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“So then the accords were suggested, and everything went to shit.”
“Accords?”
“They were documents that would restrict the movements of superheroes. Just so that they couldn’t do whatever they wanted, you know?”
“Superheroes?” Nebula hated the look in his eyes; like he didn’t want to be talking about this but felt it was important.
“Oh, right. So you know how earth is pretty closed off from other visitors? Yeah well that means everyone is the same in terms of abilities—-”
It took the three hours to cover the accords.
It took another two to get through the civil war.
~~~
They landed.
They fucking landed. Of course they did. If anyone could find their way home, it was, ironically, the two who had just lost the only people who had ever made them feel at home.
The touchdown wasn’t smooth per say, but it was a touchdown nonetheless. Tony was anxious to see who was there; he’d set his expectations low, as was the Stark way. Turns out things exceeded his expectations, as was the Tony Stark way. (The Tony Stark way is different from the Stark way, in which Tony actually has realistic expectations, and didn’t punish people for not meeting them, unlike the Stark Who Shall Not Be Named.)
Tony was anxious. He needed his low expectations to be met this time. All he wanted was Rhodey, Pepper, and Happy. He would happily take everyone else, but he couldn’t live without those three. Nebula knew he was worried about those three; he’d talked about the, enough.
He also talked about Steve Rogers. A lot.
It was really strange. Tony clearly hated the man, but explained why he did what he did in the Civil War. Thoroughly. Tony needed to talk to Nebula about Rogers, but she was worried.
Tony had made sure she understood Rogers side of the story as well as his. He’d wanted someone to contradict him about his choices; if the way he talked about himself was anything to go by.
He thought he was wrong.
About everything. The Avengers, the Civil War, Ultron, (that was hell of a conversation) and Titan. His decisions on Titan. His ‘fucking mistakes ’ on Titan. That’s what he called what happened.
So it goes without saying that Nebula was excited to meet this ‘Captain America’.
~~~
Tony took a deep breath. They’d landed at the Compound, and he knew that if anyone was there, they would be outside the Milano’s door. The hydraulics hissed as the hatch gave way. Tony took a deep breath and stepped into the sunlight. Through his squint, he could see a crowd.
Rhodey. He breathed a sigh of relief. One down. Two to hope for.
Bruce.
Thor.
Natasha.
Pepper. He was going to cry. She looked like she was going to cry. It was a cry-cry situation.
Princess Shuri. He’d read about her.
Clint.
Steve Rogers.
Shit.
But, the thing is he was honestly a tiny bit glad Rogers had made it. He would wish being dusted on anyone. Besides, the more people left alive, the better. He moved to hug Pepper. She was crying. Oh dang, so was Rhodey. Rhodey never cries.
Tony shoves that thought aside and buries his face in Pepper’s shoulder. They stood there for a moment before a sharp cough startled everyone.
Nebula emerged from the ship, looking around. “Going to introduce me? Or am I going to stand here all day?”
Tony smiled; he and Nebula had become fast friends over the short while, though Nebula would deny that.
“Oh, right, apologies Smurfette. This is Pepper, that’s Rhodey. Bruce, Natasha, Clint, Thor, Princess Shuri, Steve Rogers. I told you enough about them though.”
Nebulas gaze suddenly turned thunderous, and she moved forward towards the crowd.
“Uh, Neb?”
“One second, there’s something I’ve been wanting to do this for a while.” And with that, she drew back and swung her fist into Steve’s face. With her dominant, harder hitting. Her metal hand. Rogers was suddenly on the ground, a palm cupping his face.
Clint stepped closer to the newcomer, but before he could get any closer, Natasha swung an arm up, halting him.
“Not your fight.” She murmured.
Nebula kicked Steve in the side and elbowed in the face when he tried to get up. It went like that. He would try to get up, and she would knock him back down. This kept going until he took more time between attempts. He was getting slower. Trying to wait her out. Nebula knew what he was doing.
“I could do this all day.” She spat.