Chapter Text

The Rogues had been back for 2 weeks. 2 weeks of avoiding them at every turn or being out of the tower altogether. Thank God that the Accords Council opted for the practically indestructible ankle monitors. And if they included that he, Rhodey, Carol, or Vision be with them outside the tower, which meant they were essentially stuck inside, no one thought to remind them. Viz had taken to being out most of the day, knowing a certain Witch would try to corner him again. Platypus and the good Captain Carol had their own place outside the tower, so there was only a slight chance he'd be the only person that might see them. But at 3 am, the chances dropped enough for him to brave the kitchen.

This morning, however, such luck was nowhere to be found. Sitting like a large bird on the counter was none other than fucking Barnes. As much as he had come to terms that Barnes was nothing more then the gun that killed his mother, the banner Rogers decided to throw their friendship for, it was still hard to see the taller brunette. Maybe if he ignored the ex-hydra agent, he could grab a snack in peace.

"Stark?"

great. Not even 2 seconds in could he pretend not to see him. "Yes? Did you need something?" even if it didn't show up most days, Tony knew how to be polite when the mood struck him. He wanted to shut this conversation down when he took a real look at Barnes. It was the first time he noticed the bags under Barnes' eyes, the cagey eyes and the nervous taps the metal digits made against the counter.

"Should I go? Sorry, I didn't think anyone would be here, I can just go..." Tony almost missed the nervous rambling before snapping back from his observations. "Wha- no no Barnes you don't have to go, I was just- you know what I'm going to go get Mickey-Ds, that should hold me over". He pivoted towards the elevator when he heard Barnes hop down from the counter. "What's Mickey-Ds?"

Thoughts of escape vanished as Tony snapped his head back.

The silence that followed that question was growing more awkward each second that Tony stared slack-jawed. He could have just left it there, Barnes fidgeting under his disbelieving look but Tony couldn't help it. "You don't know what Mcdonalds is? How does that happen? You have been all over the world by this point and you don't know Mcdonalds?" "I might have heard of it... but if it's food, I've never tried it. Hydra opted for nutritional packs than any food-food." Barnes muttered, clearly he hadn't meant to ask.

Well then. Tony couldn't just leave this alone. If nothing else he was a fixer at hear and this needed fixing. "Get your shoes, come one then".

If Barnes didn't come that wasn't on him, was it bad he was more worried if he did come?

The trip to America's favorite junk food chain was... enlightening. Was it bad how funny it was to walk into the 24hr burger joint? Tony in a grease-stained tank and jeans with the Winter Soldier in PJs and sandals.

Hell, the boy taking their order didn't know who they were until Tony used his card, that was fucking hilarious. The open shock on his face! That made up for the frown the kid made when Tony ordered one of everything on the menu. Barnes stood silently behind him, which he thought before today would put him on edge. But to be honest it was a little comforting to feel the heat radiating against his bare arms.

They made themselves comfortable in a corner booth before Tony began explaining the mountain of junk food in front of them. It took a few minutes, but Barnes started quietly munching on a few items and it just went from there. He found himself laughing as Barnes told him how much better this crappy food was from his hazy memories as a kid.

It was nice to talk over chicken nuggets and how sweet BBQ sauce was and the better-than-sex fries. By the time their plastic trays were nothing more then littered with a few fries and trash, it was well into mid-morning. The ride home was filled with comfortable silence as was when they pulled up into the garage. It wasn't until the elevator ride up, when reality came a knocking. Barnes was the first to break the quiet.
"I had a lot of fun, Stark." "Yeah... it was a nice night snack" Barnes smirked, "yeah sure, morning you mean. Listen, thank you for that. I needed to get out for a bit." Tony got that, sure. Whatever had the man up in the middle of the night, he didn't bring it up and Tony wouldn't either. A part of him wanted to fall into old habits of flirtations and tell Barnes they could do this again sometime. But really, this was Rogers best friend and that factoid was just hitting him now. "Do you think... Could we do this again?" Maybe Barnes had a quota to fill for shocking Tony today. It felt good to grin up at Barnes and reply a bit sing-song "Sure Buckaroo! Just let Friday know when and we'll figure it out!" Barnes had a quick frown before quietly muttering "Actually, can you call me James? Or Barnes is fine..." well that is surprising. Soon the elevator opened to the common floor and Barnes began to walk out. Tony called out to him "Ok, James. Call me Tony!" He didn't get to see the broad grin James gave him due to the doors shutting.
"Boss? How was your outing?" aw his baby girl had been silent this morning so far. "It was good, now what's up Fri? You are being too quiet, knowing you it can't be good." "Nothing as of yet, but a kid at the Mcdonalds posted this on his Twitter." As Tony got off on his penthouse floor he saw the projection of the Tweet in question. It looked like a sneaky picture from behind the counter of, clearly showing himself talking but a poll hid his companions face. 'Even Iron Man needs a cheat day! #superhero #SupersizeMe #IronMan #SuperMunchies'. he couldn't help the chuckle and asked Friday to retweet it. 'What can I say? Sometimes the best ideas come from after a Large Fries and Sweet Tea *heart emoji*#yum #ironmansnacks #youknowwhoiam'. Heart emoji? "uh...nice touch with the emoji baby girl, but I am an old man so I thi-" "Whoops, Boss! Already posted it, next time I'll be more careful". He could feel the smug smile she had, even without a body. Friday was learning so much and he couldn't be prouder. "Hey Fri, what other places do you think James would like?" she began providing some recommendations as he set himself to work.

Chapter Text

When James was in Wakanda (and awake) he tried to spend most of his time away from technology and it was good for him. Seeing the news, watching Stark having to deal with the fallout Steve and his friends had left behind made James confused and frustrated at first. He was mad that Steve didn't seem to feel anything was wrong. Steve just went on and on how 'Bucky' did nothing wrong and that Stark had done all this but no worries! they'd be home as soon as the world saw how wrong Stark was, with Barton and the Witch crowing in agreement. No one had anything other than Stark was wrong and evil and will have to grovel when they got back to the States. Was it any surprise that when James had any time alone with a computer he spent all his time looking up Tony Stark?

That the man whose parent's he'd murdered happened to be on his mind all the time? That the internet, the world even, had a contrary opinion about Iron Man than the Rogue Avengers did. Iron Man, Tony Stark was a hero in more than just his suit. He stopped weapon production and you could see his hand in anything good about this era. From his contributions financially to charities to his more hands-on with not only the Accords but also in Veterans Affairs, the Science Community, and international marketplace; Tony Stark was a Futurist and it fascinated James. It was in that year of exile that James swore if he ever came face to face with Stark, he would let the man do whatever he felt was necessary. Imprisonment, death, he knew he didn't deserve forgiveness but Stark did deserve vengeance.
Seeing the billionaire when they touched down unbalanced him. He had expected that feeling of grim acceptance of the punishment to crash down on him, but nothing came of it. Instead, he was distracted from all the new rules they were laying out for them being back by the shorter brunette.
Stark looked as though he was ready to battle in his 3 piece business suit. Something screamed danger, even without the Iron Man armor on. James enjoyed seeing Steve's friends get red in the face over Stark's presence. The worst (and sort of the best) part was the tenseness wasn't directed at him. He seemed outside of it in fact, as it focused on Steve and the rest of the group. The ankle monitors made sense, even if the Witch screeched and Barton whined about the lack of freedom with Rogers agreeing with them. Stark was so professional that he made brushing Steve off look easy. 'I wish I had that skill' the thought flitted through his mind, and honestly, he was getting used to it.

This Steve wasn't the little blond fellow who his hazy memories focused around with a sense of affection and humor. This Steve was loud, but this did not endear him to James like his memories supplied it should. It annoyed him, the man's overcrowding and talking over him had made James want to act like the Winter Soldier he used to be. Just wanted Rogers to shut it, to stop acting like James was unchanged after these last 70 years of being unmade then shoddily put together. He wasn't Bucky, he was no longer the feared Winter Solider. He was just James. And he liked watching Stark win his silent battles with the Rogues, much like he enjoyed watching him battle with the government on YouTube. When the meeting ended and they were shoved into the armored cars, James thought that although he hadn't exactly spoken to Stark, he would. They were living together, so he should be able to apologize to him. Right?

He was so wrong. 2 weeks being in the same tower and he only saw the smaller man escaping as soon as any of the others showed up. It felt like no one would leave him alone as well. Steve was always attached to James and it ended up in them arguing before Rogers would end the discussion with a "Don't worry Bucky! I won't let anything happen to you". If he hadn't made such a fuss about the rooming the first night, Steve would be 5 feet from him 24 hours a day. That had been a fight alright. Just him snapping after Steve had insisted the sleep in the same room and the rest of them agree. He refused, thank god the Tower's security lady piped up with a 'Mr. Barnes will be monitored the same as the rest of you, he has a right to privacy. If this is an issue, Mr. Barnes can file with the Accords council for separate housing' that shut Steve up real quick. After going to his new room for the night he tried to talk to her.

They ended up having a short conversation about his intentions in the Tower. he found out she wasn't a human really, but still a person and that she would protect Boss from all of them. At first, she was cold and rude but once he began to ramble on about how he was ok with whatever punishment Stark wanted to inflict she softened up a bit. "Boss wouldn't do anything... I've seen the footage from Siberia and... between us, Boss was more upset by Rogers lying to him for so long. I am afraid I cannot discuss more than that, hurting you isn't who Boss is." She had no more to say but over the 2 weeks, James found himself trying to be more separate from the others.

He was up different hours and spent much of his time either observing or training, sometimes with Steve but most of the time alone. He preferred to be alone, and after 2 weeks of this 'behavior', Steve decided to freak out. It was during their after dinner training session, James didn't bother going to Steve's 'Team Dinners', which set Steve off. So when James arrived at the workout area, instead of training in silence Steve decided to spout off. "Bucky! Where were you? We had another dinner and you weren't there AGAIN! I am getting tired of you not being friendly with the rest the team. We need to stick together, what with these silly ankle bracelets and make a plan for Starks Accords now that we are back. You being absent is making the rest of the team feel like you don't think we should be back," he pointed his figure to scold him, "it's bad for moral Bucky".

Instead of answering the blond, James did one better. He socked Steve in his stupid pie-hole and soon both super soldiers were duking it out, with their healing factors being put to work for once. They kept raining punches on each other until a blade came whizzing through the air made both of them jump apart. Romanov stood unimpressed by them then leveled a look at James. With a sneer, he tore out of the room to a hiding spot he had found. 'Fucking Rogers running his mouth like he has me on a leash' it made him feel so tired and by the time he emerged from his secret spot, it was almost 3 am. His stomach growled and he made his way to the kitchen.

When he got there, he perched on the counter and sort of zoned out instead of making something to eat. Of course, it would be while he was stewing about Roger's attitude, Stark would appear. The moment was awkward and tense with James unable to stop just staring at Stark like an idiot, until the mechanic said something about Mickey. He found himself dragged into a car and driven to a place that smelled of greasy food and lit with the most artificial lights. But it ended up being the highlight of his.... well recent memories. Stark filled the empty pauses with explanations and tidbits that got James talking about what he could remember food being when he was young. It was the most relaxed he had felt since talking to Shuri, or maybe Friday. He wished they could have spent more time in that corner booth talking about nothing for hours but it had to end. But God, he wanted this again, so he made a fool of himself and now Stark was Tony just like Barnes was James. The morning excursion made the shocked faces that met him in the media area worth it.

Chapter Text

Since coming home, Steve lived by a schedule. It made things seem fine when he wasn't. Like instead of them being prisoners, they simply enjoyed being inside instead. So he woke up, went on a 'run' on the treadmill he had dragged into his room while watching news segments. After a quick shower, he would start on breakfast.

The difference from before Stark's Accords to now could be found all around him. Not only in the size of their rooms, which used to be floors crafted to their preferences down to the littlest details. Not in the lack of the plush carpet, that Steve would just pause and dig his toes in after a hard mission. No kitchen that had every tool and ingredients a person could desire, now it only had the basics. The living room had a basic TV with hard office-like couches. No video-games systems or a library of every movie under the sun. Stark decided to be petty when they came back. He and his AI barred them from their old floors, shoved them in this generic floor like a bunch of junk Stark didn't want to deal with.

Thinking about all that Stark had done to them made Steve see red. After seeing that smug bastard when they were given the ankle bracelets, Steve wanted to shake some sense in the smaller man. Hadn't Steve apologized for not telling Stark? Didn't that count for anything? Apparently, the letter and the phone meant nothing as Stark hadn't called, not once! No instead of Stark apologizing for all the trouble he'd done, they were the ones on house arrest.

He knows the rest of the team was having a hard time adjusting. Sam and Scott had been getting quieter since Wakanda but now it was rare to see them outside of team dinners. They trained together or so Sam told him because, without the Wings or Ant-Man suit, both were baseline human. That made sense and at the time Steve had applauded their initiative. Now it felt more and more the 2 men wanted nothing to do with the rest of them... mostly Wanda and Clint.

Those two, he could understand their frustration being 'grounded' but Stark wasn't helping matters. Watching Clint ruin one of the walls with dinner knives and calling it target practice, or Wanda wrecking her room on the first night back, hurt Steve. Then when Steve had brought it up to Friday, so that Stark could replace her furniture, he was enraged to hear Stark refusing to replace her things.

"If she can't take care of her things, then she can't have them"  Steve wanted to scream that using that logic Stark would have nothing . Poor Wanda, after everything she had been through, she was now on an army-like cot. He had tried to offer his room but Wanda had refused. "Stark is a monster, and me sleeping here only proves it more" she had growled in reply, more towards the ceiling camera then to him. Then Strange had shown up the next day with Vision in tow, which was the first time he had even seen the android, and they sealed Wanda's power. What if an emergency came up? She would be defenseless but that didn't seem to matter to the 2 men.

Wanda had cried and begged Vision not to do this, with the android not even giving her a second look. When Steve moved to stop them, he was pinned to a wall by a silent Vision. Stark's rudeness was poisoning Vision, which only upset Wanda more. Once the deed was done, Wanda slumped defeated pose and those 2 briskly leaving the tower, Steve could only hold her as she cried.

Over the last 2 weeks, Wanda had tried to have a conversation with Vision. Maybe they could go out of the tower and really talk, but Vision went as far as to faze through the wall to not speak to her. Between the cold shoulder from the android and the open hostility from Bucky, Wanda was understandably on edge.

Bucky was acting off too, like Scott and Sam he had distanced himself from the rest of the team. He tried to reassure his best friend that they were all good people. But Bucky seemed to rub the wrong way with Clint and intentionally spook Wanda, while not bothering to come to team dinners. Last night Clint had snapped that Bucky must think they deserved to be treated like this. When Steve had brought it up during the super soldiers'  after dinner training, Bucky threw the first punch. For a second Steve feared the Winter Soldier had emerged even though Prince T'Challa had assured him Hydra's influence had been wiped. It wasn't until Natasha separated them and Bucky stormed off that Steve felt his frustration spike.

She was acting like he was a dangerous animal, with all her inching around him. "Steve, keep it together. Bucky is still recovering and in-fighting does nothing for our cause". He snapped at her "Well nothing we do seems to be helping! I didn't start it, Bucky's absence is making the rest of the team think he isn't with us. God Natasha, we need to be out there, doing our jobs, but instead, we are stuck here under Stark's control." She nodded slightly before carefully putting a hand on his shoulder. "Steve, we have to play along for a bit longer... Stark's ego needs to be stroked and then things will go back to how they were. You know that, so let us work from there" she led him away to make a plan and calm down.

