[Fic] Steps to Recovery: Chapter 2 (avengers_rbb, Avengers)
Title: Steps to Recovery
Chapter Title: My Sun
Rating: PG-13
Overall Word Count: 14,694
Chapter Word Count: 3,579
Summary: When a loss is suffered, the steps back to normal are long. And sometimes they don't lead to normal but to something even better.
Author's Note: I do not own Avengers or any of the characters from the movie series.
Thank Yous: A big thank you for monkiainen for creating this wonderful mix! Yes, I did steal the chapter titles from her mix. :) Also, a big thank you to my beta, sirwynai, who doubles as cheerleader and flailing partner.
Steve woke up as he felt the car come to a complete stop. He looked around at where they were and then up at the Stark tower. "He's allowed to be up there?" He asked as he remembered all the destruction that happened. He wasn't sure if he wanted to go up there. It wasn't the height that worried him, it was the fact that he thought that the tower could come crashing down at any moment. "Even though he looks like he worked on it since I saw the place last."
"He's working on it faster than everyone thinks," Coulson replied. "And yes, he is, as long as he has an agent or two with him. You've been gone nearly a month, Captain. He started working on a rebuild the very next day."
"It helped that Natasha apologized to him about the lying," Clint said as he moved to get out of the car.
Steve moved to follow Clint, looking up at the tower before going inside. "What did she do that she had to apologize for?"
"Lying," Clint said. "And undermining Stark with some business things with Ms Potts."
"Oh," Steve said. "I didn't know that Tony had something against lying."
"It's one of the few things that he hates with a passion," Coulson said.
"Explains the reaction," Steve said as he thought back to finding out that Fury was lying to them about what the cube was being used for. He went with Clint and Coulson into the elevator, amazed that it was working. "And this is safe?"
"Captain, of all of us, you should be the least worried about this," Clint said with a smile as he pressed the number for the penthouse. It was a smooth ride up and the doors opened to a rubble filled room.
"What about putting that there?" Bruce asked, turning to look who came out of the elevator.
"I still say that we don't need it," Tony said. "You've got a good handle on him and I really don't want it." He turned as well before looking back at the blue prints. "Besides, there are going to be other places where they're going to want to contain you. If we're going to make such a room, let's make it fun instead of making it just a steel room."
"What are you talking about?" Coulson asked as he walked over.
Steve looked around, noting that Clint had turned and walked over to Natasha. He followed Coulson, looking down to the blue prints that had notes all over it. "Looks complicated."
"It's not," Bruce said with a smile. "We're talking about a containment room."
"See, even calling it that sucks," Tony said. "If anything, let's call it your secondary room. Or the Big Green room. Or something that doesn't make people sit down all depressed."
"You could put in heavy duty punching bags or training dolls," Steve pointed out. "Or even heavy weights. Since you have that the walls are going to be reinforced, why not use that to an advantage?"
Bruce thought on that. "He's got a point, Tony."
"Alright," Tony said. "We'll do that. And anything else the green guy wants. Now the question is what do you two want?"
"We can't just visit?" Coulson asked.
"Fury isn't allowing you out unless there is a very good reason," Tony said. "So, what is it?"
"Tony, maybe we should go talk alone," Steve said.
"If I'm getting kicked off the team for what I did, you can say so in front of Bruce," Tony said. "Or if I'm getting bumped back down to just being a consultant."
"Why would you go to that first?" Steve asked.
"The fight with Thor over Loki, the arguing and not taking direct orders seriously, the hacking, the fact that he decided to nearly die instead of getting out of the black hole - " Coulson started to list.
"In my defense, that last thing was due to the suit malfunctioning, not me. We're working on that," Tony said.
"There are reasons he'd think to go to that instead of thinking that we're here for something else," Coulson said.
Steve nodded a yes before taking out a key and putting it in the middle of the blueprints. "Well, we're not here for that."
Tony looked at the key, picking it up to look at it before putting it back down. "Where did you get it?"
"Tony - she died," Steve said.
"For good this time or did she decide to take another pseudo?" Tony asked.
Steve looked confused and looked to Coulson before looking back to Tony. "No, she did die this time."
"Good to have confirmation," Tony said as he turned away from the table and picked up a phone. "Hey Pepper? Where's the key to that safe deposit box?" He listened for a moment. "Thanks." He hung up the phone before leaving the room and slamming a door behind him.
