Toni deletes the email from Obi of other and Obi-approved bodyguards.

She doesn't trust him.

Can't trust anyone but a few.

(Pepper, Rhodey, Happy—Winter.)

(Winter was an unknown but had seamlessly proven himself someone Toni could trust.)


Winter wakes the next morning (his heart lurching when he realises he and Toni were in a similar position as yesterday. Only this time, Toni was curled towards his chest) with a strange feeling within his skull.

It feels heavy but oddly light.

His mind and thoughts felt far more of his… more like he was his own person rather than the mindset Hydra had shocked him into.

His own was still…

He didn't feel as much of a robot—that felt like the right words.

He felt like his own person.

(Winter could remember times he'd dropped off Hydra's radars before, even if temporarily, and feeling free but never really like this.)

Winter rested his cheek against Toni's head, listening to her breathing and feeling the soft movement of her chest as she does. It was peaceful. Winter hadn't had peaceful before.

He's never had the chance to just live.

He could recall flickers of James' memories of before, but they are few and far between and they aren't his, not really. They belong to another man, even if they share the same body.

Winter closed his eyes and looked inward. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if waking James would be a good idea.

(Safe, his mind whispers, safe with Toni. Safe from Hydra. Protected. Protect. Secure. A chance.)


His mind was jumbled, thoughts and memories scattered.

Then he gets flashes.

He knows they are not his, but at the same time, he knows they are.

His body felt different. It was a weird sensation, and he couldn't place how exactly it was different; just that it was…

What had…

What happened?

Why couldn't he remember anything?

/Sleeping./ A voice that sounds like his own, but lit with an accent, answered. An accent he couldn't place at that moment.

Images flash rapidly behind his closed eyes as he watches memories that aren't really his (but are at the same time) and he understands.

He doesn't…

He just understands.

Those are the best words.

(He doesn't think he could label what he was feeling yet. Mind to scrambled.)

Where is he?

/We are safe. Open your eyes and look./

He does and spots dark brown hair first, then the sleeping face of a woman.

The position he's in hits him next and he stiffens.

/Safe./ The voice hisses defensively. /She's safe. Secure. She could be home./

Who is she? He wonders.

He gets a series of flashes—memories really—and then he knows. Knows exactly who she is and he chokes on a sob in disbelief.

Toni Stark.

Howard's daughter.

The year was 2008.

He—James—that was his name—stared down at Howard's daughter in shock and breath caught in his throat.

What had happened?

Why…

Where…

James had too many questions and not enough brainpower to even begin to question everything properly.

/I am Winter./ The voice—Winter?—answered. /We have spent fifty years as an asset for Hydra. I was created in the wake of their torture to protect your psyche. My conditioning leads me to listen to the first person I see upon awakening. Toni was the only one alive, so I believed her to be our—my—Handler at the time. She is not Hydra. She has promised us freedom from them. She is safe./

James pays rapid attention as Winter begins to explain everything he could.


When Toni woke, she noticed a difference in Winter immediately. While Winter's face was controlled, the one he was currently wearing was…

Toni inspected his face.

Nervous? Curious? A bit of a both. Wonder?

He meets her eyes and there was far more emotion then Winter normally portrays and Toni knows.

She knows in that instant that she was facing James and not Winter.

She feels breathless.

"Hi, nice to finally meet you, James."

He blinked, shocked, but also not.

"He said you were observant." He breathed.

Toni grinned. "Yep." She slipped off the edge of the bed. "You've spoken to Winter then?"

He nodded, and Toni doesn't miss how he adverts his eyes but they keep flashing back to her. Nervous.

"Would you like to talk over some breakfast?"

He exhaled. "If it's not too much—"

"Completely fine, Sweetheart."

Toni smile softened and she led James from her bedroom (their bedroom? They practically shared the room now, and Toni was surprising hundred percent okay with that) and towards the kitchen.

"Anything specific you'd like to eat?"

"I…I—I don't know." He sounded—looked—lost and Toni's chest tightened at it.

"How about pancakes?" She flashed him a reassuring smile. "Nothing can go wrong with pancakes."

James nodded.

"Would you like some fruit with it?" Toni asked as she began making the batter. "We have strawberries, blueberries, banana. Even apple, I really like apple with my pancakes."

James snorted in laughter. "Uh, strawberries and banana?"

There wasn't much chatter as Toni made the pancakes and cut the fruit. Even adding chocolate spread—something which James had never had before. She patted his shoulder sympathetically.

"Is there anything you'd like to know that Winter hasn't been able to tell you about?" Toni asked.

James exhaled and finished his mouthful. "What… what happened to Steve?"

Toni ran her tongue over her teeth. "He was forced to crash a plane into the ocean. We've never been able to locate the crash site but Howard's will made sure the search team he put together keeps searching."

James tilted his head, eyes lit with his want to questions but withheld.

Seeing it, Toni gave a pursed lips smile. "You can ask you know. Not gonna bite your head off for asking."

"Why… you call Howard by his name. Winter didn't say much in regards to your relationship."

"Howard wanted an Anthony, but he got an Antonia instead." Toni shrugged. "Worlds come a long way for gender equality and other things but Howard had wanted a son to, well, keep the Stark name and Maria couldn't have any other children after me."

"Bad relationship with both your parents?" James's brows furrowed curiously.

Toni nodded and took another mouthful, answering after she'd swallowed. "Maria was clinically depressed and couldn't put down a drink to spend time with me other than to lecture about being a proper woman."


He turned from playing with Butterfingers and watched as Toni finished strapping herself into the foot braces. "What are you creating?"

She flashed him a smile. "I created a suit of armour to escape from my captives in Afghanistan, I wanna recreate it but better—that also reminds me." She twirled toward him. "I wanna give you an upgrade too."

"Up…grade?" He scrunched his brows.

"Your arm. I've been eyeing it since I met Winter. I can do far better than what you currently have." Toni explained. "And between sprucing up your arm and creating a suit for me, well there's no way whoever was holding you is gonna get close enough to even be a threat."

"I…we're never going back." It was a quiet, low murmur, but there was a heat to it and Toni meet his eyes again, the intense and burning determined eyes of a sniper.

(Toni actively ignores the heat that coils in her stomach at the stare.)

"Glad to know we're on the same page, gorgeous, cause I'm sure as hell gonna fight tooth and nail to keep ya." She flashed another grin and winked, instinctive and honed flirting at its finest.

The smile she gets in return though, it makes Toni eager to continue working on his arm designs.

(She also realises she totally gonna sink back into her hopeless teenage crush if either Winter or James continued giving her certain looks.)

(And if she also totally embarrassed herself seconds later with too much thrust on her braces only to see concerned eyes above her. That's just between her and them—and her babies obviously.)

("Too much thrust." She blurted as those blue eyes twinkle with amusement.)


James absently watched as Toni strapped her right arm into the brace, but tensed as a ginger-haired woman entered the workshop.

/Unsure of her designation yet. Nickname by Toni was Pep./ Winter filled in.

She smiled politely his way before moving for Toni. "I thought you said you were done making weapons."

"I'm am." Toni lifted her arm. "This. is just a flight stabilizer. It's completely harmless." And promptly went flying backwards from too much power.

James jumped, rushing over as the assistant yelped in shock. Winter fluttered between concerned and amused and James bit back a laugh that wanted to escape. especially when Toni finally spoke.

A wheezy: "I didn't expect that." Came from Toni. "Gawd."

"Well." Pep looked partly amused and partly concerned over what she'd just witnessed. "Stane's upstairs. He's apparently just gotten back from a board meeting."

"What?" Toni demanded; a hardened and serious expression fixed itself into place as she turned back to her assistant.

"A board meeting." Pep dipped her chin, her own expression firming.

"And why wasn't I made aware of this… meeting?"

James and Winter know immediately that this consequential.

/She's a CEO./ Winter murmured. /Even if she wasn't to attend, she must be aware of such a meeting./

Definitely an important and pressing issue—James wasn't stupid to think otherwise.

"I wasn't aware of it either." Was the response.

Oh. Oh. James stopped fiddling with the wrench he'd picked up as he realised (he didn't know how businesses worked very well, especially a billion-dollar company such as Stark Industries) what was happening.

/Stane must be Obi./ Winter theorised—he'd told James about the man and how something was off about him.

Toni's brows furrow as her lips curls downwards. "I want you to call the other board members and get statements from them. Ask what happened and if they were aware I didn't know about the meeting. Be subtle about it and record the calls."

"Toni?" Pep questions a worried crease of her brow appears.

Winter stirs and presses forward, it was a light sort of pressure in his head, it was in no way uncomfortable—in fact, it felt strangely since.

"Someone sold me out." Toni answered. "And I'm collecting evidence. My suspicions are Obadiah."

Pep inhales sharply. "Will do."

Toni turned to James. "You gonna come up, blue-eyes?"

James nodded.

(They really don't like Obadiah. He's a slimy man that pretends he cares. They'd need to watch him.)

(Toni agrees when they mention it later.)


It was a strange feeling to have a bodysuit of armour surrounding her again.

But unlike the Mark I, Mark II was strangely lighter but heavy at the same time. Mark II was more evenly balanced then Mark I had been. MII was fitted to her form, hugged her figure more and it felt far more moveable and flexible because of it.

Toni rolled her shoulders and continued testing the movement capabilities all around. She spun on her heels and marched back and forth, getting a true feel of how restrictive or non-restrictive it was.

Toni grinned and laughed airily in excitement.

She flipped the mask up, listening as JARVIS finished uploading to it.

"What do you think?"

James looked impressed. "I don't think I'd of ever thought something like this would be possible. All things considering."

"So you like it?"

"Very much. Although, I don't think silver is your colour." James smirked.

Toni pouted, glancing down at herself as best she could in the suit. "You're right. Something more friendly in colour. I like gold." She hummed. "Hey JARVIS, could you pull together some colour palettes for me?"

"As you wish ma'am. I'll keep in mind your liking of gold of course."

"You're the best baby-J."

"I aim to please."


So maybe Toni should have listened to JARVIS about flying too high. But could you blame her for it at feeling the exhilaration she got?

James definitely added his own words at her recklessness. She smiled sheepishly at him as he crossed his arms, looking none too impressed.


"Hey J." Toni asked once James had headed up to start getting dinner for them ready. "Has May and Ben send a message over?"

"Mr and Mrs Parker have indeed left you an email."

Toni exhaled nervously. "Open it for me would you?"