If only Steve could get Tony for a second and talk some sense into him. Maybe they could fix things and move past Starks pettiness. Maybe they could get back to that tentative thing that had been growing between them before Tony's greatest failure: Ultron. Before Ultron, Tony had been growing on him. He was so smart, if not a bit naive how normal people lived. And even though he talked a lot, or threw money at things he didn't deal with, Steve was starting to think Tony had a heart. A real beating heart under all that joking and fine clothing, something that wanted to be a good man. Stark could have been so good with him. Tony was an attractive man, like a peacock sometimes too flashy, but with Steve, they could have worked on it. Tamed down the destructive star that was Tony Stark. He just needed someone good to keep him in check, Steve was up for the job of loving Tony, once upon a time. Now though, Stark would need to stop this circus of pettiness he was running before they could get back to that. He needed to humble himself and admit his actions were wrong too. Steve had, so come on Stark, your turn.

The smell of eggs burning, shook him out of his mental ramblings. He quickly served himself his crispy eggs with a bit of toast and a glass of orange juice then settled himself on the couch.

Wanda was making her way slowly towards the kitchen, serving herself cereal with Clint following behind. Together they sat in calm quiet, eating their breakfast. "What time is it?" Wanda mumbled beside him, "it's about 8, how'd you sleep?" she groaned and shook her head "Awful, that bed has springs that push themselves into my back so I am always moving". With a frown, Steve was about to tell her that she as free to switch rooms with him when he heard the elevator behind him. "Ok James! Call me Tony!" Rang out and by the time Steve had whipped his head around, he saw Bucky grinning at the shut elevator doors.

Chapter Text

Clint

If Wanda still had her powers, he knew something would have exploded. Personally Clint has had enough of motherfucking Barnes, as much as Steve adores his best friend. The guy had been an ass since he’d met him. Maybe it was the fact he hadn't been allowed back his bow, or maybe it was because he could feel that dark cloud looming in his mind, no, he refused to think about it today. With a quick lunge he was ready to punch Barnes right in the nose but suddenly Clint was pinned to the wall by a cool metal around his throat. It felt like he had the wind blown out of him in an instant.

Looking up, Barnes face morphed into a that pretentious sneer of his before releasing him with a hard shove. Steve was shouting and Clint began seeing spots in his vision. The red hot feeling in his brain was back and all it wanted was blood.. He had been feeling it slithering in his head, twitchy, angry and starved for some action. But now it was molten, too damn hot and he kept getting flashes of pain and screaming.

When did Natasha get here? He felt her try pulling him from the super-soldiers but the whispers were searing themselves in his brain ‘Do not to trust her, she betrayed yoh once already... And only because of Steve did she decide to do what’s right. Not for you, not for Wanda, just for Steve. How could she be trusted to keep Wanda safe. Just as rotten as Stark, she was probably spying on them for the billionaire.’ For now he shuffled out of her grasp. He needed to get to Wanda, where was she he could hear her crying but his eyes couldn’t place her.

A cool hand rubbed his neck and he found himself pressing Wanda behind him, using his body to shield her from the angry men. His brain felt like it was cooling down. Clint could barely hear Barnes and Steve arguing now and found himself just focusing on the gentle scrape of nail on his skin. Somewhere in his head he could hear a gentle sound ‘Laur-Wanda, yeah, she was humming? Humming from the kitchen maybe, he knew this sound, Nate would stop crying now but…’ eyes snapping open Clint felt his body tense  all he could think was: ‘Nat, he needed to talk to Natasha. Now!’ But his mouth wouldn’t cooperate, his feet were glued in place. All he could do was watch the 2 super-soldiers and the Black Widow arguing while his own growing fear crawled up his spine.

What the fuck was going on?

Natasha

Years of training kept the Black Widow sharp as blades, which is why when she heard a loud thunk, it was not hard to trace back into the common room. She was ready to attack at any moment but being affronted by the 2 old timers looking like they were going to fight like yesterday, made her tweak her plans. Instead of stabbing the nearest threat (Barnes or Steve, she didn’t know which was more of a danger nowadays) she moved to grab Clint. Seeing Clint head wet with blood and bruises on his neck made piecing what had happened easier. At least she had an idea who to stab now. Instead of coming with her, Clint shuffled away and taking a look into his eyes, usually blue and clear, she was met with a flash of scarlet. It was only a second, but she knew what she saw. Before she could confirm it, Steve was shouting even louder than before, and Clint had started to shield Wanda with his body. She had to focus on the immediate issue first, Clint would have to hold on. “Steve! Take a breath for a second, do not over react. Now, what happened?”

She pointedly did not ask Barnes first, seeing as he found it alright to choke a teammate. Plus as confident as she was in her skills, she was unsure if even she could subdue the Winter Solider if needed. Basic instinct and all that. Not that she thought the Prince was lying, but she didn’t believe Hydra’s Beast could be wiped away just like that. There was a reason Barnes was the only successful Winter Solider made, much like the Red Room, it was more than training.

Right now though, eliminating the ex-Winter Solider wasn’t the mission. The Mission was to get the Avengers back on track and ready to face larger threats. Fury had made clear since the ‘split’, the World would love to see them fuck up again. Then they could keep them locked up, only to be used as weapons and destroyed when they were no longer of use. That was the fate of her team, should she fail to keep them in line. The only ones that would be spared would be Stark and his people. She needed her team to become Stark’s people, like they used to be. God it was so easy being under Stark’s protection that once she was out of it, she had lost her footing. She had crossed and double crossed too many times... she was still unsure if she had taken the wrong side. Even her own explanation felt like just another lie. Fury had brought her back from the edge she had cornered herself in and since then she would continue his latest mission: reign them in and keep them ready.

Watching Steve have to breath and calm down felt strange. Like watching something condense more to hit harder. But he did appear calmer, even if her instinct yelled differently. “Bucky just got back, from God knows what, with Stark. I am not overreacting, Stark must have done something, he always does and I am not letting him mess up Bucky.” Even when Steve started off talking like himself, when the man was serious he always ended up using the ‘Captain America’ voice. The voice that told its‘ listeners this was how it was. The sky is blue, grass is green, and Bucky Barnes is innocent.

Turning to Barnes with a quick nod, as the man looked like he was going to blow a gasket, she turned to him for an explanation. “Like I was saying,” it looked like it pained him not to return to shouting, “it isn’t anyone’s business where I was. I was out with an official Avenger, meaning I haven’t broken the Accord stipulations. Now other than that, Steve isn’t the leader. He isn’t my parent, my husband, hell he sure isn’t my fucking friend’, Barnes had to control his volume again, “so where I was, what I was doing is none of his fucking business, now I am very tired so I’ll be in my room.” With that, he made his way down the hall. Before Steve could catch him, Natasha stopped him. “We need to talk Steve. Let’s go to the gym, come on.”

She began to lead him to the elevator, but remembered Wanda and Clint. “Hey Wanda?” she kept her voice light and nonchalant. Tipping the Witch to her suspicions would be a whole other can of worms. “Can you keep an eye on Clint, maybe take him to medical if he needs it?” a pause the “Nat, I am ok… go take care of Steve Me and Wanda will watch TV. Not as good as Portuguese Telenovas, yeah?” Out of eyesight, she made a face at that, it was a code from Clint that he was in trouble. But she had to fix this issue first, she laughed loud enough to be heard and followed Steve.

Chapter Text

~Clint~

He could feel his bruises ache and the blood crust in his hair. But none of that mattered right now. Right now he was as far from his physical state as possible. Instead, he was deep in thought.

Being in his own head, feeling the difference from a fog he had lived in as of late was partly joyous and terrifying. ' This is a mission, just treat it like a mission ' he kept telling himself as whatever this thing was winding down. The thing sharing his headspace made him mentally shiver as it coiled around itself. This wasn't like with Loki; an enlightenment free from choice. This was pulsating creature that had wormed itself in and now that it was weaker, he could think clearly.

He tried to think back to what his mind was on when it had wiped him.

Not Wanda, that what it wanted him to think of.

What was going on, he had been... protecting Wanda and then? She was rubbing his neck, she hummed! Yeah she was humming like, like-she used to? That couldn't be it. Something had made the serpent rear its head.

First it was Nat, maybe, well it didn't seem interested with Natasha now. But something had called the being to wipe him. This was so frustrating , not knowing what were his real thoughts and what were the edited ones.

He shouldn't jump to conclusions, maybe Wanda didn't, no she wouldn't. I mean she didn't even know about Loki. When she had done the mind whammy buck during Ult- mh ! Nope !

The snake does not like that one, ok ok when Stark's thing... why am I smiling all of a sudden? Holy shit, is this controlling my emotions too? Hold on Stark! Ok, it likes that, maybe Ton- nope back to pain. God ok so no first name for him. So let's see: it can control my thought with pain and happy feelings, but also my physical actions. It has things it likes, like Wanda and angry thoughts about Stark. What do I do with that?

I'm not supposed to be the brains ! Point me at something and tell me to shoot, but all this shit is way out of my depth. I need to get to someone. How how how... Will it let me go to Stark? I doubt it, if I think about getting rid of it, it's just going to try to distract me. So let's try negative emotions. 'Maybe I should kill Stark, he's such a problem that if he were dead we wouldn't have to worry anymore, Wanda would be safe. ' oh, it liked that, and there go his feet.

"Hey Wanda, I am going to join Natasha. You want to stay here?"

"Oh, uh... are you sure? I am worried about Barnes attacking you again, I know he's Steve's friend but he shouldn't have hurt you."

"I'm ok now. But he doesn't know how," god this sounded so forced , " destructive Stark can be. He just need's Steve to let him know about Stark's sins".

"You’re right, once Steve talks some sense into him, Barnes will see Stark's true colors. He's a murderer and now he's our jailer, Again . But no go ahead, I'll just finish watching this episode." with that she shifted to stretch out on the couch.

whew, ok so let's kill Stark plan is a go? Ok yeah, knife from the kitchen and now I need to just get down to Stark. He needs to see me, the real me.

~Natasha~

Portuguese Telenovas .

On a mission in Brazil, where they had been doing surveillance around-the-clock, that's all they had on tv. By the time they left, Clint had wanted to hunt down a few Soap Opera actors. God, it was a few years later that the phrase became code for ‘ Shit's Fucked ’. So, before Clint went off the deep end she needed to get Steve back in line.

How the fuck did Tony ever manage to sell Steve being the living-breathing legend of old? Seriously, it was starting to feel like she was spending more time trying to reign the deep freeze soldier than the rest of the team.

She could only thank small mercies that Wilson and Lang were assimilating well. From her limited intel, they had already been contacted by Commander Danvers and Rhodes. She had assumed the leading pair would be coming to her and Steve next, but weeks of silence said otherwise. Fury had been clear on reuniting the team, but it felt that Steve's faction had been splitting from within.

Sam and Scott, Steve and Bucky, then Clint and Wanda. She was an outlier, once again, and it was frustrating trying to lace these couples back into a team. To get them linked back with Tony's faction? Near impossible as she hadn't even had a chance to see any of his people after being brought to the tower. Now she was stuck cleaning up after the super-soldiers messy breakup.

"Steve, how are you feeling?" he had been wailing on his third punching bag for a few minutes and it was noticeably ripping on one of the sides. 'Bet he's missing his old Stark-Grade bags about now' she thought grimly.

"Better now. Thank you, for taking me out of that. I feel like it was on the path to escalation, like last time..."

"What's going on, Cap? Two fights in less than 24 hours with your Bucky? Something you’re not sharing?" she had coddled him too long, now she was going to be more direct. "Nothing, Bucky has been acting strange since we returned. Most of the team has and I am getting worried." he settled down on one of the benches, head resting in his hands.  "Sam and Scott just drop in for team dinners but apart from that... nothing. They don't talk or train with us, rather they've been keeping to themselves. Clint and Wanda, I thought were finding themselves but then Clint just lunges at Bucky. That isn't ok!" he exclaimed, sounding exasperated.

She remained silent, hoping he'd continue to him and Bucky. "Bucky has been withdrawn, even more separate then Sam and Scott. And then we fought last night, only to see him coming home with Tony! They were being so friendly, it makes me so mad. Tony could be using Bucky in his pettiness, pretending to forgive him and not us. It makes me sick, God, Tony get over yourself at some point! We're back whether you like it or not! But I know better, you brought us back because you were wrong and you need me . You need me because we are better together, if you could just get over yourself for 5 seconds I swear someti-" he was back to his damaged bag.

By the last shouted word, he had knocked the poor thing off the chain. The bang it made against the floor had him fuming silently.   What the fuck was all this? "Steve," she hissed before composing herself, "we need to get back into Stark's good graces, if that means visits with Bucky... we have to be prepared for that." How does she turn this in her favor, this is unraveling before her eyes. "Besides, the sooner Stark 'forgives' Bucky, the sooner he will bring the rest of us back into his inner circle. Would you rather Stark hunt down your best friend?" he shook his head and for a moment Natasha thought maybe they were getting somewhere. "Right now, we need an access point to Tony, so no more fighting with Bucky. Let's just let things happen and things will go back to how they were before ." She could see him considering her words. With a resigned sigh and that tired smile, he answered her. "Alright, Natasha... if you are sure. I just don't want Bucky getting hurt."

"It's the best for everyone, and I'll keep an eye on him. You know I won't let anything happen to him" and like every target, Steve took her small calm smile with confidence.

Inside her head, it couldn't be more different. Steve's aggressive behavior coupled with his rant. He was no longer the solid foundation for her to work off of. He was losing ground, but maybe... If she could get to Barnes. It could go one of two ways. #1 S he could monitor Barnes and mend whatever was going on between him and Steve . If that didn't calm the blond super-soldier then, #2 Barnes would need to be shaped into the new cornerstone for this team . Either path would lead to this faction, lead by Barnes or Steve, to unite with Tony's. Either path would achieve Fury’s end goal, and right now that's what she needed to focus on.  

Chapter Text

With how busy he was the last few days, it was fine that he hadn't seen James since their early morning excursion. I mean it wasn't like he was thinking about the guy anyway.

Ok maybe like a passing thought

Maybe more like a list? Was it weird he had begun a small adventure hit-list? Note to self: do not say hit list out loud. Especially in front of the ex-assassin... Scratch that any ex-spies.

But seriously, was he so starved for human interaction that he was really thinking about the next (and the future) times he'd hang out with James? I mean he had people .

Rhodey-bear, Danvers, Hope, Peter... He had people and yeah they got busy but he didn't need James in order to get out. He wasn't the one on house arrest.

Oh, man, he had to remind himself that more times then he liked. Was that why James had sought him out? To get out? But it was he who offered... no no, he was just being crazy. Now his brain was ringing and was this the beginning of his mental breakdown?

"Boss? You have a call, it's the kid." oh right, the ringing wasn't his brain shutting down, great . "Hey kid, how's it hanging? Keeping your webs in the city?" "Yeah yeah, Mr. Stark you know me. Friendly neighborhood Spiderman!" He could imagine Peter striking a pose, "I was calling to check if it was still ok for May's Birthday this weekend?" Fri' pulled up a screen with the notice of rented out Dave and Buster's, thank god. "Of course Kid, you know I pulled out all the stops, but still 'fun and low-key' just like you asked, hate to be on the wrong side of your hot aunt again".

When he and Pete had decided to come clean with the boy's aunt, it had been a bonifide train-wreck. The yelling, the threatening, the crying god the crying . But at the end of the day, May had been soothed with Tony promising the best protection and training, because both adults knew without their consent, Peter would carry on being Spiderman in a paper bag mask if he had to.

So May got check-ins from Karen, and Peter was signed on under Tony's responsibility with the Accords (because he was underage). Now Spiderman worked with the NY Police Force, instead of just leaving sticky villains for them.  It was a happy middle ground and Tony feel better about the kid. Training with Vision and Rhodey Bear had helped Underoo learn how the chain of command worked and teamwork drills.

