Chapter 1
Tony
Tony was flung across the training room. He felt exhausted, but Mark never lets up the training routine for him.
"Come on, you need to work on close combat. You are still way too predictable in your technique. We need to train you in other techniques so you can learn how to defend yourself better," Mark said.
"I can defend myself just fine. What I am going against an unbeatable opponent is all," Tony spat out as he picked himself up from the floor.
"True, but any fighter can tell what your weak point is when you fight. You spend too much time defending it," Mark said as he readied himself for another round against Tony.
"Really?" Tony scoffed. "Then go for my weak point if it is that obvious. And what technique are you trying to show me now?"
"You know boxing techniques, but you need to learn to adapt. Develop your own style. I am going to keep going for your weak spots until you learn a way to defend." Mark said.
Tony went into punch Mark, Mark easily dodged it. Tony threw a few more jabs, which Mark blocked with his hands. Tony went into punch Mark, but faked it and went into a leg sweep. Mark continued his backward dodge of Tony's punch and flipped to his hands, lifting his legs to dodge Tony's sweep. Mark flipped back to an upright position ready for Tony's next move. Tony felt frustrated he couldn't land one punch on Mark. Mark bounced back and forth on his feet, taunting Tony.
"You know sometimes I wish I could land a punch on you, just to wipe that smug smile off your face," Tony said.
Mark stopped bouncing. He stood still with his arms open. "Then I won't move my feet. See what you can do then."
Tony watched as Mark stood with his two feet firm in place. Tony thought this was a trick, he knew Mark would do something to throw him off. Tony started with a few cautionary jabs; Mark blocked them but did not move. Tony thought he should go in with full force. Tony went in with a hard left jab. Mark redirected it from him. Tony quickly swung with a right hook, and he thought he finally would land a hit. Mark grabbed Tony's arm stopped the punch and went for a jab in the center of Tony's chest. Tony saw Mark's fist going right for his Arc reactor with no way to stop the punch. Mark stopped only centimeters from the Arc reactor.
"That is your weak point. You kept defending it the whole fight. I knew it was the place to hit you and take you down within seconds of fighting you. You need to learn to misdirect someone from your weak point. Act like it is not a weakness but keep it guarded at the same time," Mark explained.
Tony just let out a sigh as Mark let go of his arm and moved back. Tony thought Mark was going to hit his Arc reactor to prove a point. Tony lifted his fist and softly bopped Mark on the head. "I am counting that as landing a hit on you."
Mark laughed at Tony. "As long as you practice what I teach you. I will let you claim the hit."
"Fair enough." Tony walked over to grab a towel from the bench. He wiped his face and put the towel around his neck. He then picked up the water bottle and took a drink. He never would be put through this type of work out with Cap. "So nervous about the trial?" Tony asked.
"What is there to be nervous about? Tomorrow they either say yes I can join the Avengers or I can kill them all, and we have no worries," Mark said with a smile.
Tony just stared at Mark. "Clint is right, that is just an empty threat now I know all the non-killing you have been doing."
"You guys continue to taunt me, and I might go slaughter a kitten or something to show I can still kill in cold blood," Mark said.
Tony shrugged his shoulders at Mark, "I don't think Cap would like it. He would rather you save the kitten from a tree. Don't take it the wrong way, we still see you as an assassin. I just don't see you the way other people do. I just find it hard to believe this friend of mine could be regarded as a monster."
Tony watched as Mark sat on the bench. Mark looked to be letting Tony's words sink in after he finished. "Thanks, Tony," Mark said as he looked over to Tony. Tony waved his hand to brush of the moment, "It is nothing. I know how you are. I have my own internal demons. Maybe we both can see passed the other's and know the person behind it all."
"That was really deep. I am impressed. Andrea must be a good influence on you," Mark said.
Tony had taken another drink of water before he spoke. "You have no idea what a good influence she is on me."
That moment Tony heard someone walking through the doorway of the training room. He looked over to see Andrea walking toward them.
"Speak of the devil," Mark said.
Andrea walked over and looked over at Tony. "He showed you your weak point, didn't he?" She asked Tony. Tony looked over at her with surprise, "You know it too?"
Andrea walked up to him and wiped some of the sweat from Tony's forehead. "No. I remember when he did the same to me. I looked about the same as you do right now. He made you fight for a while not realizing what you were doing and finally showed you where your weak point is when you gave him an opening."
"The student remembers her lesson," Mark said.
Tony just laughed at how well Andrea knew the lesson Mark just put him through. Andrea looked around Tony to see Mark. "I thank you for not killing my boyfriend," Andrea said with a smile.
"No problem, but word around here is my death threats are just empty promises. I need to rebuild my street cred," Mark said to her.
"Kitten killing?" Andrea asked.
"Nah. Tony said Steve would not like the kitten killing. Something about saving them in trees is more Steve's style," Mark said.
"What is my style?" Steve asked as he walked into the training room. Tony didn't even hear Steve walking; usually, everyone could tell when Steve would be walking around the mansion.
"You have been working on your stealth," Mark noted.
"Well, I need to learn to sneak behind you and surprise you like you do to me. But looked like I only surprised Tony," Steve said.
Andrea turned to Steve, "You have been working on it, but you still make too much noise."
"Hmm. Andrea why don't you explain to Steve what he needs to work. He might hear it better coming from you," Mark said.
Andrea walked around Steve. Tony watched at Steve followed Andrea with his eyes. "Are you hearing that?" Andrea asked Steve. Tony could not know what she was referencing. Tony could hear nothing at all. Tony watched as Steve shook his head to answer her. Andrea pointed down to her shoes. Tony noticed Andrea was wearing calf high boots with a heel. Steve looked confused at Andrea and Tony answered for him.
"Steve, she is pointing out what you don't hear. She is wearing shoes which it would be impossible for an average person to keep silent."
Andrea tapped her nose indicating Tony was right. "You still make a lot of noise when you walk. You got your feet to be silent like an average person would, but far from the skills of an assassin. Don't feel bad, though, it took me a while to learn."
"But you wear heels frequently which Steve doesn't," Mark said then he cocked his head, "Unless you want to let us in on a little secret of your Steve." Tony laughed at the joke while Steve just shook his head laughing as well. "I didn't think so." Mark turned to Andrea, "So here to pick up the student for his dinner?"
"Yup. He worked hard and now it is time to play hard." Andrea said walking over to Tony and giving him a hug. Tony greeted the hug with a kiss. Andrea wiped her hands on Tony's towel. "But shower first. I only prefer it when I make you work up a sweat," She said with a coy smile. Tony kissed Andrea again. "Same here."
"Gross," Mark said. Steve laughed as he walked over to Mark and put his arm around him. "You never act that way when we kiss," Steve said.
"Cause we are not vile creatures," Mark said. Andrea responded with a gesture involving holding up one finger. "So ladylike," Mark said.
Tony kissed Andrea's neck, "The kind of lady I like."
"You two have the strangest relationship," Steve said to Mark.
"Don't try to understand it, Steve," Andrea said.
"She is right. Somehow it works for us. No matter how mean we are we cut through it all and only take in the love which is at its core," Mark said.
"You are getting soft in your assassin ways," Andrea said. Mark threw a towel in her face. Andrea stuck her tongue out at him. Tony laughed at them two. "I swear you two act like siblings than friends."
"Well, maybe that's the core of it?" Andrea said.
"What?" Tony said.
"Well siblings are always this way but at the end of the day always there for one another and support each other no matter what. The best part about this is we choose to be siblings, not destined by blood," Andrea said.
"So much deep talk today," Mark said.
Tony shrugged his shoulders to Mark. "Don't know what to tell you, Mark. This is how we are in our dysfunctional superhero family."
Andrea smiled at Tony, then turned him around and shoved him. "Go shower. We have reservations."
"Like they will deny Tony Stark reservations," Tony said with a smug look. Tony looked back to Andrea, "Not going to join?"
Andrea made a face at Tony. "You know how long it takes to manage my hair. If I get into the shower with you, we will be late with how much you will mess it up. Dessert is more of what you will be getting tonight regarding that."
"I look forward to it," Tony said.
"Gross," Mark said again. Steve shoved Mark.
"Thank you, Steve," Andrea said.
"Traitor," Mark said under his breath. Then Steve kissed Mark.
"Gross," Andrea mocked Mark. Mark made a face at Andrea.
Tony went to his room and quickly showered. He got out of the shower and towel dried as he decided on what to wear. He decided to go classic Tony and wear a suit. Tony put on a black suit and wore a purple shirt to fit the mood. Tony felt like dressing in a color men normally don't wear to help him stand out more. Tony grabbed his wallet and keys and walked over to Andrea's room. Tony knocked, and Andrea opened the door wearing a black dress with red and gold accent colors on it. She still had her boots on from earlier.
"Ready to go?" Tony asked as he offered his arm to escort Andrea.
"Ready and starving," Andrea said as she grabbed Tony's arm. They walked down the hall and then down the stairs. Tony went to open the door when he heard a noise from the kitchen.
"Enjoy your night staying in," Andrea said looking to Mark. And Tony led the way to the car.
"I am never going to understand your relationship with him, am I?" Tony said.
"It's best not to think too much about it. It's not too bad, is it?" Andrea said as Tony opened the door for her. Tony walked around the car and went inside. He started the car before answering her question. "You two just say things which would cause other people to go into a rage. But instead, you laugh at one another and just go on with the conversation." Tony had thought for a moment before he continued, "I am envious of it." Tony put the car in reverse to turn it around in the driveway, then put it in drive to exit the property.
"Envious of it?" Andrea asked.
"Yeah," Tony said. "You two say exactly what is on your mind, never question it, accept it and move on. No fights from it, no arguments, just laughs. It's liberating in a way. I wish most people could be like that."
Andrea got a scared look in her eyes. "I don't think the world needs more than one of us in existence."
Tony laughed. "Well, I might enjoy there being multiples of you."
Andrea glared at Tony, "Of course you wouldn't."
They drove to the restaurant and Tony was right, the restaurant had no issue with giving a table to Tony Stark, even though they were late. Tony and Andrea sat down at the dinner table and ordered some wine for dinner. They placed their orders with the waiter and enjoyed one another's company with the wine while they waited.
"You are nervous about the summons, aren't you?" Tony asked Andrea.
"Of course, I am," Andrea said before taking a sip from her wine. She looked down at her glass before she continued. "He is my best friend. I don't want him to not be part of the same team as me. If they say no to him joining, then I know he will leave. He will make me stay and not let me go with him. He didn't plan to stay at the beginning. Everything changed with all we have been through. He wants to stay, now. I would be heartbroken if he left."
"I am sure Steve is part of the reason he wants to stay," Tony said. Andrea looked up at him and made a face showing Tony stated the obvious. "Well, it is an important part." Andrea made the same face at Tony's second comment. "I realize my deep thoughts stopped when I spoke with Mark." Andrea laughed at Tony's words.
"Of course, Steve plays a big part. I just never would have thought Mark would change his mind about joining. He had strong opinions about working alone." Andrea said. The waiter brought their food allowing Tony time to think of what Andrea meant before he spoke.
"You mean his solo career was that important to him?" Tony asked.
Andrea shook her head, "He thought the world saw him how Winter Soldier did. I guess he expected the everyone's reaction to be the same. There was a time when Steve thought the same remember. As time went on, he wasn't seen that way, and he felt more welcomed. I also think Natasha and me being on the team helped and, of course, his relationship with Steve." Andrea paused for a moment, "And then there is you. You two seem to have some sort of understanding between each other."
Tony paused from his meal to respond to Andrea. "Yeah, we do. We both have demons in our past. We are able to see past the demons and see the person behind it all. I guess I just see him as Mark, with incredible power, but still Mark. Plus he is a good cook."
"That he is," Andrea said as she went back to her food.
"So do you think Steve will come to the summons tomorrow?" Tony asked. Andrea laughed at Tony's question. "What?" he asked.
"It is implied Steve is going. He wouldn't miss it for anything in the world. I am going because Mark might need some back-up and you are going cause Mark won't say no to me," Andrea answered.
"I am glad to know a woman who has such powerful friends," Tony said.
"You are lucky to be with said woman," Andrea said with a smile. They both finished their meals, and Tony paid the bill. "So ready for dessert before a day at the United Nations?" Tony asked.
"Let's focus on dessert for tonight," Andrea said with a smile. Tony stood up and helped Andrea up from her seat. He offered his arm to her and escorted her to the car.
