Talkative

Another surprise is when everyone comes down to join them, Tony doesn't leave. He stays right where he is on the island, and everyone easily seems to respect that and the boundaries. Hell, they're just happy to be taking baby steps with Hurricane Tony. With Tony coming out less in those past few days, Bruce has made a deal with himself. He couldn't wait anymore, and if he wanted answers, he knew he was going to have to ask Tony. Bruce is still very curious about Tony and is almost more interested in Tony's powers. No one really likes to talk about them, but unless it's for one narrative or another, he's never had the chance. No chances of asking or talking to one, hell it's scary, but they still fascinate Bruce. Tony answers some of his questions and ignores others; half the time, it seems Tony only answers out of instinct or habit. Given how he seemed distracted or more focused on something else, the answers are answers, and Bruce will take what he can get. Natasha has started to take pictures of the team documenting the new chapter and, for once, is happy to be on a team because she is with her friends. She takes pictures of everything and their moments, and at some point, she starts taking pictures of Tony, too. She's even caught a few good ones too. There is one thing Bruce notices when he asks the questions, but he can't pinpoint it. Even so, Bruce suspects Tony is keeping him away from a subject, but why? And which one?

So, by the end of the week, the others left for SHIELD, leaving Tony alone in the compound for once. It should have been fine, yeah, not with Tony's luck. Of course, something had to go wrong. Deep down, everything is still a fucking mess on a fractured base, and nothing really meshed together to strengthen them to each other. Of course, this is when Ross chooses to show up out of the blue. He must have been watching the compound because he only shows up when the others are gone, and he's home alone. Ross might have been hoping for a time when Bruce was around, but he really only needed Tony. Ross, of course, is in with his mother, often playing her messenger to Tony. He doesn't usually relay her words or orders to anyone else, staying between Tony and his mother.

"Kiddo," Ross says smugly around his cigar.

"Chimney," Tony sneers angrily at him.

"To think you actually look like her," Ross says, looking down on Tony, who growls, his hand tightening on the door.

"I look nothing like her!" Tony yells at him

"Oh, but you do, young master. Your mother dearest is so beautiful and with such a kind heart chose to keep you," Ross says, dead and calm, leaning over until he's eye to eye with Tony.

"Am not," Tony snarls at him, glaring into Ross's very soul.

"Come on now, kiddo. You really didn't think playing house would get rid of her, did you? Playing happy family with Fury? They aren't your friends or your family, and she's coming calling, so I suggest listening to her," Ross tells him.

"I'm not playing house with anyone," Tony grinds back at him.

"Go home to your mommy, kiddo, at least wants you. Paid all that money for you, and then you run away like a brat? Come on now, that means you belong to her like the little lap dog you are, mutt," Ross sneers at Tony.

"Stop being her ball boy, and maybe," Tony snarls back at him. "I'm not the only one playing house anyway. How's Betty?" Tony adds

"Leave my daughter alone," Ross says, grabbing Tony by the front of his shirt.

"Leave me alone then!" Tony screams at him. The only thing keeping his powers back is the damn ties in his head.

"Fine, how about we talk about those playthings then," Ross says, smirking as he lets Tony go

Ross was definitely watching the house, and his luck was the absolute worst once again. Tony didn't notice the team pulling up just in time for him to spew shit at Ross, only meaning half of what he said. He's had enough. The less he needs to interact with Ross, the better, and this has been going on for too long.

"I don't care what you want with them! Leave me out of it!" Tony yells at him

"Oh really?" Ross prods, poking at Tony's temper on purpose

"Do whatever you fucking want! I don't fucking care!" Tony shouts as he throws up his hands

Why are you here?" Sam demands at Ross, who half turns to face him, his arms crossed over his chest

"Tony," Bruce says quietly, looking utterly betrayed.

"Have them," Tony growls venomously before slamming the door shut on all of them.

Tony doesn't waste a second and storms back to his room. He could care less right now; they're going to be pissed, and so what? It's nothing new, and it works for him anyway. He wants to leave, remember? It's a good thing. His mother is closing in on him again. It's not bad yet, and she must not be that close, so he has time. When Tony thinks of his mother, he can't help but think of the good, still desperate to please her at times, other times scared of her. She's no better than Howard had ever been to him; hell, she was worse in ways. Howard was loud, beating him, and neglectful at best, always tricking or forcing Tony to do things to get himself hurt. But Maria played mind games; she manipulated them to the point he couldn't think for himself. She was psychologically abusive, and she used Tony against himself. Still, she can't be so far away. She sent Ross to him after all.

Ross doesn't stop, though. He harasses the team for an entire week straight. Showing up at the door or calling Tony non-stop, who's been hiding in his room since then. The rift between them begins to shine clearer and split apart. And then, one night, the tension explodes. The team and Tony were in a massive fight; it was every man for themselves. No one remembers who started it or how it started, and they all blame each other. Still, the ground under them continues to crumble and split apart. Ross did more than he could have expected. He made more than just a wedge between them. The team has even become split as well. There was no them, and Tony was everyone against everyone.

