New York, Present Day
"Oh fuck off, Danie." Alicia Bennett snapped, narrowing her eyes dangerously. Her best friend stood in front of her, teeth clenched angrily. "I honestly can't even be surprised about this. I should have known you were sleeping with my boyfriend. I mean, shit, you guys spend so much damn time with each other, how could you not be sleeping together?" She demanded, backing away from her boyfriend's apartment door. "Whatever." She shook her head and spun on her heel, stalking down the hallway.
"What, so that's it? You're just leaving?" Danie demanded, self-consciously tugging Andrew's large shirt lower so that it covered more of her thighs. "You don't even want to talk about it?" She demanded, her shaking voice betraying her.
"I don't." Alicia confirmed with a solid nod of her head, slamming the stairwell door open and taking the stairs down two at a time. She burst onto the street, rapidly blinking the tears out of her eyes, as her phone vibrated in her pocket. She yanked it out and couldn't help but smile at the name that lit up her screen. "Steven Grant Rogers, it has been far too long since you've called me!" She cried, momentarily forgetting her anger at her best friend and boyfriend.
"Yeah, sorry about that Alicia." He replied sheepishly. "I'v been...busy." He said cryptically before speaking softly to someone near him, pulling the phone away from his mouth. "Slow down, would you? You're going to choke." He said to them. Alicia could hear a voice in the background.
"You try not eating for a year." The voice snorted playfully. Steve chuckled. The sound was magical to Alicia. After he'd been thawed, she could remember how utterly lost he was. He had always seemed so sad to the young agent (ex agent) that it was nice for her to hear him happy.
"Anyway, Alicia I'm sorry to spring this on you, but could you do me a huge favor?"
That was how Alicia found herself driving up to the Avenger's compound, which she hadn't visited in a while, on Steve's prerogative. She could almost remember the route like the back of her hand. It was about a four hour drive from the city, but she didn't mind driving, and upstate had always been so beautiful to the twenty year old. She pulled onto the familiar property and couldn't help but give a wide smile. Stark was already waiting for her at the door.
"I knew you couldn't stay away from this for too long." Tony bragged, gesturing to himself with an arrogant smile marring his attractive face. Alicia snorted loudly before throwing her arms around his neck. The man hugged her tightly, showing her just how lonely he had been since the events of the previous years. Tony never hugged tightly.
"How's everything with the UN going?" Alicia asked curiously, following him into the compound. The kitchen wasn't too far from the front door, and there was already a pot of coffee brewing. Tony made a face somewhere between disgust and frustration, shaking his head.
"They've backed off, but it was a nightmare for a while there. What brings you here?" Tony asked, pushing the attention off of himself. He was worried that if they talked about it for too long, he would end up telling her everything. About how he had messed up and now everyone on the team was a wanted criminal. About the desperate loneliness that clutched his heart so tightly it made him want to cry. About how he nursed several glasses of whiskey or brandy every night, and a massive hangover every morning just to forget. About the guilt that ate him as he watched Rhodey get used to his new pair of legs. He was afraid that he'd end up telling her that he'd been wrong, something that Tony Stark almost never was, and that he missed Steve and his team more than he even cared to admit to himself. They were his family, as begrudging as he was about it.
"Listen, Stark, I have something of...fragile matter to talk to you about." Alicia admitted. "I'm not just here on a leisurely visit." Of course she wasn't. Alicia Bennett and Tony Stark had gotten along when SHIELD was still active, but he'd never let her get close to him. She would never just drop by to see how he was doing. Despite himself, that sent a small pang through his chest. He took a sip of his coffee as Alicia nursed hers with creamer and more sugar than he thought would be healthy for a girl of her size.
"Well?" He urged her to go on. She fidgeted slightly in her seat, collecting her thoughts, before looking up at Tony.
"I have a favor to ask. No...it's not my favor, Tony. It's Steve's." The name sent Tony into something of a tailspin. He jerked away, the coffee cup clattering to the counter. Coffee sloshed over the brim as the man took a step back. "I wouldn't ask you this if it wasn't really important. Steve needs help Tony, OUR help." She looked at him meaningfully, taking a mouthful of hot coffee and almost wincing as it scorched her tongue. "And...so does Bucky." Tony flinched visibly. His old wounds were reopening, tearing open at the thought of Steve and Sergeant Barnes, whom he had alienated because of an own selfish desire to somehow bring his mom back. He'd been wrong, but his lips curled into a snarl at the name anyway. "Look, I know that you don't like Sergeant Barnes-" Stark cut her off.
"No, I don't like Caviar. I HATE James Barnes." He hissed with a ferocity that Alicia didn't know he possessed anymore. She unwillingly flinched away from his palpable anger, taking a deep breath to steady her heart. It had been so long since she'd dealt with any of the Avengers, and she had to find her agent mindset again before she could continue.
"You hold a grudge." She observed. Tony laughed dryly.
"That's putting it lightly, sweetheart." All at once, he had reverted back into the cynical man that was still mourning his mother's murder. Alicia steeled her nerves and leaned forward.
"It's because you don't deal with your emotions in a healthy manner, Stark." She explained.
"Oh can it." Tony snapped, turning away to busy himself with digging through a cabinet for liquor so that she wouldn't see his shaking hands. "I don't need that lecture from you too."
"Tony, whatever you say or do, your mother isn't coming back." The words knocked the breath out of him and he had to lean against the counter, his legs trembling with a promise to give out under him. "You can't change the past. And killing Barnes will never make it better. You're indulging in your vengeance too much." She spoke softly, so as not to make him any more angry than he already was. The man took a deep, shaking breath.
"What, you're not going to tell me that he was brainwashed like everyone else did?" He demanded scathingly. Alicia smiled softly and shook her head, though she knew Stark wasn't looking at her.
"No. I know you already know that, Tony. But I don't get to decide what you do with that knowledge. Barnes struggles with scars that you and I can never fathom. He has to live with all of that blood on his hands." Tony knew that the young agent had a point. "I know that he killed your mom, and I know that you think you hate him, but I think you should give him a chance. Not the Winter Soldier, but Bucky Barnes." Tony sighed deeply, his shoulders sinking slightly.
"I'm not giving my word, but...what do they need?"