Chapter 84 - Facing the Music
Tony's eyes were on the trees that flashed by the car window. Only 15 more minutes.
He should have just taken the suit. So what if it would have looked a little pretentious? Pretentious was where he excelled. This. All this sitting and waiting. It was agony.
"We're almost there."
He met Happy's eyes in the review mirror. "I know, Hap. It's fine. I'm good."
Happy's eyebrows were arched at him like he didn't believe a word that was coming out of Tony's mouth. Hard to blame him.
It was okay. The kid was fine. Pepper was at the Compound to keep an eye on him. FRIDAY had eyes on everyone inside and outside of the Compound.
Pete was safe. Pepper was safe.
Tony blew out a breath, his eyes back on the landscape rushing by outside the window.
Today had been the first of the negotiations he had attended. In his infinite naivete, Tony hadn't expected Barnes to be there. For some reason, he had been convinced that the Feds would keep him locked in a secure cell somewhere until at least the general direction of the negotiations would be clear.
Well, he'd been wrong. This was starting to become a bit of a theme with him lately and Tony really wasn't a fan. Things like that weren't supposed to catch him off guard. What was the point of housing and hiding the elite spy unit at what was technically his house, if they didn't give him a head's up on shit like that?
Not that Barnes had done anything at the meeting. He'd just sat there and stared at the cuff on his arm that secured him to a hook in the floor, seemingly oblivious to the straps that were fastened around his thighs and upper body.
"Is this really necessary?" Rogers had growled at the federal agents as they strapped Barnes in. "You're treating him no different than HYDRA did. Are you trying to trigger his trauma?"
One of the Congressmen, your signature old, white dude, scoffed at him. "Are you suggesting that the Soldier is a risk for this meeting after all, Mr. Rogers?"
"What? no, I—" Rogers slapped his mouth shut. His eyes turned to Tony, staring at him like he could do something about this.
Like he was going to do something about this.
Like Tony didn't have the moving images of Barnes killing his parents play in front of his waking eyes. Like the purple hand-shaped bruises Barnes had left on his kid's throat weren't burned in memory.
No. Tony didn't object to a thing about the way Barnes was secured into his seat.
"Tony!"
At last, he looked up, finding Rogers' eyes waiting for him.
"Are you gonna say something about this?"
His throat was scratchy and dry. "I'd say the sooner we get this all over with, the sooner your buddy can roam free in his cell again. So, shall we?"
Tony didn't wait to see Rogers' face fall or scrunch up in anger, or whatever he did. Instead, he stared down at his phone and typed in a quick command for FRIDAY.
Status AES.
Her report flashed up at once.
The young Master is in his room. He is working on a set of Lego, Millenium Falcon, 5195 pieces. Miss Potts checked on him last one hour and 7 minutes ago. His vitals are strong with no abnormalities. The Compound's perimeter sensors are at 100%. The second-floor sensors are at 100%. Agent Hill is currently in charge of ongoing proceedings at the complex. No security breaches or abnormalities have been recorded.
Tony sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Things were going okay. The kid was safe as can be. Pepper, too.
Time to focus.
While he had spaced out, the discussion around him was in full swing.
The FBI agent at the head of the table was already red-faced and panting as he addressed Rogers. "Before we even begin to discuss the terms of the pardon, we will have to know the whereabouts of the missing members of the Rogue Avengers."
Tony grimaced into his glass of water at the name as well as the implication.
Rogers' face was surprisingly calm. "We will not compromise the safety of our team members until the US government explicitly guarantees that this matter will be dealt with in a safe and fair negotiation."
"Mr. Rogers," Congressman Wheeler, who held the chair of the committee, interjected. "I'm quite sure the US government so far has gone beyond the necessary to ensure that you and your... er... Mr. Barnes have received every amenity you have asked for."
"Every amenity." Rogers lifted his hands and let the rattle of the chains that were binding him to the table ring through the room.
"Well," Wheeler's cheeks turned a dark red. "You can't blame us for ensuring our own safety."
Tony's eyes swept across the room. He hadn't been down in Washington for the first session of the joint committee. It had been a circus Tony had been glad to avoid. They had planted Vision in D.C. for a reason and Rhodey was a lot more versed in the mating dances that went on in the capital. A whopping number of 21 members of the Senate and the House of Representatives each plus members of the FBI, the Pentagon, Homeland Security as well as law enforcement of every single state affected by one of the Rogues' missions had assembled to vote. In their infinite wisdom, they had voted for additional negotiations by the US government with Rogers' gang on a possible pardon. The Avengers that had signed the Accords would have a seat at the negotiation table and today, that seat was his.
Today's session was a lot smaller, with only a total of 10 politicians and about as many participants from law enforcement. Still, with Rogers and Barnes chained at one side of the conference table and Tony on the other side of the table, they were quite outmatched.
"That's unacceptable." Rogers' voice rang through the room, commanding like he wasn't cuffed to the table.
"It's the reality of the situation. Our allies are not inclined to just move on from the destruction they suffered." Congressman Wheeler's face was all business, meeting Rogers' stare head-on. "Frankly, the US government is not inclined to pay the diplomatic fallout especially not for the individuals that are not even American citizens."
"We're a team," Rogers growled. "We're in this together. There's either a deal for all of us or none of us."
Tony grimaced to himself. Head bowed low, his fingers were twitching with nerves. This wasn't going to be fun.
"Actually," he cleared his throat, painfully aware of the room's full attention on him. "That's not quite the sentiment for all of the... er... persons-of-interest in this... matter."
Wheeler's eyebrows moved up on his forehead so high, they almost blended with his receding hairline. "Oh?"
"Yes, well..." Tony sat up a little straighter. "Clint Barton has reached out to me recently declaring his willingness to cooperate in order to come to a speedy agreement."
Rogers' eyes were on him, unblinkingly. Hiding his own behind his dark tinted glasses, Tony risked a glance in his direction. His chin was held high, his expression cool. It almost seemed like Steve had been expecting this. And maybe he had. He knew all of them better than Tony ever had. He also knew what he'd done. The excuses, the wild goose chases for Barnes and then the run from the law. The lies.
"You have been in contact with Clint Barton?" Wheeler's voice grew a little louder with every word. "And you didn't think to mention this until just now?"
"Mr. Stark." It was Reamington, who spoke up, Commissioner of the NYPD, the man that had last seen Tony as he was himself chained to a desk in the basement of the NYPD headquarter. "If you're harboring a fugitive, the consequences would be extremely severe."
Tony held his hand up, gesturing innocence. "I said he made contact. I didn't say I'm harboring a fugitive."
In fact, he was harboring fugitives. Plural. But nobody needed to know that.
"Reamington," Wheeler barked. "I want you to send out a unit to Mr. Stark's premises this instance and search for Clint Barton."
"Jeezes..." Tony leaned back in his chair, barely able to contain his annoyance. "We're here to make a deal. The man wants to go home to his family. So let's just get to the damn deal."
It had been a long session. A long day. The lack of sleep that Tony was still trying to balance out hadn't helped. There were a few containers filled with food sitting next to him on the backseat. Food that smelled amazing, which he tried to ignore despite how starved he was. It was a peace offering for Pete.
Things had improved, at least somewhat. During the days, they saw little to nothing of each other. With Tony's schedule not easing up, they saw each other for the odd meal or if Pete had a problem he brought to Pepper's attention that then Pepper would make Tony's problem. Which was fine, in theory. All of Pete's problems were Tony's problem and he lived for making his kid's life easier, only right now, there was little for him to do. In fact, more often than not, Tony was left feeling like an utter failure because he never seemed to be able to give Pete the things he was asking for.
Case in point, the still persistent topic of his education. They had interviewed a whole battery of tutors. Well, Pepper had. Tony had only really met a handful that had made it through Pepper's pre-selection. All her picks had seemed pretty amazing, a couple downright impressive. Still, when presented with the choices, Pete hadn't been happy. It wasn't the level of education that was the issue. Tony had caught onto that quickly. It was the level of freedom, that being at school for hours at a time would get him. Away from the Compound, away from where Tony could have an eye on him at all times. Problem was, that was exactly why the school thing couldn't happen.
So, instead of better news, Tony was going to bring home take away from Pete's favorite Thai restaurant. Though Happy hadn't been thrilled about the detour to Queens, like most of them, he was easy to sway if it meant giving Pete just something.
"Hey..." He went for a good-natured smile despite the way his back hurt and his head was buzzing as he walked into the living room of his quarters.
Pepper was sitting on the couch, her heels tipped over on the carpet of the sitting area, her legs stretched out.
"Hey..." She too smiled, not as bothered to hide her exhaustion though.
"You alright, Pep?" It was a pointless question. They were all pushing their limits as it was.
Accordingly, she only shrugged. "What do have there?" She nudged her chin towards the plastic bag in his hand.
"SriPraPhai. I brought extra sticky rice, too!"
"Oh, honey..." She sighed as she slowly turned, her feet coming to rest on the carpet between her toppled shoes. "We had dinner about 2 hours ago."
"Yeah, well..." It took all the strength he had left to spare for the day, to keep the smile on his face. "But we've got an enhanced teenager. I mean, if I know one thing, it's that the kid never gets full, so..."
"He's in bed though, honey. It's almost midnight."
At last, Tony's face fell. "Oh."
"It's been a long day..." Pepper tilted her head. "He had another session today and... well, I think it left him quite a bit drained."
"Right," Tony mumbled. The therapist. He should have remembered that.
It had been one of those things Pete had fought him on, but after the second night that he had found the kid whimpering, drenched in sweat from his recurring nightmares, Tony had put his foot down. The fight though had come during breakfast.
"You know you keep saying that you want me to be safe. Don't you think enough people already know about my abnormalities," Pete had barked at him over his eggs. "Do we really need to bring another person into this?"
"Don't call it that!" Despite his temper rising because Pete seemed to know exactly which buttons to push, Tony kept his voice calm and low. "You're not abnormal."
With a snort, Pete crossed his arms tightly across his chest. "Yeah? You gonna tell me I'm special next."
"Pete, come on..."
He pointed his fork at Tony. "Just wait till Clarke starts talking. When he tells everyone about me, what do you think they'll say?"
It was the exhaustion talking. The nightmares, being limited to the Compound, all of it took its toll on Pete. But just the mention of Clarke had the hair on Tony's back stand up.
"That asshole is never gonna touch you again," he growled. "It doesn't matter what he says. People will clearly see that he's a violent lunatic."
With a grunt, Pete had pushed away from the table, his breakfast left half-eaten. Before either Tony or Pepper could say a word, he had been on his feet and back in his room.
That had been a week ago and the kid had come around. It might have taken a couple more unpleasant talks when Pete had ventured out of his room in search of some food at last, but at least he was getting help. Even if Tony had to shoulder the brunt of the kid's displeasure, Pete had someone professional to talk to now, someone who actually knew what they were doing. That was the most important thing. Right?
"Tony?"
"Yeah..." He blinked at her, trying to focus on the present. "I'm sorry, what?"
Pepper had stepped up to him, close enough that her breath brushed his skin. "I said I'm gonna go and take a shower." Her hands were on his suit jacket. They slipped underneath it with ease, opening the buttons on his vest. "And you should join me."
"Well, Miss Potts..." He arched his eyebrows at her. "Are you trying to entice me?"
Pepper huffed, the smile on her lips widening. "Not well enough, if you have to ask." Slowly she leaned closer, planted a kiss on his lips, holding herself flush against him.
Tony's eyes were closed.
He hummed against her lips. "I really should, shouldn't I—"
She deepened the kiss. He had missed her. He had missed her pressed against him like this, the taste of her lips and the touch of her hands.
"I'll just... I have to..." Tony barely got a word in as she bit his lip, urging him on. "...to put this in... in the fridge and... and then Barton and..."
Pepper's lips curled as she made a face. "Can we not talk about Barton right now?"
Before Tony could respond, her mouth was back on his.
"Right," he mumbled.
Pepper felt amazing pressed against him. Her lips were warm and soft. The bag with the takeout slipped from his fingers as his hands came to rest on her waist first. Bit by bit, one moved all the way into her hair, holding her close to him. The other had slipped underneath her shirt where her skin was soft. Everything about her was just right. Perfect and sexy and hot and he couldn't even remember when they had last done this.
Just as Pepper's own hand had started to tug his shirt out of his pants did his hands fly down to stop instead.
"Wait, wait, wait..." They curled around hers, pushed them off the fabric of his clothes. "I want to. I really, really... fuck, Pep, I want to, but we can't. I can't..."
"Tony, come on..."
Her lips chased his but he drew back from her, one hand on her shoulder stopped her from following this time.
"Barton asked me to talk to the commission. To get him home."
"Oh..." With a sigh, she let her arms drop.
"I'll just need to give him a quick update and then, well..." His eyes wanted to dart to Pete's door, but Tony forced himself to look up at Pepper instead.
"You'll not come to bed either, will you."
He grimaced, apologetically. "Not right away." He bent down and picked up the take out with one hand, ruffling his hair with the other. "Pep, listen..."
She sighed. "It's fine." She held onto the collar of his suit with both hands, gave it one firm tuck as she pursed her lips. "You'll stay with him. It's fine. He needs you."
His brow furrowed. She wasn't talking about Barton. "You know?" He studied her, looking for a little more information on how much she knew exactly. "Did he tell you?"
Pepper shook her head. "You think I wouldn't notice that I've been sleeping alone in your bed until you crawl under the covers after the sun is up." She gave him a look.
"Our bed."
He hadn't been sure. Hadn't said anything either just in case, Pepper would want to talk about it. Just in case that this was confidential between him and the kid.
"It's alright, honey." Her head tilted a little to the side, she brushed her fingers through his hair before her hand came to rest on his cheek. "You're both doing better. It helps. That's what's important."
Tony pressed out a humorless laugh. "Well, you must have missed how thrilled he was about the tutor we hired. Or the therapist."
Her hand squeezed his. "There will always be stuff for you two to fight over. Stuff he won't like." She huffed out a laugh. "It's like you've forgotten these little tantrums Addy used to throw every other morning you went into the office when he rather wanted you home to sort through his building blocks with him. Or... or remember the time you locked away the magic markers after he had woken up early and drew black ice cream cones all over the walls of his room?"
Tony closed his eyes with a smile. He could still see it. The small hands both just as black as the hieroglyphics the kid had left all of the walls as high as he could reach.
Their foreheads were pressed together as Tony sighed. "That was different. He has like... an opinion on stuff now."
"He sure had an opinion back then," she snickered.
Blinking his eyes open, he stared right at her. "You really think he's... he's doing better? Did you talk to the therapist?"
"Not about anything specific." She squeezed his hand. "He was down today. Just... just stay with him. I think it really helps."
Tony planted a last long kiss on her lips, then stopped by the common area and slid the Thai food into the fridge. As he had expected, Barton was waiting just outside his lab.
"And?"
The door buzzed open and Tony waved him inside. "As meetings go, this wasn't a fun one."
"Can we cut to the chase?"
Tony turned on his heel, his arms crossed. "They are open for a deal. It would include an ankle bracelet, detention, indefinite retirement."
Barton's chest was rising with heavy breaths. "Detention."
"House arrest."
"At... at my house?"
Tony weighed his head from one side of the other. "I think they'll agree to it. It's not a done deal. They want you to come in. We'd have to trust their word, but honestly, I think the chances are good. They want a win. One of you processed would be a win."
Barton was still frozen to the spot, the frown on his face not lifting. "I won't be any help to you if I turn myself in. Even if they let me go home. If they put me on house arrest, I won't be able to leave."
Tony nodded. "I know."
"You didn't have to do this, Tony. "
"No. I had to. I owed you. For Massachusetts." The feeling of Pete's kidnapper crumbling under his hands as Barton's arrow had pierced his heart was still as vivid in Tony's memory as it had felt on the day. "For your help these past weeks."
"So I..." Barton cleared his throat. "I might be going home."
Tony's lips twitched into a smile. "You're very likely going home."
"Are you?" The door behind them had buzzed open. With a few swift steps, Natasha stalked up to them.
Tony glanced at her, his shoulders stiffening but Barton didn't seem to be concerned. "It's time."
"Yeah?" She crossed her arms, her face practically expressionless. "Time to surrender?"
"Time to go home."
They exchanged a stare that seemed to last uncomfortably long while Tony was busy looking at his shoes.
"Once they have you, they might not let you go," Natasha finally said.
Barton gave a short nod. "Well, Ross is gone."
"Yeah, you're welcome." Natasha's voice had lost its neural pretense.
Tony's eyes shot up at her, then at Barton, but that particular information didn't seem like news to him.
"His entourage is still around." She dropped her arms at last, blowing out a deep breath like she was letting go of some of the tension. "If you'd wait until we flush them out—"
"I can't wait, Tasha." He shook his head at her. "I can't."
She stepped closer to him, the mask of calm calculation falling off her at last. "You think I don't want that for you? To get you back home?" She huffed out a low breath that was so unlike her. "Of you go in now, then what am I supposed to tell Laura if they won't let you go? Caps in custody."
With a smirk on his face, Barton squeezed her shoulders. "You'll just have to come and get me."
Her lips pressed into a thin line, her eyes sank to the ground before she gave one sharp nod. "What are we gonna do about Wanda?"
Barton blew out a breath and shot a glance at Tony instead.
"Hey..." Tony pulled up his hands. "Don't look at me. Last time I tried to help I got a car park thrown on top of me as a big juicy thank you."
Stepping from one foot to the other, Barton kept his eyes on him. "You know it wasn't like that."
"Well, sure felt like it," Tony mumbled.
Natasha, too, had her full attention on him now. "What had the commission to say about Wanda?"
"Nothing good."
Her eyes narrowed on him, like she needed someone that wasn't Barton to answer for this. "And what are you gonna do about it?"
"What do you think I can do about it?" Tony rubbed a hand across his face, forcing his brain to stay online. "We'll have to..." He huffed out a deep sigh. "We'll just have to work something out. Give it some time." Natasha's eyes were on him, staring like he was making this difficult. "She's not a US citizen. By right, even if we get a deal with the commission, the US government would still be required to extradite her to Sokovia. Germany eve, for the airport stuff. "
She swallowed hard. "Well, how will we get around that?"
"I don't know, Nat. It's not something that we'll solve in a week," he groaned. "It will need more negotiations and re-negotiations and we will have to give them something."
Natasha wasn't diverted that easily. "What did Steve have to say about that?"
With a shrug, Tony pushed his hands into his pocket. "Steve wants to present a united front."
"Well, that ship has sailed." There was no humor in her voice. "Scott will want that deal for himself as well. Things will change now."
Barton's eyes were back on the ground.
"Listen..." Tony's head was starting to throb. He had been forced to listen to that very discussion all day. "Sooner or later, we'll have to make some concessions if we want to keep the negotiations up and running. If we want this to end."
"Concessions, like risking Clint," she hissed.
"Tasha, I need to try." He had a hand on her wrist. "I know the risks and I know you'll look after them if-"
She silenced him with a glance, then turned back to Tony. "So, we're compromising."
Tony sighed, a hand rubbing at his temple where his brain was hammering like it wanted to get out. Of this room. His skull. Just away. "As long as half the team is out there, the commission will be reluctant to agree to any specifics. Just... just talk to them, Nat. You're the only one who can."
"And tell them what?"
"To just..." He shook his head. "To come home. It's time for them to come back."
###
[author's note:
Happy Saturday, guys (well, at least it still is in some parts of the world...)
Thank you as always for the lovely comments, the faves and hello to all the new readers that are still joining. :D
Again, the chapter has gotten a little long for my liking (and the second part needs another read-through and some edits) but I didn't want to go to bed without the promised update, so again, I split them up, so you'll get two weekend updates. yay? ;)
Thanks for reading, guys!]
