Ironman 3
"Sir, I believe young Peter is in distress." a voice pulled him out of his own panicked state. He had just woke up from a nightmare of his own, trying to get his breathing under control.
"Got it, J." he choked out, taking a deep breath, putting on a brave face and heading to his son's room. He paused outside the door really wishing that Natasha was home, before he walked in. His heart sped up even faster at the sight on his son crying in the fetal position. He walked over quietly and sat down next to the small boy.
"Petey, wake up bud." he said softly, barely keeping his voice from breaking. He set his hand gently on his son's shoulder and watched as his eyes blinked open slowly.
"Dad!" his son gasped, sitting up, launching into Tony's arms. Something in him calmed at the feeling of his son safe in his arms.
"Bad dream, bug?" Tony asked quietly, running his hands through Peter's hair. He felt his son nod his head in between sniffles.
"Wanna talk about it?" he asked again, pulling Peter away so he could wipe the tears from his cheeks. Peter shrugged.
"Just the aliens again. Where's Mama?" Peter asked then, hiccuping. Tony let out a sigh.
"She's at work, remember? But she's okay, I promise. No aliens." Tony said, pulling the boy onto his lap, and pressing a kiss to his head. Peter sniffed some more, a few tears leaking out of his eyes. Tony felt his heart break a little bit, which lead him to his next decision.
"Why don't we call Mom, huh?" Tony asked, and Peter brightened excitedly.
"Can we?" Peter asked hopefully, and Tony nodded. He usually never called Natasha on her missions, but he was feeling selfish and wanted to hear her voice too.
"You heard him J, try and get a hold of Tasha." Tony said, helping Peter get settled back under the covers.
"Tony? Is everything okay?" Natasha's voice filled the room. Her voice was normal as though she was asking about the weather, but Tony could hear the undercurrent of worry in her voice.
"Everything is good. You secure? We've got a kid who had a bad dream here." Tony said, hoping she could talk. He heard some shuffling on the other line, before she spoke again, this time quieter.
"I'm secure, but Clint can only cover for me for a few minutes. Pete?" she said, her voice growing softer.
"Hey Mama." Peter said, with a hiccup.
"I heard you had a bad dream? Aliens again?" she asked, voice filled with worry. Tony could feel his insides uncoil as he listened to her voice, his heart finally calming down after his own nightmare.
"Yeah. Are you okay Mama?" Peter said, his voice quiet with his childlike worry. He heard a little puff of air from Natasha, before she replied.
"All good bug. Uncle Clint's taking good care of me I promise. Now why don't you get back to sleep, and let me talk to Dad on his phone for a minute okay?" she asked, and he could hear something in her tone he couldn't quite pinpoint. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, ready to switch the call over when Peter was finished.
"Okay, Mama. Love you." Peter said, sleep already winning over his body. He curled up under his blankets, as Natasha replied.
"Love you too, baby. Tony?" she said, and Tony switched the call over. He pressed a quick kiss to his already sleeping son's head, and headed to his room.
"Hey Tash." He said when he had closed the door.
"How bad are they?" she asked, her voice all business. He furrowed his eyebrows a bit in confusion.
"How bad are what?" he asked.
"The nightmares you're having." she replied simply, and Tony felt his jaw drop.
"I don't have any idea what you are talking about." he tried, and he could almost hear her eye roll on the other end.
"Don't lie to me. You never call me on missions, even for Peter. And I could hear the strain in your voice." she deadpanned. Tony sighed.
"It's not that big of a deal Tash. I'm fine." he said, trying hard to believe his own words. Natasha sighed in response.
"Well look, love, I have to get back. But please take care of yourself. I'll be home in a couple days. And Clint says he wants to take Peter for a few days, so we can talk about it then, okay?" Natasha said, her voice soft and comforting. Tony closed his eyes and let it calm his frayed nerves. He let out a sigh.
"Okay. Be safe, Tasha." he said, his voice pleading.
"I always am, love. Take care of yourself." she said, and the line clicked off. Tony let out a sigh, and headed to the workshop. If he couldn't sleep, he could at least make sure he was prepared to keep his family safe.
