'Did I give you my address?' Clint asks when he opens the door to see Pepper standing there, in a tight black dress and perfect shoes, obviously tired and yet somehow giddy.

'No, I found the address myself –or rather JARVIS did. For me. Does that sound wrong? I'm sorry if an A.I. spying on you wounds wrong –'

'I'm too familiar with spies, no worries. Come inside,' Clint says and just as she moves he notices a small paper bag in her hand. 'So why is the famous CEO visiting me this fine Wednesday evening?'

'I need a drink.'

'Oh,' Clint breathes. That's something women seem to do around Clint sometimes. Natasha and Maria and Melinda and a few others, they come by and treat him like a pal and a puppy at the same time. Which is totally fine because he gets the best booze for free. 'Well then…'

'I brought stuff,' she adds, showing Clint the bag in her hands. There are two bottles inside and Clint sets them on the kitchen counter. 'JARVIS said according to your schedule you should have a free evening and I thought you'd like some alcohol – I can go if you have plans, I'm being insensitive, see what that damn man turned me into –'

'I like Polish vodka,' Clint assures her. Pepper drops on the nearest chair tiredly and kicks off her shoes.

'You're a lifesaver. I'm glad I met you, Clint. I really am.'

'I really like your shoes, Pepper,' he counters, taking out two crystal-cut glasses he got from Natasha but before he can pour the vodka, Pepper grabs it and takes a few gulps straight from the bottle, leaving Clint string at her with morbid fascination.

'Bad day.'

'We all have them,' he replies automatically, setting the glasses on the counter, takes out some olives and salami from the fridge and slides into the chair next to Pepper. His glass is full by then and Pepper is nursing hers with a weary smile.

'We had this meeting in the morning that Tony was late for 'cause he was doing some breakthrough work and I told him that's no excuse, he does that every week but he wouldn't listen so we argued, and then I tried to talk to him at lunch but he sneaked out and hid from me as if he was a damn kid and I really don't have time to go running around looking for him, and then I got this call from yet another woman who claims to have a kid with him, a toddler or something, and we have to check it even though I'm sure it's not his, and it's just – I can't take that anymore.'

'You sure talk a lot about Tony,' he comments with a small smile. Pepper shakes her head tiredly and pours herself some move vodka.

'Gosh, I'm sorry, I'm doing this again, aren't I?'

'Are you two like, together?' Clint asks, feeling like this might be his chance to actually get an answer, no one seems to know that for sure.

'No, no,' Pepper replies quickly, looking as if she was about to burst out laughing or maybe crying. 'He's too much for that. He requires so much attention and I need my space and – no, we're just not compatible. At all. We just have sex sometimes and that's a very good arrangement. The best. It's like, when we get too close, we need to run away from each other and wait until we can stand each other again for more than five minutes.'

'That sounds like a handful.'

'It is, but I'm used to it. You should have seen me ten years ago, or maybe better not, when I started working for him. Took me a few months to get used to the way he functions. I adapted, I made him adapt, and here we are. We haven't killed each other yet. I count that as an accomplishment.'

'Nat and I, we're pretty much similar. Only that we don't get the off times, we just beat the other up in fights until we decide it's time for after-training shake and then we're bros because Nat hates making her own food. I tried to explain making a shake is not cooking, but she's got ideas.'

'I know that type. Smart, but impossible. But all right, I'm not going to talk about Tony again –'

'I don't mind –'

'– it's just that he's been such a big part of my life for the last what, fifteen years? It'll be fifteen years soon. And he can be overwhelming. So how about I tell you something from before Tony?'

'When did you get your first pair of high heels?'

'I was fourteen,' Pepper laughs, her eyes lighting up at the memory. 'I just found out being a girl was nice, I wasn't very girly before. I have two brothers, I needed to be tough. But then I met a new girl and we made friends, you know how this goes?'

Clint nods even though he doesn't, not really, but it's not the point. He can imagine. He's seen enough movies to imagine.

'Yeah,' he verbalizes, biting into a pleasantly bitter olive.

'It was a bit crazy, I was this skinny sticky kid with short hair but I fell in love with heels, I took my mum's dozens of times when we'd go to movies or to the mall.'

'And she didn't notice?' Clint wonders since he doesn't really know how normal parents function.

'I thought she didn't, when I was in college she told me she always knew and it amused her to see me sneaking around like that. She said she could see I've always been a high-heel girl.'

'I can see that too,' Clint agrees, standing up. 'Want to try some on? Sometimes Nat leaves them here and forgets – don't look at me like that, they're good for Halloween costumes.'

Pepper laughs, shaking her head in amused disbelief, and follows.

A/N: That you for all your comments! Sorry for the wait. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, too. I'm always happy to read your thoughts :)