Rebuke
There was a resounding silence for a long moment after James’s question, and all eyes were on Tony as he tried to decide what to say, his panicked brain mostly sending him the mental equivalent of static noises, which was really no help at all.
“Why don’t we talk about this at the Compound,” Natasha suggested, saving his life as per usual.
“Wait, I think we should – “ Steve started.
“Great idea, Tash,” Tony squeaked, cutting him off. “Fly safe! See you guys there!”
Aaaand with that, he blasted off.
“Sir, was that really the appropriate way to handle the situation?” JARVIS asked, tone disapproving, and Tony mentally shrugged at him.
“Nope, it absolutely was not,” he agreed. “But it gives me time to think about how to fix this, at least.”
A pause, and then JARVIS spoke, voice somehow both incredulous and understanding at the same time. “Sir, the odds of you being able to convince them that you are not Tony Stark are very slim.”
Tony grimaced. “What was it Han Solo said? Never tell me the odds?”
“Yes, and if you’ll recall, he was nearly swallowed whole for his troubles,” JARVIS responded dryly, and Tony frowned at him.
“I need you for support, not sass,” he complained, hardly paying attention as he hurtled through the air. Thankfully, his suit was way faster than the quinjet, so there was no chance of an awkward run-in.
“At the moment, Sir, I believe you need me for – what are the teens calling it? – a reality check.”
Tony snorted. “Oh god, I’m playing that soundbite back for Peter and Harley, they’re gonna love it.”
Tony was fairly certain if AIs had eyes to roll, JARVIS would be rolling his right now. “As you say, Sir. Regardless, I believe we should return to the topic at hand.”
“I can’t tell them, J,” Tony said, voice low, and JARVIS paused.
“Why not?”
At that, he drew up short. “Why – JARVIS, you know why! We’ve been through this reasoning a thousand times.”
“That was when we were uncertain as to whether or not we could trust the Rogue Avengers. I believe they have shown at this point that we can.”
Tony blinked, thought for a moment, then blinked again, contemplating it longer than he probably should’ve, considering how much forethought had gone into making absolutely sure no one would find out his identity. But was JARVIS wrong? The Avengers had protected him twice now when they had ample reason not to – the first time, they could’ve been framed for his murder, and this time, they found out (or at least suspected) he’d been lying to them for a long time. And even outside of outright saving him, they’d given him no reason to suspect they were anything less than the trustworthy team they claimed to be.
He was still thinking through everything when he arrived back at the Compound, landing and retracting the suit quickly. But instead of rushing away and locking himself in his lab as he was sorely tempted to do, he took a deep breath and headed for the kitchen; if he was going to do this, he needed a drink.
The rest of the Avengers filed in as he tipped the scotch over ice, seating themselves in the living room next door, periodically eyeing him with an air of expectation that he would join them. Well, he couldn’t exactly disappoint, could he?
So he walked into the room and settled into one of the chairs, keeping his face impassive and taking a sip of his drink to fortify himself against their stares. Finally, he looked up and met their eyes, landing on James last. He sent one last fervent hope to the heavens, and then – “Yes,” he said simply, giving his delayed answer to the earlier question. “Yes, James. I’m Tony Stark.”
It was silent, not one of his teammates reacting vocally to the news, though Tony could see Scott and Sam looking thoughtful, Natasha evaluating everyone’s reactions, and Steve and James forcing blank expressions. Then there was a snort, and Tony’s eyes shot to Clint. Clint met his eyes and laughed again – and again, and again, eyes growing progressively wilder, until the laughter turned into sobs and Clint rose gracelessly off the couch, stumbling over to Tony. Tony rose to meet him, confused and certain he was about to be punched, as Clint neared – and threw himself into Tony’s arms.
Tony stumbled back, the sudden weight unexpected and throwing him off balance before he steadied, arms jerking up reflexively to wrap around Clint’s waist as the older man buried his face into Tony’s shoulder. He could feel the dampness of tears soaking the part of his shirt where Clint’s head rested as the archer’s shoulder’s shook. Completely bewildered, Tony looked at Natasha for help as he awkwardly patted Clint’s back, but she just smirked and shrugged.
The rest of the team was silent, watching the duo when Clint finally pulled back, hands squeezing Tony’s shoulders as the archer looked at him, red-rimmed eyes meeting confused ones. “Clint?” Tony prompted uncertainly, and Clint beamed.
“You’re alive,” he whispered, tone reverent. “You’re alive. I – I thought…” His eyes filled with tears, face breaking, and Tony instinctively reached up with one hand, thumbing one of the wrists that was still grasping his shoulder soothingly. Clint calmed, blinking until watery eyes were able to meet Tony’s again, and Tony was knocked breathless by the sincere relief he saw in their depths. “God, Tony, I thought we’d lost you from our own stupidity and stubbornness. But you’re alive.” And his voice broke again, before he pulled Tony into another tight hug, mumbling against his shoulder, “I missed you, asshole.”
