A/N- Things are heating up. Clint is an arse, while Tony tries to keep his emotions in check. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I had fun writing it. There is a little talk about a Poly relationship, so you can skip the chapter if you don't like that.
Clint stood up with an angry look on his face. He looked over to Tony. "Oh right, Tony Stark has all the money in the world and cries over the fact that daddy dearest loved someone more than him. At least your mother loved you. I didn't even have that," Clint said in an angry voice.
He walked over to the pitcher of water, pouring himself a glass. He then took a sip of water before speaking some more. "Poor Tony Stark, it sucks that your father didn't love you but get over it. It's time to move on."
A moment later, Steve stood up. He looked over to Clint then spoke up so Clint couldn't say any more. "Clint shit the fuck down now. It's not the time for this, and it's way out of line. We all have made mistakes before. Tony is trying to open up to us, and your bitch ass self isn't letting him. I rather hear it than belittle him for it. It's nice to hear this from Tony. Thank you, Tony."
In shock about what Steve just said, Clint to a seat at the table. He then noticed Bucky nod his head. "I agree with Steve. Tony isn't that bad, Clint. Even if we knew Howard, we don't know the man he became. So, it's not your place to belittle Tony just because he needs to vent. We all been through things," Bucky said, looking over to Tony. "I am sorry you had to go through that."
Bucky didn't add in anything about his childhood, although it could have helped Tony. Nodding to Bucky, Tony said, "It's alright. Thanks for sticking up for me, you two."
He was kind of shocked that it had happened. Especially after everything that happened. The lady gave them all a look as Bucky and Steve said, "You are welcome."
Maria looked at them as Clint got up and went to his seat. His face had a sour look about it. At the moment, Clint wasn't' happy with Bucky and Steve. "Do you have something you would like to say other than that?" Maria asked him.
She let him get all that out because she knew Clint needed it. But now, it was time to move on from that. Clint shook his head. "Not at the moment. Tony, can go on since it seems he gets the floor," Clint shouted with a pout on his face.
Maria looked over at Tony. She frowned at him before asking. "Is there more you would like to say?"
She hated this job with a passion. Working with superheroes was not her dream job, but the pay was great, though. "I will talk with Clint later, but there are a few things I would like to say to each of you," Tony stated. Everyone gave him a nod. "I think it could help me a lot."
Maria smiled at Tony. "It's good to get this off your chest. Could you open up, Tony? Both Steve and you have a hard time with that. So who would you like to start with?" she asked him.
He smiled at her. Since she mentioned Steve, Tony thought that it was an excellent place to start. "I can start with Steve," Tony stated as he looked over to the man.
Steve figured he would be the first Tony started with, which wasn't a problem. "Fine by me, Tony," replied Steve.
Taking a deep breath then a sip of his water, Tony then finished it off. Rhodey stayed close to Tony, seeing as this would be hard for him. "I hated your guts from the first moment I met you. First off, you weren't like anything the man my father told me about. Second, it hurt to stand there watching you give orders out like you owned the place, and we were your soldiers. Third, you seemed different than what I read and heard about," Tony stated.
Tony needed a break because his heart rate was going up, which wasn't good. So, he took a deep breath, thinking he had gotten over this. Maybe he hadn't. It looked like Tony pushed them down and away. "Tony, is there more you would like to say?" Maria prompted him, hoping to get more out of him.
Nodding, Tony continues. "Over time, things got better. I thought of you as a friend. But, Steve, there was more to you than what my father saw. I just had to get past it. It hurt me more than anything when you didn't tell me the truth about my parents."
Maria looked over at Steve. She figured this would be a good time for him to step in and say something. "Care to respond to that?" she asked.
Smiling, Steve gave Tony a hard look. "I am deeply sorry about not telling you," Steve stated. Tony only nodded. He got that. He forgave Steve for part of the way. "It was hard not telling you, but I felt I was doing the right thing. Maybe I wasn't, though."
There was no smile as Tony spoke. "I am sure you were in your eyes. I don't see that way, but it's water under the bridge now. Maybe you weren't, but now I can understand why you did, even if I disagree with it. We need to move on from it. I kept Ultron from you."
