You're Just Thinking It's a Small Thing that Happened
Tony stands outside of the conference room, sunglasses on, waiting for the kid to get here. Rhodey and Vision are inside already, waiting for the others to arrive, if they even do.
Right on cue, Tony sees Romanoff and Barton walk into the foyer, heads bent together, talking quietly to each other until they spot him leaning next to the door. Barton raises an eyebrow. “Are you goin’ in Stark or you’re just going to stand there like a teacher waiting for everyone to get here?” There’s a bite to his voice, still not over his time imprisoned.
Tony, without moving, says, “Rhodey and Vision are inside already, I just have to take care of something before I head in.” He ignores the scoff that Barton sends his way as they walk past him into the room, clearly not liking the vague answer.
A few seconds later, the elevator dings and he sees Peter walk out, in full Spider-Man disguise, cheerful bounce in his step the second he sees Tony. “Hey Mr. Stark! What’s all this about an Avengers meeting? I’m not even an Avenger… unless-“
Tony grabs his arm and pulls him to the side, just out of earshot from the conference room. “Listen kid, before you go in I wanted to talk to you about something.” At his serious tone, Peter stiffens up, back straight, before doing a mock solute as if to signal his attention.
“This meeting, they’re going to ask every one of us if we would like to become or remain part of the Avengers.” Peter makes a noise, beginning to talk, and before he can start rambling in excitement, Tony holds up a hand to stop him. Tony wishes he could just tell him he’s not allowed to join and leave it at that. Peter’s just a kid and he shouldn’t be putting his life in danger before he even gets to live it. But unfortunately, he has no control over the kids life, he’s not a parent or guardian. He’s not anything. “It’s your choice, obviously. I can’t stop you no matter how badly I want to. But I need you to do something. For my sanity and for your Aunts as well I’m guessing. If you say yes, I want you to make it clear to them that you’re identity will not be revealed under any circumstances to anyone that doesn’t already know. You’re a kid and you deserve to have a somewhat normal high school experience. Second, I want you to tell them that you have the right to refuse any mission for whatever reason, no questions asked. The rest of us are essentially agreeing to be available any time, but I don’t want you agreeing to that. Tell them to accept it or you walk, got it?”
“But what if they don’t accept it?”
Tony smiles at the kid and pats his back. “Don’t worry kid, they’ll agree to your conditions. Trust me. They need all hands on deck to make this work.”
Peter looks ready to question him, but it was at that moment that Rogers decides to join them. “Hey kid, I hope he’s not trying to convince you to join. You’re too young for this. Don’t you think so Tony?” He looks to Tony now, gaze challenging.
Tony scoffs. “Relax Rogers. This conversation is none of your business. The kid’s made his decision, I’m just trying to make sure he’s smart about it. Don’t want him getting screwed over by anyone on this so-called team.”
Rogers reels back, offended by Tony’s words as if he didn’t just make a dig at Tony himself. “Tony, come on. You don’t really think I wo-“
A familiar drawl sounds from behind them, “Come on Steve, let’s stop wastin’ time and go in.” He grabs Rogers by the shoulders and leads him into the conference room, sending a small glance Tony’s way, reassuring smile on his face. Tony isn’t quite sure what to make of the feeling he gets in his stomach at the smile.
***
Once everyone has arrived in the conference room, seated around the table, Hill walks in with several folders in her hands, looking sharp as ever. “I see you’re all here. Glad you could make it. So, today each of you will be making a decision on whether or not you will join the new Avengers initiative. To do so, you will have to sign the accords, revised courtesy of Mr. Stark to include a stipulation for world-ending events that may require immediate attention without waiting for approval.” At this, almost everyone in the room looks to Tony’s direction, though his gaze remains faced forward with no care to the attention he’s receiving. Based on the reaction of Steve, who’s seated next to him, James would bet that he hadn’t heard about this before any of the others.
“Should you choose to sign, any breech of this contract will result in immediate imprisonment, consequences resulting in punishment up to 30 years in prison. Should you choose to step away from your post with the Avengers, you will be required to return any weapons or suits created by SHIELD or Stark Industries. Let’s begin. We’ll go around the room as each person decides, just so everyone is aware of their team, and then those of you who deny this opportunity will be asked to leave the room while the rest of you sign.” Hill sets the folders in her arm on the table, taking a seat at the head of the table. “Who would like to go first?”
Immediately, Scott clears his throat. “Um, I’m going to say no to this. I have kids and a life to get back to and I need to start prioritizing that.”
Steve is the next one to speak up, angry look on his face as he slams a hand on the table. “This is ridiculous. If you think that any of us that were against this before, suddenly aren’t now, then you’re mistaken. Why would any of us agree to the accords based off of one small revision?!” He looks around to see Clint nodding along while everyone else stays quiet.
Natasha speaks up, voice confident, gaze fixed on Hill, avoiding eye contact with anyone else. “I’ll sign.”
Clint and Steve both snap their heads towards her. “What? Nat,” Clint tries to catch her gaze unsuccessfully, “you can’t be serious.”
She looks to him now, expression sympathetic but firm. “Clint, come on. I was never against it in the first place. We need to be kept in check somehow. We can’t keep causing destruction and excusing it as collateral damage. I should have never turned on the team in the first place. Tony was just trying to look out for us and the people we’ve hurt.” To James’ surprise, Tony’s gaze, fixed on Natasha, softens, and though it’s hard to tell, his lips quirk in a genuine smile for just a second.
Clint sighs, defeated. “If Nat’s in then so am I.”
Steve looks a bit exasperated, turning to Sam for support. Sam sends an apologetic look to Steve before saying, “Yeah I’m in too. I want to help people, and if signing the accords is the way to continue to be able to do that, then that’s what I’ll do.”
“Yeah well, you guys are on your own. Me and Buck are out, right Buck?” Steve looks to him, face fuming and desperate.
James cringes at the nickname, refusing to look at the man seated next to him. Instead, he fixes his gaze on the man across from him, seated next to Maria Hill. The man who has shown him more compassion and forgiveness than he feels he rightfully deserves. “No, I’m in as well.” Tony holds his gaze, unsmiling but there’s a softness in his eyes as he does.
Steve stammers next to him. “Buck, come on, not you too. You don’t know what you’re getting into here. Trust me.” He pleads, his voice desperate.
James turns and looks him in the eyes before saying, “I’ve made my decision Steve, you can’t talk me out of it, so don’t even try.” He folds his hands on the table in front of him, turning his attention back to the others.
Spider-Man speaks up then, still in full disguise, though James isn’t quite sure why. “I’m in too. On two conditions, if you’ll agree to them.” He raises his index finger before continuing, “My identity will remain a secret. I’ll have to sign, but then I want no one but whoever is necessary to see the document.” He holds up another finger. “And I want the right to turn down any mission I choose to without explanation. As many of you have already assumed, I am not yet 18 and I want to be able to continue with my education with minimal interruptions.” Next to him, Tony nods at him, clearly proud and happy with these conditions.
Hill nods. “That can be arranged. I will amend your contract to reflect these conditions before having you sign. I’ll be in touch.”
Tony speaks then, “Well I’m sure it comes as no surprise to anyone, but it’s a yes for me as well.” Next to him, Rhodes says the same, and lastly, Vision does the same.
Hill nods, looking finally to Steve and Wanda. “Steve, you’re a no then? What about you, Wanda?”
Before Wanda can speak, Steve interrupts. “No, I-I’m in. If Bucky’s staying then so am I.”
“Me too. I’ll sign,” Wanda says afterwards.
***
After the meeting, as everyone was filing out of the room and before Steve could get a chance to corner him, James walked straight toward Tony. He was listening intently to Spider-Man as he talked animatedly at Tony, waving his hands around. Tony had an amused smile on his face, clearly used to the kids antiques. When James nears closer to them, Steve not far behind, Tony turns his head, still smiling. “Hey Snowflake, settling into the tower okay?”
Steve snaps his head to James at the friendly nickname, clearly confused. Maybe he thought both super soldiers would receive the same cold shoulder from the other man. He was sorely mistaken.
James smiles at them, waving at the kid before addressing Tony. “Yeah Tony, I uh- I was wondering if I can take you up on that offer for my own floor? You know, since I’m stayin’.”
Steve scoffs, “Bucky, you know you can stay with me. It’s not a problem.”
“Thanks Stevie, but I’m a grown man, I don’t need a roommate to keep an eye on me. Tony?”
Before Steve can keep arguing, Tony says, “Yeah, James, of course you can. I can show you up to it right now if you’re ready?” At James’ nod, Tony says by to Spider-Man with a pat on the arm and motions James toward to elevator.
Steve takes this gap in the conversation to try and corner the man. “Tony, can we talk now?” He stands directly in front of them, blocking the way to the elevator. Tony, clearly not happy about being in close proximity to the blond, looks him in the eye, no expression on his face and side steps the man until he’s in front of the elevator pushing the ‘up’ arrow. Steve, not taking the hint, nears him again. “Come on Tony, I-“
James thought nothing of this behavior from Tony before. But now that he’s spent a little time with the man, he sees how guarded he is around Steve. The night before, in the workshop, he seemed at ease, comfortable; he even cracked a smile or two. And just now, with the kid, James had never seen him seem so content, even before the so-called civil war. Now, looking at Tony, guarded and an expression James couldn’t quite figure out (trepidation perhaps), he felt suddenly and unreasonable angry toward his life-long friend for causing it.