"Perfect Mr. Stark! You're the best, really, I know she gonna love all the cheesy arcade games. I invited like, three of her work friends plus Ned and MJ. Vision and Mr. Rhodes have let me know they’ll be there, tho… I'm sad that Commander couldn't come. She said she was too busy but sent her birthday wishes... How about you Mr. Stark? You bringing anyone?"

Huh.

"uh, yeah maybe I will... hadn't thought about it. Was thinking of just spending the evening flirting with Ma-" "Mr. Stark! Bring your own date, leave my Aunt alone" Peter was so whiny today. "Ok ok kid! I'll see you Saturday, get ready to lose at that drum game again" with a laugh Peter ended the call.

"Friday, should I drag James?" he teased his best gal, "Yes, it seems that he would enjoy that. Mr. Parker would also enjoy meeting your new friend. Mr. Barnes is in his room, reading." It had been 4 days since he'd talked to the guy but, it couldn't hurt to video call him. "Ok Friday, you talked me into it! Call James via his TV." "Right away Boss" and with that, he heard ringing.

Time to turn on the charm.

Chapter Text

Rodey usually loved Fridays. End of the week, date night in the evening and this weekend he had Mrs. Parker’s birthday to look forward to. So by this point in the afternoon, his tension levels kept lowering the closer he got to leaving his office at the Compound.

This Friday however, was determined to ruin his love of the day.

Driving to the tower was nice, but the trip never lasted as long as he’d like recently.

The last time he had made an appearance, it was at Carol’s elbow talking to them . Not all of them, thank god, but just 2 members had made his boil at the thought. He wanted to chew into Wilson, who should have been wiser with his own military experience. But when face to face with the former pilot, well…

He couldn’t help seeing a younger, maybe foolish pair of men who bought into the legend. In a meeting that was intended to dismiss both Lang and Wilson from duty, he instead invited them as individuals to the initiatives on probationary status. Both men had been cautious, which he could give to them. Maybe it meant they had learned not to take things at face value anymore, who knows .

At the end of their negotiations, it was Lang who asked a crux question. “Do we have to share this with the rest of ou- the team?” The quick change was not lost on him, and he turned to Commander Danvers. She led the teams, it was her call when something was a need-to-know issue or public notice issue.

“No. This is for you two as individuals. We could have separated you but for the sake of time, we did it this way. Our offer to them may not include the stipulations your’s does if we do offer at all. You two will be under scrutiny, but it will be on your own merit, not anyone else's.”     

He nodded in agreement, the two men were ready to earn their place among the New Avenger ranks.

When they were alone he thanked her softly, which she huffed out at him “You looked ready to bat for them, let’s hope your call was the right one. Do you think they will report this to Steve?” “No, they were already distancing themselves. Add in that they didn’t ask about our offer to Rogers, I think they have the most potential in finding their own paths.” It was the truth, and he could only thank god that Carol felt the same.

Today would not be a day of good news. The Accords council wanted a report on when, if , the Rogues were prepared for the upcoming storm at their doorstep. While it had been almost a year and a half since the media debacle that was Civil War, it was only now that they were back the Accords was thinking of the group in a tangible way. He too had put Roger’s faction as them, out of sight out of mind.

He had been more focused on Tony, Viz, and himself recovering, for the most part. Once all three of them were in a better place, they had unanimously agreed they weren’t leaders. That’s when Carol was brought in, and after that, they had more and more people coming to help. No longer was the World their responsibility alone, it felt like breathing again. He couldn’t imagine how it felt for Tones.  

Carol, Maria, Peter, Hope, Laura, hell even that snob Stephen made for a pretty good team. They leaned on each other to ease the burden it was to protect the world. All while still keeping the people free to choose. Choose how the Avengers helped, if they could help, and when. It had been rocky those first few months but now… it could only get better.

But now Steve and his merry band of idiots were back. Home to reap the benefits of a system the New Avengers, that Tony had fought and bled to build. Wasn’t that just like Rogers? If he had his way, Rogers wouldn’t see the outside of solitary confinement for Siberia. Unfortunately, Tony had gone to lengths to cover the incident that went down in the bunker.

All that was known publicly, was the good Captain had resisted arrest and battled Iron Man. No one outside the New Avenger’s knew the extent of the damage, and even with the team, not everyone had the same knowledge. Only Rhodey, Carol, Hill, Laura, and Vision had seen the footage. From there, only Carol and he had been there when Vision brought Tony home. A tangled mess of blood and metal for Dr. Cho to salvage, with Vision keeping watch over his father’s sleeping form.

Vision had let him know the night before they would return, that he would not forgive them.

“It is my choice, Rhodey, regardless of their actions now. Is it right to feel this way?”

“Viz… of course it is. No one will force you to interact with them, leave that to me and Commander Danvers.”

“I wish you did not have to deal with them either.”

“That’s what I get for being Carol’s 2nd, all the fun jobs.”

After dealing with Wanda, he had heard that Vision was living with Dr. Strange. At May Parker’s birthday, they would catch up.

For now, he needed to do an assessment on the remaining stragglers. If they were unfit for probationary Avenger status, they would be turned over to the Accords Council. If deemed fit well… they would need to be prepped for the public outrage. Their return had not hit the news circuit as of yet but it was only a matter of time. Right now the Accords Council had announced they were in talks with the Rogues. The issue would be, if made Avengers' again, would the countries most affected by their destruction have a chance to take their pound of flesh ?  And would that be paid by the individual, or by the team as a unit?

Just 4 meetings. Romanov, Rogers, and when Dr. Strange arrived, Maximoff and Barton.

He could see Romanov being of use, he could admit the woman was skilled, but publically? Her face was too well known to utilize her intel gathering skills and her lack of loyalty was something he didn’t think the new team had a place for. Perhaps he should have dragged Hill to see if SWORD had a place for her.

Rogers would be the toughest meeting to detach his personal feelings from. He had been with Tony since the man had been a boy that was 95lbs wet . While over the years he and Tones may not have always seen eye to eye, Tony was still one of the most important people to him. Being in a room, alone with the man who left his best friend in Siberia with a  shattered heart and almost dead. Roger’s was lucky he wasn’t allowed to bring the suit.

He had hoped to leave Maximoff for last, seeing as he needed Strange’s report on what the man had gleaned from the magic sample he had obtained. They knew her powers stemmed from the Mind Stone but they were different from Visions’. Strange would need to say if her powers could be trained or not.

However, with the new reports from Friday on Barton, he felt backup might be needed. As pompous as Strange was, in a pinch Rhodey could trust the man to have his back. Barton had been acting fixated on his attempts to access Tony’s lab the last few days. Most of his erratic behavior had included him walking aimlessly around the tower before dashing towards the elevator when someone was exiting.

The fact it began after an ‘altercation’ with Barnes had been the cherry on top. He didn’t want to touch the situation with a ten-foot pole, as King T’Challa had placed his own protections on the ex-brainwashed super soldier. He was just glad that the man had left his best friend alone so far. Tony didn’t need the added stress of his parent’s killer, now with his own mental freedom, bothering him.

Carol is lucky they couldn’t reschedule these meetings, because now she was off dealing with an Accord’s issue and he was here, attempting to calm himself before entering the den of beasts.

Better to get it over with, he supposed, and with a quick prayer he left his car and headed to the elevator.

“Ready Colonel?” Friday asked in the elevator, such a good gal “Ready as I’ll ever be”.

Chapter Text

Charm. He was supposed to be going for charming.

Instead, it seemed his fountain of grace had gone dry at the site before him. He should have told Friday to let Jamesy-boy know he was going to pop up on the tv. Sure the ringing might have clued him in but James didn't know what that meant when it came from his TV. God , he was prepared to lay on the charm and invite his new munchies-friend to the party.

He was met instead with a hunky super soldier laying on the bed facing the TV in question, without his shirt.

This was not going to be a problem. Nope . He had had his fill- not the word he needed to think about at this moment - of attractive people in his life. But seeing James; toned shoulders bare and the defined dip that separated his chest muscles...

No no this was a bad idea, stop that brain . Stop it Now .

When was the last time he'd gotten laid? Maybe if he had given in that baser desire regularly, he wouldn't be here staring like some sort of creep.

Oh yeah. 

"Tony?" Hello? Can you hear me? Friday, is the screen frozen?" James questioned waving his hand, "Ah sorry sorry. I-uh- was reviewing some blueprints, for the armor." he corrected himself, despite the burning sensation in his face. "Hey James, I was just calling- Well how are you?"

He wasn't a horny teen, he was a grown ass man. He was Iron Man, no getting flustered dammit!

"Oh, I am doing fine. Just reading right now. You have a nice little library here. I mean I think it's your library, I mean... how about you?" Why did Tony have to make things so awkward? Friday had a small notification pop up on the screen, oh yeah May's Party.

"Would youliketo come to May's thing? I mean it might be too much, you know what forget I as-" rushed out in a hurried breath and he wished he had something in his hands. He itched to fiddle with anything.

"May's thing? What's that? Is it another food joint... Yeah, I'm free to go. You want to go now?" James had slid off the bed, and no Tony was not drinking in the sight before him.

As James went to grab a shirt while Tony processed what James just said. "No! I mean- no it's not today, it's this Saturday. She is a good friend and we are having a little party for her. It won't be just us, it'll be her and Pete's friends at an arcade. But there’ll be food and it should be fun... if you are up for it?" Maybe it was some sort of wishful thinking but the little frown James made when he had mentioned it wouldn't be the two of them... well it warmed Tony. Maybe stirred was a better word.

Nope, not doing this.

"Other people?" James muttered, more to himself it seemed. The brunette looked at Tony then at his left hand. He nodded with resolve, so maybe that was his answer. "Alright, so it's on Saturday, I said that already. So if you don't want to go, just let me know, ok?" "I want to go. But... You need to take the arm".

What?  

"Take the arm?" Tony found himself repeating, not connecting what James wanted. "Yes the arm," James raised his left arm to the camera, "I don't want to hurt anyone". Oh. Before he over-thought this bizarre turn of events. Seeing as more than a year ago Tony had blasted the arm in Siberia.

Ok thinking of the Bunker was worse than finding James attractive.

Not that he did, just hypothetically, if he did. Hadn't he just decided he had his own people? He felt like he was going deeper down this rabbit hole.

"Ok, we can do that" licking his dry lips Tony opened the file with James' arm schematics. "Here, take a look at these, removing the arm should be painless. When-uh Princess Shuri designed it she wanted it to be an option should you need to dispose of it." While he was sure James knew Tony had made his new arm, he wasn't going to just say it out loud. Not yet, and thank god Barnes seemed to let it be with a knowing glance.

"Alright. Thank you Tony. I’ll look over this and before we head out on Saturday... should I just head to your lab?"

 In most cases, the thought of one of Roger's band in his sanctuary would have had Tony on the edge of panic. But James had been working to set himself apart from the rest. At least Tony was betting on it.

He felt his confidence surge once more "Sure, Jamesy-boy. I can't wait". He waved goodbye and with a grin dove back into his work.

Chapter Text

"Good afternoon Ms.Romanova, shall we begin?" 

Colonel James Rhodes. A 38-year-old Airforce Pilot, and now 2nd in command of the Avengers in the War Machine armor. During her time as Natalie Rushman, she had found the man lacking. While Rhodes seemed to have gained a permanent seat at Stark's side, he lacked the drive to take the reins from the eccentric genius.

Even at their famous court hearing, Rhodes had hesitated to harm their friendship.

The man was known to be level-headed and practical.... aside from his Tony-shaped blind spot. When they had returned, she was surprised that Rhodes was in a place of command. His bias was as visible as the Stark Industries Logo on the side of the tower. More surprising was he was not on Stark's heels, but rather another new Avenger, Commander Danvers. The commander was nowhere in sight and the Colonel offered no explanation when she was called in.

Friday had only informed her of the meeting this morning. She could adapt and appeal to Rhodes sense of order and military structure with ease, men in uniform were easier to lead to her way of thinking. The sooner she was reinstated to the Avenger's roster, the sooner she could proceed with the main mission.

"Of course. Please, ask me anything. I am ready to get back to active duty". Natasha felt her face morph into an earnest respectful smile at the older man. He had escorted her to one of the empty offices on a lower floor, it was the first 'new' place she had been since her return. In her mind this meeting was a long time coming.

"This is only a preliminary meeting to go over your options. You will be meeting with the Accords representatives and any 3rd party that wishes to discuss your options as well."

He paused a moment, before unpacking 2 folders from his briefcase. "Many things have changed within the Avengers, and 'getting back to active duty' may not be the best option for you. Have you read through the latest edition of the Accords?"

"Yes, although I do have some questions in regard-"

With a steady hand, he interrupted her, "Questions that can be answered by the Accords Representative." He leveled a quick hard look before continuing, "For our meeting to continue, please present your signed copy to me now."  

She handed the thick stack of paper and as he reviewed her signatures, she took in the man before her.

He was deliberately keeping himself aloof as if this meeting was of no consequence. His interruption showed a different story. Rhodes was set on only completing his task, nothing more and nothing less even if his personal feelings disliked it. Good, she could work to make his sense of responsibility wayward bend in her favor.  

"What do you feel you could bring to the Avenger's team?" he asked not looking up from the last few pages. A part of her fought the desire to roll her eyes. "Intel gathering and infiltration are my broad areas of expertise. My physical skill set is known best for its effective & efficient nature. I also have gained some hacking knowledge and can be a valuable asset. Although, Colonel, these are things that I am sure you already have knowledge of."

Why was he asking such a pointless question? This was not her first acquisition into a new organization. Why did Rhodes, and by extension Commander Danvers, think it wise to treat her as though she was never an Avenger? Once upon a time, she would have been conducting this interview. While she bristled internally at this whole situation, her face fought to stay in its playful smile that Rhodes staunchly ignored.

"That is not what I asked, Ms. Romanova. What do you feel you could bring to my team?" He paused from the paperwork and pinned her with a look, "We know of your skills as the Black Widow.  We also know how quickly you can change your loyalty to fit your own needs." She wanted to bite back at the accusation lying beneath Rhodes formal speech. "But that was then, this is now. You are no longer a spy shielded by a shadowy organization. You are not a pillar for a superhero team, nor are you a voice of reason within even your fracturing team." While it felt like a victory to watch the Colonel to lose himself to anger, he quickly regained his composure.

"Ms. Romanova, let me clarify my question. What do you feel you could bring to my team that no other ex-agent could bring? The Avengers are only considering individuals who can bring something outside of shadowy spy organizations and the like."

Ex-agent? Had it not been for Fury's voice in her mind, years in the Red Room, and the passive knowledge that Stark's AI was monitoring this room with the highest security, she might have made a move that would end with her knife deep in Rhodes' neck. She was on a Mission.

Maybe it was the jilted movement to her thigh or the moment of tense silence that followed the Colonel's question but Friday's voice rang into the room. "Boss? Your next appointment time is coming up, and you are being requested to Conference Room 4." "Thank you Friday, I think I have seen enough. Can you tell my next appointment that he'll have to wait? I will be going to C4 first then I will call him in." He began to place her packet into his bag and rose from his seat. 

What had just happened? Where was her offer, her chance to argue for a place among Stark and his people?

"Thank you for your time, Ms. Romanova, if Commander Danvers requests to have another meeting you will be informed by Friday. Please be prepared for the Accords' representative meeting and if any other 3rd parties wish to meet with you. Goodbye." with that, he left her in the room. Shellshocked and confused, it felt like Natasha sat there for a long time, staring at the place he had sat across from her.

