A/N: If you want an awesome playlist, I listened to these songs on repeat while writing this chapter:
"All Too Well" (Taylor Swift)
"Turn Your Face" (Little Mix)
"Beez in the Trap" (Nicki Minaj)
"Talk Dirty to Me" (Jason Derulo)
"So What?" (Field Mob feat. Ciara)
Chapter 17
Seven Weeks Later . . .
"So, who do you think would win in a fight—robots or clowns?" Bucky asks early on a Wednesday Morning.
Tony thinks for a moment. "Robots."
"You think?"
"Of course, especially if I designed them," Tony explains. "Why? Do you think clowns would win?"
"Uh, yeah," Bucky responds. "They're clearly superior, and have you seen how many of them can fit into a car?"
Tony grins. "Is that a challenge?"
Bucky returns the grin. "You know it. Forty bucks says you're wrong."
"You're on, Barnes."
The door to Tony and Bucky's hospital room opens and Coulson walks in, nodding to the two men in greeting. The Agent has two clipboards in his hands and a navy blue duffel bag hanging off his shoulder. "The Doctor gave me your results," he announces, raising the clipboards in his right hand slightly for emphasis.
Tony takes a breath, hoping for good news. His cast came off last week, and both of their ribs have completely healed. He and Bucky are ready to leave this hospital. They miss the freedom, New York, and the team.
Ever since their first phone call with the Avengers, Tony and Bucky have talked with them almost every day about a variety of topics. Tony had gotten Bucky's phone working again one day while the other man was sleeping, so the soldier could distract the others while Tony talked to Steve about technical things.
Steve informed Tony that he found Dummy, installed JARVIS successfully to the mansion (the AI was thrilled to be back), secured Tony's wrecked suits and experiments (both finished and unfinished), and placed all items in the mansion's lab. Even though he is also the project head of both Avengers Tower and the Mansion's restoration, Pepper and Natasha took charge of the décor because they're both better at design than he is.
Coulson clears his throat, pulling Tony out of his thoughts. "It looks like good news," the Agent says as he scans over their charts. "The Doctor is giving you both the all clear. We can leave as soon as you both are checked out."
Both men let out loud exclamations of joy and relief.
Coulson smiles before tossing the duffel bag onto Tony's bed. "There are four changes of clothes in there for each of you. I'll check you both out of the hospital while you get changed," he announces before leaving the room.
The two men eagerly climb out of their beds before opening the duffel bag and getting dressed. After changing, the pair sits back on their beds, barely able to contain their excitement about finally being able to leave.
Coulson returns to the room five minutes later to find both men dressed. "Ready to go?"
"Hell yeah," Tony and Bucky say together before laughing.
The Agent nods. "Good. There's a car waiting outside. Let's go."
Tony and Bucky stand from their beds before following Coulson out of the room.
Six and a half hours later, the Quinjet lands at JFK International Airport. Tony's surprised that the flight passed by quickly, thought it could be because he fell asleep for a few hours at one point. Coulson steers and parks the Quinjet in one of the many private airport hangars.
The trio quickly exits the jet and heads for the black sedan parked in front of the hangar. Shield must have dropped the car off for them—how nice. Coulson climbs into the driver's seat with Tony in the passenger side and Bucky sitting behind the Agent.
"Where are we headed?" Coulson asks after everyone is settled.
"890 Fifth Avenue," Tony says responds.
Coulson nods his confirmation before putting the car in gear, maneuvers out of the airport, and onto the main road.
Tony looks around the city, furrowing his brow. Something about the way Coulson is going seems familiar. When he was younger, Jarvis would sometimes take him on car rides to the supermarket, and Tony is almost ninety percent sure that Jarvis took this exact same path back to the mansion.
Coulson turns a corner and there, in front of them, are the ruins of Stark immediate area surrounding the tower and the two fallen buildings has been completely blocked off, with Shield Agents, Construction workers, and Crime Scene Cleanup scattered on site. The debris has been largely moved away, seeing as the road is travelable, but Tony can see some wooden planks sticking out of the hole where the Tower once stood.
