A/N: Back at it again with another midweek update! And the MCU timeline is a mess, I'm doing my best with what I have haha.

Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan

Rhodey flipped his phone shut, letting out a breath, then straightened his uniform and walked back into the medical wing. Tony sat on one of the crisp military beds, filthy and bloody and tired as medics flocked about him, taking his vitals. He wouldn't let them near the metal thing in his chest, except to rebandage it.

Rhodey would never in his life forget how he felt when he saw Tony kneeling in the sand, grinning tiredly up at him.

Tony glanced up at Rhodey as he walked back in. "Get sick of me already?"

"No, just spreading the good news," Rhodey smiled. He was sure that nothing Tony said would ever annoy him again. Rhodey gestured at his phone. "That was Maggie."

Tony stilled. "Is… is she…?"

"She's back in California," Rhodey said, realizing that Tony had a lot to catch up on. "She stepped up as interim CEO, and-"

"She what?" Tony sat up, making the doctors mutter. One of the cuts on his forehead started bleeding again.

"And she sounds real glad to hear we found you," Rhodey added. Her uneven breathing and stammered words stuck with him. "I haven't seen her myself since you went missing, but… I was worried about her." He frowned, not sure how much to admit. He'd been worried that Maggie had been involved in something underhanded, maybe illegal, with the leads she kept sending him. Nothing as dramatic as the leads they'd been receiving anonymously, however. And then he'd been worried about the pictures of her he'd seen in the newspapers and on the news channels - she didn't look like the Maggie he knew. She looked gaunt, and haunted. Not that anyone could blame her.

Tony still seemed to be processing his words. "And she's okay?"

Rhodey squeezed Tony's uninjured shoulder. "You can see for yourself tomorrow."

"As long as she doesn't leave," Tony said, his voice surprisingly fragile.

Rhodey smiled down at his friend. "If Maggie leaves before you get there, I'll eat my uniform."

May 3, 2009
Stark Industries Headquarters, Los Angeles

Maggie had, somehow, gotten some sleep.

The day before, Pepper had spent fifteen minutes sobbing in Maggie's office before she cleaned herself up and marched right back out to get to work. The rest of the day had passed in a confusion of shock and celebration and pandemonium. Stark Industries had thrown a massive party at the news, bringing out the champagne they normally used to celebrate a completed project. Engineers mixed with lawyers and HR and cafeteria workers, all of them exuberant with joy. Maggie had been surprised to see more than a few tearful eyes.

Happy had to sit down for a full hour.

Maggie had drank and talked and celebrated in a state of blank-faced, disbelieving shock, not sure what she said or who she spoke to. She remembered when Obie had rushed back and picked her up in a big hug, his eyes bright. She didn't remember what he'd said. Stark Industries put out a statement, but thankfully Maggie didn't have to give it. Everyone who saw her knew that she wouldn't be up to it.

Somewhere in all the confusion and celebrating, Maggie had sat down in a lab and just… fallen asleep. She'd woken up at about four in the morning covered in blankets, with a bottle of water by her head.

She spent the pre-dawn hours working with J.A.R.V.I.S. to track down all the information she could - the DoD still didn't know much, but it was clear there'd been some kind of massive explosion at the place where Tony was being held deep in the mountains, and he'd been picked up a few hours later alone in the desert. The Ten Rings' base had been destroyed. But Maggie didn't dare think that the organisation itself had been destroyed. She put out feelers and algorithms, ready to trap them at the slightest sign of movement.

Then she saw the flight details Rhodey had sent her while she was asleep, and went downstairs to find Happy so he could drive her to the airbase when Tony's plane got in at 10:30. Stark Industries was already coming to life again, people flooding back through the doors on their way to their offices and labs. Maggie doubted anyone would get much work done today.

Obie stopped her at the doors, looking tired. He smiled at her and wrapped her in another hug. "There you are, kid. How are you?"

Maggie opened her mouth. She must have been asked that about a hundred times since yesterday, but she still didn't have an answer. The closest she could come to putting it into words was unbelievably, outstandingly over the moon. Tony was on a plane right now, flying home.

"Good," she said instead. "Tony's plane is getting in at 10:30, I know it's a few hours from now but I was going to get Happy to drive me there now."

Obie's brow creased. "I know how you feel. But I think it's best if you stay here for this morning, kid, there's a few things we need to get done."

Maggie's restless energy faded. "But Tony-"

"I know, believe me, I want to see him as badly as you do. But we won't be able to talk to him when he gets in anyway, they'll be taking him to hospital. We'll visit as soon as the doctors say we can. You're needed here in the meantime. I know it's not fair, but there's still a company that needs to be looked after." He squeezed her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said. Now that he'd stopped her in her tracks, she could see the frantic energy in the lobby. There had to be lots of things do do after the news - administration shifts, contacting stockholders… she let out a breath. "Okay."