Chapter Text

Tuesday morning's confrontation with Steve was so far in the back of James' mind that he had been waking up with a grin all week. He hadn't looked forward to the weekend in.... probably 70 years! Not that he had much to do during the week, other than going over informational packets Friday had created for him to 'catch up'.

After Tuesday, Friday who had mostly ignored him had now decided he needed company. While it was thrilling that she wanted to talk to him about anything he may be looking at, it still spooked him that she could read his mind sometimes. Well, it felt like it.

Perfect example: the books. Friday had notified him on Wednesday that there was a delivery for him. No one ever sent him anything, and it wasn't like he had any money to buy anything from the catalogs. Did they even have catalogs anymore? That's something he hadn't even really thought of.

Hydra wasn't keen on keeping him up to date on the newest shopping trends. They provided anything the Asset required to complete the mission, anything past that well... he'd been in the dark for a while.

Back to the books. Going down to the common room again, instead of finding two different Rogue's then Rogers and the Witch . James' had never really put too much thought to Wilson and Lang.

Seeing them at the table quietly eating their lunch, wearing matching small smiles put him at ease. His presence did not have the same reaction. Both men stopped mid-bite when he walked past the table towards the elevator.

Should he say something? He wasn't lying to Tony when he told him over greasy burgers he hadn't felt like he knew how to talk anymore. Rogers had told him he used to be well-likable and social back in the 40s but he couldn't even imagine that. He felt like a dark cloud coming into a room. Everyone tended to freeze up or worse wanted something from him that would just end up in a fight.

"Mr. Barnes? Your package is available in Box A. I have unlocked it for you now."

He felt a bit foolish standing in front of the 3 mailboxes just staring, unsure how to get his items and run out of there. With a click, Box A opened and he grabbed the box before slamming the metal door shut. As he was heading back to his room, his ears caught Wilson asking Lang what he thought he'd got. While those two seemed fine, James didn't want to take his chances that they were aligned with the Witch.

Once in his room, he ripped open the box to find 5 books. He must have had a look of confusion on him for Friday to pipe up.

"These are some favorites of mine, I see that you were lacking any activities to do so I took the liberty of having these sent up for you. The tower has an ever-growing library if you would like different things to read."

James took a chance looking at their covers as she continued,

"I suggest reading The Hobbit first, then the 3 other books. The last book is one of Viz's favorites, Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy, something Boss likes to reference from sometimes. It's overall much more humorous than the other novels."

For Friday not being a 'real' person, she sure had a way of tugging at your heartstrings. Excited at the prospect of losing himself in their pages James placed the books on his nightstand and cracked open The Hobbit.

He had finished the book that lazy Wednesday, and read the 1st of the Lord of the Rings that night instead of going down for the 'Team Dinner'. Luckily he grabbed something to eat late into the night without anyone disturbing him.

Most of his Thursday had been consumed reading the last 2 novels of the trilogy in his room. He felt like he'd be visiting the tower's library often, once things calmed down. Then his TV had startled him out of Tolkien's work and had it been anyone then Tony, he might not have bothered answering the call.

Especially when he was itching to read how Saurman will react now that Aragon has outed himself as Isildur's heir. Things were happening and finding an escape to Middle Earth had put him in a rather good mood.

Watching Tony flit about his lab from the TV only made it better. The cherry on top had been the prospect of another food adventure until it had not. Not that this wasn't good, just unexpected.

Tony was inviting him to be around others. People that Tony cared about and would want safe. He wasn't sure if he was safe yet. Then Tony had started to backtrack like James didn't want to go. He felt the words on his tongue before he realized he'd said them aloud.

"I want to go. But... You need to take the arm".

The shock was surprising not only to himself but on the inventor's face as well. But with surprisingly little pushing, Tony agreed to help him leave the prosthetic here. It was a relief, even if Tony didn't know how much, that he would not harm anyone else.

As soon as the call ended Friday pulled up the schematics for the arm on the TV. He did look at them, but knowing Tony would be there to take the arm, he wasn't worried about losing it for a few hours.

"Mr. Barnes?"

It felt like Friday was always so hesitant when she wanted to say something.

"Friday, it's James ok? I feel we are a little closer than using Mr. and Ms."

she paused before quietly going

"James, would it make you more comfortable to see the files on those attending Mrs. Parker's party?"

Files? While he was more worried about being safe for the other people he hadn't thought about who was going.

"uh... I wouldn't be seeing anything I shouldn't be seeing right?" another pause, like they weren't making his anxiety flare.

Friday in all her mind-reading ways answered him by simply bringing up multiple windows on his TV. Vision Stark, James Rhodes and Hope Van Dyne, Dr. Stephen Strange, May Parker, Peter Parker and his friends Michelle Jacobs and Edward Leeds.

Guess he'd have to come back to Middle Earth another time.

"May I also suggest finding something to wear, James?" Friday added happily.

It's going to be a long night.

Chapter Text

I knew I needed to see Hope. Soon. But, hey, I wasn't allowed to contact her. I just figured I'd run into her eventually. Sam said we'd be hopefully training with her and the others after it had been announced we were back.

Talking to Hope was a definite... soon. Yeah soon. At some point...

Eventually. After all my dumb shit, she'd hear how sorry I was from my own mouth. I wasn't banking on it being today. As soon as I had gone through the paperwork, and checked with Mr. Stark's AI (no more law breaking, little wins for my morality right?) I couldn't scramble for the Call Screen on the TV fast enough.

Blinded by the thought of hearing Cassie again, I called her phone. A flip phone I had given to her, with a black cat sticker slapped on the back. That sticker she grabbed on one of our rare trips downtown. Back before I ran off again... Didn't even cross my mind she wouldn't pick up.

Just hearing her answer "hello?" in breathless surprise had me feeling like a homecoming in itself. Then the harsh thunk of the phone falling to the floor and fast footsteps echoing away shattered it. For once, Cassie was the one to run away from me.  A few minutes of me yelling her name, hoping she could hear me, Maggie voice booms into the speaker.

Yelling, always yelling. Not that I don't deserve it! Maggie tore me a new one and after she demanded to know where I was (my stupid brain forgetting no-one is supposed to know I am back yet) she hung up.

A few hours later I am getting knocked across the training room without warning. Not from Sam, who had dragged me to train, but from some unseen force. Sam was backed up in a defensive stance from the threat. But with neither of us having our suits on us, we remembered we are baseline and defenseless.

Is it bad I gave a small breath of relief when Hope popped into existence and not some bad guy? At least I was relieved before being thumped into the wall. I vaguely remember her dragging me into a conference room and laying it into me. The room was spinning and I kept getting hit across the face and chest.

I deserve this, I know I do. I wanted to just let it out, Hope needed to know. Maggie needed to know. Cassie... she needed to know I didn't... no, I did just leave. I followed like a good little pawn and now I had to face the music. So I willed my body to keep my arms down and take Hope's beating silently. She had left me standing with blood on my lip when Colonel Rhodes came in.

He was a stand-up kind of guy. It's bad I never thought much of Rhodes until I came back. Did he have a wife? Kids? I know now he doesn't but during our stupid airport fight, it didn't even cross my mind to think about it. Rhodes is a topic that me and Sam run circles around every few nights. We both owe the man so much now and feel we deserve the least from him.

I'm just going to keep my mouth shut, come on Scott.

Zip it...

Somewhere Carol was laughing at him. Seriously! Didn't he have enough to do today? Not that he was regretting his peace offering to Lang and Wilson for that matter. But Scott was stirring the pot before Carol and the Team was ready to go public.

He had thought that it would take a few days until they were both present, but Friday's alert had let him know that there was a major change of plans. Of course, he would be stuck with all the fun jobs but then again what he wouldn't do for everything they had all worked for.

Walking into C4 today was already was not what he was expecting. But he knew how to roll with the punches. The scene he walked into only made this meeting more bizarre. The table had been pushed against the wall, chairs strewn about and fixated at the center of it all was the most disheveled Hope Van Dyne that Rhodey had seen to date.

Her pristine hair puffed up in odd angles and her usually perfected poker face was twisted into a snarl. In one of the only chairs intact sat a woman who he had only seen in Scott's file: his ex-wife Margaret. On the other side of the room stood Scott himself, clothes wrinkled, lip split with a nasty cut and a dark bruise blooming on his chin.  As he stepped further into the room the spell of tense silence broke, and all eyes focused on him. "Hope, Mrs. Paxton" he greeted the two women on his left, "I apologize for not being here sooner. I had hoped to postpone this meeting until we could come to a peaceful interaction"

"Colonel, why was I not informed the Rogues had returned?" Hope's formality slid into his chest like a blade, and the poor answer he had for her left a bad taste in his mouth. Thankfully Friday was there, "Boss was ordered by the council not to reveal it to any individuals outside Colonel Rhodes, Commander Danvers, and the Accords Council. However, as per the agreement made with Mr. Lang, he has the right to contact his daughter on a recorded line. When he called, Mrs. Paxton was already nearby with Ms. Van Dyne" Friday answered, with a quick nod Hope grabbed one of the fallen chairs and took a seat.

"I am sorry it took this long to inform you Hope, but now that you have, would you and Mrs. Paxton like to go over Mr. Lang's Accords paperwork. It affects you both to some degree. Ideally, Mr. Lang wouldn't be present, but he may stay if that is fine with both of you" Hope's quick nod and clenched fist did little to sooth the lump in his throat.

"Yes, I believe that would be best. How does this affect Cassie? That is really all I am concerned about." Margret's voice was as detached as her eyes seemed to look at her ex-husband.

With a shared look with Scott, they soon righted the table. Rhodes found himself across the two formidable women and next to the former Ant-Man.

"Scott Lang has agreed to take responsibilities for his actions in the media-dubbed 'Civil War' as well as work with the accords with his skills. For this to come into effect, he would need to seek out permissions from the owner's of the Ant-Man technology." He felt Scott's body stiffen at that tidbit but knew this concept was not a surprise to the younger man.

Scott had read and signed the accords this time around, "another part of his Accords agreement concerns his civilian family. As the Accords Council has already discussed with the Paxton Family, should they take the offer, Mr. Paxton would be relocated to New York to benefit from protections allowed to them due to their association with Mr. Lang."

"Yes, we have been approached by SI for employment. My husband thinks the move may be good for us, and having some protection from the backlash of Sc- Mr. Lang's," Maggie corrected herself, "mistakes. But do the Accord's talk about his parental visitation rights?"

"No, at this point it is up to the discretion of Cassie's primary guardian. As it is now... Mr. Lang has little standing to argue for his visitation rights."

Scott slumped beside him makes him pause before continuing "However, as you have already had a chance to discuss with certain parties, do you have a decision made?"

Mrs. Paxton looked down at her hands. This poor woman had been put through so much due to the man he had recently invited back to their team. Had he made the right decision? Was inviting Lang onto the team bringing those left behind hardship? Before he fell deeper into his own thoughts on  Maggie Paxton, Hope's hand found the blond woman's shoulder.

"We have both decided that as long as Mr. Lang does not break his probation he will be given permission to utilize the Ant-Man suit to save lives under the Accords. During this probation, he will be able to see his daughter in-person at pre-determined locations for 4 hours every other weekend. At the end of this probation, he may enter talks for longer visitation rights."

Both women nodded at this and their eyes zeroed in on Scott. The man cheeks were streaked with tears and under his breath, the man was whispering a litany of thank yous.

"Mr. Lang, I think that it would be best for you to return to your quarters at this time." Friday, finding the perfect time as per usual, the Colonel's held his shoulder and led him to the door as Scott's head was tucked low with tears.

It could have gone worse he thinks. Leading Scott down the hall, they catch Wilson making his way quickly to them. "Woah, what happened?" without skipping a beat, he went to support Scott's frame. "Lang had a meeting with Ms. Van Dyne and his ex-wife." Sam's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline and after getting Scott settled on the couch he turned to talk to Lang. All Rhodes could think was that Wilson and Lang were lucky they had another person to lean on during all this. Had it only been one alone he didn't know if Antman or Falcon would have separated from the rest of the Rogues so completely.  

Maybe he should wait for Carol... it seemed things were getting off track. 

Chapter Text

Steve Rogers was not in the best of moods this week. It felt like the air itself had been charged within the team's living quarters. Bucky closing himself off even more than before, Nat popping in and out with suspicious frequency, and Wanda. The poor girl was constantly shifting between draping herself on the couches in tears or stalking the area looking for their resident Archer. Prior to a few day's ago, the two were inseparable.

Which use to give Steve peace of mind. While he was worried about Tony or Bucky, those two would support each other. But now it was like night and day, Clint has been either running from Wanda without a word or bulldozing his way to the elevators at the slightest sound of movement. Not that Steve didn't want to talk to him but he hadn't had a chance due to extra training with Natasha and trying to coax Bucky to talk to him with food.
It was Steve's job to get them back on track, Tony just needed to be reminded to do his part. Maybe things could get back to good and Tony could help the team. Even help Bucky too, not that he didn't trust the young prince to have rid of Bucky's triggers. Just whatever they did to his best friend had scrambled him up a bit. To be honest, Steve was worried they had only turned off the Winter Soldier part for now, but the personality of the asset was trapping good ol' Bucky too.

"Mr. Roger's please make your way to the main elevators in 20 minutes for your meeting with Colonel Rhodes", Steve couldn't help but sigh about the AI not using 'Captain' to address him. But then again she was a machine and what's the sense in fighting with her while Tony was still being petty. At least something was starting to happen. Since their return, they had been waiting to get back to work and this stagnant living had been itching him for a while. Meeting with Colonel Rhodes would begin the path to fixing things. Plus it was good that he had the first meeting from the team, to cement his role as the leader.
To say he was optimistic was an understatement. While Steve would have rather Tony first seek him out, Colonel Rhodes is nothing to sniff at. Steve had no doubts Tony would be present also, in his own way of not physically.
This pettiness was going to end today. Steve had a good feeling about this meeting with Rhodes. Although Rhodes let Tony get away with most of his childish antics, the man was level headed and well respected.
Speaking of childish antics, the copy of Stark's Accords had unceremoniously been left in front of his door two days ago. He almost fell over them as he was leaving his room to grab Bucky for dinner. Darn thing distracted him all through dinner, he hadn't noticed until after that he'd forgotten to grab Bucky. Wednesday night he spent skimming the pages of a heavy binder but felt his eyes go cross over all the pretentious language.
Just like Tony not to think about normal people who had to read these things. He shook his head at the image of him on the couch with Tony laying his head in his lap going through this binder explaining as best as he could. Just hearing Tony babble and take steves suggestions fixing the broken things.

He shook the pretty image from behind his eyelids at the sound faint voices from the kitchen. Steve softly made his way to the kitchen when he slowed his steps at the sound of voices in the next room.
"I'm telling you, Sam, I think he's in the same boat as us"
"Out of everyone here, he'd have the best reason to stay... why would he do that? After everything." Sam was shuffling something... like a box of cereal? That's what it sounded like.
"You were there yesterday too! You saw, and I'm not sure the why but you know what? Good for him!" Scott punctuated his agreement.

A pause then Sam quietly answering "I think we did the right thing when we did, I'm thankful we have a chance to make things right." Steve could see the unsure smile on the darker man's face by sound alone. "Right man, let's keep positive until everything is in motion. That's what they told us to do." Steve took this moment to walk into the kitchen. It had been disheartening that some of his teammates were hiding things from him again. Hadn't they learned this is how the Ultron situation got out of hand?

"Afternoon fellas." Steve made himself known and the small jump from both the men made him frown. "Oh, hey Steve. You hungry? I'm making some Ramen for me and Scott." Sam quickly turned back to the stove. "No, I am going to my meeting with Colonel Rhodes in a bit. Hopefully, speed the process of coming back a bit. How are you two holding up?". The two had a quick look between each other before Scott answers him, "It's getting better... got a call from Cassie yesterday."

