Footpaths (part 2)

On Tuesday the 1st there is a monthly team meeting and Tony awaits it impatiently: they are finally moving past what we did towards to do and that's exactly what he prefers to think about. Tony smiles at Steve when he sees him, Steve waves back and even if his eyes are a bit distant, as if his mind was somewhere else, the greeting is easy and natural and Tony likes that, too.

Phil is professional and focused as always, ignoring Clint's stares and an occasional rustle of a chips bag calmly.

'We don't have anything for the whole team for this month, unless something unexpected happens, as always. There are a few individual things this time, though,' he adds, opening another file on the top of the previous one and looking through the papers. 'Steve, Natasha, this is for you – we'll need you in Russia for a few weeks,' he says, sliding two pieces of paper towards them. Level 6, Tony notices.

'So I'm sitting here and going stir crazy again?' Clint questions, frowning.

'You and me, we'll be taking a trip to visit Jane Foster in New Mexico, she asked for a meeting so we'll give her one.'

'Awesome,' Clint grins enthusiastically, nodding to himself. 'Is Darcy going to be around? Please, please tell me she'll be around,' he adds in a half-singing voice and Phil groans. Tony hasn't met this Darcy but now he's pretty curious about who is she to make Phil react like that.

'Iron Man, we've got something for you, too, it's pretty urgent,' Phil says, putting a file in front of Tony who is sitting on the man's right. He nods and opens it, skimming through the text as Bruce tells the team his plans for the month; Hulk isn't exactly the one to be sent to a covert missions.

Level 6, Bosnia, it says on the top of the file. Tony is glad it's not Middle East again, it's so much easier to fly for six hours instead of twelve.

Towards the end of the meeting Tony looks at Steve subtly – not that anyone would notice anyway, given the helmet – to see if Cap indicates that he wants to talk or something, but before they can actually exchange a word, Phil calls Steve and Natasha to stay with him and talk about the mission. It will probably take a long time since it's a few weeks, according to Phil's earlier words. So Tony gives them all a nod, makes his way to the roof and flies off.

He has his chance to talk to Steve on the usual first Sunday sparring session that comes just two days later. On Saturday, Tony spends a few long hours at Riverside and back at home he looks at the new element's – he hasn't decided on a name yet – experiments results and starts to work on blueprints for a big reactor with a new core. He needs precise calculations for the core's size and shape and the work in more theoretical that he would like, at this point, so it goes slowly. Tony finally goes to sleep around 2 a.m., after several cups of tea, and when he wakes up it's time to go to the HQ.

He's feeling a bit tired from yesterday's five hours of playing with a bunch of hyperactive kids, but JARVIS helps a lot during fights anyway, so everything goes fine. Even Hulk comes out to play, like he calls it, so Tony has a few rounds against him. Hulk is very fond of Iron Man, at least as much as green rage monster can be, and he's learning to communicate more and more efficiently with each time he's out, so Tony calls the whole training a definite win.

When Iron Man is done with his training rounds and he's watching Spider Man versus Black Widow, a very interesting thing to see, Steve comes up to him and leans against the wall, wrapping his arms on his chest.

'I like seeing how they adjust techniques to whoever they are fighting,' Steve says and Tony finds himself nodding. 'This looks more like acrobatics than an actual fight, their agility is almost scary. Compared to us.'

'You're still better at it than me in the armor,' Tony notes truthfully. 'I'm pretty sure Widow could've stuck a knife into Spidey's side a few times already, if she really wanted.'

'And he could've incapacitated her with the web while she was doing one maneuver or another,' Steve adds, cracking a smile. 'Did you – did you get my message?' he adds in a quieter voice. Tony closes his eyes for a second and takes a deep breath, he is pretty sure if JARVIS could, he'd smile at him reassuringly.

'Yes, I did, and I get it. What you wanted to say. I don't really want to comment on those things, you know, if you don't mind,' Tony says, observing Steve's face closely. Steve just nods sharply. 'But I think pizza would be great. It's our thing, isn't it? And besides, we're a bit behind with our modern life classes, right?'

