A/N* The timeline here is rearranged and slightly sped up!
Aubrey felt numb as she herded her family to the rooms Tony had pointed them towards. Already she saw several cars pulling into the driveway and F.R.I.D.A.Y had informed her that Secretary Ross would be there by the end of the week. Her body still radiated with surprise as they entered her family's temporary living quarters.
"Aubrey?" her mother watched her with a careful eye.
She shook herself slightly, in an attempt to clear her head before looking at her mom "Yeah?"
"You keep shaking your head and muttering, whats happened that has put both you and Mr. Stark in such a tizzy?" the "apartment" had two bedrooms, one with a king bed and the other with two single beds. The rooms were connected with a small living room and kitchenette. Aubrey leaned against the couch, running a hand through her hair before making eye contact with her parents. Glacier, who had been following quietly, sat at her feet, leaning against her legs.
"Some of the Avengers were tracking down a prominent Hydra agent, which you knew but Captain America just called Tony, and apparently something happened and a building was blown up. People died and some outreach workers from a secluded country called Wakanda were also killed. It's going to escalate very quickly. Tony will be gone tomorrow at MIT doing a presentation and we have to stay out of sight...I can't think it would be particularly good for me to meet Secretary Ross." Sucking in a breath she reached down and scratched Glacier's head, watching as her parents digested the information.
"Is it safe to be here?" her mom's eyes moved to the closed door that went to her brother's bedroom, they were inside playing and vaguely Aubrey could hear their voices.
"I hope so, Tony didn't seem worried about that part of it but I understand if you would rather go home." Aubrey's gut feeling told her to get her family as far from this as possible but she knew they could make their own decisions. "Tony may even ask me to leave if it gets as big as my gut is telling me it will." As much as she hated the thought, it would be better to getaway. Let them handle it, she would only make matters worse by being seen. Aubrey's mind moved to Wanda, how horrible she must feel even though it was an accident. Mentally she promised she would make an effort to see the red-haired Sokovian woman before having to leave.
"We can stay for the time being...I think" her father finally said, concern sparked in his eyes as he sat at the small kitchen table. "Let's see what happens and cross that bridge when we come to it"
"Okay," she breathed quietly as her mom went and shuffled around in one of their bags, pulling out a game called Catan. Aubrey's mind conjured up a pixilated memory of playing this game as a teen and she ambled over to the table, eager to play.
Tony Stark plastered a fake grin on his face as he left the stage, the audience roaring behind him. The minute he was out of sight his face fell and he felt his eyes glaze over. One of the staff was walking beside him, blabbering on about something he had come up with...a self-cooking hotdog maybe? From the sounds of it the meat would have a metal implant inside of it, definitely had some flaws. A woman came up and stopped him as she spoke
"Mr. Stark I'm so sorry about the teleprompter, we didn't know Ms. Potts had canceled until the last minute and it was too late to fix it." He half-heartedly nodded and held up his hand, both silenced
"It..it's fine...I'll be right back"
The man nodded, looking crestfallen as he muttered "We'll catch up later"
Tony pushed past him and the woman, out into the hallway. He stopped in front of the bathroom and turned, surveying the dark hallway, pursing his lips before turning and heading towards the elevator where a woman stood. She looked to be waiting for it, he leaned against the white concrete, sighing heavily as the woman spoke softly
"That was nice….what you did for those young people"
"Ah they deserve it….plus it helps ease my conscience"
"They say there's a correlation between generosity and guilt...but if you've got the money..-" the woman's fierce eyes met his and Tony snapped himself out of his stupor as the woman finished "break as many eggs as you'd like….Right?" he nodded and it was then that he noticed that the button hadn't lit up, either it was broken or the woman had not pressed it. Tony side-eyed her as he pressed it, suspicion immediately rising in his mind.
"Are you going up?" He motioned upwards with his hand, brows arching downwards as the woman's hand went to her purse.
"I'm right where I want to be." She dug around in her purse and Tony's instincts took over, he grabbed ahold of her hand, starting to talk "Hey...Hey!"
she stared at him and he let go, stepping back slightly "Sorry….occupational hazard."
"I work for the State Department, Human resources. I know it's boring but it enabled me to raise a son and I'm very proud of what he grew up to be.-" The woman pulled a photo out of her purse and shoved it onto Tony's chest, he sucked in a breath at her next words "-His name was Charlie Spencer and you murdered him...In Sokovia. Not that it matters in the least to you, You think you fight for us? You just fight for yourself…-" her eyes glistened with unshed tears and broken dreams..for herself and her son.