"That's great Scott! How is she?" "She's good, I missed her a lot when we were... gone. My ex and her husband are coming to New York, so I'm going to work on being a better father for her, you know?"

"Well, that's great Scott. I bet Cassie knows her dad has to do a really important job." Nodding Steve felt good about what he said until he turned to look at Sam's face. To his right, he saw Scott's jaw clench "it hard to tell that to a seven-year-old, who just wants her dad around. But you have everything you need right here, huh Cap'". Before he could press Scott, the man had stomped out of the room. Sam shut off the stove and without a second glance at Steve, ran after Lang. What just happened?

Every interaction with his team just kept ending on a bad note. Hopefully, after this meeting, he'd be able to talk to Scott again. Maybe with Tony's help, he'd be able to have a productive or pleasant conversation. Tony was always so much better with words, paired with Steve they use to be unstoppable. He finally made his way to the elevators and silently was directed to an empty conference room. He let his mind wander again about Tony, Bucky and the rest of the team. He looked at the clock on the wall, telling him it was now 4:00 PM. Was Tony intentionally trying to make him sweat? Steve couldn't believe the Colonel would let him act so absurd. It was a total of 20 more minutes before Friday's voice filled the room.
"Your meeting has been rescheduled to Monday. Please proceed back to the elevators and await further notice." with a glare at the ceiling Steve felt his patience snapping.

"Tell Tony he has to talk to me, I'm not moving until he shows up." No reply was given as Steve waited, toying with the metal table until an indent was left in the corner. Many minutes passed when again Friday's voice came into the room. "Boss is asking for you in the common floor. Please proceed to the elevators."
'Finally!' he thought and briskly made his way to the elevator. When they reopened on the familiar floor he waited.
"Steve?"
Tony had always had a way with words, he could paint a masterpiece with a handful of words and although the man was more a quantity of quality when it came to his chattering. Sometimes, the inventor could fill a name with so much meaning. It was something he had secretly missed from before Ultron. Those quiet moments when Tony would say his name, making sure he was still listening when Steve couldn't help but get lost in the shorter brunettes eyes.
The moment he left the elevator it shut with an audible snap behind him. He made his way around the separator to the living room. Where was he?

Chapter Text

Tony

You know, had he known that Strange's pop in pop out solution was available, he would have done this a while ago.

Strange and he had just been hunched over blueprints when Friday informed him of Rogers refusal to leave the conference room. His Platypus was busy with Lang and Stephen quietly offered to pop him downstairs, to the common room.

"Tony put a timer on your watch for 10 minutes. I will portal us out of the area when it goes off, regardless of what Rogers says."

"Us?"

"Us. I will remain out of sight, but you do not need to go alone or at all if you do not wish."

"He won't leave the conference rooms without a fight and Carol will have enough problems without this adding to it."

Strange hummed thoughtfully "and I'm sure this has nothing to do with Mr. Barnes?"

"What? No! Fri what are you spreading around?"

"Boss, I thought you wanted the team to know of any developments in the tower."

"Cheeky girl, I didn't mean my, what-ever barely friendships," Stange chuckled at the two. "Shut it, Stephanie! You gossiping with my girl is low"

"Let's go, Tony. Friday please direct Rogers to the kitchen, we'll be down in a second".

Having Stephen, even only to his own knowledge would calm the strange skittering sensation dancing on his chest.

"Steve" Tony felt himself say into the empty kitchen. A heartbeat later there was Rogers standing in the doorway wearing that stupid boyish smile.

While he had been nervous, scared that being in the same room with the man who broke him down and left him in Siberia, it was fine. Thoughts of ice, pain and the echoing of his own labored breathing flashed for less than a moment. Jarring but not disabling. Not broken .

"Tony"

He sort of hated the way Rogers could say his name. Stark, STARK Tony TOny... every inane way the man referred to him over the years just washed over him now.

"How's it been Rogers," a frown marred his face, "come on Steve ," letting his friendliest mask cover his annoyance "let's go talk in the living room, hm?" He gestured past Rogers and heard the door to the kitchen slide close.

Stephen

Tony has been swinging between moments of excitement to moments of distress, one didn't need to be a sorcerer to pick up these shifts in mood in the shorter brunette. Thankfully Friday had informed him of Tony's recent 'friendship' with Barnes. As Tony's doctor, he had seen no extreme change in Tony but as his friend, Stephen worried.

Tony came off strong and even when Stephen first met the man he'd had a passing thought that the inventor had been flirting with him. But upon further review, Tony just became friendly and excited with anyone who could keep up with his mind. Having another expert in the room, even if it was in medicine and the mystic arts, had put Stephen in Tony's good graces quickly. Especially when Stephen had offered to teach him how to block his mind.

However, Barnes wasn't an expert nor someone who was on the same intellectual level as Tony. So the man's fascination with the Ex Winter Soldier worried him. Stephan automatically thought Barnes was filling a phantom space where Roger's had once stood. This thought was dismissed because Barnes was in Siberia as well.

It was not his place to meddle in affairs he knew little about. Stephen was just too observant to the connections his team had, like Carol and James dancing around each other. Or Hope's lack of emotional control when it came to Lang. Even Vision's recent abhorrence for the color red recently.

Stephen was Sorcerer Supreme, not a matchmaker. He would continue keeping an eye on his team, his friends.

When transporting Tony to the common floor kitchen, he made a point to remain invisible prior to stepping through the portal himself. Lucky he did as there was a presence in the kitchen besides them.

The archer was posed to strike from the vent in the kitchen but paused when Roger's entered. The moment Tony left the kitchen, Stephen placed the kitchen and archer's hiding place within his mirror dimension.

No one threatened his friends on his watch .

Chapter Text

**DR. STRANGE POV**

Watching a grown man drop out a vent to having an arrow notched at his neck was definitely a new experience for Stephen.
Had he still been the man from before his accident, he may have even flinched. More likely he would have snapped at the bowman with some witty jab, but now was not the time.

"Barton, drop your weapon now."
"Who the fuck are you?" the angry archer growled out.
"I am Dr.Strange, Sorcerer Supreme, and a member of the Avengers. Place down your weapon, last warning."

"No, I want some answ-" before the blond could finish his sentence, Stephen had discarded the bow and arrow from his mirror dimension. The brief moment of shock was enough time to disarm Barton. Quickly he bound him to a kitchen chair with few hits to his person.

"Now, let's be civil and talk about why you were lurking in the vents." Stephen sat across from the bound man, conjuring a cup of tea in his hands.

Instead, Barton kept rocking his chair in hopes to fall over, even against the wisps of Stephen's magic, keeping the chair in place. Clint's face was getting a distressingly shade of red when Stephen barked at him to breathe.
The doctor in him was taking note the multiple warning signals that the bowman was having an intense fear response, to what remained unseen.

A flash of red had him on his feet and he could sense the Witch entering the kitchen distressed and screeching "Clint, CLINT WHERE ARE YOU, why did you leave me, CLINT... I can feel you here. CLINT". Stephen glanced at Barton, who quickened his rocking with scarlet irises and feral growling.
How could the Witch sense her lapdog when she no longer possessed her powers? While it disgusted him to do so, he would have to see into the man's mind. Stephen turned the archer's chair to face him fully and began drawing his magic between them. Barton was squirming as much as he could and yelped like a wounded animal when he was astrally projected outside his body.

**CLINT POV**

A harsh and cracking noise escaped his throat after the caped man stuck him in the chest. The weightless feeling that came to him was surreal, yeah that's a word for it.
He could see his body. Not like he couldn't always see his hands or feet, but he could see his body. Not like a reflection, he was behind himself.

Fuck

FUCK

"What the FUCK DID YOU DO TO ME?" even being outside his own body he couldn't move to strangle this lunatic.

"Mr. Barton, again, it is Dr. Stange. I simply have taken you out of the physical realm to get answers, "he paused with an unimpressed look, "but even without you 'keeping the lights on' your body is still responding to some unknown source". He gestured to the practically bestial form that was Clint's body.

Snarling and spitting, his body was rocking against its restraints. He was so focused on Strange that he hadn't taken stock of the situation.
Crazy seeing as he was the situation. He had been watching for Tony, and now he was watching his own facial features screwed up in a fury. Hell, even Wanda's cries faintly echoing didn't have the usual spark of attentiveness to it.

Hold up

HOLD THE FUCK UP

"t....to...tony?" Clint stuttered quietly, waiting for the scarlet serpent to strike from even thinking of the name, let alone saying it. A pause, not caring about the doctor's pointed glare, "Tony? Tony... TONY!" He repeated the name with not even a hint of zap or red in his brain.

He could feel a well of hysteric giggles bubble over his chest before he fell to the ground letting it consume him. Laughing, sobbing, who knows anymore as the memories rushed over him. Emotions, thoughts, words were coming from the hidden corners of his mind to the forefront now that they could again.

Laura rubbing his neck with soft humming, his boy Coop calling him outside to play catch, sweet Lila's proud face after shooting in the target the first time, little Nate's pudgy hands wanting to be picked up and curl up in Clint's neck.

Even weightless as he was currently, the flood of everything crashing against his skull kept him at his knees, his tears staining his face. He could see everything again, like watching a home video fast forwarding. Starting from the distance, he kept from his family when he first came home after Ultron.

The deep-seated fear in his wife's honeyed eyes when his anger flashed suddenly without warning. Sadness had mixed in her iris' more when she found him looking aimlessly to the road. Like she was scared more of him running off than him harming her or the kids.

And then he did just that. He saw himself leaving in the night without a second thought to save Wanda. Since then his mind had zeroed in on the young girl until earlier this week. Even since waking from the fog, he had been helpless to the traitorous snake in his mind.

He saw his actions since then. Himself getting to the team's old floors and snatching his old bow and arrows from his old hiding spot before the new AI caught him. Him rushing the elevators to get to someone, anyone at all really.

Letting the intent of harm soak in his brain to move forward with less resistance, at least when it was focused on hurting Tony. But there was always the Thing's fangs at his throat, and it scales shifting and moving with agitation when he slipped up or avoided Wanda. Like trying to quit cold turkey, it teased him with promises of relief from his torment if he interacted with the Witch.

"Barton, I need you to focus before your physical body gives itself a CVA" the doctor pulled him from his breakdown before glancing at his beeping wristwatch. To be honest, he had forgotten about the goateed man. A blink later and Clint was word vomiting. If he could move he'd be crawling on the front of the caped magician. 

"Doc? I need you to help me, there is this... Thing in my head and I think Wanda put it there and I don't know if she did it on purpose, -but but it made me forget my family, and it stops me from saying anything about Tony" he desperately told the sorcerer.

The way the man's eyes steeled at his words had Clint deflating a bit towards the end. With a sharp nod, Strange reared his arm back before plunging his hand into Clint's head. Seeing the doctor forearm-deep in his physical body's head was jarring, but it was nothing to seeing Strange grasping a thrashing scarlet snake a moment later. The Thing was hissing and trying to turn its' head to bite at the yellow glove restraining it. Clint's body went limp in the chair when the end of the tail departed his forehead.

With his other hand, Strange traced a series of shapes followed by thin orange lines and finally a small orb. He unceremoniously dropped the spitting reptile into before it disappeared without a trace.

Outside the private area, Wanda's wailing stopped suddenly with a wet choke before she fell to the floor, clutching her temples.

The beeping returned a breath later, and Strange cursed under his breath.

Chapter Text

The baby-blue living room used to be a place full of small happy noise. Even if the common room was more open and fit all of them for team movie nights, the living room was always a favorite in the tower. Steve would find Tony here every so often, working on his tablet while Clint would be playing a videogame on the TV, and Natasha would be chatting ideally with Tony.  He would find a spot not to disturb Clint's sprawled legs on the floor or Nat' on the lone blue velvet armchair. Regardless of the others, Steve found himself lifting Tony's solid calves and placing them on his lap. It always made the engineer look up and chuckle before wiggling himself comfortable once more. They'd stay like that for hours, Steve sketching and Tony tinkering. It felt like Home, something his chest ached to capture again. 

The room was cold, stripped, and void of noise now. This room was bare save for the dust and a musty smell of disuse. Gone was the TV and the furniture with it. 

Lacking a place to sit, Tony stood awkwardly away from him, lightly running his fingers on his wristwatch. 

"How are things, Tony?" 

"Things are fine."

A clipped response that makes Steve want to grit his teeth. He could hear Natasha's words in his mind. He needed to keep it together. No fighting. 

"You know Nat had her meeting earlier. Haven't had a chance to see her yet since mine was to be after hers, I think." Tony shrugged, "I can't wait for all these meetings to be over. They have kept us cooped up- it will be nice to get back to regular duty."

"The meetings are to show you your options, Rogers."

 "It's Steve, not Rogers. You said it once, why are yo-," Tony always had a way of riling him up.

"That's not helping to bring the team back together." a quick frown tugged at his lips, he could feel it. 

"I can call you whatever I like, be happy it isn't something worse," Tony was acting as if Steve was a bother.

With a shake of his head, Tony pushed on to another tangent.

"Why were you giving Friday a hard time?"

Steve scoffed in his mind. You can't give a computer a 'hard time,' but at least Tony was interacting with him,

"Well, I was told I would have a meeting today, and then as I am waiting, it gets canceled."

"A situation arose, you were told it was moved to another day, but you decided to be rude to the entity that runs the tower. And now, here we are." Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. "So, let's talk." 

Tony hadn't always been so snappy. He was a little brash but mostly friendly. Now, all sharp edges. Steve didn't wasn't them to spiral again, so he took a breath to calm himself again.

"To be honest, I have been worried about you recently... I saw all these new folks on the roster. People we don't know, and now they are Avengers."

"You have no say in it. You left, you don't get to decide who is or isn't an avenger." Tony huffed at him.

"It isn't just about that,  I worry about you being all alone now. Sure, you have Rhodes..." He moved a bit closer to the brunette,

"Don't you miss your family? You have good intentions, I know." he felt himself sinking into Tony's gaze, "I think maybe if you had someone keeping an eye on you." 

Tony may have been acting like Steve was a bother, but now he was entirely focused on him. With Tony staying uncharacteristically quiet, Steve continued. 

"We're back. We should work together, like we used to be.  Remember when it was us two? Keeping the team on the right path. Keeping you on the right path." He felt a small smile on his lips, remembering standing beside the genius, feeling unstoppable.

Tony just needed someone to keep him in check.

A small beep emitted from Tony's wrist but was promptly shut off.  "Honestly, after New York... I was curious about you. When the world needed you, you stepped in and redirected that nuke. I ended up getting away to see what I had missed, but I think I ended up missing you more." it made Steve chuckle a bit. 

Tony had still said nothing, just looking at him. Faintly his enhanced hearing could pick up some noise from outside the room. But Tony was going to get Steve's absolute attention in this moment. It seemed that he had inched even closer in his confession.

"It's kind of funny a fella out of time looking at you, Mr. Futurist."

Steve wanted to kiss him. He moved to cup the inventor's cheek when a beeping noise set off. 

Startled for the moment was all Tony needed to slip past him.

Tony made his way to the door in quick strides, "no, we're not doing this - don't fucking do this." He twists the doorknob, to no avail.

"Friday?" Tony snaps with eyes upwards. Steve is shaken from his stupor and now hears the faint wailing from the kitchen.

Friday's voice filters into the room, sounding rushed for a computer, "There is a situation in the kitchen. Boss, please stay in this room until it is handled."

"What sort of situation" was the tower being attacked? Steve needed to assemble the team. Friday did not answer him. In fact, the only noise in the room was Tony's alarm again. 

Steve felt his stomach drop and turned to Tony, "We need to get out of this room now. What if it's Hydra trying to get at Bucky again?!" He felt the rage beginning to boil in him again. "Tony, tell your computer to let us out now!" 