“Oh, uh, I mean, I’ve been here,” Tony deflected awkwardly, wincing as he inadvertently brought up the elephant in the room.
But Clint only laughed, pulling back from the hug, still-wet eyes crinkling in delight. “Yeah, I guess you have.”
“And not that we’re not all delighted about it, because we so are, but, like – why didn’t you tell us?” Scott asked, voice going high at the end like he wasn’t sure he was allowed to ask the question. Tony flinched, and Clint gave him a perceptive look before returning to his seat, the picture of calm, all signs of semi-hysterical laughter gone as Tony mimicked him and sat down as well.
“Tell us,” Clint said simply.
And so Tony did. He told them about Siberia from his perspective, dutifully ignoring James’s and Steve’s reactions, especially as he described a little bit of the extent of the damage, though he left out as much as he could while still explaining why he’d needed Extremis and the serum. He told them about what his family had done to save him, how they’d combed through his research, sought out Dr. Cho, put together a formula for him. He told them about how it had worked a little too well, making him appear younger and giving him abilities on top of healing him. He told them about how he, Pepper, Rhodey, and Vision had decided it would be best to preserve the legend of Iron Man in order to protect the Accords and enhanced people from Ross, and how that had led to the creation of his alter ego. He told them about how he hadn’t been sure who to trust with the knowledge of his true identity, certain that everyone finding out would mean the end of the Accords as they knew it and the beginning of something much worse headed by Ross. He told them about the nightmares of all of them, his family who had left him, in chains in a place worse than the Raft with Ross cackling down at them and him powerless to do anything.
He told them how hopeful he’d been when he’d heard about Maximoff – and how lonely when he realized he couldn’t tell them the truth. Because he couldn’t trust them yet. He didn’t know them anymore, and he couldn’t be sure just how much of what they’d done was Maximoff and how much was them.
(He hated how it sounded like he was pleading for them to understand. It didn’t matter whether they understood, he knew. He’d done what he felt like he had to for the good of everyone else, and now he had to deal with the consequences.)
He told them everything, and then he stopped, falling silent, looking down at his hands, wrung out yet terrified of what they might say now that everything was in the open.
“Tony.” Steve’s voice caressed his name, and Tony’s head popped up, eyes flicking to him immediately. The super soldier was looking at him with an emotion Tony didn’t know how to name, and Tony looked back helplessly, heart in his throat. Blue eyes bored into his, and Steve’s face crumpled. “Tony, I’m so, so sorry.”
Tony’s eyes widened, and his mouth popped open, the unexpectedness of the apology drawing him up short. “Steve – what? What are you sorry for?”
Steve looked at him with an intensity that bordered on manic, self-loathing etched into every line of his body. “What am I not sorry for?” he asked rhetorically, tone aimed viciously at himself. “I almost killed you, Tony!”
“Maximoff – “ Tony started to protest, but Steve cut him off.
“Fine, fine. That was Maximoff’s fault, whatever,” Steve said dismissively, still looking wretched and self-flagellating. “Even disregarding what she did, I still lied to you for years. I used your resources so I could find my friend, knowing what had happened to your parents, and I didn’t tell you about it so I could keep my search going. And I never showed you the appreciation you deserved for housing us, paying for everything, handling PR, building for us – you basically were the Avengers, and I never once thanked you for that. I took you for granted and used your resources for my own selfish purposes, and then I let Maximoff on the team, which almost resulted in you dying.
“And I know you’re going to try to find a way to absolve me of any guilt for all of that or blame yourself for everything because that’s what you do, but – but I don’t want you to do that, Tony,” Steve said firmly, eyes blazing. “Please – I want you to let me apologize to you, properly, without telling me none of this was my fault, because it was.”
Speechless, mouth still unattractively agape, all Tony could do was stare, and Steve nodded to himself once, satisfied, before standing and walking over to Tony, pulling him to his feet. Tony looked up into wide, sincere eyes, pain written across Steve’s expression.
“Tony, I am so sorry for everything I did to you. I wish to God I could take it back, and I’ll spend the rest of my life trying like hell to make it up to you,” Steve said lowly, voice brimming with such emotion, such fervent determination, that it weakened Tony’s knees.
“Language,” he said automatically, voice feeble, and Steve smiled at him, eyes tender but something burning in his expression. And Tony knew without a shadow of a doubt that Steve was about to yell at him. Or maybe smack him. Or just walk away.