---
"Come on Pete! We are going to be late meeting Rhodey." Tony called for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. They were supposed to be meeting Rhodey for lunch, and they were running late. Neither of them had slept well the night before, which probably explained the sluggish morning.
"I'm coming!" Peter called, rushing in with his backpack tangled on one arm. Tony helped him fix it before lifting him into the car and hurrying out of the driveway.
At the restaurant, he watched Peter color as the news reports on Rhodey's new suit played in the background. He raised his eyebrows at his friend when they mentioned his new name.
"It tested well with focus groups, alright?" the man defended and Tony smirked, glancing down to make sure Peter was still occupied.
"I am Iron Patriot..." he mocked in a deep voice. Rhodey rolled his eyes.
"Listen, War Machine was a little too aggressive, alright? This sends a better message." he defended, and Tony let out a sigh. He could be right about that, but he wasn't about to admit it to his friend. He might be a little biased, but War Machine sounded better.
"So what's really goin' on? With the Mandarin. Seriously, can we talk about this guy?" he asked quietly, knowing Peter was too busy coloring across the table to hear him.
"It's classified information, Tony." he raised his eyebrows at his friend again, before Rhodey sighed. "Okay, there have been nine bombings." Tony felt a small panic rise in his chest, he eyed Peter again, who still seemed oblivious.
"Nine." he muttered in disbelief.
"The public only knows about three. Here's the thing, nobody can ID a device. There's no bomb casings." Rhodey said, and he could hear the exhaustion in his friend's voice. He sat up a bit straighter.
"You know I can help, just ask. I got a ton of new tech, I got a prehensile, I got a...I got a new bomb disposal. Catches explosions mid-air." he said, desperate to do something. Rhodey narrowed his eyes at him, before he too glanced at the still distracted Peter.
"When's the last time you got a good night's sleep?" his friend asked then, concerned. Tony bristled, not wanting to answer that question.
"Einstein slept three hours a year. Look what he did?" he decided to say back, and Rhodey wasn't amused.
"People are concerned about you, Tony. I'm concerned about you." he said, and Tony knew Natasha and him must have been discussing him behind his back. Either that or he had been talking to Pepper.
"You're gonna come at me like that?" he said, voice slightly harsh.
"No. No, look, I'm not trying to be a dic..." he trailed off, as he noticed Peter looking between them curiously. "...tator." his friend finished lamely. Tony snorted.
"What's up, bug?" he asked, turning to Peter instead. Peter slid his paper over to Tony.
"Can you fix my drawing of your suit. I can't get it right." his son said, pointing at what Tony thought was a pretty good rendition of his suit.
"Sure thing, Pete." he said, picking up a crayon, and noticing as Rhodey leaned in closer and started whispering. He smiled at Peter so he wouldn't think anything was wrong.
"Listen, the Pentagon is scared. After what happened in New York... aliens, come on. They need to look strong. Stopping the Mandarin is priority, but it's not..." Tony felt his heart quicken at the mention of New York, but he kept his focus on the drawing.
"It's not superhero business, I get it." he choked out, it was getting harder to breathe suddenly.
"No, it's not, quite frankly. It's American business." Rhodey said a bit harshly, as if he was impatient with Tony. But Tony didn't think too much about it, because he was starting to feel lightheaded.
"That's why I said I...got it." he said, gasping a bit. He gave Peter another shaky smile, but he was getting worried with how hard he was breathing. He covered his eyes for a moment with his hand, hoping it would help, but to no avail.
"Are you okay?" Rhodey asked then, startling Tony, causing him to break his son's crayon.
"I broke the crayon." Tony said dumbly, the lightheaded feeling hitting him full force.
"Are you okay, Dad?" he heard Peter ask. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his earpiece that connected to JARVIS, placing it shakily in his ear.
"Take it easy. Tony..." his friend said, placing a gentle but firm hand on his shoulder, grounding him.
"Check the heart, check the...check the...is it the brain?" he then said, tapping his ear, hoping JARVIS could explain what was going on. He saw Rhodey stiffen beside him, before turning to distract Peter.