'That we are,' Steve chuckles and flinches at the sudden move from Widow. Spider Man is though, Tony has to admit, most people would've given up by now because he seems to be losing, but it's a thin line. They'll probably end it in a draw. Tony suspects Spidey could win, if he wanted to, but he's playing some angle Tony doesn't exactly understand.

'You have any questions?'

'I always have questions, even after all those months,' Steve replies sheepishly. 'History is all right, and most of the social thing, but I still don't get the point of most of the pop-culture things.'

'That might be because there isn't much point. Besides fun. Different kinds of fun.'

'I guess,' Steve agrees just as Phil stands up.

'Call it a draw, now, or I'll have Hulk separate you,' he shouts at Spider Man and Widow and they stop fighting immediately, frozen in mid-movement, and nod at each other before getting back to the floor and walking separate ways.

'He'd have won,' Tony whispers, it sounds pretty strange in Iron Man's metallic voice, and Steve frowns pensively. 'But don't tell Natasha I said that.'

'She's angry because she knows it,' Steve whispers back, 'but then he has spider sense –'

'But Natasha doesn't care,' Tony finishes the sentence and Steve nods in agreement. 'So what now, we get to hide in your rooms and eat some four cheeses?'

'I always wondered what is your favorite flavor,' Steve states smugly. Oh. And Tony wanted him to try guessing. He's have to think about what he's saying sometimes, though if he wants to play this little details game.

Ijon orders four cheeses and pepperoni with cheese-stuffed crust, as well as enough garlic bread to sate Steve's appetite, and they wait for the delivery in the living room, exchanging some light meaningless words and trying hard not to tackle anything delicate when they are in a public space.

As soon as they are in Steve's private rooms, doors locked, Tony lets the armor unwrap from his body. It leaves him feeling strangely exposed, but he knows it's just because he's still a bit nervous about this whole situation. He wishes he wasn't because this means he's not sure. This means that as much as he's trying to persuade himself that everything Steve said is already in the past, he still knows it's forced and a half-lie.

Steve smiles at him warmly, gesturing at the steaming pizza, now sitting on the table, and Tony feels himself relax. He puts on his glasses and climbs onto a chair, and grabs a slice of four cheeses.

'I've never seen you eating,' Steve says before taking bite of his piece. Tony chews and swallows his bite and then takes another one.

'Is this that strange?' he signs, having put the pizza down, and Ijon translates for Steve.

'No, it just never occurred to me before a second ago. It just adds to the mystery, I guess.'

Tony laughs as that, he guesses Steve is right about that one. Iron Man is a secret by definition and Nate is hardly ever around and all he does is create things that should be impossible to create, and sign. That's bound to make people wonder about him.

'About your message,' Tony signs when he's done with his three slices. There is more than half of the pizza left, but he can't eat anymore, so he shoves it towards Steve between signs. 'I just wanted to tell you, since it never came up, that I do have people looking out for me. A few old friends. They are very protective.' Tony sighs, letting his hands rest for a brief moment. 'And fussy. So don't worry.'

'Do they know that you are, you know? Iron Man?'

'Yes. They've known for some time.'

'Not from the beginning then,' Steve notes, frowning slightly. 'Were they okay with that? How did they react?'

'They were angry,' Tony replies and chuckled drily. That's true, even if it doesn't begin to explain the range of everything emotion-wise that was going on between Tony and the rest at that time. 'But they eventually got it. Being a superhero is life-changing,' Tony adds, wishing that Ijon would stress the word superhero like JARVIS would, reading Tony's mind. JARVIS knows Tony is far from considering himself a superhero.

'They must be very strong amazing people,' Steve concludes, taking a piece of Tony's pizza and looking up at him. 'You sure you won't be eating this?'

'I'm okay,' Tony signs and pours himself some coke instead. Trust Steve to have those small glass bottles sitting in his personal mini fridge.