“Yeah,” he agreed, and then his face was getting closer, and Tony’s eyes widened before he stilled, shocked as Steve’s lips pressed against his. But his shock only lasted for a second before Steve deepened the kiss, and Tony’s eyes drifted closed as his head drifted away, heat flaring in his belly as Steve’s tongue traced his lips, teasing at asking for entrance before he pulled back.
Tony blinked once, twice, trying to pull his head together, his thoughts a jumbled mess. “James!” he squeaked, and Steve raised an eyebrow.
“Not exactly the first word I was hoping would come out of your mouth right now,” he said drily, then pointed to himself. “Steve.”
Tony’s lips twitched, amused despite himself, then the distress returned. “No, I meant – you’re with James!”
“True,” Steve acknowledged, and Tony’s heart plummeted, even as his confusion ratcheted up.
“Then why would you kiss me?” he demanded, starting to feel a little hurt, cheeks reddening.
“Well, doll, we were kinda hoping we could both be with you,” James drawled, and Tony blinked as Steve stepped back so Tony could see James step up beside him, lascivious smirk on his face. Absently, Tony noted that the rest of the team had left (or, more likely, fled) the room, leaving just himself and the super soldiers behind. The duo smiled down at him, and Tony was really feeling his lack of height now.
“What – I don’t understand,” he said finally, eyes wide as he looked back and forth between the Brooklynn boys.
“We’ve been planning to ask you to be our fella for a while now,” Steve said with a bright smile, and James raised a lazy eyebrow.
“We had an actual plan for how we’d do it and everything, before this one up and ruined it,” he said, giving Steve an unimpressed look. But Steve only shrugged unabashedly, grin not fading in the slightest.
“I was apologizing, I had to show him I was sincere,” Steve countered, and Tony was about 90% certain he was getting whiplash – both physically from looking back and forth between the two and emotionally from the fraught conversation leading into…this, whatever this was.
The super soldiers were ignoring his inner turmoil, James rolling his eyes at Steve. “More like trying to kiss him into submission.”
“Jerk.”
“Punk.”
“Hey, yeah, so this is cute and all, but I’m really confused right now,” Tony interrupted, and the duo turned to look at him in amusement. He folded his arms defensively, glaring at them, and James chuckled.
“We’re asking you to go steady with us, doll,” he said, amusement coloring his voice. “I feel like we’re being pretty clear this time, so I’m not sure what’s confusing you.”
Tony gave him a look, unable to believe his ears and refusing to get his hopes up. “The part where you two want to date me,” he said stubbornly, face set and eyes hard, the slightest hint of frustration leaking into his voice at having to say this. But it was better to get his heart ripped out now than let them in only for them to realize what a shitty boyfriend he’d be and rip it out later, after he’d had a chance to get even more attached. “I’m Tony Stark – not Jay. You get that, right? I’ve – I’ve been lying to you for months!”
Maybe some of his inner turmoil was showing on his outer side, because James and Steve immediately stopped looking so smug and satisfied, expressions of concern sweeping over their faces.
“Yeah, sweetheart, we get that,” Steve said softly, stepping closer and brushing Tony’s arm gently, offering comfort and holding Tony’s gaze. “And honestly – honestly, we’re pretty relieved. We felt a little weird, liking someone so young. James and I both have decades more experience than a 21-year-old, felt wrong to like ya so much.” Tony supposed it made sense that James and Steve would’ve been confused about having feelings for ‘Jay’ – though they both looked like they were in their mid-to-upper 20s thanks to the serum, Steve was at least mid-thirties, and James was technically around a century old, since he’d been awake for all those years under HYDRA. Steve continued, voice earnest, “But it makes more sense now that we know you’re not actually 21, especially because I’d been wanting to ask you out for a while when you were you, back before Wanda got in my head.”
And now Tony’s eyebrows shot way up. “What – really?”
Steve just smiled at him, amused. “Yes, really, Tony. You can’t really tell me you never noticed?”
“Hate to break it to you, Stevie, but he’s pretty oblivious,” James stage-whispered, and Tony stuck his tongue out at him.
“True,” Steve agreed, and Tony mock-gasped.
“Ganging up on me already? Two super soldiers against one measly person is hardly a fair fight,” he teased, and the duo went still. Tony blinked, confused and frowning, thinking back through his sentence to try to figure out how he’d offended him, and – oh. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to bring that up,” he said quietly. “Wasn’t even thinking about it, honestly.”
James smiled sadly at him. “We know, Tony. You’d never say anything on purpose, you’re too nice for that.”
