#i'm hesitant to spill a lot of information in my back pocket

[danceswithdarkspawn]

Hi, it's me, the anon from two seconds ago, would you also mind info-dumping about your OCs in this ask?

Pretty please?

With a giant cinnamon roll as a bribe?

I'm assuming you haven't seen this, a list of my OCs, which is purposefully vague.

You could also search through my character tags, if you were so inclined.

Eran Tabris, Ariel Tabris, Renata Lavellan, and Elisabeth Trevelyan

[rowanisawriter]

HI for cullen & iron bull maybe? The habit of paying compliments kept a man's tongue oiled without any expense.

hiiii thank you!! i'm taking some liberties with this quote... here's some spy craft, some weird feelings, some suspicious friendliness....

for @dadrunkwriting

wc: 755

Cullen sits back in his straight back chair, dropping his fountain pen and stretching out his fingers. His knuckles crack and fill the sudden silence in his office. Across from him, perched on the chair on the other side of his desk, the Iron Bull tucks some of his reports back into the side pocket of his striped pants and holds onto the others.

“Alright, Commander?” Bull asks. He sounds bright, as energetic as he was when he first entered Cullen’s office hours before, a stack of reports under his arm, and a pair of tankards in each hand. The tankards are long since drained now, although Cullen feels neither quenched nor the least bit drunk. 

“Yes, fine,” Cullen says quickly. He skims through his notes, ignoring the twinge behind his eyes that signals a headache on the horizon. “I’m fine, thank you,” he adds in a lower tone. “Just… a lot of reports we sorted through. Your superiors are very thorough.”

“So are you,” Bull replies. “And organized. I have everything I need to send back to my leaders.”

“Is that surprise I hear?” Cullen asks.

Bull chuckles. “Not at all, Commander. Not surprised that you’re organized. Just that your current circumstances would allow for a little chaos.”

Cullen feels the press of the hard wooden back of his chair and realizes he’s leaned a little too far back. “My… circumstances?”

“Sure.” Bull’s face is open, friendly. But his one good eye is steady on Cullen’s face, unmoving. “You’re leading a makeshift army of recruits who have scarcely held a sword before they joined your cause. I’d estimate one out of thirty of them can write a decent report without guidance. Yet you’re able to whip up all this intel for my leaders in an afternoon. It’s impressive.”

Cullen feels something ballooning in his chest, puffing up like hot air. Pride. A rare enough feeling. He stifles it quickly and clears his throat, going back to shuffling through his notes. “I appreciate you saying that.”

“It’s the truth.” Bull gets to his feet. “This organization is lucky to have you.”

Cullen’s cheeks feel a little hot. “It… doesn't feel that way sometimes. Still good to hear.”

Bull’s eyes lift slightly, focusing on the top of Cullen’s head. “Working through it?” he asks vaguely.

Cullen shrugs. “Some days are better than others.”

“I admire that.” Bull leans forward to collect the tankards, grabbing one and shifting his reports back under his arm to free his other hand. Cullen hurries forward and starts to push his own empty tankard toward the edge of the desk but nudges his inkpot over on its side. He jumps to his feet.

“Shit,” Bull says, dropping the tankard and righting the inkpot. A pool of black ink spreads quickly on the surface of the desk. Cullen pushes his notes out of the way. Bull grabs scrolls of maps just as the ink begins to stain the edges. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s alright.” Cullen’s head twinges again. He sits back down and pulls out a stack of empty parchment to soak up some of the ink. “No harm done.”

Bull is looking down at the maps in his arms, one of which has unfurled slightly. “Is this the Approach?” he asks.

Cullen squints. He can see his own handwriting on the very edge of the map nearest Bull’s face, the corner of it stained with spilled ink. “I believe so.”

“Mind if I borrow this? I lost my own map in the field. I’d been using it to organize drops for my leaders.”

“Uh.” Cullen frowns at the map. There isn’t much confidential information in his office, nothing especially sensitive that can’t be shared with the Ben-Hassrath. Maker knows the nobles loitering around the castle grounds have gathered enough intel and provide little and less value to the Inquisition than this strange alliance with the Qunari. Still, he hesitates. 

Bull lowers the map. “Something here I shouldn’t be seeing, Commander?”

His face is still open, still as friendly as ever. Cullen feels himself drawing back.

“Not at all, Bull. Go ahead. I will need it back, though.”

“Of course.” Bull tucks the map under his arm with the rest of his reports and gives him a smile. “Much appreciated.”

Cullen tries to smile back. A slow trickle of something slides down his spine. He stays as still as he can so Bull doesn’t see him squirm, but he knows that one good eye has caught this sudden discomfort. 

“You’re very welcome.”

[one-boring-person]

I Trust You.

Marko (The Lost Boys) x Chiraptophobic!reader

Warnings: very vague mention of abuse, but they do not apply to the reader necessarily.

Context: The reader suffers from chiraptophobia (the fear of physical human contact/touch) and has somehow found themself in a friendship with Marko, who has somehow managed to understand how to not constantly need to touch his friend to show affection, until they take a ride on the Ferris wheel.

A/N: This was interesting to write, so j hope it's turned out alright. I guess I took a little inspiration from Death Stranding's Sam, but I thought it would be fun to do which it was. I hope it's enjoyable!😊💛

Masterlist

It took Marko weeks to finally figure out why I always shied away from his advances, why I'd stared uncomfortably at his offered hand until he withdrew it when he'd tried to shake mine in greeting, why I always wore gloves even in the suffocatingly hot summer air (despite him doing the same), and why I wouldn't go near people I don't know personally, often doing my hardest to steer clear of others in general. Rather than ask, he tried to work it out for himself, observing my behaviour and mannerisms for hours on end, though he still couldn't get what was up with my actions. He'd had to ask for some help from the others, though only David and Dwayne could offer any plausible reasons as to why: maybe I'd been abused in my past and was now averse to unfamiliar human contact, or maybe I was a germophobe. When the young vampire had asked me about both, I'd quickly denied them, thinking that it is unlikely he'd understand the real reason for my odd behaviour. It was only when he saw another person try to shake my hand that he finally noticed the emotion passing through my eyes at the prospect, at which point it all clicked into place. I was afraid of the contact.

Explaining to him what chiraptophobia is was surprisingly easy, though he was a little disappointed by this fact, being a very touch-driven person when around others, even when not in a relationship, though he did manage to take it in his stride, taking time to inform the boys of this as well, in case one of them accidentally made me uncomfortable. He'd nearly ripped Paul's head off when the taller vampire tried to wrap his arm around my shoulders, only letting up when I told him it was alright, that there was no harm done, despite how uneasy I felt afterwards. Since then, Marko has become almost like a bodyguard for me, making sure no one ever comes into my personal space, all while keeping his distance, too, respecting my limits.

We became fast friends, so much so that he eventually told me his secret, revealing his true self to me on one of the nights we chose to hang out together, alone, on the beach, a night I'd never forget. Naturally, I'd been shaken by this revelation, but soon grew used to the idea, knowing that my friend would never hurt me, not intentionally. After a few months, I finally felt comfortable enough to let him touch my gloved hand, though it still made me feel a little uneasy, the sensation of another person's fingers on mine unfamiliar and disturbing to me, but it made the vampire unbelievably happy, a bright smile plastering itself across his face for the rest of the night. He tells me he had to fight off the urge to hug me, for which I'm very grateful - touching a covered hand is very different to being enveloped in an embrace. Since then, he's taken any chance he can get to hold or touch my hand, always beaming like a beacon when he does so, my discomfort in the contact fading a little over time, though I'd soon found that it was only with the curly haired blonde that my body reacted like this, having asked Dwayne to try at some point, to see if it improved overall. Having come up negative in this test, I gave contact one last try with David, who never seems to take off his gloves, only to find that his touch made me uneasy as much as Dwayne's had, despite the two layers of cloth between our respective fingertips. The memory still sets me on edge, though I am well aware it has nothing to do with either David or Dwayne, rather my own mentality.

A shiver goes up my spine as I feel a hand slip into mine, though I quickly recognise the young vampire stepping in beside me, my stance relaxing again when my body realises whose touch it is, though my arm still remains a little tense, out of habit. Reassuringly, Marko swipes a thumb over the back of my glove, glad that I haven't rejected the contact yet, meaning I'm doing better than normal.

"Hey Stranger." He greets, grinning widely at me.

"Hey Blondie." I reply, smiling back at him in return, before casting a quick glance around for the others, "What'd you do with the other three?"

"They're around. Not sure where." The young vampire shrugs, dismissing the question quickly, "How was your day?"

"Not too bad. I didn't get much work done though, I was too preoccupied."

"Preoccupied? With what?" Marko inquires, raising an eyebrow at me in confusion, though his lips are still quirked up into an amused curve.

"That's for me to know, and for you to figure out." I chuckle, tapping the side of my nose secretively.

"Challenge accepted." He smirks, eyes lighting up at the prospect.

I smile at him as we walk, knowing he'll figure it out eventually, the answer being a little closer to home than he thinks.

"Anyway, how'd you sleep?" I question him, eyeing the Ferris wheel off to the side of the Boardwalk.

"Better than usual, actually."

"Oh yeah? How come?"

"Paul didn't snore so much for once, and David wasn't muttering in his sleep either, so it was pretty quiet, altogether." He explains, smiling when I laugh at the mention of David.

"Wait, David talks in his sleep?"

"Yeah, but you can't tell anyone! And especially don't tell him that I told you, or I'll have my ass kicked to the moon and back." Marko grins, biting his thumb as if nervous, though I'm aware that this is one of his signature mannerisms.

"That's a lot of ass-kicking. Probably quite impressive to watch. " I muse, noticing his arm lift slightly, as if to give me a playful slap on the arm, as he normally would've done with someone else, only to briefly squeeze my hand instead, shaking his head in mock exasperation. I grin at him, before turning my gaze back towards the Ferris wheel, admiring the glittering lights in the black night sky, wondering what the view is like up there.

"Wanna take a ride?" Marko interrupts my thoughts, eyebrow raised in amusement.

"Huh?" I blurt out, not having heard his question, quickly snapping my eyes back to his.

"Do you wanna go on the wheel with me?" He repeats, gesturing with a nod of the head to the great circular structure a little way away.

"I would love to, but I don't have any money on me tonight. I forgot my change." I say, somewhat remorsefully, using my free hand to pat my pockets to check for any loose coins, though I'm well aware I have none, having spent it all on food earlier in the evening.

"Who said anything about you paying? Come on, it'll be fun!" The blonde vampire promises, pulling me into the crowd, which parts around us thanks to his reputation (and choice of company), meaning no one comes into touching distance. At one point, my arm brushes past some surfer's bare bicep, which sends uncomfortable shivers and goosebumps through my body, the bitter, irrational fear that comes with it soon biting at the back of my mind, my pulse picking up slightly in response, my muscles turning rigid under my clothes. Marko notices this, briefly stopping to make sure I'm ok, before turning to memorize the surfer's face, most likely intending to take it up with him later, before we continue on, swiftly reaching the shortening queue for the Ferris wheel. Beside me, Marko fidgets and shifts in place, clearly eager to get on the rotating structure, his thumb between his teeth as usual, doe eyes focused on the ticket booth.

"Calm down, Blondie. The wheel isn't going anywhere." I laugh, watching the people around us as they amble to and fro, inching out of the way as a group of made-up girls push past, wincing as I brush against Marko, only to feel surprised when I don't feel the usual discomfort rising up in me from the contact, setting a train of thought into motion. I barely notice as the queue diminishes, only really returning to the present when we reach the booth, at which point Marko buys two tickets and leads me into one of the seats. An attendant comes over to help us secure ourselves, but Marko quickly stares him down, doing the job himself with efficiency.

Not too long after, we've reached a decent way off from the ground, our feet swinging gently in the air as we watch the Boardwalk from above, grinning and joking with each other as we take it in turns pointing out random individuals, making comments about them until the other laughs. At one point, the young vampire manages to spot David, Dwayne and Paul, making some sort of remark about how the leader's hair "looks like a pineapple from the top", before comparing the latter's to a mop. I do my best to hold back my laughter, but it only results in me nearly choking as he starts pointing out more and more likenesses between his friends and everyday objects, tears threatening to spill as I struggle to contain myself. It is only in this moment, that I realise one thing, but it takes me a couple more minutes to act on the thought that has sprung to mind.

Slowly, I pull off my left glove, teasing each finger out of their designated space with a deliberate hesitation, wriggling them a bit once I've exposed them to the air, enjoying the sensation of the light breeze around my heated digits. Marko makes a point of ignoring this, turning his gaze up to the star-strewn sky instead, only to snap his eyes back to mine when he feels a single finger touch the skin of his hand. Gingerly, I trace it over his knuckle, expecting to feel a rush of discomfort, my movements careful and calculated, knowing this is the first time in years that I've had deliberate contact with another person's skin. From my fingertip, it feels as if an electric shock has travelled through me, butterflies suddenly appearing in my stomach. Biting my lip when nothing bad happens, I continue this movement with the rest of my fingers, cautiously slipping my hand into his, enjoying the feeling of his icy cold palm against my warmed one, my eyes finding his shocked ones as our fingers intertwine. In them, I find a tonne of questioning, though he makes no move to actually ask, instead remaining quiet, carefully tightening his grip around my hand as he tries his best to feel as much of my soft skin as he can, the calluses from the handlebars of his bike rubbing slightly.

"What does this mean?" He eventually queries, elated that he can finally hold my hand without a glove being in the way.

"It means that I trust you. I've had no reaction to your contact, and I think it's because I enjoy being with you, and also because you've increased my confidence levels a lot since we first met. I've been trying to figure out why I'm ok with you touching me and no one else all day, which is why I was too preoccupied to work, but I finally worked it out." I inform him, telling him part of the truth - in reality, my trust goes a lot further than wanting a platonic friendship.

Marko is quiet for a moment, as if not quite understanding what I've told him.

"You trust me?" His voice is laced with disbelief, eyes fixing on mine again.

"I do."

Eyes widening again, he smiles, his other hand coming up, as if to try and wrap me in a hug, but the awkward positioning of the barrier, as well as the reminder of my usual discomfort, stop him in his tracks, his hand tightening around mine instead .

"I'm really glad you feel that way, (Y/n). Not many people do." He chuckles, referring to the naturally predatory air he gives off, being a vampire and all, still surprised that I let him touch me.

"I feel safe around you because I know you're my friend, but not many people can have the same claim." I point out, watching the view a little, enjoying the sight of the many glittering lights sprawled out before me, admiring the tiny orange specks of fires on the beach, as well as the rapidly moving headlights of a train passing through the outskirts of Santa Carla, most likely heading out towards the Bridge.

"Fair point." Marko agrees, still staring at our joined hands, which he continues to do until we reach the bottom of the wheel again, at which point he has to let go in order to remove the barrier from our laps. As soon as we're back on the Boardwalk, however, I slip my hand back into his, a small feeling of warmth welling up in me as I see the bright smile splitting his face, clearly happy that I've willingly made contact with him again.

A whistle behind us draws our attention, the sound belonging to a grinning Paul, who approaches us, along with David and Dwayne, who are both smiling at the sight of us, the latter more so than the former, though both seem glad to see their friend happy. As they come closer, I make eye contact with Dwayne, who lifts an eyebrow in questioning, a smirk making its way onto his face when I silently give him a nod, knowing he understands what it means.

I've fallen hard for the blonde vampire who's helped me get over my fear.

[valeriethepussycats]

Assemble

Chapter 2

Pairing- Loki x Reader x Steve (one side)

Warning- cursing 

Your thoughts and other characters are in italics.

Flashback in Bold.

At night, a slum in India it attacked by a sickness. A little girl runs into the middle of a makeshift hospital in someone's home, pushing through the crowd frantically. She runs up the steps inside to greet the only doctor, Bruce Banner.

“What are you doing here?! Get out! You shouldn't be here.”  The Women scolded.