"There was probably a better way to do that," Steve said.
"No, not really," Bruce said. "He'll get over it. I think he has a shorter trigger than even I do."
"He does," Coulson said. "Bruce is right, Captain. There was no better way to do that."
"You're not surprised that he already knows that she was alive?" Steve asked.
"He got the information out of his hack," Coulson said. "So the Director talked to him about it. Stark had the green light to go visit if he wanted to. He never did. I'm not sure if it was just not knowing what to say or why he didn't go. That's something that you're going to have to ask him."
"Right," Steve said as Tony came back out of the office. "Well?"
"I found the other key," Tony said as he picked up the second key. "Now let's go to the bank."
"Now?" Steve asked.
"No time like the present," Tony said. "Coulson?"
"As long as I get to drive," Coulson said.
"Kill joy," Tony said but nodded a yes. "Hey, Natasha!"
"You don't have to shout," Natasha said as she came over. "We'll stay here with Bruce."
"Excellent," Tony said and turned to Bruce. "Do you mind getting started on ordering everything we're going to need? Get extra - I'll use it with other projects if we don't use it all for this one."
"Sounds good to me," Bruce said.
"Oh, and you need to pick a room and design it," Tony said to Steve.
"What?" Steve asked.
"Oh, right, you've been away," Tony said. "I decided that this would be a good non-up in the air base and let everyone pick a room. Even thunder and lightning is getting one."
"You could call people by their names, Tony," Natasha said.
"There's no fun in that," Tony said. "So, any of the empty rooms and we'll get you whatever you want in them. And anything you'd want for in the training center. I'm thinking of making that the basement area though."
"Considering you're putting in a pool there, it might be a good idea," Clint said.
"Just make sure there's a boxing ring down there and I'll be happy," Steve said.
"It will," Tony said. "We'll get in a round as long as you go easy on me, old guy." He grabbed the other key and turned to walk to the elevator.
"Some things never change," Steve said with a sigh as he followed Tony.
*~*~*~*
It had been a quick ride to the bank where the safe deposit box was being kept. Tony showed his identification and the three of them were shown into a very nice back room. They waited in quiet until the bank employee came in with the box, made sure that it opened, and left the room. "Alright - let's see what's in here," Tony said.
"You don't know?" Steve asked.
"Nope," Tony said. "It wasn't stated in the will and I could never find the other key. It all makes sense now, but at the time, it was frustrating considering that I thought I lost both of my parents. I didn't understand that the bank was working under SHIELD directions."
"Well, you can look now," Coulson said.
"Thanks," Tony said as he did open it and pulled out an envelope. He opened and looked through quickly before passing it onto Steve.
Steve took it and opened the envelope. He sat down as he pulled out the pictures of his past. One at the bar with everyone of the unit. Another few of just himself and Bucky. There were a few of just Peggy before a few of Peggy and Howard together. He smiled as he remembered being behind the camera when he took them. "Tony - "
"They're yours," Tony said. "They mean more to you than me."
"Thank you," Steve said quietly.
Tony smiled a bit before going back to looking at what else was in there. "Here's mom's will," he said as he looked it over. "Nothing much - she wants to be cremated and her ashes spread - well, that'll be easy."
"Where?" Coulson asked.
"River Thames," Tony said. "So just a jump over the pond."
"She didn't want to be buried with Howard?" Steve asked as his voice broke. He took a deep breath and asked his question again.
"No," Tony said. "But it is very her."
"True," Steve said with a bit of a smile. "When you do so - "
"I'm dragging you with me," Tony said. "I mean, if you want to."
"I do," Steve said. "and possibly visit Howard's grave."
"That's easy enough," Tony said. "I'll give you directions."
"You don't go out there?" Steve said.
"Cemeteries aren't really my thing," Tony said as he put the will aside and looked through things. "Just different things that were easier to keep here instead of at the house." He took out what he needed and put the rest back. He closed the box before sitting down.
"Coulson?" Steve asked.
"I'll be right outside," Coulson said as he left the room.
Steve waited until Coulson left. "I know this must be hard for you."
"Not really," Tony said. "We're all going to die one day. Well, maybe not you - I've seen the reports that dad wrote up - but we've all got a time when we're just going to be gone. So, it doesn't really affect me."
"Bullshit," Steve said.
Tony raised an eyebrow. "That sounds strange coming from you."
