Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tony stared at the person in front of him. Natasha Romanoff. There was a time, not long ago, when he would have trusted her with his life. He did. And then she left him. Just like everyone else, the Avengers, his “family” - everyone who left him for Steve. And here she was, back at the compound, in his lab, staring at him expressionlessly.

“What do you want, Natalie ?”

“I’m sorry.”

That took him by surprise. The Black Widow wasn’t someone who would apologize. Apologies showed emotion and emotion was weakness. He used to believe she was more than the Black Widow, Natasha. Now, he wasn’t sure.

“Why are you sorry? You showed who you truly cared for. Why are you even here? Shouldn’t you be off with Rogers, shoving your righteousness down everyone's throats, telling the world how wrong, how selfish and horrible Tony Stark really is?”

The tears were at the back of his eyes but he refused to let them fall. She didn’t deserve his emotions, his pain. Not when she left. Not when she wasn’t there for him when he was dying after Siberia. Not when he barely made it out of surgery. Not when someone who was supposed to be one of his best friends left him .

He looked up at her now. She didn’t seem to be wearing a mask but he couldn’t be sure anymore. He didn’t know her anymore.

She chewed her lip nervously and began to speak.

“I -- I knew Steve wouldn’t stop. He’s blind when it comes to Bucky, he can’t see right from wrong. I thought that maybe if I let him get away, no one would get hurt. That the fight would end. I was wrong. Rhodey... that’s on me and I’m so sorry. I let you down. You were right. I’m not afraid to say it. Steve’s wrong. You’re not selfish and horrible and I know I hurt you. We all did. We weren’t the team you deserved. If I could go back and change what I did, and stop him, I would. Without hesitation. You were always here for me Tony, and this is how I repaid you.” She was crying now, her eyes red and vulnerable and real, “You saw me as Natasha, as a person, not a soldier or a weapon. You looked past who I used to be. You made me believe I could be better. That’s why I’m here.”

She took a deep breath and continued.

“I know that I’m a criminal. I’m here to turn myself in. I wanted to talk to you first. I love you Tony, you’re my best friend. I trust you to make the right decision of what to do with me. I’m sorry and I understand if you never trust me again.”

Tony stared at her in shock. It took him a few seconds before he found the words to talk.

“Look Romanoff, I don’t want you to be locked up in the Raft. Contrary to your teams belief, I didn’t know about it and I don’t agree with it. I’ll see if I can work out some sort of a pardon for you. You can go back to your old room till then.”

She looked up at him with a small, hopeful smile. “Thank you Tony.”

She took a step towards him but stopped when she saw him flinch and turn away.

“Please leave.”

She nodded and left without a word.

Tony sank down to the ground, breathing hard. He ran his hands through his messy hair and sat with his back resting on the wall. It was too soon, everything was too soon. He couldn’t trust her. He wanted to, god he wanted to, but he was scared of getting hurt again. She’ll leave , a small voice in the back of his head says, In the end, everyone leaves.

Chapter Text

Natasha paced the floor of her room. It was past midnight, but she couldn’t sleep. She was tempted to go to the training room and get some exercise done but she wasn’t sure she was welcome there. She wasn’t sure where she was welcome actually. For the first time in her life, the famous Black Widow did not have a clue as to what would happen to her. And she was okay with it. Contrary to what others thought, she had morals and she cared about people. Deeply. Tony was one of the few who had broken down her walls and he was her best friend. No. He is. She would do anything to make up for the pain she had caused him. She was wrong and she would be fine with whatever fate Tony had in store for her. She deserved no better than prison, that she knew.

Finally, just as the clock struck 1, she drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

---------------------

The next morning, Natasha woke to the sound of FRIDAYs voice. Before, it was soft and gentle towards her. Now, however, it was cold and short. Even Tony’s AI knew that she didn’t belong here. 

“Boss will see you in the kitchen now.”

Natasha made her way downstairs and saw Tony pouring coffee into a mug for himself. He was wearing the same clothes as last night, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he’s gotten any sleep.

“Did you sleep at all?” The question escapes her lips before she can stop herself.

