Summary: Usually, a two-week notice is acceptable at Stark Industries; unless, of course, you're the personal assistant to Tony Stark.

A/N: Man in a Can hasn't escaped my mind, but after watching IM and IM2 yesterday for inspiration, a new plot bunny was born. Usual disclaimers apply regarding the lack of ownership of any of these characters or any invention of Disney/Marvel. As some of you have learned, standard warnings apply to all my stories: foul language, gory scenes, drama, angst and cliffies.

Enjoy!

30 DAYS

Prologue

He stared down at their intertwined hands, thinking hard about his next words. The only perfectly capable personal assistant he had ever had, had just resigned her post –and going through with it, this time. A short week after her unprecedentedly shocking appointing as CEO of Stark Industries –and after the drama that followed this decision, Virginia "Pepper" Potts had had just about enough of this.

"You deserve better," was all he could muster immediately after her sudden outburst. It was not as if he could not think of better things to say to her; in fact, he could think of deep confessions of love and affection he could list to her for days. Yet, the short sentence he had just uttered was simply all he could think of to keep her from jumping off the roof he had just landed them on out of pure frustration with him.

"Well." She said, not truly facing him just yet as she also stared down at their joined hands, the smallest pang of regret at her decision almost making her want to take back her words.

"You've taken such good care of me," he continued, now staring deeply into her eyes, hoping that she would read his true intentions as easily as she always had in the past. This was the beauty of their relationship; they could have entire conversations with just the use of their eyes.

"Been in a tough spot, and you got me through it, so…right?"

"Thank you."

"Yeah."

"Thank you, for understanding." She told him, and she meant it.

"Yeah-yeah, but…" he began, taking in a deep breath and letting go of her hand. He stared down at the chaos that had once been the Stark Expo, looking down at the spot that would have been her grave if he had been just a second too late to rescue her.

She does deserve better than being in constant danger around me.

"Tony?" she called out to him, alternating from staring at his almost lost gaze and the mess on the ground.

"Yeah," he said, returning his attention to her, "uhm…I-I just want to ask for one last favor before you leave."

"Clean up?" she asked, already having expecting this task to be assigned to her to complete before she left, and she was more than willing to comply.

"Well, that goes without saying. I don't know if you had plans or anything, but, would you...could you, make your resignation effective in 30 days?"

Pepper narrowed her eyes at him. Had he been any other employer, she would have accepted the request with no questions asked. It was customary to give a two-week notice for most positions, and a 30-day+ notice was reserved to high executives to assure all loose ends were tied before they left. She was far from being an executive, so this rule did not apply to her, and he knew it.

"30 days? What for? You're not changing my mind, Stark, not again."

Tony immediately raised his hands in the air. "No, no, I think I've fucked up your life long enough. I just want the transition to be as smooth as possible, and I hope you won't mind training your replacement. Is that…OK?"

Pepper allowed herself to relax a little, almost buying into his reasoning. She knew damn well that he probably had a plan up his sleeve to keep her around, but he did have a point that she owed her reputation, the company and him that much.

"Alright, but at the first sign of funny business…"

"I will escort you out myself," he said, lowering his hands and giving her a decisive nod. "Besides, it's not as if we won't see each other anymore, right? You'll still come around, I hope?"

Pepper gave him a reassuring smile. She would be lying to herself if she said that she would not stay in touch. After over ten years of spending every day together, living through long working nights, cleaning up his messes and –more recently, patching him up after a mission, she had no right to say their relationship was nothing more than a professional one. She wanted to think that he also considered her a friend as much as she considered him to be hers. And, her betraying heart wanted to hope their connection could potentially offer much more.

"As long as you don't make me run your company anymore, I think I can spare an afternoon at your place. Besides, Jarvis needs to talk to a coherent person every now and then; constant madness cannot be good for his circuits."

Tony chuckled, even if the joke had been at his own expense. "That, and the fact that you still gotta teach me my social security number, Potts. You know what they say: it takes 30 days to build a habit."

Pepper gave him one of those show-stopping smiles he loved, making this conversation more difficult than it already was for him. He truly did not want to accept her resignation, but he also wanted the opportunity to show her that he wanted her, needed her, more than just to ride his ass at work. If this was the only way he could continue the interrupted conversation they had at her office, then so be it.

It takes 30 days to build a habit, or an addiction –might as well be an addiction to me.

A/N: Clearly, this takes place after IM2. I hope you buckle up because you're gonna be taken on a ride!