"It's the truth," Steve said. "You are full of shit, Tony Stark, if you're going to sit there and tell me that this doesn't hit you some way. That your heart is officially dead and you really are just a hunk of metal."
"So what if I am?!" Tony asked before looking away. "She didn't have to do what she did."
"From what I know, she did it to protect you," Steve said. "I don't know the whole story. There are people who do. I suggest you do what you always do - just push until you get the truth." He paused for a moment before saying "I'll even help you."
"You will?" Tony asked.
"Yes," Steve said. "Because a car crash sounds too simple a death for Howard Stark."
"Sometimes simple is just the way death finds you," Tony said as there was a knock at the door. "Yeah?"
"We need to go," Coulson said. "Now."
"Why?" Steve asked as he got up. Tony got up as well, putting the things into the bag that the bank provided.
"Just bring the box with you,' Coulson said.
Steve picked up the box easily and both men moved with Coulson. "Coulson - what is - "
"Down!" Tony said as he ducked as gun fire went over their heads.
Steve pulled Coulson down before looking to see where the gun fire was coming from. He was surprised as he was pulled down by Tony. "They're Hydra," he said.
"Well, as long as it's not another evil God," Tony said. "Coulson?"
"Stay here for a moment," Coulson said as he pulled out a gun.
"You have a vest on today, hopefully?" Tony asked.
Coulson turned and stood up, firing where the Hydra people were. He took down two before sitting down again. "Hawkeye, Widow, where are you two?"
It was after the question was asked that the gun fire stopped completely. Tony looked up and saw one of the bad guys with an arrow through his back. "They're here."
"We are," Clint said. "You three can't go anywhere without havoc finding you, can you?"
"Havoc likes to flirt," Tony said as he stood up.
"Everyone in the lobby is dead," Natasha said as she came over to them. "We need to go."
"I second that," Steve said.
"Back door," Coulson said as they headed to it.
Clint was the first out the back door, arrow at the ready as he turned around. "Clear," he called as there was a car waiting for them. He kept the arrow at the ready until everyone got in the car. He then closed up the bow, sliding into the shotgun seat and letting Natasha drive.
"Why were Hydra agents in the bank?" Tony asked.
Coulson didn't answer, pulling out a cell phone and dialing a number. "Maria, we have a leak," he said and paused for a moment. "Tell the Director," he said as he gave the address for the bank they were at. "Make up a story or something. Thanks."
"Why were Hydra agents in the bank?" Tony asked again.
"Actually, why is Hydra even active?" Steve asked. "Didn't they die out?"
"No," Coulson said. "It's a long story."
"I vote that long story needs pizza, beer, and going to the tower," Tony said.
"We'll have someone pick up the pizza," Natasha said as she turned the car to drive back to the tower in record time. She let them out. "I'm going to go get Pepper."
"Thank you," Tony said as he got out of the car with everyone else before watching Natasha speed off. "This isn't going to go well at all, is it?"
"Probably not," Steve said. "We should get inside though"
"Yeah," Tony said as he went inside with the rest. He was quiet all the way up and went into his little office area as the others brought Bruce up to speed. He poured himself a drink before raising it to the small picture of his mother and father before downing it. He sat down in the chair, ignoring the knock on the door but didn't mind when Steve came in. "Pizza here?"
"Yes," Steve said. "Along with Natasha, Pepper, and a big file in a briefcase."
"Oh good," Tony said as he got up but poured himself another Scotch.
"How many is that?" Steve asked.
"The second one," Tony said. "But thanks for caring about my liver."
"More that it's probably a good idea to be sober at the moment," Steve said.
"Fine," Tony said but downed it all the same. "Why do you care?"
Steve blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Why do you care about anything that's happening with me?" Tony asked.
"Because - you're the son of my two best friends," Steve said as he reached for the easier answer.
Tony gave Steve a look. "You keep telling yourself that, Cap," he said as he turned and left the room.
Steve sighed and followed Tony out. He thought about what Peggy said in the letter and how he thought about Tony. At first, he thought that Tony was brash and a jerk. Well, more of an asshole at times. But there was no denying that he saw something in Tony. He still couldn't be sure what it was, but he was hoping to figure it out sooner or later. He nodded to Natasha before sitting down next to her. "Dragged him out."
"Thank you," Natasha said quietly. "Are you and him alright?"
