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[capsicletho]

I Can’t Make You Love Me

…if you don’t. You can’t make your heart feel something that it won’t.

a Tony Stark series; author: @stvrktony | epilogue

trigger: happy ending for reader and tony (but sad w steve ):) mentions of anxiety, PTSD, murder, spoilers of CACW

word count: 2k

summary: Reader and Tony found comfort in each other while they were trying to mend their own broken hearts.

a/n: AAAAND IT IS DONE! Finally completed this series and I hope you guys like the ending. If you want an alternate ending, message me and I will come up with a few things! Btw, I’ll be seeing you is a reference to chapter 7.

masterlist | ICMYLM masterlist | previous chapter

You held on to the letter pursing your lips and turning it over in your hand. You pondered on whether you should open it or not, but you were honestly not ready. You did not want to see what he has to say for himself. You knew that after all that happened, Steve was loyal to Bucky and he would expect you to understand, just like he did when the two of you were still together. But you could not. You could not just forgive him nor Bucky for what he did to Tony. Steve would not have understood what Tony went through; and ultimately, the captain would prioritize his best friend’s feelings more because he understood Bucky’s predicament more than he understood Tony’s.

But you understood Tony. You were there through his sleepless nights, his anxiety attacks, the bouts of PTSD that would hit him the hardest at night. All the nightmares and the feelings of betrayals––you were the one to pick him up, hug him, comfort him, and even cry with him. His relationship with his parents were not the best, and you knew well that Tony would never expect his parents to be taken away from him that quickly.

Even if Howard was not the best dad out there, you knew that Tony loved him. Tony would have given everything in the world to get just a few minutes with his father to tell him he loved him before he passed away. The nights that were filled with regret were the worst; there was nothing you could do to help make it better. When it’s an anxiety attack, you were able to help him regulate his breathing. When it’s a nightmare, you were able to hug him and let him know that it was just a dream. But regret, it is the one thing that you cannot fix.

“Hey, babe,” Tony’s head poked into your office, holding the door ajar. You shook out of your daze and looked at him. “You ready to go?” He asked.

“Yeah, let me just get my things,” you said and stood up, slipping the letter inside your bag and then shutting your laptop down. You grabbed your coat and walked towards the door, Tony holding it open for you. You kissed him before heading out, holding hands and swaying them to the rhythm of your steps as he told you about his day.

You could see the genuine smile on his face and it had been months since you last saw it. That smile was contagious, encouraging a smile on your own lips because you knew this could only mean one thing: the support he made for Rhodey was working.

“A Fed-Ex guy called me Tony Stank today,” he said with a little grin.

You looked at him and laughed, your laughter echoing through the the hall along with his.

“He was a bit old, I would not blame him, but Rhodey is never letting that go, ever,” Tony explained, the tone of his voice picking up and it warmed your heart the way he sounded so happy.

“That’s hilarious,” you laughed. “I’m siding with Rhodey on this, I am never letting it go,” you chuckled. “Who Fed-Exed you?”

He looked at you and his face was a bit sullen, “Steve,” he said as he reached into his jacket to give you a letter. You saw that it was the exact same one as the one you received, a white envelope with only Tony’s name on it. “Read it,” Tony gestured you to just as the two of you reached the orange Audi. He opened the door for you and as you settled in the passenger’s seat, you began to read Steve’s letter to Tony.

You analyzed every single sentence and word over and over. You had mixed feelings in the pit of your stomach, but you did not say anything to Tony. Instead, you slipped the letter back inside the envelope and then handed it back to him and just smiled meaningfully before you proceeded to tell him about your story.

After that, you decided not to read your letter. The letter Steve sent to Tony was basically him asking Tony to understand what he had to do despite him saying sorry, you were not sure that he really was sorry for what he did to Tony.

It took you a long time to get your Tony back to the way he was and you were not going to let that one letter get Tony down again, so after you kept the letter inside your bag as well, you changed the topic and the entire ride home was filled with the two of you laughing and talking to each other, Tony holding your hand affectionately while one hand was on the steering wheel.

That night Tony was already asleep, but the thought of the letter kept you awake. You headed to your study, and turned on the lights. You sat on your chair, opened your drawer, and then took out the letter. You were scared of what you were going to read; you were afraid it was going to break your heart. Like it or not, Steve was still holding a small part of your heart, and no matter what it was you cannot just let that little part of your heart go.

Exhaling hard, you tore open the envelope and then pulled the letter out. Only four words were written on it:

I’m sorry. For everything.

You did not know whether to be disappointed or to be grateful that he did not write too much. You wanted to know what he was sorry for; you wanted to know whether he was sorry for breaking your heart, whether he was sorry for putting you second when you clearly deserved more. You placed the letter on the table and looked up when you noticed a figure at the doorway.

You inhaled in shock, goosebumps grew all over your skin; you were not terrified, because even though you cannot see his face, you knew who it was.

“What are you doing here?” You asked and stood up, wondering how he managed to get through FRIDAY.

He appeared from the shadows and you could see that his hair was longer and he had a beard––something you had never seen on him before. It took you quite a bit to adjust to his new look, but then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper folded together. It looked like he had been carrying it around with him for a long time considering the state of the paper––dog-eared and a bit stained.

“I want you to have this,” Steve said, his voice a bit raspy.

“What is that?”

“A proper apology I should have given you a long time ago,” he extended his hand to offer you the papers.

You did not take it, so instead he placed it on your desk.

“You just apologized,” you responded, lifting the white paper containing four simple words you had just read.

“It was not enough,” Steve insisted.

“And what about your apology to Tony? That was enough?” You asked, your tone a bit like you were challenging him.

Steve did not answer, instead he just sighed and looked at his feet.

“Don’t answer that,” you immediately said, not wanting to even know what he had to say for himself. “You have to go.”

“Alright,” he nodded, knowing that he must have put you through a lot and understanding that you might not have forgiven him yet just from a brief two-sentence apology. “Please read it. I owe you a lot of explanations, and that is the best I can give you. I hope you’ll forgive me.” Steve turned around and began to leave.

“Steve,” you called out one last time. “Would you still have done it?” You asked. It was a question that has been running through your mind when you were fixing Tony up at the quinjet when you picked him up. His creased forehead told you that you have not given him too much context to go on. “I mean if Tony’s arc reactor was still attached to his body to keep him alive, would you still put your shield through it to stop him?” You clarified.

He stood there and looked at you. You could see that he was thinking hard, and it was the most painful thing you had to witness that he did not just say that he would not have done it. The fact that he was thinking to answer it told you that he would have gone through lengths to stop Tony and helped Bucky––even if that meant killing Tony in the process.