It's been a few days of hardly anyone coming out of their rooms, and when they do, it's angry silence. They're too angry with each other to talk but too annoyed to fight each other. Tony hasn't been seen since the fight. So, Ross shows up again on the last day of the week. It's a surprise for Tony to come out of his room when he hears the team shouting. Not so shockingly, he's not even fazed. It's because Ross is on the doorstep again. Steve is in front of him, arms angrily crossed over his chest. The others match his anger and have spread out across the room. Bruce is the furthest away, and of course, Ross seems to only have eyes for him. But the second, Tony's presence is mixed in theirs, with his eyes locked on Tony's hall. Ross's eyes don't waver until Tony shows up, emerging from his hallway a little. It was weird to see, and they are all forced to make a note of that. It's like all of a sudden, Bruce was nothing to Ross, and he'd completely forgotten Bruce and only has eyes for Tony now.

"Kiddo," Ross sneers with a smirk, his hands now on the sides of the door frame, leaning in a little, forcing Steve to step back.

"Is. She. Here?" Tony asks coldly, a scary challenge in his eyes and tone; Tony's head tilts slightly, and his arms are crossed over his chest

"Who?" Ross asks, clearly knowing who Tony is talking about but having fun stoking Tony's temper

"Fine," Ross snarls when Tony tsks and steps back to leave.

"Is. She. Here?" Tony asks again, each word more stressed edge on being dangerous to everyone here

"No. She ain't here this time," Ross admits angrily.

"Then leave me alone," Tony growls at him, glaring finally.

"For now," Ross grinds out when his phone rings as if on cue.

"Finally," Clint mutters under his breath as Ross steps back to leave.

"I'm sure you understand, kiddo," Ross adds before he's gone and tossing something inside.

Steve wistfully closes the door on him, and all eyes are back on Tony, who's pulling his shirt up and over his nose. Tony holds it there as he glares at the handkerchief, cold and void of everything. It's very clear whatever was going on was making Tony sick to his stomach. But all it is a handkerchief that smells like roses very fucking strongly roses, but that's it. They have no idea why it's getting the reaction it's getting from Tony, who quickly spins on his heels and flees back down his hall. The team's anger has given way to confusion and curiosity. They get rid of the item but save it somewhere in case Phil wants it for the case or whatever. But it leaves an uneasy feeling, so they call Phil and tell him everything about Ross and the harassment. Hoping to get some answers, but too busy at the moment, and it says to just be more careful and alert. That doesn't help them and kinda pisses them off, but hopefully, it's the end of it, and Ross leaves them alone. They have to be a team, and they need to figure out everything before they try to mesh again. The group spends all night talking, and luckily, they get over the small cracks between them thanks to Ross closing up. Tony never shows, and they aren't sure this can be fixed when the ground between them is already so fragile.

They can pretend all they want and play it up, but they all know it's nothing but smoke and mirrors. Faking it until it's real, but even so, it is becoming real, but it never seems possible. There's too much between them, and while Tony himself appears to be easier to approach, there's a lot they still need to get past. This has made it clear as much as they wanted to believe they were getting closer to the surface with Tony, this proves the opposite. The team knows very little about Tony, just the character, and even then, it seems like they don't even understand that much. Maybe they're just skimming over it.

Tony can't breathe as he flees from the common room, beelining to his room. The smell of her clings to his body, almost choking him as it brings up all she had done to him. She would do things while she wore this perfume, pretending to be such a caring, doting and loving mother. When, in fact, Maria was the monster who still haunts him. The damn woman he was forced to call Mama, who used his own powers against him so she could always have him close and coming back.

Sinking onto the floor and resting against the door, Tony finally dares to pull down his shirt. He takes a few stuttering breaths, his body immediately curling up, hands slowly sliding over his ears. As if he can still block out her voice in his head. Tony doesn't know how long he sits there like that, but he finally starts to move. The sun is coming up. He's sore and stiff as he gets to his feet, still using the door for support. Tony could run. Running would be the best option. He'll never be able to hide from her; she always finds him, but he can hide and run, so he'll continue to do that. Tony isn't aware of anything outside his head until his heart skips a beat and his eyes snap open. One wrap of knuckles against his door had Tony remembering he needed to breathe. Tony gasped, trying to stay quiet as his eyes widened slightly before he looked down. Tony cups his face with his hands, a void look in his eyes as he digs his nails into his face. Tony digs in until a few of his nails break the skin, and he can feel it slide down his face. He doesn't move a muscle but retracts his anils a little to prevent more cuts.

"Tony," A voice says, and Tony can't seem to put it to someone at the moment, still lost in his head, slowly slipping.

"I know you're in there, doll," The voice says quietly.

