Hi! i was inspired so... yeah. Much lighter than my previous one-shot. Hope you'll like it.

Disclaimer: Not mine cause life would be awesome otherwise.

Meeting Pepper Potts

The Avengers had settled nicely in the Stark Tower two months after the battle of Manhattan. Bruce had been the first one – Tony had played it so well that he had no choice but to say yes in the end because, damn it, those labs were too awesome to stay away from and just fuck you Stark! Then Clint and Natasha had showed up one day and asked if there was room for them – with Natasha explaining calmly that she could make some if there wasn't. Tony had taken them both to the story where he had made special rooms for all the Avengers, with a common kitchen, movie room and gym. That was two weeks after the battle.

Thor had arrived a week after, saying the Bifrost was good again, Loki in prison and everything was perfect in the world but he needed to learn more about Midgard and his teammates. Tony had grinned and pushed him into his new room saying he was welcome to stay as long as he wanted.

Steve was the last, coming back from his little tour around the country and discovering an empty apartment. On the empty kitchen counter he found a note from Tony stating that all his things were in his room at the Stark Tower where everyone else was waiting for him to finally show up. Needless to say, Steve had scowled at Tony – saying he couldn't make decisions for him – but Tony had playfully answered he wasn't being very team-ly if he wanted to stay away from them. And Tony had won just like that.

One month later they were all happy with the arrangement and enjoying Tony's endless money and means greatly – especially Natasha and Clint who weren't used to having everything they wanted in a simple request to Jarvis – that had been a shock to Thor and Steve at first, who were very wary of the ever-present so helpful AI, while Clint had found it awesome and Bruce just smiled and shook his head saying Of course.

During those two months they had each heard the name Pepper at least once from Tony. Thanks to Natasha, they knew she was Tony's co-CEO so that explained why he would talk about her. But they were still puzzled over the fondness in his voice every time he said her name. Natasha being Natasha, she just shrugged and smiled a knowing smirk when they asked her.

Once they got to meet her though, it became very clear. They each met her in very different circumstances but they all got the part Natasha – and Tony – forgot to mention: she was his girlfriend.

But until they met her, they were left wondering over who Pepper Potts could be.

°0°0°0°0°

The first one who met her was Clint.

It wasn't ideal and he definitively would have preferred meeting her properly. But at least he immediately got the fondness and Natasha's look. And he decided to act just like Natasha after that because he understood why she was so amused. The disgruntled look they wore when they would shut their mouth was too much fun.

So how he met Pepper Potts.

He got up late one morning and entered the common kitchen, without giving it much thought.

But he froze a few feet away from the actual kitchen area when he saw Tony with a gorgeous strawberry blonde. He knew immediately he was interrupting something but couldn't move away from the scene. This was gold: perfect blackmail against the genius.

Tony was at the coffee machine, waiting for the two mugs to fill, while the woman was standing behind the isle, working on what seemed to be a Starkpad. He couldn't help but wonder why Tony didn't tell them the day before he was going to come back from his Stark Industries gala with someone, because really he would have liked to know – just to make sure to stay away from the genius' room. And be slightly prepared for this.

Tony moved from the counter with the two mugs and put them down on the isle, sliding an arm around the woman's waist and putting his head on her shoulder. "Why are you working?" he whined.

Clint blinked. Maybe it was more than just a fling. He didn't see Tony acting like that after a one-night-stand. The ghost of a smile appeared on the redhead's lips and she turned her head towards the genius. "Well someone has to make the world go round."

Tony rolled his eyes and smiled before taking the pad out of her hands and sitting on a stool. His fingers started moving quickly on the screen while the woman took her mug and sipped her coffee. "Uh. Seems like the tabloids are back again."

She raised an eyebrow. Clint was too mystified by now to move. "I thought you took it to work," she said unimpressed, lips pursed.

Tony looked up at her with a faux look of indignation. "I am!" he cried. "Pepperony, finally confirmed?" he read. He raised his eyebrows. "See? Stark industries' work." He gestured to the screen.

She rolled her eyes and turned around, heading for the fridge. Clint finally saw her completely, since she was facing him and he gaped. She was wearing Tony's red shirt from the night before and it was buttoned down. She froze and opened her eyes wide.