Steve looks like he wants to say something more, commenting on Tony's slimness, but he doesn't speak up. Instead they discuss fights they observed in the morning, with Ijon translating everything for Cap in a long stream of words. He's getting better at impersonating a human being, making the speech less flat and mechanical, but it's still far from sounding as real as JARVIS. It doesn't have to sound as real as JARVIS though, Tony wouldn't want that, even if he likes Ijon a lot and sometimes thinks of him as a small puppy.

'So, this is working out somehow, right? Or am I – am I reading it wrong?' Steve asks when he's done with food, wiping his hands on a perfectly white napkin, eyes cast down.

'Yes. We're friends, Steve, and that'll always work out.'

'Good.'

'Now, are you ready for another lesson? Any particular questions?' Tony asks, standing up to stretch his legs a bit.

'I was wondering if you could teach me how to use this,' Steve says, walking across the room and looking for something in a deep drawer of his desk. When he turns around, Tony can see that he's clutching a new-looking DSRL camera in his hands. 'Phil got this for me after we talked about popular ways to make art nowadays. He said photography is a big thing and what I remember about it is… Well. You can imagine. Mostly black and white and film developing it in dark rooms.'

'I've never worked on one like this,' Tony declares, looking closely at the brand new camera 'But I'm sure we can work it out. So, you do know the basics of photography, right?' he signs, gesturing at Steve to sit with him on the sofa, and then they get deep into discussion.

Steve is really quick to learn all the tricks and Tony has to admit that he's got a great eye for composition and lightning, it's obvious even after seeing just a few of the photos he takes when he learns what all the controls and buttons do.

'Thank you, N-a-t-e,' Steve signs when they're done with the lesson for the day, bringing a smile to Tony's face.

'You're welcome,' he signs back and Steve recognizes the message. 'I can't wait to see more of your photos, you know. You're really good with a camera.'

'Well, thanks to you,' Steve counters, placing said object back on the desk.

'You should come by my workshop sometime. When you're back from you mission. There are some toys you'll like playing with, I'm sure.' Ijon says for Tony as he walks up to the armor and lets it wrap around him snugly.

'Thank you,' Steve says softly, opening the door for Iron Man like a proper gentleman. 'See you when I'm back, then.'

'Stay safe,' Iron Man says firmly, turns around and heads for the roof.

For the next few days, Tony works on going through the rest of Howard's things and ads last lines of code for Fury's A.I. and manages to get finished with both just before midnight on Wednesday evening, rewarding himself with half an inch of his favorite whiskey at the bottom of the glass.

'Send Fury a message that I want a meeting with him ASAP, J,' Tony tells JARVIS sometime later, wrapped with a thick blanket and watching some new sci-fi movie JARVIS chose for him without paying much attention to what's happening on the screen.

'Message sent,' JARVIS tells him and falls silent for a long moment. 'Have you chosen the name for the A.I. yet, sir? He is ready now and after we both check if everything is fine, he will be going out into the big world.'

'I'm not giving him to Fury tomorrow, not yet,' Tony says, closing his eyes. 'It's a bit of bargaining chip, or maybe a bribe kind of something. Sorry, J, my brain's not here – I mean, Fury wants out A.I. badly and he is willing to risk me knowing about it and having an access to it, he has to know I've got access to all A.I.s I work on, it's only logical, I'm not stupid or naïve to let them without surveillance, right? So he wants it badly. And there is no one else who can make him one. And he's hiding something.'

'So you want to use the A.I. to get to know what he is hiding,' JARVIS concludes correctly.

'I want to know how much he suspects and how much he knows.'

'About you,' JARVIS adds tonelessly and he's right again.

'He's the spy, he is bound to know something, I'll give him that much, while S.H.I.E.L.D. might be mildly competent at times as a whole, Fury keeps the mess together and working.'

'I think I will be entertained by your encounter,' a slight pause, 'tomorrow at 8 p.m. at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.'