She watches Tony flinch and his eyes turn guarded.

“That’s none of your business.”

She knew that. It used to be though. It used to be her or Rhodey or Bruce who would drag Tony from the workshop to go to sleep. Not anymore.

“You’ve been allowed a pardon as long as you stay under house arrest in the Compound for a year. After that, the Accords and Avengers Council will decide whether to send you into active duty. You have access to all parts of the compound except the top floor.”

She stared at him in shock. It was more than she expected or deserved. 

“Thank you.”

Tony gave her a small nod and left.

She stayed there for a while, staring at the spot where Tony was standing. She didn’t know what to think. She did know one thing though.

She knew a secret and she couldn’t keep it anymore.

------- 

“Tony?”

Natasha stood outside the lab, wondering if he would come out and talk to her. She was surprised to see the doors open, letting her in.

“I need to tell you something.”

He stopped what he was doing and looked up at her. “Tell me.”

She had known this for a few years. Steve made her promise not to tell and at the time, she didn’t think anything of it. Now, however, she knew right from wrong.

“Your parents… They didn’t die in a car accident. They - they were on the Hydra hit list. Hydra killed them.”

He stared at her for a second, “I know.”

“How?” 

Tony gave a humourless laugh. “Rogers didn’t tell you? Who am I kidding, of course he didn’t.”

Natasha was confused. What did Steve not tell her?

Seeing her expression, Tony asked her, “What did Steve tell you about what happened in Siberia?”

“That you came to ‘help’ but turned against him, attacking him and Bucky for no reason.”

Tony gave her a cold smile. “Do you want the truth?”

She nodded, small and almost imperceptible, scared of what he would say.

“In Siberia, Zemo played footage of Steve’s precious Bucky , who he tore this whole team apart for, killing my parents. He - I saw him choke my mom to death. Rogers knew. I was angry and I lashed out. I didn’t fight to kill though, I was mad that he didn’t give me a chance to deal with this. He decided what was best for me. He was wrong. Rogers fought to kill though. Against two supersoldiers, I was just a man in a suit. I trusted Rogers and went with zero backup, because he was my friend. ”, he walked up to her and looked her in her eyes, daring her to say something. “That’s the truth.”

She just looked at him, shocked. 

“Tony I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. Steve promised he would tell you. I should’ve made sure he did.”

He shrugged and left , “Well it hardly matters now, does it?”

She spent the next few hours in the training room. She was so angry, at Steve from keeping things from her. At Tony for going without backup. But mostly, at herself, for messing up so badly. It would take a long time to rebuild what had been lost, but she would do it.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Tony came up to the kitchen to find a familiar face. She was sitting on the dining table, her blonde hair tied back as she laughed at something Rhodey said. That was odd. Rhodey wasn’t due to visit the compound till next week.

“Carol?”

She looked at him and smiled, jumping off the table to run to him, pulling him into a tight embrace.

“Tony!”

His mind was going at a million miles an hour. Carol had been friends with Rhodey when he was just starting at the airforce. Rhodey introduced them and in no time, the three were the best of friends. That was… until the accident. 

“I thought you were dead.”

She smirked at him, “Long story short, I got kidnapped by aliens, got powers, fought the aliens, came back, and haven’t aged a day. Unlike you.”

He couldn’t help but let a small smile show on his face. He had missed her. With everything that happened, he was glad she was here. He knew she had his back.

You thought Steve had your back too. Look where that brought you.

He pushed the voice, his doubt to the back of his head, unwilling to let anything ruin today.

Rhodey walked up to him, smiling. “I briefed Carol on the whole ‘enhanced individual’ accords avengers business”, Tony held his breath. He needed something to go right. He couldn’t afford to lose her again.

“Don’t look worried, I’m signing.” she said, with a small eye roll. “I trust you Tony, I’d follow you anywhere, especially with the whole superhero gig you’ve acquired while I’ve been gone.”

“Thank you.” he whispered.

“Rhodey? We need to talk. Sorry Carol, just give us a couple of minutes, then we can spend the day catching up.”

Rhodey looked at him with a concerned expression and followed him into the hallway.

“Romanoff came here two days ago.”

Rhodey face turned from one of confusion to one of poorly hid anger.

“What did she want?”

“To apologize. She’s actually staying here, at the compound right now. I figured out a deal with Ross.”

Rhodey looked at him with annoyance.

“I can’t believe you Tony! After everything she’s done. You should’ve turned away. She doesn’t deserve your care or your help. Do you even trust her?”

“No!”

Rhodey was screaming now.

“How can you just let her back when you don’t trust her? You can’t let her just walk over you again.”

Tony broke down, tears at the corners of his eyes.

“She’s gonna leave again Rhodey. I know it. But I can’t just say no. the amount of enemies she has, she’ll be dead within a few months.”

“Tony that is not on you! She made a choice.”

“I know. But if something happens, she’s an asset to the team. We don’t have to like it; we just have to work with it.”

Rhodey sighed, knowing there was no way he could drive the determination, the goodness , out of Tony’s heart. “Fine. But if she crosses a line, I get to personally escort her to hell.”

Tony gave him a tight, forced smile. “Sure.”

They walked back into the kitchen, only to find Carol with another old friend. Stephen Strange, who was apparently not a doctor anymore and was a… wizard?

Stephen had been friends with Tony before his accident. Long before that. After his accident, though, he disappeared. Tony tried looking for him, but couldn’t find him. He smiled remembering the days when they were a close group of friends. A family. Him, Rhodey, Carol, Stephen. Today really was a day for old friends, huh?

Carol smiled brightly at them, “Look who I found!”

Stephen rolled his eyes. “Technically, I sensed your presence here. I found you.”

He took a step towards Tony. “I’m sorry I went missing for so long. As you can see, I was kinda busy. I heard about the fallout. I’m not gonna ask if you’re okay because I know you. You’ll say you’re fine but you’re not. So I’m here to tell you that I’m here for you. Whatever you need. I’m signing the accords and I’m gonna stay, make up for lost time… If that’s okay?”

Tony stood frozen for a while before exclaiming, “Yes... Yes!”

He pulled Stephen into a hug and they sank to the floor. He felt two more sets of arms wrap around them, Carol and Rhodey. He heard crying but wasn’t sure which one of them it was from. Probably all. They stayed like that for a while, the four of them on the floor, crying, and laughing, and smiling.

They spent the rest of the day with Carol and Stephen, reminiscing about the time they had together, and sharing stories from when they were apart. For the first time in a while, Tony felt a little spark in his ribcage. Hope. Hope that maybe, just maybe, he would be okay.

They enjoyed the rest of the day, talking, sparring, and laughing, oblivious to a certain redhead who had heard Rhodey and Tony’s conversation. Who knew she deserved it but couldn’t help but feel a little sting of hurt. 

Natasha knew she had no right to go meet with the laughing friends. She couldn’t remember a time when her team had been that close. She was glad they were there for Tony though.

He needed, he deserved love and happiness. She was willing to stay out of his way if that made things better for him.

Chapter Text

For the first time in a while, Tony woke up happy and excited. Forget waking up, it was one of the few times he actually slept through the night. Two of his best friends were back. No matter how difficult the future would get, he knew that they would stick by him. At least, he hoped so. After his fallout with the Avengers, his “family”, he wasn’t sure who to trust.

Apparently, it was a week full of surprises and old friends, as when he went to get breakfast (coffee), he ran into Carol and Hope Van Dyne. Hope and him had been friends, almost like siblings when they were very young, before their parents had a falling out. Since then, they hadn’t been in contact, with Pym Techs rivalry against Stark Industries.

Hope walked up to him, a small smile on her face, and began to talk,

“Hi Tony. It’s been too long. I know we haven’t spoken, but I want you to know that the grudge against you is my fathers, not mine. I know you’ve been going through a lot and I just want you to know that I’m here for you. Whatever you need, a friend, a member on a new team, anything.”

Tony just stood there, overwhelmed. He wasn’t used to people caring, being there for him.

“Also, Tony?”, Carol spoke up
“When were you planning on telling us that you adopted kids?”

He looked at her with confusion.

“Friday, show the live footage from the common room downstairs,” Rhodey said with a smirk.

Sitting on the couch in the living room with anxious expressions were two teenage boys.

Harley and Peter.

Peter was worried when Mr. Stark had seemed so shaken up after the airport fight. After he heard nothing about Tony Stark on the news asides from his unexpected disappearance, he was too worried to do nothing. It had taken a while getting to the Avengers compound on his own, but he made it.

Harley was upset that his Mechanic seemed more and more distant on their phone and video calls. When he heard about a fight within the Avengers, he knew something would go wrong… and he was right. Tony disappeared. So he hopped on a flight to come check on his da- mentor.

And Tony?
Tony was shocked when he went down to the common room and both boys flew at him, pulling him into a tight hug. He was even more shocked when they started rapidly talking - he could only understand bits of the conversation
“I was really scared and worried”
“And just booked a flight here from Tennessee”
“And then I was waiting here because the nice AI lady FRIDAY let me in”
“And then I met Peter!”
“And Harleys actually really nice sometimes”
“We bonded over vines”
“And we’re just here to make sure if you’re okay”

“Boys, boys. Boys!,” Tony raised his voice slightly. They stopped talking and looked at him. “I’m touched by your concern, but I really think you should go home. As you can see, I’m fine.”

The teenagers looked at him, unconvinced. Their determination to stay only increased when FRIDAY spoke,
“Sir, Miss Romanoff is approaching this room.”

Harley glared at Tony.
“Why is she here, after she chose the wrong side?”
“I’m definitely not leaving now. Schools off and I don’t have a lot better to do anyways,” Peter said with a shy smile.

Tony didn’t want them to stay, didn’t want to hurt them, but also didn’t want them to leave like everyone else did. But most of all, he didn’t want Romanoff meeting them. Not yet.

“We’ll discuss this later. For now, go upstairs to the kitchen please.”

They hesitantly complied, disappearing into the elevator seconds before Tony heard footsteps approaching from the staircase.

Chapter Text

Tony turned to watch Romanoff as she walked into the room. Immediately his breathing sped up, scared. The fact that he was alone and unarmed didn’t help. Romanoff kept her eyes on the floor as Tony fidgeted, moving and looking anywhere but at her.

He hated this. He hated that after being stabbed in the back, again and again, he wasn’t used to it. He hated that tears sprang to his eyes every time he thought of one of the avengers, his “family”. He hated that he was fighting to stop himself from spiralling into an anxiety attack. Memories played in his head in super speed - Natasha falling asleep on his shoulder in movie night, making him coffee at 4 am, laughing as she called him “Shellhead” and stole his food - all of that, gone. 

He forced himself to concentrate on the scene in front of him - Natasha standing, looking at the floor nervously.

She finally looked at him, not in the eye, but close enough.

“I uh, just wanted to know if there's anything I can do to um help or something”

She was clearly uncomfortable.

He looked up at her, confused. He did not expect Natalie to be considerate or ask if he needed help. Not when she was so stuck to her precious Captain America.

Seeing his bewildered expression, she spoke, “It’s just that I’m um under house arrest and and. I just don’t know um what to do and I don’t want to intrude and like if you don’t want to talk to me um that’s fine. But I’ve been horrible and I just,” she sighed, “I don’t want to just be leeching off of you like we used to. I know you probably um never want to see me and I’m so grateful that you even let me back. You probably don’t want to talk to me um ever, but if there’s anything I can do, please tell me.”

She gave him a small smile.

“Thank you Sh-Tony.” 

With that, he walked out and he watched her leave. The panic he had been pushing down came crashing at him. He couldn’t stop it as it took over him and he fell to his knees. He could vaguely hear FRIDAY’s concerned voice but it was drowned out by the pounding of his head. He couldn’t tell if she was genuine, shouldn’t let himself trust her at all.

He couldn’t breathe.

“Your goddamn ego?”

“He’s my friend”

“Shellhead”

“I have more than enough words to describe you Stark”

“The Futurist is here”

“Never trust a Stark”

“She’s a child!”

“Ultron. My fault.”

“If there’s anything I can do to help”

“Give me back my Rhodey”

“It’s your conscience speaking”
“Paralyzed”

The words got louder and louder and he would do anything to make it stop. He clamped his hands over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut as tears ran down his face.

Suddenly, the voices faded and he felt a set of arms wrap around him. He didn’t need to open his eyes to know who it was - Rhodey.

He opened his eyes to see Stephen, Carol, and Hope over Rhodey’s shoulder, looking at him with concern.

Rhodey held him back and looked at him, “What happened?”

Tony couldn’t bring himself to talk about it.

“Its-its nothing. I’ll be in the lab.”

With that, he left the room.

------- 

Rhodey watched Tony leave the room with confusion. He knew there was no point going after him. He didn’t want to force Tony to share when he wasn’t ready. He would give him a little space and then talk to him later. 

“FRIDAY?” he heard Stephen speak up, “play the security footage of this room.” 

And they watched. They watched Romanoff look actually genuine - though he couldn’t tell anymore. He’d trusted her and look where that got them.

“That little bitch!” Carol screamed and turned to walk out the door, only to be stopped by Stephen.

“Let me at her! She shouldn’t be here! We don’t know if she was lying or trying to manipulate him. You saw what she caused.”

Stephen looked at her and with an equally angry expression said, “I know. I don’t want her here anymore than you do. But we can’t just attack her. That would make Tony more upset. We should focus on helping Tony and making sure he isn’t around her.”

“He’s right,” Hope piped up. “Tony is our priority.”

Carol sighed and relaxed. Then, she turned to Rhodey.

“I know that look. What are you thinking?”

Rhodey gave a small, wicked smile.

“I’m thinking I know exactly what she can do to help.”

------- 

Natasha was sitting in her room, sharpening a knife when she heard a knock on the door.

She opened it to reveal Rhodey, standing and looking at her with a harsh expression.

“Rho- Colonel”

“I saw what you said to Tony,” he said. “You want to help?”

She gave him a small nod.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a burner phone.

“Rogers gave this to Tony with a shitty apology letter. In case Tony needed his help . As if he’d help anyone who wasn’t his little Bucky. Since then, it’s been ringing nonstop - so much that I had to take the phone so Tony wasn’t disturbed by it.

So here.” 

He handed the phone to her.

“I want you to take this and call Rogers.”

He turned away to leave then looked back at her.

“And tell him to fuck off.”

Chapter Text

Natasha had done a lot of difficult things. She’d been physically and mentally challenged to her heights. But what she was about to do? No amount of training had prepared her for the emotional pain she knew she would feel. She hated Steve. Hated him with every ounce of her for what he did to Tony. But he had been her family, one of her best friends. That doesn’t just go away.

Less than five minutes after Rhodey left, she opened the phone and stared at the one contact lighting up before her eyes, “Steve Rogers”. She knew that if she waited, she might not be able to bring herself to do it. 

So she pressed call.

Almost immediately, the phone connected.

“Tony?” Steve’s voice sounded at the other end, full of happiness and hope.

How dare he, she thought to herself. How dare he be happy and okay when he left behind such a mess.

“It’s not Tony. It’s me.”

“Nat?” Steve sounded confused, “Why are you with Tony? What did he do? Are you okay? I knew we couldn’t leave him unsupervi-”

“Shut the fuck up.”

This was possibly the first time she’d been this against him and he stopped talking, probably hearing something in her voice that he didn’t want to fight against.

“I came back by my own will. I want to be here. I’ve been a horrible person, friend, and Avenger, and I’m trying to fix what I did. That’s not why I’m calling though. I’m calling to tell you to stop trying to contact Tony. I mean it. I didn’t stick with him the first time, I will now. Stop. Leave him alone.”

Steve sighed, “Tony can’t just cut us off! I’m trying to give him an opportunity to apologize so that we can all move on! This is completely unreasonable.”

If he was here in person, she would’ve punched him by now.

