Brown Eyes

Chapter 13

The two of you pull up outside of Tony's Malibu mansion, the one he rebuilt after the attack from the Mandarin, and your jaw can't help but drop. Tony grins at your reaction but continues to lead you inside, where you are even more shocked. The high ceilings and high-end touches that fill the room leave you speechless as Tony just walks in and flops down on the couch in the center of the room that faces a wall made from windows. You make your way over to the window, careful not to touch anything, and take in the view. Stunning is the only word for it. You look down into the water and get a flash of watching the previous mansion falling into the water during the Mandarian attack that you watched on the news all those years ago. A shiver runs through you and you take a step back, turning to take in Tony's relaxed form. He has his own wistful look on his face.

"It's been a long time since I've been here," Tony states, looking around the room. You walk over and join him on the couch, relaxing into the soft cushions. "I tried to have it rebuilt exactly the same as it was before, but it's missing all the memories. If the walls could talk and all that...," he states.

"Is that why you stayed in New York?"

"Partially, but it also made more sense for the team. Living across the country from the rest of the team doesn't make any sense in terms of logistics, although I considered it after the Civil War. Couldn't stand seeing thier stuff everywhere." You frown at his statement but nod understandably. He takes in your frown and gives you a sad smile. He tries to brush past his confession by saying, "Plus, where else would I store all my parent's old stuff and my old creations." Your frown doesn't let up though.

"Why would you let them come back?" You ask quietly. He looks startled by your question. "I mean, it's obvious you all care about each other, but if what Peter told me was true about what Steve did to you, how could you welcome them back?"

"No one has asked me that in a very long time. Even back then, it seemed that only Rhodey and Pepper were on my side." He gets a far-off and contemplative look on his face. The two of you sit in silence for a moment before he answers you. "At the time, it was not their unwillingness to sign the accords that angered me, contrary to what the news said. If all of us had been more open with each other, we could have come up with the amendments we have in place now before everything went to shit. And if what Peter told you was about my parents, then yeah, it's true. But, I wasn't even angry with Barnes. Okay, that's a lie. I was angry in the moment, but after I had time to sit down and think through everything, I don't blame him. Prison of war, brainwashing, yada yada, all that good jazz. The real issue was Rogers hiding it from me. I wanted to punch him in his annoyingly straight teeth for a long time after Siberia, but it didn't feel right to punish the rest of them for his mistake. They never should have been put in the Raft either. So, despite Rhodey and Pepper's concerns, I let them come back. Even helped to make sure they got thier pardons so that they could come back. For the most part, as you can probably tell, everything has gotten better, stronger than before even, more open with each other. It helps that the others hadn't known about my parents, and Steve had promised Nat that he would tell me. Steve and I are still on the mend. I don't know that I will ever trust him fully again, but Pepper's been trying to teach me that holding grudges hurts me more than anyone else." You sit in silence for a moment. The news had covered many of the reasons and fallouts due to the Civil War, and Peter had filled you in over the years about what he learned after that day, but hearing Tony's side really put it into another perspective for you.

"I'm sorry he lied to you. I remember watching the news footage afterwards, but I was more worried about trying to get a hold of Peter. You took him with you to Germany for his 'internship, and all I could think about was whether he was at that airport or not. Little did I know that he was actually in on the action." Tony smiles at you.