Two hours later she found herself sitting in an emergency board meeting in the big conference room, the midmorning sun streaming through the windows onto her tight face. One of the assistants had brought her a fresh change of clothes so she didn't look like she'd slept in a laboratory overnight.

She and Obie had been run off their feet all morning, making calls and ensuring the company still ran smoothly after the massive shock. Stocks had seen a sharp increase. People seemed reassured to see Maggie at the helm, calmly leading.

Most of the board members were in New York so they'd set up a conference call, each of them speaking over each other, talking about stock figures and projects and draft press briefings and leadership structure. They discussed the best medical allowances for the returned CEO, still not sure of the specifics of his situation.

Maggie hadn't said anything in ten minutes. Obie and the few other execs physically in the room with her occasionally turned to ask her a question, but then answered it themselves before she could say anything. Normally she might at least attempt to look like she was running the meeting, but her mind was buzzing. She kept stringing together the bits of information in her head: the explosion of the Ten Rings hideout, the energy surge, the sparse information about the condition Tony had been in when he was found. He's pretty banged up, but he's okay, Rhodey had told her.

She tried to picture how Tony might look, after three months of captivity in who knew what condition. Tried to picture what might have happened in his mind. His heart. She wondered if even now, he was hiding pain behind glibness and charm like he always did. The thought of it made her heart hurt.

She wished she'd had a chance to speak to Pepper this morning, but Pepper had gone with Happy to the airbase to meet Tony's plane. Maggie thought that Pepper might understand the anxieties and fears whirling in her chest, even as the whole country celebrated that Tony was safe.

Safe. Maggie wondered if Tony would ever feel safe again.

She fidgeted in her seat, playing with the edge of her suit sleeve. Her eyes flicked up to the clock on the wall: 9:40.

Her stomach twisted.

This is stupid, she thought.

She drew in a long breath, plotting as her gaze swept across the men and women seated around the large conference table, and the blinking phone hub in the middle of the table. She licked her lips. "Does anyone want a cup of coffee?"

They looked over at her, startled at her interruption.

She smiled thinly. "It's been a long night, and I'm sure you won't miss me for two minutes. I'll duck out and grab some coffees. What would you all like?"

They relaxed, and one by one gave her their coffee orders. She wrote them diligently on the notepad in front of her, nodding and asking clarifying questions. What kind of creamer do you take? Any allergies? Obie's eyes warmed as he watched her. He asked for a latte with oat milk.

Maggie left the room with a tired smile and a bob of her head. She strode down the corridor, eyes lifting, and tossed her list in the first trashcan she passed. She headed straight for the garage.

Her phone started ringing when she was about five minutes away, already on the highway. She reached into her pocket and turned it off.

Edwards Air Force Base, California

Tony's eyes closed as he felt the troop carrier's wheels touch down on the sunbaked runway. He wasn't the sentimental type normally, but he'd spent those three months in that cave dreaming of so many moments - and this was one of them.

Strapped in beside him, Rhodey grinned.

The plane coasted a while before coming to a stop, and Rhodey stood up to roll Tony toward the loading bay door on the wheelchair he'd been given back in Kabul. Tony had eyed it with a faint sense of nostalgia, thinking of a small, bright-eyed girl.

Finally, the loading ramp whirred and lowered, admitting the bright Californian sunlight. Tony let out a shaky breath.

The faded runway and distant desert of Edwards Air Base met him, and his eyes alighted on the vehicles and figures just before the loading ramp. There were a handful of soldiers standing guard around Happy, as grim as ever in sunglasses, and… Pepper. Her hair shone ginger in the sunlight, and even from inside the plane Tony could see the emotion on her face. He got to his feet, grunting under his breath, and Rhodey took his uninjured arm.

They walked together down the ramp, Tony trying to stand straight. They'd cleaned him up and given him a suit, so he almost felt like his old self - except for the sling on his arm and the foreign metal object in his chest. He kept his eyes fixed on Pepper's and his chest ached. God, he'd missed her. More than he'd realized.

"Watch it, coming up here," Rhodey murmured, and Tony looked down so he didn't trip over the edge of the ramp. When he looked up, a few of the Air Force medics rolled a stretcher over.

"Are you kidding me with this?" Tony sighed. "Get rid of them."

Rhodey, shockingly, didn't argue - just waved a hand at the medics. Tony closed the distance to Pepper alone. Tears glinted on her cheeks as she smiled at him.

"Hm," Tony said, peering at her. If he was anyone else, he would have said It's so good to see you again. Instead, he said: "Your eyes are red. A few tears for your long-lost boss?"

Her smile broke wide. "Tears of joy. I hate job hunting."