“Don’t answer that either,” you choked out after about fifteen seconds, although it did feel longer than that, your eyes tearing up as you looked away from him to hide it. Steve swallowed a little and then just turned around and left.

A tear slipped out as you sat back down on the chair. You decided this time that you really did not want to read the apology he gave you, so you unlocked the drawer of the things that you rarely open because it contained a few of your important things and stored the paper there.

“Hey,” Tony walked into your study and you looked up. “Why are you not in bed?”

“Hi,” you smiled. “Bad dream,” you lied, but you stood up and then went over to hug him. You stayed like that for a bit, your head buried in his chest as he hugged you tight.

“You wanna talk about it?” Tony asked.

“No. I just want to go back to bed,” you replied, your voice muffled by his shirt.

“Okay, let’s go,” he kissed your hair and the two of you retreated back to your shared bedroom.

Steve’s letter dated a month after you and Tony were together.

(Y/N), there are a lot of things I wanted to say to you that I cannot fit in these papers. There are a lot of things that I have regretted over the last two years and I wish I could turn back time. You are one of the most important people in my life and I let you hang on to our relationship alone and not catch you when you slipped away.

I wish I did.

I should have been with you all the nights that I did not. I should have taken you out to dinner when you won the three cases .

I should have been with you when you were sitting alone in our room, crying because you could not visit your mother on her birthday.

I should have been with you to take you to bed every time you fall asleep on the couch.

I should have been with you every time you woke up in the middle of the night because of a bad dream.

I should have been with you all the nights when you slept alone and made you feel safe.

But when I see you with Tony, I know that what you had with him was what you deserved. The way he treated you is the way I should have treated you; but if I did have to lose you, there is no better man than Tony for you and I’m glad that you are happy with him. You deserve that. You both deserve to be happy.

You know that Bucky meant a lot to me. When I got out of the ice, I had lost everyone I loved and when I knew Bucky was still alive, he was the only thing that I can hold on to. I’ve lost Peggy, my parents, and everyone else in my life. Knowing Bucky was out there, I cannot just leave him alone under the influence of those people. I have to bring him home.

I have not succeeded yet, but I hope that when I do, you will let me make things up to you.

I know it must be hard for the two of you to forgive Bucky and until you do, I don’t think you will understand why I go through these lengths to bring him home. Bucky hurt Tony; I know that. No matter how much I hope the two of you understand that Bucky would never have done that if he were not under the influence of HYDRA, I know that it is not something that you can just accept and I understand.

But in some ways, Bucky did hurt you too. Unintentionally and indirectly, of course. And I want you to know that it was none of his fault and please do not hate him for what I did. I was the one who left you––he did not ask me to, and it was all my choice. I take full blame for what happened to us. I know that I probably won’t ever be able to make it up to you, but please let me try.

I want you to know that you are still holding that piece of my heart with you and no matter what, I will always love you. I am here for you if you ever need me. I’ll be seeing you.

Love, Steve.

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@thevanishedillusion​ @welcometomyworldwithoutrules​ @plan3tmadison​ @tonystarkismydaddy​ @poemfreak306​ @memyselfandandrea @jenniseiblack @sophiatomlinson23 @lilulo-12

[ventimigrillo]

Milo Ventimiglia & Priyanka Chopra ↳ "I Can’t Make You Love Me” behind the scenes

[capsicletho-archive]

I Can’t Make You Love Me

…if you don’t. You can’t make your heart feel something that it won’t.

a Tony Stark series; author: @clareae | chapter 03

genre: romance, action

trigger: none

word count: 1287

summary: Reader and Tony found comfort in each other while they were trying to mend their own broken hearts.

a/n: I felt bad for part two because I didn’t do it proper justice, so here is the third chapter that I promised. I hope you guys enjoyed this! Let me know what you think and if you want to be added to the tagging list!

masterlist | ICMYLM directory | previous chapter

Your laughter echoed across the bedroom as he held you close, telling you stories from way back in the twenties and thirties when he was still a young man, before the serum. You loved listening to his stories, because for once you were listening to what the years before all the vast technology is like, instead of just watching it through a movie. You were talking to someone who actually experienced it.

“Okay, I’m really hungry now; not all of us has super stomachs and never feel hungry you know,” You teased him, pushing the covers off your body and lifting up his heavy arm from your hip. “Come on,” you tried to pull him by the arm; meanwhile, Steve–who didn’t even budge no matter how much force you put into pulling him–watched you struggle with an amused smile. “Hun!” You grunted, letting go of his arm.

Steve laughed, “Alright, alright,” he surrendered willingly, getting up with a groan. He put his arm around you and opened the door, just as Natasha rounded the corner with a coffee mug.

“Good morning, lovebirds,” she teased. “Clint is sulking because he didn’t get his daily coffee,” Natasha said with a raised eyebrow.

The two of you glanced to the kitchen island, seeing Clint already half asleep again with a mug in front of him. “Looks like he’s doing just fine,” you shrugged.

“Well I don’t make as mean a coffee as you do, (Y/N), so you better hope he doesn’t fall asleep while shooting those arrows,” she proceeded to walk back to her own room.

Steve chuckled, putting his index finger in front of his lips and crept up behind Clint while you rounded the corner of the island, joining Bruce to watch Clint from right across him.

“Barton!” Steve yelled, banging the marble table causing him to jump in surprise, knocking the coffee mug with his hand and causing it to spill all over him.

Clint’s reaction caused all four of you exploded in laughter while Clint groaned before he stomped away with a sulk. You cooed at him, still laughing a few moments later before you turned around to cook yourself breakfast.

After brunch, you and Steve decided to spend a quality time outside the tower without getting interrupted by the childish and chaotic screams and wails of the other Avengers who would either sulk over the things that didn’t go their way, or laugh at someone who they had just pulled a prank on.

“I have an idea!” You exclaimed right after you tied the shoelaces to your Adidas sneakers.

Steve turned to look at you as he pushed his shirt drawer close. “What is it?”

“How about we go to Brooklyn and you actually show me these places you’ve been talking about,” you suggested, standing up and putting your leather jacket on.

“Okay,” Steve nodded slowly, “That actually sound pretty good,” he smiled. He was quite excited to show you a glimpse of all the stories that he had told you all these time.

The two of you stopped by the sidewalk of the streets and hailed a taxi, and then the driver stopped in front of a small cafe. After paying the driver, the two of you got out and you naturally thought the coffee shop was something that has existed since Steve lived here decades ago, but it was not.

“This is the street where I grew up,” he told you. “Of course, it’s way different now than it was then,” he pointed out, looking around him as if he could just imagine how the modern Brooklyn slowly sheds away and transforms into the old thirties to forties Brooklyn that he remembered so well.

Boys running around with makeshift swords and shields, girls wearing pigtails and bright yellow or red dresses with a doll in their hand, mothers pulling their kids away from the candy store, fathers purchasing newspapers with a cigar stuck between his lips. It was all rushing back to him, and a glint of the purest happiness appeared across his lips. You watched him and you couldn’t help but smile too.

The two of you explored Brooklyn further; the building that was once a secret S.H.I.E.L.D property where he was injected with his serum, the store that he crashed into the first time he got out into the real world as a super soldier chasing after a man who killed doctor Erskine, and saving the best for last, he showed you the theatre where he stood up to a man who was being disrespectful. He had hoped that the two of you can catch a movie, but he didn’t know that it was already closed down two years after he went on ice.

“I’m sorry, I was hoping we could watch a movie there,” he apologised, holding your hand while the two of you walked along the pavement to look for a place to rest your feet and have some dinner.

“It’s okay. It’s still a great day; definitely a new way to explore Brooklyn, I love it,” you leaned your chin against his shoulder and smiled cheekily.

Steve smiled and then pushed the door to the restaurant and the two of you spent the rest of the evening before heading back to the tower in the restaurant.

The sun streaming in caused you to squint; you turned your head to spot Steve still calmly sleeping. You leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips before gingerly getting out of bed and making a beeline towards the shower. You got dressed up for work to find Steve stirring in bed, slowly waking up to see you all dressed up and neat.

“Good morning,” you greeted him, kissing his lips again. “I have to go to work; I took too much time off,” you chuckled, and he chuckled too.

“Come on, I’ll make you coffee,” he got up and led you outside; like always, no one is up yet.

Soon after you finished breakfast, Steve left a last kiss just before the elevator doors close.

“See you tonight,” you smiled.

You were excited to come home and spend some time with Steve, catching up to what he was up to all day that he doesn’t have a mission or a missing person to look for. You walked into the tower to spot Tony munching on a slice of pizza in the living room. You waved at him and proceeded to walk into your room, hoping to see Steve there. But you did not. Instead, a note replaced him.

Got another lead. I’ll see you when I get back soon, I promise.

I love you.

-Steve

You sighed, sitting at the edge of the bed as you kicked off your heels. You put the note inside your bag and walked out, approaching Tony who had his feet up on the expensive coffee table. The two of you didn’t say anything, but you just plopped right next to him and he looked at you as he had a pizza in his right hand and a glass of whisky in his left.

He knew that Steve had left, and everybody knows that you are always the saddest when he left–which made you feel like such a clingy girlfriend. But the Avengers also know that of all the ten months you had been dating Steve–and almost two years of knowing him–you spent the least time with him because of all the missions he had to complete.

Tony extended his right arm to you, offering the new slice of pizza. You shook your head, pointing at the bourbon in his hand instead; he chuckled, and handed it to you. 

“Knock yourself out,” he said.

[capsicletho]

I Can’t Make You Love Me

…if you don’t. You can’t make your heart feel something that it won’t.

a Tony Stark series; author: @stvrktony | chapter 13

trigger: -

warning: civil war spoilers if that’s even still a thing; 

word count: -

summary: Reader and Tony found comfort in each other while they were trying to mend their own broken hearts.

a/n: -

masterlist | ICMYLM masterlist | previous chapter

Complying with Tony was just a way to shut him up and get him out of the compound, because he was on a deadline. You knew that one way or another, you are going to go where Tony is going. You haven’t had that figured out yet, currently, but you’re going to get there. You entered Tony’s study –– although you’re not a tech genius like your boyfriend is, you knew how some things worked based on your own observations and what he taught you about certain things.

You looked around the study and then poked around until you found one of Tony’s earpieces and took it with you. You exited the study and then turn around only to jump in surprise.

“What are you doing?” Happy asked.

“Uh...I thought I left my wallet in there, but it’s not there,” you lied.

“Huh,” Happy examined your face and you tried to put on the best innocent expression you could muster. “Alright, well. Tony told me to make sure you stay here and not go anywhere. But right now I have to drop someone off, so please do me a favor and don’t mess around, okay?”

“Who are you dropping off where?” You asked, a cheeky smile on your lips. If you can get that information out of Happy, you would not have to go through your complicated plan.

“None of your business,” Happy retorted, seeing through your move.

“Happyyyyyyy,” you called out to him. “You have to tell me! Tony could be in danger, the only way I can stop him is if I know where he’s going!”

“He’s going to be fine. He’s with Rhodey, Vision, and Nat, now I gotta go drop the kid off in Germany before Cap leaves.” Happy said as he walked away and fiddling with his iPad. But then he halted in a sudden and turned around.

You smirked. “Thank you, Happy,” you smiled. You decided to ignore the fact that he said ‘kid’ because it would give Happy time to stall you.

“Hey! (Y/N)! Don’t!” Happy called over to you, but you already disappeared into your room to pull the exact same suitcase that you haven’t even unpacked. You instantly left the compound in one of Tony’s cars and zipped to the airport. You booked the earliest flight which is about two hours away. The perfect amount of time to actually get to the airport and then buy some other things you might need to board the plane.

Meanwhile, back at the facility, Happy debated on calling Tony ––- knowing that his boss already had so much on his plate. But he also needed to pick Peter up and accompany him Germany. The man groaned and decided to deal with you later and prioritize Peter first.

Your eight hour flight ended smoothly and you could not wait to get to the hotel. As soon as the plane landed, you slipped on the earpiece that you had and tuned in to the conversation, but it was quiet. Too quiet. You gathered your bag, took off the earpiece, and put it back on your bag, knowing that it might get confiscated in customs. Just as you were waiting for your bag, you heard over the speakers that certain people were ushered out of a wing in the airport and there were complaints and people who looked angry, but some were also jumping in curiosity and excitement trying to still glance back to the airport wing that was being emptied. You were confused, why would they close an entire wing. 

As you watched the people being transferred into other flights or booked hotels, you caught hints from a boy who was jumping around in excitement, he was a foreigner, but you would not have mistakenly heard the superhero names he was uttering. “Captain America!” he yelled out, the name laced thickly with their accent. He spoke again and then your boyfriend’s superhero alias came up. “Iron Man...” The gestures the boy was making, let you know that the Avengers are here, in this very airport.

You immediately shoved your way past the people and tried your best to hide from the security guards. Meanwhile, you slipped the earpiece back on and tried to get through to Tony, asking FRIDAY to connect you to him.

