Leaving
Steve and his team were eating breakfast in the cafeteria.
This was were the kitchen used to be, and Steve really missed it. He missed the compound how it was. When it was their home, when only the team lived here. Instead of now that there is so so many people.
None of them were even friendly to them.
At first Steve had tried to become friends with them. To show them he did not hold it against them for falling for the accords. But all his attempts to open doors, were ignored, and those doors were slammed in his face with insults against him and his team. Scott was the only person that sided with Steve, that the new members were willing to open up with, which in turn made Ant Man totally abandon the side he originally stood up with.
Steve did not like how things were going. He still did not like that he had to sign the accords. Sure this new copy was better than the one Ross had presented (he would at least admit that he was surprised that the Accords Council helped Tony put Ross behind bars) but they were still too restrictive ! Heroes should not be told were to go ! They need their freedom to choose where to act.
Not that anyone listens to Steve. When he said casualties are just a part of the fight, he was looked at like he was crazy. So when he said their best hands are their own.
Steve not being the leader anymore stinged. He had always been a great leader to the team. He saw no reason for that to change. But no one was willing to just listen to him. To understand that he knew best.
But the thing that frustrated Steve the most, is how Tony has taken to constantly avoid him and the team.
Steve is sorry that he had hurt Tony. He knew he had done the right thing, he had to protect Bucky, but he is sorry that Tony was hurt. Which is why he sent that letter so that they could start anew.
Steve really missed Tony, so much it hurt. He missed the friendship he had with the genius and he wanted it back. He wanted to expand it to new and exiting ways.
But Tony did not want to even speak to Steve ! He constantly left, or was in areas that no matter what Steve did, he could not get inside on.
It was not fair. Steve had done the right thing. Tony should not be angry with him any longer. He had to stop being petty, Steve had done what he had to do. What a hero would do.
What made his teeth grit, is that while Tony avoided his family, he spent time with the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Steve did not like them. They were aliens. Who could say if they have other motives. Again, no one listens to him. Those aliens were more welcomed here than Steve and his team were.
He even heard that Gamora and Nebula were Thanos' daughters. He cried out how anyone could trust them. only to be yelled back about the sister's pasts.
It was just so infiltrating that Tony spent so much time with them. Was it really nesseary for him to keep punishing Steve like that ?
There was even rumors going around, that Tony had began to date one of the Guardians ! Dating an alien ! Only one of them looked like human !
Tony has taken this long enough, but Steve can't even get close to him to even talk about it. It's not fair.
This was not what he expected when they got the pardons.
"Steve." Natasha said. "We are being called for a team meeting."
"Coming." Steve said, standing up from where he was sitting. "Do we have any idea what its about ?"
Natasha shook her head. Steve sighted. He thought Nat could get him the information he needed, but all of her attempts failed. Like se was always seen coming.
Steve and his team made their way to the meeting room, where everyone was there. All except the Guardians.
Steve felt some hope...could it be that they finally left Earth back to space !
If they did, he can finally get to have a proper conversation with Tony, and fix this mess.
If they are gonna defeat Thanos, Steve needs to be back in command, and he needs to get rid of the Accords. Only like that, they can win. And if Tony is no longer being taken, they can have that proper conversation.
He looked around for the man, and saw him on the front. Meaning Tony was about to speak.
"Hey guys. You know who I am, so there is no need for introductions. So we need to get a lot going on but first, something very important....Jessica, Happy Birthday !"
The woman, Jessica Jones, raised her glass as many on the room clapped for her.
"Second. You might notice that the Guardians are not here. They are currently getting ready to head off to space, so that they can recruit more allies to help us."
Steve sighted in relief. Yes, with them gone, he can finally start to fix all of this.
"And well....I am afraid to say, you are all gonna have to miss me for sometime, since I am heading of with them."
WAIT WHAT !
Steve couldn't have heard right. Tony...is leaving with the Guardians !
No....no this can't be happening. He needs Tony here. They need to fix this.
"We agree this is the best course of action." Carol said, interrupting what Steve was about to say. "Many out there know Tony as the one that stopped Thanos once. And no one has prepared more for this than him."
"We know this my slow down somethings." Rhodes said. "But we already prepared for it. Dr. Pym, Agents Fitz and Simmons, and Princess Shuri had all agreed to step up in the lab work, while Tony is gone."
Steve gripped his fists. The fact that Tony had a pivotal role was something that he planned to use.
"I am entrusting my labs to you Brucie. So if anyone needs anything, you can ask our other genius."
"I might not be Tony Stark, but I will do my best." Bruce assured everyone.
"Don't worry babe, we all trust you." Valkyrie said, hugging him. "Besides, we all know the other reason Tony is going away. He wants to get some more of that delicious green ass."
Wait what did she say !
Many in the room laughed.
"Guilty as charged." Tony chuckled. "The King was dethroned after all, so I want to learn lessons from the Queen."
"Something that costed me 20 bucks." Rhodey mumbled.
Once gain, everyone but Steve and his team laughed at that.
Steve just couldn’t believe it. Tony is leaving ! He’s going to space with the Guardians ! Why would he do that. Why would he leave the team behind ?
Steve knows he is angry, but this is taking it too far. Leaving the planet, the team, because he’s being petty.
Steve won’t allow this to happen.
When the meeting was over, Steve called out to Tony, but the man ignored him and left, being flanked by Carol and Thor, So Steve couldn’t grab him.
“I wasn’t expecting that.” Sam whispered. “Didn’t take Stark for one for space travel.”
“Typical of Stark. Running away from his problems.” Clint said bitterly. He has been like that ever since Laura divorced him.
“We need to do something about it.” Steve turned to his team.
“Why would you want to do anything ?” Wanda asked. “Stark being gone is good news to me. He can stop making us miserable.”
“Tony is also the only other one that can fix things for us.” Natasha said. “Without his political,power and his recourses, we won’t be able to take command back of the Avengers and make things return to normal. Steve is back, we can’t allow him to leave.”
Wanda groaned but didn’t speak again.
“I mean I get your point.” Sam said. “But Stark does have his company. At most he’s gonna be gone for a couple of months.”
“He might be gone for longer.” Natasha said. “I assume the Guardians have a way to communicate and send message to Earth. That means he can keep working there and things will go smoothly. Pepper is more than capable of holding S.I together, and Bruce has enough skill to maintain the lab’s, specially if Shuri is helping him. If we don’t act, Tony could be fine for a long time.”
Steve nodded at her. “Exactly. This...aliens they are poisoning Tony against us. He’s forgetting that we are his team, his family.”
“Stark is no family of mine !” Wanda yelled.
“He is part of the team Wanda. And this team. The true team, is a family. I know you’ve had your differences but I promise you I will get Tony to apologize to you, and we can start to heal and be the family I know we are.”
Sam sighted. “Steve man....I get it that you clearly don’t want this to happen. But...you have to understand there is no way you can actually keep Tony from going. Even if you still were the leader of the Avengers, you can’t keep someone in a place he doesn’t want to be. He could just quit the team and go with them, and you had no power over him. And again, that’s when you were in command, when you had at least some power. Now man....you got to understand the position we are in, doesn’t leave us with a lot of leverage. We can’t afford to do some crazy stuff. I know you don’t want this to happen and you are welcomed to talk to him another it, but really...I don’t see how you can actually stop it, specially from the last thing they said.”
“What do you mean ?” Steve asked. Ignoring the pain that he felt hearing Sam being afraid Steve could somehow make things worst for them. “What last thing ?”
“He’s talking about the fact Stark has been fucking that green lady.” Clint spatted.
“What !” Steve had though that was a joke but....he turned to Natasha.
She probably knew what he wanted to ask so she went for it. “I didn’t know they were in an actual relationship....but yes I did hear they have had sex a couple of times. I just didn’t imagine it was deep.”
