A/N: Okay, the story is self-explanatory, but here are the most important cliffnotes:

- mainly Cinematic Universe, but with Civil War (adapted)

- Avengers 1 & AoU happened

- Tony still has his Arc Reactor; Actually, IM3 never happened

- JARVIS did not die… Well, Vision exists, but Tony restored JARVIS a few months after the fiasco

- Civil War happened, but with changes, most importantly: Cap did not die (obviously), everything else… you'll see

- Arno Stark: Well, I read about him, but I don't know the character. Here's what I'm going with: Tony Stark was adopted as a cover for the genetically engineered Arno Stark, who was hidden away, because it was too dangerous for him to get into enemy hands. He has no artificial lung. Tony finds out about being adopted right around the end of the Civil War; and that the real heir of Stark Industries is out there hidden somewhere.

Also, I need to mention that Tony's technopathy is heavily inspired by Alex51324's story Appliance Whisperer on AO3 (I will not bother to post the link because we know how that works, but look it up, it's brilliant!). I was given permission to use it, but still: The idea does not belong to me; I just play with it a little.

Knowledge Comes with a Price Tag

Chapter 1: Ciao, Mia Patria

Tony could not bear to look into their eyes. He had tried, honestly, he had, but he could not. Steve's disappointment and fury that bordered on hatred was agonizing; any lesser man would have just hated him, but Cap's inherent Steveness did not allow such feelings for what he once called a friend and teammate. Instead, he had this look of ever-present disapproval that made Tony's heart clench painfully.

The War was over.

Finally.

The Legislation had not come to pass.

(Good. Bad… Control is important! The only one who's dangerous is you. You should have never left that cave.)

Tony was still at war with himself, more so than he had ever fought any of the others during the War.

There had been no other option!

He had run every possible scenario and this here, this moment he so desperately hated, had been the best choice for everyone involved.

It had been worth it.

"Tony."

Just barely, Tony managed to keep himself from flinching violently. He had not heard his first name spoken since he had visited Rhodey in the hospital last night (Hurt. His fault! No, it was Barnes! You dragged him into this). He turned and saw Arno approach.

It was still strange to think of this man as his brother. The news of being adopted should have devastated him, but at the time, he had been too caught up in the whole fiasco to even be bothered by it. He had lost his mother, Maria Stark, a second time, yes, but Howard? It had been a relief to know that he was not genetically related to that man.

Finding Arno had been easy; he had been able to do that while battling his own f… the others. Howard had made sure the boy grew up sheltered and taken care of. He had been trained in all things important for Stark Industries. He had even gone to a military school and had been trained in business and the law. Those efforts had intensified once Tony turned fifteen… Reviewing the hidden files, and Tony could not believe he had not discovered those before, it was clear that Howard had wanted Arno to take over Stark Industries once he was old enough. Everything in his foster father's prepared but unfiled will pointed towards it. Tony would not have inherited a dime. The engineer was not even angry; all his fury, together with any other kind of feeling, had burned out this past year. If Howard had not died when even Tony was too young to take over… He had lost Maria and Jarvis that day, the engineer would never be grateful for what happened.

As expected from his genetic makeup, Arno was brilliant; hell, he was smarter than Tony: an ingenious mind, both emotionally and rationally. It had taken the engineer all but one day to see that the prodigal son was indeed just that. It was both oddly jarring and a relief.

Iron Man would live on without him. Stark Industries would thrive. The Avengers would be equipped with money and technology.

If only he could think all that without wanting to cry.

However, the decision had been made, they had brought the War to an end, and Tony lost. Stark Industries was in trouble, but not as bad as it could have been with him in charge. He had known a long time ago that disconnecting himself from the company and letting Pepper be the CEO, a task she could do better than he ever could, would ultimately help it survive once he crashed and burned.

"Yes?" said he, his thoughts still spinning.

"The jet is ready; DUM-E, U and Butterfingers are on board as you requested. Anything else?"

Tony wanted to say, 'Yes! Everything!'

