If you recognise it… I don't own it.
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"At ease." Steve whispered as Clint shut the door.
"Who's your friend, Cap?" The black man asked, as they sat back down again.
"Call him Clint, Gabe." Steve replied, "I missed you."
"Not as sorely as we missed you, Captain." The Asian stated, "You've only had a year or so to miss us. We've missed you for over seventy years."
"Clint," Steve turned to face the Archer, "Meet the Howling Commandos. Gabriel 'Gabe' Jones. James 'Jim' Morita. Montgomery 'James' Falsworth."
"You're all meant to be dead." Clint breathed.
"You can thank the kid for that." James smiled, "He's kept us safe. All of us."
"The kid?" Steve frowned.
"Our kid." Jim put in, "Our boy. Howard's by blood. But ours by right. He came to each of us, long time ago, and said he wanted to give us a place where we were safe. Where we were looked after. Where we could disappear."
"He had good timing too." Gabe agreed, "As much as I enjoyed doing what we did and I have many fond memories of our time as the Howling Commandos… I hated the rehashing of what we did every ten years or so. The interviews. The press. The hounding."
"Tony offered us a retreat from all of that." James stated, "We officially died. Our families know, and they visit often. But they don't tell. My wife's here."
"Mine too." Gabe nodded.
"If we'd still been known to be around when you made your come-back tour," Jim smirked, "We'd have been interviewed and hounded all over again. Only ten times worse."
"Are you alright, Cap?" Gabe asked gently.
"I should be asking you that." Steve sank into a chair.
"It's just old age, Steve." James smiled, "Takes us all, given time. Took Dum-Dum. Jacques went down fighting in a kidnapping of all things. Though he'd say it was worth it."
"It was," Gabe agreed, "They didn't get away. That was the important thing."
"What we want to know, Captain," Jim leaned forward in his chair slightly, "Is what your intentions are towards our boy. Our Tony."
"Yours?" Clint queried.
"Steve always insisted Howard was one of us. An Unofficial Howling Commando." Jim explained, "Just like Peggy was. When Tony was born, all of our children were grown or nearly so. We tried to be there for Tony as much as possible. But all too often we were refused access."
"Why?" Steve demanded, "Who dared?"
"Howard." Gabe was blunt, "Cap, he changed. He wasn't the man we knew. He was obsessed with finding you. When each of us, over time, gave up on finding you he would block us out. Anyone who didn't believe that you were still alive and could still be found wasn't worth talking to, as far as Howard was concerned. And yes he was right about you, but that didn't mean he had a reason for shutting us all out like that."
"Peggy was the only one who never said he should stop." James put in, "But she started getting dementia. And it progressed fast, by the time Tony left MIT, everything that kept Peggy in the here and now was gone."
"It hurts Tony seeing her." Gabe declared, "Because all she sees is Howard. Sometimes she asks when you're due back from a mission. Sometimes she begs him to find you. Sometimes she asks how baby Tony is."
"He can't stay with her long." James closed his eyes in grief, "We don't ask him to. She's like that with most of us. Sometimes she recognises us. Sometimes she doesn't. She asked my grandson last week why he'd shaved his moustache. He's never worn one. But he looks so like me…"
"She's trapped in her own mind." Clint breathed in horror.
"Yes." Jim agreed, "She's safe here. All of the staff are carefully vetted to make sure that none of them would steal her secrets. All visitors are checked and double checked. Even the other residents are screened for security risks."
"This place was meant to be a sanctuary for us." Gabe was firm, "That being said, Captain, what are your intentions towards our Tony? Because if you're just using him…"
"Never." Steve shook his head, "I love him. I want to be with him all the days of his life."
Clint stared; for while he had seen this coming for a long time, he'd never actually heard the words spoken aloud.
"He loves you." James smiled softly, "We've been hearing about 'Steve' in the few conversations we've had with Tony I think from virtually when you met."
"I've never known that boy to fall so hard and so fast." Gabe laughed, "But then again, he's got Howard's decisiveness. Once he sets his feet on a path, it takes a lot to make him stray from it."
"We never thought that his Steve could be our Captain." Jim agreed, "And he never will. You are keeping it from him for a reason?"
"He would react," Steve explained, "He would treat Captain America differently. Someone could figure it out and try to use him against me. I don't want him hurt because of me. I have to keep him safe. He's… Precious to me. I love him."
"Good." Gabe was firm, "He needs that. Deserves that."
"You… You aren't disgusted?" Steve breathed.
"No." James shook his head, "Times have changed. Besides we all thought that you and Bucky were a little closer than regulations allowed."
"I never thought of Bucky like that." Steve half-protested, "We were brother. Not lovers. And you never said anything."
"You saved us." Jim snorted, "Came after us when everyone else had written us off. Yes, it was mainly for Bucky. But you didn't leave us behind either. How could we hate something like that?"
"And we can see that we were wrong now." James reassured, "But back then… You two always shared quarters. And when there was only one bed in there you never needed a bed-roll."
"We shared a flat in Brooklyn for years." Steve countered, "And there wasn't heating. In the winter, we shared a bed to keep warm. Those quarters weren't exactly warm either. And yes, I was smaller before, but we made it work. It was also… Comforting. We weren't doing anything."
"We'll take your word for it, Captain." Jim laughed, "God, you still blush like a freaking Catholic schoolgirl."
"We've never told anyone our suspicions." James added, "Didn't want anyone disrespecting your memories. Either of you."
"Actually…" Gabe held an apologetic hand up.
"You didn't!" Jim accused, "Gabe!"
"It was my granddaughter," Gabe shrugged, "She came to me after her parents, my son and daughter-in-law, chucked her out for having a girlfriend. She asked me if she was broken. If she was diseased… I couldn't leave her like that. So I told her about the Captain and Bucky and what we believed. It made her feel better. I swore her to secrecy. And told her that the only thing I cared about was that her girlfriend treated her right. Told her that if she broke my little granddaughter's heart I'd break her legs. They got married last year."
"Married?" Steve blinked, "I thought Civil Partnerships…"
"Law got changed." Gabe replied, "It's not legal in all the states. But New York legalised it in 2011."
"Then I'd better go buy a ring." Steve declared firmly.
For a long moment there was silence.
"I think he's actually serious." Jim breathed in shock.
"I am." Steve replied.
"Well," James shrugged, "Tony's made the ultimate commitment… Bringing him here."
"What do you mean?" Clint frowned.
"We're the most hidden part of Tony's family." James explained, "The ones he protects the most fiercely. I mean, we can handle ourselves… Or at least we could. But we're older than we were. Tony feels that he has a duty to keep us safe. So he built this place for us. Even named it for us."
"The pub," Steve smiled softly, "Where I asked you all to follow me into the jowls of death."
"And we all agreed." Jim nodded, "Never regretted that decision once in my whole life, Cap. I never will."
"Will Tony know ever about Captain America?" Gabe pressed.
"No," Steve shook his head, "I don't want him to. The less he knows the safer he is. He can't slip up with hasty words. He can't react in the wrong way. He can't tell what he doesn't know. It's the best way to keep him safe. His security is good. The best. But this will keep eyes off him."
"I think he's right." Jim agreed, "We all know Tony's smart. But he's better off not knowing. He'll worry less. What does he think you do?"
"Security analysis," Clint put in, "And security detail. Basically bodyguard work and improving-stroke-checking security systems."
"Seems reasonable enough." James stated.
"But won't Tony find it odd that Peggy recognised me?" Steve asked.
"No," Clint sighed, "He'll probably think that there's a passing resemblance, if what they say about her memory is true."
"I've had the same conversation with her five times in ten minutes before now." Jim was almost mourning, "The woman we knew died a long time ago. Her body and brain just doesn't know it."
It sounded cruel, but Clint could see where they were coming from. It had to be frustrating to have known how brilliant Peggy Carter had been (as he had heard from Steve in the past) and to see her now, a mere shell of her former self, trapped in the past she could never return to and unable to realize the world was passing her by.
Clint didn't want to see her. He didn't want to tarnish the image he had of Peggy Carter by seeing what she had become. She was safe. She was most likely happy; Tony would have taken care of that.
What need was there for Clint to butt in? What need was there for Clint to see her humiliation? Even if she herself would not be humiliated, Clint would feel humiliated on her behalf.
He would keep his distance.
To be honest Clint was scared. To lose control of his body was something Clint knew was a possibility in his line of work. He was fearful of it. But the idea that he could lose control of his mind, that scared the Archer more than anything. He had been bruised and broken before; a mere shattered puppet of a human being. But he had still had his mind. He had still been able to resist.
"You're always welcome here, Captain." Jim declared, "Bring us news of our boy though. He doesn't like to talk about himself here. Here he just listens or talks about you."
"I will." Steve promised.
The four soldiers then saluted each other once again, went through a round of man-hugs and then Steve and Clint left.
"Tony's a good man." Clint remarked, "He made all of this for them?"
"I think what Tony does and what Tony allows the public to see that he does are worlds apart from each other." Steve shrugged, "This is more than just throwing money at something."
"I'll say." Clint breathed in agreement.
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Please Review.
Thanks to my reviewers:
DaemonWolfe – True. And this story needs that. I need Clint to be in the know for most things, so that the story doesn't have huge gaps… And Clint comes across to me as fairly emotionally balanced a lot of the time. Makes sense he'd try to help others.
The Shadow Keeper – Hope I didn't disappoint here.
Dany1114 – No, Tony doesn't know squat at the moment.
Once again thank you.
