Word Count: 25007
Warnings: Minor Character Death / Grief / Major Character Injury / Canon Typical Violence / Paralysis
A Second Chance (To Get It Right)
May 29th, 2018
Tony rolled his eyes. "Your maths is blowing my mind."
"Excuse me, but… does your friend often do that?"
Tony looked to where the alien was staring at Strange. He was sitting cross-legged, floating slightly above the ground, his hands poised in an odd shape. The Time Stone was glowing brightly in the middle of the amulet. This is very AU. Like, the most AU of AU things ever. Canon is… not a thing. Time Travel is a thing. Pairings are not canon, and…. Yeah, just, no canon here :P
His eyes were closed, and his head was moving so fast that it was blurring, even as Tony watched him.
"Strange? Are we alright?"
Strange snapped out of his trance, and fell forward, a cry leaving his lips. Tony stepped forwards, wanting to help but not knowing how.
"You're back; you're alright," he murmured, hoping that he was being comforting.
"Hey, what was that?" Peter asked, head tilting to the side slightly in curiosity.
"I went forwards in time, to view alternate futures," Strange explained, his eyes still oddly distant. "I was trying to see all of the possible outcomes of the coming conflict."
Tony felt his eyes widen.
"How many did you see?" Quill asked, his head tilting slightly.
"14,000,605," Strange replied, his eyes on Tony. They seemed pained, pitying even, and apologetic, and it made Tony uncomfortable.
"How many did we win?" he asked, biting his bottom lip.
Strange stared at him for a moment longer, before he looked down at the stone. "One."
"Okay. How do we do it?"
Strange shook his head. "Not us, Tony. You."
He fiddled with the Eye of Agamotto for a moment, and then met Tony's eyes once more. "You can fix this. I know that you can."
"Strange, what—"
"Good luck, Tony. Remember, you can do this. Even in the times when you feel like you can't."
…
March 1st, 2010
Tony woke suddenly, gasping and panting for air, as harsh breaths forced themselves from his lungs.
"It is 3:36am, you are in your bedroom in Malibu, sir, you are safe."
The familiarity of the voice speaking to him made Tony's heart thud painfully in his chest, and he automatically looked to the camera in the corner of the room.
"J?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Fuck me, it's good to hear your voice," Tony murmured, a tear falling from the corner of his eye, sliding down his face into the plush pillow he was lying on.
He didn't know what was happening, only moments ago, he'd been in space, on Titan, and—
"J, what's the date?"
"March 1st, 2010, sir."
"2010," Tony repeated, his mind whirling. "Really?"
"Yes, sir. Are you quite okay, sir?"
"What? Oh. Yeah. I'm fine, J."
Tony sat up in the bed, and ran a hand through his hair. It was longer than it had been before he'd opened his eyes—which was a trip in and of itself—but given the amount of problems he realised that he was going to be facing in the very near future, his hair was probably the very least of his worries.
He pulled his shirt off, and closed his eyes when he saw the markings on his chest, displaying the palladium poisoning for all to see.
Well, he supposed, at least now he knew where he was going to start. Eventually, he'd remake the nanotech armour, but for now, stopping himself from dying seemed like the best place to start.
…
"Sir, I—"
"So… this is going to sound nuts," Tony said, as he sat down on his favoured chair in the workshop. "I'm from the future."
There was silence for a long moment. It was the first time even in Tony's recollection that JARVIS hadn't been able to answer him immediately.
"Even my AI thinks that I've lost the plot," he muttered, shaking his head.
What in the hell had Strange even been thinking? And why had he sent him so far back?
Tony rubbed at his temple. He was a genius, he should understand this, and yet, he was floundering. The Avengers hadn't even met yet; hell, Rogers was still doing his best impression of an ice cube, and he would be for months yet.
If Tony remembered right, the Valkyrie wasn't found until October of that—this—year.
God, this was a mess.
"Right, J, I need the Stark Expo model brought over from SI. Have it shipped as quickly as possible. And then, I need a new file opening on the securest private server I have, understand?"
"Yes, sir."
"Make this into a bullet list, J, so that I can see if it helps me make sense of anything."
"Yes, sir."
Tony rattled off everything that he could remember, giving the closest approximations he could to the dates that they happened. He knew as he spoke that it was going to be the most delicate balancing act of his life as to what he could and couldn't change.
A very small part of him wondered if he should just remove himself from the situation entirely. Retire Iron Man and get on with his life, and leave the Avengers to do… whatever it is that they would do without him.
He knew that he wouldn't actually ever be able to do such a thing.
As troubled as the last few years had been, or the coming years—fuck, that was confusing—he knew that he could fix things.
He could fix his own mistakes, and derail some of the others. He could help with the foreknowledge he had, he could manoeuvre things—and people—so that the hurt and the pain, the confrontations, and the blow out fights, could all be avoided.
The Avengers could be what they hadn't been, but what they'd always had the potential to be. A team. Friends. A family borne of shared experiences, and a common goal.
"Sir…"
"J, just… keep going. I need this all down so that I can read it through myself, okay?"
"As you say, sir."
…
March 4th, 2010
The arc reactor tasted like coconut and metal, the same way it had the first time around. Tony panted hard as the new core settled into his chest.
He'd gotten used to not having the reactor in his chest, and he couldn't say that he was absolutely overjoyed at the return of the limited lung space, after being able to breathe freely.
The surgery to remove the shards of shrapnel from his chest would certainly have to be moved up the priority list of things that he needed to deal with.
First things first though, he had a CEO to promote. Putting Pepper in charge of SI—no matter that he'd originally make the decision in a panic, while trying to save his own life—had been one of the best decisions he'd made in his life.
She'd flourished in the position, and the company along with her, and honestly, she was better than he was at the day-to-day stuff.
It would be weird, seeing her now, when he knew her as intimately as he did. Just thinking about Pepper brought a smile to his face, but it also brought with it questions of what he needed to do about their relationship.
He loved Pepper. He adored everything about her. He'd never loved anyone the way that he loved her, and he would do absolutely anything for her.
That said, was it fair to pull her back into the mess that was his life? He couldn't answer that. He was going to be busy, and he wasn't stupid, or optimistic enough to believe that it wouldn't be just as dangerous as it had been the first time around—even if it was in different ways.
Some things, Tony couldn't change though, and yet, with the things that he was planning to change, there was still every chance that one or more of them could blow up disastrously in his face.
Stephen hadn't exactly sent him back with a road map when he'd blasted Tony back in time to fix the end of the world, had he? And Pepper had struggled a lot with Tony being Iron Man the first time around.
Was it really fair to put her through all of that stress again?
…
March 10th, 2010
"Tony, what?"
"I've thought this through," he murmured, smiling slightly at the look of utter disbelief on her face. "Honestly, Pep, I don't have the time to be the CEO, and you do most of the work anyway. Why shouldn't you get the credit for that?"
"You can't just—"
"Actually, I can. I checked. It's up to me to name my successor, and… I just did. Are you up for it?"
"I don't know what to say."
Tony cupped her cheek gently. "Say yes."
…
March 13th, 2010
Tony threw himself down onto the sofa, and rubbed his temple with both hands. With so much to think about, and so much to get done, it wasn't surprising that he'd had a headache for days.
Priorities. That was what he needed at the moment. He needed a clear plan of what needed to happen, when it needed to happen, because otherwise, the important details were going to get lost and Tony would burn out in a month.
He'd finished listing out everything he could remember—the sheer amount of bullet points was mind blowing—and he'd had JARVIS order them by date.
JARVIS had been questioning his sanity with alarming frequency—enough so that Tony had muted him the day before, and hadn't yet removed the order. As much as he was glad to have his best, and brightest, kid back, JARVIS was the worst for being a mother hen.
Closing his eyes, he sighed.
Bruce.
Bruce was going to have to be a priority, and to get Bruce, Tony had to get rid of one of the biggest obstacles the future would bring.
And to do that… to do that, Tony needed Betty Ross.
As it was, Thaddeus Ross was due to have a heart attack later this year, but Tony knew that the man had made it out of that with all the spite in his body.
He briefly considered helping the heart attack along, before he decided against it. While it would definitely make Tony's life easier in the long run, if he started doing that, it would make him as bad as the monsters that he wanted to protect the world from.
He wouldn't sink to their level.
So. Betty Ross. Tony had no idea if she hated her father enough to help Tony find the evidence he needed to have the man prosecuted for his crimes against humanity, but he thought that, perhaps, she would. Especially when Tony was aware of the relationship she'd once shared with Bruce.
If it would help bring Bruce home… Tony thought that she could probably be persuaded to help.
It would be better if he wasn't directly involved with that, he knew. He couldn't make himself a target for the politicians of the world to take shots at just yet; he had his hands full with plenty of other things as it was.
God, he wished that he could delegate.
The pressure was insurmountable, and it was building with every day that passed. He tried to tell himself that he had time, but the more he thought that, the more the list grew with newly remembered things that needed to be fixed.
But anyway. Priorities. Bruce. Betty.
"Unmute, J. I need you to find Betty Ross for me."
…
March 21st, 2010
"Sir, Colonel Rhodes is here to see you," JARVIS informed him, while Tony tinkered with the newest iteration of the suit. He'd skipped a few marks as he'd designed his new suit, and he was happy with what he'd produced from memory.
It wasn't quite the nanotech that he'd gotten used to, but it was still miles beyond anything he'd produced the first time around in 2010.
"Send him down, J," Tony replied, and he spun his chair around as the doors opened to reveal Rhodey.
Rhodey—whole, not injured, walking without braces, young—walked towards him, and Tony's breath caught in his chest.
He blinked back sudden tears that threatened to fall at the sight of his best friend. He hadn't expected it to hit him so hard, and yet, seeing his friend looking so… together was overwhelmingly good.
"Hey, Sour Patch," he greeted, as normally as he could.
"Tony? You okay?"
Tony nodded, swallowing hard. "I'm good. Did you need something?"
Rhodey narrowed his eyes slightly, but then shook his head. "When did I need a reason to come and see you? You've been hiding away for the last few weeks, I thought that I'd drop by and check on you."
"I'm not hiding," Tony grunted, rolling his eyes. "I've been busy."
"Uh huh. You were missed at the Gala last night."
"Erm. Right. I knew there was something that I was supposed to…" Tony trailed off, and then shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, what can you do?"
Rhodey snorted. "Come on, genius."
"What? I'm busy, Honeybear!"
"Nope," Rhodey said, gripping Tony's arms and pulling him to his feet. He wrapped his arm around his shoulders. "You need to see sunlight, and I need food. We're going to get burgers."
Tony thought about protesting, but he found that he couldn't. His work—his never ending list of things that needed to be dealt with—could wait for one night.
Rhodey was more important. Besides, he had something he wanted to talk to his Platypus about, and this time, he'd be damned if it was ever renamed Iron Patriot.
…
March 25th, 2010
"Pep, I don't need a PA. I have you," Tony argued, wiping his sweaty brow. He'd been in the ring with Happy when Pepper had first arrived with the papers to sign over the company.
It was so achingly reminiscent of the first time, it made his head hurt. Particularly when Natasha Romanoff swept into the room behind her.
What the fuck was Fury playing at? Tony wasn't dying this time, he wasn't making a big mess of things, or making headlines for being a mess. He'd been practically silent!
He stared at her for a long moment, before he raised his eyebrow and turned his attention back to Pepper, who was watching him with fond amusement.
"I won't have time to be your PA and the CEO, Tony," she reminded him, her tone soft.
"Well, I have JARVIS, and I can always activate FRIDAY if I need her alongside to help him organise me. It'll be fine, I don't need—"
"Oh, but you do," Pepper interrupted. "And Natalie here is a good choice for you. She speaks enough languages to be useful when you have to travel, she has an impressive resume, and she's trained in self defence."
Tony rolled his eyes. "Pep, no."
"Tony, yes."
"I'll be good for you, Mr Stark," Natasha—Natalie, whatever—said, with just a hint of sultriness in her voice.
Tony blinked. That was… weird. He had solid memories of Natasha—years and years of them—and to see her here, acting like she didn't know him, like he was just another mark… well, he wasn't a fan.
At all.
"I'm good, thank you, Miss—" He almost choked on her name and had to stop himself from saying Romanoff.
"Rushman," she offered. "Natalie Rushman."
"Right. Rushman."
Pepper held out the papers to him for his signature, and he added it with a flourish, giving her a cheeky grin when it was done.
"Congratulations, Miss Potts."
"Thank you, Mr Stark. I'll leave you with Miss Rushman to get better acquainted, but we'll grab dinner later, okay?"
"Sure thing, Pep. Wait, what?"
She was already walking away, her hips swaying and her laughter echoing in his ears. Tony looked back at Natasha and sighed.
Shit.
…
March 29th, 2010
"Sir… your behaviour of late has been… strange," JARVIS said, one night, a few days later. "While I don't understand how it could be possible that you are, in fact, from the future as you say, I can't find any other explanation for the knowledge that you seem to have gained."
Tony snorted. "That's one way of putting it, J. I… there's something else that I need you to do for me."
"What is it, sir?"
"I need you to back yourself up on an off site server. Something entirely unconnected to the mainframe, you understand?"
"Yes, sir. May I ask why the change of heart? You've always been adamant that such actions were unnecessary."
"I learnt my lesson the hard way, J. I need to know that I have a way to revive you, if anything were to happen, okay? Just… humour me."
There was a brief pause, and then, "Of course, sir."
…
April, 2010
Time was passing at an alarming rate.
Tony took time to quietly deal with Vanko, and then Killian, hoping with everything in him that he'd avoided both scenarios well enough that nobody would get hurt by anything similar.
While he hadn't particularly wanted to murder people without cause, he knew that, for those two, it was necessary. He had cause, even if it hadn't happened yet.
Vengeance was one of the strongest motivators in the world, and neither of them would have been convinced to take other routes, even if he'd tried to talk reason into them. He knew that.
It didn't make his hands feel any cleaner.
Memories of Pepper falling was enough to help him deal with the guilt though. He couldn't take the chance that it would happen again. He had taken Killians notes and research when he'd left though. Tony knew how to settle Extremis—he had vivid memories of doing so—and it was a useful thing to have in his arsenal.
Just in case.
He had JARVIS store it all away in his rapidly growing 'future file', and he burnt the evidence of the hard copies as soon as it was done.
He spent hours working on things that he'd created already, remaking and improving them as he did, putting plans and prototypes away until the moment that he would need them. He knew, abstractly, that for some things, he had time, but if he wanted things to go better this time around, he had to know that he had everything he needed in place.
…
May 31st, 2010
Fury stared at Tony for a long moment. "Is it important, Stark? We've got a situation in New Mexico that is probably more important than anything you've got to tell me at the moment."
"Right. Thor. That's about to happen, isn't it?"
Fury blinked. "Okay, maybe we should sit down."
Tony smirked, and nodded his head. "Good idea."
He tossed a few files onto the desk. "Those are freebies. You've got an infestation, Nick. It's time to get the exterminators in."
Fury frowned at him, before he opened the first file. Tony sat back in his seat and waited until he saw the dawning recognition on Fury's face.
"I can't explain everything. I won't explain everything, but us working together is going to be much simpler if, when I tell you things, you believe me. And when I say together, Nick, I mean it. No more sending in spies to 'keep an eye on me', and you will be honest with me. Are we clear?"