"No sign of cardiac anomaly or unusual brain activity." JARVIS spoke in his ear, which made no sense.
"Okay, so I was poisoned?" he asked then, still breathless. He ignored the alarmed look Rhodey sent his way, and tried to slow his breathing.
"My diagnosis is that you've experienced a severe anxiety attack." JARVIS said then, and Tony paused.
"Me?" he asked incredulously. He was about to say more when he felt a small tug on his shirt. He looked down to see Peter staring at him with fear in his eyes.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice small. Tony let out a breath, feeling slightly calmer, like JARVIS' diagnosis shocked the panic right out of him. He pulled Peter onto his lap and pressed a kiss to his hair.
"Yeah, Petey, I'm good. Let's finish your drawing huh?" he said, setting Peter back down in his seat, and pulling a new box of crayons from his backpack. Peter seemed content with this answer, and nodded, becoming focused on his drawings once more. He watched him for a bit, until he felt calmer, before turning to Rhodey.
"What was that man?" his friend whispered worriedly. Tony shook his head.
"J said it was an anxiety attack." he admitted, having learned his lesson about keeping stuff from his family from the palladium poisoning incident. Rhodey nodded gravely.
"Have you ever had one before? Does Nat know?" Rhodey asked him. Tony glanced at Peter, who still seemed content, before answering.
"No I haven't. And I'll tell her." he said, not taking his eyes of Peter. Rhodey gave him a sigh, before squeezing his shoulder.
"You better. Or I will." he said. Tony nodded, letting out another shaky breath at the mention of his wife, wishing she was home already.
---
"Tony?" she called, walking into the lab, looking around in concern. She felt unease creep in, until she spotted her husband sitting at one of his tables. He was bent over and scribbling equations like mad onto a piece of paper in front of him. Which wasn't a good sign, seeing as her husband only used paper and pencil when he was frustrated.
"Tony?" she tried again, coming to stand next to him. He started and looked up, arms out in front of him like he was under attack. She gave him a moment to get his bearings, and once he realized it was her, he dropped his hands with a sigh.
"Tash?" he asked, voice scratchy. She furrowed her brows in concern, as he stood up to stand in front of her.
"Yes, love. I'm home." she said quietly, and a relieved grin broke across his face as he pulled her into a hug. She could feel him trembling slightly, and she frowned. When he pulled away she ran an assessing look over his features. There were dark bags under both of his eyes, looking as though he had broken his nose. His cheekbones were sticking out more than usual, and his eyes were a bit hollower. His skin was pale, and his eyes had a glassy sheen to them.
"Baby." she whispered, holding up her hands to cup his face. He let out a tired sigh and closed his eyes, leaning into her touch.
"I thought I told you to take care of yourself." she reprimanded softly, though she wanted to be stern, but it didn't seem like that was what he needed at the moment. She watched as her husband took a few shaky breaths and swallowed a few times. When he finally looked at her, he was staring at her with tumultuous brown eyes.
"I'm a piping hot mess." was all he said, a failed attempt at humor when his voice cracked halfway through. She nodded, taking his hands and leading him to the couch in the corner of his lab.
"Okay, tell me what's wrong." she said, making sure he could hear the no argument tone in her voice, despite her whispering. He turned his gaze down to his hands.
"Nothing's been the same since New York." he finally choked out, she squeezed his hand, but stayed quiet so he could continue.
"You experience things and then they're over, and you still can't explain them? Gods, aliens, other dimensions? I'm just a man in a can." he said, a slightly bitter tone in his voice, causing her heart to clench.
"The only reason I haven't cracked up is probably because Peter needs me, you need me. Which is great. I love you. I'm lucky. But honey, I can't sleep. You go on missions, I put Peter to bed and I come down here. I do what I know. I tinker. I.." he cuts off, swallowing thickly. "The threat is imminent. And I have to protect the two things that I can't live without. That's you. Peter." he stops, looking like he wouldn't be able to say any more without breaking down.