Tony breathes out quickly, eyes slipping closed momentarily as he finally recognizes Bucky on the other side of the door. Bucky stands closer than one would normally knock on the door. His knuckles are still against the door's wood, and he dazily thinks about why the other would be here.

"What?" Tony asks, his voice soft and frigid numb, the life still dimming in his eyes, getting colder and more manic nothingness

"We need to talk," Bucky tells him, his voice sounding more firm.

"Talk?" Tony says, dropping his hands and stepping away from the door, finally

"Yeah, Stark. Talk," Bucky says seriously.

"I think I'm good," Tony drawls numbly, moving half between the door and the window.

"Tony," Bucky grinds out, trying the handle but finds it locked, and Tony smirks a little, seeing it.

"Make me then," Tony purrs, coldly egging Bucky on and pushing his buttons as he moves farther away but faces the door.

"Make you?" Bucky dares back, not above using his powers on Tony

"I think I'm downplaying house. You're really getting boring, and it seems a waste of my time, which is such a disappointment," Tony sighs wistfully, falling increasingly into his mother's preferred state.

"Lair," Bucky snaps bluntly, and Tony pauses by the open window, tilting his head to the side a little

"Lair? Well, maybe, but why would I lie about this? When have I lied about this?" Tony hums, pushing himself off the desk he'd leaned back on

"When have you not lied about this?" Bucky argues back calmly, hoping to god his idea works and not backfires badly on him

"And what about you? What's wrong with you, Barnes? Because something is very wrong with you," Tony replied, but Bucky could finally hear the anger in it.

"Wrong with me? This ain't about me besides, when have I ever been wrong?" Bucky says he knows it'll come back later, but for now, he'd rather blame it all on Tony

"When have you been right?" Tony laughs sarcastically, just bitter and sour

"Oh, it seems I'm always right when it comes to you, darling," Bucky says confidently, not letting Tony's words get to him as best he can

"You're not!" Tony barks at him finally, and Bucky can feel him close again

"They, what are you so scared of?" Bucky prods at Tnoy's temper, knowing it'll hit a nerve

"I'm not scared of things like you!" Tony barks again, and Bucky watches the handle turn. Tony Yanks opens the door.

As soon as the opportunity comes, Bucky pushes the door open, making Tony stumble back as Bucky gets in the doorway. He grabs Tony by his free wrist, and with him in the way, Tony can't try to close the door, not to mention the hand Bucky still has on it. Tony gasped a little, unable to help being, startled by how fast it happened. Bucky has dragged Tony out for the worst of it, but the shadows still hang off him l, like the weight of the world sits oozing tar on him. Before Tony can argue or try anything, Bucky steps out of the room and takes Tony with him. He doesn't care if Tony stumbles again or the other's feelings on this. Bucky won't let Tony slip out of his hand anytime soon. They've barely made progress, and he refuses to let Tony go while he still can't see anything behind it all, and Tony is still hiding from him.

"B-!" It is all Tony can manage to get out at the moment

"You're fuckin' scared, kitten," Bucky grinds out firmly, but somehow it still comes off as sort.

Bucky's got them in the hallways now, Tony's wrist still held up in one of his hands. He's got Tony by the fabric on his shoulder with the other hand. Bucky can easily use his head taller, bigger stature to tower over Tony confidently.

"That's bullshit!" Tony barks at him, not intimidated by the height difference

"Then why won't you talk to us?" Bucky says calmly to keep a baseline going

"I don't have to!" Tony yells at him, frustrated and distracted

"Fine," Bucky says, letting go and stepping away from Tony.

"What?" Tony growls, suddenly confused and suspicious of Bucky's sudden compliance

"You're right," Bucky says, shrugging and taking another step back.

"No shit," Tony grinds out back at him.

"Who is she?" Natasha asks him, annoyed, as they come out from where they were waiting

"She?" Tony growls at her, getting angrier and balls his fist up tightly

"We were fucking there, man," Sam snaps at him.

"She's nobody to you! And she's none of your fucking business!" Tony yells at them defensively but is also angry

"Then what about Ross!?" Clint shouts back because whoever she is can get Ross to do her bidding, so she must be more powerful

"Ross is a fucking old ant! He's nothing, just a worthless punching bag!" Tony shouts back at him

"He's not! Not to us! Not to fucking me!" Bruce finally snaps, shouting at Tony

"So!? That's your fucking fault!" Tony barks at him

"Who is she!?" Natasha yells at him

"Why!?" Tony snaps at them

"She sent him!" Clint barks the obvious answer

"For me," Tony growls at them.

"Just tell us who she is, for god's sake!" Sam shouts, and Steve shares a little at Bucky because Tony's never kept something like this in the heat of the moment before

"No!" Tony yells

"If you're scared-" Bruce tries to get out, but Tony cuts him off.

