"What the hell happened here?" a deep masculine voice shouts, over the muttering.
"Oyoke!" Shuri calls. He rushes over to try and calm him as he walks in. "It's okay. The party just got a little carried away."
"Sorry..." Bruce says from a few steps behind Shuri.
"Carried away?" Oyoke asks. "Your great Grand-papa built this table! My king, it's supposed to symbolize the political strength of the nation!"
"And we will rebuild it." T'Challa says as she walks up to Oyoke from his other side.
Oyoke looks at the King then Shuri and gets upset at himself for forgetting about the swap. He chooses to pretend he didn't make a mistake, however. "Which one of these monsters was it?" Oyoke asks in Wakandan. His eyes dart from Thor, to Drax, Nebula, and others. Never once suspecting it was Bruce.
"It's okay, my General." T'Challa tells her. "It was an accident." Oyoke looks at the table, not believing it. "Right now," T'Challa continues, trying to change the subject. "I want to know where you have been."
Shuri senses light tension from them and decides to lead Bruce away. "Come along Bruce, let us check on the others."
Oyoke studies T'Challa's face for a good moment before speaking. "Have you been drinking?"
"Just a little." T'Challa answers. "Only socially, in the company of friends."
Oyoke looks at the table again for a moment before speaking. "I should not have been away. I should have been here. I should have been guarding you."
"Hey, hey." T'Challa reaches out and places a hand on Oyoke's arm. Her gentle touch catches Oyoke off guard. The need to protect his King feels much stronger than it ever has. Even looking into her eyes, he feels more drawn to her. "Whatever it is, Oyoke. I forgive you."
Oyoke makes the determination to be more vigilant. "I was speaking with W'Kabi, my King." He says hesitantly.
"W'Kabi?" T'Challa asks intrigued. "There is a name I have not heard in some time. Tell me. How are you two?" T'Challa asks, unsure why she feels like digging for gossip.
Oyoke studies T'Challa for a long moment, wondering if he should confide in his king. He realizes it's best, before explaining his absence.
Meanwhile, Shuri and Bruce approach the end of the table where everyone seems to have migrated. Some are still eating, but most seem to be done drinking, aside from Thor and Valkyrie.
"That is crazy!" Thor says in a very loud whisper, swishing beer around in his pitcher.. "Even you two were at it?!"
"Yeah, it was pretty serious." Clint says.
"Who won?" Thor asks with a silent chuckle.
"My money's on the big one." Valkyrie says pointing at Natasha, who is now sitting very close to Clint.
Clint laughs guiltily and Natasha smiles. "We actually didn't get to finish." Clint says.
"But I was totally gonna kick his ass." Natasha adds as he punches him in the arm. They both laugh, and there is a brief moment when they lock eyes and just smile at each other.
"So when did all the stuff with Tony happen?" Thor asks.
Clint and Natasha look away toward Tony, who is standing just out of sight on the balcony, then back toward Thor.
"We don't know." Natasha answers. "As far as we were concerned, the airport was the end of it. It must have happened between those two sometime before or afterwards." Natasha points toward Steve and Bucky who're talking to Nick Fury, Sam, and Rhodes in the corner of the room.
***In the corner***
"Now, I need you to tell me," Nick Fury says, trying her hardest to sound sober. "What in the hell happened between you all?!"
"I think the curly haired girl is covering for her boyfriend who off-ed the other dude's family." A random outside voice answers.
All five people in the corner turn to see who's eavesdropping on their conversation. They see Rocket standing less than a foot away, listening in on the conversation. She just shrugs her shoulders, implying it was a guess.
Nick Fury studies Rocket for a few seconds before choosing to glare at her angrily. "Don't tell me you were involved in all of this too!"
"No," Rocket answers. "I'm just repeating what I heard."
Sam turns back toward Nick Fury and shakes his head.
"What are you?" Rhodes asks Rocket.
"Get out of here!" Nick Fury shouts. "This doesn't involve you! It's none of your business!"
"Jeeze!" Rocket says as she turns away. "I was just trying to help." She walks up toward Groot, who is sitting in the corner of the room happily playing his game. "Is that a duck?" Rocket asks as she peers into the game screen and sits next to him.
A few feet away Happy and Pepper are standing next to each other, watching Tony.
"He never told you?" Pepper asks Happy.
"Of course he never told me." Happy responds. "He never told you. You're his wife, so why would he tell me?"
"He's just been your friend for a lot longer." Pepper answers. "I figure there've got to be things he's told you, that he hasn't told me."
"Nothing of this caliber." Happy states. They both watch Tony for a little longer.