“Cut the bullshit Rogers. I know what you did. I know what happened in Siberia. You don’t deserve anything from him. He deserves better friends and a better team than us. You lied. You lied to him. You lied to me. You told me you’d tell him and I was a fool to believe that you had. You lied while giving him shit about being scared and wanting to protect us and this world. He doesn’t owe you an apology. He doesn’t owe you anything. You aren’t a hero Steve Rogers.”

She took a deep breath in, surprised that she let herself go at him.

“If I’m not a hero, what are you?”

What was she? A traitor, a spy, a killer? Someone who left her best friend behind? 

She didn’t really know anymore. 

All she knew was that she was sorry.

“Sorry. For what I’ve done to Tony. You’re wrong Steve.”

Rhode- James exact world rang in her head.

“Fuck off.”

With that, she hung up.

----------------------------------------------------

Tony was in the lab with the boys when Sharon Carter turned up. FRIDAY told him that she was on the roof and he immediately left what he was doing to go see her.

“Hey Tony”, she said as soon as he got onto the roof. She was looking at him and was probably staring at the door before that, expecting him to come up here.

“Hey Shar ”, he said, using the nickname he had created when they were children intentionally, knowing it would sting. He saw her wince and was surprised to find that he got no happiness out of her discomfort.

“I ‘m sorry you couldn’t attend the funeral”

He sighed at that. “You know that if I could’ve, I would’ve been there. But there was just too much. Steve would’ve had too many questions and would’ve made it hell. Plus, there was the whole accords situation that I had to kind of figure out alone. Aunt Peggy was like a mother to me. I miss her and I really wish I was there.”

She gave him a small smile, “I know… I um, heard what happened.”

“Heard what happened? Sharon, you gave him the shield. The same shield he used to attack and hurt his teammates, to almost kill me. Why?”

She looked down, ashamed, “I just got so caught up that Captain America needed my help. I didn’t think it over. I just felt so special and happy and it’s so stupid, looking on it now. 

Wait. He tried to kill you?”

Tony smiled grimly. Of course Steve used Sharons help and then left her alone without an explanation. “My parents didn’t die in a car crash Shar. The Winter Soldier killed them. Steve… he knew for years and didn’t tell me. When I went to Siberia to help him, I saw a video… you can guess how I reacted. I was hurt and mad and I lashed out, I didn’t fight to kill. Steve did. He disabled my suit and left me there. I was all alone Shar,” his voice broke, “I didn’t tell anyone where I was.”

She walked up to him and pulled him into a tight hug.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, tears running down her face. “I’m not gonna leave you again, nerd.” He laughed at the nickname she hadn’t called him since he was in MIT. “That is, if it’s okay for me to stay?”

He smiled at her. He couldn’t stay mad at Sharon. No matter what. She was there for him since they were children, during the hardest times of his life. And, in a way, she had evened out the fight. Rogers might’ve hurt more people trying to get to the shield.

“Come in,” he said with a smile, “Let me show my favorite cousin her new home.”

Chapter Text

It had been a week since Sharon had moved in and everything was getting… normal? Tony wasn’t sure exactly what his life was and he still woke up with the image of Rogers shield and Barnes metal arm burned into his vision, but at least he had a good life to wake up to. Pepper was back. They weren’t together; he thinks they’re broken up for good now, but they’re friends - closer than ever. Peter and Harley were getting along great, brightening up the compound. His old friends were back and Tony wished he was happier about it.

He hated to admit it but he still kept his guard up around them, around pretty much everyone. He spent a lot of his time in the workshop, working on legs for Rhodey and on Peter's suit. 

He avoided Natasha as much as possible - pretty much everyone did. He wouldn’t tell anyone, but he was working on her widow bites. Just in case. 

He was working in his lab at 5 am, running on pure caffeine when he got a call from a blocked number. From Wakanda.

T’Challas deep voice played over the speaker “Doctor Stark, most people can’t hack into Wakanda successfully”

“Yeah well, I’m not most people.”

T’challa let out a small chuckle. “You aren’t.” His voice turned serious, “I assume you know what I’ve been hiding then?”

Tony stiffened at that. He found out that the Rogue avengers were in Wakanda a while ago.

“I know.”

“I talked to Sharon. She was very against it, but I think they need to go back home. She said she wouldn’t even bring it up with you because you have too much on your plate but I can’t just keep them here.”

He wanted to be mad at Sharon for not telling him but he knew she only did it for his sanity. 

“I can’t. I can’t bring them back. Not after all they’ve done.”

T’challa sighed. “I know this will be difficult for you Doctor Stark, but Ross has been too curious about Wakanda. He’ll find out they’re here. I hate to ask this of you but I can’t endanger my people.”

Even as he refused, Tony was working out plans to bring the Rogue Avengers back. 

“I’ll see what I can do.” 

Without waiting for a response, he disconnected the call. The last thing he wanted was the Rogue avengers meeting his friends who were here. He couldn’t deal with that. He couldn’t deal with them. He could limit Romanoffs access to the compound and make sure they could only access the same areas. His friends, Peter, Harley… they’d never have to deal with them. 

He sent a message to T’challa, saying that he needed a few weeks to prepare but would let the Rogues back.

After that, he spent hours on the phone with Ross, fixing pardons for the Rogues. He hated himself for doing it, for letting them back into his home, but he knew that they would die or kill others if left on their own. Almost 30 hours later, he managed pardons for each of the Rogues on the condition that, like Na-Romanoff, they were under house arrest for a year.

The lab door opened, and Rhodey stood there with a sandwich and an expression of disapproval. 

“When was the last time you ate?”

Tony smiled sheepishly, “Yesterday? Anyways, come in and call the others. I need to talk to you about something.”

Rhodey's expression turned from one of disapproval to one of concern. Tony couldn’t help but be a little annoyed by that. Sure, he was hurt, but he wasn’t fragile. He didn’t want to be treated as if we would break at any minute. He was glad Rhodey cared, but the constant concern annoyed him sometimes.

Once everyone (Stephen, Hope, Carol, Sharon, and Rhodey) was in the lab, Tony told them the news.

“The Rogues are coming back.”

For a few seconds, there was just silence, and then Rhodey spoke up.

“Why?”

“T’challa can’t keep them for any longer; they have nowhere else to go.” Tony looked down. He didn’t want them back either.

Sharon looked at him guiltily, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I just - I knew you’d bring them back and I didn’t want you to have to do that.”

“It’s alright Shar.”

Stephen spoke up, “Tony, look at me. You don’t have to do this. You don’t need to bring them back. They aren’t your responsibility.”

Tony looked up and felt equal parts happiness and anger. Happiness that Stephen didn’t want them back, but anger that he didn’t understand. “I do. If they’re out there on their own, who knows what they’ll do. Something like Lagos might happen. They could die or kill countless people. I can’t risk that. At Least if they're under house arrest here, everyone is safe. It’s okay though, they’ll only have access to certain parts of the compound; we’ll barely have to interact with them.”

“Okay.” Hope smiled at him. “Just remember that when they’re back, you don’t have to deal with them on your own. You’re not alone.”

But I am. You’ll leave me just like everyone else did. 

The voice in the back of his head spoke up.

“I know” He forced a smile.

“Does Romanoff know?”

“Not yet,” he replied to Carol. “Why don’t you guys send her down here and start a movie. I’ll join you.

He took a deep breath. Time to tell Natalie that her friends were coming home .

Chapter Text

To be honest, Natasha was kind of scared when Captain Marvel had told her that Tony wanted to see her in the lab, and then glared at her till she got up and went downstairs.

When she walked into the lab, she saw Tony anxiously pacing around the room. When he saw he stopped, looked at the ground nervously, and then cleared his throat.

“I called you here to tell you that your friends are coming back.”

Well, she hadn’t expected that. Hadn’t expected that Tony would let them come back after all that they’d done. She’d been in contact with Clint a few times and knew that T’challa couldn’t keep them in Wakanda. 

But then again, it was in Tony's nature - to help people who hurt him. 

She thought she’d be happy that the Rogues were coming back home. They were her friends, her family. Instead, all she felt was dread.

“You don’t have to do this, you know.”

Tony glared at her, irritated. She’s sure he’s heard the same words from Rhodey and his friends.

