[Pepper nods, although the question has her curious.] Has anyone told you about the alternate universes yet? [Silently Pepper hoped so. She doesn't enjoy being the one to share that particular news.]

No, he's not missing any time at all. Apparently when people leave Luceti, they're sent back to the same exact point they were drawn from. [With no memories of ever having been gone, meaning there's nothing that can be done at home to stop this place.]

It's a pretty common question. When I was home last, it hadn't been that long since the invasion in Manhattan. We were working on rebuilding Stark Tower. [Although with a different purpose, but Pepper doesn't want to spoil that surprise--despite knowing Natasha won't remember it anyway.]