Fury looked back down at the file, and then back up to meet Tony's eyes. "We're clear."
"Good. The Avengers Initiative," Tony said, nodding to the second file. "It's a good idea in theory. In practice, it gets a little stickier."
"I'm listening."
"The Avengers, being enhanced beings and very talented individuals, are more than just baseline humans for the most part. With that comes responsibility, Nick. The Avengers need accountability, and they need it from the start, in the same way the Military does, or doctors, or the police.
"There's absolutely no way for the Avengers to be a covert operation. You plan to recruit the Hulk. There's literally nothing covert about him. I propose The Avengers to be a stand alone team, that has a full structure of command, and is overseen by a select panel of the UN. Contracts will have to be drawn up, with a full set of laws and rules that protect both the team and the public, but you cannot allow a team of enhanced individuals to run around on their own, without any kind of management. It would be a shitshow of the greatest proportions."
"And you know this for a fact, do you?"
Tony smiled slightly. "I do."
"Are you going to tell me any more than that?"
"At the moment, no."
"In the future?"
"We'll see how well you can keep your word. In the meantime, it's time to clean house, Director Fury. And fair warning… Thor is gonna make a mess."
Fury sighed. "Of course he is."
"Oh," Tony said, as he stood up. He stepped away from the desk, and smiled slightly. "You might as well recall Miss Romanoff. I don't need a PA, and honestly? Natalie Rushman is vastly overqualified, even if I did."
…
August 28th, 2010
"Are you sure about this, Tony?" Pepper asked, holding tightly to his hand as the two of them walked down the corridor. "I thought—"
"I know," Tony interrupted gently, nodding his head. "I know that I said that I didn't want this, but… I have to, Pep."
She squeezed his hand. "I'll be right outside the whole time, okay? And I'll stay with you until they take you down, and I'll be right here with you when you wake up."
Tony nodded. "I know you will. You're always there when I need you, Miss Potts."
She followed him into the private hospital room, sitting down while he shifted behind the screen to change into the hospital gown he'd been instructed to put on. Nerves were fluttering in his stomach uncomfortably.
Even though he'd lived through this once, it wasn't a procedure that he was all that enthusiastic about repeating, if he was honest. Of course, it was necessary, but… it didn't make it any easier.
"You're going to be okay," Pepper said, when he was finally laid out on the bed, and the porters were preparing to transport him to surgery.
Tony winked at her. "I'll see you when I wake up."
…
October 3rd, 2010
"Sir, I believe that I may have found something."
"Hit me with it, J," Tony instructed, looking up from the prosthetic leg braces. Just because his Sour Patch didn't need them anymore—and would never need them, if Tony had a say about it—that didn't mean that they couldn't still help a whole lot of other people.
Blue screens popped up around him, and Tony swallowed as he took in the familiar face looking back at him. It was… difficult, seeing that face and forcing the anger away.
Technically, Tony knew that blaming James Barnes for his parents death was ridiculous—almost as ridiculous as Wanda blaming Tony for his name being on that bomb—but it didn't make it any easier when he could still perfectly picture the video of that metal hand closing around his mother's neck.
"Do we know where he's being held, J?"
"Not as yet, sir, but I have a comprehensive list of his… jobs. It is rather… prolific."
"You're not wrong," Tony agreed, sighing. "I don't need to see that. Keep searching, J. I need to know which Hydra base he'd being held in, so that I can liberate him."
"Yes, sir."
B.A.R.F was also on his to-do list.
Tony thought that, with a few tweaks, it could be used to derail the triggers in the Winter Soldier's head. It wouldn't be easy, of course. Tony didn't have Steve here to throw in front of the Soldier in an attempt to shake the brainwashing away, and he probably wasn't going to come easily when Tony did eventually find him.
Still, even without the mess that came with Steve deciding that Bucky was more important than the rest of the world at large, Tony couldn't, in good conscience, leave the world's longest suffering Prisoner of War with the bastards that tortured him.
Tony probably wouldn't deal with most of those details personally, either. He could hire people, the best in the business, to take care of Barnes, because as much as Tony could sympathise with his situation, Barnes had still been the weapon that had killed Tony's mother.
…
October 9th, 2010
"... the arrest of Thaddeus Ross today. An unnamed source has informed us that the information that led to the arrest came from none other than Ross' daughter, Elizabeth Ross. With the serious nature of the charges levelled against him, we're sure that the entire nation will be watching the proceedings with a deep seated interest…"
…
November 1st, 2010
Going into a Hydra base alone was probably not Tony's brightest plan, but he had very little choice. He didn't want to wait until Barnes was unfrozen again, mostly because Tony had no idea when the next time would be, and he didn't have time to make mistakes, or miss things.
He'd had FRIDAY sneak into the servers, and put the cameras on a loop, just in case anyone was watching them, and J was monitoring the area around the room that Tony was in.
It was eerily quiet in the base, and Tony was nervous. He'd scanned the base, and he knew that only a few people were in situ, but he wasn't stupid enough to believe that there couldn't be any surprises.
He found the cryotube that Barnes was being kept in, and he shuddered slightly. Nobody should go through this. Not for anything. It was cruel, it was horrible, and it was inhumane.
Working quickly, Tony turned off the machine, and opened up the doors, binding Barnes before the man woke up properly. He didn't want to waste time fighting to restrain him, and he didn't want to alert anyone to his presence, if he could help it.
"Scans, J. Get me out of here without disturbing anyone, if you can."
"Yes, sir."
…
December 19th, 2010
"Tones, what's been going on with you lately?"
"Hmm?" Tony looked up from the floor plans for the Compound. Stark Tower was almost built—way ahead of schedule when thinking about the previous timeline—and he thought that it might be best to get the Compound ready early too. "What do you mean?"
"You've been… different. Even more different than the first few months after… I'm not saying that it's a bad thing, I just—"
"I… I had an epiphany, of sorts, I suppose," Tony replied with a shrug, choosing his words carefully. He was tempted to just tell Rhodey everything, but he couldn't quite bring himself to do it. As much as he loved him, and he knew that Rhodey loved him too, Tony couldn't forget the way Rhodey had stolen one of his suits and taken it to Hammer. "The world is changing, and… I realised that I needed to change with it."
"Is this something to do with the 'War Machine' plan that you told me about?"
"Uh huh. The Avengers Initiative is… slowly coming together, and you'll be good for it. With a Colonel in charge, pulling rank, it should save a lot of… unnecessary drama."
Rhodey nodded slowly. "I've been hearing whispers about it since you brought it up with me. The UN is involved now?"
Tony nodded. "Hmm, Fury actually listened to me about that, which is… unexpected, but I'm not mad about it."
"Have you got any idea when the team will start being formed?"
Tony shook his head. "Not yet. It shouldn't be long before the feelers are out, at least. I've got my eye on a few people."
"Wanna share with the class?"
Tony smiled. "Not just yet."
…
January 7th, 2011
"He's making steady progress," Dr Heppard said, gesturing through the glass, to Barnes' room. "Everyday, he seems to lose a little more of the 'Soldier', and regains a little more of James Barnes."
Tony nodded. "Is the B.A.R.F helping?"
"It is. And, from the papers that you left me, I believe that it should allow us to remove the triggers from his mind. It's really a revolutionary programme, Mr Stark, it could help millions with PTSD."
Tony smiled. "Revolutionary is kinda my wheelhouse. And you're right, it will help millions. Eventually, we'll be rolling it out to specialised clinics around the world to help as many people as we can with it."
"Would you like to see him? It's safe, I promise. It's just that he's been asking about who saved him, and I think that he'd like to meet you."
Tony hesitated. "Not… right now. I will eventually meet with him, I just… not right now."
Dr Heppard nodded. "Of course."
…
March 4th, 2011
"... UN has released a statement in regards to the 'Avengers Initiative', a newly forming team of 'superheroes.' The world has been left in a strange mixture of shock and amazement at this newest Initiative, but so far, the reports have been overwhelmingly positive about the openness of the venture.
In a surprising move, the Avengers Accord has been opened up for all to see, and we're told that the updates will be added in real time, as and when they're made, in an effort to comfort the public about the presence of 'enhanced' beings."
"It's not exactly too soon, is it? There have been plenty of recent 'sightings' happening all around the world, hasn't there? The Avengers Accord is just in time."
"I agree, Will. We've reached out for statements from some of the better known enhanced beings, and we're waiting to hear back from them."
"Tony Stark, also known for being Iron Man, has released a brief statement to show his own support for the Accord, and his intent to sign them, 'once the creases have been ironed out'."
"In other news…"
…
March 20th, 2011
"Dr. Banner?"
Tony paused in the doorway of the small cottage, watching Bruce Banner turn to look at him.
"Do I know you?"
"In another life," Tony replied quietly. "I'm Tony Stark. It's… a pleasure to meet you."
"How did you find me?"
"I've been searching for you for a while," Tony admitted. "I'm not sure how often you get news from home out here, but I wanted to let you know that Thaddeus Ross has been arrested and convicted for crimes against humanity. Betty Ross was instrumental in his conviction."
Bruce's eyes widened, and he sat down heavily. "He's in prison?"
"He is. I've also fetched you this," Tony added, holding up a file. "It's a new set of laws for Enhanced or Superpowered beings. We're looking to put together a team, at the moment. A team that will protect the world from threats that regular people wouldn't be able to handle—like Abomination, for instance. This is the newest copy of the Avengers Accord. It'll work to protect both Enhanced people, and the public, by holding us accountable."
Tony put the file on the table.
"I'm not saying that you have to join the team, Dr Banner, or even sign onto the Accord. I'm just saying that we'd love to have you, and the option is there. I also thought you might like to know that it's safe for you to come home. Whenever you're ready."
"Dr. Stark… why did you do all of this?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why did you come and find me?"
Tony smiled sadly. "Because you deserve to be happy, Dr. Banner. And so does the Hulk."
Tony stepped back into the suit, before Bruce could ask him any more questions. He was perceptive, and Tony didn't know how he would continue to hide the truth if he stayed.
As he flew back to America, Tony pondered the meeting. It had hurt more than he'd expected, to see Bruce. It hadn't been that long since he'd seen him, after all. He'd been in New York when the spaceship—nope.
Not thinking about that mess. Not yet.
But it hadn't been long, anyway.
Then again, that had been a short meeting, and the last time Tony had seen Bruce before that… he shuddered as memories of Johannesburg filled his mind.
That wouldn't happen this time. Tony wouldn't let it.
…
June 24th, 2011
"... Thaddeus Ross died of cardiac arrest. The onsite medical team at the prison that Mr Ross was being housed in tried to save him, but he was eventually pronounced dead on site…"
…
August 4th, 2011
"Mr Stark."
Tony sat down at the table and smiled at the nervous man sitting across it. "Mr Barnes."
"I… don't know how you knew about me, but thank you," Barnes said, his hands twisting together.
He was leaning on the table on his elbows, his hands out in front of him. Tony couldn't stop glancing at the metal arm.
"Dr Heppard told me that you've been cleared of the trigger words. That must be a relief?"
"Definitely. I… they told me that you fought to have me pardoned for my crimes, while I was receiving treatment. And that I just have to sign the Avengers Accord, to make sure that I can be held accountable from now on. I… I don't know how to repay you for all that you've done, Mr Stark."
"You don't have to repay me for anything," Tony said quietly. "But, if you really feel the need, then I'd only ask one thing of you."
"Anything."
Tony snorted. "That's a dangerous thing to promise. I want you to always make your own decisions. I want you to live your life, the way that you want to live it, and I want you to do things that you want to do. Which, I suppose, is asking for more than one thing."
"I… I can do that. I, um. There's something that you need to know about—"
"If you're about to tell me about the mission report for December 16th, 1991, then I already know about it," Tony interrupted, shaking his head. "That's… not something that we need to discuss. I understand that it wasn't your choice, and I won't punish you for being used as a weapon."
"I… I am sorry, Mr Stark."
"Call me Tony, please. Now. That arm."
Bucky blinked, and looked at his metal arm. "Um. What about it?"
"It's offending me by existing," Tony replied promptly. "So I made you a better one."
"You… didn't need to do that."
"There's a lot of things that I don't need to do," Tony agreed lightly. "But I wanted to. Again, this is entirely your choice, you don't have to take the arm just because I have the greatest puppy eyes you'll ever see. It's just… there if you want it, okay?"
Barnes nodded, his eyes wide. "I, um, I'd love that. Thank you, Tony."
Tony smiled.
…
August 24th, 2011
"Sir, I have an urgent call waiting on the line for you," JARVIS murmured, interrupting a meeting.
Tony glanced at Pepper, who nodded at him to leave, and he stepped out of the room.
"Who is it, J?"
"Dr. Banner, sir."
…
October 6th, 2011
Rhodey was on the phone, gushing about the latest upgrades for the War Machine suit, when he dripped news that brought Tony up short.
"I also heard, just this morning, that they've found the Valkyrie. How crazy is that? All these years later, they've finally found it. It'll be interesting to see if we can learn anything more about what happened to Captain America though, won't it?"
Tony blinked. "J, what's the date?"
"It's the 6th of October, sir."
Rubbing his forehead, Tony shook his head. "How is October already?"
…
October 6th, 2011 (later)
"Nick," Tony greeted, when he got back to the mansion that evening. The spy was standing in his living room, looking out of the window at the ocean. "What are you doing here?"
"We found Captain America."
"I know."
"He's alive."
"I know that, too."
"How? I've been racking my brains, and I can't work out just how you seem to know so much about what you do. So. How?"
"I… am not going to tell you that," Tony admitted. "But, I will tell you that Captain America being alive, also means that Steve Rogers is alive. You need to remember that that man is human, and he's lost everything that he's ever known. He needs therapy, Nick. Intensive therapy."
Nick stared at him for a long moment. "You know that, too, I assume?"
Tony nodded. "Yeah. I do."
Nick sighed. "Send the recommendations that I'm sure you already have to my phone, and I'll take care of it."
"J," Tony murmured. "Send the file."
"Is there anything that you will tell me?"
Tony tilted his head. "How is the spring cleaning going?"
Nick's eyes darkened. "It's going. How it happened, I have no idea, but it won't happen again."
Tony nodded slowly. "Good to hear. We'll talk again when that's been… dealt with."
…
November 20th, 2011
"Welcome to the Avenger's Compound," Tony said, stepping forwards to shake Bruce's hand. "FRIDAY is in charge of the place, and can let you know where everything is, or she can get you something, if you need it. FRI, baby, introduce yourself."
"Hello, Dr. Banner," FRIDAY greeted politely. "If I can help with anything, simply state my name and I'll help in whatever way I can."
Bruce's brow furrowed. "You have a fully functioning AI?"
Tony chuckled. "I have more than one, but yes. FRIDAY is the compound AI. She's a learning AI, and she'll pick up on your favourite foods, drinks, movies, anything really. JARVIS is my personal AI, so you'll hear him around the place when I'm here too."
"That's… impressive."
Tony shrugged. "Your room is in the East Wing, where all of the residential areas are. The labs are, of course, in the basement, and there's one that's specifically yours, so you can science to your heart's desire. At the back of the compound, there's a room for the Hulk. The glass is Hulk proof, and the furniture is all reinforced, so he'll hopefully be comfortable there."