"I'm not!" Tony screams. They wince but don't budge

"Admit it! You obviously are; otherwise, you would have told us by now!" Clint snaps back, feeling both sick feeling and feeling of hurt from the lack of trust, no matter how small it had been

"It's not important!" Tony yells frustrated

"It is! Stop being selfish! Can't you think of us for just one second!?" Bruce yells at him, hurt

"Bruce," Steve says, taken aback a little

"Bambino!" A woman's voice shouts

"Maria! Stop!" Phil's voice angrily barks after her

"Who?" Sam says confused everyone looking towards the common room

"What the fuck?" Clint breathes out

"Bambino!" The woman's voice shouts again, anger this time more commanding

Tony blinks, curses softly and then books it down the hall towards the voice. But it wasn't excitement or anything close to happy or fond. This looked like fear, and it took them a few minutes to catch up before they went after him. They're quick, but it's only racing once they hear a sharp, loud slap and pick up the pace. When they get there, they see the scene before them, a woman held back by an angry Phil and Tony, who's now sporting a red check with a bleeding cut. The woman is gorgeous, with a small curvy frame, long raven-back hair and fair skin. She's wearing a long black body con dress with no traps and black heels. One of her rings must have cut Tony's cheek when she slapped him. Her face is calmly angry but doesn't express it much. Phil has her by the arm, visibly holding him from getting any more physical with her, but the limit is boiling over already.

"You stupid child," She hisses at him as they come out.

"How the hell did you find him again!?" Phil demands angrily

"Ross," Tony mutters, voice of emotion as he touches his cheek and pulls back to find blood on his fingertips.

"How many times have I warned you to leave him alone!?" Phil barks, shaking her as he tightens his grip on her arm. They've never seen him this angry before

"He's mine! Anthony is my child! I can do what I want with him!" Tony's mother barks back at Phil, something in her voice wavering

"You have no right to call yourself his mother, Maria! Not after what you fucking did to him!" Phil snaps at her, getting in her face

"I made him perfect! If I didn't, Howard wou-!" Maria shouts at him, but Phil cuts her off

"Don't you dare bring that scum into this! We both know you were far more vile than him! Tony was a baby! A child!" Phil barks furious

"He was my baby!" Maria yells at him, an old part of her showing up briefly

"Sir," An agent stresses as two more agents show up.

"Take her. I want her dealt with accordingly!" Phil snaps and throws her at them

"Anthony! Do something! Stop them!" Maria barks, and Tony's head finally snaps up out of his daze when the two agents catch her

"Anthony!" Maria screams in a fit of rage as she gets dragged out roughly

Phil moves, getting in front of Tony, blocking his vision of his mother, and grabs Tony strongly by his shoulders, leaning in closer to Tony's level.

"She doesn't control you anymore," Phil reminds him seriously, not letting Tony look away from him as he puts his hands tightly over Tony's ears.

"But!" Tony says quickly, hands flexing at his sides, itching to do something, the self-loathing of wanting to still please her

"No one controls you anymore, Tony," Phil stresses angrily but stays calm for Tony, forcing Tony to look him dead in the eyes.

Phil waits until the door closes behind him, lets go of Tony, and takes a minute to rein himself back in. Tony looks numb but torn, his hands still flexing and relaxing as he stares at the door.

"Phil," Steve says tightly, and Phil hangs his head, hands on his hips, and takes a few deep breaths before looking up again.

"I didn't think she'd actually come here," Phil tells them. He figured she'd come for Tony, but he didn't. She'd do it from here.

"She sent Ross, didn't she?" Natasha says slowly in her anger, and Phil nods, confirming it

"Why?" Bruce asks, conflicted on how their own feelings are triggered by her.

"I'll do better," Tony mutters quietly, looking down at his hand.

"What?" Phil says, looking back at Tony

"I'll do better; I'll get rid of them," Tony mutters again to himself, watching the blood on his fingers dry, his head feeling slower and fuzzier.

"So it wasn't complete self-sabotage," Sam sighs softly. Tony might not like them or this, but it seems like she's more behind it than him.

"I should have known," Phil growls to himself.

Tony doesn't say anything; he sort of just blinks a few times and then quietly goes back to his room. They let him go mostly because Phil says to give him some space; he must have an idea of what Tony is going through at the moment. Phil leaves to deal with Maria, getting her as far away from the team and the property as possible. After Phil leaves, the group agrees to give Tony some time, knowing he won't want to see them and might need some space to clear his head and shake her off on his own. They find it completely fair, and none of them would do it any differently; it's not a comfortable situation, and they're just as affected by having to watch and find all this out. Unfortunately, seeing her has drug up some not-so-nice side effects for Tony. His head can't seem to clear the fog, and he finds himself struggling not to space out. It is only getting worse and similar to the mood swings, not to mention how most of it could be his anger at times, impaired judgment and brain fog working similarly. Like having delayed reaction times, his processing does the same, and now he can barely think; everything thing is numb and blurry even though he's aware of everything around him but unable to do anything. Tony stays in his room as it's the safest place for him. He stays there for the rest of the day, moving on autopilot, his body recognizing the feeling and won't ease off, so it'll be a long to keep Tony functioning, using his daily routine as a guideline.