Tony felt the corner of his own mouth tip up. "Well, holiday's over." Then he glanced around, taking in Happy standing by the car, and the assembled soldiers. He cleared his throat. "Is… Maggie?" he glanced back at Pepper. "Rhodey said she was back."

Pepper's smile softened, and she said gently: "She's at Stark Industries, you can see her after the hospital-"

"Screw hospital-" but he cut himself off at the sound of a rumbling engine, rapidly growing louder.

He and Pepper both looked over as a motorcycle roared onto the airfield. The rider wore a black helmet and gunned the bike up the runway, scattering airmen. Tony let out a shaky breath.

The rider brought the bike up to a screeching halt a few yards away from the plane, almost wrecking the thing as she leaped off, flung off her helmet and broke into a run toward Tony. Tony caught a glimpse of Maggie's flushed, windswept face and her blinding bright-eyed grin before she threw herself (as gently as possible) at him.

Pepper smiled as Tony and Maggie embraced each other.

Maggie gripped Tony wordlessly, her heart pounding and her breathing loud, and he held her back with his only functioning arm. Tony could feel her arms shaking. He pulled her tight to him, closing his eyes.

"Hey, Maggot," he murmured, and she let out a wordless sound.

But then she squeezed just a little too tightly, and he winced and flinched back, his hand rising to his chest.

Her face went white as she caught the movement.

He shot her a smile to show her he was okay. "You're not the only cyborg now," he said. His eyes flicked over her. She wore a rumpled suit, though her jacket was missing. She was thinner than he'd expected, with shadows under her eyes, but that blinding grin was working its way back into existence on her face.

I thought I'd never see you again, he almost said. He swallowed. "Thought you couldn't come," he said instead.

Maggie shrugged. "Just wanted to make a dramatic entrance."

He couldn't help his answering smile. He jerked his head. "Come on. Are you taking the bike, or coming in the car?"

She glanced over her shoulder. "Wouldn't be the first time I've abandoned my bike at an airport."

Maggie slid into the company car along with Tony and Pepper, after Happy had welcomed his boss back with typical grim-faced protectiveness.

Maggie couldn't stop shaking, though she hoped no one else noticed. The adrenaline from her too-fast ride here, that first glimpse of Tony standing on the runway… she swallowed, and stuffed her shaking fingers in her pockets. Pepper was arguing with Tony already, telling him to go to hospital, but Maggie just stared at him.

She'd been expecting the worst, but physically Tony actually looked… better than she'd expected. His arm in a sling, a few scabbing lacerations on his face, the flash of pain when she'd hugged him too hard. But even as she watched him bicker with Pepper like they always had, she could see that something was vitally, drastically different.

She couldn't put her finger on it. He was… more still, than she was used to. He didn't fidget like he normally did, just sat there with preternatural stillness, his every move calm and assured. But that wasn't it.

"I've been in captivity for three months," he cut in over Pepper's objections, his voice even. "There are two things I want to do. I want an American cheeseburger" - that sounded more like him - "and the other..."

"That's enough of that," Pepper sighed, looking away.

"- is not what you think," Tony continued. "I want you to call for a press conference now."

His eyes slid over to Maggie, and she realized what it was - his eyes. She'd never been surprised by what she saw in his face before. To her, Tony had always been, if not predictable, then understandable. But he met her eyes and for a moment there was darkness there, and it shocked her to her core.

His eyes were older. Physically, he looked better than she'd expected. But this was what she'd been afraid of: what had happened inside his head? His heart? Something had changed, and she was terrified to find out what.

"... a press conference?" Pepper questioned, unaware of the shock that had just crashed over Maggie like a lightning bolt.

"Yeah," Tony said smoothly, his eyes on Maggie for a moment more. What are you up to? she wanted to ask. She wondered what he saw in her. "Hogan, drive."

"What on earth for?" Pepper kept protesting.

"Cheeseburger first," Tony said, as if that closed the debate.

Maggie didn't speak much for the rest of the car ride, too focused on watching Tony's every move. He seemed quite happy to fill the silence, talking about his cheeseburgers and Pepper's haircut and how hard it was to itch his knee with one arm strapped to his side.

Maggie stayed wary, trying to figure out what it was that had her instincts jangling, but after a time she found herself just staring at Tony, glad he was there. Glad he was talking, and laughing at Happy's flat tone, and breathing. For a selfish moment she didn't care about the bruises, or the darkness in his eyes, because he had come back to her. Then she felt a horrendous crash of guilt, because it had not been Tony who left in the first place.

When they arrived at the SI turning circle, what seemed like half the company was outside, cheering. And Obie was first among them, launching forward with wide arms and a wide smile as the car door opened.

"Look at this, huh?" he grinned, and pulled Tony in for a hug. When he pulled back, he looked over Tony's face and then at Maggie, still sitting in the car. "Thought we were going to meet at the hospital!"

Maggie avoided his eyes.