“I do. At Least they’ll stay out of trouble. Keeps everyone safe.”

Natasha gave him a small smile, “Well, I’ll do my best to keep them out of your way.”

He looked slightly surprised at that, like he still didn’t believe that she truly wanted to help. She didn’t blame him. The loss of their friendship hurt her, but she would wait - however long it took - till they could fix it.

“Thank you,” Tony replied - not smiling, but not angry either, “Your access to the compound will become a little more limited and you and the Rogues will have access to the same areas. They’ll be here in a few weeks, and will be on house arrest for a year, like you.”

He turned away, continuing with his work, then seemed to realise that she was still standing there, “Did you need anything else?”

“Huh? Oh, no.”

As she left the room, Natasha couldn’t help but smile, it wasn’t a great conversation, but it was the most civil one they had since she’d been back. It was a start. 

She didn’t expect the Rogues being back to upset her this much, but she knew them being back wouldn’t help Tony and she cared about his well-being. She made up her mind then, that she would do anything, even if it meant spending more time than she wanted with the Rogues, to make sure Tony doesn’t have to deal with them as much.

----------------------------------------------------

After Natasha left, Tony received another call. All he wanted to do was watch a movie and spend time with Peter and Harley.

“Not now, Ross. I’m busy.”

“Doctor Stark,” T'challa's worried voice sounded over the phone, “I’m sorry. They stole one of our planes and left. That was an hour ago. They injured many of my people who tried to stop them. You have maybe 5 or 6 hours before they reach the compound.”

“Fuck,” Tony swore, “Okay I have to go figure this out, thanks for letting me know.”

Tony ran out of the lab and into the TV room where everyone (minus Romanoff) were watching Tangled. They looked up at him and paused the movie, seeing his worried expression.

“They’re coming. They stole T'challa's plane and left Wakanda. They’re coming.”

He was breathing hard, trying very hard not to have a panic attack. Rhodey saw this and put his hand on Tony’s shoulder.

“Hey hey Tones… Breathe. How long?”

“Five, maybe six hours.” Now that he was breathing steady, Tony gave FRIDAY the command, “Implement the Assholes Protocol.”

Carol raised an eyebrow, “The Assholes Protocol?”

Tony gave a small smile. “I’ve been working on it for a while. I had a feeling they might be back. It sections off the training areas along with some rooms and a kitchen, giving the Rogues access to only that part - the very west of the compound. That way they won’t bother us. At Least I hope they won’t”

“Tony,” Hope squeezed his hand, “It’s going to be okay. What do you need us to do?”

“Okay,” Tony took a deep breath. He needed to stay calm or else this would all go wrong. 

“Rhodey, call Ross and tell him that the Rogues are going to be back and start house arrest beginning today. Strange, I need you to call Vision. He was on a break, but I think he’d want to be back for this and… we need him.” Rhodey and Stephen nodded and left.

“Can you guys come with me to receive them later?” Sharon, Hope, and Carol nodded vigorously. 

“I’ll give them a fun welcome,” Carol smirked.

“No violence,” Hope exclaimed.

“You’re no fun,” Carol complained.

“What about us?,” asked Peter.

“You both come with me.”

Peter and Harley followed him to the other end of the common area. “Stay here. We will come back and see you once they’re settled.”

“But I want to help!,” Harley exclaimed. Peter nodded in agreement.

“The most help you both can do is to stay here. I need you both to stay safe, okay?” 

“But-”

“No buts. I don’t know what I’d do if you two got hurt. Just stay here okay. If I can manage it, you both won’t have any contact with the Rogues for the year that they’re here.”

He could tell they didn’t like it but they nodded. Then they surprised him by pulling him into a group hug. Tony tensed up at first, the voice in his head getting louder ( they won’t stay. They’ll pretend they care for you but they’ll hurt you ). He pushed the voice to the back of his and relaxed into the hug, wrapping his arms around them.

“Stay safe,” Peter whispered.

“I will. Stay here. I’ll be back before you know it.” Tony smiled at them and left.

“FRIDAY, alert Miss Romanoff that the Rogue avengers will be here in half an hour.”