Tony first takes a very long and slow shower. His hands are numb, and he needs to warm them up, not to mention it's hard to do things when your hands are numb. He had to be sure they were actually as numb as he was feeling to be, and they were. He doesn't dry off but changes his clothes with minimal struggle. His body picks out his clothes to make himself seem more functioning. Sand camo joggers and a NASA crew neck brown sweater are still comfortable but hopefully not as revealing to his condition. Without his brain working to cover the slip-ups like usual, it doesn't look as solid as he would have wanted. He's using the M.V. when he wanders back to the common room the next morning after his shower. It's early enough that no one is around yet, and with his body moving for him, Tony picks his first original chair to curl up in. His head rested against the back of the chair, back to one arm and feet against the other. His arms were loosely over his waist, and the M.V. was hanging from his lips as he zoned in and out, eyes focusing and unfocusing. That being said, though, he's sure even Clint could figure something was up, and no matter how many slip-ups he can catch, he can't catch them all or even most. Not to say Clint was dumb, but he tends not to pick up on things as quickly or notice the smaller details, at least that Tony is aware of, but he might not point anything else.

Tony feels like his brain is on a roller coaster and being pulled in every direction, but how he wants it to go. He's getting whiplash from his mother, the team, and then his own issues and the episodes from power drawbacks. He can't help the nagging voice telling him he's crazy and insane for how he acts and how quickly everything shifts on him. He often feels like six different people, and none of them get along or agree, and he has no control over them, no matter how much he wants to. Her ties planted in his head feel like they are twisting, refusing to loosen or fall away even so many years later, and it's almost painful. Oddly enough, Tony vaguely picks up on Bucky being the last one down that morning, which he finds mildly strange. Still, while shocked, he's down and gives Tony a wide birth, much like the first time he came, which is both annoying and something he's grateful for. Tony pretends to doze to cover most of the symptoms, and after a while, it actually works. He falls asleep, the M.V. slowly slipping from his lips and falling into his lap. Tony doesn't get to sleep any deeper than a light one, but it's all he needs. It'll be easy enough to wake up when he decides to or needs to, and he's aware enough around him to feel safe enough to sleep. When Tony starts to relax, he feels ghost arms sliding over his shoulders and into a cold, loose hug. A hug, much like he gets from Emma, whenever he is having one of these days or something happens with his mother. It makes him shiver, and he opens his eyes slightly, slipping one hand around the back of his neck and rubbing it like he's trying to wash off the feeling. It's hard to shake, though, and the sensation lingers even as his hand slides down to rest against the side of his neck as his skin crawls and then finally calms down.

Everyone is too occupied to notice anything. Hell, even Bucky doesn't seem to be paying attention to him for once. Maybe for that reason, Tony feels himself wanting to reach out to them, but he doesn't know why. But his body still has control of him, and his impulse control is much lower than it usually is. So when Bucky moves by him the next time, Tony notes he's far closer than before and wonders how long he's been working it up to be that close again. Either way, Tony purposefully drops his hand from his neck and lets it 'accidentally' brush up against Bucky's hand and jeans as he passes. To make it seem like nothing, Tony picks up the M.V., putting it back in his mouth as Bucky pauses ever so slightly and looks at Tony for a minute. Tony gently takes a drag as if he had no idea Bucky was behind him. He's glad his fingers seem to be working enough to cover up the numbness, so he hopes, but he doesn't realize he brushed up against Bucky's human hand. This meant Tony didn't notice the difference between Bucky's human and metal hands; since it was the human one, he would have felt how ice-cold Tony's hands were. Hell, Tony doesn't even know why his body did it, and he just hopes Bucky moves on because he doesn't want to deal with it, and he can continue to ignore the embarrassment.

After a moment, Buky leaves, returning to his seat, and Tony relaxes as subtly as possible. Tony shifts in his chair, getting ready to leave since he isn't sure what his body is doing or his scrambled head for the matter. Normally, this would have been fine because he'd have better control and better control of his impulses, but this isn't normal, clearly. Tony doesn't feel like himself, and that's making everything worse. He just wants it over with but has no idea when that will happen. It would be best to hide out, but his body doesn't want that; it doesn't want to be alone. If that means around people he isn't comfortable with, then so be it, as long as it's not alone. He gives up, gets comfortable in the chair again, and stays for a few more hours. The team must have ordered food because there's the doorbell, and Tony assumes it's around dinner time. But instead of a delivery man with the takeout, Sam opens the door to Phil and Frost, who squeeze in. Phil is visibly surprised to find Tony out of his room, but it at least makes him easier to find.

"You weren't answering your phone," Phil says to Tony, who's sitting up a little more.