Tony shook his head immediately. “No, that’s definitely not true,” he protested, seeing a problem and wanting to nip it in the bud, squashing the trepidation that he’d be sentencing this pre-relationship to doom as he did so. “If we’re gonna do this, you need to know that about me upfront – I’m not nice, not even a little. I’m cranky and selfish and an ass before I have coffee, and I’m usually an ass even after I’ve had coffee. I’ll never remember birthdays or anniversaries or – “
“I’m gonna stop you right there, honey,” James cut in, voice stern enough that Tony cut off, eyes widening at the stormy expression on James’s face that was echoed on Steve’s. “Have you been putting on a show as Jay? Behaving any differently than you normally would, other than calling yourself by a different name?”
Tony frowned, brow furrowing. “Uh, I don’t think so?”
“Then what you just said isn’t true,” James said firmly, holding a hand up to stave off Tony’s protests before they could begin. “You may be grumpy before your coffee sometimes, or cranky and selfish sometimes, but you know what I see most of the time? I see someone who’s trying his best to make the world a better place – and at the expense of himself, more often than not. I see someone who let people who’d hurt him back into his life without question and provided food, gear, and a home for them without even thinking about it. I see someone who’s been through more than any one person should ever have to go through in a dozen lifetimes who hasn’t lost his hope for the future. I see someone selfless, smart, forgiving, and brave – and I also see someone who don’t see himself very clearly.”
Tony’s eyes widened throughout James’s speech until they were wide as saucers, awed and amazed. “I – I definitely don’t deserve that kind of an assessment, but thank you, James,” he said quietly finally, and James gave him a semi-frustrated, semi-amused look.
“Oh, sweetheart, you have no idea how special you are,” he said exasperatedly, and Steve laughed, nodding in agreement, then sobered.
“But we should get back to the subject – we’ve told you what we want, but what do you want?” he asked, blue eyes piercing brown, and Tony swallowed.
“I – I don’t know, I – I honestly didn’t think you’d all be sticking around after you found out,” he blurted, his residual shock loosening his tongue, and Steve looked sad.
“Oh, Tony, how could you think we’d leave you after we’ve just gotten you back?” he asked softly, and Tony flushed, ducking his head to avoid seeing the emotions in the blonde’s eyes.
“It’s okay if you don’t know what you want right now, though, Tony,” James chimed in, giving him a gentle look. “It’s been a hell of a day, and you have a lot of processing to do. Just let us know when you figure out what you want, yeah?”
Tony found himself nodding his agreement before he’d really given it thought, and then the super soldiers were kissing him on the cheek and wishing him goodnight.
“J? FRI? Did I just hallucinate that?” he asked, bewildered.
“It would appear not, Sir, as I have recorded the event on my server,” JARVIS responded primly.
“And I sent it to Harley and Peter, who can also confirm that it wasn’t a hallucination,” FRIDAY chimed in cheerfully, and Tony let out an indignant squawk as his phone rang.
“For the last time, Harley, no you cannot give Captain America and the Winter Soldier the shovel talk. Do you want to end up being a smear on the sidewalk?”
“Fine, but we’re still coming to visit. I’ve been told I’m good at very intimidating staredowns.”
“And I’ve been meaning to practice using the enhanced interrogation mode on the suit!”
“Peter, no.”
“Peter, yes!”
“Wait, so the actual children were in on it?” Clint asked indignantly when Harley and Peter burst into the communal floor of the Compound, shouting that they were headed downstairs to see Tony.
“Mr. Keener and Mr. Parker have shown that they can be trusted,” FRIDAY responded pointedly, and the team winced.
“Jesus, are Stark’s AIs ever going to like us?” Sam muttered.
“I would not hold my breath, Mr. Wilson,” JARVIS said. Natasha huffed out a laugh, pushing herself to her feet.
“JARVIS, please inform the mad scientists that dinner will be served at 7 and we expect them to be there,” she said before kicking Clint in the shin.
“Ow!”
“Get up, you lug, we’re going to talk to her wife and beg her to help us make an actual meal so we can sit down like an actual family and have actual dinner together.”
“You’re so bossy.”
“So’s Laura. So are your kids. Pretty sure you’re just a pushover, Barton.”
“I cannot believe you two came over,” Tony groaned, spinning in his swivel chair to face the two overly-energetic menaces vibrating around his workshop.
“Of course we came over, Tony. You can’t be trusted to take charge and go after something you actually want for once in your life, so we’re here to make sure that happens,” Harley said reasonably, even though Tony considered his words to be entirely unreasonable.
“That’s not true, I go after things I want!” Tony protested. “I’m Iron Man! And the owner of a multi-billion-dollar international company!”
“Yeah, but are those things that you wanted, or things that you feel like you have to do?” Peter asked sagely, and Tony narrowed his eyes at him.