“I have to see the doctor. It's my father.” The little Girl explained.

“Calm down. What's wrong?” Bruce Asked.

“My father...” she looks to the other sick people, laying down and moaning in pain.

“Is he like them?” Bruce wondered.

The little girl holds out money, crumpled and looking desperate. “Please.”

Banner and the little girl run quickly to the edge of town. She leads him quickly through narrow passageways, and is proving too fast to keep up with. Banner spots a nice car, and looks around, worried. He runs into the girls house, when she leaves through a window, untraceable.

“Should have gotten paid up front, Banner.” Bruce scoffed.

Natasha entering the room behind him, making Banner turn around. “You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle.”

“Avoiding stress isn't the secret.” Bruce started.

“Then, what is it? Yoga?” Natasha said sounding unduly curious.

“You brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... assume the whole place is surrounded?” Bruce wondered.

“Just you and me.” Natasha say trying to convince Bruce.

“And your actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young?” Bruce  wondered.

“I did.”

“Who are you?”

“Natasha Romanoff.”

“Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not gonna work out for everyone.” Bruce explained.

“No. No. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of Shield.” Natasha replied

“Shield. How did they find me?” Bruce questioned.

“We never lost you, doctor. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent.”

“Why?”

“Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now I need you to come in.”

“What if I said no?” Bruce stated.

“I'll persuade you.” Natasha said in a voice soft.

“And what if the... other guy says no?” Bruce said uncertainly

“You’ve been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you wanna break that streak.” Natasha replied.

Bruce gently pushing a cradle. “I don't always get what I want.”

“Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe.” Natasha commented.

“Well, those I actively try to avoid.” Bruce mumbled.

“This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet.” She shows him a photo of the Tesseract on her cell phone. Banner takes a closer look.

“What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it? Bruce said in a sarcastic voice.

“Well, he wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be.” Natasha explained.

“So Fury isn't after the monster? Bruce hesitated.

“Not that he's told me.” Natasha replied.

“And he tells you everything?” Bruce queried

“Talk to Fury, he needs you on this.”

“He needs me in a cage?”

“No one's gonna put you in a...”

“STOP LYING TO ME!” Banner slams his fists onto the table.

Natasha grabs a gun hidden under the table, pointing it at him. Banner stays still, grinning.

“I'm sorry, that was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Natasha...”

Natasha, still wary, doesn't lower her gun. She lowers her gun and speaks into her earpiece.

“Stand down. We're good here.”

Dozens of soldiers armed to the teeth have surrounded the small house, but at her signal they back off a bit.

Bruce smiles back at Natasha. “Just you and me?”

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

This isn’t real that’s all Y/n could think about as she walked home. The rain hammered against the roof of a nerdy houses, thunder rumbled as The dark sky was lit up by lightning flashing across.All she wanted to do was believe that Magneto was lying but she knew he was telling the truth. She knew it her mother is alive, has been this entire time.

Get it under control calm down. Come on remember what Gambit said “don’t let it control you you control it.”

Y/n was slowly starting to lose control. She was starting to hear what everyone around her was thinking and then Y/n starts to hear a ringing noise. Can deal with a sound Y/n place her hands around her head in a way to stop the voices.

“Excuse me, Miss are you alright?” Someone asked Y/n as he gently grab her on the shoulders.

Y/n looks up to the person in front of her and see red eyes. “Remy?”

“Is that someone I can call for you?” The man that looks like Remy asked.

Y/n finally comes to she realizes that the man in front of her is not with me not even trying to hide her disappointment she nods no, then walks away then her phone begins to ringing and vibrate in her pocket. She fishes her phone out of her pocket and then pushes answer.

“Hello?”

“Where are you because I know you’re not in Sydney, Australia.” Said Coulson.

“Walking home.” Y/n answered  honestly. “Why?”

“There’s someone I need you to pick up tomorrow. Is that some thing you can do?” Coulson voiced.

“I’ll be bright eyed and bushy tail.” Y/n said Tightly.

“I’ll send you all the information.”  Coulson replied. “Is something wrong?”

“You’re supposed to ask questions because I’m an agent and you’re my superior officer.” Y/n said in a dry tone.