Bruce blinked. "You… made him his own room?"
"He's a part of you, and… well. You said that you wanted to be an Avenger, so… he'll be one too, right?"
"I… don't know what to say."
"Welcome home, Bruce."
…
November 24th, 2011
"They told me about finding Stevie in the ice," Bucky said, as Tony checked the last few connections on his new arm. "I don't think that they've told him about me, yet."
"They haven't," Tony replied quietly. "They're going to tell him soon though, since you gave your permission for him to know."
Bucky nodded. "He… I'm nervous about seeing him. I'm not the same person that I was back when we were friends, and… well, it's not been very long for him, really, has it? He was frozen the whole time. "
"He'll adjust, the same way that you have. Despite the changes in both of you, I'm sure that you'll find that connection between you will still be there. The rest… you'll get used to being friends as the people you are now."
Bucky nodded. "Still nervous."
"Understandably so. I'd be nervous too. But you know, Dr Heppard can be there when you meet him, if it makes you feel better about the situation, and you can take it slowly. It doesn't have to be everything all at once. You don't have to start living in his pocket."
Bucky snorted.
…
November 27th, 2011
Tony met Steve's eyes, and for just a second, he was transported back (forwards?), and could see him standing over Tony with the shield raised, ready to ram it down into Tony's chest.
No. No, that wouldn't happen this time. Tony wouldn't let it.
"Captain Rogers," he greeted, offering a genuine, if small, smile as he held out his hand for Steve to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Mr Stark," Steve replied, looking a little unsure of himself as they shook hands. "It's nice to meet you too."
Tony nodded. "How are you settling in?"
"It's… an adjustment," Steve admitted. "I, uh. I have a therapist. She's… helping."
"That's good to hear. Fury said that you wanted to meet me?"
"Oh. Yes. He told me about the Avengers? He said that I would be a good candidate for it, and that you were… instrumental to it?"
Tony nodded for him to continue.
"I've read the Avengers Accord too, and it's a good idea. I had a few suggestions for minor amendments that could be made? Mostly for emergency situations and such? Fury thought that you would be a good person for me to talk them through with."
"Okay," Tony agreed. "I've only had three cups of coffee today, which isn't even remotely enough for me to function on, and it's notoriously terrible around here, so… why don't we blow this joint and go find a cafe somewhere?"
Steve blinked, and then smiled slightly, his eyes lighting up a little. "I'd like that."
"Oh." Tony stopped. "Before we go, I uh, I brought something for you."
As he said it, three men came in, carrying a large box between them. Steve stared at it. "What is it?"
"Well, Fury told me about the poor punching bags that were losing their lives in the gym, so I made a few that are a little more… durable to a super soldier. So, just let me know if you need anymore of them."
"I… thank you, Mr Stark."
"Tony is fine."
…
December 14th, 2011
The press clamoured for their attention, shouting over one another to get answers to their questions first.
Tony arched his eyebrow at them, as he approached the podium. He waited for them to settle down, giving them nothing, until finally, they quieted.
"That's better, thank you. We're here to give a statement, and then to take some questions about the Avengers Initiative. Statement first, I think."
Glancing at Rhodey, Tony stepped back and let Rhodey take the stand.
"The Avengers Initiative is a newly forming UN backed initiative that will gather together enhanced people, and those with superpowers, as a final defence against threats to the world. The Avengers Accord is a public document that all Avengers will be required to sign," Rhodey said, looking out over the crowd of reporters.
"The Avengers are not the police. They are not the army. They won't be there to attend regular crime. The Avengers are the last possible option; they are the defenders of the Earth as a whole, a defence against threats that baseline humans wouldn't be able to face, and beat.
"As the leader of the Avengers, it will be my job to ensure that my team are training, that they are following the very clear rules set out for them, and to make sure that they are where they need to be, when they need to be there. On the flip side, it is also my job to make sure that my team performs their duty, to the very best of their ability, to minimise collateral damage wherever, and whenever, possible, and to ensure that my team is as safe as they can be."
He glanced back at Tony, nodding him forwards. "We'll take some questions now."
Rhodey stepped slightly to the side, so that Tony could join him at the podium.
"Mr Stark?"
Tony nodded at the reporter.
"Why aren't you the leader of the Avengers? As Iron Man, you already save lives on a regular basis. War Machine, on the other hand, hasn't been seen out on missions."
"Colonel Rhodes is better qualified as a team leader than I am," Tony said, running a hand through his hair. "And with the Air Force's permission, he's got far more time to dedicate to the day-to-day aspects of running a team like the Avengers. While I am Iron Man, I'm also the CTO of SI, along with being the head of R . I don't have time for more paperwork; Pep buries me in enough as it is."
There were a few chuckles amongst the crowd, and Rhodey pointed to another reporter, who was waiting patiently to ask their own question.
"Have you got a lineup yet, and if so, who is on it?"
"There are currently people in discussions at the moment, with the prospect of them becoming Avengers, and we hope to announce the lineup in the coming weeks. Of course, at any given time, new Avengers may sign up, or people may retire, so the Avengers will constantly be in flux."
"Where will the Avengers be based?"
"As of right now, the Avengers will be based in New York, though there has already been talk of enhanced people in Europe and Asia, so eventually, there may well be multiple branches of the Avengers, or similar groups, worldwide, if the UN decides to expand on the Initiative."
"That's all for today, folks," Tony said, grinning cheekily. "Look out for a press release announcing our line-up, sometime in the next month."
…
December 19th, 2011
"Tony?"
Tony looked up from his desk to see Pepper entering his workshop, a small smile on her face.
"What's up, Pep?"
"I thought that I'd come and see if you wanted to go to dinner? I feel like I haven't seen much of you lately."
Tony softened, and glanced back at the things he'd been hoping to get finished. Nodding his head, he stood up. "Sure thing, Pep."
When they reached the door, Tony's hand stretched out to rest against the bottom of her back automatically. He stopped himself just in time, and cursed internally. If he was honest with himself, he'd been avoiding spending time alone with Pepper for just this reason.
"Should we see if Happy and my Honeybear want to come with us?" he offered, sliding his hand into his pocket, so he wasn't tempted to reach for her again.
She nodded. "Good idea. I'll call Happy and you call Rhodey?"
"Done deal."
…
December 23rd, 2011
Tony walked into the meeting room at S.H.I.E.L.D, unsure as to what he should be expecting. He'd seen Fury, briefly, when he'd arrived at the base, but he was there at the request of Steve.
Steve looked up when he entered, and smiled at him. "Tony. Thank you for coming."
"Uh huh. What's up, Spangles?"
Steve blinked, and then chuckled. "Spangles?"
"Ah. Erm. Well." Tony flailed a little. "I give nicknames? A lot? Sorry."
"No, it's fine. It's nice to be called something other than Captain."
Tony softened. "What can I do for you, Steve?"
"I wanted to thank you, actually."
"Oh?"
Steve nodded. "I don't know how you found him, or even found out about him, but thank you, Tony. You saved him when I couldn't, and you don't know how much that means to me."
Actually, Tony had a pretty strong idea how much it meant to him, but he just nodded his head and smiled.
"When I first woke up," Steve continued, "I thought that my life was over, you know? Everyone I knew was gone, everything I knew about the world was different, and I just… I didn't know what to do. And then… Fury came to see me, and he told me that you'd recommended a therapist for me. I just… I don't know you, or didn't know you, and you have no reason to help me, but you did."
Tony sighed, but leant his hip against the table. "You know that Howard was my father?"
Steve nodded.
"Howard searched for you for years after the Valkyrie went into the water. There was a time that I resented you for that, however unfairly, because he spent far more hours searching for you than he ever did being a father to me." Steve opened his mouth to interrupt, but Tony raised a hand to stall him. "Please, let me finish. Howard Stark was a brilliant man, but he sucked as a dad. He cared about me in his own way, I'm sure, but… when I was a child, it didn't feel that way.
"Anyway, I didn't always see eye-to-eye with my dad about a lot of things. We argued a lot, and we weren't close, but like I said, he never gave up on finding you. When they did find you, I thought about leaving it alone.
"He might have been friends with you, but I wasn't. It was none of my business, right? But it wouldn't have been right, because… you deserve every chance to live a good life in this time, as you did back in the forties. Yes, you're Captain America—in all your spangled glory, I might add—but you're also Steve Rogers. And, well… Steve Rogers always seemed cooler than Captain America in the comics."
Steve opened and closed his mouth a few times, clearly trying to think of the best way to voice his thoughts. When he did, it was absolutely not what Tony was expecting.
"You… read the comics?"
Tony laughed, a little startled, and then decided to take another chance. "Aunt Peggy read them to me. She's my godmother, and well, she had a lot of additions to those comics. She told me that Captain America was righteous, and fought for the American way. She also told me that Steve Rogers was a scrappy little shit, who didn't have the first clue about women."
Steve choked out a laugh. "She's not wrong, that's exactly who I was. Who I am."
Tony's smile softened. "She knows you're alive. I don't know if they told you that she has dementia?"
Steve nodded, looking down. His eyes were suspiciously bright.
"She was having a good day, the last time I spoke to her, so I told her that they'd found you, and that you were okay. I hope you don't mind, I just… I wanted you to know, you know?"
Steve looked up, and met Tony's eyes. "I don't mind. I… it's nice to know that there are still people who love her. I'd like to see her, eventually. I don't… it's going to be strange."
"It will be, but… it will also be worth it," Tony agreed. "She's still the most beautiful dame you'll ever see."
Steve grinned at Tony's word choice. "I also wanted to talk to you a little more about the Avengers?"
Tony nodded. "What do you want to know?"
"I looked through the newest amendments, and I wanted to thank you for pushing forward the ones that I suggested. And erm, I'm ready to sign them. I want to be an Avenger."
Tony grinned. "That's great. You'll have to speak with my Platypus about that, but either Fury or I can set up a meeting with him for you whenever you want."
Steve looked confused. "Platypus?"
"Oh. Colonel Rhodes, sorry. You remember what I said about nicknames?"
Steve nodded. "Well, my Rhodey has… at least ten. Probably closer to a hundred."
Eyes twinkling, Steve shook his head. "You're something else, Tony."
"Oh, Spangles, you've got no idea."
…
January 4th, 2012
"You want us to join the Avengers? But… we're not enhanced, or… super?"
"How dare. I'm very super. Super sexy, super smart, super—"
"Egotistical?"
Tony laughed, shaking his head. Rhodey was grinning widely.
"The two of you are one of the best teams on the Air Force, especially since you've been using the EXO-7 Falcon Wings," Rhodey said. "You'd be a fantastic addition to the roster, particularly for extraction, and getting civilians out of danger."
Sam and Riley exchanged looks, and matching grins appeared on their faces.
"Where do we sign?"
…
January 7th, 2012
"What do you want, Nick? Tony asked, when he found Nick in his house, again. "You realise that I have a phone, right? You could just call me?"
"Would you answer if I did?"
Tony frowned. "Have I ever not?"
"You avoided us plenty after Afghanistan."
Which… Tony had to concede that was true. He'd certainly given Coulson the run around, and he'd avoided everything to do with S.H.I.E.L.D immediately after Afghanistan.
"True enough," he admitted. "But I've turned a new leaf, and I know that you've noticed that, Nick, so maybe we stop with the breaking and entering, huh?"
Nick looked at him for a long moment, and then nodded his head.
"So, what do you want, since you're here anyway," Tony asked again, sitting down on the sofa.
"I have two recommendations for the Avengers Initiative."
"Hmm?"
…
January 10th, 2012
"... the eagerly awaited announcement from the Avengers Initiative has finally been made, and the initial roster has been confirmed.
"Colonel Rhodes, in charge of the War Machine armour, will take leadership of the team.
"Tony Stark, the CTO of Stark Industries, and of course, the Iron Man pilot, will be his second in command.
"Doctor Bruce Banner, a leading scientist who is best known for his work in Gamma Radiation and nuclear physics, will be bring both brains and brawn to the team, as both himself, and his alter ego, the Hulk.
"Steve Rogers, the original Captain America, has also signed on to be a part of the team. You'll all remember the announcement of his survival, decades after his heroic actions during World War II led people to believe he'd sacrificed his life, only for him to be unfrozen and found alive. It's no surprise that he wishes to continue his quest to protect America.
"James Buchanan 'Bucky' Barnes, the longest serving prisoner of war, will be joining the team under the moniker 'Winter Soldier', and with both his enhanced body, and the arm made by Tony Stark himself, he'll surely be an asset to the team. Not to mention, he'll once more be working alongside his best friend, Steve Rogers.
"Sam Wilson and Riley Biers, Military Personnel, have been tasked with civilian removal and extraction, with the help of the EXO-7 Falcon Wings.
"And last, but certainly not least, Natasha Romanoff, and Clint Barton, both former government agents, will round out the team.
"It's quite the line up, and with the promise of it being forever in flux, we can't imagine that there would ever be a threat that these people cannot defeat."
…
January 19th, 2012
He was nervous.
Today was the first full meeting of the new (and hopefully improved) Avengers team, and after so much work, Tony really was ridiculously nervous.
After so much time, and all of the effort he'd put into it, he needed this to go well. Not only for him, but for the world. The Avengers needed to be stronger, better, unbreakable if they were going to be able to face what was to come.
Even though they had Loki to deal with first, Tony was still thinking years ahead.
Thanos was coming. Not for a while, they had time, but… he couldn't help but think about what they'd done with that time before, and…
It wouldn't happen that way again. It couldn't, because Tony had already changed so many of the things that had caused conflict the first time.
The Accords were no longer a chain that Thaddeus Ross held, Bucky was healthy, and happy, and healing, and he and Steve had been united. Steve was getting the therapy that he'd very much always required.
Rhodey was close by, closer than he'd been before, and he was protected better, in the doubly reinforced War Machine suit.
Tony wanted to believe that nothing could go wrong, and yet, he didn't believe that, because… when had fate ever been that kind to him?
"Sir, if you're planning to make it to the Compound on time, you should be leaving now," JARVIS informed him quietly, seeming to realise that Tony was already feeling somewhat fragile.
He'd always been able to sense Tony's moods.
Tony nodded. Um. Yeah, I'm going. In… in a minute."
"The suit is on standby, ready for deployment, sir."
"Oh. I was… going to drive?"
"Colonel Rhodes said that there may be some training exercises, sir. You'll be needing the suit."
Tony grumbled," This is why I need to make nanotech a thing again. Alright, J, let's go."
Tony flew to the Compound at a leisurely pace, despite JARVIS's well intentioned nagging about his time-keeping. Rhodey knew Tony, he knew not to expect Tony to be on time for anything.
Of course, being slightly late—only twenty minutes, dammit—meant that he was the last to arrive, and the nerves in his stomach intensified as the suit released to let him step out.
"Why am I not at all surprised that you're late?" Rhodey asked, hugging Tony when he stepped close enough.
"Aren't you glad that it was only twenty minutes, and not four hours, Platypus? I'm wounded."
"Of course you are."
"Spangles," Tony greeted Steve, shaking his hand. Steve grinned at the name, while Bucky let out a choked laugh. Tony winked at him. "Robo-Buck."
He greeted the others a little more sedately, or he did, at least, until he got to Sam and Riley, who seemed to be hanging back, a little unsure of their place.
"Wings 1, Wings 2, nice to see you again."
"Did you just rip off Dr Seuss?" Rhodey asked, shaking his head. "You should be ashamed of yourself."
Tony let his head hang. "I am, Sourpatch. Smite me."
"You're smited. Get your ass inside."
Tony laughed, but followed the rest of them inside, Rhodey bringing up the rear. They gathered around the large meeting table in the room Tony had designed specifically for debriefing. One of the new rules of the Avengers was a debrief after every active mission.
Rhodey smiled at them all from the head of the table. "So… I'm not going to make anyone do trust falls—"
Tony snorted, interrupting what he was sure was an excellent speech. Rhodey rolled his eyes and mock glared at him, before he continued.
"But today is literally just a 'getting to know your teammates' kind of day. We can chill in here, or out on the grounds if you'd prefer. I do have a training schedule for you all to look at, but we can do that later."
"Are we gonna play Never Have I Ever?" Clint asked, leaning back in his chair with a grin. "Or twenty questions? Or, ooh, truth or truth?"
"Truth or truth?" Tony asked, tilting his head to the side. "What's life without a little dare?"
"Playing Truth or Dare was dangerous enough with you when we were still in MIT," Rhodey intervened, pointing his finger at Tony accusingly. "If you think that imma let you play it with a bunch of enhanced superheroes, you can think again, sunshine."
"Honeybear, you spoil all of my fun," Tony pouted.
"He is literally you," Bucky said, nudging Steve with his shoulder. "Except smaller, and with better puppy dog eyes."
"Don't know what you're talking about," Steve replied haughtily, though the amusement in his eyes gave him away.
They fell into conversation easily after that.
Bucky, Rhodey and Riley seemed to bond over being the 'sensible' friends, while Steve, Tony and Sam exchanged stories of being little shits. Natasha and Clint happily engaged Bruce in conversation, asking him questions about the places he'd been to, and the things he'd seen on his travels.
Before they knew what was happening, three hours had slipped by.
"Okay, sorry to be the adult," Rhodey interrupted eventually. "But I need everyone to have a quick look at the training schedule, so that you can all let me know of any days that you can't make, or any conflicting schedules."
Rhodey handed out the schedules.
"It seems like a lot of travel," Steve murmured, biting his lip when he saw the almost daily sessions.
Tony frowned. "Have you not moved in yet?"
Steve paused. "What?"
"You all have rooms in the East Wing. Rhodey and Brucie already live here. I kinda assumed that most of you would be bringing your stuff with you to move in today, to be honest."
"I… didn't know that was an option," Steve admitted.
"The emails were sent out a week—I'm an idiot," Tony said, shaking his head. "Steve, has anyone gone over modern technology—and emails—with you yet?"
Steve just looked at him blankly.
"I'm going to repulser Nick in the face," Tony muttered. "Okay, I'm busy tomorrow, but the day after that, I'll sit down with you and go over basic tech, okay?"
Smiling, Steve nodded. "Thanks Tony."
"Okay, I gotta go," Tony said, checking his watch. "Pep will dead me dead if I'm late. Steve, pack up your stuff tomorrow, and we'll move you over here the next day, kay?"
Steve nodded, and Tony saluted the room, before he left. It had been a good day.
…
January 21st, 2012
"... and then you just press the little bin if you don't want it. We can have FRIDAY arrange your emails for you, take out all the junk you don't need, and then if you just make sure that you check your emails daily, you'll be good to go."
Steve nodded. "That… actually made sense," he said, and he looked a little surprised by that. When Tony arched his eyebrow in question, he explained, "Fury had one of his techies go over things with me yesterday—I think he's trying to avoid you being mad at him—but he talked really fast, and was just… really impatient with me, so in the end, it was just easier to say that I understood, so he'd lay off."
Tony rolled his eyes. "Jeez. You'd think that they didn't know you're from the forties or something."
"So, where's your room? I saw everyone else's names on the doors on the way down the corridor, but I didn't see one for you?"
Tony shrugged. "I don't live here. I live in the city, in the tower."
"Oh, why?"
Tony blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you're a part of the team, right? It doesn't seem right that the rest of us live together, and you don't. You should be here with us, at least some of the time."
A warm feeling was spreading through Tony's chest, and he didn't understand what it was, for a minute. Then he realised that it was the feeling of being wanted. The feeling of belonging.
"I, uh. I'll see if I can figure something out."
…
January 25th, 2012
Tony was a lot of things, and he'd been accused of being oblivious too many times to count during his life. At least half of the time, he couldn't even argue with the point.
But one thing he'd always paid close attention to was his friends.
What was why he was certain that this hadn't happened last time. He was sitting in a restaurant with Pepper and Rhodey, feeling like a third wheel.
They were smiling at one another, and Pepper had blushed three times at things Rhodey had said.
Pepper didn't blush.
Now, Tony might have been oblivious about some things, but he would have seen this. Which meant that this was new.
Huh.
Tony really wasn't sure how he felt about that. The window for him and Pepper had passed, and while part of him was sad about it, he'd seen how much happier Pepper had been than she was the first time around, so he couldn't bring himself to regret it.
But this… could he watch Pepper and Rhodey get together?
Well, he'd have to, if they did, because he wouldn't ever hurt either of them by demanding they stop. But… it was weird. Just the idea of it was enough to make his brain hurt.
And what it they got together, and moved on from him together, and then he was just left—
"Tones? You alright?"
Tony blinked, and looked up to see them both watching him, concern evident in their eyes.
"Fine, sorry. Got lost in a train of thought. What were you saying?"
"Just telling Pepper about the first Avenger bonding session. It went well, right?"
Tony nodded. "Yeah, it was good."
"Have you given any more thought to what Steve said, about you living at the Compound, at least part time?" Rhodey asked.
Shrugging, Tony shook his head. "Not really. I mean, I guess I can spend a bit more time there, but… I don't really understand why I need to be there if not for training, or whatever."
Rhodey's features softened, but it was Pepper that replied.
"One day, you're going to realise that people like you being around just because you're you," she murmured, leaning over to squeeze his hand.
Rhodey was nodding his head, and Tony had the sudden realisation that, even if the two of them ever did get together, they'd always have a place for him.
Honestly… he was okay with that.
…
January 28th, 2012
The workshop was quiet. Tony knew that Bruce didn't love it when Tony had his music blasting, and since they were both working in the same one, he'd forgone his usual noise out of respect.
"J, look at this here, and tell me if you can see any problems with the structure, will you?" Tony asked, staring at the hologram.
There was something about it that he couldn't quite put his finger on, and it was irritating him.
"I can have a look at it, Dr. Stark?" Bruce offered.
"I told you to call me Tony," Tony replied absently. He gestured to the hologram. "Help yourself."
Bruce nodded, and approached from the other side of the workshop.
"Why do you call me that?" Tony asked then, his brow furrowing slightly.
"What?"
"Dr. Stark. Nobody ever calls me that."
Bruce blinked. "You have three PHD's, don't you?"
"Well, yeah, I do, but—"
"You deserve the same respect that anyone else does with a PHD. You put the work in to get them, the same as I did, the same as everyone did. You called me Dr. Banner the first time we met for the same reason, Tony."
"Huh."
Bruce smiled slightly, and then turned his attention to the holograms. He frowned, and tilted his head. "What is this?"
"I, erm. Well. When you go green, as it were, and then turn back, you generally lose your pants, yeah? So… stretchy pants that will snap back into place once you change back from Jolly Green to Bruce."
"You're… working on stretchy pants… for me?"
Tony blinked. "Yes?"
"Why?"
"Do you like being naked? Is it a kink? Am I kink shaming you unintentionally? Damn it—"
Bruce's laughter broke into Tony's rambling, as he shook his head. "No, it's not a kink, Tony. It's just… I know that you have a lot on your plate at any given moment, and… you don't have to do this, you know?"
"Well, I want to, so… help me figure it out?"
Bruce grinned, and nodded his head. "Sure thing."
…
March 1st, 2012
"I don't know if I can do this," Steve murmured, leaning against the wall outside of the door. He was breathing heavily, and Tony only hesitated for a second before he reached over to squeeze his shoulder.
"You don't have to go in there," he said softly. "And I won't think any less of you if you choose not to. But… personally, I think it'll be good for you. She's having a good day, Steve. I checked before we came."
Steve looked up and met his eyes. "You'll be here?"
"I'll wait right out here for you, I promise."
Steve nodded, and then, with a deep, settling breath, he turned to push the door open.
Tony waited patiently, halfheartedly flicking through some of the emails that had been building up. He marked a few of them to read properly later that evening, and glanced up at the door.
He'd been doing that every few minutes since Steve had entered the room, he couldn't seem to help himself.
He hadn't seen Peggy in person for quite a few years. He spoke to her on the phone sometimes, but… he'd tried to tell himself for the longest time that he hadn't been to see her because he had too much to do in New York to take the time, or because he'd have time later.
Now… now he could admit to himself that it was because he was scared. Peggy had been a major influence on his childhood. To see her old, and frail, was… horrifying. He'd never been great with sickness, not since watching Ana fall to her own illness when he'd been young, and Peggy had always been the exact opposite to frail in Tony's mind.
The door opened, and Tony looked up from his tablet to see Steve lingering in the doorway.
"She'd like to see you," he murmured softly. "But she said that she understands, if you can't."
Tony swallowed hard. His hands were suddenly sweating, and he wiped them on his trousers. "I, uh."
"Do you remember telling me that it would be worth it?" Steve asked, his tone gentle.
Tony nodded.
Steve held his hand out for Tony to take. "It's worth it. I promise."
Slowly, so slowly, Tony lifted his hand and let Steve pull him to his feet. Steve gestured him into the room, and then followed him in, staying by the door to give them an illusion of privacy.
Peggy looked… beautiful. She was old, much older than the last time Tony had seen her, but she was still beautiful.
"Hey, Aunt Peg," he murmured, stepping closer.
She smiled up at him, her eyes twinkling the way they always had, when she was planning something his dad would be made about. The sight caused a sudden lump in Tony's throat.
"Hello, poppet."
A single tear fell onto Tony's cheek, and he leant forwards and down, wrapping his arms around her as carefully as he could.
"Oh, don't cry, poppet."
"It's good to see you," Tony said, pulling back just enough that he could look at her. He crouched down in front of her chair. "I'm sorry that it took me so long to come and visit you."
"I understand, Tony," she said, cupping his cheek. "Never once have you ignored a call from me, and I've been receiving those beautiful bouquets from you for years. I know that you care, sweetheart."
Tony nodded. "I do. I've missed you, Aunt Peg."
Steve stepped closer and sat down in the armchair close by. He squeezed Tony's shoulder gently as he passed.
When they left, an hour later, Tony felt lighter. It was like he'd dropped a weight that he'd never even realised that he'd been carrying.
…
May 2nd, 2012
He'd debated on stopping the invasion in its tracks entirely, but he'd known that he couldn't. When the call came in from Fury though, Tony couldn't help but wonder if he'd done the wrong thing.
There could have been another way to get a hold of the sceptre, or maybe he could have worked with the tesseract alone, and been done with the whole thing.
But Tony didn't know everything, and he'd learnt his lessons so many times over that he wouldn't let himself believe that he did.
He didn't know another way to get to the mind stone, and he didn't know another way to have Thor and Loki present, so while it wasn't ideal, Tony knew that he didn't really have much of a choice.
It happened mostly the way that Tony remembered it; Loki had destroyed the base, and gotten away with the tesseract, though with Clint safe at the Compound, it had been another agent that he'd hypnotised with the sceptre.
Rhodey finished explaining everything he knew, and then he smiled grimly at the team.
"Avengers… Assemble."
…
May 3rd, 2012
Clint flew the jet, Nat by his side. Tony and Steve sat in the back, talking quietly. Tony knew that he could have handled this by himself, but he also wanted to ease Steve into his role, and this fight had been relatively easy.
Not to mention that Thor would be arriving on the way back.
Besides, nostalgic as it was, Tony was looking forward to Steve having his back, like it had been last time. Even if it hadn't lasted long, knowing Steve was there at his back had always made Tony feel safe. It was nice to have that feeling again.
…
May 4th, 2012
The atmosphere on the Helicarrier couldn't have been more different this time. Tony worked quietly with Bruce while the others puttered around. Fury and Coulson were talking to Thor.
Rhodey had been watching Thor with his head tilted to the side slightly. Tony wandered over to him, and rested his chin on Rhodey's shoulder.
"Whatcha thinking, Honeybear?"
"I'm thinking… that a god would be an interesting addition to the Avengers Initiative."
Tony snorted. "Interesting is certainly one word for it."
"You don't agree."
"I… agree. Sort of. Let's just… see how things go, for now, huh?"
A beep caught their attention, and Bruce looked up to meet Tony's eyes, his own panicked.
"I think we have a prob—"
He was interrupted by a blast to the side of the Helicarrier.
Well. Time to go.
….
I can close it!" Natasha called out over the comms. "Let me close it."
"Wait! I've got a nuke coming in in less than a minute, and… I know just where to put it."
"Tony… you can't," Rhodey said softly. "That's a one way trip."
"It will level New York, Rhodey. I'll be fine… have a little faith."
"Don't do this, Tones," Rhodey begged. "You're not allowed to leave me like this."
"Sour Patch… I love you. I have to do this. Please, just… trust me, okay. I'll come back."
There was a pause, and then a sigh. "Do it."
…
May 5th, 2012
The Tesseract belongs on Asgard!" Thor demanded.
"No," Tony disagreed, shaking his head. "It doesn't, because Asgard clearly didn't protect it when they had it last, did they?"
"You dare—"
"Yes, I dare," Tony snapped. "Because I've just seen my home almost get destroyed because of the power of that thing! Yes, we managed to stop the invasion, and yes, it turned out well in the end, but people still died! A lot less than if we hadn't been there, but those deaths still matter!"
Fury walked into the room, silencing them all as he handed the sceptre over to Tony, arching one eyebrow.
"Are you going to explain a little more now, Stark? I've been very patient, so far."
The worst of it was, Tony couldn't even argue with him. Fury had been patient, barely pushing Tony at all, when it came to the things that he clearly knew about, when he shouldn't.
Tony accepted the sceptre, and nodded his head slowly.
"A little more. I can… do that. Okay. So. The Tesseract is an Infinity Stone," he said, glancing Thor's way. "This Sceptre is also an Infinity Stone. It's why the Sceptre could penetrate the barrier that surrounded the Tesseract when Loki had it up on the tower."
He glanced around the room, and then looked back at Thor.
"It needs to be destroyed," Tony continued, his tone flat. "Thanos, the Mad Titan, is going to gather the Infinity Stones to wipe out half of all humanity. We cannot allow that to happen."
Thor stared at him for a long moment. "How do you have the knowledge of this, Man of Iron?"
"I… can't answer that. I know that you have no reason to believe me, but ask your brother. Loki was a pawn in Thanos' game. He has green eyes. When we were on the Helicarrier, his eyes were blue. Loki was being controlled, just as much as the agents he controlled were."
