Born Of The Same Impulse

Summary: Barely five minutes into the past and Tony has already taken care of Ultron, thus prevented Sokovia, thus – hopefully – made sure that the Civil War would never happen. All things considered, he was doing pretty well!

Then he just had to look up his fellow superhero turned time traveller on the internet.

Star Surgeon Involved In Car Crash, Condition Unknown


Chapter 19

Steve gave them the rundown of everything he'd learned about Barnes in DC – which wasn't much. HYDRA had done a thorough job wiping Barnes' mind, and it quickly became apparent that he wasn't the same person Steve remembered from the 40s.

Tony wished he'd changed his mind and told his team the truth about himself sooner. He wanted nothing more than to tell Steve that all wasn't lost – Barnes had been able to recover once and would be able to do so again.

It was too late now. Tony had no choice but to sit on his secret for a little while longer and make amends as soon as they'd finished their business with Barnes.

Vision had come along for his first proper outing as an Avenger, while Stephen stayed behind with the twins. They'd agreed that despite all of their progress, it would be foolish to leave them alone and the tower unprotected while they were gone.

"We're here," Natasha said simply, and the jet tilted forward as she initiated the landing.

The tension on the plane was palpable. Tony's eyes kept twitching to Steve – and, to a lesser degree, Sam and Clint – reassuring himself that they were with them and forming a united front. As an actual team. They were all on the same side this time, and Tony had no reason to feel as tense and anxious as he had during the build-up to their fight in Berlin.

They'd be facing Barnes, but they'd be doing it together. Tony would be fine. He didn't have the choice not to be.


Tony wasn't fine. He'd been up until this point – or at least, he'd managed to convince himself of it. He'd been determined to fly down, work together with his team the way they were supposed to, take in Barnes and leave behind this chapter of his life without another disaster happening to fracture the team further.

The bulk of his determination went flying out the window once they actually set eyes on Barnes.

"You shouldn't have come," Barnes said, shifting on his feet like he was keeping himself from bolting with effort.

He sounded resigned, but him talking at all was likely the best condition they could have hoped for.

"You didn't exactly give me another choice." Steve stood opposite of Barnes, trusting the others to block his escape routes. He'd asked them to allow him the chance to talk Barnes down – a prospect not all of them had been happy with.

"You're not the only ones hunting me." Barnes' voice was hoarse and his eyes kept twitching away. Keeping an eye on their surroundings. "You should go. You don't want to get involved."

"Don't say that." Steve carefully didn't look at the spies as they took their positions. "I know there's some things you remember. You know we can help if you–"

Barnes wouldn't let himself be cornered. He took off in a run before they could surround him and slipped into an alley so narrow, Tony would have trouble navigating it in his armor.

By the time Tony managed to force himself into motion, the others had already taken on the pursuit.

"I've got my eyes on him," Steve said through the coms, sprinting after Barnes with inhuman speed.

Tony propelled himself in the air, gaining a vantage point over the city. From above it wasn't hard to guess why Barnes had chosen the city to hide. The buildings were narrowly built, a maze of cramped, convoluted alleys and nooks to hide in.

Barnes kept disappearing from sight – how Steve managed to keep up, Tony had no idea.

"I'm losing him," Sam admitted, struggling to keep his eyes on the target even from his airborne position.

"JARVIS, activate heat sensors." Tony frowned, catching only a glimpse of Barnes before he was gone again. He circled around a church tower – a tourist leaned out of a window and waved – and dove downwards, missing the nearest rooftop by inches.

"Initiating sensors now, sir."

The city was drenched in color as the sensors of his suit activated. "There we go," Tony muttered, picking out the two yellow-red blobs in between the city's blues and purples.

Steve was rapidly falling behind.

"Sir," JARVIS said, "Sergeant Barnes is steering towards a plaza big enough to land."

"Great," Tony muttered joylessly. He spared a glance to check for heat signatures and found the plaza barren. Few people were out at this time – which meant less risk of casualties in case things went south.

He was left with no adequate reason to let this opportunity slip through his fingers. Lucky him.

Tony sped up his armor, changed course and touched down in front of Barnes just before he managed to slip into the next tiny cobblestone road.

He powered up his repulsors and aimed at Barnes. "It's over, pal. How about you do us all a favor and come along quietly?"

Steve came running into the plaza, closely followed by Clint. Sam landed on a nearby rooftop, preferring to keep an eye out from above.

Tony felt his muscles tense. Vision and Rhodey were nowhere to be seen.

"Bucky, please." Steve was all but begging at this point. "Stop running."

He said more, but Tony stopped listening. His heart pounded in his chest and his eyes kept twitching around, waiting for Vision or Rhodey to show up. He'd take Natasha at this point.

(He was being stupid. No sides. There weren't any sides.)

"Sir." JARVIS spoke quietly so only he could hear. "Your respiratory rate is slightly elevated."