“Only Stark would actually fuck an alien.” Clint mumbled. “Mother fucker can even get that, while I can’t even get my wife to talk to me.”
Steve sighted. He understood Sam’s concern, but he’s sure that he can get Tony to realize that he can’t leave. That his place is right here with the Avengers, with Steve.
After hearing what Tony was doing with Gamora, he became even more convinced he was Neón poisoned and that Steve had to do something.
He would get things back to how they were, he knew he would do so.
And then he could finally be with the person he desired.
But no matter what Steve and the others tried, they couldn’t get to Tony.
Either they were kept by the Avengers, or the Guardians stopped their attempts with giants guns at the head, knifes at their throats, and just intimidating glares from Gamora, Nebula, And Drax. Hard to be brave against a woman that had shamed the Black Widow in just two minutes, her sister that got the same treatment, or a man that puts Steve’s mucles to shame.
Steve tried to get FRIDAY to tell him when Tony is alone, but the AI as always, ignored him. They had been banned from all S.I premises aside from the compound (and breaking that order came with heavy fines they couldn’t afford, as they had learned the one time they tried to get into the tower) so they could not find him anywhere outside the compound.
It was so frustrating. No matter what Steve did, he couldn’t get to Tony.
God he just wants all of this to end. For things to go back to to how they are supposed to be. They were so good back then, why doesn’t any one want that.
The days passed, and they only got glimpses of Tony. All of them blocked by people that didn’t allow them to get close. Nat tried to hack Friday and Clint tried to get threw the vents, both of them being caught and penalized for it. Wanda even tried with her powers, only for Strange and Loki’s bindings to act up and get her punished.
Time was running out, and as always things got worst.
“What the fuck is this !” Clint yelled. “What do you mean you are separating us !”
Steve could not believe this.
“You can’t do this !” Steve yelled. “We are a team, we won’t be separated ! I will not allow it !”
“The desicion has already been made Mr. Rogers.” Carol said. “It is final, and for the I don’t know what time, you are not in command.”
“You are welcome to appeal it,” Rhodes said. “I’ll gladly give you the paper work to do so. But I will say it will be highly unlikely this gets reversed. Considering the reason the decision was made.”
“What was the reason then ?” Natasha demanded.
The four people looked at each other, before they spoke. “There have been concerns lately about your attempts to break the rules.” Coulson said. “Ever since you arrived, you have tried to violate the rules you know have been placed. Mr. Rogers has attempted to enter areas he is not authorized in, as well as attempting to take command on training sessions, despite being told multiple times that he’s not in charge. Mr. Barton has been recorded attempting to get in the vents, which violates the privacy code. Ms. Romanoff has been caught attempting to hack FRIDAY and other compound systems, and while the attempts have been mediocare at best, they were still done. So far Mr. Wilson has nothing serious, other than obeying Rogers’ illegitimate orders in training, and the attempt to get into Stark Tower. As for Ms. Maximoff. Our magical experts have detected that she has attempted to get in the heads of multiple individuals in the compound. Most namely Dr. Stark And Vision.”
“Magical expertsl my ass.” Clint yelled. “Are you really trusting Loki’s word !”
“They are taking about Dr. Xavier and me, Mr. Barton.” Stephen said. “And while Loki is clearly not the most trusted individual, his word means more than yours I assure you. And let me tell you, what Maximoff has attempted to do, violates magical law. Weren’t for the council, she would be on a prison cell in Nepal, right now.”
“This has been decided as a last resort measure.” Rhodes said. “We hope that if you lot are separarted, you will follow the rules. Consider this as the final warning. If the rule breaking continues, you will be dropped from the Accords Program and the Avengers. That of course will violate the deal the US government made for your pardons, and so you will be extradited to the countries that you are wanted on.”
“As it stands, only Mr. Rogers And Mr. Wilson will remain with the Avengers. Romanoff And Barton are returning to SHIELD with me, and news flash, you won’t be the star agents or the ones with power, you’ll be level 1 agents. Ms. Maximoff is going to karma tarch to train with the Sorcerers. They already assigned her a teacher.” Coulson finished.