"Hum, you… I… And… You…" You idiot! He thought, can't you do a complete sentence?

She glanced down at her black-laced exposed underwear and blushed. She turned around quickly, closing the shirt and walked swiftly to Tony, hiding behind him.

"What…?" His eyes fell on Clint and he frowned. "Oh." He put the pad down and looked sideways at his girlfriend who was recovering her composure, giving him a pointed look. "Clint, this is… Pepper. Pep, this is Clint. And yeah…" He cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the archer. "How long have you been standing here?"

Clint closed his mouth and looked uncertainly between Tony and Pepper. "Hum… a few minutes?"

Pepper gave Tony a look and crossed her arms which made the shirt go higher on her thighs. Clint swallowed. Why did Tony have to have a very hot girlfriend? "I thought you said there was no one in the kitchen at this time of the day."

He raised his hands, turning partway to see her and Clint at the same time. "And usually there isn't."

"Wait." Clint realized something. "You're Pepper Potts? Tony's co-CEO?"

Pepper raised an eyebrow and stepped forward, placing herself just behind Tony and closing a hand around Tony's biceps. "Yes."

Clint threw his hands up in the air. "Couldn't you tell us that she was your girlfriend?"

Tony frowned and exchanged a glance with Pepper, who looked surprised. "You didn't?"

"I guess I'm… I'm just so used to keeping it a secret, I kinda completely forgot you could know." He made a face and shrugged.

"What do you mean a secret?"

Pepper brought herself closer to Tony and smiled slightly. "A secret from the public. There are rumors of course. You can't stop tabloids from telling everything they want to say, but… it's bad enough some rumors say I slept my way to the top, we don't need…" At Clint's raised eyebrows and look between the two of them, she trailed off and inclined her head on the side, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Isn't it true? I'm pretty sure my eyes are not deceiving me right now."

Tony rolled his eyes and pointed his finger at the archer. "Keep your eyes to yourself and… No. She didn't sleep her way to her position. We weren't even together when she got it. She's the most competent woman I know and she was and still is perfect for the job." Clint raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything. He could hear clearly how much Tony cared about her. It was more than fondness he realized. It was stronger and deeper than that. Tony loved her.

Pepper smiled and raised herself up on her toes to cup Tony's cheek, before bringing his face to hers, kissing him lightly on the lips. Clint chose that moment to make his exit, leaving the couple alone.

°0°0°0°0°

Thor was next. In a completely unplanned way, he met the famous Pepper Potts.

As he stood in front of the remnants of the evil and insulting talking box, he picked up voices coming closer to his location – one he recognized easily as the Man of Iron's and the other was that of a stranger, though it was female. As they got closer, he could hear the words and found himself puzzled on the subject of their conversation.

"Why can't you let your work behind for just two days?"

"Because some of us has to work, Tony," said the woman patiently. "You should have looked over those contracts and papers last week. And there were two meetings that you missed despite the fact that you wanted to go – a miracle in itself." She added, snorting a little.

"I know, I know, but I've been busy. I mean, do you know what…" He stopped the moment he stepped into the room and saw the wreckage. The woman entered behind him and quickly came to a stop as well not to hit Tony. She sidestepped and searched for the reason of his freeze, only to raise eyebrows when she saw the pieces of metal and wires and glass on the ground.

Tony walked around the couch and looked down, complete disbelief on his face. Slowly he raised his eyes back up to meet Thor's. "What happened?" His voice was clipped and tight – a sign he wasn't happy.

"The talking box insulted me. I could not let this stay unpunished, it was a great offense." He saw the woman blinked and walked forward to stop behind the couch, her eyes still on the remnants.

Tony pinched his nose. "How can a TV insult you?"

"It said people who ate Pop tarts instead of delicious ice cream were idiots. I was deeply offended as I am a fan of Pop tarts." To him it seemed perfectly logical, but somehow seeing the widening eyes of the maiden and Tony's nostrils flared as his eyelids closed shut tightly, he figured maybe it wasn't. He was deeply aware of his lack of knowledge about Midgard and the great mind of his Friend Stark, who was rarely wrong.

"It was an ad. An ad," he whispered, voice full of frustration and jaw clenched tightly. He suddenly turned to the woman. "See? That's why I'm so late for everything! Because I have to fix problems like those all the time! Have you any idea of how many coffee pots, TVs, toasters and any simple technologic appliance I had to repair in the past month?"

Thor frowned while the woman bit her lip in an attempt to hide her smile. She moved her fingers, tapping her nails on the papers she held, before nodding slightly. "I can see, yes," she replied dryly. "Do I have to command a new TV?"

Tony sighed in frustration before glancing down at what was left of the television. "Yes, I can't fix this." Then he turned his attention back to Thor. "Point Break, the TV can't insult you, okay? It doesn't interact with you, it's just stupid crap to make people buy what they want. It's ads."

Thor blinked and put his hammer down. "Those men weren't trying to insult me?"

"No, they weren't."

Pepper bit her lip, the corners of her mouth stretching into a smile. Thor suddenly realized he hadn't introduced himself to her. When she looked up, he was in front of her and took her left hand in his, bringing it to his lips, kissing the back of it slightly. "It is an honor to meet you, Fair Maiden, I am Thor, prince of Asgard." She looked at Tony with raised eyebrows but he just shrugged and crossed his arms. "How can I be of assistance to you?"

She turned back to him and smiled amused. "Well, if you stopped destroying any appliances, it would greatly please me. And well if you could knock some sense into that thick-headed skull of his –" she gestured at Tony whose eyes widened. "– it would be wonderful."

Thor stood tall and raised his hammer before stepping towards Tony who took a step back and raised his arms defensively. "Immediately, My Lady."

Pepper's eyes widened and she quickly moved around Thor to stand between the two of them. "Thor, she wasn't being literal!" Tony exclaimed. "It was a figure of speech!"

"Yes, I'd rather have him alive and intact," Pepper swiftly added.

"You do not wish for me to knock his head?" Thor asked, confused.

Pepper shook her head and put the papers she was holding down on the table. "No. What I was trying to say was I sometimes wish he could just do things I ask of him without complaining."

"I fail to see how this would involve me and knocking."

Tony took the papers and the pen that was attached to it. "Doesn't matter. I'm signing those papers, taking the summaries of the meetings I missed, reading the contracts and…" He trailed off, frowning at one of the papers. Pepper turned to look at him, a questioning look on her face. "What's that?" he asked, producing what looked like a letter.

The redhead's eyes widened and she took it quickly, folding it neatly and sliding it in her pocket. "Nothing."

"Why didn't you tell me your parents were in town?"

"It's not important, Tony."

"They said they will meet you tomorrow. You said you had too much work to go with me tomorrow. I had to cancel… Why did you make up an excuse?" Thor glanced between them and saw the slightly hurt look of Tony and the guilt the woman was exuding.

"I… I couldn't tell you because… You would have wanted to meet them and…"

"Is there something I am missing?" Thor wondered, his voice loud and overpowering theirs. They both turned to him with their mouths opened, wondering what to say.

"I… I'm…" Her eyes widened. "I didn't introduce myself. I'm Pepper, Tony's CEO and girlfriend."

Thor raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware the Man of Iron had a lady."

"You forgot again?" she questioned.

"Clint did too," he sighed. "Pepper, I'm… I'm not sure I'm ready to meet your parents yet. I know it's important and all but… I'm… Well I'm me." He shrugged helplessly.

Thor decided he should go. This was a private conversation on which he didn't want to intrude.

°0°0°0°0°

Bruce had been, despite the fact he was there first, the third to meet Pepper. Just two days after Thor.

It was a normal day, nothing out of the ordinary. He was in the lab with Tony, working behind his microscope while the genius was under a car tinkering with it, doing god only knows what. The door to the lab suddenly opened, which he found strange because no one ever entered the lab without asking Jarvis to announce them. He looked up, noticing Tony hadn't moved in the slightest, and saw a beautiful redhead woman heading towards Tony, seemingly not having seen him. He hesitated between making his presence known or just trying to figure out who she was.

She stopped in front of Tony's feet, put her phone down on the car's hood and with her heel, she dragged him out from underneath the car – getting an "Ow" from him when she hit his leg. He opened his mouth ready to complain only to close it when he realized who it was. Now Bruce was intrigued. Someone who could shut Tony up was definitively someone worth knowing.

"You okay?" he asked suddenly getting up. He was more than intrigued. Tony sounded really concerned. He took her hands and fixed his eyes on her face. "I thought… Your par…"

"They find my job awful and want me to quit because I can't work for, and I quote here, 'an ungrateful selfish playboy bastard'." She shook her head and pushed a strand of hair out of her face – which only resulted on making more hair falling from her loose ponytail. She sighed in frustration.

Tony's shoulders fell. "Told you it wasn't a good thing I…" He trailed off and looked uncertainly behind him. He saw two stools and dragged the woman to them, forcing her to sit down. "What did you do? Tell me you didn't leave them after…"

"That's exactly what I did, Tony." She looked up at him and Bruce saw tears in her eyes. He was wondering if maybe he should leave when Tony surprised him.

"Pepper, you need to go back to your parents now. You can't ruin your relationship with them because of me," he said taking her face between his hands. "Come on, Pep, don't be ridiculous, I know what everyone thinks about me."

"But they're my parents, Tony." She put her hands on his and closed her eyes. "I've been working for you for years and they never said anything. And now that… You shut the weapons industry, you're Iron Man, you stopped being the man who was on the front page of every tabloid because of his antics and they…" She shook her head and entangled her fingers with his, dropping their hands to her lap. "Now they say that I shouldn't work for you."

Tony sat on the other stool with a sigh and closed his eyes. "Somehow I think it has to do with the rumors."

She scoffed. "They should know better." She crossed her arms and bit her lip. "I couldn't even convince my sister that they weren't true."

"Whoah what? Your sister is there as well?" Tony startled, snapping his head up.

"Yes. With her husband and her two children. My brother and his fiancé are there too." She saw Tony's eyes widen and quickly added: "Don't worry they don't know about… us."

"I figure. Otherwise I would be dead. Or have to run away and hide forever. Or maybe go all Iron Man on them – no, it wouldn't work, I'm sure they'll find a way to get to me even in the suit."

Pepper chuckled. "I don't think so. You would fly before it happens."

"I'll take you with me. There's no point in hiding if I can't have you there with me." She smiled and clenched his hand lightly. "But you still have to go back to them. It's your family."

Bruce wondered how in the past month he could have missed this. Obviously they were together. They were talking about her parents – it wasn't something you talk about lightly on the beginning of your relationship. And he could hear it in the sound of their voices, in the way they look at each other, how they seem to always be touching, they loved each other. Bruce knew who Pepper was: Tony's co-CEO.

"And they don't even know we're together. God, it's been over a year and they have no idea," she smiled, before laughing.

Tony smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I'll be dead."

She shook her head. "Sometimes I wondered how you can just stand there and not care about what people say. When they said this… I just wanted to scream at them about how wrong they were."

Tony stood up and stepped forward, bringing himself so close to her that there was barely an inch between their bodies. She looked up at him, staring into his eyes, while he cupped her face. "Because there's only a few people I care about and what they say is all that matters. You're one of them." He smiled – Bruce caught his breath because this? This was a real smile, a smile full of happiness and love, one he'd never thought he would see on the billionaire's face. "The most important one by far." He bent down and kissed her whereas she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Okay, maybe he should remind them of his presence, seeing as Tony's carried her to one of the desks as she wrapped her legs around his hips. Yeah – definitively. He cleared his throat. No reaction. Pepper's vest fell on the floor, along with her heels. Tony tugged at her hair and undid the ponytail.

He cleared his throat again, louder. Tony's shirt went flying over his head. Why did this have to happen to me? Bruce wondered. He had to stay calm and breathed deeply. "Tony!" He screamed.

They both froze, Pepper's blouse in Tony's hands. They separated, Pepper turning a lovely shade of red while she snatched her shirt back from her boyfriend's hands. He quickly retrieved his t-shirt and put it on. Pepper turned to Bruce and smiled tightly. He smiled back just as embarrassed.

"Hum… Pepper, this is Bruce. Bruce, Pepper."

"It's… lovely to meet you, Pepper."

She blushed and nodded. "Same." She turned to Tony and raised a hand before gesturing to the door. "I'm gonna… You know… My parents and… yeah."

"Of course." She started leaving but he called her back, raising her shoes and vest. "You may need those."

Bruce wasn't about to forget that meeting anytime soon. And he learned to always check Pepper wasn't in the lab when he came in.

°0°0°0°0°

Finally Steve was the last one to meet the famous Pepper Potts. It was a week after the Lab Incident and no one had yet to tell him about the two of them.

They were all training in the gym Tony had incorporated when Steve decided that Tony should be joining them – after all, it was good for the team work they were trying to make. So he suggested it to everyone and was surprised at the looks they all exchanged.

"Didn't Tony had a gala last night?" Clint wondered aloud.

Natasha grinned. "Yes. He came back around three."

Bruce frowned. "How do you know that?"

She shrugged. "I was taking a night snack."

Clint turned to Steve and grinned – the soldier decided he didn't like that grin. "He must be in his room. It's not even ten yet."

Bruce elbowed him, while Thor frowned. "But didn't he go to those galas with…"

Natasha cut him up: "With the people working with him? Yes, he does."

Steve frowned but said nothing and headed out. He heard slightly Clint's laugh and Bruce's disapproving voice: "It's not funny to catch them in the middle of it, Clint." He wondered what he was talking about but thought nothing more of it.

He climbed the stairs to Tony's story – why did the man insist on not being at the same one as the others Avengers was beyond him. Fortunately he knew the floor and could find Tony's room easily. His enhanced ears picked up voices and he wondered who would be calling Tony at this hour of the day – everyone knew the man's love for late mornings (when he did sleep of course).

"You're working?" It was a girl and disbelief was filling her voice.

"I finally know what the problem was with the car. Bruce kept saying it was the arc, but I knew there was nothing wrong with it!" This was definitively Tony. Steve was always awed by how passionate the inventor got when talking about anything science-related. He would never say this to his face but he was completely impressed by just how smart Tony was. The man really was a genius.

"Tony. Look up from that pad."

"Mmh?" Steve arrived at the door and opened it without knocking, thinking Tony was on the phone with someone – it wouldn't be the first time he caught Tony talking to someone over this particular appliance and he wasn't going to repeat his mistakes, Tony was alone.

Except he wasn't.

Steve froze on the doorway, eyes wide as he took in the scene before him. Tony was lying down, upper body up on several cushions, with only some pants on him. But it wasn't what made the captain turn crimson. No it was the woman sitting on Tony's hips, hands on both sides of his head, hair falling in a curtain of red curls over one of her shoulders – of course the one not facing him – leaning forward, clad in only red-laced underwear.

Tony immediately caught the sheets and brought them up, the woman quickly enveloping herself with them, while Steve turned swiftly on his heels, swallowing and closing his eyes tightly shut.

"What are you doing here?" the genius snapped. "Why didn't you knock or ask Jarvis or… Something!"

"I… I thought you were on the phone!" he replied tersely. He heard movement and a door closing. Tony sighed and Steve knew he could turn back around.

Tony had put a t-shirt on and was sitting up on his knees in the bed, running a hand over his face. The woman was nowhere in sight but Steve saw a door on the right of the bed and decided it must have been some kind of bathroom or something – she must be in there.

"Why are you here?"

"I… We're training and… I thought it would good if you could… come."

Tony nodded and then frowned. "Wait. Did you tell the others you were coming here?"

"Yes." Somehow Steve knew why Tony was asking that and suddenly understood Clint's behavior.

"Those fucking idiots!" Tony swore, making him make a face – he still wasn't used to so much swearing (unfortunately, the genius was good at it). "They knew about…" he gestured at the door, which opened then. The redhead was simply dressed in shorts and shirt and managed a smile – Steve found this admirable because he wasn't sure he would have been able to face himself so quickly after something like that.