"What do you mean?" Steve asked, going with her quieter tone.
"She wants to know if you two are in a relationship," Clint said as he sat down.
Steve was even more confused than before. "Why would you think that?'
"Because the two of you bicker a lot like a married couple sometimes," Clint says. "Ow!" He said as the comment got a hit from Natasha. "What?"
"Being subtle would be nice," Natasha says.
"Yes, but he said he wanted to know," Clint says. "And jeez, Tasha, you're going to leave a bruise."
Natasha smiled. "Serves you right."
Steve smiled at the two of them before looking to see where Tony was. He could see that there was a small argument with Coulson before Tony just took the briefcase and none of the food. He sighed and went over to where the food was. "What types are there?" He asked, expected just cheese, sausage, and pepperoni.
"Veggie lovers, cheese lovers, and meat lovers," Pepper replied. "Sorry - meaning that the first has just a lot of vegetables on it, the second a lot of cheese - more than is probably legally allowed, and the third is just a bunch of meat."
"Which is his favorite?" Steve asked.
"Meat lovers. Which is why there are a few more of those," Pepper said.
"Could I have one?" Steve asked. "An entire pizza, I mean. He should eat."
Pepper smiled in relief and gave him one of the boxes with two paper plates on top. "Thank you."
"You have to make sure he eats a lot?" Steve asked.
"Yeah," Pepper replied. "Usually when he's in one of his moods like now. Or if he's working on a project. I like him more when he's working on a project."
"I'll make sure he eats," Steve promised as he took the box and turned to follow Tony back into the office room. He didn't knock this time, just coming into the room and putting the pizza box down on the desk.
"Not hungry, but thanks," Tony said.
"Don't really care," Steve said as he took the plates off the top and served up two slices of pizza. He put one of them in front of Tony before he sat down to eat. "So, what did you get?"
"Mom's file, dad's file, and…your file, actually," Tony said as he pulled out Steve's. "You want to look over yours?"
"Sure," Steve said as he took his file. There was silence, save for a bit of eating, as they looked over the files and then compared notes. "So, it seems like they're after the cube, which means that they don't know it got sent back to where it belongs."
"Right," Tony said. "And they're still looking for the breakthrough to make super soldiers."
"Not surprising," Steve said. "Alright - so neither of us go out alone, which they're not going to let us do anyways, and we'll figure out how to stop them."
"If we're allowed to do that," Tony said and there was a knock at the door. "yeah?!" He called.
Coulson opened the door and came in. "You two having fun?"
"Depends on your definition of fun," Tony said. "You've got something."
"Turns out that Hydra isn't going to be a problem," Coulson said. "It was just a small outlying group and they've been destroyed."
"Who do we have to thank for that?" Tony asked.
"Guess," Coulson said.
"We're on the hook for buying drinks for Widow and Legolas," Tony said to Steve.
"Thank them for us?" Steve asked.
"Sure," Coulson said. "How are you doing, Tony?"
"Fine," Tony said. "Thanks for telling us."
"You're welcome," Coulson said and left the room.
"That's really too convenient," Tony said.
"How?" Steve asked.
"Because they're just destroyed like that? They don't seem like an operation to just fold up," Tony said.
"They're cowards, Tony. They're going to fold up when there's nobody big behind them to back it up. Red Skull is very much dead and nobody stepped up to be him. So I wouldn't read anything into it."
"Alright," Tony said as he opened the box and got another piece of pizza. "Thanks for coming in here."
"You're welcome," Steve said and let silence hang for a moment. "Anything you want to talk about?"
"No," Tony said. "Mind if we just sit in silence?"
"You can do that?" Steve asked.
"When I want to," Tony said as he fell silent and just ate. Steve followed in being silent as well. The sad thing is that it lasted all of five minutes before Tony started talking about something Steve had no clue about it. He had fun learning about iPhones and what they could do and why they were something that were more of a need than an accessory. At the end of the night, he went to go pick out a room that, for the moment, just had a bed, a nightstand, a dresser, and a bookcase. "You sure you want this one?" Tony asked from behind Steve.
"Why wouldn't I?" Steve asked.
"Just curious," Tony said. "I’m across the hall if you need me."
"Oh," Steve said. "Well…good night," he said and watched Tony shrug and go across the hall to his room. Steve closed the door behind him and went to relax on the bed. He closed his eyes, his mind rethinking everything that had gone on that day, and if he was only imagining what he was feeling.
