Arcs Collide

Chapter 6: Growing Company

"Mr. President," Tony greeted as the screen in front of him filled with the face of Matthew Ellis.

"Mr. Stark," the president returned, but something in his voice was different. Tony was used to Ellis greeting him dryly, as was their tradition. But today, the man greeted him warmly with a comfortable smile.

Slightly confused, Tony asked, "Is there anything I can help you with, sir?"

The man shook his head, his face losing its smile and adopting a frown and pained look. "I wish to apologize on behalf of the US government for the trouble caused to you by former Secretary Ross. You also have our deepest condolences for the events in Siberia."

Ah, the formal apology. That made sense. Ellis probably didn't want Tony to say something that would cost him the coming election, and with his new hard stance against Rogers and his band, Ellis actually had a good chance to win.

But then the man's face turned genuinely regretful. His eyes were cast down, and his eyebrows tightened in a frown as he spoke with genuine emotion. "May I speak personally, Mr. Stark?"

Tony was surprised by that but had a good feeling. Deciding to take his chances, Tony gave a gentle nod before commenting, "Then you might as well call me Tony, sir. Never liked the 'Mr. Stark' thing."

With a small twitch at the end of his lips, Ellis spoke, true remorse coloring each word. "I owe you an apology, Tony. You saved my life during the Mandarin incident, and all I've given you since then is a cold attitude."

Tony blinked twice. He never really paid it attention before, but now that he thought about it, it was weird that he saved the life of the president and never received an award, while a couple of years before that, he received one for stopping Vanko and Hammer from running amok.

Tony could think of one difference that could cause that. "Let me guess, Rogers."

The man nodded shamefully. "It's not a secret I was a big fan of Captain America. I hoped that with my new status as president and his status as leader of the Avengers, I would meet him often, but I got to meet him very rarely. The first time was right after your defeat of Killian. Cap... Mr. Rogers's opinion of you was... low. And I'm ashamed to admit I allowed it to color my own."

Tony tilted his head to the side and asked, "Not anymore?"

Ellis snorted. "I think we all know Rogers is not the Captain America from the stories. I made a mistake, and I hope we can move past it and work together, Tony."

Tony was starting to think that was the damn theme of the night. First Lang, then Sharon, and now this. But still, Tony was used to working with people he didn't like and who didn't like him to reach an important end goal. Although this felt different. Ellis actually looked like he respected him now.

With a genuine smile, Tony snarked, "Well, doesn't it sound like the beginning of a wonderful partnership."

The tension in Ellis's face significantly eased. He gave Tony a small smile before speaking. "Well then, you might as well call me Matthew in private conversations." Tony gave him an encouraging nod, and the president spoke again. "Maybe you can help me solve all these problems Rogers and Ross created for me."

Tony snorted and leaned back in his chair. "Lay it on me."

Matthew leaned back in his own chair before going through some of the paperwork on his table. He looked back at Tony with an exasperated sigh. "Well, I need to appoint both a Secretary of State and a representative for the Accord Council. And then we have the Avengers problem as well as SHIELD."

Tony closed his eyes for a moment. He was already on the ball with the New Avengers program. SHIELD was more of Phil's and Nick's thing, but he did have an idea that would make life easier for them. He didn't mention it until now because it would require the support of the president, which he has now. And the two positions he needed to fill could be handled in the same breath as helping rebuild SHIELD.