'I hope you will,' Tony says before removing the big pillow he was nestled into from behind his back and laying down in bed. JARVIS turns the TV off and the room is filled with sudden ringing silence, but this time Tony falls asleep with ease.

'I take this visit means you have some news about my A.I. for me, Rives,' Fury states as soon as Nate closes the doors of Director's office. Tony is wearing black jeans and a crisp light grey shirt that reminds him almost too much of many times he was stepping onto a battle ground with one journalist or senator or another.

He's missed this feeling of being in control. This is how it feels, despite Fury's usual angry scowl and overbearing presence.

'You could say so,' Tony quickly types on his tablet and sits down in front of Fury.

'Feel at home,' Fury mutters, narrowing his eye and putting some papers that were on the top of the desk into a fingerprint-opened drawer.

Tony settles the tablet on the table, directed at him, and quickly makes sure JARVIS can see him properly.

'The A.I. is ready,' he signs and JARVIS says his words aloud, watching Tony's movements via the tablet's camera – he would use S.H.I.E.L.D. surveillance system but Fury is too paranoid to install cameras in his personal space. He's probably right about that one. 'I haven't named him yet, but that's unimportant.'

'What is important, then?' Fury asks slowly, leaning back in the chair.

'I need you to realize what you asked me to do.'

'I asked you to make me an A.I., your point is?

'Do you know why I made Ijon for Avengers?' Tony asks, JARVIS conveying the question perfectly in Nate's official voice. 'Because I trust them with it. I trust my creations completely, more than you could ever imagine and that's no exaggerating, and they were willing to be under constant observation by a system I created and they were willing to be managed and protected by said system. They trusted me and I trusted them. Do you trust me, Director?'

'I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't –' Fury starts, sounding irritated, as if he wanted to add that's obvious, but Tony cuts in before he can.

'Do I have a reason to trust you?'

There is a moment of heavy silence, then Fury moves closer to the desk and rests his arms on the top, leaning towards Tony.

'Have I ever given you a reason not to trust me?'

'Have you ever given me a reason to trust you?' Tony counters, unmoved by Fury trying to be dominating. Maybe it would mean something if Tony has anything to lose, and he doesn't. Fury knows that.

'What do you want?' he barks, moving back to his armchair.

'I want you to tell me how much you know about me,' Tony says simply, smiling slightly. he knows his smile is a bit too similar to the one he offered Stane just after he told the man about leaking the truth to media.

'I know you're Iron Man,' Fury replies in the same tone, without hesitation. Tony nods. He honestly expected as much as that, with Fury's resources. It doesn't exactly matter how long has Director known, not right now at least.

Tony observes him closely for a few long moments, savoring the rising tension. Fury seems to be thinking hard, observing Tony with his one good eye, but it feels like he's staring through him and not at him. Tony can't help but notice, for the first time, how old the man looks. It never occurred to him to think about Fury's age but he knows he created S.H.I.E.L.D. with Howard and that must have been decades ago.

He doesn't voice his thought, though, waiting for Fury to add something. There are unspoken words hanging in the air and it makes Tony's skin tingle with anticipation.

'I'm willing to let you be the only other person in this universe – in all of the fucking universes – to have access to something that would be painfully private, and you're still doing this? You're still asking me for a proof of good faith? What exactly are you asking for?'

'It's like I'm handling you my child, a newborn baby, and you're wondering if I want a proof? Of course I want a proof,' Tony signs and JARVIS says it for him firmly, loudly, clearly. Tony laughs soundlessly. 'I know you can go on without the A.I. and I can just have him at home with me and it wouldn't change anything, I will never regret the hours I spent on creating him. But you want him despite the risks. I want to know why you'd trust me that much.'

'I could have you killed in an instant if you betrayed me,' Fury states easily and makes it so smooth it doesn't sound like the threat it is.

