After packing the last of their possessions, removing Tony kicking and screaming from his latest project, and making sure that the builders understood what needed to be done, Coulson had ushered the team into a waiting SUV, and accompanied them to the closest airport. People stopped and stared at the motley group, but no-one tried to pull them up. Shuffling the team into a corner just off to the side, Phil pulled a blank yellow envelope out of his jacket pocket, and tapped it against his other hand.

"SHIELD has provided us with tickets on the next flight out," he explained, ignoring the group of giggly teens that had just noticed the scruffy looking Stark. "We'll be in Business and-"

Pulling his attention away from the blushing girls and back to the man in front of him, Tony frowned. "What? Yeah- no that's not happening."

Rolling his eyes, Steve glared at the brunette. "Tony," he muttered, not wishing to cause a scene. "Unless you want to drive, this is the only way we're getting there."

"I agree Capsicle," Tony smirked, patting the agitated blonde on the shoulder, mockingly. "But it won't be on that plane."

Plucking the tickets from the annoyed agent's fingers, Tony sauntered over to the waiting bay for the commercial flight to Malibu, and glanced around. Not sure what the idiot was up to, the group watched in interest and slight agitation, as the engineer made his way up to a random family that seemed to be having trouble with their luggage, and grinned. Talking to the father that was holding onto a little girl, Tony handed the envelope over to the stunned man, and signed something to the stewardess that had just walked out to call for passengers. Shooing the shocked family away, Tony made his way back to the group, and whipped out his phone.

"Stark, do you know what you just did?" Natasha fumed, watching as the still confused father handed over their tickets and ushered his family through the terminal.

"Yeah, I just gave a little girl that doesn't have very long to live, a one of kind holiday. Excuse me for a sec- Hey Happy, is the jet ready?"

Raising an eyebrow at the man that should for all intents and purposes be passed out on the floor, the red head turned to the others in question. Taking pity, Bruce motioned to the doors the family had just walked through, and murmured. "From the looks of it, the little girl had some form of cancer; Leukaemia most likely."

Clint tilted his head. "How did you know? How did Stark know?"

"Her size for one," Bruce replied, fidgeting with the strap of his bag. "One common problem with cancer patients is that they usually lose a lot of weight because of their medication. By how much she's lost, and the grey colouring of her skin, I'd probably say that the doctors told her parents that the medication is no longer working, and that the best they can do is spend the remaining time she has doing something together as a family, and away from the hospital."

Glancing sadly at the now closed doors, the group almost jumped when an excited Stark appeared out of nowhere, and ushered them towards the airport entrance.

"Happy said we're all good to go. Harry's loaded up and the jet's fuelled, so let's go."

Not sure what to say, the group followed the spontaneous genius through the car park and towards the section cornered off for private jets.

Streaking through the sky, Steve glanced out the window, took in the shimmering lights of the cities below. The plane had been in motion for a good hour, and the only people that did not seem to be visiting dreamland, was Coulson and himself.

Glancing over at the brunette half laying, half cuddling the sleeping form of Bruce Banner, Steve let out a quiet chuckle. The moment they had stepped foot in the jet, Tony had grabbed the poor scientist by the wrist, and exclaimed loudly that Bruce was his teddy, and forced him to sit down next to him in the back. Not five minutes later, snores were heard.

Clint had passed out not much later, the painkillers Natasha had forced down his throat taking their affect. Steve wasn't overly sure if the red head was awake or not, but seeing as he hadn't seen any movement in their corner for the last half an hour, he wouldn't be surprised.

Harry was the only member he couldn't easily catch sight of, but that was mainly because of Tony's severe case of paranoia, and wanting to make the comatose man as comfortable as possible. So instead of being in the main section with the rest of them, the still recovering wizard was resting in the room that Tony had quite happily labelled as his 'mile high' room.

Glancing over at the agent currently perusing some classified document, Steve coughed politely. Snapping out of his tunnel vision, Coulson blinked his eyes a couple of times, and turned to face the Captain.

"Sorry Mr Rogers," he murmured politely, keeping his voice down to not wake the kids. "Did you say something?"

Shaking his head, Steve felt bad for interrupting the man from his job. "Sorry Coulson. I was just bored, you can go back to your work."

Closing the folder, Coulson sent the blonde a small grin. "I was just going over a report that was supposed to have been dealt with months ago. Nothing serious, what did you want to talk about?"

Shrugging, Steve twisted in his seat so he could face the agent better, and motioned to everything. "I don't know," he admitted. "The team, you, SHIELD, I don't know, pick one."

Chuckling lightly, Coulson shifted as well, and eyed the man in front of him with mirth. "That doesn't exactly help."

"I know." Stifling his laughter, Steve glanced around for a topic, and said the first thing that came to his mind. "How much longer do you think Harry will be out?"

Sobering instantly, Coulson felt his forehead tighten, and his shoulders tense. Noticing the change, Steve waved his hands at the man. "No, I'm sorry,- I just thought-"

Holding his own hand up to placate the blonde, Phil tilted the corners of his lips up ever so slightly. "No, it's ok." Glancing at the back of the jet, where the door hiding the wizard was located, Coulson sighed. "I honestly don't know. He's never been out for this long."

"So he's been out like this before?"

Raising an eyebrow at the unhidden excitement in the soldier's voice, Phil nodded. "It was a year after I had first met him. We had worked together briefly before, but this was something different altogether. What we didn't know, was that the group that we had been sent to take down, were rogue mutants. If Harry hadn't been there, then the entire warehouse would have collapsed, killing everyone inside; mutant or not."

"That doesn't explain how he goes into a non-responsive state," Steve frowned, eating every word that the other said. "I read about these 'mutants' in the paper. I don't believe that they're all bad, but is it a possibility that one of them did something to Harry that had a lasting effect?"

Shaking his head, Coulson glanced over at the others, and frowned when he noticed a set of hazel eyes staring right back.

"Harry explained it to me when he woke," he continued, knowing that the woman would get the information out of someone later anyways. "You see, there's this entire magical world immersed with ours that hardly anyone knows about. They are just as human as us, they just have a magical core added into the mix. The core's size varies from wizard to witch, but it is still all theirs. Think of a battery; when the power drains, the battery has to be recharged to be able to work again. That's the same with their cores. When they use too much, their bodies force them into a deep sleep, so their cores can recharge. Harry is an extremely powerful wizard with a very large core, but he still has to dictate to the laws of his kind. He used a lot of power during the battle and beforehand, I wouldn't be surprised if he almost drained it."

Nodding in understanding, Steve lent back in his seat, and mused over this new information. "I owe him my life," he admitted after a while, startling the agent once more. Natasha having fallen back asleep. "I wasn't paying attention, and was nearly jumped."

Putting the pen back down, Coulson glanced over at the soldier and tapped his scarred chest. "You and me both."

Knowing that they were at an understanding, but not wanting to dwell on it, Steve eyed the agent and grinned. "Do you still have those cards?"

"Hello Honey. Daddy's home!"

Sauntering through the automated doors, Tony lifted his hands up in the air, as if he were on a stage, awaiting the screaming fans and hallowed cheers.

The plane ride had been quick and silent for the billionaire. Landing on his personal strip in the middle of nowhere, the brunette had seen over his husband's transfer from the plane into an awaiting limo, before ushering the rest of the team and their luggage into another. The nap on the plane had done his sleep depraved mind the world of good, and now that he was in the house he secretly preferred to all others, he could get to work.

Ignoring the jetlagged bundle as they tripped their way into the house, Tony raced through the house, flicking unassuming switches on.

"Tony," Bruce sighed, needing a cup of tea before he even thought of kick starting his brain. "I think the lights still work."

Flicking on the last switch, Tony skidded across the marble floor and scowled. "How could you? Checking lights, honestly. Jarvis! My former science bro just called you a light!"

"I'm very upset to hear that, sir."

Jumping at the sudden voice, Bruce, Clint and Steve looked around to find the owner. Rolling her eyes at the brunette's stupid joke, Natasha thumped him in the arm. "Stark don't frighten them with your technology."

Rubbing the spot that the assassin had just tenderized, Tony stuck his tongue out at her. "You're no fun, Natalie," he pouted, whirling around to the others when she raised her fist again. "Ok, so this is Jarvis, Jarvis this is the Avengers. Jarvis runs the house, and the suits, and pretty much anything else I can think of. He was integrated into Stark Tower, but Loki's super beam of doom short circuited the building, and I couldn't be bothered chucking it back online until the infestation is dealt with."

Looking at the half asleep team, Tony waited for the exclamations and nods of understanding...

...but was left hanging.

Throwing his hands up in exasperation, the billionaire tossed his bag into a random corner, and pulled out his phone.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," the smooth British accent announced, startling the trio once more. "Miss Romanoff, Agent Coulson, it is nice to see you well."

Replying in kind, the pair made their way into the living room and sat down without another word. Scanning the room, Bruce glanced over at the engineer and raised an eyebrow. "AI Tony? Really?"

Grinning, Tony waived at them to all sit down, and raced back out the front. Confused as to what the brunette was up to, Steve and Bruce stood to go follow him, but stopped when he returned with a sleeping Harry snuggled into his chest. Calling out for Jarvis to supply drinks, Tony disappeared down the hall.

"Well," Clint mused, his shock over the talking house finally wearing off. "You've got to hand it to Stark, if anyone would have a computer nanny it would be him."

Mentally agreeing with the archer, Bruce went to reply, but shut up when said man made his way back into the room, just as a robotic arm on wheels came around the corner carrying a tray of drinks and chips. Snagging a glass, Tony jumped over the back of the couch and slid into the space between an irritated Natasha, and confused Steve.

"So," he grinned, taking a swig of the health drink provided. "This is my pad, what do ya think?"

Not bothering to look around, Natasha grabbed a glass for herself, and smirked. "I think it looked better before the redecoration."

Wrinkling his nose at the assassin, Tony turned to his science bro. "What do you think, Big Guy? It's not as large as the Tower or the mansion, but it has the best lab downstairs."

Taking in the massive grin threatening to split the billionaire's face, Bruce looked around and shrugged. "It's very... you."

Not sure whether or not to take it as a complement, Tony merely raised his glass in salute and drained the remaining liquid.

"Sir, I have three hundred and forty six messages on your voice mail," Jarvis announced, still getting a twitch from Steve and Clint. "Sixty percent appear to be from either Miss Potts or Lieutenant Rhodes."

Tony rolled his eyes at the message. "Delete any from any magazine or television company, file the others for later, and play the last one from Rhodey and Pepper in that order."

Not sure what to say or do, the group quietly sat and sipped at their drinks, as the brunette ordered the AI around.

"Voice message recorded at 3:14 this morning."

BEEP.

"Tony?" The panicked voice of what they assumed was normally a calm and collected man, filled the room; startling Steve to the point of spilling his drink. "Tony, man, you need to answer your phone. The fight's all over the news. I mean, hell, I'm in Egypt right now, and it's all over the TV. I'll be back in the states in two days. If you can't be bothered to call me, then at least get in contact with Pepper. She's nearly jetted back there a few times now, but some guy called Fury told her that you were fine, so I don't know. Call her! And hey, did I see Harry with you?"

Standing up, Tony ignored the others as he shuffled past them, and walked into the kitchen to get another drink.

"Voice message recorded at 1:26 this morning."

BEEP.

"Tony!" the shrill tone of Pepper Potts suddenly filled the air, causing anyone that had yet to met her, to wince. "Tony Stark you answer this phone right now! I've sent you at least a million calls and messages, and all I get is a 'I'm fine. See you in Cali'? When I get a hold of you, Anthony, I'm going to-"

"Jarvis stop message."

Making his way back into the living room, Tony waved away the machine as it tried to take his glass, and plastered on his usual paparazzi grin.

"As you can see," he waved his hand around in a circular fashion. "There's plenty to do, plenty to see. Dummy here will show you to your rooms, and if you've got any questions, just ask Jarvis. Or Little Miss Spy here. I'll be down in the lab, if you're names not Bruce, don't expect to be let in."

Twirling around to make his way down the stairs, Tony stopped when the star spangled banner decided to finally dislodge his tongue from his mouth, and speak.

"Wait Tony."

Turning back around, the brunette raised an eyebrow. "What Americana?"

Looking up at the man, Steve set his face into its most open and heartfelt look, and smiled at the man that had dragged them across the country, just so they could all stay together, and smiled.

"Thank you."

Not sure what to say, Tony spun back around, and stormed down his way down to the labs. He had suits to repair and guests to ignore.

The sudden departure of Tony was not one that the group could say they hadn't been expecting.

After checking out each room and placing their belongings away, Bruce had decided to head downstairs to make sure the idiot didn't blow himself up, leaving the rest to lounge around the living area. Clicking through the so many hundred shows on the plasma screen, Clint quickly grew bored and turned to see what the others were doing.

Coulson had found himself a spot on the kitchen table, and was growling at some poor intern thru his phone. Steve was immersed in some paperback novel that the archer knew he would never touch; and Natasha was beside him cleaning her guns. Deciding that poking her right now would probably not end the best for him, Clint glanced up at the ceiling, and smirked.

"Hey Jarvis?"

"Yes Mr Barton?"

"Who was that on the messages earlier?"

Noticing Steve and Natasha's interest pique up, Clint ignored them, and continued to stare at the spot on the ceiling.

Finally, after a minute of debate, Jarvis slowly replied. "The messages were from Miss Potts, Mr Stark's secretary and former CEO, and Lieutenant James Rhodes, or Rhodey as Mr Stark likes to refer to him by."

Nodding, Clint went to ask the AI who they were exactly, but was beaten to it by the woman beside him.

"Pepper Potts and James Rhodes are Stark's closest, and I think, only, friends," she explained, running a small brush through the pistol's barrel. "Rhodes was with Stark when he was kidnapped in Afghanistan, and he and Pepper became a couple right after she resigned from being CEO."

Placing his book down, Steve glanced over at the stairwell, before turning back to the red head and leaning forward. "But how can he have a relationship with this Miss Potts," he frowned, hoping that he had understood what the assassin had said. "He's a married man. The proof is currently passed out in his bed."

Shrugging, Natasha clicked the pin back into place and aimed. "I don't know," she admitted. "I was assigned his case a year after his stint in the desert, and from what we've only recently gathered Harry was out of the picture long before then. Clint, you're his friend. Did he say anything to you?"

Shaking his head, the blonde lent back, mindful of his bruised ribcage, and sighed. "We lost touch there for a while. I didn't even know he was married. Last time I saw him before this, he looked like hell though; like he had nothing left to cling on to."

Nodding in understanding, Steve sat back in his chair and picked back up his book. "Well," he muttered, turning the page. "Either way, it has nothing to do with us. Unless it affects the performance of the team, I say we just leave it alone."

"You're kidding right?" Snorting, Clint gave the soldier a look of utter disbelief. "Don't try an act all goodie two shoes, test dummy, we know that you're just as interested in this as we are."

Tilting her head in agreement, Natasha put the now shiny weapon back down on the coffee table, and yawned. "Well the answers not going to magically appear tonight." Stretching her arms above her head, the assassin waited till she heard a satisfying pop, before bringing them back down. "I'm drained. You coming?"

Nodding, Clint let the red head help him up, before turning to the Captain and pointing his finger at him. "I'm right," he stated, his voice raising even as he was dragged out of the room. "You're a drama whore, Cap; admit it!"

The Lab truly was something. An engineer's dream. Unfortunately Bruce in all his multi-labelled glory, was not an engineer.

Watching in amazement as 3D holographic systems came to life everywhere, the brunette made his way past the spectacular hot rod show, and towards the back of the room.

"I must admit," he exclaimed, hoping that his voice wasn't too high. "This really is something. How long did it take you to set up this place?"

Turning off the cutting torch, Tony glanced up at the awe-faced man, and grinned. "Isn't it?" Ripping off the scrap of metal that was once the suit's leg, the genius pressed a button on the crane, and moved it so the suit was hovering above a bench.

"Give me a hand?"

Reaching forward, the two men of science quickly had the empty shell laid out on the operation table, and ready to dissect. "It was the first house I bought."

Snapping his head to face the man and not the machinery, Bruce waited for him to continue.

"When my parents died, I didn't want to live in the mansion by myself, especially with the media hounding me like dogs." Cracking open the chest, Tony motioned for Bruce to hold back the wiring as he removed the damaged claps and metal plates. "So I handed the company over to someone I thought was family, and ran to the other side of the country."

"And where did Harry fit into all of this?"

Stopping all movement, Tony eyed the curious man beside him, and grimaced. "Right here," he muttered, tapping the arc reactor in his chest. "Or at least he did. I don't know if his still does."

"I thought that you two made up?" Moving to hold the pliers so the slightly taller man could reach in and grab the loose piece that fell in, Bruce began to realize just how close they were. He knew that he shouldn't be asking such personal questions, but he was fascinated by the deviously intelligent man.

Grabbing the fragment, Tony nodded in agreement. "We did, but there's still a lot of air to clear. I love him, he is the only person that I have ever been just me with, and when I needed him most, he wasn't there. I don't think I can put that to the back of mind and just forget it. You know?"

Nodding in agreement, Bruce let the conversation fall into a lull as he thought over what he had just been told.

The world was slowly coming back to him.

He was unsure how long he had been under, days, weeks. Fighting against the darkness that threatened to suffocate him; sleep ridden eyelids opened heavily, letting the emeralds hidden behind them glow in the darkened room. Feeling the power he had used so readily in battle return to him, parched lips opened to call out and announce his return to the conscious world; but was stopped when the wave of fear and loss hit his chest.

The pain was complete and utter agony; dragging him to the very depths of torment and distress.

Feeling that his body was not quite ready to bear such a burden, emerald eyes glanced around the cloaked room one last time, before once more hiding away from the world.

Soon, his magic whispered coaxing his mind back into a state of unawareness. Soon.