"No, I'm fine," Tony murmured as he took another burger from Happy.

Maggie climbed out of the car but hung back as they all headed into the building, letting Tony enjoy the spotlight. Relieved it wasn't on her for once. Tony became glib and charming again, waving at people in the crowd and leading the way into the building like… well, like he owned the place. And Maggie wondered if she'd imagined what she'd seen in his face in the car. We've barely said ten words to each other, maybe I did imagine it. She stuck by Pepper's side.

Obie slung an arm over Tony's shoulder, his eyes gleaming. "Hey, look who's here!" he called to the crowd as they strode into the packed press room to yet more applause.

Maggie wanted to hang back with Pepper, but Obie set a hand on the back of her elbow and propelled her to the front of the room. She accepted pats on the back and smiling nods from the gathered journalists and employees, and realised that she was still missing her suit jacket, leaving her in just a blouse. In fact, Tony looked better prepared for this press conference than she did.

When they'd made it through the press of people Tony and Obie headed for the podium, but Maggie managed to dart to the side, a few feet to the left of the podium and out of the way. She caught her breath and ran her eyes over the crowd. All of them here ready to welcome Tony home. Maybe everything could go back to normal.

She spotted Pepper up the back, and froze. Pepper beside stood none other than Phil Coulson, smiling politely at him as he spoke. He looked somehow almost exactly as he had when he'd tracked Maggie down in Peru: the same dark suit and bland, polite demeanour. Maggie's eyes narrowed. What does he want? She was considering pushing back through the crowd to confront him, but then Obie took his place at the lectern and the press of journalists began to quiet down.

Maggie glanced back, and spotted Tony sitting down in front of the lectern, making himself comfortable. His eyes flickered to her, dark and heavy for a moment, and she hesitated. She could see thoughts whirling behind those eyes, and her brow furrowed. What are you planning?

But then he looked away again.

Obie looked down over the lectern at Tony, perplexed. Maggie had spent the whole ride here thinking so hard about Tony that she had forgotten to wonder why he'd called a press conference. Unease stirred in her gut. Maybe he just wants to ease doubts, step in formally as CEO?

"Hey, would it be alright if everyone sat down?" Tony called, pulling another cheeseburger out from inside his jacket. "Why don't you just sit down? That way you can see me, and I can… y'know, little less formal."

The crowd of bemused journalists shared glances with each other and then slowly, confusedly lowered themselves to the ground. Maggie sat down cross-legged on the floor. Obie sat down on the podium beside Tony. Everyone watched Tony chew on his cheeseburger. Whispers scurried through the room.

Tony looked up again, but this time over at Maggie. "It's good to see you, Mags. Sounds like you've done a great job while I've been gone."

Every eye turned to Maggie, but she only looked back at Tony. She smiled back at him, even though it hurt. "I'm just glad you're back."

There were murmurs in the crowd, and a flicker of camera flashes. Tony's eyes stayed on her for a moment, warm, before he turned to Obie, who knelt beside him. "Good to see you too," he murmured.

The unease in Maggie's gut twisted, and she wondered if after everything that had happened in the last 24 hours, she was about to be sick on the floor.

"Good to see you," Obie smiled, and reached out to grip his shoulder-

"I never got to say goodbye to Dad," Tony said.

Obie froze. Maggie froze.

Tony turned to address the crowd of journalists. "I never got to say goodbye to my father."

Maggie sat rooted to the spot, staring. Staring at the darkness Tony now showed everyone in that room, glimmering in his eyes. His gaze flickered to her, just for a moment, before he stared back out resolutely at his silent, solemn audience. She had a flash-memory of their dad, his face broken and glowing with firelight.

Tony set down the cheeseburger. "There's questions that I would have asked him," he said evenly. "I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did."

Maggie's blank face furrowed into a frown. Surely…

He continued. "If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels."

A heavy, pregnant pause. Maggie could see more than a few people glancing over at her, as if to gauge her reaction. She wasn't sure what was on her face. She wasn't sure what she felt. She didn't know where this was going.

She'd never seen Tony look so serious.

"I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them," he said, not a tremor in his voice. Maggie's stomach sank. Our weapons. "And I saw that I" - he took a heavy breath - "had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."

He paused. A few of the seated journalists called his name, almost a whisper, their hands raised. Tony gestured at a young man in the front row.

"Hey, Ben," he murmured. Maggie didn't realize that he'd learned their names.

"What happened over there?" Ben asked, the question Maggie had been too afraid to voice.

Tony stared back at Ben for a few moments, before suddenly his voice rose and he got to his feet. "I - I had my eyes opened," he said, his gaze sliding over Maggie once more before he circled behind the lectern. "I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up." He stood there, above them all, his face set. Steeling himself. "And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark Industries-"

He may as well have set off a bomb right there in the press room. Everyone in the room shot to their feet, shouting questions, the cameras suddenly blinding, and Obie launched up with his hands out as if to hold Tony back.