"Wait, you're saying Loki isn't a bad guy?" Steve asked, from the corner of the room.
Tony wrinkled his nose. "Eh, he's of questionable morals, but this wasn't exactly on him. He's a trickster god. I feel like, if he'd been putting in a little effort, we wouldn't have won as easily as we did, you know?"
"That… makes a terrifying amount of sense," Sam muttered, wincing when Riley hit his shoulder.
"Hush up, the adults are talking."
Tony chuckled, making them both blush, as they realised that they'd been caught out.
"Look, this is a big deal," Tony said, sobering. "I can't… explain a lot. And I know that that's a really shitty thing to be saying when we're a team, but it's… it's the way it is. What I can tell you is that this is the only way that I can see it working out for the best. We've got… so much coming, and it's going to be so much work, but together… together we can win.
"But for now… for now, we need to make sure that Thanos cannot unite the six stones."
Thor tilted his head, and stared at Tony silently for a long moment. Tony almost flinched away from the stare—it was almost like the god was looking through him, reading every thought straight from his brain—but he managed to hold himself still and waited.
"Mjolnir can destroy the Sceptre," he said, finally. "The Mind Stone will be the easiest to destroy. If we only have to break one of them—"
Tony shook his head. "Destroy them both."
"Man of Iron—"
"Having the Tesseract on Asgard will make your planet a target. Thor… you can't beat him. Not alone."
"You are positive?"
"Yes."
"Then… I will take your word for it. I will destroy them both."
Tony nodded, relief flooding him so thoroughly, he swayed on his feet. He took a step back, and laid the Sceptre on the floor.
"Have at it, Point Break."
Thor took a steadying breath, and then, he raised the hammer high and brought it down hard.
…
May 5th, 2012 (later)
"We should head home," Rhodey said, looking around at the gathered team. "We can run through the debrief tomorrow. For tonight, I think that we should eat all of the food, and get some rest."
"We should have a movie night," Sam suggested, lips tilting up. "Steve and Bucky have like, a million movies that they've gotta see."
Rhodey nodded. "Good idea. Movies, and a takeaway."
Tony smiled at the team, and patted Rhodey's shoulder. "Have a good night, Sour Patch. I'll see you tomorrow. Give J a heads-up whenever you need me there for the debrief, okay?"
Rhodey frowned. "Where are you going?"
"Back to the tower," Tony said. "Loki made a bloody mess of it—"
"Tony," Bucky said, stepping forwards slightly. "Come home."
Tony looked from Bucky, to Steve, who looked hopeful, and then back to Rhodey, who was watching him with a familiar fondness.
"We'll even let you pick the movies," Rhodey promised.
Tony grinned. He remembered that the reaction to Jurassic Park had been particularly amusing.
…
May 7th, 2012
"Sooooo, when are you planning to ask Pep out on a date?"
Rhodey spat out his mouthful of beer, and glared at Tony, while he howled with laughter.
"Was there any need for that?"
"Oh, so much need," Tony confirmed, still laughing. "Like, all of the need."
"Anyway, what are you talking about?" Rhodey asked, looking down, like he suddenly couldn't meet Tony's eyes. "I'm not going to ask Pepper out."
Tony frowned. "Why the hell not? She's perfect—beautiful, smart, doesn't take anyone's shit—"
"That's why I'm not asking her out," Rhodey interrupted softly, pointing at Tony. "Pepper… She's your endgame, Tones. I've known that for years."
"Oh. I. No, Sour Patch. That's… not going to happen. Not ever."
"But—"
Tony shook his head. "No. I appreciate the thought, I really do, but me and Pep? I love her, Rhodey, to the end of the fucking earth, but us in a relationship would be explosive. In, you know, not the good way."
"So… you wouldn't mind?"
Tony shook his head and smiled slightly. "No, Platypus. I don't mind. You… you're my best friend. If anyone was going to treat Pepper the way that I hope she'll be treated, well, I wouldn't trust anyone more than I trust you."
"Thanks, Tones."
"Uh huh. Now, I'm getting hives from emotions, so can we go and blow shit up for a while?"
"Lead the way."
…
June 21st, 2012
Tony was sitting on the sofa in the dark, twisting a tumbler of whiskey between his hands. He was tired, so very tired, but the nightmares had been particularly vicious for the past few days, and the last thing Tony wanted to do was suffer through more of them.
"You okay?"
He startled, turning quickly to see Clint approaching him. The man jumped over the back of the sofa and settled in beside Tony, putting his legs over Tony's lap, as though that was a normal thing to do.
"I'm fine," Tony replied, the words leaving his lips automatically. He was always fine, after all, he didn't really have much of a choice about that.
"No you're not." Clint smiled at him slightly. "It's okay, you know?"
"What's okay?"
"To not be fine. None of us are expecting you to always be fine. Nobody is ever always fine."
Tony sighed. "I guess."
"Nightmares suck," Clint said, staring at the space just behind Tony's head. "I never sleep properly when Phil isn't beside me now. It's problematic, given our lives."
"Phil? Wait… you mean Agent Agent?"
Clint snorted. "Yeah, Tony. I mean Agent Phil Coulson."
And with just that one sentence, Clint short-circuited Tony's brain. Had that been a thing last time? The first time. When Coulson 'died'? Had Clint really been mourning the loss of his partner while they were all out killing the Chitauri, and eating shawarma afterwards?
"Huh. I… didn't know that the two of you were a… thing?"
"Not many people do," Clint admitted. "I like to keep my private life private. There's less chance of anyone using him as leverage against me, or vice versa, if nobody knows we're together."
"So… why tell me?"
"You gonna use him as leverage to get something out of me, Tones?"
"Obviously not, but—"
"I trust you," Clint said, simply. "I know that you wouldn't use the information to hurt me or him."
"Huh."
Clint glanced at the dark screen of the tv and huffed. "You know that you're missing the greatest invention since the bow, right?"
Tony blinked and then frowned. "What?"
Clint nodded to the TV. "Late night infomercials."
…
July 4th, 2012
"Why are you suddenly so eager for SHIELD interference, when you were adamant that the Avengers should be their own organisation?" Fury asked, his eyebrow raised.
Tony rolled his eyes. "I didn't say that I wanted to suddenly be back under your thumb, Nicky. I just feel like it would be a good idea to have a liaison between SHIELD and the Avengers, is all."
"Uh huh. And you want that liaison to be Coulson?"
"Yep."
"Why?"
"At least half of us already know him," Tony replied, shrugging his shoulders. "And he's not so incompetent that I'd want to kill him. And he's not so easily scared, which is probably a good thing, since most people would wet themselves when faced with Nat and Riley arguing over whether The Great British Bake Off is an acceptable thing to binge watch—save your sanity and don't ask."
"And this has absolutely nothing to do with the relationship between Coulson and Barton, no?"
"Of course it doesn't."
"Of course."
"Thank you," Tony murmured, leaning back in the seat with a small grin on his face.
"I haven't said yes, yet."
"Uh huh."
…
July 7th, 2012
"Thank you."
Tony looked up to see Clint offering him a fresh cup of coffee. "I don't know what you're talking about, but thanks for the coffee."
…
November 16th, 2012
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Tony asked, leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen, a shit-eating grin on his face.
Bucky and Sam sprang apart, each of them tripping over excuses and blushing madly.
Tony snorted. "No need to be so embarrassed about it, boys, just maybe don't make out where everybody has to eat, huh? Not the most hygienic, you know?"
"We were just—"
"It's, erm, not what it, erm—"
"And then he just—"
Tony laughed, and turned away, singing, "Buck and Sa-am, sitting in a tree, G…"
…
December 25th, 2012
Tony stood in the doorway of the main living room, a tumbler of whisky held loosely in his hand. The whole team were sitting in the living room, talking amongst themselves. The day had been full on, and so much, and yet, Tony didn't think that he'd ever had a happier Christmas in his life.
They'd unwrapped presents together, ate the biggest Christmas lunch he'd ever seen together, they'd watched the Grinch together and stolen chocolates from one another.
They'd laughed and joked, and a couple of them had even shed a few tears at the more emotional gifts that had been exchanged.
Tony couldn't remember a time in his life—before Strange had sent him back included—that he'd ever been this content.
"You look… happy."
Tony turned his head to find Pepper standing close by. She had a glass of wine in her hand, and a wide smile on her face. She looked adorable, dressed in Iron Man shorts, and a War Machine t-shirt, with long, fluffy socks on her feet.
"I am happy, Pep."
"I'm glad. It's all I've ever wanted for you, you know that, right?"
"I know," Tony replied, his tone soft. "I'm happy that you're happy too, Pep. You and Rhodey… it's good."
"Yeah?"
Tony nodded. "Yeah. It's… I like it when you're both happy, and that you're doing it together? Even better."
Pepper grinned. "You know, if we ever get married, we're going to have the biggest fight over who gets you to stand beside them."
Tony matched her grin with his own. "I'm a billionaire, Pep. How much is it going to cost me, to get an outfit made that's half Best Man suit, and half Maid of Honour dress?"
Pepper's laughter drew the attention of the others, and before he knew it, they were both being dragged back into the mess of bodies and tangled limbs of the team, all of them questioning just what had made Pepper laugh so hard.
Yeah… Best Christmas Ever.
…
February 3rd, 2013
"Okay, but you both have bedrooms. You know that, right?"
Bucky and Sam broke apart, and Bucky looked over Sam's shoulder. "Why is it always you that catches us? Are you having JARVIS watch us, so that you know when to come and interrupt us?"
"You caught me," Tony replied breezily, winking at Bucky. "I live to be a cockblock. It's literally my life's calling."
Sam rolled his eyes. "Do you do it to Phil and Clint too, or is it just us?"
"I rang Pepper and Rhodey while they were… occupied a few weeks ago, if that counts?"
"You… you mean that they answered the phone?"
Tony snorted. "It's me. Of course they did. I don't think any of you understand the sheer amount of trouble that I can get into, when I'm not being monitored. It's like… leaving a kid alone with a pile of chocolate. Terrible idea, yet still kinda fun."
Bucky sighed, and shook his head. "Why are you Steve?"
…
May 13th, 2013
"Nope, nope, nope, and nope."
"But sushi," Tony said, as the suit retracted around him. "It's karma."
"If I ever see squid again, I won't be responsible for my actions," Clint snapped, stomping down the corridor, towards the decontamination showers.
Tony, Steve and Natasha walked behind him at a more sedate pace. They'd all need to get a shower too, of course, but the little splashes of squid ink on them were nothing when looking at the way Clint dripped with it with every step he took.
"Well, he did say that he wanted to try out his exploding arrows," Nat said, shrugging lightly. "Guess that he knows they work now."
Laughing, Tony said, "I'm somewhat offended that he didn't realise that my arrows would go with a boom."
"Pretty sure that he wasn't expecting the squid to… blow up quite like it did, though," Steve commented, barely managing to hold his own laughter in.
"You're a bunch of twatwaffles," Clint called back, without turning around to look at them. "I hate all of you."
…
July 27th 2013
Tony woke up in the hospital.
It wasn't a new experience, but it didn't stop it from being irritating. When he looked around the room, he was surprised to see the entire team crammed around his bed, squished up beside one another to make room.
"I… how much did you have to terrorise the staff, to have this allowed?" he asked.
Sam snorted. "It's bold of you to assume that we gave them a choice."
"They're going to hate us," Tony complained. "And since I'm the one that they're going to insist on sticking needles in, that doesn't bode well for me."
Rhodey snorted. "As if you wouldn't be terrorising them if you were here alone. In fact, we're doing them a favour, just by being here."
Tony rolled his eyes. "Right. Just doing your civic duty. I gotcha."
They all smiled at him, and well, if Tony felt especially warm in his chest… nobody needed to know about that.
…
October 31st, 2013
Tony was crying. Actually crying. Rhodey held him up, laughing himself, though in fairness, he was laughing more at Tony than the scene in front of them.
Steve and Bucky were standing by the door, both watching on with amused smiles on their faces.
Clint was in much the same position as Tony, though Phil was the one holding him up, with a put-upon look on his face, as though he wasn't sure why he was even there.
"It's not that funny," Sam muttered, rolling his eyes.
"You'd think that he'd never seen Halloween costumes before," Riley agreed, shaking his head.
"Rhodey, Rhodey," Tony gasped out through his laughter. "Thing 1 and Thing 2! They remembered! This is the most beautiful thing!"
And then he lost control of himself again, laughing uncontrollably once more.
Eventually, Steve got bored of waiting to leave, and he hefted Tony over his shoulder in a perfectly executed fireman's lift.
Tony simply bent his elbow and rested his chin in his hand, perfectly content to let Steve carry him.
…
November 15th, 2013
"Why didn't he call us in?" Steve asked, frowning. "We could have helped."
"Perhaps he didn't think that we could? Or would? Honestly, Thor doesn't really know us, so I don't think that we can take offence to this," Tony replied, his eyes on the TV that was broadcasting the destruction in Greenwich. "Besides, we have no idea what's actually going on."
Steve glanced at Tony, raising his eyebrows. "Even you don't know what's going on?"
Tony rolled his eyes. "Even I don't know what's going on. I'm not actually omniscient, you know?"
"Ehhhh, I beg to differ," Sam retorted. "You creepy."
"You're just sore that I keep catching you and the Snowflake getting busy in public areas of the Compound," Tony replied, airily.
Steve snorted, but sobered quickly. "Back to Thor. Are we heading to Greenwich, just in case?"
Rhodey shook his head. "Not right now. We're on standby, just in case, but… it looks like it's done with, whatever it was that was happening. Until one of us can speak to Thor, we're going to have to stay curious, I'm afraid."
…
December 20th, 2013
"Man of Iron!"
Tony blinked. The last person he'd been expecting to see when he arrived at the Compound was Thor.
"Thor," he greeted, looking around at the team. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to offer my services to the Avengers," Thor replied, quieter than Tony had ever heard him be. "I have much to make up for, in Midgard, and I believe that assisting this team you have built would be the best way for me to do so."
"Uh huh. Aren't you like… the Crown Prince of another planet? How's that going to work?"
"I have renounced the throne," Thor replied. "I will always have deep love for my planet, and of course, if they have need for me, I'll return to Asgard, but my Lady Jane is here, and I have a great desire to remain with her. Midgard has always welcomed me before. I hope the same might be true now."
Tony nodded slowly.
"Well, it's your call, Honeybear," he said, winking at Rhodey. "But… before any of that, are you going to tell us what the hell the scene was in Greenwich?"
Thor smiled. "Of course, friend Anthony! Join us, and I shall tell you of the most recent of battles!"
…
March 5th, 2014
"Fucking Doom."
"At least it's just… robots this time. Remember the—"
"We agreed never to speak of that again."
…
July 24th, 2014
"How did you even know about the suits?" Hope asked, her head tilted slightly in confusion. "My dad is already as paranoid as all hell, Tony, you're going to make him worse!"
Tony chuckled. "Well… what Hank doesn't need to know about, ain't gonna hurt him, is it?"
Hope rolled her eyes. "And you want me and Scott to join the Avengers, as Ant Man and The Wasp?"
Tony nodded. "Uh huh."
"And you know that Scott can be—"
"Uh huh," TOny repeated, before Hope could even think of a word to describe him. She laughed.