“I’m asking this question as a person who’ve known you since you were ten.” Coulson replied.

“No it’s not.” Y/n answered. “But um..I’m gonna go home and watch some Y/t until I fall asleep.”

“Ok i’ll see you tomorrow.”

Y/n hangs up the phone.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Inside a Shield analytical room, filled with monitors of partially silhouetted people. Fury stands in the middle, frowning. They make up the World Security Council.

“This is out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces you can't control.” Council Member 1 commented.

“You ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control?”  Nick said in a level tone.

“You saying that this Asgard has declared war on our planet?” Council Member 1  wondered.

“Not Asgard, Loki.” Nick corrected

“He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother.” Council Member 2 Chimed in.

“Our intelligence says, Thor is not a hostile. But he's worlds away, we can't depend on him to help. It's up to us.” Nick answered.

“Which is why you should be focusing on phase 2, it was designed for exactly...” Council Member 1 trailed off.

“PHASE 2 isn't ready, our enemy is. We need a response team.” Nick stressed.

“The Avengers Initiative was shut down.” Council Member 1 told Nick Fury.

“This isn't about The Avengers.” Nick Remarked.

“We're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're gonna leave the fate of human race to a handful of freaks.”

“I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people maybe isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need.”

“You believe?” Council Member 2 Chimed in.

“War isn't won by sentiment, Director.” Council Member 1 noted.

“No, it's won by soldiers.”  Nick replied.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

A brooklyn gym at night. Occupied by one man, beating a punching bag in the gym lights, alone in the floor, lost in the fight. The gym is old, as old as the man inside, Steve Rogers. Steve punched the bag, easily a hundred pounds, across the room with one swing snapping the metal chain and pummeling it back a dozen feet, sand spilling out from where he cracked the fabric. He stands up, breathing hard, and grabs another bag, resuming a more normal routine. Fury walks in.

“Trouble sleeping?” Nick Announced.

“I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill.” Steve answered.

“Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world.” Nick replied.

Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down.

“I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost.” Steve explained.

“We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently.” Nick commented.

“You here with a mission, sir?” Steve wondered.

“I am.”

“Trying to get me back in the world?” Steve supposed

“Trying to save it.”  Fury hands Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on Hydra’s  projects.

“Hydra's secret weapon.” Steve disclosed.

“Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs.” Nick explained.

“Who took it from you?” Steve wondered.

“He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know.” Nick shared.

“At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me.”  Steve put forth.

“Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment.” Nick started.

Steve turns and picks up a punching bag. Fury starts walking out of the gym.

“Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now?” Nick finished

Steve without missing a beat. “You should have left it in the ocean.”

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Out in the Atlantic Ocean, Tony Stark, in his Iron Man suit, is cutting a pipeline transport with a laser cutter coming from his hand. He then places a Stark Energy Reactor. It lights up. Iron Man rockets out of the water and flies towards Stark Tower.

“You're good on this end. The rest is up to you.”

Pepper Potts on the other line. “You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid?”

“Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy.” Tony grinned.

“Wow. So maybe our reactor takes over, and it actually works?” Pepper supposed.

Inside the Suit, Pepper appears on his hud Monitor.

“I assume. Light her up.” Iron Man flies to the Stark Tower Building, the power is switched on the Stark sign lights up.

“How does it look?” Pepper asked.

“Like Christmas, but with more... me.” Tony answered.

“Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I'm in DC tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next three buildings.” Pepper revealed.

“Pepper, you're killing me. Remember the moment? Enjoy the moment.” Tony proclaimed.

“Then get in here and I will.” Pepper requested.

Tony arrives at his skyscraper penthouse and is in the process of taking off his Iron Man suit through a hi-tech gauntlet of gadgets.

“Sir, Agent Coulson of Shield is on the line.” Jarvis informed Tony.

“I'm not in. I'm actually out.” Tony remarked.

“Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting.” Jarvis stressed.

“Grow a spine, Jarvis. I got a date.”  Tony teased.

Pepper Potts stares up at the monitors of the reactor device. “Levels are holding steady... I think.”

“Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question: how does it feel to be a genius?”  Tony asked.

“Well, ha, I really wouldn't know now, would I?” Pepper replied.

“What do you mean? All this came from you.”

“No. All this came from that.” Pepper Said Pointing to the energy in his chest plate.

“Give yourself some credit, please. Stark Tower is your baby. Give yourself... twelve percent of the credit.” Tony disclosed.

“Twelve percent?” Pepper voiced.

“An argument can be made for fifteen.” Tony pointed out.

“Twelve percent? Of my baby?”

“Well, I did do all the heavy lifting. Literally, I lifted the heavy things. And sorry, but the security snafu? That was on you.”

“Oooooh.”

“My private elevator...”

“You mean our elevator?”

“Was steaming with sweaty workmen. I'm going to pay for that comment about percentages in some subtle way later, aren't I?” Tony wondered.

Pepper pours herself and Tony a glass of

champagne. “Not gonna be that subtle.”

“I'll tell you what. Next building's gonna say 'Potts' on the tower.” Tony disclosed.

“On the lease.” Pepper murmured.

“Call your mom, can you bunk over?” Tony asked.

“Sir, the telephone. I'm afraid my protocols are being overwritten.” Jarvis stuttered.

“Stark, we need to talk.” Coulson Announced.

Tony picks up his phone and looks into it at Coulson. “You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark, please leave a message.”

“This is urgent.”

“Then leave it urgently.” At that moment the elevator door opens and Coulson appears. “Security breach.” Tony turns and looks a Pepper “That's on you.”

“Mr. Stark” Coulson started.

“Phil! Come in.”  Pepper beamed.

“Phil? Uh, his first name is Agent.” Tony remarked

“Come on in, we're celebrating.” Pepper

“I can't stay.” Coulson told Pepper.

“Which is why he can't stay.” Tony agreed with Coulson.

“We need you to look this over.”  Coulson said as he holds out a file towards Tony. “Soon as possible.”

“I don't like being handed things.” Tony voiced.

“That's alright, 'cause I love to be handed things. So, let's trade.” Pepper said as She pases her glass of champagne to Coulson, takes the file from him, then takes Tony's glass of champagne while passing the file over to Tony. “Thank you.”

“Official consulting hours are between eight and five every other Thursday.” Tony disclosed.

“This isn't a consultation.” Coulson replied.

“Is this about The Avengers? Which I...I know nothing about.” Pepper lied.

“The Avengers Initiative was scrapped, I thought. And I didn't even qualify.”  Tony pointed out.

“I didn't know that either.” Pepper lied. Again.

“Yeah, apparently I'm volatile, self-obsessed, don't play well with others.” Tony explained

“That I did know.” Pepper commented.

“This isn't about personality profiles anymore.” Coulson stated.

“Whatever. Miss Potts, got a minute?” Pepper walks over to Tony who places the files into his own databases. “You know, I thought we were having a moment.”

“I was having twelve percent of a moment. This seems serious, Phil's pretty shaken.” Pepper replied.

“How did you notice? Why is he Phil?” Tony questioned.

“What is all of this?” Pepper asked ignoring Tony’s previous question.

“This is, uh....” Tony expands his arms and different profiles appear in holographic form floating in the air in front of Tony and Pepper.

Screens appear of Captain America in action, the Hulk roaring as he attacks the army at Culver University, and Thor and Y/n fighting the Destroyer in New Mexico. Another is of Loki and the Tesseract to which Tony and Pepper look at in awe.

“I'm going to take the jet to DC tonight.” Pepper Announced

“Tomorrow.”  

“You've got homework. You've got a lot of homework.”

“Well, what if I didn't?”

“If you didn't?”

“Yeah.”

“You mean if you finished?” Pepper asked and Tony nods his head. “Well, um...then.” Pepper whispers something into Tony’s ear making him gasps. While Coulson looks away in embarrassment.

“Square deal. It's the last date.” Tony answered.

Pepper kisses him.”Work hard.”

As Pepper leaves with Agent Coulson, Tony grabs the Tesseract in holograph form, worried.

part 3