Ok, not my best chapter but at least, the "Bobbi-complex" is now wrapped up. :) Well, almost ... There'll be another one - later. Meanwhile, tune in again to see what watching "The Bourne Legacy" triggered in that weird brain of mine ...

There And Back Again

Tony finally broke the silence.
"So – Bobbi, huh?"

"Yes."

"Short for Roberta, I assume?"

The Hawk shook his head and smiled.
"No. Short for Barbara."

"Really?" Tony's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Now, that's kinda unique."

"She was."

The archer seemed more relaxed now that he had told his story. He didn't say any more, so obviously, he was finished.

After a while, the silence grew too long. At least, for Tony. And besides, he still had some questions.

"You said Bobbi was the reason you ran away, but –" Tony shrugged. "I don't quite see the connection, to be honest."

The Hawk smirked.
"Look a little closer. You're a genius – sure you can see the pattern if you try a little harder."

Tony gave an indignant huff.
"I can just go back to bed, you know?"

The Hawk nodded.
"You're right. It's too early in the morning to play games."
He sighed.

"Remember when I said that nothing lasts forever?"

Tony nodded. That had been pretty early in their acquaintance but he did remember.

"Well, it's true, whether you want to acknowledge it or not. People change. People – they die, sooner or later, cos no one's immortal."
The Hawk flashed Tony a smile.
"Except for Thor, maybe, but I guess even he dies when you chop his head off or something like that."

He grew serious again.
"Thing is, even though we know each other so well and work together as a team most of the time, I've always managed to keep a certain distance to Tasha. Whenever she leaves on a solo mission – whenever I lose sight of her in a fight – I'm well aware it might be the last time I've seen her alive. I can live with that. Well, I could, until now. It worked just fine those past few years. But with you guys, I've been starting to lose that distance. I've been letting you get too close to me – and I've been getting too close to you. Too – attached."

The archer shook his head.
"Gods, I sound like one of those blasted shrinks from SHIELD."

"I think I get the picture", Tony said. "I mean, considering that we're not exactly working the world's safest job, what with stopping half an alien invasion every other week and so on …"

And with knowing what he did about the Hawk and his past – the shitty upbringing and what he had just been told about his wife – it wasn't surprising the man didn't want to get too attached to a bunch of people that might all be dead tomorrow.

The Hawk nodded.
"I'm really sorry for just disappearing like that. I had to get away – I needed to be alone for a while so I could think. Figure out what to do."

"Judging from all those boxes, you did", Tony said.

And if the decision was to leave, Tony knew he wouldn't stop him. Not after what he had just been told. If that was what the man wanted …

"How did you get here?" the archer suddenly asked. "Don't tell me you used public transportation. Or parked your car somewhere 'round here."
He looked slightly alarmed at that.

Tony shook his head.

"I had Happy drop me off down the street. I told him I'd call him when I needed him to pick me up again."

"Never mind. I can take you back to the tower tomorrow."
The Hawk threw a last sweeping glance over the city, then slid off the ledge.
"How about we have those beers now?" he asked with a grin.

Tony laughed.
"Sure, why not?"

"So, do you already know where you wanna go?" he asked when they were sitting on the couch, each with a bottle of cold beer they were sipping from.

The Hawk nodded.
"Yeah. And you can spare yourself the trouble of trying to change my mind."
He gave Tony a stern look.
"Cos I won't. I had enough time to think it all through."

"Fine."
Tony raised his free hand in a gesture of submission.
"Can't blame me for asking."

The Hawk smiled.
"Right", he agreed. "But I don't have to give you an answer."

Tony shrugged.
"Was worth a try."

So the Hawk didn't want to tell, which obviously also meant he wanted to keep his distance from them. It didn't matter. Tony would find out on his own, sooner or later. Not that he was going to bug and pester the guy – but it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on him, would it, just in case he ran into some trouble and needed – well, friends.

He emptied his bottle in one long draught.

"Let's go back to sleep", he said. "It's gonna be a busy day tomorrow."

They got up again a few hours later. It took them a while to move all the boxes to the van the Hawk had rented but in the end, they set out for Avengers Tower all too soon. Tony tried to think of something to say but just as the previous night couldn't come up with anything. Maybe he shouldn't have come for the Hawk himself. Maybe he should have sent Pepper. Or Banner. Or someone else who was better than him at finding the right words.

They arrived at Avengers Tower all too soon. The Hawk stopped the van.

"So – there we are", Tony said.

"No kidding."
The Hawk looked at him, obviously waiting for him to get out of the car so he could continue to wherever he had decided to go.

Tony hesitated. He ought to say something. Wish the archer luck – or something like that. Tell him he could always count on them. Whatever.

"Thanks for dropping me off", was all he could come up with, though.

He hated goodbyes. Usually, he kept them as short as possible. No need to prolong this, either. So he just nodded at the Hawk, got out of the van and walked away from it, towards the tower.

He didn't get very far.

"Hey!" the Hawk called after him.

Tony turned.

"You just gonna walk off and let me deal with all those boxes on my own or what?"
The archer gave Tony a mock glare.

Tony frowned.
"What do you mean?" he asked.

The Hawk threw his hands in the air.
"And I almost believed you when you said you were a genius."
He pointed at the van.
"Boxes. Out of car. Into elevator. Up there."
He pointed again, this time up the tower.
"Get it? Or do I need to write it down for you?"

"Oh."
And then, the penny really dropped for Tony.
"Oh! You – you're moving in here!"

The Hawk nodded.
"Yeah. As I said, I thoroughly thought this through and, well, I can just as well give it a go as not, right? If it doesn't work out, I can always –"

"Run away again?" Tony suggested with a grin.

"Something like that, yeah."
The archer turned away to open the van's rear door.
"So are you helping me now or what?"

"Got a better idea."
Tony took his phone from his pocket and switched it on.
"Jarvis? Send the others down to the tower's front entrance, will you? Barton and I need some help here."
He barely waited for Jarvis to acknowledge before he put his phone away again.
"You'll probably need more shelves in that room of yours …"