He sensed it before it happened and quickly grabbed Tony. He pressed the shorter man against him, protecting him from the wall and door blasting in. 

Chapter Text

When you know an alien claiming to be a god, it was hard to swear to the heavens. You never know who was listening. Hopefully, if Thor was, he wouldn't repeat the spew of curses from the 'good colonel's' mouth. 

Rhodey was already exhausted from the turn of events. He had been able to get one of these meetings done, but the rest of his plans seemed to fall to the wayside. After depositing Lang back to his teammate, James took a moment to collect himself in the empty hallway before entering C4 once more. 

Hope held her head in her hands while Mrs. Paxton was calmly patting her shoulder. "Maggie, I had to. The situation he put us all in... I couldn't control myself. I couldn't...".

"We can't just do anything we want. But," Mrs. Paxton sighed and rubbed her hand across Hope's shoulders, "thank you... for feeling so strongly for Cassie and me."

"She's right Hope; we can't just do anything we want. Even if we believe we should. Otherwise, we are no better."  then them was left unsaid. 

The thing Rhodes had feared in his meeting with Rogers had happened between the Pymn tech pair. That blind moment of appetitive aggression, wanting a pound of flesh it felt due. But they were needed to set an example, to be above this. 

Carol was so lucky she didn't come in today. 

"Hope. I am writing you up, due to the altercation you instigated on the closed-off training floor & in this conference room. I have already sent a notice to Carol, who will discuss it with the Accords council. Do you understand?" 

"I understand." Hope had reigned herself in and returned to the impassive tone she used usually. Straightening her spine, James was confronted with her slightly red eyes focussing on him. Hope had always shown respect to him. Only on the subject of Lang did the cracks begin to show through her mask.  

"I have made a recommendation that your probation will start with you relocating to the Tower in order to help facilitate a connection to our probable recruits from the disbanded 'Rouge' unit. as well as any other organization recruitment plans." Surprise flitted across both women's faces. Hope's was less noticeable, so he continued. "Commander Danver's has agreed to this probation arrangement. Any -and I mean ANY- further action against them, short of self-defense to deadly force, will be met with dismissal from the Avengers and a clear breach of your Accords Contract. Including a breach of Pymn's Accords Contract. Do you understand Ms. van Dyne?" 

"Yes, Colonel, I understand." 

"Excuse me? Mr- I mean, Colonel?" Mrs. Paxton chimed quickly after Hope's confirmation. "Yes, Mrs. Paxton?" "Maggie is fine. I wanted to know if Mr. Lang was going to be officially reinstated? This was all new to Hope and I. That's why we came as quickly as we could. Could you explain it to us?" 

"Please understand that had today not developed how it did, I would not be telling you this. However, the situation has changed. Please keep in mind that what I am about to disclose will not be repeated by either of you." Both women nodded. James continued, " Mr. Wilson & Mr. Lang have been accepted into the initiative on a probationary status. They both understand this offer is for them alone at this time. In regards to Wilson, the Accords R&D will be providing his tech and maintenance. The Accords have already spoken to Hank about Lang; the Avengers had no idea about it aside from myself and Carol." 

"So, my father knew about this?" Hope interjected, but Rhodes could only shake his head. "Honestly, I have no idea. The Accords Council only told us it had been discussed in the interest of keeping Pymn's technology out of anyone's hands." 

Maggie grabbed Hope's hand to comfort the cold brunette, "That seems for the best, right, Hope?" Hope squeezed her hand before returning her gaze to him, " Is there anything else being kept from us?" 

"The Rogues are here; you know that. The council is trying to find a place within the team, if possible. If not, another organization. That's where your probation comes in." Friday projected the official administrative actions form and under recommendations had three bullets: Extra Avengers Instruction, Mandatory Counseling, Avenger's Accords Small Court conference. 

"Living and training in the Tower and aiding in the facilitation of the 'Rouges' placement will be under the Extra Avenger's Instruction. You may also be subject to additional patrols as your probation is made to match Lang's and Wilsons. Commander Danver's will brief you in any additional duties. The small court conference will commence once both parties are done with probation." 

"Why? Why not now?" Hope's face hardened. "Because at this time, the plaintiff is not in a state that he will defend himself. I understa-" Hope cut him off. "No, you don't. Not just for me, who had to stand up in front of all the people who wanted Lang's head on a plate. Who had to answer why he had my father's technology. But you don't understand how everyone left behind was hunted down. Scott's friends and family had to hide. Now Maggie and her family can't live a normal life. Because my father and I trusted  him ." 

"No, I don't understand. I'm sorry to both of you." It was all he could say. Hope signed the Official Admin Action form, and he slipped out of the room, leaving the two women alone once more. 

Looking heavenwards, he called out, " Friday, did you inform Mr. Roger's that we will reschedule his meeting to Monday?" Honestly, at this point, he may only be able to do Maximoffs today. Even with no energy, 2 of 4 wasn't bad. "Of course, Colonel. However, he refused to leave the room. Boss said he would handle it, and Roger's has entered the common room with him." 

"I thought Tony was with Strange today?" "He was, but portaled back to handle Rogers." 

Nice of him but unnecessary. "Friday, can you check with Tones if he wants to grab din-"

"Colonel, please report to the elevator immediately! A situation has broken out with Ms. Maximoff." Friday's voice came out urgently from the speakers.

Alarms started going off in his brain as he dashed for the elevator, and then a dampened thud was heard from floors above him. 

What was happening??

Chapter Text

*Wanda POV*

She didn't know if it was because her powers were born from the stone embedded in his forehead, but Wanda knew that they were meant to be. Whenever she was around the ruby man, she felt like she couldn't breathe. It was exhilarating to experience the focus in Vision's blue eyes. Vision's only fault wasn't even his own fault, really. It was that Stark had any hand in bringing Viz into the world. 

Vision always acted politely to Stark, no matter what Wanda thought otherwise. But after a few small fights on the subject, she learned to pick her battles. Otherwise, Vision was more inclined to follow her lead, and that just showed how they were destined. If Pietro was still alive, he would have felt the bond with Vision almost as strongly as she did. 

Well... maybe not as strong. Vision was also the only person she wanted romantically. After Ultron, Stark had (finally) read the room and left them be. Remembering all the times between Viz and her used to bring her joy when they were in Wakanda. Coming home was supposed to be a return to normal, a better normal. Stark would be 100%  out of the Avenger's business and maybe die in a hole somewhere far away from her family. But no, now they were being kept like prisoners, and Stark was their jailer AGAIN. Wakanda had made it so clear in their silent glares that they were glad to be rid of them. Then they came back victorious and had to deal with the Accords anyways! Steve said it was fine that everything was going to be fine. 

Sure didn't feel fine. 

It felt like all Wanda's senses were being muffled after they forced Vision to seal her powers. She knew Viz didn't want to, but Stark was keeping him away from her. There was the other man with Vision, a Dr. Strange. Whatever Stark had on those who controlled magic must have been big. But if she could just speak to Vision, maybe they could make a plan to take Stark down. Steve wasn't making much progress changing Stark's mind, so perhaps the Avengers just needed to cut their losses. With Vision and some of the new people, did they even need Stark anymore? 

She wanted her team free and back to normal. Right now, there were just so many unknowns, and the tension was killing them. She was lucky Clint was still beside her.

Clint was the only one who understood her. Who even cared about her anymore. Steve was so worried about the Soldier (who hated her), Natasha and Wanda were never really close, not to mention Steve's fanboys. Clint at least held her together after Pietro and had come for her during the Accords fiasco. But he had been jumpy this week since the Soldier had attacked him. 

If Wanda still had her powers, she would have been able to restrain that brute. Steve wanted his friend back, fine, she could have helped if they hadn't suppressed her. Without her magic, Wanda couldn't sense if everything was okay with Clint's mind recently. She used to soothe the scars within his skull and immediately find him when she sought him out. But now it was a faint whisper in comparison. It was frustrating, no matter how much Clint tried to reassure her that nothing was wrong. He was always held himself a hair's breadth more from her, and the distance it was driving her mad.

All this had been running through her mind while lying on her cot. In a moment, a substantial oppressive feeling of had her sitting upright in a panic. Her restrained magic was pounding in her blood to run. In a flurry, she dashed from her room and found herself in a silent kitchen. No, not empty, only her eyes couldn't see them. Clint was in here, and then like a tether stretched too far, he was out of her view. Where was he? Fear and anger had her sight turning red before she could sense the room around her crumple. Only vines of ruby and a deafening roar filled her senses before everything faded from her consciousness. 

Was she dreaming? A cold pressure rubbed against her mind before endless darkness consumed her.

**VISION POV**

He didn't need sleep. But being around so many who relied on it (although Tony claimed otherwise), he picked up the habit of 'resting his eyes.' And today, he awoke with a particularly bad feeling in his chest. The matter of Ms. Maximoff had been on his mind since Dr. Strange had asked his opinion on the subject of her powers. 

He had only seen her twice before his recent move to the Sanctum. Two weeks ago, the first incident was when they had forcibly sealed her powers as she begged and cried. Seeing her in such a state made him... upset. Angry even. 
If he'd been able to cry, would she have not drilled him several floors down? Would she have sided with the man who almost killed Tony? Knowing the answer, he would never forgive them for the pain left in their wake. But upon their return, Vision had thought the Rogues would at least not create more problems for the new team. After the sealing, he could feel Ms. Maximoff searching for him while in the tower and sought to avoid her. It was Tony that urged him to stay with Dr. Strange. Otherwise, Vision would have stayed at his side. 

He was tired of empty apologizes. If Ms. Maximoff were genuinely apologetic, she would see that if she wanted Vision in her life, things had to change. Drastically. He could not remain loyal to Tony and harbor feelings for someone who only wished the worst upon the same man. 

Any feelings between the two had died when he was lying amidst concrete and rubble. What emerged in their ashes was only a feeling of anger at the redhead and her company. 

Anger from seeing Tony's mangled form.
Anger from learning what real relationships were meant to look like.
Anger from being so intelligent and still being lacking. 

He liked the life he had made in the absence of Wanda and the rest. The movie nights with Mr. Parker and his friends. Wong and Dr. Stranges soothing conversations about magic. Tony's early tiptoeing then being part of the man's grieving for a being that birthed him. Which then had transformed into... not a father/son but more of a younger brother relationship alongside the Colonel. Three men recovering together had forged bonds, and Vision cared deeply for both older men. Together they had transformed the Avengers into something better. Now he had time for other aspirations than just the team. He had found joy in training with the students of Kamar-Taj and expanding his knowledge with online classes so far.  Each day was peaceful and fulfilling.

But today, his mind would find no peace. Because this morning, he had felt a sinking feeling in his stomach area. Dr. Strange had had asked him the previous night about Wanda. The doctor had tested the 'magic' sample they received and found that it was closer to a forced mutation on a weak X-Gene. What this meant for the young women was to have Mr. Xavier evaluate her for a special enrollment. However, that would ultimately mean she would serve her probation away from the rest of her team. Stephen wanted him to accompany him during her interview later today. He had agreed but then spent hours thinking about the confrontation that would inevitably happen. At 5pm, Vision was to join Dr. Strange and portal to the tower. Apprehension filled his chest, and he couldn't sit still nor concentrate on anything other than the weighty pit in his stomach. 

When it became 4:30, he sought out Dr. Strange. But the sorcerer was nowhere to be found within the Sanctum. Perhaps Vision should begin heading to the tower, in the event Stephen forgot to inform him of a change in plans. 

As he landed on Stark Tower's large penthouse patio, Vision repeated to himself to not allow Ms. Maximoff to sway him. His therapist advised that small verbal encouragement and reminders to oneself helped with keeping on goal.  Once he entered the penthouse, he felt a disruption within the tower. Phasing down a few floors, he witnessed the very thing that had his heart sinking all day. 

The release of energy had him falter for a moment. Hatred. Fury. The taste of copper filled the air as the flames rose to an unnatural dance. 

In all her unrestrained wrath, Wanda was screaming as her tendrils fueled the kitchen area's roaring flames onward. Beside her, a wall had collapse been demolished in the initial blast of energy. 

Vision could see a faint shimmer that he had learned to associate with Kamar-Taj's mirror dimension magic. Silently he floated towards Maximoff. She was enraged like an animal, and her vermillion vines lurched to wrap him, but he phased through the. Finally, he stood before her still shrieking form, placing his palm against her forehead. She didn't even register his presence, blinding herself to her own powers. 

Her body collapsed onto the ground with a thud, and her telekinesis limbs faded away with her consciousness. 

He turned to the devastation Maximoff had left in her wake. Soon, 5 familiar figures appeared. Dr. Strange seemed to be the only one not injured. Barton was unconscious but physically restrained to a chair and Colonel Rhodes was out-cold, lying on his back in his battle suit. Roger's had Tony's still body trapped under his broader frame. It could be seen Roger's shirt had been burned, and large patches of skin were already mending themselves from the scorches. Vision drifted to them and secured Tony in his arms wordlessly before having Rhodey's body hover to his side as well. 

Rogers stumbled to hold onto Tony, "Give him back! He might be hurt!" he rasped while clenching onto his own head in pain. 

Vision refused to acknowledge him and pointedly looked only at Dr. Strange. "I will be taking them to medical. Please have Friday contact SWORD immediately" before phasing through the floor with teammates in tow. 

It was indeed an awful Friday. 

Chapter Text

**BARNES POV**

The tower was in chaos to the point he had to actively pacify his lingering Soldier instincts not to escape or fight. SWORD agents were swarming around all the floors' residents. Well, not the Witch, as she was gone before he had opened his door to a stern-looking lady. 

"I already answered you. I haven't left my room since this morning. Friday can show you the security cameras. Right Friday?" he looked to the ceiling. No reply came to his confusion. 
"Friday's PA system has been temporarily disabled from this floor to review her security stability. The fact an explosion was capable with little to no notice to her is why we ask these questions. So again, please go over your day leading to 4 pm this afternoon." 

Ms. Hill, as he had learned at the beginning of this interrogation, was straightforward and only nodded when his attitude flared up. It was refreshing that she acknowledged her fear of the Soldat but kept moving foreword. "I woke up, 7 am read some of the books in my room until 9. I walked into the kitchen, grabbed something to eat, took it back to my room. That's it."

"Did you have anything else planned for today?" "There is a team dinner, but I don't usually go. That's at 5:30, and at 7:30, I do some exercise downstairs in the training room." Hill nodded again before scribbling something down. 

"Has anything happened recently, to your knowledge?"
"There was a small incident on Monday, but wasn't that already reported?" "It was anything in the following days? Nothing strange?" 

Honestly, James couldn't think of anything. He didn't spend time with the rest of them. Moreover, before this week, it was rare to even see them, due to his odd hour lurkings. "Nothing comes to mind, sorry," he added, as he had nothing useful for her. 

She directed him to grab his belongings before leading him through the kitchen wreckage to the elevator. "Mr. Stark is still going to be housing you as we investigate tonight's incident. Your new room will be 2 levels up, the layout is similar, and you will be able to access the training room from there." He looked back at the charred chunks of wall and twisted appliances. "SWORD may call upon you again should we have any follow-up questions. Thankfully the Accords Council is allowing us to handle the investigation. Otherwise, you would have more people interrogating you. Get some rest." 

When the door closed, Friday spoke quietly from the elevator speakers. "Boss is doing ok. He woke up, don't worry." 

Tony had been in a sitting room next to the kitchen when the explosion happened. James hadn't seen him, but Rogers had told him in a slurred voice that they were talking before the attack. Rogers was ushered to another room for medical treatment before he could get another word out of him. 

