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“Why did you choose me?” Tony asks quietly, hissing out a pained breath as Natasha gently disinfectants the gauge above his left eye. “I mean,” Tony swallows thickly, eyes fixed on his hands twisting anxiously in his lap. This is the most void of shields and armor she’s ever seen him. “Why did you choose to fight on this side of the war?”
Natasha carefully places a set of butterfly bandages over the cut, taking her time to do this right. She already knows her reasons, but she’s never been the best with words, not when the words have to be honest and real.
“Do you support the Accords?” When Tony shoots her a deadpan look, hands sweeping out as if to present his battered body as evidence, Natasha clarifies her question. “I mean, completely, 100% as they are. Do you support the Accords?”
“Of course not,” Tony snorts with disdain. “About…” Tony tilts his head, humming a little as he does a quick mental check, “four hundred and eighty-two revisions need to be made to it before it would ever actually deserve approval, but…” Tony lets out a heavy sigh, his body curling into a defensive position. “Yeah, I support the basic idea of the Accords. We can’t,” he shakes his head, running a frustrated hand through his dark hair. “We can’t just keep running around with these enhanced abilities and unearthly powers and not assume a little more responsibility.”
Natasha dips her head in approval because she completely agrees and that’s precisely why she is supporting Tony. The Accords…it isn’t supposed to be a war fought with bodies and weapons, pitting friends against friends…but that is exactly what Steve has turned it into. Steve Rogers is fighting against the Accords – something that enrages and terrifies him – the only way he knows how, as a soldier.
“I choose to fight on your side because this was never meant to be a war on a battlefield. It was supposed to be a war of words and manipulations and negotiations.” Natasha looks up and locks Tony with a steady gaze. “And you, Tony Stark, are the kind of guy I want leading that battle.” Natasha reaches out, brushes her fingertips over Tony’s wrist and then withdraws. “I trust you to win this war for us, for all of us.”