I decided to write a second chapter for this! Hope you enjoy it xxx

The team spent that night in the tower, untroubled - for the moment - by Fury and SHIELD. If Clint didn't actually sleep and Natasha never let go of her guns and Tony almost slept on the couch (only saved by Pepper's need to have him with her, as reassurance he was still alive) then none of them knew that. Yet.

Maybe later they would be able to guess.

But for now they weren't a team - not yet. Now they were a group of damaged people fighting for the same goal in memory of the same man. That didn't mean they had to like each other or get along or even tolerate each other. Sometimes Natasha was sure that the longer she spent in Stark's presence the more she wanted to kill him.

This wasn't a team.

As Bruce said - this was a time bomb.

They were learning. Tony, perhaps the most difficult of the group to figure out, despite his projected transparency, had been softened by the presence of Pepper Potts. Around her he was gentler, cared more for others' feelings. He was still quick-witted and sharp tongued, but Pepper threw barbs back like confetti at a wedding, and these taunts were neither cruel nor harsh - not like the comments made on the helicarrier.

Steve needed to apologise for that. He didn't know where to start - Tony had flown that nuke into the portal knowing there was every chance he might not come back. Steve, even with how little he knew Tony, couldn't decide if he had been selfish or selfless doing it.

He walked into the kitchen the next morning that thought in mind. Today he'd allowed himself a lie in - and decided to forgo his usual morning jog. Not that he'd manage to get too far - the city was a complete mess from yesterday's attempted invasion. When he walked in, Natasha was seated at the table, looking tense, with her back pressed against the wall. She was drinking deeply from a mug of coffee.

"Morning."

He received a perfectly polite smile in response.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Fine." If the bags beneath her eyes hadn't betrayed her, he would've thought she was telling the truth. "You?"

"It was definitely comfortable." Far too comfortable, for a guy that had grown up in the Great Depression.

"That's one thing you can't fault Stark on."

"Have you known him long?"

"Almost a year."

"When did you meet him?"

"Fury sent me in as a shadow back when he was dying of palladium poisoning."

Steve wasn't quite sure what to say to that.

The two sat in silence for a few more minutes, Steve looking around the kitchen curiously, visibly restraining himself from poking around the kitchen appliances. The door swung open with a loud bang and Steve jumped. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Natasha edge towards her knives.

"Good morning!"

Nothing seemed to faze Thor - not even the capture of his insane adopted brother. Steve relaxed, but Natasha remained leaning over the table. It was only seconds later that Bruce entered the kitchen.

"Where is the Man of Iron?"

"Still in bed. Probably for a while."

"And the Eye of Hawk?"

"Is already down here."

Everyone bar Natasha jumped. They turned to find Clint perched on top of the fridge, as though he had spent the night there. Bruce was breathing deeply in an attempt to calm his heart rate.

Tony walked in then, in contradiction to Natasha's previous words, and gave a slight puzzled look at the expressions of shock and fright on some of their faces. Natasha of course gave away nothing.

"Okay..."

"Where's Pepper?"

"Still in bed."

Natasha gave him an inquiring look.

"She doesn't have a lie in very often. Right now she deserves it."

Tony joined them at the table, sinking into a chair, and wincing when he pressed too hard on a bruise. "Dummy, coffee!"

A robot whirled over holding a steaming mug in its claw. Steve watched with curiosity and amazement - it might not be the most surprising thing he'd seen in recent days, but it was still pretty interesting.

Tony eyed Steve's look of admiration and decided for once to give a straight answer and, even more rarely, one that wasn't sarcastic. "It's a helper bot I created a while back."

The room fell back into silence - this one more comfortable. They weren't a team yet, but they knew how to fight as one. And one day they might be able to trust each other properly – well as properly as trained assassins could trust anyone.

They were all sat on a flat surface (Tony would say all on chairs around the table, but Clint refused to move from his perch on the fridge) when the door banged open again. This time it was Pepper, who flushed as the attention of the room turned towards her. She took a seat next to Tony and pulled out her phone, beginning to text.

"I'm taking today off. I can't handle this."She said this without looking up from her phone, the blush fading slightly.

"I don't blame you. I don't expect many people to actually be working today."

JARVIS's voice rang out, startling Steve, Clint, Thor and Bruce who were not yet used to voices proclaiming things from the ceiling. "Sir, Colonel Rhodes is entering the lobby."

Both Tony and Pepper stiffened. "You did remember to phone him last night, didn't you?"

Tony shrugged sheepishly.

Pepper buried her face in her hands. "He's not going to be happy."

Tony nodded with a grimace.

"Excuse me, who's Colonel Rhodes?" Steve asked, looking confused.

"Tony's best friend. Who quite likely thinks he's dead."

"I'm going down to my workshop." Tony attempted to escape, but Pepper caught his elbow and held fast. He slumped back into his seat, hiding.

The elevator pinged.

"Tony? Pepper? Tony!"

"In the kitchen!" Pepper called.

"No, no, no." Tony dove under the table as the door opened yet again. Rhodey took one look at Pepper's distinctly tear-free face before bellowing, "Tony!"

"Yes honey muffin?" Came the muffled voice from beneath the table.

'Honey muffin?' Clint mouthed to Natasha. She just shook her head.

"Stop hiding. Get out from under the table."

Tony wriggled out and made a break for the door. Pepper made for his wrist again but missed. However, Tony's exit was blocked by Rhodey. He closed his eyes.

And then opened one in disbelief when he received a crushing hug.

"What on Earth did you think you were doing?"

"Running?"

"I meant with the nuke!" This time he received a slap to the head.

"Saving the planet."

"Saving the planet," Rhodey repeated dryly.

"Uh-huh."

"Why?"

Tony scoffed. "Because otherwise we'd all be dead?"

"Why you?"

"Because I'm awesome and amazing?"

He received two sharp looks in return and a variety of incredulous snorts.

"Hey! No comments from the peanut gallery."

"Comments? I didn't hear anyone say anything." Clint smirked.

Tony scowled.

Rhodey continued, "So why did you really take the nuke into space?"

Steve could honestly say he hadn't yet considered that particular question.

"I was the only one who could do it."

"Were you? Really?" The two exchanged an entirely silent conversation in meaningful looks, only fully understood by the pair and Pepper.

Rhodey cocked his head, an almost incline in agreement to whatever had been said in the silent discussion. Both turned to face the others, almost simultaneously, Tony unconsciously reaching for Pepper again. "Anyway, so when are you leaving?"

"We all know that Fury wants us the stay here."

"So that's it. You never leave the tower again? Jeez what's the point of having a response team if they can't respond to anything further than their front door?"

"I shall return to Asgard later with my brother."

Clint stiffened at the mention of Loki. Natasha's face hardened further - if that were even possible. Thor seemed oblivious to the tension he had caused as he walked out of the room, talking loudly to JARVIS. Rhodey sat in the chair Thor had vacated, continuing his and Tony's non-verbal conversation through a series of hand gestures and facial expressions. Steve watched in fascination.

Tony was a completely annoying idiot (for a genius). How did he manage to keep both Pepper and Rhodey?

Maybe he'd have to stick around. Just to find out.