He leans into her touch like an affection-starved pet, watching her carefully for each tiny shift and more than ready to follow whichever directive she might give. But then she seems just as lost as he is and it has him frowning, nuzzling against her hand and digging his fingers gently into her skin. Regrets. It's a double-edged sword in so many ways, but just the word from her lips has him reeling.

"Fuck 'em." The team. Nick. SHIELD, especially. They had never made him feel welcome to begin with. He'd practically had to bully his way in. If the one good thing that comes out of the Avengers for him is this? Is Pepper. He can more than live with that. "Do you regret... anything?" It's hard for him to ask, especially knowing it can so easily end in rejection. But if she does then he's really read this wrong so he needs to know now. Still, the words he really wants to say stick in his throat, and for once he's frustrated that they aren't freely jumping from his lips without his permission. That would make things easier about now.