Causing a scene and accusing Steve of something he knows nothing about would only make the situation worse. He decided distraction is the best solution. As the elevator dinged to indicate its arrival, James walked between the two and strode into the elevator, holding the door to keep it from closing. “Come on, Stevie, you can come help me move my stuff after Tony shows me the floor.”
***
The elevator ride up was unpleasant for Tony, to say the least. He had been successfully avoiding the blond super soldier since their arrival and now he was stuck in an enclosed box with the man. He was not happy about it. He had been silently hoping that showing James his floor would only include James. In hindsight, he should’ve known better. This was James’ best friend. He had been hopeful (though he was ashamed to admit it even to himself) that things were not going so great between the two after last nights conversation. Rogers can’t even respect James’ name preferences for Christs sake. It’s not that Tony wanted things to be bad between the two men, before they arrived he couldn’t be bothered to care after all. But there was a part of him, the part of him that gets a flutter in his stomach when he sees James, that enjoyed the mans company so much the previous night that he’d hoped he would get to spend more with him. Spending time with James, for reasons unknown, was not something he’d say no to… unless, of course, Rogers was with him.
There was one time, as the elevator doors closed in front of them, that Rogers seemed about to speak, probably to beg Tony to talk to him again. But then James opened his mouth and started talking at whoever was listening about his plans for the week: getting his place set up, starting his mandatory therapy, and visiting the local library for some books to read. Tony remained silent and unmoving while Rogers looked at James cheerfully nodding along. James didn’t strike him as a chatty person, and Tony was somewhat convinced that he was only talking to distract his oldest friend from his constant harassment (at least, that’s what he’d call it), but he reminded himself that he knows virtually nothing about the man.
By the time they step into the apartment, Tony is done with the close proximity to Rogers and just wants to get the hell out of there. It’s hardly like James really needs a tour of the floor; the apartment floors all had almost the exact layout anyhow. He had just offered as a courtesy. And perhaps as a front to be near the man. But now he was tired and agitated and just wanted to go down to the workshop and ignore everyone for a few hours.
So he turns to James, waves an arm out at the space around them, and says, “Well James, here you are. I’m sure you can manage from here, let FRIDAY know if you need any help moving or for her to order some stuff. I’ll leave you guys to it.” He turns on his heels and presses the button for the elevator. As the doors open and he starts to step into the elevator, he is shocked to feel a hand grab his wrist.
“Tony-“
He snatches his arm back, turning to the man in question with fury in his eyes. “Don’t fucking touch me Rogers. What the fuck is wrong with you? Can’t you take the hint that I don’t want to talk to you.” As he speaks, he walks nearer to the man, making him back up on impulse.
Rogers scoffs. “Oh come on Tony, grow up. You can’t avoid me forever. You and I have a lot to talk about. I’m just trying to fix things here. And stop calling me Rogers, you know I hate when you do that.” Despite the angry look on his face, Tony can see that hidden behind the expression is hurt. Too bad he doesn’t care.
“Do you honestly think there’s anything to fix? You have to be seriously fucking delusional if you think things are ever going to be okay with us again.” Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see James standing off to the side, confused look on his face. Ah, he gets it, his best bud Steve chose to keep their past to himself.
The anger drains from Rogers’ face. “I- I just thought- I mean it seems like you’ve gotten over things. You and Bucky seem friendly. Why can’t you forgive me?” His arms hang loosely at his side, he looked defeated, confused.
Tony clenches his jaw. “Because he didn’t drive a fucking shield into my chest. He didn’t lie to me for years. He didn’t listen to me share memories of my mom and stay completely fucking silent with the knowledge about who killed her.” He couldn’t believe the audacity of Steve, his Steve, to act like he and James’ position are at all the same. As if Tony doesn’t have every reason to hate him for what he did to him, to them. “Nothing is ever going to be good between us Rogers.” He would be lying if he said he didn’t take some joy in the way the blond reeled back at the name, hurt that Tony would ignore his plea to stop. “Leave me the fuck alone. If you bother me one more time, I’ll have you out of the tower so fast you’re head will spin. You’re here, in the tower, as a courtesy. Because I’m not going to separate you from the team. But don’t you dare, for a second, think that you’re entitled to be here.” He looked to James then. “Sorry- I just- I’m gonna go. Enjoy your new place.”
He spun around, heading to the right, down the hallway that lead to the stairwell, unwilling to spend another second in this suffocating room.