Tony Stark was not a man who did anything by halves, that was for sure.
The Tower, the same one he'd been in the process of selling last time Steve Rogers checked, was still standing, brandishing that gaudy STARK across its front that Steve had come to associate with the egotistical billionaire he'd once called his best friend.
Once.
Steve let out a low sigh as he drove the SHIELD-provided SUV into the underground parking structure around the back of the complex to avoid any unwanted media attention. The Accords had been nullified, their so-called "crimes" expunged and their good names returned. Hence, the visit to the place they'd once called home. Before their collective stubbornness and – let's face it – stupidity had ruined everything and sent most of them on the run.
At first, Natasha Romanov had taken pains to keep up on Tony's movements, but that had soon tapered off when it was clear that the tech genius was staying out of the press. And to be honest, Steve was surprised. He'd expected the man to lash out at them again and again, as he would have in the past. But, as with all Steve's thoughts about Tony, it was clear he was mistaken.
His biggest mistake being Barnes.
They had sequestered Bucky in Wakanda with King T'Challa, hoping that eventually his long-lost friend would be able to join them in some form or another.
Another sigh.
One more thing to beg from Stark and Steve set his teeth grinding against each other as he finally rolled the SUV to a stop.
The garage, once filled with Stark's expensive vehicles, was almost bare. Two vehicles held positions close to the elevator doors. A dark blue two door Ford Bronco that had seen some wear and a brand-new BMW gleaming Iron Man red in the underground structure's lighting. Steve figured the latter was Tony's, but didn't have a clue who the Bronco belonged to. Not like it was any of his business anymore, he reminded himself, shaking his head slightly as he killed the engine and sat back in his seat. He cast his glance to the rearview mirror and grimaced slightly at what he saw.
Clint and Wanda were both tight-jawed and radiating their visceral anger at returning to this place. Steve figured it has less to do with the place and more the man they were coming here to meet. They both blamed Tony for their circumstances – being fugitives, unable to return to their lives, the Raft. The list went on, but Steve figured they had made the effort to be there, even if they didn't seem like they wanted to be. It was a step in the right direction.
To his right sat Natasha, who wore a slightly apprehensive frown on her face as she examined the Bronco, sliding out of the passenger seat as she did so. Steve knew she still felt guilty about betraying Tony, about switching sides in the middle of the battle, and he regretted being the reason for the strife between the two longtime friends. It was hard to see her so removed, but he figured it had been necessary these past few months.
"Let's go guys," he said, letting out a final sigh as he, too, slid from the vehicle's confines.
He heard the reassuring release of seatbelts as the two in the back followed suit and soon enough, they were striding towards the elevator doors. They slid open and FRIDAY's voice immediately came over the speakers, "Captain Rogers, Miss Romanov, Mister Barton, Miss Maximoff. Boss is aware of your arrival and will meet you on the common floor. Please refrain from leaving the designated floor."
Steve glanced over at Natasha and the pair shared a curious glance. They'd never been set boundaries before. Then again, they'd never been fugitives before, either.
"Jeeze, you'd think we were terrorists or something," Clint muttered under his breath, his hard as granite gaze never wavering from the elevator doors' shimmering surface.
The man was spoiling for a fight, that much even Steve could see. Not that he could blame Clint. He was stuck running from the government he'd spent so long fighting for, unable to communicate with his family, to soothe their fears and allay their concerns. It was hard to see the once open and reassuringly considerate man turn into the deadly hunter he was purported to be. There was no happy medium with him, not when it came to his anger. And at the moment, it was all aimed at one Tony Stark.
Wanda, on the other hand, hovered close to her friend's side, her brown eyes locked on the elevator's floor, her mind a million miles away. The Raft had been hardest for her, the confinement and contempt from their captors, and what they'd done . . . Wanda didn't talk about it and none of them had ever pressed her. Steve figured they both harbored enough hatred for Tony that it was, honestly, insane for them to even be there. But they had to start rebuilding what they'd so carelessly torn apart.
They had to bring back the Avengers.
The elevator glided to a smooth stop and the doors opened immediately.
"Boss will be down in a few minutes. In the meantime, make yourselves comfortable. There are refreshments in the refrigerator. Boss says to help yourselves," FRIDAY's voice once more overtook the small car as the four Rogues disembarked slowly, eyeing the floor they'd once called home.
Tony had done some work, but obviously so had someone else. Someone much younger. Where once the space had been for the Avengers, the entire area a giant living room more or less, there were now kid's drawings splattered across the refrigerator, a small pair of pink and blue Vans sat next to a larger pair of black ones. A small Tinkerbell blanket was splayed over the back of the couch, kid's books littered the coffee table.