In the midst of all that pandemonium, Maggie stayed seated. For a moment she only stared. And then a grin spread across her face, growing so wide that her cheeks ached.

Tony was still talking, even as Obie pushed him away from the microphones: "-until such a time as I can decide what the future of this company will be, what direction it should take, one that I'm comfortable with, and is consistent with the highest good for this country as well." Obie succeeded in getting him away from the lectern and took over, hands out as if quelling whatever had just happened, a reassuring smile on his face as he instantly started damage control.

Maggie didn't listen to it. She just sat there, smiling up at her wounded, impossibly brave brother as he stood above her.

Tony finally looked down and spotted Maggie, and his eyes widened at what he saw on her face. As if he'd been afraid of what might be there.

The room was still in uproar, journalists stretching their hands in the air and clamoring, Obie smooth-talking. Tony glanced around at them all, then looked back at Maggie. He jerked his head.

She shot to her feet and followed him out through the crowd, pressing through jostling elbows and shouted questions. She wasn't sure what her face showed them. They made it through and Pepper was there, eyes wide, gesturing them out a private door.

The door closed behind them, dimming the clamor of the press room. Tony's shoulders heaved with his racing breaths.

Shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark Industries.

Maggie burst into tears. One moment she stood behind the closed door, eyes burning, and the next she was weeping, face covered by her shaking hands, as her brother slowly turned to look at her.

She was sure it was some kind of delayed shock reaction to having Tony back, and at the announcement. She realized she had not cried for three months, had not cried the whole time Tony had been missing. Emotion she couldn't name flooded out of her, making her shoulders shake and her chest ache.

You're the Wyvern, she told herself crossly. Pull yourself together.

Tony, looking a little stunned himself, cautiously paused a few feet away from Maggie. He cocked an eyebrow at the tears streaming down her face.

Maggie shook her head, opened and closed her mouth. That blinding grin from before still teased at her lips despite her sobbing, probably making her look crazy.

She met Tony's dark eyes. "I didn't know how to ask," she finally said.

Realization crashed over Tony, making his brows pinch. He sighed. "I don't think I would have listened," he murmured. His gaze settled heavy on her face. "But I would now, Maggot. Let's go."

Maggie wiped her face, still shuddering, and let Tony take her arm.

Obie shut down the press conference and, practically roaring, gathered Pepper and the PR team in a separate room. He was in full-on damage control mode, and Pepper couldn't blame him. She still felt a bit detached from it all, as if her body hadn't quite accepted that yes, Tony just did that.

She disguised her numbness by getting started on sending emails and monitoring the press coverage, which was already exploding. She found herself scrolling through pictures and footage from the exact moment Tony had announced it, as if to convince herself. And she found herself struck by the image of him: steady despite his injuries, steely-eyed, determined. And in most of the photos, depending on the angle, you could see Maggie too: sitting on the ground a few feet away from Tony, grinning up at him with the widest smile Pepper had ever seen.

Maggie followed Tony to the last place anyone would expect them to go: the main manufacturing plant, with the glowing blue arc reactor in the lobby.

Maggie used her swipe card to get them through the doors, and then Tony strode up to the railing surrounding the massive reactor, his face tinged blue by its glow. Maggie came up to stand beside him, setting her hands on the cool railing. The reactor was one of the quietest energy generators in the world, only letting out a low, resonant hum. Maggie cocked her head as she looked up at it. Their father's creation.

She realized that she and Tony had not been alone together since that cafe in Marseilles.

Tony turned to look at her. "Be honest," he said with a glint in his eye. "Are you relieved because I'm back, or because you don't have to be in control of the company any more?"

She smirked. "Who says I'm relieved at all?" But her smile soon faded as she took in Tony's injured face. She had so many questions. Half of them she was afraid to ask. She jerked her head in the direction of the press room. "Are you sure about that?"

"I've never been more sure about anything," he said firmly. He eyed her face. "I… thought about asking you before I did it, but…" his jaw worked.

"You thought I'd say no."

He huffed a laugh. "Truthfully I had no idea what you'd say." He cocked his head, and she knew he was thinking of her blinding smile. "But… you wanted this."

She met his gaze wordlessly. Her mind was still reeling. She had thought that shutting down the weapons division was an impossible task, and maybe it still was, but Tony seemed to see paths where she thought there were none: he just announced it, like it was that easy. And they both knew this was going to cause chaos, but even though she'd been CEO for the last month or so, Maggie could not bring herself to regret it.

Tony eyed her face. "This is why you left, isn't it?"

Her lips pressed together. "Yes." Mostly.

He closed his eyes, gripping the railing with the hand not in a sling. "I should have realized. But I… I didn't see it, not until I was out there, seeing our weapons in their hands. Seeing what our weapons could do." His hand in the sling brushed his chest.

Maggie felt something hot roiling inside her chest. "They had our weapons."

His face darkened. "Yes."

Her jaw ground. Of everything she disliked about the company, she hadn't quite expected this. The Ten Rings. She swallowed lava.

"I should have told you how I felt," Maggie whispered, looking up at the humming arc reactor. "But I didn't know how. I just… I realized I was making horrific things, and I didn't… you were… and there was Dad-"

"I know," Tony said. He let go of the railing and reached out, and the next moment Maggie sank into his one-armed hug. They gripped each other, though she was careful not to hurt him again. He let out a long breath.

"I'm sorry about what I said," Maggie said, her chin on his shoulder. "I… I've been cruel."

Three months of agony tore at her lungs.

"I'm sorry too," Tony said. He pressed his lips to the top of her head, like he used to when she was little. Maggie closed her eyes.

"Tell me you're okay," she whispered.

He paused, and her heart stalled. But then he said: "I'm going to be. I'm… well, I'm not even in one piece, but-"

"But neither am I," Maggie chuckled at the old joke as she pulled away to look him over. He did seem alright. "So what now?" she asked.

Tony fidgeted. "Mags…" he glanced around, as if checking the area was clear (Happy had tracked them down and was waiting by a dark car outside, but he was scanning the perimeter). Maggie narrowed her eyes.

But then Tony's uninjured hand went to start unbuttoning his shirt.

Maggie covered her eyes. "Agh, what's wrong with you! Don't flash me!"

"Maggot," he said exasperatedly, and she finally peeled her hands away from her eyes.

Her stomach dropped at what she saw, followed by a twist of nausea.

Tony had a machine in his chest. She instantly recognised it for what it was: an arc reactor, miniaturized to the size of a fist, lightyears beyond the huge reactor to her left. But for once she didn't care about the science, or the genius. Because it was in his chest. She could see the thin, pale line of scarring around the metal. The reactor glowed, utterly silent.

"What did they do to you?" she whispered, torn between backing away and moving closer.

Tony's eyes shadowed at the look on her face. He hadn't been expecting it. "This is what's keeping me alive," he explained. "I got hit by shrapnel. This" - he tapped the cool metal - "is powering an electromagnet keeping the shrapnel from working its way into my heart."

Maggie's fingers curled into fists. She wanted to fly across that vast ocean and tear them all apart. Instead she just swallowed, her eyes still fixed on the reactor in her brother's chest. Tony watched her minute movements, his gaze focused. "Tell me," she said.

And Tony did. He explained about the missile blast, and the shrapnel, and a kind man named Yinsen who had operated to save Tony's life and attached him to a car battery. He told her about living in a cave for three months. He buttoned his shirt again, concealing the glow.

Maggie couldn't move. "Who had you?" She knew, she knew, but-

"They were called the Ten Rings," Tony said, his eyes darting away. "Rhodey said that none of them made it out."

Maggie pursed her lips. From what she understood of the Ten Rings, they wouldn't have had just one base, but… she shook away the thoughts. "How did you get out?" she whispered.

Something flashed over his face, but then they both noticed movement through the window: Obie, rolling up on a segway, with a cigar in his mouth.

"Meet me back at home," Tony said.

She cocked her head. "You're planning something." She knew the look. She'd worn that look. She didn't expect to see it on Tony's face. "Are you going to let me in on these plans?" She had some plans of her own: to track down whoever else had Stark weapons, track down the rest of the Ten Rings, and rip them to shreds.

Tony's lip quirked. "You know, I think I just might."

She eyed him for a moment longer, before nodding and heading for the door. Tony set his hand on the railing again and looked up at their father's arc reactor.

Maggie walked out the door just as Obie handed his segway over to Happy and turned, his gaze thunderous. His eyes softened a little as they landed on her.

"Maggie," he said, taking the cigar from his mouth. His gaze flicked over her. "Did you know he was going to do this?"

"No."

He tipped his head towards the manufacturing plant, where they could both see Tony standing in front of the reactor through the window. "Come help me talk him out of this, Maggie. I know you don't want the top job but you've put in all this hard work-"

"I'm sorry, Obie," she said, her shoulders straight. "That's the last thing I want to do."

He peered at her. "That's why you haven't been here all this time. You agree with him."

She shrugged helplessly. "I just couldn't do it any more."

"Hm." Obie drew another puff from his cigar, then put a hand on her shoulder. "Maggie, making weapons is what this company does. It's what your father did, and it's kept this world safe. It's not easy, but that's what makes it right."

The words struck her, needling at all those guilts she still held. She drew in a deep breath. "It can't be the only right thing," she said.

"It's the only thing we can do," he said firmly.

But Maggie knew that he was wrong. She had been trying to make the world a slightly better place for over two years now, without killing anyone. It might be illegal, but it felt more right than when she'd been working here. She just looked back at Obie wordlessly, and after a moment he sighed and turned to go into the manufacturing plant.

Maggie almost called after him: good luck. Because she'd seen the determination in Tony's eyes. She knew that there was nothing Obie or anyone could say to change his mind.

Maggie drove herself back to the mansion, put on a pot of coffee, and got changed out of her stiff work clothes. Her eyes itched and her brain felt like a melted puddle after the morning's events.

When Tony got back, driven by Happy, he walked into the living room to find Maggie stretched out on the couch, massaging the bit of limb below her right knee, sipping coffee. She hadn't taken off the prosthetic in over a day.

Tony's eyes then went to the rest of the house, taking in the wide windows overlooking the ocean, and the clean, tastefully-decorated interior.

Maggie realized this was the first time he'd been home in three months. She watched him carefully: he looked exhausted, with shadows under his eyes and his hair a mess. He'd taken his arm out of the sling.

"Welcome home, sir," said J.A.R.V.I.S., and Tony's tired, guarded expression broke into a smile.

"Good to be back, J. You keep this place running while I was gone?"

"Of course, sir."

"You're really back," Maggie murmured.

Tony glanced over at her again and spread his arms, though it made him wince. "I really am."

Maggie wondered if she would still be able to smile, still crack jokes, after three months of captivity. Her heart ached as she looked at him. "Tony, I'm… I'm sorry I couldn't…"

He raised his eyebrows at her. "What, singlehandedly stop me being kidnapped by terrorists?"

She frowned. "Yes." I should have kept trying to find you. I shouldn't have come back. She wondered if the guilt of it would always be with her.

Tony smiled at her, unaware of her guilt, and came over to slump on the couch beside her. She eyed him a few moments, trying to figure out what he was up to.

"What did Obie say?" she asked, to break the silence.

Tony sighed. "He's not happy with me, but he sees the arc reactor for what it is - an opportunity." Maggie could just see the glow of it, shrouded by his shirt. "I promised I'd stay low for a while, wait for things to blow over with the company."

"That makes sense." She nodded. "They were planning to give you a few weeks medical leave anyway."

"I don't need it."

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Is that thing in your chest up to code, then?"

He looked down. "I do need a new one." He met her eyes. "Want to help?"

Maggie pressed her lips together and considered Tony. He seemed more at ease after the press conference, but she could still see that darkness in his eyes. Something was driving him. And he was… he was being cautious. Keeping things close to the chest.

Tony sighed. "We've done it before, haven't we? Worked together to make something other than a weapon?"

She thought of her implants when she was a child, her leg. "Okay," she said simply. "But you have to tell me how you got out of that cave."

He eyed her for a few moments, and she realized that this was the secret he held so close to his chest. "Deal."

They went down to the workshop, where Tony spent a few minutes looking around at the space before they got to work. J.A.R.V.I.S. scanned the reactor in Tony's chest, and Maggie and Tony pored over the design. Maggie had known at first sight that the reactor was a stroke of genius, but she didn't realize…

"You made this in a cave?" She and Tony stood over his main workspace, gazing at the holographic design of the miniaturised arc reactor. The light glowed on their faces, in their eyes.

"Pretty cool, right?" He acknowledged.

"But how did you…" she reached out to turn the design, eyeing it. She didn't understand how he'd managed to generate the same power output with a much smaller device. "Oh. Palladium. You've used it as the conductor, that would certainly reduce the energy runoff..."

Tony's eyes glinted.

Her brow furrowed. "But where did you get - oh. The Dart missile." Her gaze flicked to Tony, and he nodded. The last missile she had made for Stark Industries: the lightweight, destructive weapon. It had Palladium filigree on its circuit board. She swallowed thickly. "They had Dart missiles." The idea of weapons she had personally designed in their hands added insult to injury.

Tony cocked his head. "I'm lucky they did. And I'm lucky that you convinced SI that the Palladium elements were worth the cost."

"Lucky you remembered," Maggie breathed. She cleared her throat. "Let's get to work."

They started work on a new and improved design for the Arc Reactor, focusing on sourcing the best materials available and fine-tuning Tony's already genius work.

And once Maggie wasn't so caught up in the excitement of discovery, she glanced sideways at Tony. "Will you tell me how you got out?"

She didn't know much. Just that there'd been an energy surge, and an explosion. And she could tell that the Arc Reactor was built to power so much more than an electromagnet.

Tony, busy twisting lines of light with his fingers, let out a sigh. "Maggie… just promise me you won't tell anyone else. I think the Arc Reactor is the way to go for SI, but it's not… it's not ready."

She met his eyes. She knew what he meant - he didn't want to risk the reactor falling into anyone else's hands. "Of course."

But he held her gaze, his eyes suddenly hard. "Can I trust you?"

Maggie's eyes widened. Tony had never had to ask her that before. He'd never had a personal agenda before. And she couldn't put together all the pieces of his plan, but… she knew what this meant. That he wasn't ready to put his faith in the company, or anyone. He was going to play this close to the chest. But he wanted to trust her.

"Yes," she said simply. With this, you can.

"Okay," he said, the hardness fading.

And then he told her about how he'd built a suit of armor.

They spent the rest of the day designing the new reactor, and when they were finished they left it to J.A.R.V.I.S. to manufacture it. Tony seemed inclined to stay in the workshop, but Maggie dragged him back upstairs.

She made them each a cup of tea, since there was no food in the house. "You need to rest," she told an uncharacteristically silent Tony. "Heal."

They sipped their tea in silence at the table, tiredness tugging at their eyelids. Maggie propped her head up with one hand. Her thoughts were torn every which way - Tony and his metal armor and his interesting new agenda, the mess they'd left behind at Stark Industries, and what lay beyond: The Ten Rings, and everything the Wyvern had been focused on before Maggie had returned to California.

She didn't notice the shift to Tony's face as he looked out the window at the dark expanse of the ocean. She did notice when he set down his mug and stood up, heading for the balcony. She blinked, then followed him.

Tony slid open the glass door and stepped out into the cool evening air. He leaned against the railing, his face set in stone.

Maggie hesitantly stood beside him. She wasn't sure what he needed.

A long silence passed.

Finally, Tony spoke: "Did you think you were going to die, in that car crash?"

Maggie's skin prickled. They hadn't talked about that night in over fifteen years. She let out a breath and leaned her forearms against the balcony railing, thinking about telling him about the metal armed soldier and her search. But she glanced at his shadowed face, and decided against it. He had enough villains in his life at the moment. So she simply said:

"Yes."

He still looked out at the ocean. "Were you scared?"

"Of course I was," she said softly. A long pause. "Were you?" She didn't have to specify what she meant. Shrapnel in his chest, three months in a cave with monsters.

"Yes, but…" Tony's face twisted.

"What?"

"I was also disappointed." His brow knitted. Maggie let him think it through. "It's such a stupid cliche, but I felt disappointed that I was going to die and I hadn't… I wasn't proud of the things I'd done, you know? I'd want to die for a good reason, and dying because of my own stupid weapons doesn't seem like a good enough reason. Yinsen… he told me not to waste my life."

Maggie wished she could take that weight for him. She sighed and followed his gaze out to the dark ocean which seemed to swallow up the sky. "Being afraid like that… it changes something inside you," she said softly. "Even when you're safe again, you don't… you don't feel safe in the way you did before. Because you've seen where the monsters lurk." This was as close as she had come to honesty. She swallowed it. She could feel Tony's eyes on her. "But you… I see you, Tony. I don't know what you're planning, other than making the Arc Reactor, but I can see you've come back with a purpose. And if you promise me that this plan of yours will make the world better, and that it won't destroy you, then…" her voice hitched and she turned to meet his gaze. "Then I will do everything I can to help you."

Tony watched her for a long moment, his eyes burning. Finally, he nodded.

"And for the record," she added. "I've never been disappointed in you." Salt breeze washed over them.

"But you haven't been proud of me either," he said wryly.

"Of course I have!" she said indignantly. "Though I will say that I've never been prouder of you than I was today."

He smiled, still looking out at the far horizon. "I was also disappointed because… we didn't leave things well, the two of us." He turned to look at her, and Maggie's heart twisted. "There's so much I don't know about you, Mags. You're… you've always been independent, but I feel like I don't know you. I feel like you lead a whole other life separate from mine." Maggie wondered if she could tell her heart was racing. "Hell, I don't even know what your favorite food is."

His words struck like a punch to her chest. My brother thought he was going to die, not knowing his sister. Maggie stared at him for a few long moments. She opened her mouth, not sure what to say.

I do lead a whole other life, she thought about saying. I am the Wyvern.

But… Tony didn't need more darkness, right now.

So instead she reached out wordlessly, and pulled her brother in for a hug. He stepped into it, his brows pinched, and when they pulled apart again Maggie's eyes were damp. Tony looked rough - the scrapes on his face standing out against his pale skin.

"Come on, big brother," she murmured. "My favourite food is pizza. And I'm going to order us some." Her eyes glinted, and he slumped with relief.

Please review with your thoughts if you've got the time! x

Are we all excited for WandaVision?

Reviews

DBZFAN45: The girl power between Maggie and Pepper is real, haha. And yes I did leave the reunion on a cliffhanger but I hope you enjoyed them reuniting this chapter! Thank you for reviewing :)

Liz: Thank you for helping fix that mistake! And thanks for your lovely review :)