She stays silent for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to approach this. He was vulnerable, and she knew when he was like this he felt weak, and he hated that. It was a very sensitive situation.
"What brought this on?" she whispered, running her thumb over the knuckles of his hands, which her still held in hers. His eyes tracked the movement for a minute, before he continued.
"The wormhole." he said, his voice choked. She felt her heart skip a beat in her chest, but she pushed the worry down, and focused on the way her husband's breath was hitching in his chest. A panic attack, she realized. Rhodey had warned her, but she hadn't known how bad it really was.
She pulled her husband into her arms, and started swaying them gently back and forth, shushing him gently. They stayed that way for what felt like hours, before Tony finally calmed down. He pulled away, and patiently let her wipe the tears from his face.
"Whatever this is, we can work through it together. You just have to tell me." she said softly, and he nodded.
"I know. I'm sorry. It's just it didn't seem bad before, and now with the Mandarin stuff..." he started saying, but she held up a hand to stop him.
"What Mandarin stuff?" she asked. He raised his eyebrows, but pulled up a hologram with all of the details.
"I thought you knew." he said quietly, watching as she quickly took in all of the information from the pages. When she was done, she let out a shaky sigh, and turned back to him. He still looked wrecked, but there was a bit of relief in his eyes as he looked at her.
"Okay. I'm going to call Clint, have him take Peter. That way, whatever this is, he's safe." she said, and Tony nodded, dropping his head into the crook of her shoulder.
"I'm so happy you're back." he said quietly. She smiled softly, rubbing his back slowly, as she sent a text to Clint.
---
"Thanks for doing this." Tony said as he handed Clint the last bag for Peter. Clint scoffed.
"What do you mean? I love the little squirt, I've been meaning to steal him from you anyway." he said, winking at the boy, who was currently standing behind Tony's legs. He smiled as Peter let out a small giggle.
"Seriously, thank you Clint." he said again, hoping the archer could hear the gratefulness in his voice.
"Just because we are grateful, doesn't mean you can teach Peter archery." a voice chimed from behind him, as Natasha came strolling over. He felt the usual calm rush over him at her presence. Clint spluttered for a moment, before rolling his eyes.
"You guys are no fun. I'll be in the car kiddo." he said, directing the last bit at Peter, who nodded with a smile.
"Are you sure you don't mind hanging out at Clint's house for a bit?" Tony asked, kneeling down in front of his son. "I feel like all we ever do is send you away." he said, a rock sinking to the bottom of his stomach. But to his surprise Peter just smiled.
"You only send me away when you do superhero stuff, so it's not ALL the time. And I like Uncle Clint, he's funny." Peter said, patting Tony's hand reassuringly. Tony gaped at his son for a minute, while Natasha snickered behind him.
"When did you get so mature?" he teased, and Peter giggled.
"When I turned 8, old man." he shot back with a giggle, and Tony couldn't help the surprised laugh that came out of his mouth. Natasha smiled, and knelt down next to him, so she was at Peter's height too.
"Well, stop growing up. I don't like it." she said, blowing a raspberry into his cheek. He scrunched up his nose and pushed her away.
"Mama, I know my name is Peter, but I'm not actually Peter Pan." he said, with an attitude that could match a teenager. Now it was his wife's turn to gape. Tony laughed.
"Okay Petey, stop sassing your mother. Give me a hug." he said, and Peter giggled before launching into his arms. He squeezed him tight, then let him go, and watched as he did the same with Natasha.
"Okay, be good for Clint. We will see you in a couple days." he said, helping Peter into the car.
"Yes, sir! Love you Dad, love you Mama." he said, waving at them through the open window.
"Love you, bug." they both said, waving to him too, standing side by side until the car was out of view.
"Okay, where do we start?" Natasha asked, turning to him.
---
He let out a shaky breath as he sped away from the hospital. Happy was in there. Happy was hurt, and it was his fault. He should have told Happy not to go after those guys. He should have known better. He should have protected him. And maybe giving the world his address on national TV wasn't a good idea, but he wasn't really thinking straight.
