Setting things up
"Damn," Sam was the first to recover after Nat told Steve possibly the most life changing news of his life, "That's insane.”
The four rogue avengers were seated on the communal table located in the middle of the quinjet. Wanda, with wide unbelieving eyes, covered her mouth with her hand. Sam shook his head in disbelief, not knowing what to make of this news.
Nat had wanted to tell Steve this news in private, but he was adamant on not keeping secrets from the team. She wondered if his new found determination on openness that arose after Tony and his fight in Siberia, would survive after this discussion.
Nat looked over to the Captain, now outlaw. His mouth was agape and his eye widened, obviously not yet processing what Natasha had told him. Finally, his facial expression morphed into the one he wore when his best friend was revealed to be a deadly assassin.
“I have to go,” Steve stood up from the bolted down bar stool, utter confusion still written on his face, and rushed past Natasha, towards the cockpit.
Steve still didn’t know what to think of the news that Nat had shared with him. He had a son, made by his DNA, who Steve didn’t even know had existed. It seemed like Hydra was always messing with his life, first Bucky, now...this.
Steve hadn’t even seen a picture of the boy, his own flesh and blood, just caught his name and age, Peter Parker, a few months into 15. Steve was still a virgin, hadn’t even thought of the possibility of ever having kids.
He settled into the cockpit seat, staring at the expanse of blue spreading out as far as the horizon. The view reminded Steve of his last moments flying the Valkyrie, when what was right and wrong was clearly defined.
This whole situation, he didn’t know what to make of it. Tony, the guy who Steve had fought just 7 months prior, who used to be one of his best friends, now shared a kid with him. The thought made Steve confused and a little worried. He didn’t know science, so the thought of a human being being made from two men, was just… How?
Steve heard the sound of someone sitting down in the copilot seat. Sam, always the therapist, spoke, “Do you want to talk about it?”
Steve sighed, “I don’t quite know Sam,” he stared at the calming sea, “I don’t know.”
“Well do you want to meet him?” Sam’s eyebrows scrunched in worry. Steve had had so much shit thrown at him over the years. He worried about how his friend was coping with this news.
“I don’t know,” Steve sighed again, that brooding look appearing on his face, “Would that do any good? He probably doesn’t need me in his life.”
Sam nodded, ready to argue with his friend on how somebody would be lucky to have Captain America in their lives, but deciding not to add more tension to Steve’s mind. “Are you gonna tell Tony?”
Steve leaned forward and put his face in his hands, “He deserves to know Sam, I can’t lie to him again.”
“But you’re worried about what his reaction will be,” Sam finished.
Steve nodded, “We all saw the news, he’s and Pepper are now engaged. I don’t think he needs to learn that he has a 15 year old son he never knew about who is also my son, especially not after Siberia.”
“But Siberia happened because you didn’t think Tony needed to know what happened to his parents,” Sam’s voice wasn’t judgemental, just reasoning, “I think that the man deserves to know that he has a son.”
“Your right,” Steve stood up, “And the boy deserves to know too.” He started walking towards where Wanda and Nat were having a whispered conversation, with Sam trailing behind.
Ever since Siberia, when Tony and him had had a falling out because he kept the fact that Bucky had killed his parents from him, Steve had decided that keeping things close to his chest, in hopes of avoiding a fallout, was something he never wanted to do again. The person would eventually learn what Steve was keeping from them, and once they did, the fallout would be ten times worse.
Knowing that, Steve decided that the best course of action would be to tell everybody involved in this situation every detail. Of course Tony would experience the same confusion/panic/horror he was in right now, and the boy’s, Steve couldn’t even say son since he’d never met him, life would probably change, but it would be better for all of that stuff to happen now than later.
“Nat,” she turned to look at her friend whose eyes were set with determination, “Do you still have that safe house in Brooklyn?”
“Yeah, it’s ready for use Steve,” a sympathetic smile crossed Natasha’s face. Wanda gave Steve a similar look then turned to Nat, “Are we going to meet with Stark?”
“I’m going to ask Tony to meet us at the safe house, if that’s okay with you Nat. I don’t think he will turn us in and he deserves to know.”
Nat nodded, “That’s the best course of action.” Wanda, with a hopeful look on her face, asked, “Is Vision going to come with Stark?”
“I’ll ask Stark about it,” Steve walked to his closet located on the wall of the commune room, taking out a phone shaped package, “I’m sure he’ll want to bring backup once he knows that Sam, Nat, and you are going to be with me.”
“Are you sure you want to tell Stark this right now?” Sam asked with a worried expression on his face, “It’s been what, 10 minutes since you learned this life altering news. Maybe take a minute to come to terms with what Nat said.”
“Don’t worry Sam, I’ll be fine,” He speed walked to his room on the quinjet, leaving his team in the common area.
Wanda was hiding a smile, still horrified by yet another experiment the Hydra science team had committed, but happy that there was a chance she might see Vision again.
Nat was pressing the controls on the autopilot system in the quinjet, sending the plane to an abandoned airfield on the outskirts of Brooklyn. Like Wanda, she was also hopeful.
Peter Parker, or who Natasha knew as Spider-Man, might be the perfect tool to use in order to reunite the Avengers, the team she thought as family and still did. Or Steve might get mad at Tony for sending their 14 year old son to fight him. Either way, this meeting between two separate teams would be entertaining.
Sam hovered outside of Steve’s door, worried about his friend. He knew that Steve was distracting himself from properly reacting to this news by telling Tony and his own son this news.
As a therapist, Sam knew that Steve had a problem with bottling up his problems. He was never able to properly grieve any of his friends who died from the 40’s, constantly being whisked away to another fight. Sam would decide to let everything out...someday at least. Either way he’d be there for him.
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Steve tensed up as the phone rang, bracing himself for an inevitable awkward conversation. This would be his first time talking to Tony since Siberia. The first time he made contact with Tony since sending that letter and the connected burner phone.
Steve didn’t even know if Tony kept the phone. He didn’t even know if Tony and his relationship was salvageable. Regardless or not if their falling out was too big for them to form another friendship again, Steve had to try to at least tell Tony that they had a son together. He owed the man that much.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, someone picked up the phone, “Well what brings you to calling me after 7 months Cap?” Tony’s voice was joking, but Steve could sense the weight behind it. He assumed his former friend thought that Steve would only call if a world ending threat appeared.
Steve sighed, not knowing what to say. Finally he said, “Listen Tony, there’s no Avenger’s level threat, so you don’t have to worry about that, but Nat and I, we have to tell you something.”
Steve heard a sigh of relief, “Well that’s good,” Tony’s voice was hesitant, “What is so important that you specifically have to tell me?”
“It’s, It’s a long story. There’s a safehouse in Brooklyn the team and I are going to right now. We’ll tell you everything there.”
“Hmmm, that’s funny. Last time I met up with you, Siberia happened. Who’s on this team?”
“Bucky’s not going to be there,” Steve tensed up at the mention of Siberia and Bucky, “We have no intention of fighting you again, but if it makes you feel better, you can bring the other Avengers as backup.”
Tony seemed to be pondering Cap’s suggestion silently, so he continued, “This isn’t something I can tell you over the phone. It involves you, so I think you might want to know what Nat and I have to say.”
“Can’t say that I’m not busy, but if this thing is really that important and involves me then I’ll have to be there right?”
Steve nodded, forgetting for a second that Tony couldn’t see him. Finally he choked out, before he could stop himself, “And Tony, I’m sorry about Siberia-and you parents.”
Tony’s voice seemed to lower as he said, “Me too Cap,” before hanging up the phone.
Steve sighed in relief as he stored the phone back in its box, glad that that mentally exhausting call was over with. A huge weight was lifted from his shoulders. For the first time in 7 months, he had actually talked to Tony, made an effort to reconcile with him instead of mulling over the problem in his head and then fighting in missions to distract from his anxiety over the fight.
Tony and him may never have the same friendship they had as before, but they at least weren’t enemies anymore. Now, knowing that they had unwittingly created a kid together, Steve was sure that taking steps towards repairing their relationship was for everybody's benefit.