“I like being Iron Man and doing tech shit for SI.”
“I never said you didn’t!” Peter said, hands in the air in a gesture of innocence. “Just that you originally started doing them because you felt like you had to.”
And that drew Tony up short, because he couldn’t exactly refute that. SI, he was expected to inherit and run; it was his father’s legacy, and he knew his duty. And he’d done it, despite how much he’d hated making weapons – or no, he supposed that was giving himself too much credit. He hadn’t really hated making weapons, he’d just never really been inspired by it. He liked fixing things and making things better, and weapons were things – but they were things that overall broke stuff and made things worse, so it had canceled everything out in the end, as far as his motivation was involved. But he’d done it like he’d felt like he was supposed to until he’d figured out he could make a change. And Iron Man had certainly been born of necessity, of feeling that he had to do something to protect the people he loved. And he’d loved it since then, but that hadn’t been why he’d originally donned the suit.
Maybe the kids had a point.
“Okay, but just because I haven’t done that in a while doesn’t mean that this is a good idea,” Tony protested finally, only to be greeted with a very large, disrespectful eye roll from both of his children.
“Why is it a bad idea, Mr. Stark?” Peter asked exasperatedly. Tony frowned at him, crossing his arms petulantly.
“How about because we’re teammates who are supposed to be saving the world on a regular basis and shouldn’t distract ourselves with personal drama or do things that could tear the team apart? How about because they only just found out who I actually am earlier today? How about because they probably don’t even really like me, they probably just have a misplaced sense of guilt about everything? How about because they already have each other – so why would they need me? I’m a fucking disaster who ruins relationships without even trying! It’s like a really shitty talent – it’s my actual superpower!” he exclaimed, gesturing wildly, gaining steam as he went, and Peter and Harley stared at him.
“Tony, come on, do you really think that?” Harley asked softly, and Tony just pursed his lips, shutting down the Share Train for the day, but Harley could definitely see the answer on his face, because he groaned exaggeratedly. “Oh my god, Mechanic, why are you so stupid? First of all, you’re allowed to have your own fucking life even as a superhero, and that includes being allowed to date people on the team. Second, they literally told you they liked you both as you and as Jay, so I’m not seeing the problem there. Third – you know what, I can’t even address your third thing, it’s so dumb. You really think they don’t actually like you? Have you seen the way they look at you? Jesus, Tony, for a genius, you really are an idiot. And fourth – honestly, I feel the same way about responding to that as I did to your third thing. You’re not a disaster in relationships, you just haven’t been dating the right people. So you know the solution to that? Date the right fucking people. Specifically, the people who just told you in no uncertain terms that they want to fucking date you!”
Harley was breathing hard by the end of his little speech, and Tony could only stare at him, eyes wide at the vehemence in the kid’s voice.
“I second Harley,” Peter piped up quietly but sincerely, and he smiled broadly when Tony turned to look at him.
“Menaces,” Tony said numbly, no heat behind the words. “Both of you.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Harley grumbled, waving a hand. “Now. Let’s get back to the real reason we came down here: plotting world domination without Pepper looming over our shoulders.”
The kitchen smelled heavenly when Tony, Peter, and Harley finally found their way back upstairs, summoned by FRIDAY insistently pinging Tony via Extremis.
“Oh my god, is that pot roast? Please tell me Laura made this,” Tony called out, mouth watering as they rounded the corner – before his brain caught up with his mouth and he remembered that oh shit he hadn’t said anything to Laura and the Barton kids about who he was.
“Tony,” Laura called warmly, effectively forestalling his mental panic. She was wielding a dirtied wooden spoon, Clint licking something off his fingers at her back and Natasha glaring at the archer with a suspicious look. “Glad you could make it. I think everyone is already at the big table at the dining room. You and the boys can grab a plate and help yourselves,” she invited.
Tony blinked, gathering his bearings, then beamed happily at her. “Thanks, Laura.”
“Any time, Tony.” And Tony dutifully ignored the way her voice eagerly wrapped around his name, like she was awed that she got to say it, even more steadfastly ignoring the guilty pang it sent through him to know he’d hurt her when she’d only shown him kindness. He and the boys piled up their plates high, Clint ribbing him about having amassed an army of children and arguing with Harley as he and Natasha led the younger boys out to the dining room, and he was about to head there himself when Laura touched his arm briefly, pausing him. She bent down and pressed a light kiss to his forehead. “My offer to be part of our family still stands, Tony,” she said quietly, eyes searing into him with a maternal warmth. Speechless, Tony could only stare at her until she gave him a small smile, pushing him gently on the back to shepherd him into the dining room.