He was almost home when his phone rang, and JARVIS automatically put it through, not even giving him a chance to ignore it.
"I go into work for one hour, and you are giving our address to a terrorist?" Natasha's angry voice filled the car. Tony sighed.
"I know. It was stupid. I'm sorry." he said, hoping if he jumped right to the apology it would appease her.
"No Tony, sorry isn't going to cut it. You're just lucky Peter isn't home. I know you feel guilty about Happy, but that's not your fault. And going all crazy and threatening a terrorist? Not your best move." she replied, voice tight. Guilt pooled in his gut at what he had just done, but he hadn't thought, he just reacted.
"I know. Tasha, I just..." he said, voice shaky and he could hear his wife let out a tired sigh.
"I know Tony. I know. It's fine, we'll figure it out. Pepper is on her way to the mansion right now. She is going to help you pack and hide any evidence of me and Peter, then you guys are going to go to a safe house okay?" his wife said then, voice all business. He nodded, before remembering she couldn't see him.
"Yeah. We can put all your stuff in my suit storage, no one can get in there." he mused out loud, forming a plan in his head.
"Okay, good idea. Now go. Listen to Pepper. And be safe. Promise me you won't do anything drastic." she said then, and he could hear the slight tremble of fear in her voice.
"I'll try. I love you." he said as he pulled up to the mansion, already spotting Pepper's car, and a few news helicopters.
"I love you too. I'll meet you guys at the safe house in a couple hours." Natasha said, before the line went dead. He let out a sigh and entered the house.
Lucky for him, he managed to get all of his family's stuff hidden away, and got a little work done, before his mansion was blown to hell. At least he got Pepper out safe.
---
I know you said not to do anything stupid. But this time it wasn't my fault. I got Pepper out, she's with a woman I met years ago, Maya Hansen, they should both be safe. Pepper should know where the safe house is, so she will be there. But I can't come quite yet. I need to find this guy. You gotta stay safe. That's all I know. I know you are going to want to follow me, but baby if something happens, you need to be there for Peter. Stay safe, I'll find you when this is all over. I mean I know you probably won't listen, but I had to try. I love you. I just stole a poncho from a wooden Indian.
He slumped down on the couch in the shed he broke into to, catching his breath. He turned to the Iron man suit sitting next to him.
"You happy now?" he asked, not knowing if he was aiming it at the suit or himself. He was definitely in a mess. He hoped Natasha would listen to him, and let him handle this, and stay safe. But he also knew she wouldn't. He let out a sigh, and moved to sit at what looked like a workbench.
"Freeze! Don't move." a small voice said, he looked up slowly and saw a kid who looked a bit older than Peter, standing in the doorway aiming a toy gun at him. Tony held back a smile.
"You got me. Nice potato gun. Barrel's a little long. Between that and the wide gauge, it's gonna diminish your FPS." he said, hoping he could earn the boy's trust by treating him like an adult. It usually worked with Peter. The boy glared at him, and aimed his gun up high, and shot a piece of glass off a high shelf. It was impressive. "And now you're out of ammo." Tony said, watching as the boy realized his mistake.
"What's that thing on your chest?" the boy asked next, eyes drifting to the blue light showing through his shirt.
"It's an electromagnet. You should know, you've got a box of them right here." he said, tapping a box on what he figured was the kid's worktable, if the scattered potato gun pieces were any indication.
"What does it power?" the kid asked curiously, all past trepidation gone. Tony stood up and stepped to the side, shining the desk lamp on the suit behind him. He smiled a bit as he watched the kid's face drop in amazement.
"That...that's... Is that Iron Man?" the kid asked hesitantly, moving closer. Tony had to fight down a pang in his chest, when Harley's reaction reminded him so much of his son.
"Technically, I am." he replied, watching as the kid hid his amazement, and looked at him with a deadpan expression.
"Technically, you're dead." the kid replied, handing him a newspaper, before heading to the couch. He looked down at the paper, and saw that he was in fact being presumed dead. He felt his worry spike, hoping Clint had enough sense to keep Peter from the news. He was sure Tasha had warned him by now. He shook away his thoughts, and turned back to the kid who was studying the suit.
"A valid point." he said.
"What happened to him?" Harley asked, still admiring the suit, but noticing the damage. Tony winced a bit at the work cut out for him.
"Life. I built him, I take care of him, I'll fix him." he said, sitting down on a chair, keeping his eyes on the boy.
"Like a mechanic?" the boy asked, a hint of excitement in his voice, which reminded him of how Peter sounded whenever Tony showed him something new in the lab.
"Yeah." he answered, figuring being a mechanic was easier to explain. The kid straightened a bit and turned to him, a gleam in his eyes.
"Well, if I was building Iron Man and War Machine..." the kid started.
"It's Iron Patriot now." he interrupted, somewhat bitterly. The kid beamed.
"That's way cooler!" he exclaimed, and Tony scoffed playfully.
"No, it's not." he said, petulantly. The kid just looked at him in amusement before continuing.
"Anyways, I would have added in um... the retro..." the kid said, starting to struggle with remembering the words.
"Retro-reflective panels?" Tony helped curiously, and the kid nodded enthusiastically.
"To make him stealth mode." he agreed, nodding his head.
"You want a stealth mode?" Tony asked curiously, actually impressed at how smart this kid seemed to be. He must have broken into the right garage.
"Cool, right?" the kid said then, and Tony could feel his excitement. Tony smiled.
"That's actually a good idea. Maybe I'll build one." he said, having to stop himself from starting schematics in his mind. He watched as the kid started playing with the armor's hand, and winced a bit when he broke a finger off.
"Oops..." the kid said, looking at him with a slight fear in his eyes. Tony shrugged patiently, being used to broken things with Peter.
"Don't worry about it, I'll fix it." he said with a smile, not missing how the kid let out a breath of relief when he wasn't mad. "So, uh, who's home?" he asked then, deciding it was time for a game plan, and if this kid was as smart as he seemed, he could help.
"Well, my mom already left for the diner and dad went to 7-Eleven to get scratchers. I guess he won,'cause that was six years ago." the kid answered, bitterly, rubbing his nose. This took Tony a bit by surprise, but he swallowed it down and gave the kid a sympathetic smile.
"Mm. Gotta hate when that happens. Sorry kid. You wanna help me out a bit?" Tony said, hoping he could distract the kid from his sucky dad. The kid nodded with excitement.
"Here's what I need: a laptop, a digital watch, a cell phone, the pneumatic actuator from your bazooka over there, a map of town, a big spring, and a tuna fish sandwich." Tony said then, watching as the kid nodded to keep up with him.
"What's in it for me?" the kid asked then, and Tony smiled, studying the kid for a few moments.
"Salvation. What's his name?" Tony asked, knowing he hit the mark when the kid hunched in on himself a bit. He had enough experience with both him and Peter to know exactly what the kid was going through.
"Who?" the kid asked, feigning ignorance.
"The kid that bullies you at school, what's his name?" he said then, cutting to the chase. The kid's face dropped.
"How'd you know that?" he asked quietly, clearly not wanting to talk about it, so Tony let it go.
"I got just the thing." he said, moving to his suit and opening a compartment. He pulled out what he was looking for and held it in front of the kid's face. "This is a pinata for a cricket. I'm kidding, it's a very powerful weapon. Point it away from your face, press the button on top. It discourages bullying. Non-lethal, just to cover one's ass. Deal? Deal? What'd you say?" he asked, smiling as he moved his hand around so the kid couldn't grab it.
"Deal." the kid said, smiling when Tony gave him the object.
"What's you're name?" he asked then, realizing he hadn't asked.
"Harley. And you're..." the kid asked politely, and Tony gave him a smile.
"The mechanic. Tony." he said, and then he looked at the kid for a moment. "You know what keeps going through my head? Where's my sandwich?" he says, feeling something warm in his chest when Harley grinned up at him.
---
She rushed through the door of the safe house, and was met with Pepper and who she assumed was the Maya Hansen Tony mentioned. She ignored their questioning gazes and went to check all the exits and the perimeter. Once she was done and considered them safe, for the moment, she walked back into the room.
"Have you heard from Tony?" Pepper asked, as soon as she walked into the room. She ignored her and turned to Maya.
"You have five seconds to explain to me who you are, or you are going to regret it." Natasha said, her voice cold. Maya looked at her up and down with a glint of fear in her eyes, but Natasha didn't care. She saw Pepper stand up and approach her cautiously from the side.
"Nat, it's okay. She was coming to warn us that her boss works for the Mandarin." she said, softly, placing a gentle hand on Natasha's shoulder. She narrowed her eyes at the woman, before turning to Pepper.
"Tony left me a message. He's following a lead. I have to go see if I can help him, but I know he would want me to make sure you were safe." she said, and Pepper slumped in relief.
"I knew he would be fine. Okay. I was going to take Maya to my apartment, lay low for a while, can you let me know if you find Tony?" Pepper asked, and Natasha narrowed her eyes again.
"You're at a safe house and you want to leave?" she asked Pepper incredulously. Pepper for her part did look a little reprimanded.
"Right we will stay here." she said, and Natasha nodded. She reached into her pocket and brought out a small device. She glanced at Maya for a minute, before pulling Pepper into the next room.
"Take this, if she turns on you, press the button and it will track your location. Put it in your bra." Natasha said, and Pepper rolled her eyes but nodded.
"You really think she's on their side?" Pepper asked, and Natasha sighed.
"I don't know, but you can never be sure. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to go try and find my husband." she said, and walked out of the house, without looking back.
She knew Tony was going to kill her when he found out she left them alone, especially when she learned that Maya did turn on them, and her boss took Pepper, before Natasha could stop it. She could only blame herself, she let herself get compromised, her fear for her husband taking priority over her training. Now she just hoped she could find Tony and right her mistake.
---
"How many suits did you actually have?" Natasha asked the next night, after the entire Mandarin fiasco happened, and he blew up his suits. He had spent all day fixing Pepper, before finally trudging upstairs to where Natasha was waiting for Clint to arrive with Peter. He sent her a guilty look before answering, turning his attention back to the elevator. They had flown straight to the tower in New York, having lost the Malibu house.
"42..." he said quietly. Natasha nodded her head. His PTSD had been worse than she thought, and she had been leaving him alone for missions. She felt a twinge of guilt in her stomach.
"I'm going to tell Fury I'm done running missions." she said, instead of commenting on his suits. He started and turned his attention to her.
"Why?" he asked, eyes wide in surprise. She gave him a sad smile.
"Because I'm realizing that this is where I need to be." she said, pulling him down so he was laying his head in her lap. He looked up at her with misty eyes, and furrowed his eyebrows.
"You don't need to do that for me. I'm fine." he said, but it wasn't very convincing. She ran her fingers through his hair gently a few times. She felt something warm in her chest when he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. She stared down at him lovingly, before leaning down and pressing a kiss to his forehead. He scrunched his nose, and opened his eyes to look at her, and she could see the love he had for her reflecting in them.
"I know. I want to. I don't want to be away from this anymore." she said quietly, and he brushed a kiss to her knuckles with a serene smile.
"I think that would be great. I miss having you around all the time." Tony said after a few moments, and she could hear the twinge of sadness in his voice. She nodded.
"Then it's settled. I'm done with missions." she said then, and she knew she had made the right decision when Tony graced her with a blinding smile. It was her favorite kind of smile, because it was the one he reserved for just her and Peter, the one that held no trace of the mask he kept for the media.
"I love you." she whispered, before their quiet moment was ruined by the elevator, announcing the presence of her son and idiot best friend. Tony winked at her, before sitting back up and scooping Peter into his arms. She smiled at the scene and turned to Clint.
"Thanks for watching him, Birdbrain." she said, giving him a hug. He shrugged.
"No problem. But you owe me, next time, I don't want to be left out of all the fun." her friend said with a wink. She rolled her eyes, and turned back to her family.
---
BLACK WIDOW AND IRON MAN WILL RETURN