Chapter 7

After that, everything happened in more or less a blur.

People tried to get me to talk, I was allowed up, people tried to get me to talk, then I was allowed to go home, people tried to get me to talk, and then I was back in my Malibu Cliffside house.

"Thanks Happy" Pepper muttered as we stepped out in front of the house.

Home.

This was my home.

Since I was no longer part of the Avengers, I decided I would no longer stay in the Tower.

Personally, I didn't think I'd be able to cope if I stayed there, surrounded by the team.

So I moved back home. I had Jarvis, Dummy and the bots, my lab and, occasionally, Pepper. I would continue Stark Enterprises, and live my life like I'd never been part of the Avengers. SHIELD would sort out the press, telling them I was recovering from the battle of Manhattan until they thought of something else. And that was it. I still had my suits, I would NEVER let SHIELD get hold of them, who knows what Nickie would do with them?

So I put my whole lab at the Avengers Tower on lock down, now no one could get in except for me, and I changed all the codes for the suits and machines, and I dismantled Jarvis.

The lab was completely inaccessible.

"Come on Tony, please" Pepper pleaded once we had gotten back inside, "you have to talk sometime".

I shook my head before walking away, down to my Malibu lab.

I missed this lab.

I was greeted by the joyful chirp of Dummy, Butterfingers and You.

"Good afternoon sir" Jarvis's cool voice echoed through the deserted lab.

I didn't bother replying, I just nodded, and then grinned when Butterfingers managed to knock over a few boxes in his rush to get to me, with the others close behind.

I had missed those guys.

A knock on the glass door caught my attention and I rolled out from under the car, wiping my hands on an old oily rag.

It was Clint… wonder what he's doing here…

"Sir shall I let him in?" Jarvis asked and I thought for a minute before nodding slowly.

"Hey Tony" Barton said cheerfully as I went back to working on the car. I was building it from scratch, as a hobby I guessed, and it was almost finished.

Clint gave a low whistle when he saw it, "Nice ride".

It was silent for another few minutes until he finally cracked.

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STARK" He yelled, throwing his hands in the air frustrated, "WILL YOU JUST SAY SOMETHING".

I remained completely silent, just continued working on the engine.

He sighed, "Look Tony, I didn't come here to yell. The whole teams angry at Fury for kicking you out and we're doing everything we can to get you back, but you have to help us here".

Silence.

"Jeasus Tony, just say something… anything… just so I know you can actually still talk".

Nothing.

"I'm serious Tony, you not talking is like me without my bow, or Steve without his shield, or even Thor without Mjolnir. It's not right. You could talk for New York, heck, you could talk for all of America!"

Couldn't he see? I didn't want to talk.

Because as he said, me talking meant everything was all right.

And it's not.

Nothing's right.

"Kicked off the team".

Well fuck you too Fury.

Angrily throwing down the wrench, I put my head in my hands.

It wasn't fair.

I couldn't be off the Avengers. It wasn't the Avengers without the annoying jerk in a suit. Who was going to brighten everyone's mood with sarcastic jokes have way through a fight? Who was going to calm down Hulk when he completely lost it? Who was going to look for Banner's half naked body when the fight was over? ME. That's who. And now I was gone.

"Come on Stark, we'll figure something out. You know Fury, he'll need your help soon, on AND off the Avengers, and when that time comes, you can tell him that unless he puts you back in the team, you won't work for him. The rest of us will back you up" Clint said, patting me on the back and I smiled, thinking of the others, Natasha with her Widows bite, Clint with his bow and arrows, Thor with his hammer, Bruce with the other guy, and Steve with his shield.

Steve.

My mind flashed back to what I had said in the kitchen.

"Like my father?"

That single sentence must have ripped him open.

I knew I shouldn't have said it but in the heat of the moment… I had to say sorry. I quickly straightened up, going over to my desk and finding a notebook.

Opening it on a black page, I looked around for a-

"Chirp-p-p". I turned to face Dummy. He was holding a pen.

Grinning, I took the pen and patted him on the head. I loved that bot. Then I turned back and ripped out the page, writing down a small note, folding it and writing ROGERS in capital letters in front before handing it to Clint.

"For Cap?" He asked and I nodded.

He looked at me weirdly but nodded, "Sure, I'll give it to him when I go back…You know, it's actually quiet scary you not talking".

I just smirked and went back to my car. At the rate I was going, I'd probably be after giving up alcohol by the end of the week.

Then again… probably not.

"Sir, I believe has arrived" Jarvis told me.

Clint had left about two hours ago and I was now attempting to fix the reactor.

So far, it wasn't really working out.

"Shall I let him in?" Jarvis asked and I nodded, tidying up my desk.

"STARK" someone barked. Guess Nickie's here.

Calmly turning to him, I watched as he stopped just inside the door. He never was much of personal kind of guy.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

I motioned around me, before scribbling down a few words and holding it up. 'What do you think? I'm working'.

"So it is true then. You're giving everyone the silent treatment" He grumbled, crossing his arms.

'Looks like it'.

"And how long is this going to last?" He asked and I thought for a minute before slowly writing down my answer.

'As long as it has to'.

"Look Stark, just cause your off the Avengers, doesn't mean you're out of SHIELD. We still need you to make weapons".

Now I'm not usually the one for bad languages… wait what the hell am I saying?

I love swearing.

So I wrote down the first thing that came to mind.

'Screw you Bastard'.

He glared at me for that and took a threating step forward.

Now, any sane man would stand down, back away from his dangerous glare and apologise to Fury, to retreat against the man who could kill you with a snap of his fingers. But so far, all the evidence points me to being insane. So, as crazy and messed up as I was, I stood my ground, glaring back at him.

He seemed surprised that I didn't back off but quickly hid it behind an emotionless mask.

"You sure you don't want to reconsider that?" He asked, his voice dangerous sounding, "I mean with that type of attitude, there's no hope of you being put back on the team".

He thought he was winning, he thought he had something against me.

Well, sorry Fury, but I honestly didn't care anymore.

I had been electrocuted inside out, I almost died, and then I was kicked off the team that my life focused around.

All because of this bastard.

So I wrote down exactly what I thought of him.

'Go Fuck Yourself Nickie'.

I swear his hand twitched towards the gun in his pocket, and I couldn't help but smirk.

"You'll be hearing from us soon" He muttered before storming out.

I… I had just beat Fury at his own game. And despite the current situation, I laughed. I couldn't help it. I had just won an argument against NICK FURY!

That seriously deserved to be put in the Guinness Book of World Records.