"Forgot it," Tony mutters, but he actually has no idea where it is, and they both know it.

"Fine it later, please." Phil sighs a little, though he can't fault Tony for much right now, and Frost sneaks by him to get to Tony

"Must you?" Tony grumbles, head tipping back to rest against her as her arm snakes over his shoulder and rests there against his chest

"I could have hugged you? Or is that what you would prefer, Tones?" Frost hums with a knowing smile and slightly arched brow

"I'm f-" Tony begins to argue, but it's weak, and something is clearly off now.

"You're not; you are far from, in fact," Frost interrupts him calmly.

"You've hugged him," Bruce blurts out, forgetting the videos they've seen.

"He does tend to like it," Forst says, smiling as she looks at them. It's not a surprise for them to be a little shocked.

"I don't," Tony objects, nearly talking over her.

"Yes, well. Giving him a hug or something does help when his head is in such a state. And I've heard he told you of some long-term side effects? at least to a degree?" Frost says, and they nod. "No doubt he kept the details to himself, but let me reveal a little more to the current one. His lack of judgement is a mild side effect when at its worse, like not, his head numbs, becomes very slow to process things, and feels fuzzy and dull," Forst relays to them, so maybe that's what Tony had kept Bruce away from

"He does seem out of it," Sam says; they've been giving him his space, but they really couldn't tell.

"So, grounding then?" Clint says, and she nods. All users need grounding, often found in being close to others, usually through touch.

"That's right, it proves him a little more control and reassurance through the fog," Frost says

"I'm sure she had a part in it like always," Phil sneers quietly.

"Fury," Frost says, turning her attention back to Tony.

"Can eat spit; I don't care what he does with her," Tony grumbles, annoyed that she showed up at all.

"We figured as much, but we have to ask." Phil sighs a bit.

"You're doing something, though, right" Steve grinds out a little

"For Ross," Clint adds angrily.

"Of course, they're being dealt with properly," Phil assures them. In fact, they might be doing a little overkill, but the team won't complain.

"Good," Sam says tightly. They'd like a round with Ross, but this will have to do

"Then," Bruce says, looking at Tony.

"I'm aware enough leave me alone," Tony snaps a little

"Tony," Frost chides him gently.

"Bite me," Tony grumbles but listens to her chiding.

"You know someone will take you up on that one day if you keep saying it," Frost huffs but goes back to Phil as a few giggles sound off.

"Is there anything we can do?" Natasha asks, taking a deep breath. They have to try and rebuild before something else happens, and the cracks can't be closed.

"No," Tony replies instinctively.

"I think you need to talk. All of you," Phil says, and a couple wince at his tone, his arms behind his back like he is in work mode.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Clint says sheepishly.

"Just talk," Phil settles for gently as he nudges Forst.

She nods, and the two head out quietly, leaving them to do this conversation in private. Besides, they need to get back to work anyway. Things are quite busy now, thanks to this whole mess. It's quiet until the food comes, Tony doesn't eat, but that's fine. Halfway through dinner finally musters the courage and breaks the silence among all of them. What could go wrong, right? So what if it ends in another fight? At this point, at least, no one will feel guilty or regret the situation anymore.

"Tony," Bruce says. It's soft, but it sounds loud in the silence.

"Don't," Tony snaps lightly.

"We have to talk about this man," Sam sighs, putting down his fork.

"We don't," Tony grinds out blandly.

"Can we not argue for once?" Clint groans

"Can we not do this!? Cause I'm not agreeing to shit!" Tony snaps, getting out of his chair, the M.V. Toghtyl gripping in his hand

"We're still part of this!" Sam snaps back at him

"That is not my problem! You're not my problem!" Tony barks, stressing that you're

"Well, you happen to be ours!" Bruce shouts, making everyone pause

"Huh?" Clint and Tony say at the same time

"Explain, please," Natasha says slowly but is interested in why he said it.

"Like it or not, you're stuck with us for at least a year! Because of you, we've been dragged through the mud numerous times! Because of you, Ross came here! And yet, we're still trying! Isn't that enough for you!? Why can't you trust us!? Why can't you just try for once!?" Bruce blows up on him each time, stressing you and finally venting everything that has been building up

"Well said," Steve says, impressed, after a pregnant pause from the room.

"Tell us how you really feel," Clint huffs, amused but proud of Bruce for finally speaking his mind.

"I will! I going to tell you exactly how I feel because I'm fucking tired of this! It's not fair to us to be putting in all this fucking effort for nothing! It's like you take leaps back whenever you do something that isn't against us like a fucking idiot! We changed. Why can't you!?" And besides, you're responsible for us feeling like this in the first place because of your stupid rumour starting! Why do we have to fight everything!? Why won't you just tell us everything!? How much do you plan to leave us out of!? It's not fair! Fine, you can not like us, but how selfish can you be!? Look at everything, Bu-" Bruce explodes, shouting before he stops himself short as something seems to click.

