him with the demand to "see what you make of these"). Clint and Natasha had made themselves comfortable on what was left of the couch, while Thor wandered over to examine the imprints of his adopted brother in the concrete.

The elevator beeped, admitting Steve to the gathering.

"I am shocked that that still works," Natasha announced, earning herself an affronted look from Tony.

"Yeah, man, I half expected that thing to drop you," Clint chimed in.

"It's part of my awesome tower; of course it still works," Tony stated as the machines removed the last piece of his armor. Natasha cast a pointed look at the smashed television on one wall, which very much did not work. "I didn't build that," Tony argued. "Shoddy craftsmanship."

Clint snorted out a laugh.

"Jarvis," Tony called out, effectively changing the subject.

"Yes, sir?" The bodiless voice responded. Steve looked up in surprise from where he was talking with Bruce when Jarvis responded.

"A.I. butler. Nice," Clint drawled.

"Call Pepper," Tony said. Jarvis complied. A nearby computer screen began a call to said woman, only to be sent to voicemail after five rings.

"Shall I try again, sir?" Jarvis asked as Tony wandered over to the bar—which was surprisingly still intact—for a drink.

"Sure."

The computer began calling again, but this time the call cut off after two rings. Alive but not answering, Natasha realized

The elevator chimed, giving the group a second's warning before Pepper Potts stalked into the room, spotted Tony, and shouted, "Are you crazy?".

"How the hell is that thing still working?" Clint muttered.

"Pepper, have you ever tried shawarma?" Tony asked nonchalantly. Inside, he filled with relief.

"That is not the point, Tony, and you know it! How many times are you going to almost kill yourself? You don't run on infinite power!"

"Hey, I did pretty well. We're all still alive and, uh," he cast a quick glance around the room, "no one's trying to kill us right now."

"There are person-shaped holes in the floor."

"You weren't supposed to see that."

"Tony. . ."

"It's a bad guy-shaped hole, so it's okay."

Pepper quickly switched topics. "I swear to God, if you ever—" she stopped and took a breath before motioning to the arc reactor in Tony's chest. "That needs to be lit up at all times, do you understand me?" she asked in a much quieter tone.

"So, who is she?" Steve asked as the pair's conversation continued.

"CEO of Stark Industries" Natasha responded.

"Do they fight like that all the time?" Bruce mused as the couple's volume level rose.

"I'm sick of not knowing if you're going to blow up a building, a city, yourself—" Tony grabbed Pepper by the waist and kissed her, effectively ending the conversation.

"They have an interesting relationship," Natasha told Bruce.

"I missed you," Tony murmured against her lips.

"I missed you, too," Pepper whispered back.

"So, she runs his company," Steve said.

"Yep," Natasha answered.

"But they're dating?"

"Yep."

"Isn't that against work policies or something?"

"Probably," Clint said.

"Now, let's get to fixing my baby up," Pepper said as she and Tony finally broke apart.

"It's only twelve percent yours," Tony reminded her jokingly.

"Then I only missed you by twelve percent," Pepper joked back. "Fifty percent."

Tony chuckled. "Deal. But Jarvis and the bar are not part of your fifty."

Pepper laughed. She got up on the tips of her toes and gave Tony a kiss on the cheek, to which he responded by wrapping an arm around her waist and leading her off to assess the damage.

"I don't understand them," Thor announced as the group watched the couple walk away.

"Nobody really does," Natasha reassured him, drawing a laugh from the others.

"I heard that!" Tony shouted from the next room. The Avengers only laughed harder.