I own nothing. But the plot.
Chapter 1: … Depressed
Steve had thought, the first time he meet Tony, that his snarky and disrespectful attitude was annoying, but now he would do almost anything to get that back. The man he had come to think of as a friend had been silent ever since that strange letter had been placed in front of him six months ago. Holding up either in his lab or in his and Pepper's private quarters.
And that was only when the Billionaire was even present at the Tower. The resident Avengers had been painfully quiet and it was driving them insane. Steve was worried and he also knew that he wasn't the only one. Natasha, who had become quite good friends with Pepper, had questioned Pepper about the sorry state that Tony and even she was in. Unfortunately for them, Pepper's loyalty to Tony outweighed her need to inform the Avengers about their team member's mental state. In a final attempt to understand Tony, Natasha had tried to hack into the left over SHIELD files that could reveal something about their friend's sudden depression. She had been somewhat successful. She had found the names Dianna Granger and Martin Granger in a file attached to Tony's, but JARVIS had shut her down almost immediately when she tried to dig a little deeper. She had found out that the two were father and daughter and where somehow related to somebody high in the former SHIELD ranks.
Clint had been more worried about the way their friend had dived into his liquor cabinet, almost as soon as he had returned from the "Ambassadors";Pepper being the only thing holding him back. He had also noticed that the women in question had become just as isolated as her boyfriend. Hiding out with him in their private quarters, only leaving for business meetings and to revisit the Ambassadors with Tony. Keeping an eye on the liquor in the cabinets, Hawkeye had sat by his best friend whilst she hacked away. He had noticed that a bottle of whiskey and the two bottles of scotch had been missing, which only an hour prior had been standing pride of place and unopened in the cabinet. The ex-SHIELD agent had been worried, Tony may have reined his drinking in over the last couple of years, but during his consideration for the Avengers imitative it had been suggested that a drinking ban would be best for Iron Man. Once Tony had been on the team he had drank less but now he was seemingly attempting to pick up where he left off. The constant visits to the "ambassadors" seemed to worsen his status. Clint, out of concern, had attempted to follow them one day. He had assumed that a master assassin like himself would be able to follow one of the most notable faces in the world. He never expected to lose them after they entered a bar, to which he wasn't been given access to. He had waited for three hours before he had to give in and return to the Tower.
Bruce, who had been the closest to Tony apart from Pepper and Rhodey, had been locket out of Tony's private lab ever since the letter's arrival. It was confusing; the two had been almost inseparable ever since the team had been first introduced. Tony was now dragging himself from one lab to another working on new projects almost every week. Bruce was almost incapable of keeping up with his eccentric friend. Now he stood outside the lab threatening to "Hulk-out" just to get a reaction. It worked once when Tony had opened the door to the lab with a bottle of scotch in his hand looking at his friend with virtually dead eyes, almost daring him to. Being used to being one of the few people Tony confided in Bruce was frightened to be left out of the loop, whilst Rhodey (who arrived the day after the letter) and Pepper formed a circle for Tony to somewhat function in. Just like the others, he was losing his mind in the radio silence.
However it was Thor who seemed to understand Tony the best, to the surprise of all. The Divine Avenger despite spending less time around the others due to his relationship with Jane Foster, seemed to have understood an aspect of Tony Stark that no one else had quite grasped yet.
"I believe that Friend Tony is mourning family", the god stated without looking up from Jane who had come to visit the tower with Darcy. The Avengers where currently meeting in the public living area, explaining the situation to the new comers.
"Tony hasn't got any extended family", Natasha said almost immediately correcting him. "His parents was all that he had."
"I do not speak of family bound by blood Lady Natasha, I rather speak of those made through companionship. I, myself, see Lady Sif and the Warriors three as my kin and my… my brother may have been adopted, yet that made him no less my brother." A tough look graced the god of thunders' face when he continued, "I believe, Mr Rhodes is what Tony would consider a brother."The group looked at the thoughtful god a little, shocked at the insight he provided. For a moment nobody could speak. The idea that Tony considered somebody family outside of Pepper and Rhodey was almost unthinkable, but not impossible. Tony wasn't the most open person but it wasn't impossible to have somebody. It was Steve who found his voice first.
"Well if they did work for SHIELD, it wouldn't be that unthinkable. Howard was close with most of the other founders."
Natasha nodded: "The woman, Dianna, she was only a couple of years younger than Tony. They could have played together." Shrugging, the group was about to continue their discussion when the object of their discussion appeared in the doorway. Rhodey and Pepper each behind him looking overly concerned. Tony looked terrible, dark rings hung underneath his red eyes. He had a couple of scrapes which seemed to have come from assaulting the lab walls which Bruce has admitted seeing him do and his entirestance was that of a broken man. Pepper didn't seem that much better either; her eyes being just as red and puffy as if she had been crying. Rhodey seemed to just about to hold it together when he gave the group a meaningful look. Nodding in agreement, he silently asked them to change the subjects.
As he sat down on the sofa, Tony eyed a glass that had been set in front of him by Pepper. "What's that?"he asked in a horse voice.
"Water."Tony screwed up his nose, looking unpleased with the idea. Pepper noticed the look and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You will drink it and then you will drink another with some food." He growled at his girlfriend's demand, looking at Rhodey for help. Rhodey, however, held his hands up in a surrendering position and shook his head.
"Don't look at me, Pepper's in charge now." The redhead in question looked more than pleased when Tony picked up the glass and downed it. Sharing a look of triumph with the others in the room, she spotted Jane who was sitting next to Thor opposite them and gave her a smile and offering a hand.
"You must be Jane. I'm Pepper Potts, it's nice to meet you." Before anybody could say anything JARVIS spoke up.
"Mr Stark, I hate to interrupt but I believe I have some good news, sir." Tony looked from his glass up to the ceiling in disbelieve.
"Go on then JARVIS, give it to me."
"Sir, somebody accessed the tower with Mr. Shacklebolt's ID card." In an instant, Tony was on his feet grabbing Pepper's hand as he shot towards the lift which activated at the entrance for the Avengers living quarters. Shocked by the sudden activity, the others slowly got to their feet following the couple. They could here Tony's voice returning to normal as he grumbled at the opening doors.
"You better have good news for me Kingsley!" He hissed as the others came in to the perfect view of the lift. "Or you…", before he could finish his threat,Tony's eyes widened when the occupants of the lift were reveiled. Everyone in the room fell silent when they recognised one of them. Strolling out of the lift, came Agent Phil Coulson. Exactly as they had seen him before the confrontation with Loki, smartly dressed in a suit with a small smile on his face. It took the group a while before they noticed that neither Tony nor Pepper were even giving the thought dead agent a second glance. Their eyes were fixed on his companion.
Slowly, they turned their attention to her as well. A teenage girl or what was left of one. She was sickly pale covered in dust and blood and severely underweight. She smiled weakly at up at Tony and Pepper. With a slight smirk she declared in a crisp British accent,
"I lost my ID."
Before almost collapsing to the ground, Tony caught her in his arms. Falling to his knees and pressing her against him. Pepper joining them as the girl began to cry.