Sounds like penance
"Tony," Rhodey starts, "I don't know what's going on in that mind of yours right now."
Tony sighs deeply, closing the project he'd been working on. "Right now? I'm thinking I'd kill for some pizza. And maybe some fries?" Tony asks lightly, hoping to steer them out of this conversation.
Rhodey huffs out a heavy, harsh breath, but doesn't say anything for a moment, sinking down into the couch across from Tony with effort.
"Platypus?" Tony sits up, smile dropping. "Do you want me to get your heating pads? Or I cou-"
"Thirty years," Rhodey interrupts, a hand wrenching his legs out of the brace with way more force than necessary. "Thirty years I've known you, and in that time, I've learned how your brain works - how you think, how you act, what pushes you to do certain things, and even how you reason. But this," he shakes his head, determinedly not meeting Tony's eyes, "I don't understand this Tony, and frankly, I don't think I want to."
"Then I would just be wasting both of our time explaining."
"Ah, but that's where you're wrong," Rhodey shoots back with that same false tone. "If you don't explain, I'll do everything in my power to have the council reject your motion. What were you even thinking, Tony?"
"I was thinking we needed the reinforcements," Tony says, drawing his legs up under him. "What's coming? What's out there? We're not prepared for that, Rhodey, and I can't let personal feelings stand in the way of doing what needs to be done."
"This is not the way though, Tony, and I'm sure you know that. When an infection starts eating at your arm and you have exhausted all other options, you cut it off before it spreads, not resow the arm back on and invite it to live with you!"
"I have no other choice, Rhodey."
"No, you have many, or else we wouldn't be doing the work we do," Rhodey argues back, finally meeting Tony's eyes, his filled with frustration. "Do you seriously think she's here for any reason other than to lay the groundwork for Rogers and his gang to return? She's probably hacked into the servers right now feeding them information."
"Rhodey, I'm not stupid, I kn-"
"You sure are acting like you are, Tony. What they did, what she did, was never okay. You can't keep rolling out the welcome mat and giving these people the star treatment every time they hurt you."
Balling his fists up, Tony takes a deep breath. "That's not what I'm doing here, I know what it looks like, but I promise I'm not that naive." Tony couldn't just release Natasha back into the unknown, she was most of that group's brains anyway, and without her, they couldn't go getting into any major trouble.
"I know she's not sorry, and I know she probably won't ever be sorry, and that's honestly not her fault. She was taught self-preservation and shit, but trust me here, Rhodey. It's better to have one of them here," Tony urges, getting up to pace across the lounge. "They're unpredictable, and clearly uncontrollable. Having them out there with no way of tracking them would just be counterproductive to our work. I don't feel comforted knowing they could dive in at any moment."
"Then why would you let one of them in here? You might as well have given her the rundown of all our plans, why not give her a key to your lab while we're at it? Should we just leave the doors unlocked and open from now on?"
"Rhodey, just try to understand, you wanted my explanation, and I gave it!"
"And it's not good enough, Tony," Rhodey scolds, a pounding starting up behind his left eye. Tony wasn't dumb or naive, but letting the Black Widow set up camp anywhere near them was an ill-made decision. "Let's say she's not here for any malicious reasons, as she's claimed, did she tell them she was giving herself over to the feds? Tell me Tony, when the media catches wind of her return, is there a guarantee they won't just break into the facility and try to free her?"
"She said she told them..."
"And you've told Rogers you have a fragile false ribcage for years, and yet that didn't stop him from drivin-" Rhodey pauses, running a hand over his face. "That was too far, I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Really, it was. Tony's had the same thought thousands of times.
"It really isn't, Tony, and I'm sorry. That was unfair of me, but you have to consider that these people aren't rational, especially when it comes to personal situations like this. Natasha may not be on Barnes's level of importance, but she was his second for years. Who says this isn't their shitty plan to force their way back in? Natasha's in the US, so they figure they divebomb the place and have just enough time to demand shit from us and the council."
"It wouldn't work, Rhodey. Neither of us are in the business of forgiving, and they're in no position to make demands."
"You think they think that?" Rhodey snorts. If there's one thing Rogers and his group of lackeys could do right, it was think that the world spinned for them only.
"If they step foot in the US or in any of the ally countries, they're toast. Besides," Tony walks over to window, spying Harley and Happy shooting hoops, "they won't know where Natasha's being held."
"As if that would stop them."
"It might not, but even then, at least if then they'd be locked up and can't do any damage."
"That's if Fury hasn't hired them to be his errand boys yet."
"I couldn't care less about Fury, but I acknowledge that he might become a problem."
"Two hundred and twenty six attempted hacks this week, and that's excluding the phishing emails the accords lines have been harassed with for the past month. Everything we do know has to be on a need-to-know basis, it's enough that you're pushing for that woman to get better than what she deserves. Can she even be rehabilitated? We can't just lock them up forever."
"'That woman'," Tony says, making air quotes with his fingers, "used to be a friend. And she always looks out for herself, she's probably the only one of them who can be."
"Was she ever though?" Rhodey asks quietly, the air around them becoming more tense by the second. "They were takers Tony, and they would have milked you dry for as long as they could. Everything that happened? A blessing if you ask me, no one can justify what they did, not even the part of you riddled with unnecessary guilt."
"Yeah," Tony says, a thickness to his voice. Before Ultron, and before the Maximoff girl, Tony would like to think that they had been friends at least. He still can't figure out why this even still bothered him. It's been month's for Pete's sake!
"I'm still not happy about the Romanov situation, but if you're sure about this, I won't protest it."
"I am. Trust me, Rhodey."
"I do," Rhodey says sincerely, eyes boring into his. "More than anything Tony."
***
He wakes up with a gasp.
Alone, and sweaty, and nowhere near stable or healthy enough to be going through near nightly panic attacks. Tony's sure the scratching he's done in his panic has caused semi-permanent damage by now, but goddamnit, he wasn't ready for anything invasive again either.
His chest burns from the phantom pains licking up his ribs and pooling right where the arc used to be, but at leastthere are no scratches tonight. He hadn't had arc-related nightmares in years, who knew a shield to the chest would make dying in space seem preferable?
With no hope of getting back to sleep, he gets up and walks to the lounge, stopping in front of Peter's door when he notices the light from underneath.
Peter was understandably a lot different post-Germany. Though he still kept up his grades, and interacted with his friends and the family, Tony could tell something big had changed.
Spider-Man should have never been out there, especially knowing what stakes were at play, but Tony had never expected it to break out into a fight in the first place. Steve could be unreasonable sometimes, sure, but he had never escalated things to physical violence between the team, a little one-on-one roughhousing with Tony, sure, but the team had never come to blows, so he hadn't considered them a threat.
Nervously, he shifts from foot to foot, finally deciding to knock. If the kid was up this late, he was either having a stroke of genius, or a rough night himself.
"H-hey, Dad," Peter stutters out when he pops his head out, eyes lowering to the ground.
"Hey, kiddo. I saw your light was on and I was just about to make some hot chocolate, you want to join me? When can get a movie playing or something?"
"Uh, I'm cool on that, Dad. I should really get to bed, school tomorrow, you know?" Peter rushes out, and Tony stomps down on the disappointment he feels. If I overwhelm him, he might never open up to me again.
"Oh, of course you do, kiddo." Tony shrugs, shoving his hands in his gown's pockets. "I can still bring you a cup if you want though? Maybe it'll help you sleep better."
"Sure, I'd like that, Dad."
"Okay, Kid," Tony whispers, stepping back as the boy disappeared back into his room, door shutting behind him, and the feeling of a metaphorical door shutting between them too.
They'd never been this stilted or awkward around each other. Peter was so perfect, Tony sometimes found it hard to believe he came from him, that he hadn't built him in a lab with code and steel. They spoke one language, and when Harley and Jamie started talking, they joined them. Now though, Tony felt like he needed a translator, he and Peter never seemed to be on the same page anymore.
Things had been in a downward spiral since May, but there was nothing Tony could do about it. Peter didn't speak to him, and his therapist kept warning him against pushing him, but she didn't understand. This was different from his split with Steve, he could live, is living, after that, but losing Peter would literally crush him. If Tony waited too long, who knows how they'd end up? He had spent holidays at MIT and Rhodey's trying to avoid his parents, he didn't want that for him and Peter.
Shuffling into the kitchen, Tony gets a pot out, searching the pranty for chocolate and grabbing a fresh carton of almond milk.
"Hey Fri, can you bring up our research on Atlantis?"
If he couldn't sleep, he might as get some work done.
***
Tony wrangles Reed, and later Stephen, the Sorcerer Supreme, into a meeting as soon as he can, proposing the establishment of a new superhero body that dealt with extraterrestial threats. The council agrees, and Ross, the other Ross, encourages him to continue recruiting.
Thankfully, nobody busts their doors in looking for Natasha, or breaks any bones (which was suspicious in itself), but Scott Lang and Barton do hand themselves in at an embassy in London a month later.
This time around, they don't fully have control over the situation, and can't control how much information gets out, so by the time they're transported to the US, the news is already splashed over the front page.
"This must be their new angle," Stephen laughs, sliding the paper over to Tony. "Get the news out to pressure you to release them from the 'inhumane' captivity."
Tony frowns, skimming over the report. "That would be giving me a lot of power I don't have. Rules have changed, and they need to answer to the big dogs."
"Fifty bucks they demand to see you within twenty four hours of getting here," Jess pipes up, Morgan sleeping in the cradle of her arms.
"Please don't wish that type of thing on me," Tony grumbles, ignoring the laughs from the table. The Defenders had agreed to sign the Accords, joining the Avengers roster as part-time members, along with the Fantastic Four and sorcerers of Kamar Taj. They were incredibly short-staffed, with Tony and Rhodey both out, and Vision still adjusting to his new form, the roster was practically empty.
No team leader had been picked yet, but Stephen had been appointed as interim leader on the field, while Rhodey held the position off the field. He approved all new and prospective members, along with the Accords council; every hero was subjected to a series of physical tests and mental health evaluations, which were ongoing once they made the roster, and ultimately, the decision for or against someone also relied upon a vote by the team and the leader, but there were strict rules in place now.
"Do you think the rest of them are hiding out in Europe? I have some sources I can contact," Reed offers, meeting Tony's eyes with an understanding expression.
"There's no need to, they seem to be giving themselves up. Seriously, I don't care as long as they stay out of my business."
Jess snorts, waking Morgan, and jumps to rock her back to sleep. "Scoping out the territory, I say," she whispers loudly, a gentle hand rubbing up and down the baby's back.
"Lang and Barton both have kids, they must have been feeling the heat from being international fugitives." Luke gets up with a shrug, heading outside to help Ben with the grill.
"That, or Captain Ass is getting nervous. No one's come calling for him yet, which definitely takes a hit at that huge ego of his," Matt supplies, sliding his glasses up his nose.
"The council has options, so I doubt they want 'heroes' who caused an international incident just a few months ago." Sue's voice is cool as she comes over to lean against the table, reading the article over Tony's shoulder. "Says they struck a deal for blanket immunity."
Danny reaches out to draw the paper towards him, an eyebrow quirked. "They definitely won't get that right. They haven't even stood trial yet."
"Even so, certain factions and certain organisations are eager to have them back, though I doubt anyone'll stick their neck out for Lang or Barton," Matt says matter-of-factly, inclining his head to Tony. "It's Rogers they want."
"Oh, the two of you know something we don't?" Stephen asks, looking from Matt and Tony.
Tony sighs, feeling ten times heavier. "Not much, just that there has been both internal and external pushes for their return. It's inching closer to a year, and the governments dont want them acting without oversight, so they figured it's better to have them here under surveillance, than out there."
"If the rest of them wanted oversight they'd have joined Lang and Barton."
"It's not an option anymore, especially with both the Fantastic Four and the Defenders signing," Tony explains, remembering the talks he and Matt had been in for days now. "More countries have joined in the last six months because they feel more certain that hero teams aren't just going to come knocking their front doors down."
"Rogers and his team," Matt picks up, "pose a problem though. They've been spotted sporadically, but when they do show up, it's usually in an Accords' ally's territories. Everyone knows they're not under the Accords purview, but it's making people nervous."
"Nervous?" Sue asks concerned, receiving a nod from Matt. "Enough to pull out of the agreement?"
"We don't know yet, we'll have to see how things play out," Tony informs them, stretching out his arms when Jamie comes barrelling into the room. "Okay, no more work for the rest of the weekend."
"What are you playing out, Daddy?" The toddler asks, excitedly sitting up in Tony's lap to peer up at him.
Tony takes his face between his hands, peppering gentle kisses to his brow and smoothing his wild curls down. "Nothing, we were just talking about your Christmas present, Baby. Dr Strange and I were thinking that we need to get your list to Santa soon."
"Really?" Jamie asks, perking up at the mention of presents. "I want Legos!"
"I know you do, Baby." Tony chuckles, wrapping his arms around the boy.
***
Prince Namor tapped the table in a steady beat, unmoved. "I don't get what you're saying."
"I'm saying," Tony starts, a little desperation bleeding into his tone, "we need a unified structure amongst ourselves, and a few teams have already agreed."
"The Avengers were a unified structure, no? Look at how that turned out."
"Combat-wise, things were smooth as butter though, half the team hated me and yet we were still able to do our jobs." Tony digs into his bag, sliding the proposal towards him. "Instead of groups of heroes and mutants running around and trying our best to stop a better and more organised enemy, we need to band together."
"Please," Namor snorts, pushing the binder away from himself. "You couldn't even control them in your smaller groups, how on Earth do you expect to organise and control them in a larger one?"
"The heroes who've signed on are all vetted for, and everyone who's signed the agreement agrees to answering to the higher ups," Tony explains, signalling for Stephen to jump in.
"It seems laughable, trust me, I had the same reaction," Stephen says, ignoring Tony's stink eye. "Superheroes dealing with bureaucracy seems strange, I know, Namor, but whoever's out there? Whoever's trying to make Earth their battlefield? They're more organised than us, and they sure have better numbers."
"If we pool all of resources and information together, we might just be able to do it right," Tony interjects, spying the slight change in Namor's demeanour. Good, it means he's listening.
"How do I know this isn't just a ploy to learn Atlantis's secrets? I've heard about you, Stark, and Richards. You'd stop at nothing in the pursuit of knowledge."
"I am the Sorcerer Supreme, do you think I would put Kamar Taj and it's secrets at risk? Think about it, Namor," Stephen implores, "if whatever's out there gets in, or even just points a huge deathray at us, not even Atlantis would be safe."
"So I should join up with people who've been threatening my and my people's existence? Joining this coalition of yours, should I expect more warships in the ocean?" Namor asks, pushing away from table. "This won't work, and you're a fool if you don't see it, Stark. How many questionable characters have you had on your roster? The Black Widow, Hawkeye, even good 'ole Captain American turned out to be criminals. Or maybe they knew something we don't about you?"
Tony grinds his teeth, schooling his expression before meeting Namor's head-on. "Go on and believe what you want, about me and about them, but this is me warning you and offering you something better. This is worth a try."
"We'll see, Stark." And with that, he walks out, leaving Tony dejected with his response.
"There are still others, Tony," Stephen says reassuringly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Others who might react the same way, we might as well send an email at this point."
"A lot more people will see the good in this, and we at least have a different viewpoint now."
"What do you mean?" Tony asks, furrowing his brows.
"Namor thought we wanted Atlantis's secrets, many other superheroes might think that too. Not everyone operates unmasked," Stephen explains.
" And not a lot of heroes trust the council either, prior issues with authority, especially with Ross having been a prominent figure on the council."
"So what do we do?"
"Rebrand?"