"That's good. What happened Friday?" He hadn't admitted it to Hill, but the idea that an enemy had slithered in without anything tipping him or Friday off seemed impossible. 

"At this time, I can't tell you. But Boss wants to see you. If you can." She sounded honestly regretful that she wasn't allowed to discuss it. He perked up a bit that Tony had asked for him. "Yeah, let me just drop off my books in my new room."

Friday deposited him to an upper floor, and he walked down the short path directly to the left of the elevators. The kitchen was closer to a general office type, but it was more open then downstairs. It was elevated by 2 steps before going into a pit-like living space that split between a TV and couch area and a dining table. From there, Barnes caught sight of another hallway. Downstairs, much of the floor were whites, but this floor had muted blues and steel finishes instead. 5 doors came off a hall at the left of the elevator before the elevated kitchen. He opened the first door only to find Lang and Wilson sitting on the bed talking. 

"Oh shit, hey, you're here too!" Lang squawked at his appearance. "Any idea what is going on? We had been in the training room when agents escorted us here." 

"They didn't ask questions?" 

"They did, but we had no idea what was happening. We weren't much help, so they left." Wilson explained, shaking his head. 

"You're lucky. It was pretty annoying" Barnes felt the urge to run his hand across his face. He felt the two other men relax a bit. 
Lang gave him a smile, "You know what happened?" 
"No, not really, I need to get going though," he made to leave, but Wilson grabbed his shoulder. 
"I don't think they are going to let us out of this floor anytime tonight." 
"No, I need to drop my things off then go to another interrogation." Lying to these two didn't bother him. It wasn't any of their business, but he didn't like the thought of them knowing he was invited by Tony. Lest it gets to Roger's ears.  

"Oh, ok, man. Well Lang and I have this, and the door next door claimed. The third door is a shared bathroom, but the two doors across seem to be bedrooms too." James nodded at Wilson's helpful info and quickly left to his new room. It was a quiet golden-hued room that felt like the perfect space for an afternoon reading. He dropped his books on the end table along with the tablet he kept. 

With quick strides, James was once more in the elevator. Friday silently opened the doors toa floor with high ceilings. "This is Boss' penthouse floor. It is 3 floors above the Lab." Friday supplied in response to his staring. 

"Fri? Didn't I tell you I don't wa-" Tony stood at the top of the stairs in an undershirt and hair still wet. The towel in his had stilled as he looked down at James. "Oh." he breathed into the empty room. 

He wasn't expecting me. Which meant that Friday had lied to him, "I can go. I'll leave sorry wrong floor," James scrambled, but Tony was moving down the stairs. "No, this is fine. Uh, what's up, James?" the shorter brunette finally stood in front of him. With his heightened senses, he caught the smell of citrus soap. It was more powerful then the faint traces Barnes had cataloged in his head from their Monday excursion. James was still silently watching Tony, who, with an exaggerated huff, grabbed his arm. Tony lead him to the open kitchen area tucked under one of the staircases flanks. "Have a seat, James. What brings you to my lovely penthouse this evening?" 

Getting back to his wits, James took a seat as Tony poked his head into a few cabinets. "I wanted to make sure you were ok." 

"Yeah, just a bit of bruising, nothing to worry about. Did SWORD put you through the wringer? Pushy guys, you can tel-" "Bruising? You have a head injury, Tones." James whipped his head up to see another man at the top of the stairs. 

He was a bit older with a rigid spine that screamed military background. The darker man walked down to join them, and Tony was grinning ear to ear. "Hey James, meet James. Although I have an entire catalog of catchier names to call him." The other James sat beside him at the counter. 

"It's Colonel Rhodes to you. Don't listen to Tony's suggestion. I promise it'll only land you on the wrong side with me." The Colonel wasn't giving him any false pleasantries. "Platypus! Be nice, you just met the guy geez" Tony was bouncing from foot to foot, playfully mixing some sort of concoction. 

"It's James Barnes or Barnes." 
"Not Bucky?" he pronounced the nickname like it left a bad taste in his mouth.
"No, I really hate that moniker. Barnes is fine."

Rhodes gave him a measure looked and a slight nod before returning his attention to Tony. "No Suit for a week, I mean it, Tony." 

"What? I'm fine, seriously I bumped my head and woke up immediately come on," Tony whined. "I'm not hearing it. Head injury from an explosion means you taking it easy for a week At LEAST." Tony put on such a fake horrified face that Barnes snorted at him. 

"You should listen to him, Tony, seems like Colonel Rhodes knows your ways already." Stark gave him such a withering look before shooting back, "Don't you wish you knew all my ways, Snowflake." With a wink, Tony began placing 3 glasses in front of them. With a groan, Rhodes held his head in his hands. 

It felt warm in the room, at least to him it did. Barnes barely registered that Tony had poured in his glass before he tipped the glass back, drinking it down. "Hey, Slow down!" Rhodes snapped next to him. He stopped and forced down the slushed ice before looking at what was in his now half-full glass. 

"It's a margarita, meant for sipping." Tony chuckled before pointing at Rhodes, "look at that, he started out prickly, but now Rhodey-bear's face is covered in that concern we love to see." 

".... I didn't realize I needed to babysit 2 white guys when drinking." Rhodey mumbled into his slushy drink. 

"Rhodey-bear is a big ol' momma hen, welcome to the club, Jamesy!" Tony cackled.

This was nice. James ended up sticking around for dinner with the two. While the night was mostly Rhodes prodding at the ex-Winter Soldier and admonishing Tony for his usual antics, James had fun. 

When he returned to his new room in the early hours of the morning, he was excited for the party later. Tony had left a snoring Rhodes on the couch to walk James to the elevator. "Just let him get to know you, he'll come around," Tony whispered to him. "For tomorrow, just head to the Lab around 3 pm, and we'll take the arm off before heading out. It will be great!" Tony's rambling whispers were met with slightly dazed nods. "Night Tony," James felt himself mumbling down to the short man in front of him. James felt his head nodding forward with his chin grazing the shorter brunettes hair. Tony nudged him back into the open elevator and gave a weak wave "Night, Jamesy." With that, the elevator doors shut between them. 

Chapter Text

~Wanda POV~

It was too hot; she could feel her body soaked in sweat and struggled to push outside the pain ebbing at the temples to open her eyes. In quick glimpses, she could sense she was no longer at the Tower. "Ms. Maximoff?" She heard from her left side. Her limbs felt too heavy to lift, so she began to rock and struggle. Finally, her eyes cracked open, and her vision focused. She was in an unfamiliar whitewashed room. Sitting beside her was an older bald man who she must have heard saying her name. At the foot of her bed, a redheaded woman was standing and giving her a calm smile. "Good, she's awake. Let get on with it." A gruff voice interrupted her observations. From behind the standing woman, leaning against the doorway, a broad-shouldered man was fiddling with a box of cigarettes. He made eye contact, her fear was heightened from his vicious stare. It felt like he wanted to fight with her. In her current state, she wouldn't be able to defend herself. She started to struggle against her heavy limbs before the bald man grasped her hand. "Ms. Maximoff, please calm down." She watched the woman scold the aggressive man with a quick look before she turned back to Wanda. "Sorry about that, my name is Jean, and this is Logan. What is the last thing you remember?" in a moment, her mouth felt unhinged, and it turned into an angry sneer in seconds. It was all coming back to her. 

"Where am I? What's happening? Where is Clint?" she shouted at Jean. These three were not to be underestimated. She focused and tried to pry into their thoughts but was met with an impenetrable wall repeatedly. The bald man leveled her a look before speaking again. 

"Ms. Maximoff, please refrain from trying to enter anyone's mind without consent. It will not be tolerated here. Now, let me answer your questions." 

At this time, Wanda realized the sitting man was actually in a wheelchair. He moved until he was beside Jean with Logan remaining in the doorway. "My name is Charles Xavier, but you may call me Professor X. You are currently beneath the school that I run. Now, we have agreed to train you during your probation but understand that there are conditions to this." 

"I don't want to be here. I want to go back to the Tower," Wanda growled. Charles' face remained unchanging, but Jean's eyebrows creased slightly. "Should have thought of that before causing all that damage, bub'." Logan pushed himself off the wall, stood to Jeans another side, and loomed with a hint of menace. 

Jean shook her head and spoke as if Logan hadn't said anything. "Dr. Strange has informed us that your powers are more closely related to the X-gene than the Mystical Arts. As such, training with fellow mutants is thought of as the most beneficial route." 

"What are my other options?" Wanda snapped before Logan growled at her. "Jail, nice solid plastic box and a collar to match." Logan refused to mince words with this snip of a girl. The room filled with a tense silence. 

"That's enough, Logan. While not incorrect, it wasn't a choice considered long. Ms. Maximoff, when you were last at the Tower, please describe what you remember," Professor X gently urged her. 

"I went into the kitchen to look for Clint. I felt something was wrong and then..." Wanda trailed off slightly, unsure what happened next. She shook her head, unable to continue. "Alright. Jean, please go over Ms. Maximoff's probation paperwork & help her understand what is excepted from her. Logan, with me." 

With that, Professor X wheeled out the room with Logan reluctantly following behind. 

Jean sat down on the edge of her bed and set a few packets of documents and a small blue tin. "Let's start." She said with a smile aimed at Wanda. 

~Professor X POV~

Logan had settled himself fuming in one of the available seats when the two had returned to Charles' office. "Why are we even bothering with that punk?!" Professor X just sighed before looking at the papers on his desk. Without an answer, Logan continued. "Feels like she is more trouble then she's worth. So why was I sent to bring her here? From Stark Tower no less?" Logan had heard of Howards' Starks views of mutants were similar to that Worthington kid's dad. What was with all these rich fucks hating them? Fucking bullshit to walk into Stark's fancy building and 'escort' her back to them. 

"Tony Stark is not his father. We are lucky he has not let this out so far." 
"What? What does that fucker have on us?" This was news to Logan. 

"Logan, Wanda Maximoff is confirmed as a mutant. Her X-gene was latent until outside influence activated." Professor X looked tired; he put his hands on his temples. "Right now, if exposed, she would be one of the most high profile mutants from the fact she is a Rouge Avenger. Because of this, the Accords will be changed to reflect on her past actions ." 

At the Accords side, Charles was working with them to make arrangements for their students and the X-men team. Because they had stayed low profile, most of the Council was letting shape their agreement unhindered. Now that Wanda was a "Mutant," that would have to change. Unless they showed they could either restrict or train her, then it was their Accords agreements in jeopardy. Tony could have brought this to the Accords Council directly before sending her here. He did not. Instead, Tony pushed SWORD to request the Accords Council to allow a trial with their school. The cited reason was that compared to Dr. Strange's students, Wanda needed help with the basics. What could be better than his school who taught a wide range of students? 

Silently, Tony was driving the Mutant Community's central pillar to decide when and how to reveal Wanda's classification. Compared to Dr. Strange's reports on Wanda's attitude before and after the Civil War, Tony was showing a significant amount of mercy. 

This was a way to open a channel between the Avengers and the Mutant Community. Perhaps in the future, they would see their students in their ranks. 

With a frustrated growl, Charles was taken out of his musings. He turned to look at Logan once more. "So the Witch stays. Great. Are we just going to let her walk out and about?" 

"No, Hank is working on a diluted version of the Worthington Serum for her." It was too much to call it it's given name: Mutant Cure. But they had been working with it to see if they could dilute it for an emergency. Now was the time. Logan stared at him, not quite frowning but still an unpleasant emotion. 

Professor X proceeded with his thoughts, "I was thinking of Peter and Lorana training with her to start. We won't have her join the rest of the students until her Mutant status is revealed." 

He thought of the Dane siblings with a smile. They had so many similarities with Ms. Maximoff and her now-deceased brother. The Maximoff twins and Lorana were latent mutants, with their mutation activating due to outside factors. 
Peter also shared Pietro's ability of speed, although the younger Dane was much quicker to his Maximoff counterpart. Hydra/Sheild had even given Pietro the same moniker as Peter 'Quicksilver' as they could not believe two individuals could share the same power. Fortunately, Peter had no desire to clear up the confusion. 

It would be unnerving unless you knew how these 4 were entangled. Charles Xavier was one of the few who knew and destroyed all evidence of this connection. 

For how would Erik feel if he knew his children were being taught by him?

Chapter Text

~Steve POV~

He woke up with a start, and the SWORD attendant at his bedside jumped in surprise. Steve was back in his bedroom, knowing this reassured him a bit. The SWORD agent tried to get Steve to lay back down before telling him that he needed to inform his boss that Steve was awake. Before Steve could ask anything, the attendant was gone. Steve tried to lift his head, but the dizziness forced him to lay back down. 

What had happened? He remembers the explosion, and Tony was with him. But then... Vision had taken Tony, and he couldn't follow them before he started feeling dizzy. He must have passed out shortly after that. Steve tried to think if anything had happened but to no avail. 

Vision shouldn't have taken Tony away. Tony was safe with him, thinking of Visions cold stare as he took Tony made Steve's blood boil. He had saved Tony! Before Steve could continue down this train of thought, his ears picked up voices. It must have been through one of the walls. 

"...all I am asking is for some support. I can't complete the mission without SWORD now." Natasha sounded pissed; who was she talking to? Tony?

"I have already made it clear. SWORD is not SHEILD. Fury's mission, your mission, is none of our concern." Hill's crisp tone filtered through.

"None of your concern? Why does it feel as though instead of helping, SWORD is actively opposed to us?"

A pause before he could imagine Hill sighing. "We run concurrent to the US Government now. Things are no longer the same." her voice is lower now as if she had moved farther from the wall. "If the Rogue Avengers do not fit in our new structure, then SWORD will not be associated." What? SWORD isn't part of the Avengers anyways. He was momentarily upset even Hill was calling them the 'Rogue' Avengers as if it was lesser. 

Natasha let out a frustrated noise. "Here I was considering offering my skills to SWORD" did Natasha not want to join the Avengers? Didn't she talk to Colonel Rhodes today for her offer? "You are free to apply; I am not the only voice in the room."

"Well, please inquire with the Director if my proposal for Strike Team Delta has any status. We may be interested." 

"That I can do. Natasha, we'll talk another time." And with that, Hill's heels could be heard leaving the room. 

Minutes later, Natasha entered his room. He wanted to ask what all that was about, but Natasha snaps at him. "What exactly happened in there?"

He proceeds to explain about the meeting being canceled and Tony meeting him in the living room. Steve falters for a second before telling Natasha his semi-confession. Her face is unchanging, so he continues. After telling her that Vision had retrieved Tony, she finally speaks.

"Why did you think to tell him your feelings?"

"I thought maybe it could help Tony remember that we are a team. Maybe show him that we still care that I care."

Honestly, he hadn't thought to do it. But seeing Tony in the flesh, hearing the genius say his name, even Tony riling him up, it felt right. Like Tony wanted him to push back before he would turn around and smile cheekily again. But he didn't get a chance before the explosion.

"It was stupid, but we can work with it. Better to have multiple paths. Just keep being sincere and don't fight with Stark."

Natasha let him know that Wanda had lost control. She was with SWORD for the time being. Steve was upset, but Natasha reassured him that she wasn't locked up, and right now, this was for the best.

"You want to get on Tony's good side? We need to play nice." A complicated emotion flashed on her face for a moment. Quietly she continued, "How fast do you want to be back to work?" 

"As soon as possible, we could be showing them how much good we could be doing," Steve responded with a smile.

She nodded, "What if it was with a temporary task force? At this rate, waiting for an Avenger's offer is taking too long. You're right. We need to be back to work."

Steve couldn't help but frown. Why were the Avenger's dragging their feet? It had been weeks, and nothing had happened. 