The rest of his family was there, seated around the table, and he had to stand in the doorway for a moment, taking it all in. Harley and Peter were sitting next to each other with Scott and his family on their other side, chattering with Scott about some of the other engineer’s ideas while Cassie drew a cartoonish schematic of the design. Clint and Natasha were next to Clint’s kids, and Laura slid in next to them, the kids each clamoring for Aunt Nat’s attention while Clint rolled his eyes and muttered good-naturedly about how he wasn’t even the favorite Spy Twin in his own family. Sam was deep in conversation with Maggie’s husband, and Maggie looked exasperated by the discussion, so Tony wasn’t sure if he even wanted to know what that was about – plausible deniability and all that. And Steve and Bucky were mostly watching and listening, an empty seat between them and the two younger boys, occasionally chiming into the engineering debate the boys and Scott were having.
It was perfect in a way he didn’t feel like he could ever have expected, his family (sans Pepper and Rhodey, of course, but Lord knew those two had too much on their plates at the moment) all gathered here together, happy and healthy and whole, knowing and accepting his secret and welcoming him with open arms. It was more than he’d expected he’d ever have not even a few months prior, and it was enough to knock the wind out of him.
“Tony?” Steve’s concerned voice cut through the haze and drew him back to the present. “You coming?” And Tony nodded, smiling and sliding into the space between him and Peter.
Dinner passed in that manner, amiable conversation buzzing around the table, dinnerware clinking against plates as Laura’s roast disappeared, the sunlight that slanted through the windows progressively shading from muted yellow to orange to red as the sun set until the twinkling overhead lights were all that was left to light everyone’s faces. Tony was pleasantly aware of Steve’s warmth on one side and Peter and Harley’s laughter on the other, cozy and comforted in a way that was rare for him.
“To bed, kiddos,” Laura finally instructed firmly, standing and shooing her children out of the room.
“You too, Cass,” Maggie said firmly, tugging her husband along as Cassie whined, Scott tagging along after her like a puppy.
“You hear that, children? Bed,” Tony mocked, turning to Peter and Harley, and they rolled their eyes.
“You’re, like, four years older than us,” Harley pointed out.
“Only technically,” Tony objected, wagging a finger. “Emotionally, I’m – “
“Four years old?”
“An infant?”
“Stunted?”
Tony turned slowly to glare at the Avengers, who were smiling oh-so-sweetly back at him. “I pay for your food and housing,” he reminded them threateningly.
“Technically, the Council does,” Clint piped up with a grin.
“Technically, you should all be in a Motel 6, in that case,” Tony deadpanned.
“Besides, I still can’t believe you told the babies before you told all of us,” Clint continued, ignoring him.
“Hey!”
“We are not babies!”
“Fine, toddlers, whatever,” Clint said dismissively, waving away their protesting squawks. “But c’mon, man! You thought they could keep a secret better than us? I mean, okay, Scott, I get. Sam, too, since you didn’t know him that well. And Steve and Barnes since there was the whole ‘trying to kill you’ thing. But me and Nat? The super spies with our super secrets? I’m insulted, really."
"Well, to be fair, Nat is the first one of you guys I told,” Tony said with a shrug, only realizing his mistake when four identical mock-offended looks skewered him.
“Seriously, Tony?” Natasha groaned, burying her face in her hands. “How you managed to keep your whole secret identity thing going even this long is a mystery.”
“Hey, she guessed!” Tony protested, holding his hands up in surrender in the face of the accusatory looks. “I wouldn’t have said anything at all, but she figured it out!”
The accusing looks slid to Natasha instead, and Tony let out a sigh of relief. “And you didn’t tell us?” Clint asked, looking teasingly betrayed. Natasha smirked and shrugged.
“If you were a better spy, you’d have figured it out yourself.”
“Rude! I’m telling Laura on you!”
“Oh, grow up, Clint, I’m not scared of your wife. She likes me.”
“Wait, how did you figure it out, Natalia?” James asked curiously, eyeing her speculatively, and Natasha shrugged.
“Just a few things he said in conversation that would’ve required extremely detailed knowledge of certain conversations with Tony – which would’ve been weird for Tony’s son that he only knew for one year to have any sort of knowledge of, let alone reference in casual conversation,” she responded.
“Hmph, that’s cheating,” James grumbled, looking simultaneously mollified and put out. “You had inside knowledge that not all of us had.” Natasha just gave him an amused look.
“Maybe,” she allowed, eyes twinkling. “Or maybe I’m just that good.”
“I’m surrounded by scary people,” Tony stage-whispered to Peter and Harley, who only looked amused.
“You’re the scary one!” Sam declared emphatically, pointing a finger at him. “I can’t believe you managed to make yourself a kid again – and with super powers to boot – and then also make an entirely new identity for yourself, and make that identity super rich, smart, and famous, and no one ever realized it was you. You’re either the greatest actor ever, or we’re all oblivious idiots.”
“It’s definitely the second one,” Harley said firmly, giving Tony a look when he let out a loud gasp.
“I’m hurt, munchkin!” Tony told him. “I’m an excellent actor.”
“You were so clearly you that it took me all of one phone call to figure it out,” he said flatly, and Tony stuck his tongue out while James snorted.
“You really were really obvious, Mr. Stark,” Peter said apologetically, and Tony frowned at him.
“Hey, I had to tell you who I was, and you made me pull up documentation to prove it,” Tony said accusingly.
“Yeah, because I was emotionally distraught! Plus your story sounded crazy, how was I supposed to know you were telling the truth?” Peter squawked indignantly.
“Dude, we live the crazy, you could tell me pretty much anything and I’d believe it at this point,” Harley countered, and Peter conceded with a head tilt.
“I apologize for the interruption, but Mr. Parker’s aunt is here to retrieve Mr. Parker and Mr. Keener,” JARVIS announced, and Peter and Harley let out identical groans of disappointment.
“Alright, kids, let’s get you down to May before she does something horrific to me for having you out too late on a school night like lecturing me or something,” Tony said, starting to push himself out of his chair, but Sam held out a halting hand, standing up.
“Nah, man, I’ll take the kids downstairs, I gotta head out anyway. I’m headed to a VA meeting to start re-training so I can help vets again,” Sam said, and Tony lowered himself back to his seat while Steve made a happy noise.
“That’s great, Sam! I’m glad you’re starting back at that,” he said warmly, and Sam smiled.
“Thanks, man.”
“Remember what we talked about, Tony,” Harley called as Sam pushed him and Peter towards the elevator. Tony rolled his eyes but, at twin stern looks, he nodded reluctantly. And with that, the three of them left, leaving Clint, Natasha, Steve, and James as his only company.
Glancing around at their group, he felt a pang – for what they’d lost, for who they were missing, and for time they couldn’t get back; but at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel grateful as he looked around at his teammates – teammates who had shown they’d stick with him through thick and thin, through the crazy and the ordinary (or, as ordinary as it got with the Avengers, at least). The whole group that had been here tonight was his family, but Clint, Natasha, and Steve had been three of the founding members of their odd little group, and James had wormed his way into a special part of the heart Tony would swear he didn’t have.
“We’re really okay?” he asked suddenly, and four pairs of eyes blinked at him. “After everything – everything you know now,” he clarified, feeling strangely vulnerable and open with all of them looking at him. But he pressed on doggedly anyway “We’re still okay?”
“Of course we’re okay, Tony,” Steve said softly, smile gentle, and James, Natasha, and Clint echoed his sentiment with firm nods. “As if we could be anything but so, so happy and relieved you’re alive.”
“And you get why I did it?” he pressed, strangely uncertain. “Why I felt like it was necessary to lie to the public? Why I still want to keep up the lie?”
“Yeah, it makes sense when you explain it the way you do,” Clint said with a wry smile. “You’ve always been way better at the whole public management thing than the rest of us, so, if you think it’s for the best for the Avengers that you pretend to be your own son, I trust you.”
And that simple sentiment made Tony’s chest ache, a pleasant sort of pain twinging through him.
“Thanks,” he choked out, and his team smiled at him. And suddenly, it was too much – too much warmth, love, acceptance, too much happiness, too much family for one day. “I have to – “ He pointed his thumb in the general direction of the elevator, all but fleeing to his workshop.
It had been a couple of days since the big revelation and since he and James had finally gotten to tell the engineer how they felt, and Steve was starting to get a little antsy – not because Tony hadn’t given them an answer, because he’d wait as long as Tony needed for that, but because he hadn’t seen the man since he’d fled to the workshop after their team dinner.
JARVIS and FRIDAY had reassured him that Tony was doing well, just wanted a little bit of space to collect his thoughts after everything, and Steve could respect that. The man had just put a mentor and father figure back in the ground after having had to do so already once before, not to mention the whole secret identity coming to the forefront thing; it had to be a lot to process.
But after two days, Steve was ready to barge into the workshop to see for himself that Tony was alive and well and taking care of himself, consequences be damned.
So instead, he went downstairs to the gym to take out his frustrations on a punching bag. When he returned two hours later, sweaty and breathing hard, stripping and showering quickly and angrily, James eyed him.
“C’mon,” his partner said finally, throwing a clean t-shirt and jeans at Steve that Steve caught by reflex, pulling them on obediently and following James down the hall.
