Flowergirl |L. Laufeyson|

Chapter Three

The next morning found Zoë asleep on the couch of her new room. Her pencil and rubber were on the floor, her phone, her paintbrushes and her colours on a nearby table. Just next to her phone, was the painting she had taken with her.

She had managed to do half of the face of her beloved in one night. All she had left to do was add some details and then, she could colour it. The woman had not slept until the early hours of the morning, losing track of time as she drew.

Not that she really regretted her decision.

She would have slept until noon had she not woken up from a pained cry. Within seconds, the Asgardian was up and leaving the room, her eyes wild as she looked around for the source of the noise.

"Are you all right?" she yelled, so as to make sure that whoever was in pain would be able to hear her. She waited for some seconds, anxious as she seemed to only be met with silence. But then, she heard someone groaning.

Quickly, Zoë followed the source of the noise, only to reach the kitchen. There, on the floor, was Pepper, a small frown on her lips. Immediately, the gardener got to the woman.

"Madam, is everything all right?"

"I just slipped," she admitted, looking down at the floor seemingly embarrassed. The Asgardian, confused, looked at the floor around the mortal only to notice that there was nothing that could have led to the woman's fall. Perplexed, she turned back to Pepper.

"Excuse me, Madam, but how did you slip?"

"I wish I knew," the other woman replied as she slowly pushed herself up, using Zoë's body as a means of standing up. "One second I was walking to my room, and the next I was falling."

"Oh," the blonde mumbled as she stood up. "Well, would you like anything for breakfast, Madam?"

"I already had breakfast," the mortal muttered before shooting a small smile at her gardener. "Call me Pepper, Zoë."

"It is somewhat difficult for me to do that, Madam, you are the soon-to-be wife of my boss."

"I insist."

Reluctantly, the woman nodded as she turned her gaze on her feet. "All right."

A small smile appeared on the woman's face as she turned around and got back in the kitchen. "Would you like something for breakfast?"

"Oh no, Ma- Pepper, I can make my own breakfast."

"I don't doubt that," she murmured as she looked up at the Asgardian. "But do you want breakfast?"

For a moment, Zoë stood there, gasping like a fish, her eyes wide. When she had decided to move in the Avengers Facility until Tony came back, she had not thought that that woman, so close to her boss and subsequently as rich as him, would insist on making her breakfast. The kind gesture was something she had not thought of, and it had left her completely unprepared.

But as she noticed Pepper looking at her, waiting patiently for her reply, she knew, it would be rude of her to not answer. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came. She cleared her throat, and then tried to speak again.

"A toast would be fine."

"Just a toast? Are you sure? I could offer you a banana or an apple, perhaps an orange as well?"

"A toast is fine, thank you," she smiled. Pepper shrugged as she turned around and started making the toast.

"You know, Zoë, I quite like you," she said out of the blue, making her gardener fidget uncomfortably. "You are kind and polite, and that's great. I feel like we should spend more time together."