'It's sweet you think so,' Tony signs and smiles again. 'I want to know why you let Nate Rives be level seven clearance as soon as he joined S.H.I.E.L.D., and don't tell me it's because you needed someone like him.'

'I strongly suspected he was Iron Man from the beginning,' Fury says, standing up, and starts to pace slowly. Tony never takes his eyes off the man. 'And then, you never did anything wrong. Never. As either of them.'

'That's it?' Tony wonders with his hands, JARVIS making his voice sounds skeptical.

'That A.I. if your makes your voice sound awfully real, Rives,' Fury notes drily, his eyes still locked on something undetermined above Tony's head. 'And yes, that's it.'

'Bullshit.'

'And I think you might give me the help I need.'

'And?'

'And the answers I want,' Fury adds quickly, finally meeting Tony's eyes.

'Has this been your agenda all this time, or just recently?'

'It's a quite recent development, yes,' Fury admits, playing with the holster at his hip unconsciously. 'There's been a problem with wild weapons that keep turning up in various places. They're dangerous and experimental and they remind me of something more than I like.'

'So you want me to consult on that,' Tony tries to keep a grin from crawling onto his face. This is a game he has to thread carefully, being this close to finding an answer. Or answers. 'What makes you think I have any experience in that kind of thing? Experimental weapons?'

Director makes a long pause, smirking the slightest bit, which it makes him look ominous and pretty unlike himself.

'Well, you did so damn well with the Chitauri ones, Rives. And I'm willing to trust you there,' Fury finally replies in a low voice.

Tony stares at him for a moment and then laughs hollowly again.

That fucking bastard.

'I get it. I will consult,' for a spilt of second considering just speaking but he signs instead, standing up abruptly, still in JARVIS' field of vision. 'But only because I've already started working on the case on my own. Are the weapons here?'

'No.'

'We'll get to that, then,' Tony decides. 'I'll come over with the A.I. in a few days, I'll let you know. And remember that if anything, anything goes the way I wouldn't like – I trust your judgment on this – you will regret it.'

'I'm sure I will,' Fury says, sounding more serious than mocking.

Tony extends his hand and Fury takes it, wrapping his calloused fingers around Tony's tightly and looking at him intently for a short moment before shaking the hand and moving back to his chair.

'Have a good evening,' JARVIS says for Tony before he puts the tablet into the protective sleeve and walks out of the room, leaving the doors ostentatiously open.

'Prepare whichever Mark will keep me warm, baby, I'm gonna go flying when I get home,' Tony tells JARVIS via his phone as soon as he gets inside his car. The armor is waiting in the middle of the workshop when he steps inside, dressed into a soft undersuit. It wraps itself around Tony's body tightly, comfortingly, and a moment later he's in the air, full invisible mode engaged.

'Faster,' he tells JARVIS as soon as he's outside the city perimeter and the A.I. obliges, breaking the sound barrier and steadying at Mach 2, not the suits fastest option, but it's satisfying. 'No freezing issues?'

'You shouldn't even ask,' JARVIS replies, showing Tony the appropriate information on the HUD. Tony stops the urge to nod at that, it wouldn't be very comfortable at the moment. 'Are you angry with Director Fury?'

'Damn right I am,' Tony assures JARVIS fiercely, still seeing the man's half-smug, half-penetrating stare. 'I'm mad. I'm – I don't know exactly what to think right now, you know? I'll have to figure out what to say the next time I see him, we both know I shouldn't be allowed to speak my mind sometimes,' Tony wonders aloud and JARVIS hums approvingly. 'It's still a tough game we're playing here.'

'But now you know you can trust him.'

'I guess. Since we both have so much blackmail material about the other one right now, it calls for the deepest trust there is.'

'You are reading my mind, sir,' JARVIS comments drily, making Tony laugh, and speeds up.

A/N: Thank you for reading and all your lovely support, especially to those fantastic people who take a moment to leave me a comment. I wanted to say hello to all the new followers, so hello! I hope to hear some words from you, it always makes my day :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter!