The first team argument broke out on a seemingly normal Thursday evening. Tony had come home in a obviously sour mood. He loosened his tie from his neck forcefully. He trudged up the stairs and found his way to his study. He shut the door behind him and collapsed into a leather arm chair. "Jarvis," he shouted.

"There's no need to raise your vo-"

"Yeah. Whatever. Access my playlist. Get some tunes up," he ordered. He reached over to an oak side table laid with crystal glasses and hard liquor. He poured himself a glass and took a swig. He could feel a headache rumble threateningly inside his skull. He knew that stress would lead to night terrors. Night terrors would lead to yet another sleepless night, and that was not something he could afford right now.

Black Sabbath roared over the speakers. Tony threw back his drink and closed his eyes to sink into his chair. "Turn it up."

"But, sir-"

"No. Jarvis. No buts. Turn it up."

The volume escalated instantly. It swallowed Tony whole. It left him in a void of nothingness. The only thing he could feel was the warmth of the booze in his esophagus. That was until Clint's voice pierced the serenity.

"What the hell are you doing?" Clint shouted above the song.

"Meditating," Tony grumbled.

"What?" Clint shouted again. "Jarvis turn this shit down!"

"Jarvis," Tony started warningly.

Natasha appeared in the doorway. "Tony can you please keep it down. Bruce doesn't like loud noises."

"It's my house. Therefore, I think I can do whatever I want," Tony replied shortly.

"Tony, please. Stop being a child. If you don't turn it down, the Hulk will make sure you don't have a house," Natasha said crossing her arms over her chest.

"Jarvis!" Clint shouted at the ceiling, "Jarvis I know you can hear me! I swear to God if you don't turn this music down I will shove an arrow so far up your hard drive-"

The music stopped instantly. "Traitor," Tony mumbled.

"Tony?" another Avenger had joined the small crowd gathering in the study. Naturally Steve had heard the commotion and had come to investigate. His facial expression was one of concern. Tony had seemed so easy-going. His behavior didn't seem characteristic at all.

"Please, can everyone just leave me alone?" Tony shouted. He suddenly felt as if the study was too small. He couldn't breathe. Clint turned to Natasha who shrugged in response. The two of them made for the door.

Clint turned to Steve who was rooted to the ground watching Tony crumble in his arm chair. "Come on, Cap," he said, "we've got over a thousand channels on the tube. I'll show you a few."

"Maybe later," Steve replied.

"Um, alright." Clint shrugged. There was an uncomfortable silence for a few moments before Natasha grasped his arm and pulled him from the study.

Steve took a seat in an arm chair across from Tony's. He said nothing, but watched Tony intently. He half expected Tony to shout at him like he had earlier. He had expected Tony to insist that he leave. Tony didn't. So they sat in a mutual silence for a while.

Finally Tony spoke, "Do you think that people can change?"

"Of course," Steve replied without hesitation.

Tony smirked. Of course. Good ole Captain America. Probably always sees the good in people, he thought. "I had a ton of meetings today, Steve," he said massaging his forehead with his fingertips. "Meetings with people who want to use my tech to make weapons. I keep telling them that Stark Industries doesn't do weapons anymore. You know what they tell me?" Tony felt bile building up in the back of his throat.

"What?"

"They tell me that I'm running my father's business into the ground. They tell me that a few years ago I would have jumped at the opportunity. That somehow I've gone soft," he spat the last word out.

"And you somehow think that you're remotely like who you were a few years ago?" Steve asked.

"Well, I mean. I don't know what to think. I'm doing what I know. I'm trying to run this goddamn company. I'm trying to save the world. Hell, I'm trying to stay sane. So a couple of guys in expensive suits flounce in and tell me that I'm a disappointment. That my father would be ashamed?" Tony was clearly flustered.

"From what you've just described, I think your father would be proud," Steve said quietly.

Tony couldn't help but smile a bit. He poured himself another drink and offered one to Steve who politely declined. He drained his glass and replaced it on the table. "I'm sorry," he finally said.

"Sorry for what?" Steve asked.

"Unleashing my problems on you like that."

Steve chuckled, "Well, what are friends for?"

Friends. It had never occurred to Tony that he and Steve were friends. Hell, Tony didn't know he even had friends. He had the team. He had Pepper. "Yeah," Tony said thoughtfully. "Thanks."

"Thanks for what?" Steve asked.

"I don't really know, but I feel like I should thank you."

Steve chuckled again, this time it lifted Tony's spirits enough for him to join in.

x~x~x~x~x

"Man, Tony sure has some issues," Clint said scrolling through the television channels lazily.

"Everyone has issues," Natasha replied simply. She was engrossed in the pages of a novel. Clint turned slightly so that he could watch her out of the corner of his eye. He had seen unkept Natasha only a few times before. He was actually enjoying the careless way her curls tumbled down around her shoulders. She doesn't look too bad in a pair of sweats either, he mentally noted.

"Stop it," she said flipping the page.

"Stop what?" Clint turned his attention to the television screen and hastily flicked through a few more channels.

"Stop analyzing me."

"I think the term you were looking for was 'checking out'" Clint corrected.

Natasha looked up at him and rolled her eyes. Clint fought a smile back. For being the most dangerous woman in the world, she could be pretty damn adorable sometimes.

"There might be a movie on, want to watch?" Clint asked.

"Unprofessional." was Natasha's response.

"Christ. Tasha, it's a movie. We're pretty much on opposite sides of the couch!"

"If I agree, will you quiet down?"

"Maybe," Clint shrugged.

She smiled a bit before marking her place and closing her book.

Well, that's a first step, Clint thought as he selected the channel with the movie. It turned out to be a rather dull romantic comedy that skipped the theaters and went straight to DVD. They watched in silence. The minutes formed an hour which found Natasha passed out on her side of the couch. Clint flicked the television off and stood up to stretched. He glanced back at Natasha's sleeping form on the couch. Even though she looked at peace, he knew her defenses were still probably up.

He retrieved a thick afghan that was draped across a nearby easy chair. He laid it over Natasha and she did not stir. He turned and left the room, flicking the lights off after him. She lay still in the darkness for a moment before smiling a bit and pulling the afghan tighter around herself and surrendering to sleep.

I'm sorry for being so bad at updating D:

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter