A Mess
She was curled up on the deck with a book when the black minivan pulled into her driveway.
Clint got out first, opening the back and Laura appeared, holding up her favorite lamp and a white trash bag over what she assumed was all her clothes that she’d left behind at the mansion.
He embraced her briefly before she unlocked the door for them and Laura kissed her cheek. “I’ll just take these things to your room?” Her friend asked, gazing at her cautiously, as if she might break. Which she actually thought she might.
Natasha nodded wordlessly, grabbing for the mail before trailing in behind them.
“Laura took a picture so she could set it up exactly like you want it,” Clint said as he placed a box on the floor next to her couch.
“Wow, you guys really thought of everything,” She commented, swallowing hard against the bile that stung her throat.
He placed his hands on his hips as he regarded her.
“Did you see him?” She asked without looking at him.
“Yeah,” he said softly.
“How is he?”
Clint sighed. “What do you mean, ‘how is he?’” He said. “It’s Stark. He’s a mess.”
She nodded as if that made her feel better, even though it didn’t, as she unwrapped a fancy looking envelope.
Clint nodded. “That Pepper and Happy’s wedding invitation?” He asked.
“Yup,” she replied tonelessly. “But I don’t see how I can go.”
“Yeah, I don’t think we’re going either,” he said, relief clear in his expression. “It’ll be better that way.”
Laura watched them silently from the hall next to the kitchen after she was finished unpacking Natasha’s room.
“Look,” Clint said, reaching out to lightly grip her shoulder. “I know it hurts. But Tasha…. maybe it’s all for the best….”
Her eyes narrowed and she set an icy glare on him. “Get out,” she said, her voice shaking with her sudden feeling of betrayal.
Laura rushed forward. “Nat, wait…”
“I said get out!” She shouted.
The Bartons exchanged a glance before wordlessly heading down the hall to the front door.
“Nat…” Clint turned back once he’d stepped through, but she slammed the door in his face.
She pressed her back into the door until she heard the van pull away, then she slowly sank down to the floor, burying her face in her knees.
XXXXX
The warm brown liquid burned his throat, but he gulped it down quickly before pouring another glass. He polished off that one just as quickly and reached for the bottle, but a strong metallic hand closed over his wrist.
He started to laugh, but that burned his throat too, and he looked over his shoulder, peering through blurred eyes. “Don’t you think you’re being a little dramatic?” He asked.
Rhodey shrugged in the War Machine suit. “You’re so drunk you didn’t even hear me come in, did you?”
He wrenching his hand away, wobbling a little at the sudden change in momentum. “I’m…. a little tipsy,” he slurred.
Rhodey’s faceplate retracted and he was frowning. “Think I’m gonna let you go down this road again?”
“Issss not up to youu,” Tony said, jabbing a finger in his metal chest.
“Man, what the hell are you doing?” Rhodey said, flicking his hand away. “You got a little baby girl on the way in just a couple of weeks. You want your daughter to see her daddy looking and acting like this?”
Tony shrugged.
“I just got back from the compound,” Rhodey told him.
“Yeah? You see her?” He asked, trying to keep his tone casual as he turned back to the bar, gripping his glass without raising it.
“Yeah, man.”
He kept his eyes narrowed as he tried to focus on Rhodey’s face. “How’d she look?”
Rhodey debated for a minute before answering. “She’s sad. Of course she is. But she looks good, Tony. She looks real good,” he said, reaching out to pat him on the back. “Doing her thing.”
Tony gazed down at the dark liquid.
“She asked about you,” Rhodey said softly.
His head snapped up. “What did you tell her?”
“I told her you’re a mess. She’s on her way over here right now. That’s why I figured I better clean your sorry ass up.”
“What?” Tony said, shaking his head even though it made him dizzy. “No, she can’t…”
“Ms. Romanoff is approaching the elevator, Boss,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. told them.
His eyes widened in panic and he wiped a napkin over his mouth.
Rhodey turned to meet her at the elevator when they heard the ding.
Tony stumbled out of his chair, leaning casually against the bar as he reappeared, shoulder to shoulder with Natasha.
“Hi,” she said softly, regarding him with wide, green eyes and a slightly nervous expression.
“Hi,” he said, his voice cracking.
“Um, I just came to drop these off,” she said, slowly walking over to him and setting her access cards down on the counter. “And to see how you were doing.”
“Yeah, no, I’m fine. I’m fine,” he replied, pushing his glasses up higher on his nose.
“Clearly,” she said softly, a hint of a smile tugging at one corner of her mouth and he smiled back, letting out a breath as he started to relax.
“Uh, Rhodey says you’re doing good work back at the compound,” he said lightly, hoping he wasn’t slurring anymore.
She nodded. “Yeah. You should come visit sometime. I know the others would love to see you.”
“Right,” he said. He thought for a moment. “You get your invitation to Pepper and Happy’s wedding?”
“Um, yeah,” she said, “But I don’t think I’m going to go.”
“Why not?” He asked, his bottom lip jutting out a little. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t we go together?”
She shook her head, cringing slightly at his sour breath. “I don’t think that’s a very good idea.”
“Aw, come on, baby,” he said, tightening his hold on her shoulders and leaning his head close to her ear. “It’ll be fun, us getting all dressed up… slow dancing…. just like old times…” He gave her a sloppy kiss that landed on her jaw, although he’d been aiming for her cheek.
“Tony,” she said with a warning to her tone, pressing her hands firmly against his chest.
“Come on, you know you want to….”
“Stop!” She shouted, effectively pushing him away and wiping her sleeve over her face.
He stumbled slightly, a hurt expression on his face. “I just thought it would be nice for us to reconnect,” he said.
“At Pepper’s wedding?” She asked with teary eyes. “How can you actually expect me to sit there with you and celebrate knowing that she’s giving you the one thing I can’t?”
“I never asked that of you!” He shouted, slamming his fist down on the bar.
Rhodey rushed forward, but Natasha held up a hand to stop him.
“Wow,” she whispered. “Congratulations, Tony. You’re the same jerk you were two years ago.” She turned towards the elevator.
“That’s great,” he called behind her, touching a hand to his chest. “You think you’re gonna just walk out of here, but don’t you forget. I can just fly away,” he said, powering the thrusters at his hands once he was fully armored.
Her eyes widened. “Rhodey!” She screamed.
“I got him,” Rhodey replied, soaring out onto the balcony after him.
She rushed through the doors, watching in horror as the Iron Man and the War Machine struggled in the air before Rhodey managed to pull him down.
The fight wasn’t over, though as Tony struggled against him with all his might and they went crashing down to the ground before Tony pushed himself up and charged at Rhodey.
She ran in between them, sliding a widow’s bite cartridge into her hand as she leapt six feet into the air, closing her thighs around Iron Man’s neck and twisting her hips to send him spinning into the ground.
“Are you out of your mind!?” She shouted, pressing her knees firmly into his chest. “You’re going to pilot the suit drunk?”
She placed both her hands on his chin, forcibly retracting his faceplate and discharging her cartridge into his neck. His body went limp in an instant and she waited until she caught her breath before she stood up and nodded at Rhodey.
“What did you do to him?” He asked.
“It’s a very low dose tranquilizer. He’ll be up in a few minutes.” She was still breathing hard as he followed her back through the doors.
“He’ll never be able to focus on Pepper and the baby the way he needs to as long as I’m here, will he?” She asked sadly.
Rhodey shook his head. “Doesn’t look like it.”
She looked around at the mess they’d made, her eyes narrowing in frustration and she jumped up suddenly, placing a well aimed kick in the center of a single shelf behind the bar that dislodged it as well as its contents, crashing into all the other shelves and sending the many bottles of expensive alcohol crashing into millions of tiny pieces on the now sticky floor.
Rhodey whistled softly.
“Get him help,” she said, her voice halfway between pleading and demanding. She shoved a chip into his hand.
“You leaving the country?” he asked.
She nodded. “It’s the only way. That’s how you contact me. But he can never know.”
“Understood.” He thought for a moment. “Where will you go?”
“I don’t know. With Steve, maybe.” She hugged him tightly.
“Whatever you do, you take care of yourself, you hear me?” He said, returning her embrace fiercely.
She nodded. “You too,” she said, stifling a sob.
“Hey.” He tapped her chin up. “We’ll see each other again. You know that, right? That’s always how it goes.”
XXXXX
She was once again still brushing thick tears from her eyes when she pulled up in front of her apartment. She was surprised to see that Steve was sitting on the bench on her deck when she got out of the car.
“I thought we were meeting at the airport,” she said.
He stood, reaching out to embrace her. “I didn’t want you to drive alone. Although I am surprised that Barton isn’t here to see you off.”
She shrugged as she leaned into his hug. “We’re not speaking right now.”
“Well, that’s a damn shame,” Steve told her.
She looked up at him. “Wanda and Sam?”
He nodded. “They’re ready.”
"Yeah,” she said.
“Hey, Nat.” He placed a hand under her chin, tilting her head back to look at him. “It’s going to be okay. You know that, right? It’s all going to work out the way it’s supposed to.”
She forced a smile for his benefit. “Thanks, Cap.”