"Should I talk to him?" Pepper asks. "I feel like I should talk to him, or at least apologize for the way I've been."
"I don't know, Pepper. I find times like this, he just needs some alone time."
"I just don't know what to do. It was always so easy when I was a girl, and now I find it almost impossible to even cry."
"Yea well, welcome to being a guy." Happy says unexpectedly. "We almost never know what to do."
"Hey guys, how's he doing?" Bruce asks, approaching them both from behind.
"Oh, hey Bruce." Pepper says as Bruce approaches the two. "He's still there." Pepper points at Tony.
Bruce joins the two in watching him. "It seems like a lot has happened to him since I was gone."
"Yeah." Pepper answers. "He's been holding in a lot... Even from me." Pepper turns away thinking he's going to cry, and instead takes a deep frustrated breath. "I don't even know how I should feel." He says.
"I wouldn't even know where to begin." Bruce says. "Nobody knows what he's been through, on Earth or when he fought with Thanos. It seems to have really hit him hard."
"I was there." Star-Lord says. She is manspreading on her chair while Mantis massages her shoulders. "Thanos practically killed him. He almost killed us all."
"Really?" Bruce asks, with legitimate concern.
"Yes." Mantis answers. "He threw a moon at us."
Bruce, Pepper, and Happy suddenly go wide eyed. "A moon? A literal moon." Happy asks.
"It's true." Peter Quill says. "We should have all been crushed. If it wasn't for your wizard friend and that spider looking kid, most of us would probably be dead."
"Wizard?" Happy asks curiously. Pepper is looking down trying to process what he's hearing.
"Your friend took it the hardest." Peter continued. "He's lucky to be alive, after getting stabbed like that."
"Stabbed?" Pepper asks, completely shocked that he hadn't noticed.
"Yeah. Mantis, Drax, and I could only stand by and watch." Peter Quill says. "Wait a second." Peter looks around the room. "Where is Drax? And Nebula?"
"I think they left a little while ago?" Mantis answers. "They said they wanted to talk."
Peter shakes off Mantis and stands up abruptly. She stumbles a bit still fairly drunk, but manages to cross over to Rocket and Groot, leaving Mantis behind. "Hey Rocket, did you see where Drax and Nebula went?"
Bruce, Pepper, and Happy turn back to watching Tony. "One of us should talk to him." Bruce says.
"I wouldn't know what to say." Happy answers.
Pepper stares at Tony for a good five seconds before talking. "I don't know if I can." He says. "Not like this." He gestures to his body. "I don't know what to say either, without pissing him off even more."
Bruce wants to encourage Pepper, but she is feeling unsure also. She turns to Tony and says, "I'll give it a shot. He usually doesn't mind talking to me. Maybe I can start something and you guys can join."
"OK." Pepper says as Happy nods in agreement.
"Do you want me to go with you? I can help." Mantis offers just as Bruce takes a step forward. He touches Bruce's shoulder as he asks her this.
Before Bruce can reply, Mantis recoils with a loud gasp. He bends forward and falls to his knees, breathing heavily.
"Mantis! Are you okay?" Bruce asks, reaching forward to steady him. Mantis pulls back almost falling over and shakes his hands, not wanting to be touched.
"Oh my god!" Rocket shouts. "Mantis! What did you do to my Mantis!"
Bruce steps back as Rocket comes running forward. Mantis grabs Rocket to steady himself. When he looks up, he opens his eyes, which are now filled with tears. "It's ok." he tells Rocket, patting her on the shoulder. He reaches out his hand and offers it to Bruce. "Bruce... Please..."
Bruce is not sure what just happened, but she is sure touching Mantis is what caused it. She doesn't know if she should do it again, especially since Rocket is now loudly growling at her.
"Sleep..." Mantis says, touching Rocket on the shoulder causing her to flop to the side.
"What's going on?" Star-Lord asks as she approaches.
Mantis looks at Peter teary eyed. "I need to see." He tells Star-Lord. Peter looks at Bruce. They are both unsure, but Star-Lord trusts Mantis, so she nods her head.
Bruce looks back toward Mantis, and reaches forward hesitantly. When her hand gets close enough, she sets it down gently. There is no jolt or immediate reaction this time, but Mantis begins to cry and weep loudly.
"Bruce..." Mantis says, through big watery eyes. "He's sad."
Bruce doesn't feel anything, but he knows Mantis is picking up something.
"Bruce..." Mantis continues. "He needs you, Bruce. He needs you."
"Who needs me?" Bruce asks, already knowing the answer.
"The Hulk." Mantis says in a whimper, before dropping his hand away.
Mantis clutches his own hand and sobs loudly as he looks to the floor. Bruce looks to Star-Lord, then Pepper, confused, as they all wonder what to do next.
"I am Groot." Groot says as he walks up to the group. He reaches out one of his hands and it stretches to touch Mantis.
As soon as Groot touches Mantis's hand he stops crying and wipes his face. He looks up with a relieved expression from Bruce to Groot. "Thank you, Groot."
"I am Groot." he responds.
Mantis looks back up toward Bruce. "Shall we go talk to your friend now?" he asks happily before collapsing unconscious, practically on top of Rocket. Bruce, Pepper, and Happy continue to look at him in confusion.
"He does that sometimes." Peter Quill tells them. "Especially when he's drunk."
"Party foul!" Thor shouts, peering over Natasha's shoulder.
"Are they gonna be okay?" Happy asks Peter.
"It's fine, we got this." She reaches down and pulls Rocket out form under Mantis, while Groot extends his hand large enough to carry Mantis. Star-Lord waves at Thor and the others. "Well, I think it's about time we got off to bed."
"I'll show you to the spare rooms." Shuri says gesturing for them to follow him. Groot has no trouble dragging Mantis as the Guardians leave the room. Thor just laughs and jokes about it.
"Now we have to deal with Tony." Bruce says, turning back toward the balcony.
"Steve!" Pepper says in shock when she sees the same thing everyone else is seeing.
Captain America approaches Tony bravely. Knowing he is still upset, she chooses to come at him from the side, so that Tony knows she is there.
Once Steve knows she is in sight, she waits for Tony's reaction. He turns away, but does not move away. Steve Rogers feels guilty for thinking the experience feels like taming a wild horse.
She takes a few more steps forward waiting for a reaction. Tony Stark leans on the balcony and pretends to check the dirt under his nails.
Tony is clearly still angry, but also feels a little guilty for attacking everyone. A detail he tries to hide.
"Tony..." Steve calls. Her voice actually catches Tony off guard, because just for a moment, he forgot Steve was a girl. Tony is tempted to walk away, but he feels the gesture would show weakness. Captain America gives him a long time to think.
"I'm sorry, Tony." Steve finally says.
Tony Stark hears the apology, but it seems to make him angrier. He can't help shake the feeling that it's an empty apology.
"I'm sorry, Tony, and..." Captain thinks about what she wants to say for a moment. "I'm sorry, and... you're right." she continues. "You're right, Tony. You've always been right..."
Tony refuses to relent, he just crosses his arms and continues to look away giving Steve Rogers the silent treatment. Steve risks taking a step closer.
"I should have never kept it a secret from you." Steve says as she tries to look at his face. "You were right, and I was wrong."
Tony tries to ignore it, but the context of the apology tugs at his heart greatly. He feels his emotions getting the better of him again.
"There is no excuse for what I did." Steve continues. "I could say, I was trying to protect you, or I was trying to protect him, but you know as well as I do, that's not true."
Tony Stark hears a stutter of emotion in Steve's voice. It bothers him because he's always been used to the Captain's strong pep talks and lectures. This feels different. He can't help shake the feeling that it's a different person.
"In fact..." Steve Rogers continues further. "You probably knew the truth about my behavior long before I did..." She takes a deep breath to calm her emotions. "I was being selfish, Tony... I was being selfish."
Tony risks turning back a little, to let Steve Rogers know he was listening, but he refused to surrender his full attention. He doesn't say anything, but continues to listen, fishing for how sincere this apology really is.
"I know, I always act like I have it all together, and I've always got everyone's best interest at heart, but sometimes... many times, Tony, I'm just being selfish." Captain America admits.
"I just..." She sniffs. "I just have a hard time believing there are situations where we can't win 100%."
The sniffling is starting to bother Tony Stark. He knows it's her, but the voice makes it feel like Steve has someone relaying her own messages. He's wondering if the alcohol is clouding his judgment.
"I know it's unrealistic, Tony." Steve Rogers sobs. "It's probably just my old time militaristic way of thinking... I just don't know what to do, Tony." She pauses to think again. "Everything I do, ends with someone getting hurt.."
"You, Rhodey, Vision, the Team, and now all this." Steve Rogers gestures to herself and the others.
Tony turns a little closer to Steve, wondering how she could possibly take the blame for their current predicament.
"I could have stopped Thanos, Tony." Steve admits. Tony Stark starts to glare, feeling that Captain America is definitely being selfish again, trying to take the blame. Tony decides to continue listening, anyway.
"I could have Stopped Thanos's plan, even before he reached us, but I was being selfish, Tony."
Tony Stark angrily assumes Steve is rambling because she is drunk and he turns toward her, ready to argue. What he didn't expect was to see her so weak, vulnerable, sincere, and completely sober. It dawns on Tony that alcohol doesn't affect her.
"We could have destroyed the mind stone, but I just assumed it would kill Vision." Steve Rogers tells Tony. "I thought we could have saved everyone, including him. I was so stubborn, it didn't even occur to me that we could, that you could, rebuild him, Tony."
Steve starts sobbing more frequently now. "I put the entire universe in jeopardy because I was too stubborn to lose." Steve looks to the floor and tries to wipe endless tears from her eyes.
Tony is still angry, but the sincerity of the apology is clouding his thoughts. He is having trouble staying angry at Steve because of the changes. Her height, the voice, the golden curls, and every little detail are making Tony feel more guilty.
"All I ever wanted was to protect the planet." Tony Stark says, finally breaking his silence.
"I know, Tony." Steve Rogers responds. "I know... A suit of armor around the world..."
Tony is actually surprised Steve Rogers knows about that. He always assumed she wasn't really listening.
"But a suit of armor is just a cage to anyone who cannot control it." Steve Rogers adds. "You've always seen the big picture Tony. I've always just wanted to protect my friends, my country... and you, Tony." Steve Rogers looks up into Tony's eyes and they both stand there captivated by each other for a very long moment.
"I once told you, you're not the guy to make the sacrifice play." Steve steps closer and places her right hand on Tony's chest. "And I was wrong...It seems like that's all you've been doing, ever since New York. Giving your all..."
Tony, trying to avoid the overwhelming emotions that he's feeling now, grabs the Captain's shoulders in an attempt to pull her away. Unfortunately she's still as sturdy as ever.
"I should have seen it, Tony." Steve's eyes are now darting back and forth between Tony's. "I should have seen it from the very beginning. You didn't need someone to protect you, Tony."
Captain America raises her left hand and also places it on Tony's chest.
"You just needed someone to understand you, to be there for you."
Tony feels tears start to form in his eyes and he looks away trying to hide the emotions. When he does look up, he locks eyes with Pepper for a brief moment.
'Why could you never see that?' He wonders.
Almost as if he could read Tony's mind, Pepper turns away, embarrassed.
Tony turns back toward Captain America, locking eyes once again. The sincerity in her beautiful blue eyes is completely captivating, and all he can think is, 'Why? Why did it have to be you?'
Before he could realize what he was doing, or could even stop himself Tony Stark leans in and kisses Captain America. She is caught off guard by this, and grabs ahold of Tony's shirt fully expecting to push him away, yet can't will herself to do it. He is holding her tightly now and she can't understand why but she keeps pulling him closer.
Tony Stark slowly sways his head back and forth, trying to feel every detail of her full lips. He can't help the feeling of being lost in the moment. It's only when he hears a voice shouting and someone else laughing that he snaps out of it and pulls away.
It is Thor who is shouting as he points toward them in a drunken cheer. Tony turns toward the laughter and sees that it's actually Pepper, who is laughing and looking on embarrassed. Happy stands beside her, wide eyed with his mouth wide open. Nick Fury is still in the back corner slowly shaking her head in disapproval. Sam is chuckling while Bucky looks on, as equally wide eyed as Happy.
Reality sets in, and Tony fearfully turns back toward Captain America. She is staring at him, also wide eyed with her mouth hanging slightly open in shock. Before Tony can say another word she slaps him. She slaps him hard.
The impact of the slap was borderline sobering. Tony could feel his body lose balance as his shoulder and side hit the edge of the balcony causing fresh pain in his recent wound. He then noticed his feet leaving the floor. It's only when the rush of cold air hits him does he realize he has actually fallen over the edge of the balcony.
"Tony!" He hears a female voice shout. He is unsure if it's the Captain or someone else, but he also hears a few other gasps of shocked voices fading fast as he falls away rapidly.
"EDITH!" Tony shouts in a panic. He doesn't hear the system respond, but spots bits of his Mark 47 suit flying toward him as he reaches his limbs out. His gloves, boots, and back brace manage to reach him in time and he feels the repulsor engines kick in to slow his fall. It's barely enough to avoid injury, but the impact when he hits the ground does knock the wind out of him.
The rest of the suit flies toward Tony, locking into place. The last piece is the mask, which immediately starts focusing and zooming on everyone looking over the balcony.
"Party Foul!" He hears someone shout, knowing full well who it is.
Despite being unhurt, Tony chooses this to be a good place to take a nap.