The brunet feels overwhelmed with anger. He still can't believe that Hydra attacked his home, especially when the Avengers weren't around. Tony can't stop his thoughts from drifting to Rhodey. What if Rhodey wasn't in the tower when it was attacked? Shield wouldn't have had as quick of a response time as his friend did.
Tony shakes his head slightly, unable to stop the guilt from creeping up on him. He takes a breath, trying to calm himself down. Hundreds of people could have been killed, all because of Skull and these stupid trials, and there isn't a damn thing Tony can do about it. It's not like he can go back in time and prevent all this shit from happening. (Well, technically, he could, but it would take too long and he doesn't have the proper equipment anymore).
The brunet sighs. Tomorrow, he really needs to get down to the lab and speak with JARVIS about everything. Talking with the AI always helps him think better. Besides, JARVIS was in Shield's servers, and it will be easier to hack into their database and gather Intel now that the AI has already been there once. Speaking of Intel . . .
"Do you have any other information on The Situation?" Tony asks, directing his question towards Coulson. He began referring to the attack on the Tower and the subsequent aftermath as "The Situation," because saying "The Stark Tower Situation" is not only a mouthful, but also just hearing the phrase upsets him greatly.
Coulson glances at what is left of the building before turning back to the road. "As of now, nothing I haven't already told you. I'll know more once I return to the Helicarrier."
Tony furrows his brow. He tears his gaze away from the ruins of his tower to look at Coulson. "You haven't gone back Shield?"
"Negative. I've been in London with you two for the entire seven weeks you have been hospitalized. Fury thought it would be a good idea for a trained Agent to stay in the event that someone had the balls to attack two Avengers while they were vulnerable state," Coulson explains.
"Fury could have asked anyone," Tony questions, suspiciously.
"Affirmative."
Tony knows the Agent personally stayed behind of his own free will because he was worried and didn't want to leave their care up to some random stickler agent. The brunet hums in response.
Conversation dies down not too long after those comments. Tony turns back to look at Bucky, who's been mostly silent thus far. The former soldier is gazing out the window, watching the city pass by with a nostalgic look and a slight smile on his face. Tony feels horrible for Bucky—the other man hasn't had any time to enjoy being back in New York. Almost as soon as the Avengers returned from Russia, they had to start the second trial.
The genius is still trying to find a way to get Bucky to talk with him about everything that happened over a month ago, but he hasn't found the right time. Sure, they did spend seven weeks in the same room, but that was more of the pair properly getting to know each other. Tony spent most of their time together teaching Bucky about the modern world and answering any questions the other man had, which were mainly about Shield. The brunet made sure he answered those questions when Coulson wasn't around.
Tony doesn't make friends easily, and he's honestly surprised at how close he and Bucky have gotten. It helps that he and Bucky have similar personality types and the same sense of humor. It's like Jarvis always said, "It's hard to be around someone who doesn't know how to laugh, especially at themselves." The brunet smiles, recalling a time when Steve told him that one of the reasons the blond was initially drawn to Tony was his sense of humor.
Speaking of Steve, Tony's been missing his boyfriend like crazy. Even though the pair talked on the phone nearly every day that he was in the hospital, it's still not the same as being with Steve in person. Tony sighs. Before they headed out on the jet, Tony and Bucky promised each other that they wouldn't contact the other Avengers about their homecoming (Bucky said he's always wanted to surprise someone by just suddenly appearing), but the brunet can feel his self-control slipping away.
Tony pulls out his phone, and begins dialing Steve's number. He can't keep this news from the blond anymore.
"Who are you calling?" Bucky asks curiously, speaking for the first time since the trio landed back in the states.
"Steve," Tony responds. "I know we wanted to surprise the team, but I—hey! Give me back my phone." He frowns at Bucky, who expertly swiped Tony's phone from his hands and puts the device on speaker.
The phone rings three times before Steve answers.
"We in New York, bitch!" Bucky exclaims, enthusiastically before Steve even got the chance to say hello.
Steve's laughter rings over the line. "Are you serious right now?"
"We're pretty fucking serious, Stevie," Bucky responds. "Phillip the Third is driving us to the Mansion as we speak."
"That's not my name," Coulson responds. "At least "The Third" part anyway. You make me sound like I'm some fairytale character."
"Well, you are our knight in shining armor, after all," Tony teases.
"He rescued the fair maiden's from their despair like a true gentlemen," Bucky responds with a grin.
Coulson rolls his eyes, but Tony doesn't miss the fond smile on his face.
The blond laughs again. "Agent Coulson, I cannot thank you enough for taking care of my boys," Steve says grateful. "They would have been completely helpless without you."
"Well, not completely," Tony answers.
Bucky scrunches his brow. "Maybe just a little."
Tony raises an eyebrow. "You think?"
"In our defense, we were pretty rough," Bucky says. "Otherwise, we could have handled it. Maybe."
Coulson clears his throat. "It's no problem at all, Steve."
"Steve, he's so flustered right now," Tony says amused.
"Totally flustered. He looks like one of those candied hearts you'd get for Valentine's Day," Bucky responds.
"You two can walk the rest of the way."
Tony snorts. "There's no point because we're already here."
"In that case, I'll see you both in a bit."
"Okay, bye."
"Bye, Stevie."
"Goodbye, Steve."
Bucky hangs up the phone and hands it back to Tony as Coulson pulls up to the dual black steel gates that reside in front of Stark Mansion. The gates open automatically and the Agent drives up the short driveway before coming to a stop in front of the large building.
Stark Mansion, itself, is the size of a city block. It has three above ground levels and three basement floors. The first level is the "entertainment area" as Tony's mother used to call it. There, the Stark's would greet and host and multitude of guests and parties, acting as though they were the perfect New York family.
The second floor was where Tony grew up—his bedroom was on one side and his parents on the other. Howard spent most of his time in his study located across from his bedroom drinking, working on doomed projects, and trying to find Cap (who turned out to be twenty miles in the opposite direction from where Howard was originally looking). His mother was mostly out shopping or with her friends, exchanging stories and tales that Tony doesn't know to this day. The billionaire, on the other hand, spent his time with Jarvis, showing off his inventions and watching the butler's face light up with interest and pride. The third above ground level was mostly used for storage. His parents had more use out of that room than he did.
In regards to the basement, the first level was Howard's workshop, where the man spent the time not devoted to being in the study. The second floor was Tony's lab, where he proudly tinkered to his heart's content. That is, until he was forced to leave by either Jarvis's gentle prodding or Howard's stern words. The third level was always unused. Tony's thinking that he could turn that last basement into a training ground for the Avengers. After all, he has no idea how long it's going to take him to build Avengers Tower.
"So, this is the infamous Stark Mansion?" Coulson asks, looking at the building with indifference.
"Yep, in the flesh," Tony responds.
"Can we go inside?" Bucky asks, with excitement in his tone.
"Sure, we are going to be living here, after all," Tony says before turning to Coulson. "Thanks for the ride and for, well, everything you've done until now."
"No problem," Coulson responds. "I'm happy to help. Don't forget to take the duffel with you. Those clothes should tide you over for a few days until you can get back out. "
"We won't, thank you." Tony smiles at the man before exiting the vehicle, with Bucky in tow. The latter grabs the duffel bag, while Tony looks up at his childhood home. As Coulson drives off, the brunet feels like he's about to enter a prison that was crafted especially for him. He'd probably feel even worse if Bucky wasn't beside him shaking like an excited Chihuahua.
The billionaire rolls his eyes. "You know the two of us are going to have to go shopping," he says in an effort to distract himself from the Mansion towering over him.
Bucky scrunches his face as they begin to walk to the mansions large oak double doors. "Oh please. I'll just borrow Stevie's clothes for the time being."
Tony snorts. "Do you think he'll mind?"
Bucky shrugs. "Probably not. We used to share clothes all the time. Well, I wasn't able to borrow his clothes after I turned thirteen because his were too small."
Before Tony can respond, Bucky continues, "Plus, I absolutely detest shopping."
Tony laughs before pulling open one of the doors before both men enter the mansion. The brunet pauses after shutting the door. Something seems off about the entryway—it looks nothing like he remembered. Maybe it's been too long, but Tony can tell that something is different.
"Welcome back, sir. Master Barnes."
"Yo."
"It's great to be back, JAR."
"My friends!" Thor booms joyously. He leads the Avengers into the entryway from what Tony remembers as the living room.
Bucky and Tony are immediately surrounded, exchanging hugs and greetings with each of their teammates. Clint engages Bucky in a conversation about what he's missed over the past month and a half. Tony stands on his toes and gives Steve a long overdue welcome home kiss. When they part, Tony embraces the man tightly, smiling when he feels arms wrap around him.
The brunet pulls away from Steve's arms a few moments later and glances around the area again, a confused look falling over his features. "Is all this new? What happened to the old furniture?"
"Oh, um, I had it moved to a storage unit I'm renting down by the harbor," Steve says with a hint of nervousness in his tone. "I mean, you did say that you wanted new memories here and I thought that you wouldn't want to be reminded of the past. I . . . hope that's okay?"
Tony feels overwhelmed. Never in his life has he felt such a strong love for someone as he does for Steve. He can't even begin to comprehend at how touched he is that Steve do something as simple as replacing the furniture to make sure that Tony is comfortable being in this house again. "I love you."
Steve furrows his brow. "Does that mean it's okay?"
"It's more than "okay" . . . it's perfect," Tony says before planting a hard, enthusiastic kiss on Steve's lips.
The blond flinches in surprise before returning the affection. He breaks the kiss a few moments later and smiles at Tony. "I love you too."
Tony smiles back before scrunching his brow. "Wait, where did you get all this furniture?"
Natasha clears her throat. "I can answer that. Steve came to me after he placed everything in storage and asked if I could choose the new décor for the mansion. He said that I have excellent taste."
"He's not wrong; this place looks fantastic," Tony agrees. "How did you . . .?"
"My Stark Card, which you had so graciously bestowed upon me," Natasha teases with a grin.
Tony snorts, amused. "Well, clearly, we have excellent taste," he teases back.
"Pepper didn't think so."
The billionaire raises an eyebrow. "She didn't?"
"Yeah, she called wondering why there was so much charged to my account," Natasha says. "She lectured me for over an hour on how I need to be more responsible with my money—despite the fact that I am a grown ass woman—so that I don't "pull a Tony" whatever the hell that means."
"It involved forty grand, and a swimming pool, but it's a long story that I'm not telling," Tony says.
"So, how about we go into the newly furnished living room and watch a movie?" Steve says, changing the subject, and preventing Tony from being forced into telling a long and embarrassing story.
"You know, there's actually a movie I DVRed last night I've wanted to see," Bruce says. "You guys want to watch it with me?"
"Sure," Tony says. "What's it called?"
"Return of the Dragon 2,"Bruce says.
"Return of the Dragon 2 came on last night and I missed it?" Bucky exclaims. "Oh God, I have committed sacrilege."
"You know those movies?" Natasha questions.
"Three weeks ago, BCC One showed a marathon of The Dragon, The Dragon 2, The Dragon's Revenge, and Return of the Dragon as part of their "Bad Movie Monday,"" Tony explains.
"And they were awful!" Bucky gushes. "Terrible, terrible movies, but I love them regardless!"
"When I told Bucky that I read online they were airing the sequel in a few days, he was so excited. Two hours before the movie came on, he accidentally fell asleep and woke up right as the credits were rolling," Tony continues.
"I was completely disappointed in myself," Bucky says. "How could I do such a horrible thing?"
"If it makes you feel any better, I missed it too," Bruce says. "Thankfully, BCC America replays everything that airs on BCC One so we can watch it now."
"I'll make the popcorn," Clint calls before leaving the room and heading for the kitchen.
"Come on," Natasha says as she tugs on Tony's shirtsleeve. "I want to show you the living room. I'm quite proud of it."
Tony exchanges a curious look with Steve before allowing Natasha to pull him into the living room.
The room itself is slightly larger than the average studio apartment in the city. The center wall is two thirds filled with a giant plasma television. A small black entertainment center sits underneath the television with the DVR, cable box, Wii, and Blu-Ray player sitting on top of the stand. A medium sized glass coffee table is placed in the center of the room. The two couches and two recliners in the area are both made of a black leather material. One of the couches is placed against the left wall. One of the chairs, the second couch, and the second chair are placed in front of the coffee table in that order. There are three faux potted plants placed in the room, and several magnificent pieces of artwork hanging on the walls.