It felt like a real family lived there, ate there, played there.
It felt like a home.
The real shock, however, came when they caught sight of the occupants of the large couch that took up more space than the one they'd previously owned.
The God of Thunder lay there, his body relaxed in sleep, his head leaning back against the arm of the couch, a blanket bunched low on his hips. The kicker, though, was the small child sleeping on his chest that rose and fell slowly with each inhale and exhale. The girl was tiny, maybe two or three, and her face was shoved so closely to Thor's chest that it was impossible to make out her features. The possessive hand splayed on her back was enough to tell them this child was important to-
"I believe you are on the wrong floor, Captain."
The voice broke their trance and they all jumped slightly, startled to see that the god was not, in fact, sleeping. Instead, icy blue eyes were focused on the man who used to be his leader.
His leader no longer.
"FRIDAY?"
"Sir?"
"Inform Stark that the Rogues are in the building, but he has mistakenly sent them to my floor. He should come retrieve them before he has to replace more than the recliner," Thor rumbled, his voice leaving no room for argument.
"Thor, man," Clint started, stepping towards the man he'd always thought of as a good friend. He stopped, however, his mouth dropping open slightly when those cold eyes flew his way and a slight crackle in the air warned him to stop his forward momentum immediately.
The air was fraught with electricity, the god's eyes glowing slightly as his arm tensed around the small form on his chest and he adjusted the girl slightly, moving her up his chest until her head rested on his shoulder and he could wrap one arm securely under her bottom. He swung his legs surely over the side of the couch, standing with the fluid grace of a man comfortable in his own skin and the power that lay beneath it. The girl snuffled slightly and nuzzled her face into the warmth of her guardian's neck, her body molding to his all over again as she quickly adjusted to the new altitude.
Thor hadn't taken his eyes off them the entire time, but he kept his body relaxed, not wanting to wake up the bundle he now carried, obviously anxious to get her away from the unwanted intruders in their home.
"Thor?"
The god looked at the woman who'd spoken his name and he merely raised his eyebrows in response to Natasha's quizzical tone.
"Is she yours? I didn't-"
"I'm sorry, did he invite you to give him the third degree? I don't think so."
The new voice cut through Natasha's quiet voice and they all looked to the elevator, which was now closing behind none other than Tony Stark, himself. "Sorry, Point Break, I keep forgetting about the remodel. That's on me," he said, moving around the four gaping Avengers and stopping by Thor's side, his back to the Rogues.
Thor let his hard gaze soften slightly as he took in the bedraggled appearance of his friend. "It is not a concern. I'll take her to my quarters and we will remain there while you relocate them. If you have issues, have the computer inform me," Thor replied, once again glancing harshly at the four companions before nodding slightly to Tony and slipping past them all and stalking silently down the hallway.
When Tony finally turned around, he wasn't surprised to see them all staring after the odd duo. It did his heart good to see them so confused, knowing that they didn't even know the half of it.
"He's a little overprotective of her," Tony said, his own eyes watching Thor and Penny until they turned around the corner and they heard a door whisk shut behind them.
"Okay, yeah," Steve said, nodding to himself, as if somehow trying to reconcile the volatile man he'd come to know with the controlled and pissed off god he'd just seen. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and shook his head. "Yeah, no," he said, swinging his eyes back over to Tony. "What the hell Tony? Who is she? Why is he here? When did he get here?" Steve looked around, indicated the apartment that obviously belonged to the small girl, "Why does she live here?"
Tony snorted and shook his head. "That's not how this works anymore, Rogers. Who she is and why she's here is none of your fucking business. As for Thor, I figure he'll tell you when he's good and ready. Until then, why don't we go to the floor I actually meant to meet you on and we can have that conversation you've so badly wanted to have?"
None of the Rogues looked happy about it, not that Tony cared, but they all shuffled back to the elevator, all of them casting last, curious looks around the apartment before entering the small compartment.
Tony entered last, allowing the doors to shut before telling FRIDAY, "Conference floor, baby girl. And restrict Thor's floor to everyone but executive clearance."
"Understood, Boss."
While he'd been talking, the elevator had already started moving.
Tony could feel their anger and distrust growing with every passing second.
"Who is she, Tony?" Natasha asked as once more the car came to a smooth stop, the doors sliding open and spilling out its contents onto a floor that had the same layout as the one they'd just left, but without all the homey touches. The rooms, instead of being solid like they'd just encountered, were instead glass enclosures that held conference tables and large TVs for presentations.
"She's none of your business, Romanov," Tony growled, not slowing as he pushed forwards towards the first glass room. "Neither, for that matter, is anything else that happens beyond this room. As far as I'm concerned, you're all just guests at this point. I have no good reason to allow you access to the Tower," he said, swinging around to face the people he'd once considered friends.