Steve smiled at Tony, who smiled back. At least they were getting somewhere now. "You did, but you had your reasons for doing so, and maybe we didn't act the best when we found out," Steve replied.
All Tony could do was nod. He still felt terrible about Ultron, as did Bruce. However, he was glad Steve was able to open about how they handled things after they found out. "Moving on," said Clint, ready to be done with this part.
Clint rather not hear any more about this moment. It still was a sore subject, and he didn't want the team to forgive Tony for certain things. Maria gave him a stare before speaking. "Thank you for sharing, Tony. Would you like to move on to the others?"
Shaking his head, Tony said, "Not really, but I would like to say something to Barnes."
Barnes stared at him. They had only spoken a handful of times, and Tony had always called him Barnes. "You may speak to me, Tony, if you wish," Barnes stated.
Maria gave them a false smile. "You can speak now, Tony," Maria told him.
"I hated your guts when I first found out the truth. It was hard to see past you killing my parents. I was very angry with Steve and wanted to make him pay. That meant hurting you to do so, but to me, it was worth it. Now I see things clearly. I don't feel that way anymore. I see the good person that you are," Tony told him.
Bucky nodded as he stood up. He walked over to give Tony a hug, which Tony allowed him to do. "Tony, you can be an arse sometimes, but you are a good person deep down. It just has to come out," Bucky said.
After the hug, Bucky went to sit back down. Steve curled up into him. "Is there anything more you would like to add, Tony, before I move on?" she asked him.
It was time to wrap this up for now. Someone else deserved to go. Tony shook his head. "No, I am good now. Thanks, Barnes," Tony said.
Tony was glad he got to listen now. It felt great to get everything out there, even if it was only half of it. "Ok, then moving on. Clint, since you have had a lot to say, why don't you go next," said Maria looking over to him.
He nodded his head. Clint was ready to speak and glad that he got to. "There are several things that I would like to say, and please, no one speaks," Clint spoke to Maria.
Right now, Clint wasn't going to talk about Tony. Instead, it was time to talk about himself. "Go on then, and I am sure everyone will listen," she stated.
Clint smiled at the room. "My life growing up wasn't great, and my mother died when I was young. My father raised me, if you could call it that. I moved away with my brother to the circus and never looked back. It's how I became deaf. Natasha and I are together. We are both with Laura as well," Clint stated.
Even if Tony had been with many girls over the years, he wouldn't knock Clint for his lifestyle. Tony had only dated one girl at a time, though. "Good for you, Clint," replied Tony, happy for him.
It's all he was going to say. A moment passed before Clint looked over to Bucky and Steve. "Got something nasty to say about our relationship?" asked Clint. He had an angry look on his face. "We know how everyone from your time feels about stuff like this. I bet you both are the same."
Clint knew they wouldn't like it. That's how he felt at the moment, and he was banking on it being the truth. "We don't," Bucky said, speaking for Steve and himself.
There was a shocked looked on everyone's face. These two guys were from a different time, where this wasn't normal at all. "Are you sure because I am pretty sure that people like you have a problem with people like me," Clint stated?
They both gave the nod. "Clint, we are sure. It's nice that you are in love and happy," Steve said with a sad look.
Steve was jealous that it wasn't always this way. It sucked that people couldn't date who they wanted back in the day. "I agree. We have no problem with it, Clint," said Bucky, also with a sad look.
"I am sure you are lying," Clint spoke to them. Nat frowned at him. "You are saying this, so you don't hurt my feelings. Well, guess what I can take it. Just don't lie to me."
They were still afraid to come out. Clint was making it worse somehow. Finally, Peter looked over to them. "Is something wrong?" asked Peter.
He felt sad for them, nor did he like the way that Clint was attacking them. Until they told him others wise, he believed they were telling the truth about being happy for clint. Getting up, he walked over to hug them. "What's was that for?" Bucky asked in a curious voice.
Peter smiled at them. "I felt like you guys needed a hug," replied Peter giving them another one.
She looked at them. Tention was high, which Maria liked, but she felt things were getting a little too heated now. "Would you two like to go next?" she asked. "Or we can take a break?"
"Could we take a break?" asked Steve getting up from the couch. "I can't deal with this right now."