'And they never have a name on them?' Tegan asked as her and Bri had a girls night.
'Nope, first was the record player and then it was the necklace the next thing I know I have a present a week.' Bri said before popping a Swedish Berry in her mouth.
'And you're sure it's not Tony?' Tegan asked.
'Well, he always jokes about me getting my personal mail sent to the office so I already ruled him out.'
Tegan sighed. It had been a month since Bri started working at Stark and she's been dating her boss for the same amount of time. Tegan and Steve were going strong but kept their affection to a minimum when they were near Bri.
'It's nice that we both have boyfriends.' Tegan finally said.
Bri rolled her eyes. Tegan always wanted them to be matchy matchy and if Bri could avoid it, she did. Since her breakup with Jack, Tegan had practically moved in with Bri but since Bri was dating Tony she spent most of her time in their large penthouse.
*
'Pepper's back in town.' Steve said as the Avengers settled down for their meeting.
'And that matters because?' Tony said leaning back in his chair.
Steve held up his hands in defense. Tony hadn't made it public to his fellow Avengers that he was seeing Bri so Steve knowing just annoyed him even more.
'How's De Mel doing?' Clint asked.
'De Mel? She's fine.' Tony said trying to act as if he couldn't talk about Bri for hours.
The way her hair was always messy but perfect. The way her brown eyes made his knees weak or the way the her slightest blush made him want to attack her with kisses. Natasha raised her brows at Steve who merely smirked and but his feet on the table.
'Welcome to the party.' Fury said once Bruce walked in late.
He said his apologies hastily and took a seat next to Pietro.
'I've called you all here because of, Loki.' Nick said.
'But he hasn't got the orb.' Thor said suddenly.
'Apparently he's been taking hostages without the orb in his possession.' Nick explained.
'Hostages? What for?' Wanda said.
'He's taking their energy and youth away. He is trying to become unbeatable.'
All of the Avengers looked at each other slightly worried.
'Stark, I need you and Banner to stay late today and try to hack his system. Natasha, Steve, Clint, try and attack from the inside of his headquarters and make sure you find a way the rest of us can get in. Pietro and Wanda can follow as backup and Thor, throw some lightning around and cause some thunder.'
They all nodded and got up from their seats. Tony and Bruce were heading for the lab when Nick called Tony back.
'Stark, I just wanted to see how De Mel was fitting into the Stark world.'
Tony saw a knowing glint in his good eye and thought for a moment before he answered.
'She's been an excellent fit to the business.'
Nick smirked slightly before getting up and walking past Tony. As the last second he stopped and leaned close to Tony's ear and whispered.
'Fix your collar if you're trying to keep your relationship a secret.'
Tony stood in the now empty meeting room rethinking what Fury just said.
'Fix my collar?' He said looking down.
It finally hit him and he flushed red. On the crook of his neck, just visible above his collar, was a red welt; a hickey. He smiled slightly at the thought of Bri before adjusting his collar and heading to meet Bruce in the lab.
*
'Hello, Mr Stark isn't here right now but I can take a message.' Bri said on command as the elevator opened.
She sat behind her desk working on final touches for the Hulk Buster when the person cleared their throat. Bri looked up and saw Pepper.
'I'm not here to speak to Mr Stark.' She said glaring around the room.
Bri shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Pepper was a goddess compared to her and it didn't help that she was closer to Tony's age than Bri.
'You're Bri De Mel, right?' Pepper said peering at what Bri was working on.
'Y-yes.' She stammered.
'Well, word in the building is that you're getting pretty close with Tony.'
Bri noted to herself that she would need to talk some sense into the women on the ground level.
'Tony seems like he cares about woman but once he gets all that he can from them, he throws them away. Take me for example,' Pepper said walking around the entrance area as she explained.
'Once I gave him enough he started hiring other woman. That's why I left, that's why you should leave while you can.' Pepper said before getting back into the elevator and leaving.
Bri weighed what she just heard. Pepper probably was still bitter about the breakup, she did know Tony more than most people though. Bri let what Pepper said get the best of her and decided that she needed to let go of Tony before he could hurt her like he hurt Pepper.