"So you're Tony Stark?" Clint says as Tony treats the wound he discovered on the guy's back. Clint had woken up a little while after the stiches and was pretty surprised to find THE Tony Stark cleaning his cuts, but had apparently gotten over it since he's become quite chatty since then.
"The one and only." Tony huffs distracted as he cleans a particularly nasty cut on Clint's lower back. "What of it?" He questions, and wonders if they're gonna try and get him to fork over money or something. He would give them some if asked; honestly he is never allowed to leave the house anyway, what is he supposed to do with the money?
"Nothing really dude. I'm just curious is all, rich genius kid like you? Why do you give a crap about some rift raff on the streets? How the hell do you even know how to do this stuff? Don't you have like a houseful of nannies to do the first aid stuff?" Clint rambles on, his eyes surveying the room they're in, surprised it's actually quite bear, and he doesn't notice Tony's flinch.
"I don't know actually. Been asking myself that question since I brought you in, and no we don't have servants. Well I don't, my dad does but they stay on his side of the house."
Clint doesn't question the guy, but he shoots a meaningful look at Steve who nods in response. Clint doesn't know what Tony wants, but he knows there's something going on, this house just gives him a weird vibe.
"Stark, can I talk to you for a minute?" Steve says in a relatively civil tone. Tony freezes for a moment then nods, standing up and following Steve into the next room. Once he closes the door, he glares at Steve intensely. "Don't call me Stark again. It's Tony. I'm just Tony." his voice is practically a growl, and Steve raises an eyebrow but doesn't comment.
"Fine, Tony. Look I know it isn't money you want; you obviously have plenty of that. So just come out with it, you let us stay here, what's the catch?" Steve says cautiously, crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall. Tony watches him for a moment and wonders vaguely "Do I want something? He pauses to think, eyeing the empty room around him. It seemed the house itself was always so cold and impersonal. Empty. Like Tony. He thinks back to first seeing the group, tired, and worried for each other. Obviously a family, with the way Steve was so protective.
"No Steve, there's nothing I want that you could give me. But I can help you, so why not? All I want you to do is…" He takes a deep breath and avoids Steve's eyes, so he cannot see Tony's surge of fear when he says it. "Don't let my father see you. Please, do everything in your power not to let my father see you. But, if he does….. For your own sakes, don't tell him the truth. Says you're friends of mine and I said it was okay to come over. Then once he's not looking at you, get the hell out before he can recognize you."
Tony turns his eyes back to Steve's at that, and throws up the smile he uses to deal with the press. "Other than that I don't need a thing from you. You guys can have that room, this is the one Dad always looks for me in anyway if he ever needs to find me. There's a stocked kitchen he never sets foot in through the red door, and there's a door in there to the bathroom, use as much hot water as you like. There are plenty of clothes in the closet, some are mine, they should fit Clint, Bruce, and Loki, but there are some other's in there from Rhodey that should fit you and Thor. There are also some clothes Pepper left over here Natasha can use if she wants. You guys will probably have to stay a few days at least to let Clint heal and cold front pass, but after that you're free to take as many clothes and food as you need and leave, no strings attached. Anything else?" Tony says nonchalantly, trying to hide the choke in his voice at mentioning Rhodey and Pepper. His dad had stopped allowing him to see them a long time ago. Last he heard Pepper had gotten accepted to some high class boarding school, and Rhodey was joining the military.
Steve, poor soul, looks completely overwhelmed, but impressively not any less suspicious. "Um just. There's another one of us, my friend Bucky. He's outside. He always stays on the rooftops so he can… take care of any trouble from above. He stays with us." Steve says this almost like a challenge, and Tony can see that he's trying to scare him, maybe see if Tony's goodwill stretches. Well, gonna have to do a whole lot better than that pal.
Tony just grins. "You guys have a sniper? Cool. By all means, have him join the party." He comments cheerfully, and plops down on the bed, slipping his shoes off and starting to get ready to crash for the night. He decides he's just going to ignore Steve now and hope he leaves. He hears the bigger man open the door, but then he stops and stares at Tony for a minute, and then says quietly, and with no bite to his words, "You know Sta- Tony, for genius, you obviously are really, really stupid, or completely lack self-preservation skills."
Tony chuckles bitterly and shakes his head. "Yeah, my friends use to say the same thing."
….
Steve closes the door behind him as he steps out of the room where Tony's sleeping, and immediately feels Natasha and Bucky's presence beside him. "So, what happened?" Natasha asks trying to sound uninterested, but he knows her well enough to hear the worry concealed in her voice. He stars to ask how Bucky even got in but decides it doesn't matter, honestly Steve's just glad he doesn't have to go get him.
"He's… strange. He offered us food and clothes and said he was cool that we'd probably need to stay here awhile. He said he doesn't… want anything from us. Just not to get caught by his dad and if we do to just say we're his friends and then get out. He didn't even care that Bucky came in, even after I implied his…skills."
Bucky snorts and shoots a look at Tony's door. "This guy is obviously full of shit Steve. You know that, I mean really, house seven wanted strangers out of the goodness of his heart? Do you really buy that? He has an angle, he has to." Natasha nods her agreement and Steve just sighs, glancing over at Clint who is already asleep again, bandages covering most of his torso.
"Well there isn't a lot we can do is there Bucky? Just keep an eye on him… like it or not, for the time being we're living with the guy. Figure out his angle." Steve says tiredly and Natasha narrows her eyes suspiciously at him. "Steve you aren't buying this, are you?" Steve just shrugs. "I wouldn't bet any of our lives on it of course not, that's why I want you two to find out for sure… But if I had to place a bet on it now; I would say he's genuine. Maybe a genuine moron, but I think he's at least an honest one." He admits ruefully and Natasha nods slowly. She is much less trusting than Steve, but she never disregards his instinct about someone. His instincts are one of the reasons he's their leader.
"Well, only time will tell." Bucky says rather irritably, and goes to take his seat for first watch. Steve takes one more glance back at the door and then goes to lie down for some much needed sleep. God he hopes he's right about Tony.
For everyone's sake.