“Where?” he asked confusedly when they got to the elevator, and James gave him a look before pressing the button to go to Tony’s workshop. “James, no, we can’t bug him!” Steve protested immediately, and James raised his eyebrows.
“Punk, he’s running himself into the ground trying to avoid thinking about his feelings, and it’s clearly not working for him or he’d have come back upstairs by now. And you’re too on edge to focus on anything else and it’s driving me crazy,” James said matter-of-factly as the elevator came to a halt, and any protest Steve might have made was cut off as the doors slid open.
The workshop was the amazing wonder that it always was, in a constant state of movement, and there, at the center of it all like a maestro conducting the world’s most harmonious symphony, was Tony.
It may not have been the goateed face Steve was most familiar with, but it was so easy to see Tony in this moment, old band tee and ripped jeans on display, grease stains rubbed absentmindedly on various parts of his exposed skin, screwdriver clenched between his teeth as he glared contemplatively at something that was probably refusing to cooperate. He was younger, sure, with his smooth face and curly hair, the youthful set to his eyes, and the lack of laugh lines that were left behind after one of his beautiful smiles – but this was his Tony, his favorite Tony, in his element in his workshop, making the world a better place.
“Hey, Tones, how’s it going?” James called easily, stepping forward, and Steve followed as if on a string. With a muffled shout that resulted in the screwdriver dropping out of his mouth and clanging to the floor, Tony jumped and looked at them in alarm before his shoulders relaxed and his stance shifted into a more natural pose.
“Hey guys, you scared me,” he said with a small smile, and Steve thought he could probably hang the moon on that smile. It should be illegal, really, to have a smile that pretty. Tony straightened, put aside his work and leaned against the workstation facing them with an open smile. “What brings you to see the wizard?”
“Just checking on you,” James responded, walking towards the engineer, Steve following. “We haven’t seen you in a couple of days. Wanted to make sure you’re alive and doing alright.”
Tony’s smile went softer, almost shy, and Steve wanted to coo at him. “I’m fine, thanks for checking on me. You didn’t have to do that,” he said with the slightest hint of bashfulness, looking at the two super soldiers from under long lashes, and Steve felt like his heart was in his throat. But no, they promised they wouldn’t push him; he’d tell them what he wanted from them when he was ready, and they should never pressure him.
So of course James had to say, “Also, Steve was getting antsy about not hearing your response yet, and I was getting tired of going to the gym only to find out he’s punched out all the best punching bags.”
“James!” Steve said, aghast, glaring at his partner in part so he wouldn’t have to look at Tony. But James only shrugged.
“What? It’s true, and I don’t think it’s doing any of us any good for Tony to hide away down here. So what’s the word, dollface? Any updates on how you’re feeling?” James pressed, all amused bravado, and Tony blinked at them, apparently startled.
“Oh, uh,” he said eloquently, and Steve was surprised to see him at an actual loss for words – it happened so rarely with Tony that it was startling to practically be able to see the question marks above his head as he decided how to respond.
“Sir, might I remind you of your recent talk with Mr. Parker and Mr. Keener?” JARVIS asked from the ceiling, tone pointed, and Steve wondered wildly whether that reminder was a good thing or a bad one. But the tension bled out of Tony’s shoulders, and he looked entirely relaxed as he turned to them with open eyes.
“Right, uh, well. I mean, I’m really bad at relationships, and, uh, I’ve never really tried dating two people at the same time, so I’ll probably be even worse at that,” he started, expression increasingly nervous, and James made an impatient noise but let him talk. “But yeah, if you guys know all that and still wanna be with me, then, uh, sure? I mean, yeah. Yeah, I’d like to date you two.”
Steve’s heart soared, and he knew he was grinning like an idiot, thrilled beyond words. James, however, seemed to have expected this response, because he smirked, stepping forward. “Good,” he said, satisfied tone to his voice, and then he was bending down and kissing Tony, who let out aa startled noise but didn’t push him away. And Steve watched with interest as James licked into his mouth, deepening the kiss, and Tony tilted his head back, allowing better access.
James pulled back, eyes dark as he looked down at Tony. “I’m glad to hear that, kotenok,” he said, voice deep and rough and clearly affected, which had the bonus of also affecting Steve.
Tony blinked up at him, eyes huge and round, surprised in a way that Steve wouldn’t understand except that he knew from how often Tony had checked in post-reveal that Tony had expected everyone to leave him after they found out. A surge of protectiveness – protective of Tony from himself – rushed through him, and he thought wryly to himself that this would probably be his life now: wanting to protect two stubborn idiots who absolutely refused his protection from anything that could hurt them, especially themselves.
He was overwhelmingly okay with that.