"Look at everything, Bucky. What?" Sam asks, confused all of them reeling from Bruce's rant

"I'm done," Tony growls and spins to stalk off.

"No, you're not," Bucky snaps at him.

"You don't get to tell me what to do! You started this, Barnes! This your fault, not mine!" Tony yells at him, and Bucky sighs, knowing they're about to run in circles again

"I already told you it isn't!" Bucky barks back at him and gets off the loveseat.

"It fucking is!" Tony yells, frustrated, and throws his hands up

"Bucky, what?" Steve stresses, looking between Bruce and Bucky

"I think I figured something out," Bruce says slowly, unsure of his own words as Bucky and Tony fight in the background.

"Like?" Natasha asks him, everyone taking a break from the arguing behind them

"You are out of your fucking mind! All of you! Everything has been your fault! They only do something if you do! There for your fault! I didn't want to be here! I'm here because of fucking you!" Tony screams, finally blowing up in anger more so than ever before

"Didn't" Clint catches all of them watching the fight again

"That's not fair, and you know it! You have as big of a part in this as I do! Stop blaming me for everything! I didn't bring you here, and I sure ain't fucking stopping you from fucking leaving! If you really wanted to, you would have fucking walked out already!" Bucky yells back at him

"Do you think it's that fucking easy!? I can't! I can't fucking do anything for fucks sake! I can't even leave the front door without a ban on it! I don't have a choice unless I want everyone to watch my every step! If Nick tells me to stay, then I fucking stay! Don't make leaving sound so fucking easy!" Tony screams at him, and they note Tony calls Fury by Nick, who has a very large family to it

"I think we need to stop this and try again later," Sam says, all of them getting more tense as they watch

"Guys!" Steve snaps, getting up himself, ready to stop this

'Wait, just wait a second," Natasha says, grabbing his wrist.

"Nothing about you is easy, Tony! You can damn well do as you fucking please but then stop fucking dragging us into it! You've made yourself the world's fucking problem! Do you want to be selfish? Fine, but do it on your own goddamn time! See if we fucking care! I'm done trying with you! I don't even know why I played alone in the first place! Hell, you can't even trust yourself. Why did I think you would ever trust us!" Bucky yells back, lying just a little, but it's the heat of the moment, so you can't blame him

"Can't trust you!? Does it fucking look like I don't trust you!? I let you see an episode! I let you touch me! I let you do everything fucking thing! Do you have any idea how stupid that was of me!? When have I not trusted you!?" Tony screams again

"Then why are you being so damn difficult!?" Bucky barks at him, frustrated

"Why are you so goddamn persistent!?" Tony snaps back, still very heated

"Because we fucking care for some reason," Bucky snaps

"That's not fair!" Tony yells

"How is that not fair!? How the fuck is me and the others caring about you not fair!?" Bucky shouts, pissed off by the audacity

"Because!" Tony snaps, and the others bounce between them like they are watching a tennis match

"Because what!?" Bucky throws back at him

"Because you're not supposed to!" Tony yells at him

"How the fuck do I just not care!? I have every right to fucking care! You don't get to say you trust me when you can't even answer me properly!" Bucky shouts before Tony can continue his argument

"Ooh," Clint says softly like it's a soap opera hell; even Steve is getting invested in it.

"And what if I don't want to answer!? Then what!? Tell me, Barnes, or does my choice even fucking matter!?" Tony snaps, dragging Bucky's last name with some resentment

"How can you, of all fucking people, not have an answer to this shit!? If you can't answer, how do we know if it's true or not!? How do I know you're not lying now!? How can I fucking trust you!?" Bucky snaps, emphasizing the I

"How am I supposed to prove it then!? I don't have a fucking answer, you moron!" Tony argues back loudly

"That's your problem; you're the one with something to prove!" Bucky barks back at him

"I don't have anything to prove!" Tony barks back at him

"Then why are you still arguing with me!?" Bucky shouts

"Why do I have to prove it any more than I already have!?" Tony shouts, not letting this get dropped

"Because you can't prove you're not lying!" Bucky shouts

"How the hell do I prove it? And why should I have to?" Tony snaps, and yep, circles on circles

"You don't! But until you can answer the fucking questions, I don't trust you," Bucky growls at him, and Sam almost gasps a little, hearing it.

"You can't trust me!? YOU can't trust ME!? What the fuck is that? I'm the one who shouldn't trust you!" Tony snaps at the outrageous twist

"I think we're done here," Bucky says, tired of going in circles and ready to punch something or someone.

"Done? I get to say when we're done because I'm not at fault!" Tony snaps, and Clint just about bangs his head on the table as it circles around again

"I don't even care anymore," Bucky grinds out, getting colder.

"Oh, I can't fucking do this anymore," Tony growls, palms tightly pressing against his forehead, the M.V. still tightly gripped in hand. He'd been waving it around since he tends to agree with his hands.