He didn't respond, so Natasha kept going. "If we show them that the team still works, they would be forced to consider us seriously. Instead of this inherent bias, which is what we are getting now." 

Ok, he could agree to that. Steve didn't like it, but in the effort to play nice, he agreed, and Natasha let him know that SWORD needed to question him before slipping out the door. 

~Natasha POV~

She closed the door behind her, and briskly walked to the elevator. Agents were rummaging through the ruined kitchen and too occupied to stop her from reaching the elevator. Earlier, when she was questioned, she could feel their harsh glares. It wasn't as if she had made many friends in SHEILD, but she held their respect, if not their fear. 

She was good with change, but the lack of support had her grinding her teeth. She had let herself get too comfortable with SHIELD and Stark's backing her. It had made her too cocky. Hill refused to aid her unless it benefitted SWORD. Hill wasn't even surprised that Fury lived.

She knew Fury had held onto some of old SHIELD Loyalists, had they been in contact with Hill? But they were no use to her right now.

Rhodes had also surprised Natasha, but now she needed to move foreword. The absence of an offer reeked of Stark's ego. He had to come out on top, so maybe she needed to move the team to SWORD temporarily.

What she told Steve wasn't untrue per se. It may be a better strategy. However, it had to be all of them, so Barnes would need to be roped in. Because if she successfully revived Strike Team Delta and Roger's fucked it up, then it couldn't go down in flames alongside him.

She entered the new floor they would be staying at. It looked as though the first set of rooms near the elevator were already taken. There were four more rooms further in. She didn't spare her knew room much thought.

It wouldn't be like her old one, from before. Before everything went to shit. She had rolled her eyes at Stark's vain attempt to be liked. Her room was outfitted with multiple secret stashes, a closet full of outfits tailored to perfection, and a black card for anything she desired. 

It felt like she was walking into a pothole every time she thought they were moving forward, back to their peak. The worse part was how in the dark she was. Wanda had lost it & Clint was nowhere to be found. Steve hadn't mentioned the bowman at all. 

Thinking about Steve's confession made her head hurt. Stark wasn't that stupid. He had to know that Steve was trying to manipulate him. It didn't matter if Steve believed his feelings were genuine or not.

She had told Steve to play nice, but how long could he if Tony showed no reciprocation? Worse off, she had a passing thought in her brain that Barnes was already working from that angle. Not only that, but he was doing it to separate himself from the rest of them. That was yet another thing she needed to get a handle on. 

She communicated the latest developments to Fury. He only reiterated her mission needed to be completed & failure was not acceptable. 

Natasha found herself falling into a dreamless sleep. 

***SATURDAY***

~Steve's POV~ 

It had been late this morning that Steve was allowed down to the new floor. SWORD had kept him for observation and more questioning. Even though the Serum had enhanced his body, he still needed sleep and needed more food then most of his teammates. When he finally came down, he had wolfed down a small sandwich before heading to a bedroom. Soon as his head hit the pillow, he knocked out. 

Now it was the middle of the afternoon, and groceries had been delivered. Steve was making himself an omelet when Bucky strolled into the kitchen. The new floor was a bit more open than the previous common floor. There was now no wall separating the dining area and the kitchen, just a slight elevation. Plus, he could see the elevator from the stove, which was nice.  

He gave Bucky a quick smile before realizing Bucky was all dressed up. Not in a suit or nothing, but hair noticeable shorter and styled a bit, dark blue sweater and jeans. He looked nice. Outside of Buck's old sweats he had since Wakanda, he hadn't seen such a shift in clothing from his best friend. "You look like a hunk of heartbreak, off somewhere?" he asked but then thought they couldn't go out without someone from the new team. He frowned a bit confused at Bucky. Natasha had told him not to overreact to Bucky's activities as of late. The brunette just shrugged and went behind him to grab something from the fridge. 

"Oh, I'm making an omelet, you want one, Bucky?" Steve asked, but his friend stayed quiet. He plated one and placed it on the edge of the counter. "Here have this one." with a sigh Bucky closed the fridge and sat at the counter. He started chowing down, and Steve couldn't help smiling.

"Thinking of making spaghetti tonight now that we have some more ingredients. Or I could make something el-" 

"Busy tonight, won't be at dinner." Bucky interrupted him. 

"Really Bucky? After yesterday we should stick together." 

Steve really didn't mean to bust his chops, but Bucky's attitude rubbed him wrong.

"Yeah, I've got a meeting with SWORD." Bucky kept looking at his omelet. 

Oh, that was a relief to Steve. He didn't know what he was even worried about, but his chest didn't feel so tight. "I see. Yeah, they interrogated me all night. I hope it doesn't take too long. You know who is escorting you?" Steve thought maybe Dr. Strange or Rhodes were assigned to take Bucky. 

Bucky gave him a look before shrugging again.  

"If you want, maybe I could go with you too. I should see what happened to Clint and Wanda. They must have left to recover at SWORD." But Bucky started shaking his head no. "Buck', I know these folks sometimes they are too pushy. I could make sure they take a step back. I don't want them upsetting you." 

He had just turned off the stove and platted his omelet when Steve heard voices before two people entered. Wilson was chatting amicably with a sharp-looking woman in a tank and workout pants. She looked a bit familiar but couldn't think of her name. When they entered the kitchen, Steve turned to greet them. Had he not turned, he may have seen Bucky clenching his jaw and bending his fork accidentally. 

"Hello, Ms? Sorry, I don't think we've been introduced?" Steve put on that winning smile, but this woman remained frosty. "Hope van Dyne, no, we haven't met yet." She extended her hand to shake, but Steve kept getting a cold feeling from her. He shook her hand and then realized where he knew her from. "Oh! You are the Wasp; you and Scott have similar suits right?" 

A glare flitted from her, and Wilson stepped in quick. "Yeah, she was training with Scott and me. We were just taking a short break, but we'll just go back if you guys are talking." 

"No, no, here let me make you an omelet too." Steve turned back to the fridge to grab some more ingredients, and when he looked back, Bucky had disappeared! His head shot up to catch Bucky's frame disappearing behind the elevator doors. He hadn't even heard the elevator ping!  

Wilson and Hope kept talking, not noticing Steve's displeasure. 

"So, training? I haven't joined you guys in a while. Maybe I could help?" Steve interjected, making the two take notice of him again.

"No need, seeing as we three are not enhanced and I have the most experience with hand to hand combat." Hope briskly answered him.

"Oh ok, that makes sense. Is that all your here for?" Steve was prying. Maybe she had some news. 

"No, I am also here to help your team get settled in" to Steve, he could hear the silent  'with the Avengers'  and happily nodded his head.

"Good! Glad that things are moving." He served the two of them omelets, and they opted to take it back to the training hall. With a wave, they were gone.

Left alone with his thoughts, his mind turned back to Bucky ditching him. When he returns, Steve will let him know that it annoyed him when he ran off without a word. His best friend was probably distracted by the prospect of dealing with SWORD agents and didn't realize he was being rude. 

Chapter Text

~Bucky POV~

When the steel doors closed behind him, James couldn't help but sigh. He looked up at the security camera. "Thanks, Friday. Needed to get out of there." 

"No problem James. Besides, better to set off early rather than late," Friday's voice chimed and opened the doors to a new floor. He had never been in Tony's lab, but it was... magical.

The labs at Hydra were sterile and cold with Whitewashed walls and empty counters. Tony's lab felt like the eye of a mechanical storm. The tables were littered with parts and metal that seemed to lead to the heart of the lab. He spotted Tony's arm deep and head down in what appeared to be one of his Iron Man suits. He could faintly hear him talking to someone.

"Don't move, DUM-E, you're a tragedy. I don't know why I even try with you. Go go and check on the feet. shoo!" He was scolding a mechanical limb that whirred away with a low beep.

James took a few steps foreword before feeling a soft tug on his sweater. He jumped but found himself staring at another large arm? It had a hold of his sleeve before it whirled and moved to touch James' own metal hand. It tapped it loudly a few times, and James heard Tony realize he was there. "U! Don't bother him, can't you be polite?" Tony shook his head and walked over. 

While James had dressed up for the party, Tony was still in a grease-stained tank top and sweats. 

Still looks like he walked out of a photoshoot. 

James could imagine it. Tony in a mechanic uniform, grease-stained and glorious. The picture of Tony's whiskey eyes dancing with intent had a rolling warmth settling in his lower abdomen. 

He shook the appealing vision from behind his eyelids. Thinking like that felt dangerous. It wasn't Tony's fault he was more attractive covered in grease than those models in the magazines. 

In his own thoughts, Tony had marched over in a playful huff.  

"Agh! U, you were supposed to tell me when it was 3!" The robot wheeled behind him a bit before replying with a series of beeps and nearly precarious hand waving. Tony got around Barnes with a side step before shaking his finger at the bot. "Community colleges wouldn't take you if I decided to donate you." The genius spun 'U' and corraled the bot to where the first bot was situated. The two armed beings nudged each other before more beeping occurred. 

Tony gave James a quick apologetic look before swinging back to the bots, "Don't start with that DUM-E, you are just as bad as U. The both of you!" He went on to grumble to Friday to close down some windows and grabbed his keys.

Seeing Tony so unguarded and lively made a James grin. Watching Tony and his bots were so funny. 

"Oh, you think this is funny? Go on, take them, I dare you! Watch you lose your mind in 3 hours, tops!" 

"No, thanks, might try to steal my arm, and I don't know if they are ready for this kind of power" James couldn't help shooting back. Tony waved him over to a couch. 

"It's good you're in a good mood for it. Friday, make sure those two don't get their hands on Snowflakes Handy Dandy Lefty Loosey limb?" 

"Of course, Boss!" Friday chimed from above. 

Now came the awkward part. Tony had just taken a seat beside him before his face turned serious. "Ok, you ready? No pain and the shoulder anchor should help you not feel lopsided. Wow, today just got away from me. I hadn't even checked the time.." 

"Don't worry. I came down early." James was swift to reassure the genius. "Ok, let's do this, whenever you're ready." he had already worked the sleeve up and closed his eyes before the genius' calloused fingertips skittered against Jame's shoulder's metal plate. 

He knew that the arm had sensors, but he hadn't realized how warm Tony's hands would feel. It was over in less than a minute. James had lost feeling in the limb and peered curiously at the empty space. He glanced at Tony's retreating frame as the man quickly carried the limb over to a lab table. 

"Alright, let's head out! I need an outfit." Tony proclaimed as they made their way to the garage. 

"Boss, James also needs a gift. Shall I arrange a courier shopper grab & deliver something suitable?" Friday chimed in.

Shit, James hadn't thought of that. It was a birthday party, after all. Tony must have seen the grimace on his face because he gave a sharp nod before talking with Friday again. 

"No need, Contact Cherry. Tell her I need privacy in the Men's Department. Oh, and have her pick something out for May if she can." 

"Got it, Boss. I'll ask for some casual outfits as well." James here before sliding into the bright red car Tony led them to.

"Feels like a Crescendo day, right snowflake?" Stark had taken the wheel, and soon they were out on the street. Being in a convertible car had James stiff for a bit; what if someone recognized him? However, with how Tony was driving, no one got a chance to be next to them for more than a few seconds. Finally, Tony took a sharp right and into a garage.

Before reaching the Valet, Tony stretched across James' legs to open the glove department. 

"Here, it's only a prototype, but it'll work for now." In his hand was a weird, almost transparent mask. "Uh, what is it. If you don't mind?" 

"It's a Photostatic Veil. It's a side project but what it'll do is generalize your features. So you aren't recognized or too memorable."

Oh, thank god. James had a creeping fear that people would recognize and associate him with the Rogues. Actually... he hadn't thought about it but did anyone outside the Tower know they were back?

Having Friday to talk to had helped with some of his lacking social skills. Now he had one less thing to worry about. "Thanks, Tony, this is really great." 

James placed it on, and when he looked back up at Tony, he caught a sad look in the shorter man's eyes.

Was it something he'd said?

~Tony's POV~

Not many had tested the Veil yet, so seeing James' striking features soften and his bright blue eyes change to a faded brown was strange. 

He had to hold himself back from going overboard with his explanation. His new team had helped remind him it was ok to be excited, but with the Rogues coming back and his new friendship with James, it wasn't his fault old anxieties kept cropping up now and then. 

Today was going better than Tony could have hoped. Even if he did design the new arm, it was the Wakandans who had built it.  With donated vibranium, that is. 

He shook the thought away and drove up to the Valet. "James, stick close. They'll just assume you're a bodyguard." They soon walked into Saks 5th Avenue, and a dark auburn haired associate fell in step to his left while James was still on his right. 

"Good Afternoon Mr. Stark. Dressing room 1 is set up for you." 

"Sounds good, Cherry. Please send up the gift when you get a chance."  

When they got to the dressing rooms, he let James sit in the waiting area. Then Tony took in the choices Cherry picked. 

Compared to his oil-stained tank and old sweats, the outfits were nicer. After considering a bit, he settled on two Brunello Cucinelli pieces, an undershirt, and some jeans that fit well for not being tailored like most of his clothes were. 

Seeing James' sweater had Tony wanting one for himself. He had helped Barnes with his empty sleeve. While not as soft as the green material in his hands, it radiated warmth from the quiet man. 

He thought the military green cashmere sweater constituted as 'casual wear' but had grabbed the tan western shirt just in case. 

While he changed, Tony couldn't stop his thoughts from returning to his earlier turmoil. Prior to Barnes's pleasant arrival to the Lab, Tony had been doing everything in his power to ignore his brain cursed over-analyzing skill.

The moment he had dragged James to get fast food, something had changed. They hadn't exactly spoken about... the bunker. But to Tony, it wasn't about Barnes. Not really. He had the footage seared into his mind, and the weapon that had done that was already dead. 

Maybe it was seeing the taller man having trouble describing barbecue sauce being much sweeter than he expected or Friday's constant little updates on what James was reading. In a week, Tony's opinion had gone from avoiding awkwardness' sake to a warm attraction.

Not an attraction.

Nope.

Appreciation. 

But with James, although the ex winter soldier may not like it, came Rogers. The glaring actual issue with what went down at the bunker. That was a change Tony hadn't seen or didn't want to acknowledge. Who knows. 

Rogers... Tony had tried keeping as far away from his person as possible. But wanting to associate with James meant distantly associating with Rogers and his merry band of idiots. What a headache.

Shoving the expensive sweater over the undershirt, he decided he wouldn't let these intrusive thoughts ruin tonight.

Tonight was just fun. Just Tony and some of his family having fun. Barnes being here was just because the guy needed to get out and live a little. Yep.

Tony dramatically opened the curtained and almost faltered at Barnes' gaze. Luckily the Veil had upturned his nose a bit, and those glacial blues were of the brown hue today. With a strut, he rounded James on the couch.

"How do I look? Casual Uncle vibes, right?" 

"You look like... a million bucks" James looked a bit unsure, and Tony had to restrain his reflex to flinch. 

Rogers had hated seeing the genius' wealth. He waited a second before remembering this was James, not Rogers. 

"Not quite a million, more like 5 thousand. I think." Tony joked. Cherry seemed to materialized from behind the couch. 

"A bit higher than that. Oh good, Linda already dropped off the shoes" She looked pointedly at a cute little blue box sitting beside James. 

Cherry proceeded to cut off the price tags of his newly acquired clothes. "Your account has been charged seven thousand six hundred thirteen dollars and eight cents, Mr. Stark. Is there anything further you need?"

He didn't shop often, but Pepper adored Cherry for her fashion instincts and service. "Add a bit more for your staff and yourself today. You have been a huge help." She gave him a smile before leaving them.

"You... look really good. Even if you call it casual." Barnes said quietly as they walked back to the Valet. 

This ' Appreciation ' for James was sure making his face warm.