“So we either follow your bullshit rules, or we get sent to jail, is that what I’m hearing !” Clint yelled.
“Pretty much.” Carol said simply. “If you had follow the rules, if you had read your packets from the beginning, this could have been avoided. But the ball is on you.”
Steve sighted. They were being separated. After all they fought, they were gonna be split apart.
“I can’t believe you. First Tony and now this.” Steve yelled.
“Tony, What does Tony have to do anything to do with this ?”
“You are allowing him to leave with the Guardians, you are splitting the team apart !”
“Tony is willingly going with them. The main reason is what you know, he is going to gather allies. Now yes, there is another reason, but that’s his business. The point is, this is his choice, we are not doing anything.”
Rhodes and the others gave them another look, and left them alone.
Steve gripped his fists as his team started to shout.
He had to fix this, now.
“Why was Rogers throwing a tramptun with Tony leaving with the Guardians.” Carol asked.
Rhodey sighted. “Believe it or not, Rogers has a crush on Tony.”
“You....you have to be kidding me. After what he did, after almost killing him, does the man think Tony will actually go out of him. That and the fact most of the compound know of him and Gamora.”
“Rogers only thinks how he thinks things are, not how they really are. So long as he wants Tony, he thinks he should get it.”
“How this man lead the Avengers is beyond me.”
“Second That. But don’t worry, Gamora is more than aware of Rogers’s little crush, and is more than capable of dealing with the man." Rhodey said with a smirk.
"Man, I really want to see that."
Steve was walking threw the walls, when he heard Tony and Rhodes talking.
This is the first time he has heard the genius close for weeks, and Steve had to talk to him.
"So you got everything ready."
"Yep all set."
Steve entered the room, and found Tony with a back pack on his back. Two suit cases were on the floor.
It meant Tony was about to leave !
No no no, Steve had to stop him !
"Tony !" Steve said, "Wait !"
Both men turned to look at him.
"What is it Rogers ?"
"You can't leave !"
"Pretty sure I can. I worked things out with S.I and the Council, so yeah, I can leave."
"But...."
"Besides, its not like its a vacation. I am going to gather people to fight Thanos."
"Though you are certainly gonna enjoy yourself." Rhodey chuckled.
"Shut up Honeybear."
Steve did not appreciate that talk. This was serious.
"Tony, they want to separate the team !" He said, hoping that Tony would realize what would happen if he left.
"And so ? Again, not my problem."
Steve went to speak again, to ask how could Tony say that, when someone else came.
"You ready ?" Gamora asked, entering the room. "Rocket is already getting antsy. He wants to go as fast as possible."
"I thought he liked this place."
"He does. But once he gets on a ship, he can't help but take off. Its one of his wonders."
"Hm, well I am set, let's get going."
With that, Tony gave Rhodey a goodbye hug, ignoring Steve completely. "Take care of the kids for me."
"Oh please. You are taking FRIDAY, and JOCASTA is a good girl. As for Peter and Harley, I need to take care OF them."
"True, I am so proud."
With that Tony handled one of his cases to Gamora, and the two moved to leave the compound.
No, Steve could not allow him to leave. They had to fix this !
Steve went to grab Tony's shoulders, intending on making him listen, but Gamora grabbed his hand before he could touch Tony.
"Keep your hands to yourself." The woman growled, grabbing him so tight it made Steve's hand hurt.
Tony turned to look at him, clearly not impressed that Steve had tried to grab him.
"Tony please." Steve said, freeing himself of Gamora's iron grip. "You can't leave. If you do, you are gonna leave your family behind !"
"Hm. You can take your family and shove it on your ass Rogers. I believed it. There was a time I did believe that. That you people were actually something to me. But if you wanted to keep the wool on my eyes, you should never have left me on Siberia after almost beating me to death, and lying about my parents' death."
"It wasn't Bucky's fault !" Steve said, annoyed he had to say it, again.
