A mile in my shoes

Chapter 29

Tony had never truly appreciated how beautiful the city was until that short vacation with Laura and the kids. Stark Tower had primarily served as a place for work, whether it was managing the thriving business or coordinating with the Avengers. The team had come together out of sheer necessity during the battle of New York. Since then, Tony had found himself surrounded by a sea of paperwork and his time taken by diplomatic discussions with agencies all over the world. The situation had only worsened after the fall of Shield. But this was something he had grown accustomed to. Stark Industries wasn't one of the biggest companies in the world without him learning to swim with the sharks. If SI was his responsibility, the Avengers were a charge that should never have fallen on his shoulders.

And yet, they were still weighing heavily in his mind. They were back in prison, but the situation had happened before. Hopefully, there was no one left to break them out of their prison. The United Nations were diligently preparing their trials, with the help of the formidable Pepper Potts. She was on a warpath, determined and focused, and Tony knew not to stand in her way. Instead, he resolved to channel his efforts toward something good.

Bucky Barnes' hands had been the ones responsible for strangling Tony's mother. There was no way around it. The video had removed all doubts about the real reason behind the death of Howard and Maria Stark. Now that the genius could clearly think about it, Barnes wasn't really responsible. He had been the weapon sent by Hydra. Lost in his anger and grief, Tony had attacked him in Siberia and his metal arm.

Barnes had chosen to warn Tony about Roger's intentions. The body swap had certainly been hard for the Sergeant even if he was in the cryochamber. He could have said absolutely nothing to a man who was after all his enemy. In an odd way, they didn't owe anything to one another. Any debt had been settled.

"Hello Kitty Princess! I have something that might be of assistance to Barnes," Tony said, as an introduction. Everybody knew who he was.

"His mental health hasn't been at its best since that body-swap experience, Doctor Stark," Shuri answered, completely unphased by Tony's antics. "I believe we should address that problem before even considering removing the trigger words."

"Well, BARF might be of help there too," Tony responded.

"BARF?"

The young genius found the name amusing but was deeply intrigued by the technology and the science behind it. Barnes would need to be taught exactly what would be happening to him and his consent before they could do anything. The man would have to participate actively every step of the way. Tony didn't want to sugarcoat it. The journey ahead would not be easy. It would be similar to experiencing the worst moment in his life but in a safe atmosphere. Barnes would be able to adjust the events and change the impact they had on his mind. It was a demanding task that would require considerable strength and time. Barnes stood at the very beginning of a very long and torturous road.

The Sergeant had made one thing abundantly clear. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with Steve Rogers ever again. It was still difficult to explain exactly what had happened during his time as Captain America. His brain was mixing Russian and English on the best days anyways. His mind was scrambled even though it was getting better. He wasn't the sweet talker he used to be in another life. He had managed to give Shuri the gist of what had happened and shared his disbelief that Rogers had allowed everything to unfold as it did.

Tony understood it well. Rogers wouldn't jeopardise his legacy for anyone. He held onto the notion that he was that knight in shining armour, believing that World War Two had been won thanks to him only and that the future would need him against the next threat. There was always another enemy on the horizon. The irony was palpable there, especially when every member of Tony's former team spoke of his supposedly inflated ego. At least the body swap experience had the advantage of shedding light on many things that had happened. So many bad decisions had been made over the years. Not only by Tony but mainly by Rogers.