Tony shook his head numbly but the woman kept going
"Whose going to avenge my son, Stark? He's dead and I blame you." The woman turned without another word and walked down the hallway, the sound of her heels clicking against the tile echoing in his head as he stood there, digesting her words. He stood there long after the woman left, sinking to the floor and lowering his head into his hands, some of Aubrey's words from yesterday echoed in his mind.
"It's heavy Tony, the weight of these sins of mine. But you can't let them weigh you down, you have to shoulder your pack and keep hiking. You will overcome the stretch of mountain and emerge stronger but there are days where I feel like I'm drowning in my wrongs, I truly hope you never have to endure this pain."
He knew now. What her pain felt like, what he thought Maximoff was feeling right now and it made him ashamed and angry.
Tony Stark sat in that hallway for several hours, thinking and stewing, asking F.R.I.D.A.Y questions and thinking again. By the time he stood up it was late and he left silently, going back to the mansion and avoiding people as best he could before letting himself drown in silent sorrows and regrets. It was at this low point that he received an offer, one that could keep them in check and more importantly, people alive. Tony spent the night reading through the digital papers, attempting to box up his pain and hide it behind this.
Aubrey had heard Tony come back, it was close to midnight and she heard as he asked F.R.I.D.A.Y which hallways were deserted. From the sound of his voice, she could tell that something was wrong. She stood, deciding to leave her crutch, from her spot at the common room couch and momentarily felt bad about spying on him but the feeling resolved when she thought about his pained voice. Aubrey pulled her maroon hoodie hood up onto her head before slipping into the shadows of the hallway and following Tony. His shoulders were slouched and he held a tablet in his hand, seeming to be reading something important. Something was definitely wrong if Tony was actually doing work. She followed him all the way to his room, halfway there he had started muttering under his breath but the muttering stopped at his door. His hand went to the handle and Aubrey chose that moment to speak.
"Tony?" her voice was soft but he heard her and stiffened ever so slightly before turning his head to her. He wouldn't meet her eyes and when she took a step closer he flinched. "What's wrong? Why are you so late?"
He shook his head "You might want to think about taking your family and going home with them." His voice was low and sounded gravelly.
"Why?" she pulled the hood down and was able to meet his eyes, in them, she saw countless emotions flowing like the tides of the ocean.
"Because people are dead because of what the Avengers do, we are unchecked and the United Nations has come up with a solution. I don't want you apart of it"
His words caused something to dawn on her, someone must have confronted Tony about something and now he was feeling the guilt. She started to speak but he shook his head
"It's decided Aubrey, they are either going to sign or be done with Avenging. If Ross knew about you and your...capabilities then he would have you sign too and probably use you to find Barnes. It's just safer if you left, everyone else has."
She had heard that something had happened with Pepper and Tony. Aubrey sighed and leaned against the steel walls, her keen eyes watching as Tony's hand twisted the handle of the door, it slid open but he stayed rooted to the floor, not moving.
"Even if I were to go, I'd come back if you wanted...it's kinda fun being here and messing around in your workshops. I'll talk to my parents and they will probably go but I can stick around a-"
He cut her off "No Aubrey, Cap, and the others are coming back in the morning and Ross expects to be here by late afternoon. I can't have you here-" he met her eyes again -"please"
She gulped, puffing a breath out of her lips before nodding her head in defeat "Alright...We'll go"
"Thank you, I'm going to send something with you so that you can reach me when needed and if your parents have to worry about money or something call me, alright? I want you to live your best life, Aubrey." He leaned against the doorframe, waiting until she nodded before straightening "Your plane will be ready at nine to go."
"Okay" the word came out a whisper and Aubrey took a step back "Bye Tony"
"See you in a second" A bit of the regular Tony came out with the grin and it made her relax slightly but as she turned and padded back down the hallway Aubrey looked back once to see him leaning against the doorframe again, his hands covering his face.
She had gone back and waited until her parents rose before telling them, they both agreed and the packing didn't take long. By eight they were ready to go, both boys had tears in their eyes as they said goodbye to mini Dum-E but Aubrey heard movement outside the door and opened it to Tony, his hand raised to knock. His brows raised as he cleared his throat and put his hand down, his eyes scanned the room and stopped on Jesse and Daniel patting mini Dum-E's head.