"Did I mentioned Barnes ?" Tony asks. "No, I did not mentioned his name. That is the one part you do have right. Barnes was not responsible for their deaths. I know that, and I apologized to him for attacking him."
"You....you talked to Bucky ?" Steve said surprised. He had not know about that. Why had no one told him ?
"Its my tech Shuri is using to heal him, so yes I have talked to him. Also unlike you, he is not a blind idiot. He actually knows what an apology is. But that is beside the point. Yes, Barnes is not responsible, but that does not change what you did. That does not change the fact that you lied, it does not change the fact you left me to die on Siberia. Barnes did not do any of that, you did Rogers, and to this day, you still think you were right to do that."
"I already apologized Tony." Steve said. "And I did what I had to do. You were gonna kill us. I am sorry you were injured, but you left me no choice !"
"That letter is many things, but an apology, that's not it. And if you are so sure you did the right thing, why does your team not know about the video ? If you are so sure, why are you so afraid of them knowing that detail."
To that Steve had no answer. He told himself that the video was too personal, which is why he kept that detail. But part of him....can't deny that he is scared of their reactions about knowing that. That they might think that Tony is justified for his attack, that they question Steve's leadership after hearing of his lies.
He didn't say it, but Tony had known what he thought.
"And as for your family. Who are you talking about ? The witch that hates my guts and would love nothing more than to make me suffer, even though I had nothing to do with her tradegy and she is just a nut crap that can't accept responsibility. The spy who is obsessed with my ego and that can't be honest with anyone, probably to cover her own insecurities and sell the idea that she is perfect. The archer that blames me for loosing his family despite the fact that all of what happened is his own making, the soldier that follows you like a puppy ? Those people ? They are not my family Rogers. They are people that are toxic to me, and the best thing I can do is get the hell away from them as fast as I can."
Steve did not know what to say. He didn't know Tony had such...such feelings towards them. He knew things were hard, but he did not thing it was this hard.
"And them." Steve signaled to the Gamora. "Do you think she and the rest of her team care for you. She might be using you."
Tony went to say something but Gamora spoke first.
"You know Mr. Rogers. You and Thanos are very different, for one I will admit, you are not a genocidal like he is. He also overpowers you in any way possible. But you two do have some things in common. Your twisted sense of love. Thanos turtored me, killed my mother, wiped half of my people, made me watch my sister get turned apart over and over again. And after all of that, he claims he loves me, that he is my father. That all the suffering he has made me gone threw is insignificant because he loves me. That, is what you are saying to Tony. No matter the clear damage you and your team have done, you still claim you care for him, ignoring all the bad sings because they are not convenient to you."
Steve turned red, how dare she compare him to Thanos !
"As for my team. The difference is clear. From day one, we have respected Tony's boundaries, getting to know who he is and not what his reputation says about him. We genuinely care for him and want the best for him. It is one of the reasons we want him to come with us. We don't want his money, nor his tech. We want him, because he is our friend, and in my case, my boyfriend."
Boyfriend ! Steve had heard rumors, and he knew the were sleeping together some times, but....he did not think.
He thought that he and Tony would...
"Hey Gamora." The voice of Peter Quill came threw the intercom. "We are waiting for you two. Come on !"
"Sounds like our call. You ready ?"
"Yeah, lets go."
Tony and Gamora stood up and left the room, Steve wanted to go after him, to make Tony stop and listen, but before he could, Rhodes closed the door on his face.
"Just take the hint Rogers. Leave Tony alone." Rhodes growled. "I know your intentions, and even if Gamora was not in the picture, he would NEVER go out with you."
He waited for some moments, and then left Steve.
When Steve reached the hangar, he watched the Guardians ship take off, with Tony inside.
He could not believe this had happened.
No, Tony has to come back. He will be back for Thanos, and when he does, Steve will show him he belongs with the Avengers, with the true team. That he's place is at Steve's side.
He is sure of it, despite that....he can't help feel he has lost something.