He looked over at Steve, "What is it you so badly wanted to talk about, Rogers?"
"Tony," Steve whispered, the hurt in his eyes obviously not bothering Tony, who looked at him dispassionately.
When it appeared that Steve wasn't going to say anything else, Tony spoke again, "I understand that you guys want everything to be the same as it was months ago when everything went to shit, but I can't let that happen. I have people to protect, people that live here, that count on me to keep them safe. I can't have the Avengers staying here, not anymore."
"You mean the girl?" Clint asked, his voice surprisingly emotionless.
"Yes, Barton," Tony agreed, "I mean the girl. And Thor. They came to me for help and they're going to get it."
"I didn't know Thor was even on planet," Natasha said, her voice low, a measure of hurt in her tone that the information had been kept from them.
"Yeah," Tony sighed, running a tired hand through his hair, "it honestly couldn't have happened at a worse time, really, just days after I got back." He shot a wary glance in Steve's direction that didn't go unnoticed by any present, but continued nonetheless. "Told me he needed help, and he's been here ever since. Got me back on my feet, helped with Rhodey. It's been nice having him around again." Tony shrugged, as if this was all any other normal day for him.
"She's his daughter, isn't she?" Natasha asked.
Tony's voice turned hard again, his eyes piercing through her like a knife to her throat, "I understand you want answers, but you won't get them from me. They're off limits to you, all of you. Stay away from them.
"And I understand you guys want to stay here, this was where you lived before shit hit the fan, but you can't. The Compound is still mine and I had some work done a while back, so it should be livable. You guys can hang there if you want, or find your own places in the city. I don't really care, so long as it's not here."
"But Tony, how are we supposed to work together if we aren't even in the same city?" Steve asked, splaying his hands in an open sign of surrender, silently pleading with the other man to give them a chance.
Tony wasn't having it. He shook his head, his eyes ablaze as he glared at Steve. "I don't think so, Captain. That wasn't part of the deal. I agreed to a meeting, to hear you out. Beyond that, I have absolutely no qualms whatsoever with never seeing any of you again. The Accords are toast, you're free. I don't understand why you want to start this mess again."
Before any of them could form a coherent response, the elevator once more dinged open.
Thor stepped out, his face still stormy, and the little girl no longer clinging to him.
"Computer says your heart rate is up, are you okay?" the god asked, coming to a stop between Tony and the rest of them, his muscular arms crossed firmly on his chest. His stance was defensive, and Tony inwardly smiled at the blatantly protective gesture.
Yeah, it was nice to have the big guy around.
Especially when he saw the open shock on the four faces in front of him. They weren't used to being on the receiving end of the god's ire, that was obvious. Add in the fact that Thor hadn't brandished his trusty hammer or shown hide or hair of his ever-present armor, it was an adjustment that Tony, himself had had to make. Toss it on a group of superheroes that had seen their friend zap into space years ago?
To say they were surprised would be an understatement.
"We're cool, bud," Tony assured, but stayed behind his human shield anyway. It was nice not to be the protector, sometimes. "Pen?" he asked, his voice softening as he thought of the adorable little girl that had wrapped him around her little finger within days of being on Earth.
"Sleeping," was his only response. Tony figured that was fair, considering the company.
"Rogers," he said, turning once more to face the man in question. "You wanted this meeting, what is it, exactly, that you want?"
"The world needs the Avengers, Tony. I thought-"
"You thought I'd roll over and beg to be one of you again. That I'd tell you it was no big deal that you left me for dead in Siberia, that your best friend killed my parents, that you couldn't wait five goddamn minutes to let me explain to you that we could have worked with the UN and made the Accords better. Made them fair.
"Instead, you threw me to the wolves. The man who claimed to be my friend. No, Rogers. I don't think the world needs the Avengers. I think you do," Tony asserted, his hands clenching into fists at his sides as he remembered the pain of Rogers' betrayal, the sharp agony that had suffused each step after Siberia, the hollow feeling he hadn't known for years.
Because he thought he'd found a family, a place carved into the world just for him.
Obviously, he'd been wrong.
"Sir," FRIDAY interrupted, her voice modulator urgent, the tone almost panicked. "Penny has awoken from her nap. As per Baby Monitor Protocol, I am informing you that she is slowly making her way to the elevator on Floor 46. She is visibly upset."
"Thanks, FRI," Tony replied, already moving towards the elevator, where Thor was already stepping on. When he turned around to face Rogers and the others, he shrugged his shoulders. "Duty calls."
The doors slid shut on their confused and shocked faces.