She laughed. "You sound funny when you try to talk like that. I should punch you in the lungs more often." Not that she didn't punch him plenty.

Pepper blushed a little (ungracefully, because she wasn't an exotic princess, she was sure of it). "Stop tryin' to butter me up. Not special. Just happened to get your attention by bitin' your shoe." She tried to think. Was she really the only person he knew with freckles? That sort of made it more embarrassing to have them'