The next morning you shuffled out to the kitchen, your nose leading the way as it followed the scent of bacon. You stopped in surprise when you caught sight of everyone else sitting around the large table. After blinking a couple of times, you headed into the kitchen to pour yourself a cup of coffee. Once you had it the way you liked it and had taken a large sip you felt like you could carry on at least a partial conversation. "Good Morning, everyone."

They all gave some variation of a greeting and Tony pushed the empty chair beside him away from the table with his foot. "Come. Sit. Eat."

You gave him a small smile and nodded once. "Yes, boss."

He arched a brow at your sass. "What did I say about that?"

You shrugged one shoulder. "You said I couldn't call you Mr. Stark and I didn't."

Almost before you could blink the others had piled pancakes, bacon and eggs onto your plate. "Thank you." As you ate, you noticed that the others were rather quiet. It was odd. You took another sip of your coffee as you leaned back in your chair. "What's up, guys?"

Steve's cheeks flushed a rather pretty shade of pink and he rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. "I-uh..." He trailed off.

"What Capsicle is trying to say is thank you," Tony finally said, taking pity on the old man.

"Could you give us a more detailed tour today?" Natasha asked.

You smiled before you could think better of it. "Of course. I'd be happy to."

Steve pushed a piece of paper in your direction. "I made a list. Hope that's okay."

Your eyes ran over the list of art supplies. "This seriously is the best thank you. Knowing you guys are enjoying the spaces we made for you is enough."

"We?"

You turned to find Tony studying you with a furrow in his brow. "Jarvis was a considerable help."

He leaned forward and tapped his finger on the table. After a moment, his tongue darted out to moisten his lips. "My AI seems abnormally fond of you."

"Must be my charming personality."

"Yeah. Must be."

The two of you just looked at each other for a moment before the rest of the team started talking about other things they wanted in their spaces, drawing your attention away from him.

***

It was late afternoon and the others were scattered throughout the living spaces while you sat on the couch with your legs tucked underneath you. You were clearing out emails and prioritizing appointments that needed to be made.

"Excuse me, Miss but Ms. Potts is requesting permission to enter the premises."

You jerked your head up with a frown. "She was on the list of approved visitors, was she not?"

"She was. Mr. Stark removed all approvals for anyone save yourself and the rest of the team this morning."

Why the hell had he done that, and why hadn't he told you? Shaking your head, you cleared your throat. "Talk to Tony about it then, J. Not my circus, not my monkeys."

"Very well, Miss."

A moment later the AI was back. "My apologies, but Mr. Stark said, and I quote 'All the monkeys are your monkeys'."

You sighed and sat the tablet in your lap. "Where is Pepper wanting to go?"

"She wishes to see, Mr. Stark."

"And you told Tony this?"

"I did."

You pinched the bridge of your nose trying to stave off the headache creeping up. "And where is Tony?"

"The lab, Miss."

Shit. Pepper was no longer allowed in the lab per your agreement with Nick Fury. "Tell her the lab is off limits, Jarvis. If she wants to see Tony, she'll have to send him a message and he'll get back to her."

You shifted your position on the couch to slip your shoes back on. You wanted to have a word with Tony yourself.

"Ms. Potts requests permission to speak with you."

Of course, she wanted to speak to you. Damn it, Tony. "Let her up." You placed your tablet on the table and turned so you could greet her when she got off the elevator.

Pepper was in a fine fury when she strode off the elevator. Her lips were pursed as she stopped a short distance from you. Your instinct was to take a step back but you held your ground. You'd be damned if you let this woman intimidate you.

"What do you think you're doing?" Her words were clipped, harsh.

"My job."

"You are a glorified secretary. Nothing more. You have no right to keep me from going anywhere in this tower I choose to go." She took a step closer and you still didn't move. You'd been yelled at by scarier people than her. "And you certainly cannot keep me away from Tony on whim. You're not that important."

You tilted your head slightly. "Finished?"

Her eyes went wide and her mouth hung open just a bit. She was obviously used to people bending to her will by this point. You wouldn't be Tony Stark's soulmate if you were that quick to give way.

"Tony is the one that revoked access to all living areas of the tower for everyone but myself and the team. The lab and the floor below are now restricted access. Only those that have been cleared by SHIELD are allowed on those floors."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "So, get me clearance."

"Only team members or support personnel. You don't qualify as either. Sorry."

She leaned toward you. "I knew you were going to be trouble the first time I saw you. You lied to get in here and tricked Tony into hiring you. Now you think you can just weasel in and replace me? Think again. I hope you liked working here because I'll have you gone by the end of the day."

With that she turned on her heel and stomped back into the elevator, barking the floor she wished to Jarvis as she went. You heaved a sigh. Well, that was a lovely experience. You moved toward the elevator at a far more sedate pace. "Take me to see Tony, J," you said once you'd stepped inside.

"Of course."

You arrived quickly on the floor with the lab and hurried down the hall. Maybe you should start wearing heels just so you could hear that satisfying click when you stepped on the marble. Jarvis unlocked the door for you before you even arrived. You gave Bruce a smile and a nod before scowling at Tony.

"Hey," he said without glancing at you.

You didn't respond. Instead you simply waited. After the silence stretched on, he looked up, cringing when he saw your expression. "Look, it was better if you talked to her. I have been trained to just do whatever she tells me. Too many years of her being my assistant."

"So, you decided to just revoke her clearance for the living levels without telling her?"

He turned his attention back to the device in his hand he was fiddling with. You cringed as his screwdriver slipped and put a gouge in the metal. "Damn it." He dropped it on the table and raked a hand through his hair. "Be a sweetheart and make me a cup of coffee, would you?"

You resisted the urge to roll your eyes and went to do as he asked. "By the way, this is a horrible distraction. I still expect an answer to my question."

"To be fair, I revoked everyone's access without warning, including Fury's. With you separating everything out no one needs to be in our private space anymore. It's nice. Thank you."

You nodded as you finished up his coffee and sat it on the table in front of him. "Fair enough, but Pepper isn't just anyone."

He sipped his coffee as his dark eyes studied you. "True. She's the CEO of Stark Industries. Very important person."

God, he was irritating sometimes. "That's not what I was referring to and you know it."

"That reminds me," he said lifting a finger. "Please send Ms. Potts an email that all paperwork is to be reviewed by you before I sign it."

"Are you trying to get me killed, Tony? Because that's what this leads to—homicidal rage."

Bruce chuckled and you shot him a smile.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm almost positive you could take her in a fight." He smirked around the rim of his cup and humor danced in his eyes. He was certainly enjoying himself.

"That is not—"

Before you could finish your thought, Tony got distracted by something on his desk. He picked up a small pointed instrument and poked the device he'd been working on earlier. Sparks sprayed into the air and a loud pop was heard shortly before smoke flowed from the casing.

He stared at his handiwork for a moment. "Huh." That was all he said before looking back to you.

"All right, Tony. Is there anything else you would like me to tell Pepper when I email her?"

"Tell her you could beat her in a fight. I want to see what happens."

Bruce's surprised laugh was loud and pulled a smile from you before you could stop it. You shouldn't be encouraging Tony's obnoxious behavior.

"I meant anything relevant. I'm certain you can manage tormenting your girlfriend without my help."

Tony frowned and put his cup down. He shot a glance over to Bruce who gave him an unreadable look back. You glanced between the two of them. It seemed they were capable of holding an entire conversation through looks alone. You didn't have time for this. "Listen, I have work to do. I will email Pepper per your request and I will send out an email notifying relevant parties that clearances have been revoked so there are no more surprises."

Without waiting for a response, you turned to leave the lab. You had the door open before Tony's voice calling your name stopped you. "Son of a bitch!"

The last part had you snapping around to find Tony cradling his hand against his chest. Your eyes widened as blood dripped from it to the floor. You instantly curled your hand into a fist in sympathy and to hide your matching scar.

"Get the kit," Bruce ordered as he hopped off his stool to tend to Tony.

You hurried over to the cabinet designated for first aid supplies and pulled out the kit for cuts and burns. Returning to the table, you opened it, careful to keep your palm concealed as much as possible.

"How did you manage this?" Bruce grumbled looking at Tony over the top of his glasses.

"My focus was elsewhere and I didn't notice where I was placing my hand." Tony glanced quickly at you before turning his attention back to his hand.

"Could you tear open one of those ointment packets for me?" Bruce asked with a glance in your direction.

You hastily grabbed one of the small packets and ripped the top off before passing it over. Bruce took it from you with a frown you didn't understand. He quickly finished doctoring Tony's hand. "All right, Tony. Try to be at least mildly observant in the lab from now on. If you don't mind, I'm going to borrow our assistant for a moment. I need to get her opinion on something in my meditation room."

Tony scowled at his friend before saying, "Sure. Thanks for fixing me up."

Bruce led the way from the lab and into his private quarters. You'd no sooner shut the door behind you than he grabbed your hand and uncurled your fingers to examine your palm. He traced the white scar then glanced up at you. "Something you want to talk about?"