Tony marvels at Natasha's work. The assassin really did a fantastic job on everything. He can't wait to see the rest of the house.
"Nat . . . this is wonderful," Tony says, feeling genuine awe.
"Thank you," Natasha responds with a smile.
"You didn't get any of this at Costco, did you?" Tony asks. Costco has been public enemy number one on Tony's radar ever since he was forced into paying over fourteen thousand dollars in damages. Well, he wasn't forced, but it's not like he was going to have Nat and Clint pick up the bill when he has more than enough.
Natasha rolls her eyes. "Of course not. Besides, Clint and I are banned for life, so there's also that."
Tony snorts.
The team fully enters the room and settles down. Natasha and Bruce plop down on the couch placed against the wall. Bucky and Thor settle down in the two chairs, reclining both items and letting out joint sighs of relief. Steve and Tony settle on the other couch. The brunet immediately curls himself against Steve's side, smiling when he feels the blond's arms wrap around him, and lips press against his hair.
Clint walks into the living room, with seven bags of popcorn in his hands. He passes a bag out to each Avenger, keeping one for himself. "JARVIS, can you play Return of the Dragon 2, please?"
"As you wish, Master Barton," the AI responds.
The archer plops down on the couch between Natasha and Bruce as JARVIS loads the movie. "You guys ready for this."
"I've been ready for the last two weeks," Bucky says, excited. "Let's do this."
Clint grins as the movie begins to play.
Three hours later, the movie ends.
"Best worst thing I've ever seen," Bucky says.
"Agreed," Bruce says. "Do you think they'll make another one?"
"Probably," Natasha responds. "These movies are extremely popular despite how bad they are. They're almost as ridiculous as Sharknado."
"Don't even get me started on Sharknado," Tony says. "That one will go down in history."
"Yeah, as one of the most hilariously bad movies in existence," Steve says.
Natasha snorts.
Clint stands and stretches. He grabs the remote off the coffee table before turning off the television. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm hitting the sack. Goodnight," the archer announces before leaving the room.
Soon after, Natasha, Bruce, Bucky, and Thor all file out, leaving Steve and Tony alone in the main living room. Steve stands and stretches, sighing as he feels his muscles pop. "Let's go upstairs."
"Ooooh," Tony says with a grin. He rises from his seat and follows Steve to the elevator. "We're going upstairs . . ."
Steve laughs as the elevator doors open. He walks inside, followed by Tony. The latter wraps his arms around Steve's neck, and pulls the taller man down for a passionate kiss. The soldier pulls away and presses the button that would take them to the third floor. Keeping the shorter male wrapped in his arms, Steve nuzzles the top of Tony's head and smiles at the brunet's content sigh.
The elevator dings and the doors open, signaling their arrival. Steve untangles himself from Tony, grabbing the other man's hands and leading him into the master suite. Tony leans upward and kisses Steve again, nibbling at his bottom lip. The blond lets the kiss continue for a few moments before pulling away, much to the other's displeasure.
"Steve . . ." Tony whines.
Steve grins. "We're just going to sleep, Tony," he says in an amused tone.
"Are you sure? Because I'm up for anything," Tony says through a yawn.
Steve chuckles. "It's time for bed."
"I haven't even been up that long," the genius protests.
"Oh, really?"
Tony opens his mouth to retort, but is cut off by a yawn.
Steve gives Tony another amused look.
Tony sighs. "Fine, I'll go to bed," he said before stripping down to his underwear, and crawling under the covers.
Steve snorts. He slides under the covers and kisses Tony's lips, smiling when the younger man places a hand on the back of Steve's neck to prevent him from moving.
Eventually, the need for air arises and Tony regretfully parts from Steve. "I love you."
Steve smiles and briefly kisses Tony. "I love you, too." He stretches and turns out the lamp next to the bed. Steve turns, wraps an arm around his lover's waist and pulls him closer. Steve places a kiss on Tony's forehead.
Tony sighs contently and settles against the soldier. He closes his eyes and falls asleep to the sound of Steve's steady breathing.