"That tends to happen after a chase," Tony said curtly.

None of Steve's words registered, and Tony shifted uncomfortably where he stood. Sweat was collecting on his brow, and Tony wanted nothing more than to take the armor off.

He didn't dare to.

Barnes' eyes were darting everywhere but to where Steve was standing. Looking for an escape route, or else trying to avoid the confrontation with his past.

Tony realized that this was likely one of the most stressful moments in either of their lives: Steve's attempt to bring home the best friend he'd thought he'd buried, and Barnes' chance to escape his life as the fugitive HYDRA had forced him to be. Both of their happiness was at stake. If they messed it up now, there was no telling when they'd get another opportunity.

Tony realized all of this. He did. He also really, desperately wanted to get out of his too hot, too cramped armor and stop straining for each breath he shouldn't be needing after mere minutes of pursuit.

Against his better judgement, Tony interrupted Steve mid-sentence. "Look, this reunion is all nice and dandy. Just imagine how much better it would be on the jet. It's got air conditioning, and a bar. We can all keep talking with an iced martini and be on our way."

Clint stared at him. "Are you for real?"

"I'm just saying," Tony fought the urge to open his faceplate to get more air, "why have this conversation in a crowded alleyway in the middle of nowhere when you can have it instead on a private jet? What? Don't pretend like you haven't thought of it. First round's on me. Or all of them are. It's my jet."

Steve turned to look at him incredulously.

It was the opportunity Barnes was waiting for. He tore himself away as soon as Steve's eyes were no longer on him – and ran straight at Tony.

Tony's repulsors powered up. Barnes' metal arm gleamed (whisks of magic, cars hurled through the air), Steve wasn't far behind – Tony would ruin everything if he lashed out now.

His repulsors shut down. Tony didn't raise so much as an arm. Barnes barreled into him as if he wasn't encased in heavy armor and broke their formation.

Someone was yelling, (arrows barely missing their mark, a jet engine starting) but Tony couldn't place it. (Rhodey falling–)

"– on Man! Tony?!" (Cap's shield. In Tony's chest.)

Red and blue filled Tony's vision and he threw up his hands to fire off a repulsor blast.

"Weapon systems are temporarily blocked," JARVIS said. "As per protocol, I have revoked your access to pilot the suit."

Tony's faceplate opened without his input and he gasped for air. Steve stood in front of him, staring at the now inactive repulsor aimed at his face.

"He's getting away," Natasha said over the coms.

Clint let out a curse and ran past Tony and Steve.

"Tony..." Steve wasn't moving. His eyes twitched past Tony, looking after Barnes with an agonized expression. His muscles were tense, moments away from breaking out into a sprint to follow after Clint.

He forcibly relaxed, and it looked more painful than the repulsor blast would have been. "Are you okay?"

Tony gaped at him. He lowered the repulsor with effort and tried to keep his eyes from twitching towards the shield. "What are you waiting for?"

"Tony, you just had a–"

"Trust me," Tony interrupted curtly, "I noticed. Doesn't really explain why you're letting Barnes get away."

"I can't just let you–"

"Go!" Tony called, exasperated. He stared after Steve as he finally took off.

His heart was too fast and his breath came too short and with the rest of the team gone, Tony finally gave in to the urge to step out of the armor and sink to the ground. JARVIS closed up the suit as soon as he'd left it, taking up guard at Tony's side.

Rhodey landed his armor next to him and didn't say a word.

Tony didn't try to get him to leave.


Natasha broke the silence over the coms after half an hour. "We've got him."

Tony hesitated. He decided he didn't care how many of the others were listening. "Steve," he started.

"It wasn't your fault," Steve said before he could finish the sentence. "It was too early. I should have realized."

Tony stopped himself from letting out an incredulous breath. "Right."

"Thank you, Tony."

Tony's incredulity grew. "For what?"

"For helping. I know this must have been difficult for you."


"Hey, Tony."

"Cap."

"Are you on your way back?"

"Hmh."

"Good. I just... It all went a little... Well."

"... Did you find a safe place yet?"

"For now. We'll move once Natasha's found something more permanent."

"Alright. Just... Keep me posted."


"We're on our way to a safehouse now. Do you want me to send you the coordinates?"

"We'll reach New York in an hour. More secure, better wait until then. ... Look, Steve... What we were talking about earlier..."

"Right. Yeah. What did you want to tell me?"

"It's... more of a face-to-face sort of conversation..."

"Oh. I... Well, maybe we could– Shi– Nat!"

"What was that?"

"We need to move. We'll talk later."

"Steve, I–"

"Bucky! Hold on! Nat, cover m–"


"... Anything, J?"

"The communication line is no longer running. However, Miss Romanoff has sent an encrypted message to my personal servers."

"What did it say?"

"They are temporarily safe and will reestablish communication as soon as it is secure to do so."


"I messed up."

Stephen looked up from the medical thesis he was reading. If Tony's remark hadn't been enough of a clue that something had gone wrong during their mission, him activating the tower's privacy protocols to prevent eavesdropping would have.

He set the essay aside, not yet at the point where he felt it appropriate to lose his calm. "Did Barnes escape?"

"No. They've got him." The flatness of Tony's voice suggested that there was no reason to celebrate.

The phrasing made Stephen pause. "'They'?"

Tony waved off the question carelessly. "Steve and the others. They're at a safehouse now. I hope. Whoever was hunting down Barnes before us caught up with them, but they seem to have it handled."

"They must have been watching him from afar," Stephen muttered. He looked up and met Tony's eyes. "When exactly did you split up?"

Tony's expression tightened. His answer was clipped and bordered on rigid, and Stephen wondered how much willpower it took Tony to utter it in the first place. "After hunting down Barnes. Before capturing him. I couldn't– I was being stupid."

"Stupid how?"

Tony grimaced, swatting away the word as though he hadn't been the one to use it, first. "Too rash. I thought... I thought I was ready. I thought– with so much that had happened in between– I thought I was over it."

Stephen's heart sank. "Did you–"

"What, attack Barnes?" Tony gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Not this time. I'm pretty sure that would have been the last nail in the coffin instead of just 'messing up'."

"Okay," Stephen said. Tony was hard to read when he was in a mood. "But?"

Tony pulled a face. "I froze up. I thought... I couldn't help but think of Berlin."

Stephen forced himself not to wince. Of all the things... "It's understandable," he said. "Most of the people involved were there. You were following the same objective."

Plenty of triggers nicely strewn all over the mission – perhaps if Stephen had been part of the initial 'Civil War', he would have seen it coming.

"Yeah, well," Tony said. "I could have ruined it."

Stephen paused. "Did you?"

"No." Tony's expression took on a perplexed quality. "Not exactly sure how, but... no."

Stephen couldn't understand for the life of him why Tony sounded bewildered rather than relieved. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"Maybe," he admitted. "Probably. I'm just trying to figure out what made the difference."

Stephen was starting to regret his decision to stay behind in the tower. Considering how much Tony loved to talk, it was surprisingly difficult to get information out of him when it mattered.

"What difference?" he asked. "Do you mean how the team reacted?"

"They didn't blame me." Tony frowned as though the thought was laughably absurd. "I let Barnes run straight past me – well, through me – and they just. They told me it was alright. Steve did. He almost let Barnes get away because he was too busy making sure I was alright."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"I guess. I just don't understand how it could have gone so much differently from last time."

"I don't think it's particularly surprising," Stephen admitted. "The circumstances were completely different. Steve was already feeling on edge – and guilty himself – because he was keeping secrets from you."

They all likely assumed Tony had been triggered because of Barnes – because of his parents. It was better than the alternative of knowing he'd reacted because of them, not just Barnes.

"So what – now our roles are reversed and all is perfect?" Tony's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Not if it stays that way."

Tony pressed his lips together and said nothing.

"You were going to tell them the truth," Stephen pressed. "You told me so. You were going to talk to Steve."

"I know. I'm going to."

Tony's wooden tone didn't give Stephen hope. "But?"

"How could I, right now?" Tony made a wide gesture with his hands, indicating the situation as a whole. "He's not even here right now. Even once the mission is over, not all of them will come back."

Stephen frowned at the piece of information. "Where else would they be?"

Tony rubbed his eyes as though trying to get rid of the weariness of a long day. "Natasha called. They're going to take Barnes to a safehouse."

"It's safer for him," Stephen felt the need to point out. "People would know if we took him to the tower. They'd know exactly where to go to try and get to him."

"Yeah, well. I can't tell if they're doing it for Barnes' or for my sake." Tony dropped his hand. He looked even more tired than earlier. "Look, the point is, Steve's got enough on his plate already."

"So... what?" Stephen tried not to let too much disapproval seep into the sentence. "You're not gonna tell him? We're going to keep going as we were?"

"Just until everything's died down a bit."

Stephen's frown deepened, and Tony threw up his hands. "I don't like it any more than you do. What am I supposed to do? Steve's only just gotten Barnes back. Do you really want me to drop this on top of everything else?"

Stephen let out a sigh. "I get it, Tony." He paused. "I don't like it. I think you're making a mistake. But I understand."

Stephen hadn't agreed with Tony's decision from the start, but he did understand. Everything they changed had consequences – every pebble they tossed drew waves in its wake, ones impossible to predict in the long run.

They hadn't predicted this outcome. They hadn't predicted the team splitting up – on better terms than before, but split up regardless.

"Let's see where this goes," Stephen suggested reluctantly.

They weren't quite at the point where the secret would seal their fate and taint the Avengers' trust irreparably. Stephen hoped that he'd be able to intervene before they reached it.


A/N: Beta'd by the wonderful To Mockingbird, PyrothTenka and Igornerd.