AFTERWARDS

AFTERWARDS

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tony gives a big sigh of exasperation not even bothering to look back.

“Tones?” Rhodey says softly like he’s trying to calm down Morgan, “You good?” Rhodey stops walking, they’re back in the living room now.

Tony turns to look at him, “Can you believe him?! The genius fumes, "And did you see the way he just pushed her into the ground, what was that?!!” Tony throws his hands up.

“I can’t believe this!” Rhodey’s frown deepens.

“You know what? No, I’m not even going to think about this anymore, I’m on vacation, I’m hungry and I just wanna have a good time with my family and go eat.” 

As if in cue Rhodey’s stomach Grumbles in agreement, the man laughs hiding his stomach. “Sounds good to me, I didn’t eat at my sister’s place I was only there for an hour and a half with her dogs.”

Tony claps him on the back, “Alrighty then, let’s go eat some burgers." Rhodey smiles in agreement, Tony asks as they head back out into the backyard “How is your sister by the way?”

At the sound of the sliding glass door the others turn around to look at them, immediately inviting them to sit and join in, it’s almost too amazing, the atmosphere is so completely different from a few minutes ago, happier and carefree.

Tony puts the bread on top of his burger going to pick up a potato chip from his paper plate, “Hey, is everything ok?” Pepper slowly sits down next to her husband, bracing her stomach as she does so.

She rubs his back and smiles at him. “Yeah Pep, everything’s fine.” He makes eye contact with Rhodey as the older man adjusts Morgan on his lap, he smiles at the both of them.

“Uncle Rhodey! Look!” Morgan cries tugging on the man’s clothing, Rhodey returns to their conversation and agrees with whatever the little girl says in whispers with each other causing her to giggle. Tony takes a moment to look around at his family, Peter and Happy aren’t sitting at the table, they have their plates in their hands with their feet dangling in the mini pool that was built into the patio, talking with each other, probably about May’s birthday bash that they’ve been planning.

May and Rhodey are playfully talking to Morgan as the three of them sit together on the opposite side of the table to eat, Morgan says something about wanting to grow her hair out as long as May’s, Tony smiles at the interaction.

His eyes finally land on his pregnant wife, she’s so beautiful, when she notices him looking, she leans over to kiss him sweetly.

“Ew! Get a room!” A shout from Peter, Tony laughs and breaks away from his wife.

“I could say the same for you and MJ.” Tony grins.

 “Ohh!” The others say collectively, before everyone burst out laughing at Peter’s burning face, “Need some Aloe Vera for that burn Petey-Pie?” Pepper says with a teasing grin at her son.

Their laughter is cut short as everyone hears arguing from within the house in loud whispers. “No! Come on Steve, they’re having family time!” A man says.

“Stevie!” Another voice says pleading almost too quiet to pick up.

“I’ve got to make him listen, if this is how it has to go down then so be it!” Steve hisses harshly to the others before he comes bursting through the sliding glass door, determined, and on a mission.

“Steve! Steve wait!” A final helpless cry louder this time, "Please!" it’s Natasha, she can be heard within the house.

Steve looks around making the smiles drop from his family’s faces, May immediately takes Morgan from the Colonel’s lap as the man stands back up. Happy and Peter have both discarded their plates on the patio standing up from the side of the pool, Happy Comes to stand protectively at Pepper’s back who is too pregnant to stand up quickly at this point, she remains seated.

Peter meets Tony’s eyes a confused and concerned expression on the teen’s face, his Spider-Man reflects at the ready. Behind Steve, Tony can see the others, the three of them stock still in the house.

       “Tony listen-" Steve says desperately.

“Tony did listen, and if I remember correctly, Tony said, no.” Rhodey replies first, crossing his arms over his chest, speaking slowly like he’s talking to a baby.

“NO!” Steve snaps loudly, May flinches coving the back of Morgan’s head and rocking her lightly to distract her, Peter moves closer, Steve holds up his hand as if to stop anyone from talking again or moving.

“Look." Pepper says as she decides to stand up from the bench connected to the table, struggling, Happy helps her. "I don’t know what’s going on here but, Steve-" she pauses to collect her thoughts.

"I think it might be best if you head out now, cool down, and come back at another time, we’re heading back to the main house in a couple of weeks why don’t we all sit down and discuss whatever it is then?” She says softly Attempting to make peace of the situation.

“Right.” Tony agrees, no room for arguments, “Let me show you the way-out Cap.” Tony says falsely polite, he goes to step past Steve back toward the house, as he passes Steve though, the Captain grabs ahold of his metal arm, abruptly stopping Tony in his tracks and yanking him backwards harshly, Tony makes a noise of surprise rather than pain.

“NO! I’m not leaving until you agree!” He snaps in a loud whisper against Tony’s ear demanding, everything comes back again. The shield, the anger, the blows, Tony starts to feel overwhelmed by it.

“Stop, please what are you doing?!” Pepper shouts she steps forward to do something, Steve all but has his fangs bared, for a split-second Tony was actually worried he might snap back and hurt his pregnant wife, surely not.

Peter, thank God for the boy, steps in to intervene at the same time Happy goes to grab her right arm, “Mom!” He says, grabbing his mother by the waist with the gentle but strong grip of a spider, holding her back from whatever it is she thought she could do.

“Dad! what in the hell is going on?!” Peter snaps, usually the boy refrains from that kind of language, unsure he looks between his father and Captain America, Natasha asks for Steve to stop, Bucky and Sam step out farther into the lawn in a hurry.

Bucky grabs a fist full of the back of Steve’s clothes and his other arm attempting to stop the captain, begging softly, Tony briefly wonders if Steve has ever done anything like this before to the man.

Steve and Bucky have known each other the longest, the man would know about Steve’s hidden temper, what a sad thought, Bucky having to deal with this since childhood.

  In that moment, Tony realized to himself that Steve has always had this side to him, he just hides it perfectly underneath the cracked mask of a saint.

Underneath, desperation, to be seen as the best, to be the first Avenger, to find a way for his teammates to be on top of everything, always pristine, no mistakes that’s what this ‘Job’ as Captain America has done to the skinny little nobody who got beat up in the backroad streets who wanted to enlist in the army.

His grip on Tony’s arm starts to tighten, he can hear the metal bending under Steve’s fingers, if his arm was real, it might’ve been broken by now. “Ok." Tony says softly. “Ok you can have the tower, Steve.”

Steve seems surprised, “you-you mean it?” He speaks.

Tony nods, “Although I think I shouldn’t have.”

Tony sighs, “I’ll have my lawyers get in touch with you.” He snaps angrily at the captain, eyes filled with something Steve can’t read. Tony snatches his arm out of Steve’s loosened grip.

“Now get out!” Happy growls out, pointing in the direction of the door.

Tony exhales in relief as Steve quietly turns to leave throwing his hands up in surrender. “Oh, oh!” a soft whimper behind Tony has everyone freeze even Steve turned to look back. Pepper had bent over clutching her stomach, water lands on the ground out from underneath her.

“Tony-" she whines in pain, “Tony my water!” She doesn’t finish her sentence as it turns into another cry of pain, for a shocked moment no one moves.

“Holy crap on a cracker!” May says, “We need to get her to the hospital!” she goes into nurse mode, quickly going over to Pepper the same time Natasha does, Tony panics, the baby wasn’t supposed to be born before the next month! All his supplies are at the main house.

“Tony!”

He snaps out of his inner thoughts of panic, Happy is looking at him, “Come on, we have to move!”

“The nearest hospital is 20 miles away out here!” He yells, she’s not going to make it to the hospital!” Tony says realizing their predicament. "What are we going to do?!”

“She’ll have to have it here.” May says calmly, everyone looks at her like she’s crazy, “I’m a trained nurse, she says with a sigh, I can deliver the baby.”

She turns to her nephew. “Peter, pick her up and carry her, he nods, easily doing so, “Hold on Mom.” She wraps her arms around his neck.

“Peter!” Pepper gasps out in pain clutching at her son’s shirt, the boy frowns.

“Alright, follow me.” May says seriously, “I have to wash my hands, Happy?” she looks at her husband, “Get me a bowl of warm water and lots of towels.” he’s off before she even finishes.

“Uncle Rhodey?” she addresses him, “Stay with Tony and watch Morgan.” she commands, he nods, she then abruptly turns to Natasha, “Will you please help me?” She asks, “You’re the only other woman here.” Natasha nods once and starts to follow the other woman back into the house.

May rolls up her sleeves “Alright Ladies, let’s go have ourselves a baby.” She says moving past Steve and the others, they make sure to move out of the way.