“Honey. What are you doing here?” Tony yelled in your ear as you slipped past more guards. His breath sounded a little bit labored, like he was doing a heavy activity.

“I told you I won’t come with you, but that does not mean I can’t go alone,” you retorted. “I’m on my way to you,” you said.

“No you’re not! Turn around. Leave. Now.” He ordered you. Right then, a security guard stopped you from going further into the airport wing that was closed.

“I’m with Tony Stark,” you said, showing your Stark Industries ID. You figured it out now, Tony must have had the airport employees usher people out to avoid casualties.

“No. No, you’re not with Tony Stark. You’re going home right now,” Tony spoke in your ear, unfortunately the security guard would not be able to hear him.

“I have to get this to him, it’s urgent.” You lifted a pouch from your handbag. It was actually your sleeping eye mask pouch, but he seemed to believe it was something important. “Now if you could please just step aside and maybe point me in the direction to where he is, I’ll be out of your hair in a flash,” you said.

The man studied you for a while, and as if on cue, Happy appeared behind you. “Actually, she’s not going there, she’s coming with me.”

 You sighed and turned around, seeing Happy behind you.

“Come on. Don’t make me drag you out of here,” the bodyguard said.

You turned to the security guard who was now crossing his arms, surely he was not going to let you in now. “Fine,” you sighed in annoyance.

Happy loaded your suitcase into the car while you got in. You climbed into the car and just as you 

“Babe, you still there?” Tony’s voice sounded in your earpiece. He sounded frantic and scared and you quickly tensed up.

“I’m here. Tony, are you okay? What’s going on?” You asked.

 “I- I need... I need an ambulance.” The man stuttered, a sign of panic overpowering him.

“Tony are you hurt?” You asked again.

“N-No, no, no. It’s Rhodey. Rhodey...I couldn’t get to him in time.” He tried to explain.

“First responders are already here,” FRIDAY joined in on the conversation.

“Okay, Tony, calm down, babe. I’ll take care of it, just get out of there safely, okay?” You calmly spoke, knowing that if you panicked it would worsen Tony’s panic attack. You turned to Happy who decided not to leave when he heard you talking to Tony. “Happy, go, we’re going to the hospital now.”

You and Happy arrived at the hospital before Rhodey and the ambulance did and you quickly got everything sorted out, from the room he will be staying in until making sure that there will be a place ready for him in the emergency room so that they can examine him quickly.

You paced back and forth as you waited for Rhodey in the emergency room. From what you saw, you knew he took a hard hit which worried you even further as to what was going on between all of them at the airport.

“(Y/N),” a voice called out to you and you turned around to see Tony. He was battered and there were bruises forming in his face. You were scared to even imagine what other injuries and bruises he was sustaining.

You quickly walked over to him and enveloped him in a hug. Tony grunted a little at the impact, but he wrapped an arm around your waist while you wrapped both arms around his neck. He exhaled as he buried his face in your neck, inhaling your scent always helped calm him down; knowing that you’re near and that you’re safe comforts him more than anything. Your fingers slipped into his hair and rubbing soothing circles on the back of his neck. You stayed like that for a few minutes before Tony finally spoke up.

“What did the doctors say?” He asked.

“I don’t know, they haven’t come outside of the ICU yet,” you said as you pulled away to look at his face but still wrapping your arms around him. Your finger gently traced the bruise under his eye, causing him to wince a little. That was when you noticed he was not actually moving his left arm, not even to hug you. “What happened to your arm?” You asked.

“I think I sprained it,” he said.

You knew he was downplaying it. A lot has happened to Tony’s left arm, you noticed. Every time he came back from a mission or a fight, he would always have worse problems on his left arm than anywhere else. Tony said he was not sure how it started, but it was most likely when he first became Iron Man when he was flying to rescue hostages when a shell hit him.

“Okay, we’re getting you to a doctor,” you let go of him and then pulled his right arm to direct him to the ER.

After moments of you persuading and him refusing, you were sitting with him looking at the scan result for his arm. It was sprained, like he said, but you knew that he was experiencing worse pain than he just a sprained arm because his left arm had so much trauma from previous injuries.

The nurses decided to put his arm in a sling, and the man was already impatient, wanting to see Rhodey’s doctor as soon as possible. Right after the sling was clipped on properly, he stood up and left the room. You thanked the nurse in a hurry and followed him out to wait in front of the ICU again.

Things got worse when Tony received the news about his best friend’s condition. You sighed, worried for Rhodey but also for Tony. There is now another burden on his shoulders: the guilt of not being able to rescue Rhodey in time that had caused his long-time best friend to be paralyzed waist down.

You looked at Tony just standing there in front of Rhodey’s room and you bit your lower lip. “Tony, go,” you encouraged him. “I’ll keep you updated, okay? So go do what you have to do.”

TAG LIST:

@thevanishedillusion​ @welcometomyworldwithoutrules​ @plan3tmadison​ @tonystarkismydaddy​ @poemfreak306​ @memyselfandandrea @jenniseiblack @sophiatomlinson23 @lilulo-12

[capsicletho]

I Can’t Make You Love Me

…if you don’t. You can’t make your heart feel something that it won’t.

a Tony Stark series; author: @stvrktony | chapter 14

trigger: -

warning: mentions of blood, fight, injury

word count: 1.4

summary: Reader and Tony found comfort in each other while they were trying to mend their own broken hearts.

a/n: second to last chapter, you guys! get ready for an ending that will shake your world lol.

masterlist | ICMYLM masterlist | previous chapter

You sat next to Rhodey’s bed, holding his hand as a form of comfort––no matter how little. The man was silent as he held your hand, closing his eyes and using his other forearm to cover his eyes. You could never imagine what he was going through right now. He was a pilot and a military man; losing control of the lower part of his body was going to end his career and make his life much harder.

“Rhodey,” you called out softly, squeezing his hand a little. He hummed a little to let you know he was listening but did not move. “Tony is setting up the medical team at the facility and he convinced the doctors to transfer you there,” you said. “Do you want to go or…?” You were not sure how to finish your sentence.

The man nodded and opened his eyes. With a sigh, he said, “Yeah. Let’s go home.”

After that you spent hours coordinating Rhodey’s transfer to the facility. Tony trusted his own hired doctors more than the doctors in Germany and he wanted the best for his best friend––not to mention his own guilt was plaguing him and making sure things are running smoothly was the least you could do to make sure that Tony was focused on whatever he needed to do to bring Steve in.

Rhodey was asked to stay another day so that the doctors can ensure that his vitals are suitable to let him fly a long journey back to the US. You made sure that everything was ready; from the jet that was going to take Rhodey there, his new room that could facilitate his current predicament, the team that was going to welcome them there, and every single detail. It was a mini project that you were doing to keep yourself from worrying about Tony.

You stood outside of Rhodey’s room, waiting for the doctors to be finished assessing him when your phone rang, Tony’s caller ID appearing on the screen.

“Hi, babe,” You greeted him.

“Hi. How’s Rhodey?” He asked.

“He’s being checked up by the doctors to make sure he’s good to travel. Everything else is ready to make sure the transition runs smoothly,” you said.

“That’s good,” Tony said, but you could clearly hear his underlying tone; he was thinking about something else.

“What is it, babe?” You asked.

He took a deep breath as if to brace himself to tell you all the facts he had gathered. He told you of the journey to the prison where Clint, Wanda, and Sam were locked up and how Bucky was set up by the same man who was pretending to be the psychologist hired to interrogate him. You took a sharp breath in as well, your heart wrenching at how complicated things just got; at the same time you were still a little sensitive about the mention of Bucky. The only time you had ever seen him was at the airport, but the way he had been involved in your life even when he was not physically there left you with uncertainty of how to feel about him.

Your daze was shook off when Tony announced that he is on his way to Siberia to meet Steve and Bucky to confront Zemo before he was able to wake the rest of the Winter Soldiers that were put in hibernation.

“Okay. Be safe. Please,” you pleaded to him. “Do what’s right.”

“I will, baby. I love you,” Tony replied.

“I love you too.”

Tony ended the call after that, right as the doctor came out of the examination room to tell you the good news that Rhodey’s condition is well enough for him to travel. You smiled in relief and after that you were busy coordinating everything, not answering your phone nor paying attention to anything else.

You boarded the plane after Rhodey and the medical team were inside. You sat down on one of the plane’s plush chairs and waited for take off when FRIDAY chimed in through the intercoms of the plane.

“Miss (Y/L/N), something you need to see.”

The screen turned on as if on queue and showed you an old footage of a car driving down a road. Rhodey leaned in to watch as well. You were unfamiliar with the road or the car but as soon as it crashed you sucked in a deep breath.

“Is this-“ you were about to ask Rhodey when he nodded, knowing what you were thinking.

“Howard and Maria Stark’s crash,” he confirmed.

Right then you saw the familiar glint of a silver metal arm. You watched as he murdered Maria and Howard Stark in cold blood.

“Oh God,” you muttered under your breath, tears coming into your eyes. All this time Tony believed that his parents were killed in a car accident, but they were not. They were killed by Bucky. The same man who was the center of all this chaos you, Tony, and Steve were tangled in. “FRIDAY, is Tony seeing this?” You asked.

“Yes. So is Captain America and Bucky Barnes,” FRIDAY replied and your heart plunged into the pit of your stomach. If Tony was there with Bucky and Steve, you knew Tony was going to try and kill Bucky for what he had done, and you knew Steve. He was going to defend Bucky by saying that it was not Bucky, it was him under the influence of The Winter Soldier and Tony would not stand a chance with two against one.

You looked at Rhodey, your mind still trying to process everything when Rhodey made your mind up for you. “(Y/N), go. Go find Tony.”

Hours later with Rhodey pulling strings and overriding commands, the quinjet dropped you off exactly where Tony was and exactly as you expected, there he was, trying to pick himself up. You bolted towards him despite the cold weather and your thin jacket and lack of snow boots.

“Tony!” You crouched next to him, holding him up. You examined the scars and bruises on his face, afraid to know who among the two men might have caused it. “FRIDAY, eject,” you said but the suit was no longer functional, it kept Tony inside because the arc reactor had died.

He leaned his head on you and you hugged him tight, ignoring the blood that was staining your shirt.  That was the least of your worries when you heard him sniffle, knowing well that he was crying. “Come on, let’s get you inside the jet,” you whispered to him, kissing his temple as you struggled to haul him up despite the weight. That was when you noticed Steve’s shield but no sign of him anymore. You picked up the shield and you two walked back into the jet.

You helped him take the suit off piece by piece and then treated his injuries as the jet made its way back to the United States.

After that, nothing was ever the same anymore. The facility was too quiet without the sounds of the Avengers laughing or training together. Tony refused to go there aside from visiting Rhodey. He spent hours cooped up in the lab, not eating nor sleeping much, but focused on building various devices that could help Rhodey walk again. You were worried about him, of course. You wanted him to know that none of this was his fault and that he needed to see that. Even after the prove that Bucky was framed, you somehow still believed that Steve had no right to turn into a renegade like he did and started disobeying the law. All Tony did was to protect them.

Finally after the robotic legs he designed for Rhodey was completed, he came up to bed at 11 PM. It was the first time in weeks that you had seen him come up so early. He slept like a baby right next to you, holding you close until the morning came and refusing to let you go. You were his form of comfort.

The day after that, the two of you spent most of your time in the facility. You were doing a lot of clean up work because even though you technically work for the Stark Industries, you decided to help out with the Avengers––what’s left of it anyway. Meanwhile Tony continued to help Rhodey with his treatments.

“Miss (Y/L/N), a letter for you,” Tony’s assistant walked into your office one day and handed you a letter. There was no name nor address, just a blank white envelope. You were afraid to even open it because you had a hunch as to who it was from.

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[capsicletho]

I Can’t Make You Love Me

…if you don’t. You can’t make your heart feel something that it won’t.

a Tony Stark series; author: @stvrktony | chapter 10

trigger: fluuuuuuuuff.

word count: -

summary: Reader and Tony found comfort in each other while they were trying to mend their own broken hearts.

a/n: after a broken laptop and a difficult final exam, i’m back with another chapter for ICMYLM! i’m sorry i’ve been taking so long on updating, but i hope you all have been curious!

masterlist | ICMYLM masterlist | previous chapter

As you laid back down on the pile of blankets and pillows, Tony chucked a piece of crumpled napkin at Sam for his comment and you could only smile. You directed your gaze at Tony who looked back at you, his eyes full of question as you used your eyeballs to discreetly point at Steve who was still standing behind you, across the room. Tony understood and then it looked like the cogs in his brain was working — he finally ushered the entire room out, leaving you and Steve alone. That’s when you sat back up.

You expected a snide comment, but you were taken aback by how quiet he was being as he stared deep into your gaze.

You didn’t know what to say, so instead you just said, “How are you?” after you cleared your throat.

He looked at you like you were ridiculous — and if you could be honest, you did feel a little bit ridiculous. “Good,” Steve replied. The two of you were quiet, before he cleared his throat as well. “So…” he began. “You and Tony?” He asked, immediately regretting the fact that he did.

You felt your heart plunge to your stomach and shook your head. “Um, no…not- not like that,” you said. You dared yourself to turn your body fully towards him. “We’re friends. We’ve been hanging out a lot, and he was spending Christmas alone, so I-”

“You don’t have to explain it to me,” he cut you off, shaking his head slightly. “It’s none of my business, anyway, you know,” Steve shrugged, but you can clearly see how he was actually making an effort to not care -- which only meant that he did truly care. A second later, he put the two of you out of the misery of the the awkwardness and wished you a merry Christmas just before he left.

You reached for your phone, texting Tony to let him know that you will be going home to your apartment; you weren’t exactly in the mood to join the Avengers lounging around in the lab.

Since it was a holiday, you didn’t exactly have to catch up on work until after the New Years. So you spent the entire day cooped up in your apartment, binging on your favourite TV shows and movies -- only stopping to shower or cook some food or phoning your friends to wish them Merry Christmas. It was the perfect day.

A text message appeared from your mother, asking how your day was and to report about all the fun you were missing; that was when you realized that Tony hadn’t replied to your message all day -- which was odd of him. You decided that he was probably having fun with his friends -- it is the holidays after all. It was almost twelve so you decided to watch the last episode of your favourite TV show when your phone dinged, signaling another incoming text message from an unknown number

(Y/N), it’s Nat. Where r u?

You furrowed your brows and then replied,

In my apartment

A second later Nat’s reply came in,

You need to get here now.

You don’t exactly know where ‘here’ is, but you’re assuming it’s the tower. You sent another reply back, asking why but you still got ready anyway. Nat’s reply was not answering your question and you huffed.

Just get here.

You chose to wear another sweater and leggings again and paired it with the same boots you used last night, only putting on the tiniest bit of makeup so that you wouldn’t look completely disheveled from being on the couch all day, before finally getting in your car and drove to the tower. As you got into the elevator of the living room the doors slid open to a sea of people while the beat of the music sent vibrations on the floor. A girl walked past you in heels and a cocktail dress, and the guy next to him in a button down shirt with his sleeves rolled up and khaki pants. It was a party. Tony threw a party at the tower, and didn’t invite you.

You furrowed your brows and pushed past the swarm of people glancing at how ridiculously underdressed you were. You spotted the redhead among the sea of people and nudged her. “What’s wrong?”

She tilted her chin towards the man standing -- or more precisely drunkenly dancing -- a few feet away from you. You raised an eyebrow; Tony was sandwiched between two ladies who were dancing -- or more precisely grinding -- against him to the music.

“I didn’t know he was throwing a party,” you said bitterly as you looked at the trio in disgust.

“It was all last minute,” Nat shrugged. “And since it’s Tony, people would gladly dump their plans just to come to one of his parties.”

“So what am I doing here?” You asked.

“To stop him from destroying stuff because soon he’ll get even more drunk and break out one of the suits to show people what he can do; it happened before, this time with all the upgrades he has on his suits, it might be worse,” she said.

“You can’t do that?” You asked, you didn’t even realize how upset you sounded.

“Nope. I gotta clear the room out when it’s all done. And besides don’t you wanna get revenge on him for not inviting you? And for...that?” The redhead gestured at Tony and the two girls still with him.

It was as if Nat could read your mind before you were even thinking it, because now that she mentioned it you did feel upset. Inhaling, you trudged towards Tony and grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the two girls who looked irritated that you were probably disturbing their chance of sleeping with Tony.

“What are you doing?” He asked, stopping and pulling his hand back.

“Babysitting, apparently,” you commented, not letting go and pulling him again.

“My guests are here,” he argued.

“Nat will handle it,” you said.

“Wait, I gotta make an announcement,” he said, slipping his hand out of your grip and yelling, “You’re all invited to my New Year’s Eve party!” Naturally, everybody cheered and clapped. “Same time, same place,” he continued, but you were already pulling him into the elevator. 

When the elevator doors closed, Tony was still giggling childishly and you rolled your eyes. Ten seconds later the doors reopened to the quieter floor of where Tony’s room should be.

“What are you doing here, (Y/N)?” He asked again.

“I told you, babysitting,” you said.

“Are you mad that I didn’t invite you to the party?” He smirked.

“No, I was actually enjoying my quiet night watching TV shows,” you lied. Well, half-lied.

“Why are you even here with me, shouldn’t you be with Cap?”

“What?” You turned towards him as the two of you stopped in front of his bedroom door.

“’No, not like that. We’re friends’,” he spoke in a pretentious high-pitched voice. That’s when you realized he was actually quoting what you said to Steve this morning.

“Seriously? You did all this just because of what I said to Steve?” You asked, even more upset now. “Jesus, you’re so petty,” you mumbled.

He scoffed.

“What did you expect me to answer, Tony? We were friends, weren’t we?” You asked, clearly confused now, because the two of you never actually established anything.

"(Y/N), the kiss was meant to tell you that we were definitely more than that!” He shot back.

“No, Tony. The kiss just told me how you felt about me and how I felt about you. We never actually established anything, and I didn’t want to assume, because I know you, and that was like one kiss and-”

Tony pulled your waist and pressed his lips against yours to cut you off like he did yesterday. He kissed you passionately but slightly rougher than he did last night as his fingers weaved through your hair.

After he pulled away, you looked up at him as your foreheads rested on each others’, asking, “What does that supposed to tell me?”

“It should tell you that maybe we’re moving way too fast, but I can’t stand the thought of not having you close.”

You chuckled. “Fast?” You repeated his words. “We’re moving at lightning speed,” you corrected him.

This was probably the most unrealistic love story ever, but your aching heart was somehow warmed by the thought of being with Tony––and maybe you were just jumping head first into it, and maybe you’ll get your heart broken later because you weren’t stupid, you know the risks of being with him and yet you were still stupid enough to want to take that risk.

“What if this is a rebound stage?” You finally sounded what the two of you were afraid to think about––or maybe even admit.

“What if it is?” He asked.

“I...” you stopped yourself. You wanted to say that you didn’t want this unnamed, special thing you have with Tony to be your rebound; but maybe you were a bit more selfish than that. You didn’t want to be his rebound, because what if he’s not yours and then you’ll fall in love with him and then he has gotten over you because his rebound phase is over? You were more scared of that than of the fact that the man was a playboy.

“Am I?” He asked. “Am I your rebound?”

You gave him a little shrug, “I don’t know.”

He smiled. “Then let’s...let’s just find out.” With that, he kissed you again and you were certain that this was definitely something more special than anything you’ve ever known.

TAG LIST:

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[capsicletho]

I Can’t Make You Love Me

…if you don’t. You can’t make your heart feel something that it won’t.

a Tony Stark series; author: @stvrktony | chapter 11

trigger: -

warning: civil war spoilers if you haven’t watched any (but if you haven’t watched it, wHAT HAVE U BEEN DOING MAN?) and um, reader is on Team Iron Man (obvi because she’s dating him)

word count: 2.8k

summary: Reader and Tony found comfort in each other while they were trying to mend their own broken hearts.

a/n: here we go with another installment! this one is exciting and a tiny bit boring at the same time ngl hahaha. i would love any feedback you all have on this or the previous chapters (which you can find below if you’ve missed some!). you can comment them on the posts, send me an ask, or even an instant message!

masterlist | ICMYLM masterlist | previous chapter

(Y/L/N): your last name (Y/F/N): your dad’s name

You and Tony were moving so fast into things that the two of you didn’t even bother stopping or slowing down anymore. The next day after you woke up, the two of you went on an official date, spending more time talking about deep things and as the night grows, it gets deeper and deeper.

Tony talked about his past; the fantastic life he lived where he was once the most notorious ladies’ man, when he used to gamble and splurge with no care in the world (although he still does that sometimes), when he used to care only about himself to the time he was kidnapped in Afghanistan and how he was still getting nightmares about that and how he felt like he failed for not being able to save Yin Sen and about Ultron, and about New York, and about every single mistake he made in the past. He told you about his  parents; how his father treated him and how much he loved his mother and how their death left a deep scar that seemed impossible to fill; he even talked about his relationship with Pepper, and even told you about how much he truly loved Pepper––but after everything, it turns out that they were not as compatible as he thought.

After Pepper, the only thing he thought he should do was go back to his old ways. But then you were there; your heartbreak was what somewhat saved him from going back to being the old Playboy Tony. So he focused all his attention on you, and that was when he found out––in such a short time––that although he loved Pepper once, he knew what being so compatible and in tune with someone feels like when he met you. It was like you fit into the puzzle pieces of his life so seamlessly and effortlessly.

In turn, you told him about your life. About why you chose to be a lawyer; it was to defend those who were defenseless and so that was why you preferred representing those who had weaker power like the wife who was tricked by her ex-husband and almost lose all of her asset, or the ex-secretary that was sexually assaulted by her boss, or whoever was facing injustice against stronger power. That was the kind of case you always worked hard for.

You also talked about your family; how your father was the United States’ Permanent Representative for the United Nations. You talked about what a happy childhood you had with your parents, even if your parents were both busy people––they still made time to make sure you didn’t grow up with any of them missing out. Your family was a stark contrast to Tony’s, and that was why you couldn’t help but also feel hurt knowing how he was always treated the way he doesn’t deserve.

(time jump, pretend new years party have already happened and this is a few months after)

“I made a code for you,” he said.

“Huh?”

“A code. Gives you unlimited access to everything; well, maybe for a few things, but you probably have the next highest authorization around here next to me and FRIDAY. And Rhodey,” he shrugged.

“You don’t think it’s too soon for that?” You asked as you leaned on the workbench, opposite to where he was.

“We’re moving in lightning speed anyway,” he smiled. You smiled back and then leaned forward a little bit, and Tony knew quickly what you want. He leaned in too, giving you a light kiss.

“Breakfast?” You asked.

“Yeah.” But he didn’t move, maybe he thought you were gonna bring it to him. So you rounded the table and pulled him to his feet.

“No, no, no, no” he said. “I need to make sure this is ready for the MIT speech,” he said.

“It is ready. It’s been ready for weeks now,” you assured him. He smirked a little and then gave in and got up to have breakfast with you.

You were slicing up your pancake when Tony asked. “Come with me?”

“Are you sure?” You stopped instantly and asked.

“Yeah, why not?” He asked.

“Alright,” you agreed.

After breakfast the two of you got ready and then went to MIT, unsurprisingly greeted by many paparazzi and met with a lot of stares from people as Tony placed a hand on your back to guide you into the building. The liaison officer from MIT greeted the two of you, and already you raised an eyebrow at his enthusiasm, chattering away to Tony who had already rolled his eyes, while you can only hold back your laugh.

The two of you stayed backstage as the setup on stage turned into real-life looking living room when the BARF technology was turned on. In front of you, a woman played a piano as she sang. She was absolutely beautiful and elegant. Blonde hair and a string of pearl necklace decorated her neckline. The scene continue to unfold in front of you until you saw Tony, but he was way younger than the Tony standing next to you right now.

Tony disappeared from beside you to the stage, starting his speech. The scene with his parents you just saw seem to touch you deeper than it does anyone in the auditorium, because you knew how painful all of that actually was to Tony. Your thoughts were disturbed by the loud cheer coming from the audience after they found out that their projects would be approved and funded by Tony Stark himself. You shook your head in awe and clapped as well as your gaze was directed to Tony, having no idea that it was a generous donation he was going to make. Suddenly you saw him froze as he stared ahead to the teleprompter and you tilted your head towards him as well and saw Pepper’s name there. You turned your eyes back to Tony to see his expression, but it seemed as though he collected himself pretty quickly and ended his speech.

“Restroom’s this way?” Tony asked the same liaison officer who was still pestering him. He guided you towards the exit of the auditorium; you knew well Tony didn’t have to ask that, after all he was a student at MIT, and it would be unlike Tony to forget where to go.

“Actually, I’m really going to go to the restroom,” you told him with a small chuckle as soon as you saw the restroom a few feet away from the elevator where the two of you are headed.

“Alright,” he said, letting your hand go.

After you used the restroom, you went to the sink to wash your hand and ran your fingers through your hair and finally exited to see Tony conversing with a woman. From the woman’s facial expression, you could see that it was a tense conversation. The woman took a glance at you, gave a last look to Tony and left.

You approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey,” you said. “Who was that?” You asked.

He blinked out of it and shook his head, “Huge fan,” he shrugged and then the elevator arrived. The two of you exited the elevator and walked towards the lobby where Happy is already waiting with the car. That’s when Tony received the phone call.

"Do you mind if we go to the facility for a bit?” He asked soon after the call ended.

“Not at all,” you replied. “Everything alright?” You asked.

Instead of answering, Tony handed his StarkPhone to you and there, you read a news about how the Avengers was just in Nigeria trying to catch a group of mercenaries when Wanda blew up a hotel unintentionally after losing control of her own power.

“Oh my God,” you muttered, reading on.

Secretary Ross was already at the facility when the two of you arrived; so that’s who Tony was calling.

“Stark,” he greeted him, and then turned his gaze towards you. You felt Tony grip your hand a bit tighter; he was trying to send a little gesture as if to brace you for any snide comment Ross was going to have.

“Ah, Ms. (Y/L/N). (Y/F/N)’s little girl, right?” he offered his hand for you to shake.

“Secretary Ross,” you shook his hand. You looked him in the eye as he looked to you, Tony, and back. Meanwhile Tony just raised an eyebrow as he looked at you and Ross, a bit surprised that the two of you already knew each other when he was just about to introduce the two of you.

All of you walked in and immediately headed for the meeting room where the Avengers had already gathered. They all took a seat as Secretary Ross took center stage, you caught Steve looking at you and the way Tony’s hand was casually holding yours.

Steve was actively wondering why is it that you were with Tony on weekdays instead of going to work, when all the time you were dating Steve, you had to go to work every morning and coming home late to work on a case, and it even takes up your weekends sometimes.

The answer to that would be because when you were with Steve, he had always went away to find Bucky and so you used all those times while Steve was away for lengthy periods of time to do work so that you wouldn’t come home just doing nothing and waiting for him. And now, Tony had decided to hire you as his personal lawyer; and although you were hesitant at first, because you were set on your previous goal on defending the defenseless, you decided to take it anyway. Being the head of legal to the entire Stark Industry.

You and Tony sat at the back of the room while the entire Avengers sat around the meeting room. As Secretary Ross began his speech and showed the team what they have done to several cities––highlighting the damages they’ve caused including the recent one in Lagos, you began to understand.

“Is this about the accords?” You whispered to Tony. Of course you knew about the accords; you have for a while now. Your dad––who knew about your relationship with Tony––had warned you about it, and Tony had finally told you about it too.

Tony nodded in reply, and instead of paying attention to what Ross said, he was looking at his hands. He knew this was a hard subject to bring up to the Avengers, and that’s why he had been holding it off for weeks.

You continued to watch as the Avengers exchanged their thoughts on it. After Secretary Ross, it seems as though the entire room was still unmoved.

Tony start to stand up, and so did you.

“Leaving?” Steve asked.

“I need coffee,” Tony muttered and he went to the kitchen, followed by you, and then Rhodey and slowly the rest of the Avengers started to follow the two of you to the kitchen.

All of you sat, but instead of making his coffee Tony was sitting down on the chaise lounge with his hand covering his eyes. You picked a seat near him, next to Natasha.

You were silent as everyone bickered about the accords, but you weren’t actively paying attention to them but you did as soon as Vision spoke up. He was incredibly intelligent, and you couldn’t help but to agree with him.

“Tony, you’re being uncharacteristically non-hyperverbal,” Nat said.

“It’s because he’s already made up his mind,” Steve butted in.

“Boy, you know me so well,” Tony groaned as he sat up. He went on to finally make his coffee when he placed his phone on the bowl and tapped the screen, pulling up a photo of a smiling young man. You looked at Tony in confusion, and apparently so did the rest of the Avengers.

“Oh, that’s Charles Spencer, by the way. He’s a great kid. Computer Engineering degree, 3.6 GPA, had a floor-level gig at Intel planned for the fall. But first he wanted to put a few miles on his soul before he parked it behind a desk; see the world, maybe be of service. Charles didn’t wanna go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale––which is what I would do. He didn’t go to Paris or Amsterdam––which sounds fun,” Tony paused.

“He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor, guess where? Sokovia.” Tony emphasized as he open the bottle full of aspirin. He paused again and you sucked in a breath.

“He wanted to make a difference, I suppose, we won’t know because we dropped a building on him while we’re kicking ass.”

Everyone was silent. Tony continued on, saying that the Avengers would be no better than the bad guys if they are boundary-less.

“Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don’t give up,” Steve said.

“Who says we’re giving up?” Tony retaliated.

“We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blame,” he said.

You scoffed at the same time Rhodey said, “I’m sorry, Steve, but that is dangerously arrogant.”

“Steve, you can’t just say that,” you began. “This is not a matter of doing what’s good for people anymore, this is a matter between states. The majority of you guys are U.S. citizens. Even governments aren’t allowed to directly disturb another government’s actions, what makes you think you’re allowed to do that? We have no jurisdiction past the U.S. borders. I’m sorry, but most of you are forgetting who you really are; you’re American citizens––you’re not part of the government, you don’t get diplomatic immunity, you don’t have that special right. Every normal citizen needs a visa and a passport when they leave the borders, and you guys have been aboard the Quinjet all this time carrying destructive weapons. What makes you think that is okay?”

“You’re saying we need permission to save people?” Steve asked, his eyes sharp and but a tinge of disappointment was there. Never in a million years that he thought the two of you were going to be on opposing sides.

“Yes!” You emphasized. “I get that you guys want to do good and help people; I really get it. If a mission is proved to be successful with minimal destruction people would adore you––but that is only the people. Their feelings are subjective––because they automatically change when you make a mistake––and so is your view on what’s good for a country, moreover a country that is not your own. The problem right now, is not about what good you want to do for people, but it’s about winning their trust back. You’re not seen as heroes right now, not even as vigilantes, but you’re seen as the bad guys. At the end of the day, after you finished saving people from some bad guys, you are not going to feel the full impact of the aftermath.” You feel bad for saying this especially because of what just happened to Wanda, but it is a truth they need to hear.

“Maybe you’ll feel remorse and regret, but you are not going to know what it’s like to rebuild your house from nothing. You’re not going to know what it feels like when you lose someone you love in the fire. You’re not the ones experiencing new job hunting and trips to therapy to help with your nightmares. What form of responsibility is going to help that, Steve? Damage Control might help with rebuilding and funding, but what about those people you say you care about? What form of responsibility will solve that?”

“This is the United Nations we’re talking about. It’s not World Security Council, it’s not SHIELD, it’s not HYDRA...” as Rhodey spoke, your phone chimed and you stood up, moving to the corner of the room to take the phone call.

When you turned around, you saw Steve leaving. Instead of returning back to your seat, you quietly followed Steve only to see him stop on the stairs, ducking his head. You took a few steps down and stood one step above where he was.

“What is it?” You asked, noticing how his other hand was holding onto his phone. You took it from him and read the text message. You felt a pang in your heart––although not quite certain what that feeling was about. “I’m sorry,” you whispered.

Steve didn’t respond. Instead he just ducked his head even deeper as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Hey,” you whispered, touching his shoulder and then pulling him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around you tight as he began to sob. This was definitely a first time; you have never seen him cry like this before, and it was strange to you, but you did your best to comfort him as the two of you stood there on the steps of the facility.

TAG LIST

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