"You must be Steve," she said while sitting down on the bed. He watched her, mouth open, as she bent down to retrieve her shoes and clothes – okay, he didn't want that image in his head. "I'm Pepper."

Pepper. The name somehow sounded familiar. Why? Tony got up and snatched his own clothes up from the floor. Of course, he knew who she was – Tony's co-CEO. How could he forget her? "Why… Why didn't you say that you…" Steve trailed off, wondering really why Tony had thought it wasn't important to mention Pepper was his girlfriend and that she might be around sometimes.

"You didn't? Again?" Pepper questioned, amused, eyes sparkling. He couldn't deny it, she was beautiful.

He shrugged. "Thought between Clint, Natasha, Thor and Bruce, he would have learned about it." He threw his clothes on the bed and crossed his arms, facing them both at the same time. "Guess they wanted to make sure he…"

Pepper blushed and Steve frowned – it made him wonder how the others met her (he doubted he wanted to know though). "It's as bad as Bruce," she whispered.

Tony pursed his lips. "How is it as bad? We were gonna have hot wild sex in the lab while he was standing a few feet away – can't see how catching us on a nice morning talk is as bad."

Yep, he knew he didn't want to know. "Okay, I'm just going to… leave. Yeah, I'm leaving. Nice meeting you Pepper." He started turning around but then remembered why he was there in the first place. "For the training…"

"I'm coming. Let me change and all."

He nodded and left.

He didn't waste a second and headed back down to the gym. He had a few words of choice to say to some people. He wasn't happy with the trick or farce – or whatever you want to call it that they played on him.

When he entered, he saw them waiting for him on the benches. Clint was the first one to notice him and he grinned. Natasha got a small smirk and Bruce shook his head at them. Thor seemed less confused than when he left, but he was still puzzled it seemed. Steve pointed a finger at them – Clint more specifically. "You knew. You let me go knowing exactly what was going to happen!"

"How bad?" The archer asked, his grin still wide.

"She was in her…" He swallowed, blushed hard. "In her underwear. In their bed."

Clint laughed his head off and Natasha bit her lip hard to prevent herself from doing the same. Thor frowned. "Did you meet the lovely Lady Pepper?"

"Lovely," he repeated. "I don't know about lovely."

"Who's lovely?" Tony's voice rang in the gym. Steve turned around and saw him in sweatpants and an old t-shirt, looking as comfortable as he always did. It seemed he was completely at ease despite their previous encounter.

"Pepper," Clint replied. "Lovely and hot. Her legs are awesome."

Tony's eyes narrowed. "And wouldn't you know that, mister I-walk-in-the-kitchen-and-stare."

Wonderful, thought Steve, did any of them meet her while she was dressed?

Clint raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "It's a kitchen. I wasn't expecting to find her wearing only her underwear and your shirt."

Bruce cleared his throat. "And the lab isn't a sex playground."

Tony narrowed his eyes and waved a hand in Steve's direction. "If you say our bedroom's off-limits, I'm kicking you out." He sighed and threw his hands up in the air. "Okay guys, I should have told you, I know that, but we're still not used to having people living with us so there's a few habits we have to stop, but be patient. We're working it out."

"Oh God, you mean the lab is a sex playground?" Clint shrieked.

Tony raised an eyebrow at him, unimpressed. "The one back home is. This one has yet to be baptized. But don't worry – it's only a matter of time. If Bruce here hadn't been there, we would definitively have had sex there."

"Okay, I'm done with this conversation. Can we go back to training?" Steve queried, eyes pleading – he was ready to beg just to stop talking about sex.

Tony grinned. "Sure, Cap, I'm gonna train you, we're gonna do it hard."

Clint laughed, leaving Thor confused, Steve red and Bruce shaking his head.

Since then they saw Pepper more and more and fortunately for them, she was always dressed – Tony made sure to leave a message to Jarvis, stating when some places were off-limits. It wouldn't do any good to anyone if they got caught yet again in an uncomfortable position.

Voilà ! Don't we all love Pepperony ? Or just how awesome Tony is ? Tell me what you think!

A bientôt

AngelShep