"Then we're done," Bucky says coldly, uncrossing his arms and ready to walk away from this whole mess.

"Well," Bruce says, clearing his throat awkwardly. All of them want to run away now.

"Yeah, I think it's time," Clint says, a little uneasy.

"Bu-" Steve says but stops when Tony's hand blindly reaches out and grabs Bucky, who starts walking past him.

"What was that?" Natasha says slowly

"Nothing," Tony growls, using his free hand to snatch back his other one, holding it tightly

"But you just," Steve says. Whether Tony wanted it to happen or not, he reached out.

"I did nothing," Tony hisses angrily at him.

"We'll talk later, Stark," Bucky says

"Fine," Tony snarls, looking down. "You want to try and fix it fine," Tony adds.

"Teams fight," Sam says, trying to be helpful.

"Just to be clear, I wasn't the one who broke it, so I damn well won't be the one to try and fix this," Tony snaps before storming off, his mind betraying him and screaming that it's his fault, and he has to fix it.

It's part of why he's leaving now before the words finally force their way out of his mouth and he says something he'll regret. Tony can hear Clint saying, 'So we'll try and be friends again?' but he pretends he doesn't. They weren't ever friends, maybe on the path to being, but they weren't yet. His head is killing him, and his hands are getting worse again. The heat of the moment no longer helped him warm them up. Tony makes it halfway back to his room when he hears someone chasing after him, and against his better judgment, he stops, and half turns to see who it is. He's surprised it was Bucky, after all. After the fight, Tony was sure Bucky would need to blow off the anger on something. Bucky doesn't stop until he's in front of Tony, and they look at each other for a long, cold, frustrated moment.

"Barnes!" Tony snaps as Bucky grabs him by his sleeved wrist, dragging him back to the others.

He doesn't like it but won't fight Bucky right now. The chance of him getting punched is awfully high still. Grumbling and growling, Tony lets himself be dragged back. He sticks the M.V. in and takes a few hits from it, trying to ease what's going on in his head and body. Once they exit the hall, Bucky lets go, but only so he can grab Tony by the collar and drag him the rest of the way to the loveseat. Bucky parks him on the seat and then sits down next to him, getting a few very quiet giggles as the team relaxes a bit. Once he's on the loveseat, though, Tony begrudgingly slouches down and gets more comfortable, taking a drag and letting it out slowly after ten seconds. He kicks Bucky the second the teen sits down next to him, and this time, he gets to kick him as hard as he wants.

"Give me your hand," Bucky says, just as cold and frustrated as Tony. As he holds out his hand expectantly, he wants to confirm what he felt earlier.

"No," Tony growls, bringing more of his body away from Bucky and pulling up his hood

"I go the lights," Sam says, and Tony glares at him but doesn't stop him either.

"Give me your damn hand," Bucky grinds out. It is a very big risk to touch Tony skin to skin right now.

"Why!?" Tony snaps at him as the others relax and get comfortable again

'Just give me the fucking hand," Bucky growls and grabs one, and it was easy with Tony's reaction time being so fucked right now.

"So?" Bruce asks him, curious as to why Bucky is doing this.

"Feel," Bucky says, offering it to Bruce as Tony kicks him again.

"Stop being a jackass," Tony growls, but he can't lie. Bucky running hot is easing the coldness and ache in his hand.

"Tony," Bruce tsks softly. His hands were ice cold, and there was quite the lag in his hand twitching.

"It's not that bad," Tony grinds out, wanting to tip his head back but liking hiding behind his hood and hair.

"No more hiding his stuff if we want this to work out and stay on the track we're on," Bruce says, sitting back down after he had half rising to lean over and reach Tony's hand.

"I'm not," Tony huffs, which you know he's technically not.

"Okay, but words, man, let's try using words," Sam tells him.

Tony rolls his eyes a little but tips his head up a little more as he blows out another hit gently. It's going to be a while before he'd say anything, and right now, it's going be a while for many things, thanks to his mother showing up and backtracking their progress. He doesn't know why she seemed so desperate this time; usually, he has a lot more time between harassment and her showing up. Maybe she saw the team as a bigger threat to finally taking his way, and perhaps he needed to give them more credit. If Phil hadn't stopped her and his head hadn't been such a mess, he would have helped her and gone with her. And no one would have been able to stop him, which only adds to the self-loathing and guilt. She's his problem, not theirs, and he's going to have to take it more seriously to prevent this from happening again. It would be his fault if something happened to them, even if he wasn't against them. There's no predicting himself anymore that he disappeared a long time ago, but he can protect them from her.

So Tony stays quiet and lets Bucky keep his hand, even covering it with his other hand as if he could warm them up. The M.V. helps, and their chatter distracts him but also keeps him present and with them. The grounding isn't hurting, either. It's helping him with the grain fog, and he can think a little more clearly.