"I'll think about it," she promised, sipping her coffee.
"No pressure," Tony promised. "Just… you know my number, yeah?"
…
April 28th, 2015
The scene was familiar—except, perhaps even worse than it had been the first time—and Tony was confused, because he didn't know how it was even happening, but the fear was debilitating.
His team—all of them—dead around him.
Steve's eyes, flat and betrayed, accusing Tony of not doing enough to save them all.
As Tony blinked away the vision to find himself back in the abandoned warehouse, he slumped against the wall. How? How had this still happened?
Hydra had given Wanda and Pietro their powers with the Mind Stone. The Mind Stone had been destroyed before Hydra ever got their grubby little paws on it.
Tony knew it, because he'd watched Thor break it into tiny little pieces with Mjolnir. He knew it was gone, because the pieces had been separated, destroyed even further, and turned to ash.
So how was this still happening?
"Tony?"
He turned to see Steve looking at him with concern on his face. "Are you okay?"
"Fine, fine," Tony replied, his tone absent as he stayed mostly locked in his thoughts. "Are we done here?"
"Yeah… yeah, we're done. Are you sure that you're okay?"
Tony nodded one, sharp and firm. "I'm fine. I just… I just want to go home."
…
May 1st, 2015
Tony spent three days fighting with his memories of before, trying to think of any way that the witch twins could still exist, even without the Mind Stone.
He couldn't think of a single one.
Clearly Hydra had come up with another way to give them powers, which was worrying in and of itself, but beyond that, it scared Tony, because he didn't know what he was supposed to do about them.
And that was the main question he had to answer. What the hell was he supposed to do? Wanda had become a part of the team the first time around, and Pietro had died, saving Clint.
Could Tony find a way to turn them both to the good side, without needless death and destruction?
And, perhaps more importantly, did he want to?
He'd never shared Steve's delusion that Wanda was 'just a kid', and he'd never truly been comfortable around her, or with her presence on the team—and that wasn't to mention what she'd done to Bruce, in Johannesburg.
Pietro… Tony had no idea what he was like. He was a fast little fucker, there was no doubt about that, but aside from that, all Tony knew about him was that he hated Tony because of a bomb that Tony was relatively sure hadn't even been his in the first place.
Conceited though it may seem, if it had been an SI bomb, it wouldn't have malfunctioned and not gone off. Given the sheer amount of copies on the market, it seemed far more likely that it was one of those.
Was it worth trying to save them, trying to turn them, when it could backfire so badly? The team had been doing so well. They'd turned into the family that they'd always had the potential to be.
Was it worth the chance of sacrificing that?
With no other choice, he sent a message to Tony, asking him to call for a team meeting as soon as possible.
...
May 1st, 2015 (later)
"Is this one of those things that you just… know about?" Steve asked, leaning against the table.
"I guess," Tony replied. "But… it's different to what I would have… expected, so honestly, I'm going in as blind as anyone else on this. I just know that… It's a threat that needs to be dealt with, one way or another, and it needs to be done soon. I have… no idea what's going to come of it, and…" Tony shook his head. "I'm worried."
"Okay, so what do we know for certain?" Clint asked.
"Wanda and Pietro Maximoff are Hydra agents," Tony said, sighing deeply. "Wanda has some pretty damaging powers, including telekinesis, telepathy, and energy manipulation. She can cause visions and invoke… emotions, with them. It's not the most fun experience in the world."
"The bunker," Steve said, tilting his head. "She was there?"
Tony nodded, rubbing at his temple. "I wasn't expecting her, and it threw me for a loop. I'm sorry that I lied to you when you asked if I was okay."
"What did she show you, Tones?" Rhodey asked, his tone soft.
Swallowing hard, Tony told them the truth. "All of you, dead, except… Steve wasn't. He, uh, he said that I could have done more. Could have saved you all. I…"
"Well, that just proves that it's fake," Steve said flatly. "Because you've always done everything in your power—and even a few things that should be well beyond your power, if we're going to be honest—for this team. I'd never, ever, think that you'd done anything but your best for us, Tony. Not ever."
"Anyway," Tony said, fighting against the threatening onslaught of emotion that he'd never been good at dealing with. "Pietro is Wanda's brother, and the only power that I know he has is being ridiculously fast. Like, almost invisible blur kinda fast. If he has any other powers… I don't know about them."
"And you weren't expecting this to happen?" Bucky asked, eyes narrowed slightly in thought.
"No. No, I can't say that I was."
"Do you have any idea where they're based?" Rhodey asked.
"Sokovia."
"I'll fill out the forms for a reconnaissance mission to Sokovia, then, and we'll see if we can unearth anything about them," Rhodey said. "Sam, Riley, Tones, Hope, and Bruce? Any objections?"
"Brucie… you should sit this one out," Tony said softly, as everyone else nodded their agreements.
Bruce tilted his head. "One of those things?"
Tony nodded with a tight smile. "Yeah. One of those things. You know that it's not because—"
"If you think it's best, then I'll stay here," Bruce promised, squeezing Tony's shoulder. "I trust you."
Rhodey stared at the two of them for a moment, and then shrugged. "Steve?"
Steve nodded. "Of course."
Bucky sighed. "You're volunteering Steve Rogers for a stealth mission. Have you lost your mind?"
"I can be stealthy!"
"You're about as stealthy as a dinosaur on a unicycle," Bucky replied, completely unimpressed. "You've never seen a problem that you can't punch, Stevie. You can't punch on a recon mission. You gotta sit and be patient."
Steve's cheeks flushed slightly, and Tony couldn't stop the chuckle from escaping him.
"I can be patient," Steve muttered, glancing at Tony.
Bucky softened slightly. "I know that you want to help, Pal. Just… take point from Tony on this one, okay? No charging in, shield up and fists raised."
…
May 6th, 2015
They found nothing.
The main base in Sokovia was entirely empty, and had long since been abandoned.
On the flight back, Tony sat alone, his head in his hands, as he considered what this could mean for all of the plans he'd made, and the things to come.
A hand on his back made him jump, and he looked up to see Hope sitting down in the seat beside him.
"Are you okay?"
Tony looked at her for a long moment, and then shook his head. "No. I… no. I have a really bad feeling about this."
…
May 9th, 2015
"Can't sleep?"
Tony looked up to see Riley standing in the doorway, a mug of what looked like hot chocolate in his hands.
"Nightmares," Tony admitted, quietly. "I just… I hate not knowing what's going to happen."
Riley's lips tilted up into a smile. "You know, that's how the rest of us feel almost all of the time. I won't pretend to know how you know the things that you do, but… I see the strain it puts on you sometimes. We all do. You know that you only have to let us know—any of us—if there's anything that we can do to help, right?"
Tony nodded. He did know that. He really did. It was an unexpected pleasure.
"Jungle Book?" Riley asked then, walking into the room, and sitting down on the sofa beside Tony, their shoulder's brushing together. "I promise that I won't laugh when you sing along with the songs?"
Tony smiled. "Deal."
…
May 13th, 2015
"Sir, there's a situation at the Compound."
Tony froze and glanced at Pepper. "What kind of situation?"
"It would appear that a Hydra group is attacking. The Compound is surrounded, sir. Colonel Rhodes has sent out the assemble alert to the whole team."
"Shit," Tony muttered. "Pep, I gotta—"
"Go," she told him, pulling the paperwork that they'd been going over towards herself. "Be careful. And… keep an eye on Jim, please?"
Tony pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. "Always do, Pep. Always do."
The suit folded around him as he stepped off the roof of the tower, and Tony flew off towards the Compound, JARVIS in his ear, filling in more details.
"Is the rest of the team already on site, J?"
"They are, Sir. Thor arrived minutes ago, and the rest of them were already there for training. They've split into teams already, and are engaging as we speak, sir. Colonel Rhodes has asked that you join Thor, Steve and Bucky on the front lawns."
"On it. Connect me to the comms as soon as we're in range, J."
…
"... son of a bitch, he's fast," Clint muttered. "You weren't fucking kidding, were you, Shellhead?"
"In this case, I really, really, hate to say that I told you so," Tony replied. "How are you getting on back there?"
"We're… getting on," Natasha replied, slightly breathless. "Anytime you want to come and join us, you're more than welcome."
"Be there soon," Bucky replied, as Tony blasted the last three Hydra goons on the front lawn. "Lift, Tin Man?"
Tony flew past Bucky, catching him in one arm, as Thor joined them with Steve.
…
"Christ, did someone give them the blueprints of the weak points of the Compound, or what?" Sam grumbled, as Tony flew past him.
"Weak points? How dare!"
…
"RILEY!"
"SOMEONE CATCH HIM!"
…
"BUCKY! DUCK!"
…
"RHODEY, LOOK OUT!"
…
"HOPE, MOVE!"
…
May 14th, 2015
Tony slumped against the wall, and his legs crumbled beneath him, leaving him to slide down until he hit the floor, his legs bent in front of him.
It was arse o'clock in the morning, and they still hadn't received any updates on their injured teammates.
Steve, Sam and Clint were sleeping restlessly in the uncomfortable armchairs of the SHIELD medical waiting area. Natasha was looking at Tony, sympathy in her eyes, even though her face was an emotionless blank slate.
Once upon a time, Tony wouldn't have seen the sympathy. He would have believed that she didn't care. Now, he knew it was because she was even worse about emotions than he was. She didn't know how to deal with them; especially fear, worry, and grief.
Thor had returned to Asgard immediately after the last of the Hydra goons had been put down, muttering something about a vision, and making promises to return.
Bruce was sleeping in one of the medical rooms, completely worn out after the unexpected necessity of a Hulk appearance.
"Did we get them?" Scott asked, rolling his shoulders, as he leant against the wall across the room from Tony.
"Hmm?"
"The two you were worried about. Wanda and the fast kid?"
Natasha nodded, glancing at Tony. "They're both dead. Thor lashed out at the girl when she got in his head, and Clint caught the boy with an arrow through his chest. Neither of them will be a problem again."
Tony didn't even know if he should be relieved, or grieving. He had so many emotions churning inside of him, that he couldn't find the space to really care about either of them at the moment.
Four of their team—their family—were in beds, locked away in rooms that they couldn't visit yet, because they were all fighting for their lives.
Nothing like this had happened before. Sure, one or two of them had been injured on the occasional mission. It happened, and their job was inherently dangerous.
But this… this wasn't anything Tony was prepared to deal with.
"Tony?"
Tony looked up from where he was holding his head in his hands, to see Pepper standing in the doorway, her hair a mess, and her expression tight with worry.
"I'm so sorry, Pep," Tony whispered. "I promised you that I'd look out for him."
"Oh, Tony, this isn't your fault," she murmured, stepping further into the room. She sank down on the floor beside him, automatically pulling him into her arms. "None of this is your fault. I know that you did your best, you always do."
"I just… I can't lose him, Pep. Any of them."
"Who's…?"
"Bucky, Riley and Hope. We've heard nothing about any of them. I just… Hydra can't be allowed this. They can't."
"They're all fighters, Tony. All four of them. This… they'll get through it."
"And if they don't?"
"They will."
They fell into silence; a tense, horrible silence that seemed to clog Tony's lungs, until he couldn't breathe through it.
"I'm going to get some coffee," Natasha murmured, about an hour later. "I'll bring you some back."
Tony blinked, his eyes finally focusing on her. He nodded, glancing at the others. When had they even woken up?
Everyone seemed to be alert, and Clint stretched out in the chair before he stood up. "I'll come with you."
They left, and the silence returned, more oppressive than ever. Pepper shifted beside Tony, and then stood up, wincing at the aches the floor had given her.
She sat down in the armchair closest to Tony, and then beckoned him closer. Tony shifted, until he was leaning against the chair, and she buried her hand in his hair, giving both of them comfort.
Someone cleared their throat, and Tony looked up to see one of the doctors standing in the doorway. He looked tired, and there was blood on his scrubs, but he looked satisfied, and he gave them all a smile when each and everyone of them sat up to give him their full attention.
"Mr Barnes is going to be fine," he said, his smile widening slightly at the collective relief. "He's already healing, which made our job a little more difficult, since we were racing against his accelerated healing ourselves, but he's going to be okay. He's awake, but we'd ask that only one or two of you go and see him tonight, and that you don't remain too long. He still requires rest."
Steve and Sam stood up immediately, and Tony nodded at them. Sam paused at the door. "If there's any news about Riley…"
"Someone will come and tell you," Tony promised.
They left, and Tony glanced over at Scott. He felt sorry for the man, sitting on his own on the opposite side of the room to the others, but he didn't really know what to say.
He was the person on the team that Tony knew the least. He hadn't been with the team long, and Tony hadn't known him at all before, so he didn't even have any kind of advantage from that.
Thankfully, Nat and Clint returned to the waiting room a few minutes later, each of them holding trays filled with coffee and slightly stale sandwiches. They both smiled, full of relief, when Pepper quietly told them that Bucky was going to be okay.
Tony took a coffee from the tray when it was offered.
"Sandwich too," Natasha prompted.
Tony wanted to decline—his stomach was rolling enough already with badly suppressed fear—and he felt that if he even tried to eat, he'd only vomit it back.
Violently.
"Please," Pepper said, quietly. "Eat something."
Tony took one of the sandwiches and offered Pepper a tight smile. He took small bites, but it still felt awful going down his throat, sticking all the way down.
It settled heavy and uncomfortable in his stomach, and he washed it down with the coffee, hoping against hope that it would stay down.
"Any news?" Steve asked, when he and Sam returned to the room.
Tony shook his head. He struggled to his feet, wincing at the pain in his spine. "I'm gonna… take a walk. I'll be back."
He left before any of them could ask if he was okay, though he could feel their gazes on his back until he got out of sight. He made a beeline for the nearest bathroom, and barely made it in time before the sandwich made its reappearance.
He heard the door open, and then a gentle hand settled on his back, rubbing up and down in a soothing motion.
"Get it up, Tones," Clint murmured.
He stayed with Tony until he was done, and then found a glass to fill with water.
"You okay?"
Tony shook his head. "Not even a little bit. I don't… I should have been able to prevent this. There should have been—"
"You said it yourself, Tones, you're not omniscient."
A broken laugh escaped Tony, and he rubbed a hand over his face. "You have… no idea, Clint. None of you do. And I just… I should doing more, should be doing better, and I'm not, and my team might end up paying the price for that, and I just—"
"Tony, calm down," Clint interrupted. "We don't need to know, because we trust you, and we trust that you're doing all that you can do. Okay?"
"Okay. Okay, I'm fine."
"You're not, but that's okay. Shall we go and get some fresh air for a few minutes, before we go back to the waiting room?"
Tony hesitated, and then nodded his head. "I… yeah. That sounds… good."
…
"Jim's going to be okay," Pepper said, as soon as they made it back to the waiting room.
Only Clint's fast reaction held Tony up, as his legs gave out beneath him. Shaking with relief, Tony felt tears sliding down his cheeks, as Clint helped him into a chair.
Pepper took his place, hugging Tony tightly.
"Any news on Riley or Hope yet?" he asked, wiping away the tears.
"Not yet," Steve replied. "But it's gotta be soon, right?"
Tony swallowed hard, but nodded his head. "Yeah… yeah, I guess it does."
Knowing that Rhodey was going to be okay was honestly the biggest relief Tony thought that he'd ever felt, but he was still on tenterhooks, waiting for news on their other two teammates.
Finally, a doctor came to the door. Tony looked up and immediately his heart sank, as he took in the defeated look on the man's face.
"I'm so sorry," the doctor murmured. "Hope didn't make it off the table."
…
May 21st, 2015
"Tones?"
Tony blinked awake, sitting up when he saw Rhodey looking at him from the bed.
"Hey, Honeybear," he greeted quietly.
"What are you doing here?"
"I just…" Tony shook his head. "I couldn't be there."
"Nobody blames you," Rhodey said softly. "This wasn't your fault."
"I blame me," Tony replied flatly. "I recruited her. If not for me, she wouldn't have even been there, so… yeah. My fault. I'll have to live with that."
"She could have said no," Rhodey said firmly. "Hope knew what she was risking to be an Avengers—we all do—and she enjoyed what we did. She knew the risks coming in, and she knew the danger that she might face. If it's your fault, then it's my fault, because I told her where to fight. I was the one that officially signed her to the team."
"Rhodey—"
"Is it my fault, Tones?"
"Of course it's not!"
"Then it's not yours either, you hear me?"
Tony slumped back in the seat. "I hear you. I told Steve where I was going, I didn't just ditch. And I went to the service. I just… I couldn't face the wake, Rhodey. Too many people, and I just…"
"The team will understand that," Rhodey assured him.
Tony nodded, because he knew that not a single one of them would judge him for not being okay.
"How are Bucky and Riley doing?"
"Bucky's back to being a pain in the ass, and Riley is healing well. He'll be in the casts for… however long people wear casts on broken things for, I suppose, and then I guess he'll be okay? Sam's still a bit of a mess."
Rhodey nodded. "I'm not surprised by that. Both his boyfriend and his best friend were fighting for their lives just a week ago. Anyone would be a mess after that."
Tony chuckled. "I've been a basket case over you, so it's not like I've got any room to judge anyone, is it?"
"I'll be home in a few days. You're on movie duty with me, just so you know."
"I, uh. I haven't been back to the Compound," Tony admitted quietly. "I've been staying at the tower, when I'm not here anyway."
"Tones… closing yourself off isn't going to help anything."
"Eh, I'd rather descend into insanity in peace, if it's all the same to you. People get so judgy when you're losing your mind."
"Only when they don't know that you've been insane for years already," Rhodey muttered.
Tony laughed. "Fair point. It's just… hard to go back there, knowing how badly I fucked things up. I could have prevented this, I've just got to work out how."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why work it out now? Working out what we could have done better in hindsight is unnecessarily painful. Sure, now that we know about it, we could have been better prepared—and it's a good lesson for next time—but we didn't know about it, so we did the best we could with what we had."
"I knew that Wanda and Pietro were gunning for me," Tony whispered. "I should have known that that would transfer to the team, when they couldn't come for me personally. I should have realised, Rhodey."
"You're torturing yourself for something that wasn't your fault," Rhodey said, his voice raising slightly. "Tony, I don't care what knowledge you have, be it of things to come, that should, or will happen in the future. Things happen! We work in a dangerous job, and Tony… the things you've achieved, the things that the team have achieved… it's something to be proud of, okay? You're human, Tony. You've gotta remember that."
…
May 24th, 2015
"Hey, stranger," Bucky greeted, when Tony followed Rhodey into the Compound.
They all knew he wasn't talking to Rhodey.
"Buck," Steve muttered, hitting him in the arm. "Lay off."
Bucky rolled his eyes, walking over to meet them. He shook Rhodey's hand and then stepped around him to wrap his arm around Tony's shoulders.
"You good?"
"I'm good."
"Then do me a favour, and go and tell Sam that you don't blame him for what happened to Hope, will you? He thinks that you're avoiding us—and the Compound—because you blame him."
"What?" Tony yelped. "What kind of nonsense is that? Why would I blame Sam?"
"He was fighting in the same place that she was," Bucky replied, shrugging slightly.
"Fucking idiot. Obviously it wasn't his fault, and of course I don't blame him."
"Team meeting in the living room in ten minutes," Rhodey said, shaking his head. "I expect everyone there, no excuses."
"Thor might take a little bit longer than that to get back from Asgard, Sour Patch."
"I will beat you with my crutches."
"Kinky."
…
"It wasn't your fault," Tony said, as soon as Sam walked into the lounge area. "It's been hammered into my brain that I wasn't at fault for what happened to Hope, and… if one thing stuck with me, it was that she knew what she was signing up for. To pretend that she didn't choose to fight for what she believed in, is an insult to her memory. So… not your fault, okay?"
Sam nodded, his eyes suspiciously bright.
"And I wasn't avoiding you personally," Tony added. "I was avoiding my own guilt. Not you. Okay?"
Sam nodded again.
"Okay. Sam, Bucky, Steve. Your mission, should you choose to accept it—and even if you don't, to be honest—is to go and raid the kitchen for snacks that will last at least twelve hours. Tony, Nat, Clint, get all of the blankets and pillows. JARVIS? Order us… twenty extra large pizzas with a variety of toppings, please. Bruce, Scott, drinks if you would. Non-alcoholic. I'm on strong painkillers, and if I'm not allowed to get drunk, neither are the rest of you."
"You ruin all of my fun, Sour Patch."
"Uh huh. I'm a fun ruiner. Them's the breaks, I'm afraid. And since Riley and I are still healing, we get to pick the movies."
"If you choose anything sappy, I'm going to hit you with a pillow, screw your injuries."
"Keep at it, Tones, and I'll make you watch the Titanic."
"Ew."
"Uh huh."
…
February 3rd, 2016
"—lobster suit!"
Tony wandered into the kitchen, raising his eyebrows at Sam. Bucky was talking to Steve, his hands moving animatedly in front of his face.
"Are the two of you supposed to be out playing Lady and the Tramp?" Tony asked, pressing the start button on the coffee machine.
"They got interrupted by a guy in a lobster suit, apparently," Steve said, looking about as bewildered as Tony felt.
"Um. Maybe rewind and start again, because even in New York, a guy in a lobster suit is considered unusual."
Bucky huffed. "Okay, so maybe the guy in the lobster suit isn't actually the important part—even if he did ruin my steak, the fucking heathen—anyway. The guy flies through the window, and then a tiny punk in sweatpants comes in behind him, knocks him out, and covers him in white sticky stuff—Tony Stark, I will end you if you comment on that."
Tony bit his lip. He wanted to both laugh and cry, if he was perfectly honest. He had a feeling that he knew how this was going to end.
"The tiny punk in sweatpants?" he prompted.
"Dressed like a spider… sort of? I don't know?"
Tony ran a hand over his face. This was different. Not necessarily bad, but different.
"He reminded me of Steve," Bucky added, a fond smile on his face. "He was all tiny, and fighty, and awkward."
"You're gonna adopt him, aren't you?" Steve asked, groaning as he ran his hand through his hair. "You're going to go out and find the punk, and adopt him."
"That's what I said!" Sam exclaimed. "See, I told you that you were predictable."
Tony leant against the breakfast bar. Bucky looked his way, and then quirked his eyebrow in question.
His lips tipping up slightly, Tony nodded his head slightly. Different, but if it meant that Peter had more protection from the beginning… worth it. A motherly Winter Soldier watching his back would do Peter no harm, and Tony would feel better.
He'd been tracking the reports of him since he'd first started, and was starting to think about early intervention—this just made that all the easier.
"And I told you that it was possible to fight crime in sweatpants," Bucky added, smirking smugly at Steve. "You're just a drill sergeant with no respect for my comfort."
"I'm not having this conversation with you again," Steve said, shaking his head.
Tony tuned out of the conversation, and poured his coffee. It was time to start working on the kid's Spider Suit. It looked like he was going to need it a little earlier than expected.
…
February 14th, 2016
"You're a walking cliche."
"She said yes!"
"Uh huh."
"You told me that, huh?"
"Of course I did! There was absolutely no doubt. Pepper loves you, and you love her, and the ring was fantastic."
"Okay, well, I better go. I snuck to the bathroom to call you and let you know that she said yes!"
"You're a dumbass."
"Love you too, Tones."
…
June 18th, 2016
"How is he holding up?"
Tony sighed, and then shrugged, never pausing as he ran his fingers through Steve's hair.
Peggy's death had hit him hard, but then, Tony had known that it would.
The two of them had visited her just a few weeks ago, and Tony thought that maybe it had helped, but it still hurt. Steve was finally sleeping though, all cried out, with his head resting on Tony's thigh.
Bucky slumped down in the armchair closest to the sofa. "I don't know how to help him through this," he admitted softly. "Peggy was a hell of a dame, and the world is less without her, but… how do I help him?"
"Just be there," Tony said quietly. "It's all that any of us can really do. If he wants to reminisce, then let him. If he wants to spar, then spar with him. Just… be there when he needs you to be there."
Bucky nodded. "I can do that. Sam said the same thing. I just… I hate seeing him like this, you know? Steve… he was always the strong one, always the one to take care of the people around him, even when he was so tiny and sick, that a strong wing could have knocked him on his ass and kept him there."
Tony chuckled.
"He'll be okay. He has all of us, and… that means a lot, you know? Having people around that care. It can make all of the difference."
"What about you?" Bucky asked. "She was your godmother, right?"
Tony nodded. "I'm okay. She lived a damn good life, and she was an amazing woman."
Bucky looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. "You took him to see her last month. You—"
"He needed closure. He needed the memory of that one last time," Tony murmured. "And he got it."
"One day, you're going to explain," Bucky said, holding Tony's gaze. "I don't care when, but… you've done so much good, Tony. One day, you're going to tell us how."
Tony's lips tilted up slightly. "Maybe."
…
June 29th, 2016
"I still don't understand why we're here, Tones," Rhodey murmured under his breath.
"Wakanda has decided to join the world, as it were," Tony replied, just as quietly. "Not only can we help to ease them into it, but King T'Chaka is a good man—and we could use their help with technology."
Rhodey's eyes widened. "You need help with technology? Since when?"
Tony snorted. "I didn't say that I needed help, Sour Patch, open your ears. The world will gain if Wakanda has an easy segue into the public, and their medical technology is quite a long way in front of ours. I'm not arrogant enough to believe that I can supply the world, Honeybear, and honestly? They have equipment that I've never even dreamt of."
"And this has nothing to do with the rumours of the Black Panther, the defender of their borders?"
Tony's eyes twinkled. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Mr Stark, Colonel Rhodes? The King will see you now."
…
August 3rd, 2016
"... Prince T'Challa of Wakanda has been announced as the latest signee to the Avengers' roster. While his primary objective will continue to be the protection of Wakanda's borders, with the country joining the world at large, it has been decided that the Black Panther would be a worthy addition to the world's last line of defence."
…
March 30th, 2017
The room was filled with the rich and powerful, and Tony was already done with the evening. He hadn't been feeling great before leaving the Compound, and schmoozing with people he didn't particularly like wasn't helping him to feel any better.
He stood on the fringes of the room with Steve, just taking a minute in the Super Soldier's calming presence. Steve was a great barrier against the rest of the room, since when the two of them were together, most people were more interested in talking to Captain America than they were Tony.
It also just so happened that Steve's bulk completely hid Tony from view, if they stood in just the right position.
"I can call Happy to come and get you?" Steve offered, looking concerned. "In fact, I'll come back with you. You're more important than some ball—"
"I'm fine," Tony said, waving off Steve's offer. "Really. It's probably just something I ate, or DUM-E putting motor oil in my coffee again."
"But—"
"Mr Stark, Captain."
Tony looked around Steve's shoulder, and froze. Steve turned around to see who was speaking, but he didn't recognise the man.
"Stephen Strange; Supreme Sorcerer."
His hand was held out, and Stvee shook it. The rest of the team had heard of him, obviously, and Rhodey had already spoken about approaching the man, but for Tony, this was entirely surreal.
This was the man who'd started all of this, and yet, he had no memories of doing it.
Strange held his hand out to Tony, and Steve nudged him a little when Tony didn't move to take it. It shook Tony into action, and he grimaced slightly in apology before he shook the offered hand.
"Dr Strange," he greeted quietly. "Colonel Rhodes will be pleased to hear that you've reached out."
"I believe that we have a great deal to discuss, Mr Stark. Perhaps we can set up a meeting?"
Tony nodded, and looked up to meet Stephen's eyes properly. The way the man was looking at him… All at once, it hit Tony that he knew exactly what had happened.
How, Tony had no idea, but it was clear that he did know.
"That… seems like it's for the best, yes. Are you free tomorrow?"
Strange nodded. "Of course. I'll drop by your offices at noon, shall I? We can have lunch?"
"I. Right. That's… fine."
Strange nodded and stepped away, turning away from both of them as he walked back into the crowd.
Steve looked at Tony for a long moment. "I… have never seen you react to someone like that before. Ever."
"No. Well. I. It's a long story."
…
March 31st, 2017
"You've done well, Tony."
"How?" Tony asked, leaning on his desk. "How do you know? Did you come back in time too?"
Stephen shook his head. "I didn't, but I am aware of all realities. It's complicated, but I'm aware of what happened, and why I did what I did. You have surpassed even my expectations. Your team is as prepared as they ever could be."
"It would have been so much easier, if you'd just explained. Even if only a little bit, to point me in the right direction."
"There was no time," Stephen replied. "And like I said, you did even more than I could have expected of you. There's still time to put things into place, but… the odds are much greater in our favour than they ever were before."
"Our?" Tony asked. "You're going to join us in the fight?"
Stephen smiled. "Of course, Tony. Our futures have been linked since I sent you into the past. This is how it was always meant to be."
"Alright, Dumbledore, turn the creepy down a few notches, would you? Magic hurts my brain."
…
April 20th, 2017
"... and in the latest news from the Avengers Initiative, they've been joined by Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme. He was formerly a star surgeon, until an almost fatal accident left him with irreparable nerve damage."
"How are they going to make a cute plushie of him though? I mean, the Black Panther one is precious, but—"
"Evidence of Wizards in the world, and you're only interested in the Avenger's plush collection?"
"Well. Yes. Obviously. More on this later, here's Amanda with the weather report."
…
May 15th, 2017
"Son of a bitch! Strange, when you save me, maybe don't leave me falling through… whatever the hell I just feel through, for twenty god damn minutes!"
Tony, Steve and Rhodey all cracked up laughing at the insulted expression on Bucky's face.
Stephen merely smiled. "I thought that you might enjoy it. You do so enjoy teasing Steve about the ride at Coney Island, and how much you loved the feeling of that first drop."
"You're an asshole."
"Quite right. What was your first clue?"
Bucky threw himself down on the sofa and snuggled into Tony's side. "Your boyfriend is being mean to me, Tones. Make him be nicer."
"He's not my boyfriend," Tony corrected. "And he's got a point, you know? In the last month, I've heard you tease Steve about that ride three times. You gotta get some more material, pal."
"But it's so much fun to tease him!"
"Uh huh. And that's why Dumbledore enjoys teasing you."
Bucky groaned into Tony's shoulder.
"How's the Spider kid doing? Tony asked then, and Bucky smiled up at him.
"He's a little shit, it's great."
"If you let him get hurt, I'll have Stephen make you fall for days."
"He's fine! I promise! Besides, imagine the trouble he'd be getting into if we weren't there to monitor him while he does his thing."
Tony didn't have to fake the shudder that ran down his spine at the thought. He already knew what would happen, and it certainly wasn't anything that he was willing to repeat.
Stephen squeezed his shoulder in understanding.
…
June 24th, 2017
"Mrs Rhodey, may I have this dance?" Tony asked, smiling at Pepper, as he offered her his hand.
She was so beautiful. She was glowing with happiness, and she nodded immediately, slipping her hand into his, and letting him lead her to the dancefloor.
"You know that I'm keeping my name, right?" she asked, as Tony whirled her into a simple waltz.
"I think that, just for today, you can get away with being Mrs Rhodey," Tony replied, smiling widely at her. "You are absolutely stunning, Pep."
"You look rather handsome yourself, Mr Stark," she replied, smiling back at him. "Thank you for today, Tony. It meant a lot to me, to have you be the one to walk me down the aisle."
"As if you ever thought that there was a possibility of me saying no to you," Tony replied. "I'd do anything for you, Pepper. You know that."
"See, you say that, but then there's the piles of paperwork, and—"
They both laughed, their eyes sparkling brightly. Tony spun her out and then pulled her back in. This was good. Different, but more perfect than he ever could have hoped for for her.
He was glad that he'd changed her fate, if only because she'd never smiled like this when she was his.
"I love you, Mrs Rhodey."
"I love you too, Mr Stark."
…
"You look happy," Stephen said, taking the seat beside Tony, at the bar.
"I am," Tony replied. He nodded his head towards Pepper and Rhodey. "More importantly, they are."
"I was surprised, when I realised that before, you and Miss Potts—"
"Mrs Rhodey," Tony corrected.
"That the two of you were together before. That you decided to change that, this time around."
Tony shrugged, his eyes never leaving his best friends, who were on the dancefloor, talking softly as they swayed to the music.
"Pepper always deserved better than me. Rhodey can give her everything that I never could. He makes her smile, really smile, and… I wanted to see her happy, more than I needed her with me."
"You'll get your happiness too, Tony."
Tony glanced at Stephen thoughtfully for a moment, before he looked over the large banquet hall to see all of the team spread out, laughing, joking, smiling and dancing.
"I already have it."
…
August 2nd, 2017
The first time their lips met, Tony wasn't expecting it.
He'd been rambling about something—he couldn't actually remember what it had been about—and Stephen had interrupted him mid-word by kissing him, soft and chaste.
"Um. Thanks?"
"Let me take you to dinner?" Stephen requested.
"I, um. I'm confused," Tony admitted. "I didn't think you—"
"I look forward to seeing your smile every day, Tony. Let me take you to dinner."
"... okay."
…
November 17th, 2017
"I can't wait to pay you back for all of the times you've walked in on us," Bucky said, cackling, while Sam rolled his eyes.
"Bold of you to think that I'd care about someone watching," Tony retorted, wrapping his hands around his coffee mug, as he leant back against Stephen's chest.
Bucky's laughter cut off, as Rhodey snorted, and nodded his head.
"I've walked in on him in various states of… things that are not good for public consumption, and he's never so much as blushed."
"Well, fuck. Get some shame, would ya, Tony? I wanna pay you back," Bucky whined.
"Where's the fun in that?"
…
December 25th, 2017
"Did you have a good Christmas?" Stephen asked quietly.
The two of them were curled up in bed, Tony's head pillowed on Stephen's chest.
"The best," Tony replied. "You know, every year, I think that we can't possibly have a better Christmas than the last, and then… it just keeps on getting even better. It's… the team has given me so much more than I ever expected to have. I don't… I don't know how to repay that."
"You give them just as much joy as they give you," Stephen replied. "I think that you need to remember that."
"Tony sighed, and nuzzled against Stephen's skin for a moment. "We've got… a hell of a year coming."
"We'll get through it. Together."
"That's Steve's line. I think that I need to tell them soon. At least… they need to know some of what I know. We're going to need the time to prepare for it."
"There's time, Tony. Just… enjoy the moment. Just for now."
Tony propped his head up on his hand. "And that's my line, you unoriginal shit."
Stephen grinned. "Why don't you shut me up, then?"
Tony did so. Happily.
…
18th April, 2018
The meeting room was practically jammed with people, and Tony sat to Rhodey's left, tapping a pattern on the table with the tips of his fingers. Finally, everyone settled into their seats, and Rhodey nodded to Tony.
Tony glanced at Stephen, who smiled slightly, and then stood up, walking around to lean on the back of Rhodey's chair.
"We have an invasion coming," he said. "Thanos, the Mad Titan, will be here in a matter of weeks, to collect the Infinity Stones that he believes that we have here on Earth. Most of you know that two of the stones have already been destroyed. This was why.
"It's been a long time coming, but this is the endgame of everything that I 'knew' about, over the last few years. He's collecting the stones in a big to control the universe. There are—or, rather, there were—six, all together,r and if joined, he would have had the power to do anything. With two of them gone, he obviously can't do that now, but we can not underestimate him. Even without the stones, he's still the most powerful being we are ever going to face."
"What's the plan?" Steve asked, leaning on the table, clearly eager to get started.
The trust that was being aimed at Tony from every single one of his teammate's eyes was unbelievable, and undeniably humbling.
"That's why we're here. Thor is on his way, and I believe that he'll be attacked on route. I didn't know what to warn him against, since… Well, I didn't know, but he's on his way with Asgardians, anyway. Their ship will be… compromised."
"You all have to know… I don't know what's going to happen here. I don't know how this ends. I don't know if we will win. Stephen has the Time Stone, and that must be protected at all cost, and in the coming days, he's going to be looking into things to try and help us work out the most—"
"Oh. That just made that much clearer," Stephen interrupted suddenly. He was looking between Fury and Tony, and Tony frowned.
Fury sighed, and pulled out a pager. "I have a call to make. Can we reconvene tomorrow?"
Tony looked at Stephen, who nodded, and then shrugged. "If… that's for the best, then sure. For today, I think some team training? We need to start working on teams, and formations that are going to hold against an army."
Rhodey nodded. "You all heard the man. Gym in twenty minutes. I want everyone suited up. It's time to assemble, Avengers."
…
23rd April, 2018
Carol Danvers was fascinating to Tony.
The powers that she'd gained from the Tesseract were immense, and she was quite probably the most powerful of all of them. Stephen certainly seemed to believe that she was amongst them, anyway, since he'd relaxed quite a lot once Fury had decided to call her in on it.
"That… is terrifying," Rhodey commented, sitting down beside Tony.
"Oh, yeah."
"Don't you think that you should… intervene?"
"You really think that I'm insane enough to get in the middle of that? Really? Are you mad?"
Rhodey snorted.
Tony looked back at Carol, Natasha and Pepper, and shook his head. "Terrifying women should never be allowed to team up like that."
Team meeting is starting in ten minutes," Rhodey said, patting Tony on the arm. "Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be, Sour Patch."
…
May 14th, 2018
Tony stood on the front lines of Wakanda. They were there because Stephen predicted it would be the safest of places to greet the Titan. T'Chaka and T'Challa had both been instrumental in the planning, and the best thing that Tony had taken from that particular meeting had been that they were never, ever, allowing Shuri and Peter to be left alone. Ever.
Bucky was in complete agreement.
Some of the team—Rhodey, Sam, Bruce and Peter in particular—had stayed back in New York, ready to protect their home.
The Fantastic Four, and the X-Men had been dispatched where Stephen had said they were necessary, and they'd planned as much as they could.
The sight of the ship incoming was as heart stoppingly terrifying as it had been the first time in New York, and Tony's entire body tensed inside his suit.
"Here we go," Steve murmured through the comms.
"Is everyone ready for this?" T'Challa asked, from his spot directly in the middle of the battlefield, where he was surrounded by Wakanda's warriors, and the Dora.
"We can do this," Tony said quietly. "We have to. There's no option for losing here."
And then it started. It was instant carnage.
They fought. They fought on multiple fronts, in multiple places. They fell, and they got back up again, and they fought some more, until eventually, all but Thanos was gone.
He had the Gauntlet on his arm, but it was emptier than it had been the last time Tony had seen it.
Carol stood just in front of Tony, facing off against the purple monster. Tony tried to believe in Stephen's plan, but the difference in size between them made him swallow hard, and he had to fight the urge to just dive in front of her.
A crackle was all the warning they got, and suddenly, Thor was there—where the hell had the eyepatch come from, and why did he have an axe?—murder on his face.
"You thought to destroy the last of my people," Thor growled. "But you shall not harm Midgard further."
Thanos laughed.
The battle restarted, and Carol, Thor, Tony and Stephen fought in tandem against the Titan. It was brutal, but they were winning, and Tony could actually see an ending that didn't result in the end of the world.
"Tony, NO!"
And then pain was all that Tony knew, as he was thrown backwards, spinning through the air. He couldn't see, he couldn't hear, all could do was feel, until finally, the darkness stole even that from him.
…
June 1st, 2018
The first thought that Tony had when he woke up was fucking ouch. He blinked his eyes open slowly, wincing against the light in the room. It took him more than a moment to place his surroundings.
He was in Wakanda, in the castle. Shuri had shown him around the medical wing before the battle, babbling with glee about the tech that they had. Tony had been duly impressed, and he'd had no problem in telling her as much.
That seemed like it had been so long ago, though Tony had absolutely no idea how long it had actually been. How long he'd been unconscious for.
"Tony?"
He turned his head, closing his eyes briefly against the sharp pain in his neck, to see Stephen sitting beside his bed. Rhodey was sleeping in an armchair across the room.
"Are you actually with me, this time?" Stephen asked, a small smile on his face when Tony nodded.
"You've woken up a few times over the last couple of days, but you haven't been making a whole lot of sense. I had to check."
"What… happened?" Tony asked, forcing the words past dry lips.
Stephen was on his feet in an instant, tilting a cup—with a straw—towards Tony's mouth.
"Thanos is gone," Stephen murmured. "But just before Carol and Thor finished him, he got a lucky shot on you. You… you almost died, Tony. It took the combined work of Shuri and myself just to keep you breathing long enough to heal the more serious of your wounds. You're going to be fine, though I see quite a lot of bedrest in your future, until you recover."
"The others?" Tony asked, far more interested in them than he was in his own injuries.
"Bucky is in need of a new arm, and Clint… Clint took a nasty fall. He's… there was nothing that the doctors could do, beyond save his life, Tony. He's paralysed from the waist down."
Tony felt sick. Memories of Rhodey falling out of the sky assaulted his mind, and he retched violently. Stephen settled him, running a calming hand up and down his arm.
"He's okay, Tony. He's already talking about 'the most badass wheelchair the world has ever seen', that you're going to design for him, when you're back on your feet. Agent Coulson, I believe, is helping him cope with the sudden change to his life."
"What about the braces?" Tony asked.
It had helped Rhodey, and Rhodey had broken his back, so why wouldn't they work for Clint?
"They wouldn't work for him because it's a different injury," Stephen said softly. "It was talked about, but… he's okay, Tony. He's coming to terms with being in a wheelchair, and it's going to be okay. I promise you. Besides, like I said, he's rather excited about the prospect of what you can do with a wheelchair."
Tony nodded his head, as he wiped away the stray tears on his cheeks. "I will, you know? I'll make him the most badass wheelchair the world has ever seen."
Stephen smiled. "I have absolutely no doubt about it. There are other injuries, but none fatal. Some are still healing, both here, and back in New York."
"The kid?"
"He's fine."
Tony nodded, because honestly, that was the best he could have hoped for. That there was no death in the team was both the biggest relief of Tony's life, and also more than he could have asked for.
Stephen leant over him and pressed a gentle kiss to Tony's forehead.
"You did it," he murmured. "I'm so proud of you."
Tony closed his eyes. "It wasn't just me."
"You made it possible, Tony. Get some more rest now, okay? Rhodes will want to speak to you when you next wake up, I'm sure."
Tony nodded tiredly. "I… yeah. Okay. You'll stay?"
Stephen nodded and sat back down in the seat by the bed, taking Tony's hand in his own. "I'll be right here."
…
Epilogue
"Oh my god, why are you carrying things? More things? She doesn't need any more things, Tony!" Rhodey complained, as Tony breezed into the back garden with his arms laden with packages.
Tony stuck out his tongue, and put the parcels down by the back door, before he held his hands out expectantly.
Rhodey rolled his eyes, but handed over the bundle that was resting in his own arms. Tony looked down at the little girl, as she was nestled into his arms.
"Hello, beautiful girl," he murmured.
Antonia Rhodes stared up at him with big, brown eyes, and Tony's heart melted, the same way it did every single time he got his hands on his beautiful little goddaughter.
She wrapped her tiny hand around one of his fingers.
"Dammit, I told you that he'd already be here," Bucky whined, as he entered the garden. "Now I'm never gonna get the baby cuddles."
Tony turned to see that the rest of the team were filtering into the garden, and he grinned widely at them.
"You snooze, you lose, Snowflake," he taunted.
"Stop teasing," Stephen reprimanded softly, as he stepped out of his portal beside Tony. He pressed a kiss to his cheek, and then peered over Tony's shoulder, to look down at Antonia.
He smiled. "She's still the most beautiful being in all of the dimensions."
"Of course she is," Tony agreed, entirely serious. He didn't even need to see the rest of the dimensions to know that.
"As team leader, I demand that you share the goods," Steve said, coming over to look at Antonia.
Tony snorted. "If you think that that's gonna work, you don't know me even a little bit. I didn't listen to Sour Patch, and I'm not gonna listen to you, Spangles."
Steve shrugged. "It was worth a try."
"Uh huh."
The Avengers, both retired and the present line up, gathered around the large table in the garden. They fell into easy conversation, and for a moment, Tony was thrown back to that very first meeting at the Compound.
The one he'd been so nervous about.
"I have arrived!" a voice called from the gate. "The party can now begin!"
Tony turned to look at Clint and Phil. "Who let you in? The security around here is shocking!"
Phil pushed Clint nearer, the wheels on the chair easily managing the grass, thanks to the many, many upgrades that Tony had applied to this version of Clint's wheelchair.
Technically, Clint didn't need anyone to push the chair, but during one of their workshop sessions, Clint had confided in Tony that Phil liked it; it made him feel like he was helping.
As the two newcomers took their places, Stephen wrapped his arm around Tony's shoulders, and squeezed lightly.
"How are you feeling?"
"Never better," Tony replied, smiling at his fiance softly, before he looked back down at the baby in his arms.
Rhodey had retired when he found out that Pepper was pregnant, and Steve had taken the lead of the team. They'd all pushed for Tony to take the lead, but he'd refused immediately. He didn't want to be in charge, though they all knew that he would be Steve's second in command, the way he'd been Rhodey's.
But honestly, Tony didn't want the pressure of being the leader. After spending so long knowing what was coming, and looking for ways to prevent things, or make other things happen, Tony thought that it might be nice to relax a little.
Be surprised by life, and whatever was going to come at them next.
With the family that he had now—that they all had—he knew that he was probably going to regret thinking that.