Chapter Title: My Sun
Rating: PG-13
Overall Word Count: 14,694
Chapter Word Count: 3,579
Summary: When a loss is suffered, the steps back to normal are long. And sometimes they don't lead to normal but to something even better.
Author's Note: I do not own Avengers or any of the characters from the movie series.
Thank Yous: A big thank you for monkiainen for creating this wonderful mix! Yes, I did steal the chapter titles from her mix. :) Also, a big thank you to my beta, sirwynai, who doubles as cheerleader and flailing partner.
Steve woke up as he felt the car come to a complete stop. He looked around at where they were and then up at the Stark tower. "He's allowed to be up there?" He asked as he remembered all the destruction that happened. He wasn't sure if he wanted to go up there. It wasn't the height that worried him, it was the fact that he thought that the tower could come crashing down at any moment. "Even though he looks like he worked on it since I saw the place last."
"He's working on it faster than everyone thinks," Coulson replied. "And yes, he is, as long as he has an agent or two with him. You've been gone nearly a month, Captain. He started working on a rebuild the very next day."
"It helped that Natasha apologized to him about the lying," Clint said as he moved to get out of the car.
Steve moved to follow Clint, looking up at the tower before going inside. "What did she do that she had to apologize for?"
"Lying," Clint said. "And undermining Stark with some business things with Ms Potts."
"Oh," Steve said. "I didn't know that Tony had something against lying."
"It's one of the few things that he hates with a passion," Coulson said.
"Explains the reaction," Steve said as he thought back to finding out that Fury was lying to them about what the cube was being used for. He went with Clint and Coulson into the elevator, amazed that it was working. "And this is safe?"
"Captain, of all of us, you should be the least worried about this," Clint said with a smile as he pressed the number for the penthouse. It was a smooth ride up and the doors opened to a rubble filled room.
"What about putting that there?" Bruce asked, turning to look who came out of the elevator.
"I still say that we don't need it," Tony said. "You've got a good handle on him and I really don't want it." He turned as well before looking back at the blue prints. "Besides, there are going to be other places where they're going to want to contain you. If we're going to make such a room, let's make it fun instead of making it just a steel room."
"What are you talking about?" Coulson asked as he walked over.
Steve looked around, noting that Clint had turned and walked over to Natasha. He followed Coulson, looking down to the blue prints that had notes all over it. "Looks complicated."
"It's not," Bruce said with a smile. "We're talking about a containment room."
"See, even calling it that sucks," Tony said. "If anything, let's call it your secondary room. Or the Big Green room. Or something that doesn't make people sit down all depressed."
"You could put in heavy duty punching bags or training dolls," Steve pointed out. "Or even heavy weights. Since you have that the walls are going to be reinforced, why not use that to an advantage?"
Bruce thought on that. "He's got a point, Tony."
"Alright," Tony said. "We'll do that. And anything else the green guy wants. Now the question is what do you two want?"
"We can't just visit?" Coulson asked.
"Fury isn't allowing you out unless there is a very good reason," Tony said. "So, what is it?"
"Tony, maybe we should go talk alone," Steve said.
"If I'm getting kicked off the team for what I did, you can say so in front of Bruce," Tony said. "Or if I'm getting bumped back down to just being a consultant."
"Why would you go to that first?" Steve asked.
"The fight with Thor over Loki, the arguing and not taking direct orders seriously, the hacking, the fact that he decided to nearly die instead of getting out of the black hole - " Coulson started to list.
"In my defense, that last thing was due to the suit malfunctioning, not me. We're working on that," Tony said.
"There are reasons he'd think to go to that instead of thinking that we're here for something else," Coulson said.
Steve nodded a yes before taking out a key and putting it in the middle of the blueprints. "Well, we're not here for that."
Tony looked at the key, picking it up to look at it before putting it back down. "Where did you get it?"
"Tony - she died," Steve said.
"For good this time or did she decide to take another pseudo?" Tony asked.
Steve looked confused and looked to Coulson before looking back to Tony. "No, she did die this time."
"Good to have confirmation," Tony said as he turned away from the table and picked up a phone. "Hey Pepper? Where's the key to that safe deposit box?" He listened for a moment. "Thanks." He hung up the phone before leaving the room and slamming a door behind him.
"There was probably a better way to do that," Steve said.
"No, not really," Bruce said. "He'll get over it. I think he has a shorter trigger than even I do."
"He does," Coulson said. "Bruce is right, Captain. There was no better way to do that."
"You're not surprised that he already knows that she was alive?" Steve asked.
"He got the information out of his hack," Coulson said. "So the Director talked to him about it. Stark had the green light to go visit if he wanted to. He never did. I'm not sure if it was just not knowing what to say or why he didn't go. That's something that you're going to have to ask him."
"Right," Steve said as Tony came back out of the office. "Well?"
"I found the other key," Tony said as he picked up the second key. "Now let's go to the bank."
"Now?" Steve asked.
"No time like the present," Tony said. "Coulson?"
"As long as I get to drive," Coulson said.
"Kill joy," Tony said but nodded a yes. "Hey, Natasha!"
"You don't have to shout," Natasha said as she came over. "We'll stay here with Bruce."
"Excellent," Tony said and turned to Bruce. "Do you mind getting started on ordering everything we're going to need? Get extra - I'll use it with other projects if we don't use it all for this one."
"Sounds good to me," Bruce said.
"Oh, and you need to pick a room and design it," Tony said to Steve.
"What?" Steve asked.
"Oh, right, you've been away," Tony said. "I decided that this would be a good non-up in the air base and let everyone pick a room. Even thunder and lightning is getting one."
"You could call people by their names, Tony," Natasha said.
"There's no fun in that," Tony said. "So, any of the empty rooms and we'll get you whatever you want in them. And anything you'd want for in the training center. I'm thinking of making that the basement area though."
"Considering you're putting in a pool there, it might be a good idea," Clint said.
"Just make sure there's a boxing ring down there and I'll be happy," Steve said.
"It will," Tony said. "We'll get in a round as long as you go easy on me, old guy." He grabbed the other key and turned to walk to the elevator.
"Some things never change," Steve said with a sigh as he followed Tony.
*~*~*~*
It had been a quick ride to the bank where the safe deposit box was being kept. Tony showed his identification and the three of them were shown into a very nice back room. They waited in quiet until the bank employee came in with the box, made sure that it opened, and left the room. "Alright - let's see what's in here," Tony said.
"You don't know?" Steve asked.
"Nope," Tony said. "It wasn't stated in the will and I could never find the other key. It all makes sense now, but at the time, it was frustrating considering that I thought I lost both of my parents. I didn't understand that the bank was working under SHIELD directions."
"Well, you can look now," Coulson said.
"Thanks," Tony said as he did open it and pulled out an envelope. He opened and looked through quickly before passing it onto Steve.
Steve took it and opened the envelope. He sat down as he pulled out the pictures of his past. One at the bar with everyone of the unit. Another few of just himself and Bucky. There were a few of just Peggy before a few of Peggy and Howard together. He smiled as he remembered being behind the camera when he took them. "Tony - "
"They're yours," Tony said. "They mean more to you than me."
"Thank you," Steve said quietly.
Tony smiled a bit before going back to looking at what else was in there. "Here's mom's will," he said as he looked it over. "Nothing much - she wants to be cremated and her ashes spread - well, that'll be easy."
"Where?" Coulson asked.
"River Thames," Tony said. "So just a jump over the pond."
"She didn't want to be buried with Howard?" Steve asked as his voice broke. He took a deep breath and asked his question again.
"No," Tony said. "But it is very her."
"True," Steve said with a bit of a smile. "When you do so - "
"I'm dragging you with me," Tony said. "I mean, if you want to."
"I do," Steve said. "and possibly visit Howard's grave."
"That's easy enough," Tony said. "I'll give you directions."
"You don't go out there?" Steve said.
"Cemeteries aren't really my thing," Tony said as he put the will aside and looked through things. "Just different things that were easier to keep here instead of at the house." He took out what he needed and put the rest back. He closed the box before sitting down.
"Coulson?" Steve asked.
"I'll be right outside," Coulson said as he left the room.
Steve waited until Coulson left. "I know this must be hard for you."
"Not really," Tony said. "We're all going to die one day. Well, maybe not you - I've seen the reports that dad wrote up - but we've all got a time when we're just going to be gone. So, it doesn't really affect me."
"Bullshit," Steve said.
Tony raised an eyebrow. "That sounds strange coming from you."
"It's the truth," Steve said. "You are full of shit, Tony Stark, if you're going to sit there and tell me that this doesn't hit you some way. That your heart is officially dead and you really are just a hunk of metal."
"So what if I am?!" Tony asked before looking away. "She didn't have to do what she did."
"From what I know, she did it to protect you," Steve said. "I don't know the whole story. There are people who do. I suggest you do what you always do - just push until you get the truth." He paused for a moment before saying "I'll even help you."
"You will?" Tony asked.
"Yes," Steve said. "Because a car crash sounds too simple a death for Howard Stark."
"Sometimes simple is just the way death finds you," Tony said as there was a knock at the door. "Yeah?"
"We need to go," Coulson said. "Now."
"Why?" Steve asked as he got up. Tony got up as well, putting the things into the bag that the bank provided.
"Just bring the box with you,' Coulson said.
Steve picked up the box easily and both men moved with Coulson. "Coulson - what is - "
"Down!" Tony said as he ducked as gun fire went over their heads.
Steve pulled Coulson down before looking to see where the gun fire was coming from. He was surprised as he was pulled down by Tony. "They're Hydra," he said.
"Well, as long as it's not another evil God," Tony said. "Coulson?"
"Stay here for a moment," Coulson said as he pulled out a gun.
"You have a vest on today, hopefully?" Tony asked.
Coulson turned and stood up, firing where the Hydra people were. He took down two before sitting down again. "Hawkeye, Widow, where are you two?"
It was after the question was asked that the gun fire stopped completely. Tony looked up and saw one of the bad guys with an arrow through his back. "They're here."
"We are," Clint said. "You three can't go anywhere without havoc finding you, can you?"
"Havoc likes to flirt," Tony said as he stood up.
"Everyone in the lobby is dead," Natasha said as she came over to them. "We need to go."
"I second that," Steve said.
"Back door," Coulson said as they headed to it.
Clint was the first out the back door, arrow at the ready as he turned around. "Clear," he called as there was a car waiting for them. He kept the arrow at the ready until everyone got in the car. He then closed up the bow, sliding into the shotgun seat and letting Natasha drive.
"Why were Hydra agents in the bank?" Tony asked.
Coulson didn't answer, pulling out a cell phone and dialing a number. "Maria, we have a leak," he said and paused for a moment. "Tell the Director," he said as he gave the address for the bank they were at. "Make up a story or something. Thanks."
"Why were Hydra agents in the bank?" Tony asked again.
"Actually, why is Hydra even active?" Steve asked. "Didn't they die out?"
"No," Coulson said. "It's a long story."
"I vote that long story needs pizza, beer, and going to the tower," Tony said.
"We'll have someone pick up the pizza," Natasha said as she turned the car to drive back to the tower in record time. She let them out. "I'm going to go get Pepper."
"Thank you," Tony said as he got out of the car with everyone else before watching Natasha speed off. "This isn't going to go well at all, is it?"
"Probably not," Steve said. "We should get inside though"
"Yeah," Tony said as he went inside with the rest. He was quiet all the way up and went into his little office area as the others brought Bruce up to speed. He poured himself a drink before raising it to the small picture of his mother and father before downing it. He sat down in the chair, ignoring the knock on the door but didn't mind when Steve came in. "Pizza here?"
"Yes," Steve said. "Along with Natasha, Pepper, and a big file in a briefcase."
"Oh good," Tony said as he got up but poured himself another Scotch.
"How many is that?" Steve asked.
"The second one," Tony said. "But thanks for caring about my liver."
"More that it's probably a good idea to be sober at the moment," Steve said.
"Fine," Tony said but downed it all the same. "Why do you care?"
Steve blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Why do you care about anything that's happening with me?" Tony asked.
"Because - you're the son of my two best friends," Steve said as he reached for the easier answer.
Tony gave Steve a look. "You keep telling yourself that, Cap," he said as he turned and left the room.
Steve sighed and followed Tony out. He thought about what Peggy said in the letter and how he thought about Tony. At first, he thought that Tony was brash and a jerk. Well, more of an asshole at times. But there was no denying that he saw something in Tony. He still couldn't be sure what it was, but he was hoping to figure it out sooner or later. He nodded to Natasha before sitting down next to her. "Dragged him out."
"Thank you," Natasha said quietly. "Are you and him alright?"
"What do you mean?" Steve asked, going with her quieter tone.
"She wants to know if you two are in a relationship," Clint said as he sat down.
Steve was even more confused than before. "Why would you think that?'
"Because the two of you bicker a lot like a married couple sometimes," Clint says. "Ow!" He said as the comment got a hit from Natasha. "What?"
"Being subtle would be nice," Natasha says.
"Yes, but he said he wanted to know," Clint says. "And jeez, Tasha, you're going to leave a bruise."
Natasha smiled. "Serves you right."
Steve smiled at the two of them before looking to see where Tony was. He could see that there was a small argument with Coulson before Tony just took the briefcase and none of the food. He sighed and went over to where the food was. "What types are there?" He asked, expected just cheese, sausage, and pepperoni.
"Veggie lovers, cheese lovers, and meat lovers," Pepper replied. "Sorry - meaning that the first has just a lot of vegetables on it, the second a lot of cheese - more than is probably legally allowed, and the third is just a bunch of meat."
"Which is his favorite?" Steve asked.
"Meat lovers. Which is why there are a few more of those," Pepper said.
"Could I have one?" Steve asked. "An entire pizza, I mean. He should eat."
Pepper smiled in relief and gave him one of the boxes with two paper plates on top. "Thank you."
"You have to make sure he eats a lot?" Steve asked.
"Yeah," Pepper replied. "Usually when he's in one of his moods like now. Or if he's working on a project. I like him more when he's working on a project."
"I'll make sure he eats," Steve promised as he took the box and turned to follow Tony back into the office room. He didn't knock this time, just coming into the room and putting the pizza box down on the desk.
"Not hungry, but thanks," Tony said.
"Don't really care," Steve said as he took the plates off the top and served up two slices of pizza. He put one of them in front of Tony before he sat down to eat. "So, what did you get?"
"Mom's file, dad's file, and…your file, actually," Tony said as he pulled out Steve's. "You want to look over yours?"
"Sure," Steve said as he took his file. There was silence, save for a bit of eating, as they looked over the files and then compared notes. "So, it seems like they're after the cube, which means that they don't know it got sent back to where it belongs."
"Right," Tony said. "And they're still looking for the breakthrough to make super soldiers."
"Not surprising," Steve said. "Alright - so neither of us go out alone, which they're not going to let us do anyways, and we'll figure out how to stop them."
"If we're allowed to do that," Tony said and there was a knock at the door. "yeah?!" He called.
Coulson opened the door and came in. "You two having fun?"
"Depends on your definition of fun," Tony said. "You've got something."
"Turns out that Hydra isn't going to be a problem," Coulson said. "It was just a small outlying group and they've been destroyed."
"Who do we have to thank for that?" Tony asked.
"Guess," Coulson said.
"We're on the hook for buying drinks for Widow and Legolas," Tony said to Steve.
"Thank them for us?" Steve asked.
"Sure," Coulson said. "How are you doing, Tony?"
"Fine," Tony said. "Thanks for telling us."
"You're welcome," Coulson said and left the room.
"That's really too convenient," Tony said.
"How?" Steve asked.
"Because they're just destroyed like that? They don't seem like an operation to just fold up," Tony said.
"They're cowards, Tony. They're going to fold up when there's nobody big behind them to back it up. Red Skull is very much dead and nobody stepped up to be him. So I wouldn't read anything into it."
"Alright," Tony said as he opened the box and got another piece of pizza. "Thanks for coming in here."
"You're welcome," Steve said and let silence hang for a moment. "Anything you want to talk about?"
"No," Tony said. "Mind if we just sit in silence?"
"You can do that?" Steve asked.
"When I want to," Tony said as he fell silent and just ate. Steve followed in being silent as well. The sad thing is that it lasted all of five minutes before Tony started talking about something Steve had no clue about it. He had fun learning about iPhones and what they could do and why they were something that were more of a need than an accessory. At the end of the night, he went to go pick out a room that, for the moment, just had a bed, a nightstand, a dresser, and a bookcase. "You sure you want this one?" Tony asked from behind Steve.
"Why wouldn't I?" Steve asked.
"Just curious," Tony said. "I’m across the hall if you need me."
"Oh," Steve said. "Well…good night," he said and watched Tony shrug and go across the hall to his room. Steve closed the door behind him and went to relax on the bed. He closed his eyes, his mind rethinking everything that had gone on that day, and if he was only imagining what he was feeling.