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“Come on. It will be fun!”
Pepper just raised an eyebrow and looked at the redhead standing in front of her desk. Now, she knew that she was bound to run into Natalie - no, Natasha occasionally, since Tony had insisted on redesigning the Tower with floors for each Avenger. Still, the fact that the spy had gone out of her way to visit was strange.
Sort of like the fact that Natasha was inviting her out for a night on the town was strange.
“Don’t you remember how we had fun, Pepper?” Natasha actually looked a bit sad, as though she actually missed the times they had spent together while Natalie was a part of Stark Industries.
Of course, like everything else she had seen from the woman, that could just be one big lie. Pepper dealt with enough liars as it was. Even Tony was starting to withdraw more than usual, a sure sign he was doing it by omission. She snorted. “That was me and Natalie, Natasha. And, if I remember correctly, that’s not who you are.”
The rest of Natasha’s hopeful expression fell. She was the perfect picture of dejection. “I see.” She turned to leave, and Pepper took it as a cue to go back to the work in front of her.
Of course, Natasha paused at the door, her voice quiet. “Just because Natalie was a lie doesn’t mean that everything I did was.”
Pepper continued to look down long after the door closed behind her.
***
“Are you sure? It’s supposed to be a really good rom-com.”
Pepper narrowed her eyes, shaking her head. “I’m busy tonight, Natasha,” she said, voice clipped, before going back to buttering her toast. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to use the communal Avengers kitchen during breaks, after all.
***
“I’d be willing to teach you some defensive moves.”
Tired and shaky from being used as a pawn yet again, Pepper glared at Natasha. Sure, it could be useful, but she was not about to give in to whatever game Natasha was playing. “No, thank you,” she said through gritted teeth, before taking the mug of something warm that Tony was holding out to her.
Natasha nodded stiffly and walked back toward the elevator. Even though she was geared up and armed to the teeth, she still seemed small.
Pepper noticed that Tony was giving her an odd look. “What?” she snapped.
“What’s up between you and Nat?”
Pepper had the sudden urge to pull out her hair. Instead, she took a long drink from the mug and counted to thirty. She absently noted that the cocoa was made to perfection. “None of your business.”
Tony shook his head and held his hands up in surrender. “Alright, whatever you want, Pep.”
Pepper hummed and drank some more cocoa. Who was Tony to suddenly start paying attention to people anyway?
***
Despite her constant refusals, Natasha continued offering the occasional invitation. She never seemed to offer them to anyone else. Which kind of made sense, now that she thought about it. Which of the male Avengers would have wanted to spend a day at the spa or watch the newest romantic comedy of their own free will? She doubted most of them, except maybe Clint, since Natasha always seemed able to get him to go along with anything.
It finally hit a point where Pepper wanted to lash out. Considering her lack of fighting skills and who Natasha was, that was not such a good idea. Instead, she just pulled the spy aside into one of the communal floor’s unused bedrooms, glad that it didn’t result in anything stabbed or broken. “Okay, fine. What would it take to get you to stop bothering me?”
At the word ‘bothering’, Natasha’s face took on a slightly wounded look. “You could have just mentioned you didn’t want me even talking to you, since that’s obviously what you want.”
Pepper pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. “I’m okay with talking to you, Natasha. I just don’t know if I want to do those...girlfriend things with you that you keep throwing out there. You lied to me. A lot.”
Natasha’s eyes inexplicably widened slightly for a moment, but a small smile crossed her lips before Pepper could question it. “What if I promised mostly full disclosure? No secrets unless it’s not related to us.”
Pepper’s eyebrow shot up. “You? You would offer that?”
Natasha nodded.
While Natasha stood there, Pepper did her own assessment of the spy. She shifted slightly, as though nervous. Maybe because she was offering complete truth? Okay, it was mostly complete, but Pepper didn’t want to know about any national secrets, anyway. There was also a hopeful gleam in the blue eyes.
Pepper sighed. “I guess I could give you one more chance.”
Natasha’s answering smile was unexpectedly brilliant.
***
Okay, so maybe Natasha had absolutely marvelous ideas. Pepper couldn’t help leaning back with a contented sigh as talented fingers kneaded at her tense feet. The rest of her body was pliant and loose, a result of steam and mud. She cracked her eyes open and glanced over at Natasha, who also looked absolutely relaxed. “Okay, you win. The spa was the way to go.”
Natasha looked over at her, the smile slow to cross her face. “Told you so,” she said, lifting her glass of champagne in an obvious invitation.
Pepper didn’t even hesitate to touch her own glass to it, letting the ringing speak of her agreement. Maybe Natasha wasn’t such a bad friend, after all.