"They can take him...home I mean" his eyes moved back to her and Aubrey stepped back to let him into the apartment.
"You're sure?"
"Yeah, he doesn't do much around here anyway." Tony ran a hand through his hair and Aubrey saw countless bags under his eyes. He paused a moment before pulling something out of his pocket and continuing. "This is for you, it's got an A.I named Sylvie but you can rename her to whatever, she can be downloaded onto multiple stuff and both of these can directly contact me wherever I am or who I'm with, make sense?" He held out a commlink that swooped over the top of her ear and in his other hand was a very high-tech holographic phone. Aubrey took them and nodded
"Thank you, Tony"
He gave her a forced smile before backing into the hallway.
"Until next time Aubrey? Although I'd prefer your next visit to be more on friendly terms and less on dying terms, capiche?"
"Capiche, bye Tony"
He winked before turning and walking down the hallway, Aubrey sucked in a breath before plastering a fake smile of her own on her face and turning back to her family.
The plane turned out to be a sleek private jet and its engines hummed as Aubrey watched her family get onto it. Her parents had tried to convince her otherwise of her plan but she had promised to do this and intended to, she would fly home herself afterwords. Glacier stuck his nose out and woofed, running down the stairs towards her. Jesse ran out after him and Aubrey crouched, opening her arms to the big husky. He bounded into them and nuzzled her neck, barking softly. Aubrey smiled and pulled back, scratching his head before grabbing his collar and looking at little Jesse.
"You got him?"
"I think so" Jesse grabbed Glacier's collar, letting Aubrey put her forehead on his.
"I'll be with you before you know it big guy" he woofed, his tongue lolling out of his mouth as Jesse pulled him back up into the jet. The doors closed behind them and Aubrey pulled her backpack of clothing and supplies up onto her shoulder before turning and walking off the secluded private runway until she was out of sight. Breathing deeply she concentrated her energy on the Nano's in her blood and felt an excited tingle skitter its way down her spine as they exited her bloodstream and clumped together, creating her shimmery wings and jets. With a thought, they flapped mightly and the jets flared, sending her into the sky. Backpack tightly in hand, she soared towards the lake and more importantly the person she wanted to talk to.
Before too long she saw the lake and the red-haired person sitting on the bench. Landing behind her, Aubrey's wings retracted and she strode closer, sliding onto the bench beside Wanda Maximoff.
The woman startled slightly before eyeing Aubrey, her accent stronger than usual as she started
"Tony said you were on a plane."
"Well I'm supposed to be but I wanted to talk to you first, I'll fly home myself later."
Wanda's eyebrows lowered slightly as she sighed heavily and stared at the lake. Aubrey watched her movements
"It wasn't your fault"
"It was, I should've kept better control. I deserve everything that's coming to me"
"No, you don't Wanda. I've been in your shoes too, just on a more private level. I told Tony this the other day. It's heavy, the weight of sin. But you can't let them weigh you down, you have to shoulder your pack and keep hiking. You will overcome the stretch of mountain and emerge stronger, there are days where I feel like I'm drowning in my wrongs, but everyone sins, and people mess up, they fear the unknown and the different. They can't possibly begin to understand how or what happens in this world of good and evil, heroes and villains. You can't be too hard on yourself"
"I should be though" Wanda turned to her, tears glistening in her eyes. "I never meant to hurt anyone"
"I know that, so does Cap, Falcon, and Widow. But it sounds to me like you're not sure that you believe it"
Wanda swallowed her tears before giving the smallest of nods. "I'll try to"
"Good, I know you'll be fine" Aubrey slid to the edge of the bench and got to her feet, loving the feeling of being able to walk on her own.
"Aubrey?" Wanda's voice made her turn and the woman stood, surprising her by pulling Aubrey into a tight hug. She stiffened before making herself relax "If this were a different world I think we would be good friends."
"I think so too Wanda, maybe someday we can try the whole friend thing" Aubrey pulled back and they grinned at each other. Her wings formed themselves again as she grabbed her backpack and took to the sky, intending to see her parent's home and contact Bucky.
But as she flew away, Aubrey couldn't help but notice the pounding feeling of dread that weighed heavily in her stomach.