He wanted to take his household with him, his friends… He wanted everybody from the workshop, the gym, and the common kitchen. Years of hiding what he felt from the media were the only thing that prevented his breath from hitching.

"No, that's all," he replied, ignoring the shout of the Common Kitchen Coffee Machine, threatening that he would never make coffee for anybody ever again.

He had to get the hell out of here before he made a scene.

Everything had been planned out. Arno Stark had been introduced to the media; quiet and sincere, he had answered all the questions humbly and with undeniable intelligence. Battered SI stocks had gone through the roof right after the press conference. Tony had known how much his eccentrics had aggravated everyone around him, especially his father. Howard Stark had wanted perfection, like Steve and Arno… not him. Retrospectively, with the knowledge that he had been adopted, Tony supposed he should be grateful that he had not been returned to sender at some point.

The irony of it all hit him, as he was about to leave his home of more than four years. Arno was the one who had been genetically engineered, but Tony was the freak. Arno was mind-blowingly smart, but he never looked at a blender and… It took all of his willpower not to run back and get Workshop Blender for DUM-E. He felt their eyes on him, and he straightened his back instinctively. Just as he was stepping into the elevator, flanked by a silent Steve and Barnes, a voice stopped him.

"Sir…"

"Yes, JARVIS?" all media training went to hell when his breath caught in his throat. Howard would roll in his grave.

Emotion is a weakness! Stark Men are made of iron.

But then, he was not a Stark, was he?

"Sir…" JARVIS clearly hesitated. "I was wondering whether you would allow me to unplug from Stark Tower, and Malibu, and… I would like to stay with you, Sir."

Tony's eyes filled with tears, and he just barely kept it together. He had offered JARVIS everything he could offer: a body, the opportunity to disappear into the depth of the web, to be Arno's friend and to become part of a team like they had been both regarding R&D of SI and Iron Man. While Tony would not be cut off electronically in his exile, his activities would bore the highly advanced AI to death. The former billionaire would primarily work as a mechanic; he would not have access to a workshop like he had here…

"You sure?"

"Yes, Sir, I am. I apologize, Mr. Stark," the AI now addressed Arno. "Your offer is kind and flattering, but I…"

"Of course, JARVIS," Arno cut him off, smiling in good humor. "I understand. Thank you!"

There was nothing more to say.

"Activate Protocol 1236274.24632.742.048, change to Code ARBS2356.23.36," said Tony. "See you on the other side, buddy!"

"What did you do?" Steve asked suspiciously as he had done continuously after Ultron whenever Tony did anything computer-related in his presence without explanation.

The engineer forced himself to look at the super soldier, "The protocol allows JARVIS to remove his code from Stark Tower and all my other houses and then retreat into the web until I'm settled. He'll be fine."

They stepped into the elevator and Tony was forced to activate Protocol Neanderthal, which would allow the house to keep up its automatic functions without JARVIS' control. He explained the code quickly to Arno who nodded.

"Very simple. Nice, I like it!"

He had written the code while in his early teens, so he would not defend it, but it was humbling to be around Arno who had written codes like that at least five years earlier in life. The elevator was painfully full with Arno, Steve, Barnes, Bruce, Thor, Clint, Natasha and Tony (thankfully, Vision, Sam and the Scarlet Witch were not here as well), and nobody said a word. The silence was oppressive, but for once the former billionaire refrained from babbling.

Happy was by the cars all the while glaring at Steve, Barnes, and especially Bruce, until Tony caught his gaze and shook his head. This was not Bruce's fault. The poor guy had been thrown into this mess, forced to choose sides, and he had acted as Tony predicted. At least, the physicist was still his friend. He was grateful for that. Still flanked by Steve and Barnes as if he was a flight risk, they sat into the car and Happy drove them to the private airport. Tony had to remind his former employee that he was no longer his boss and that he should call him 'Tony.'

Pepper stood by the plane when they arrived. Her hands were on the handles of a wheelchair. It took him less than a second to recognize who was sitting in it and, faster than even Steve could react, Tony was by Rhodey's side.

"You shouldn't be here," he admonished the Air Force Colonel, hands on his shoulders.

"Hi Pot, my name's Kettle, nice to meet you," Rhodey replied. The humor sounded a little forced and neither could truly smile. The tall man reached up and pulled Tony into a strong, safe hug. This time, he could not bite back the sob, and he hid his face in his friend's shoulders until he regained control.

"You should visit, you know, I'll pay…" he began before realizing that he did not have any money. He did not want to be indebted to Arno. His little brother already opened a bank account for him with enough money, so he could live in his exile for a few months until he was settled (which was quite a bit as Switzerland was his destination). A wave of panic threatened to drown him as he realized that he had just lost the last feature why anyone put up with him.

Genius, playboy, billionaire, philanthropist.

He had signed a contract that prohibited him to build any weapon, or to create anything more advanced than kitchen appliances or normal IT security systems for small businesses, which effectively removed the 'genius' from his moniker.

'Playboy' had never been a factor for people to stay and it went hand in hand with the 'Billionaire' part, which was gone.

And God only knew what the 'Philanthropist' part was worth.

Something must have shown in his face because Rhodey grabbed his neck and pressed their foreheads together, "I'll visit you as soon as I get out of this thing."

"Thanks," he whispered.

He turned to Pepper who merely hugged him. He loved this woman to pieces, though no longer as a lover and more like the sister he never had as well as a partner in crime. He already missed her.

"Keep out of trouble." Her smile was shaky at best, but she was CEO of Stark Industries; she knew not to show any weakness.

"Keep my little brother in line," replied the engineer.

"Not necessary," Arno and Pepper said simultaneously making Tony snort a little.

"Match made in heaven, is all I say," he commented. The two had hit it off quickly; not romantically, but professionally. They clicked in a way that made it hard for Tony not to be envious.

He shook Arno's hand before pulling him into a one-armed hug.

"I wish…"

Wishes mean nothing and apologies even less. Just don't screw up.

"Don't let the sharks eat you," he warned. "Pepper will warn you about the worst of the vultures, but here are my tips: Simmons can't hold his liquor, so just fill him up, and then you start the negotiations. Avoid Mrs. Clarkson, she seems nice at first, but she's vicious. Make sure you never lose sight of Bob Andersen, he tends to talk about SI with others. Kyle Stevenson seems grumpy, but he's trustworthy and a good business partner; talk about his grandkids, and you'll be fine."

"Thanks, Tony, I know I will, you have prepared me well."

Hesitatingly, Tony then turned to Steve, Bruce and Barnes. Clint, Natasha and Thor were standing by the cars, refusing to come any closer, which was harder to bear than it should be. He had fabricated the whole thing in the first place. He had known what would come.

"Keep them safe," he half-pleaded, half-demanded, his eyes on Steve. He would not apologize. He had done what he needed to do; he would not break now. "Addio."

English did not really have a word to say 'goodbye forever', which was ironic given that all the words seemed to imply forever, but because of that every single expression could mean 'I'll see you again'. So, he used Italian, his literal mother tongue.

Steve simply nodded; he had barely addressed Tony since the end of the war so that was not surprising; Barnes hardly reacted. Bruce stepped forward and hugged him without warning causing Tony to flinch.

"I'll miss you," said the physicist gravely and sincerely and Tony returned the hug as fiercely as he had Rhodey's.

"Me too." His voice was steady. He could do this.

At that, the engineer turned his back on his friends, his family and his country, and wished – not for the first time since he found out – that Howard Stark had never adopted him.

Ciao, mia patria! Non mi vuoi più?

A/N: Do you want me to continue? I have already written a few chapters, so supply isn't a problem. I have temporarily labeled this story as "completed" as I view this first chapter as a Prologue/Teaser. Let me know if you want to know more and I will continue.

Italian translation:

"Ciao, mia patria! Non mi vuoi più?" 'Goodbye, my home. Don't you want me anymore?'