When You Were Never Mine

Abandonment

As you had expected, when Tony and Steve had come to a place where they could tolerate each other in the same room without the urge to murder, the meeting was missing one key player; Bucky didn't come along and stayed behind in Wakanda. Natasha had taken his place next to Steve at the table instead, leaving you to realize just how serious he was during your last conversation. Tensions still ran high despite the agreement to keep within best behaviors; the fight that had erupted between Steve and Tony was epic to say the least, with scars that might never fully fade away even if they could resolve to rejoin the team together.

"Where's Barnes?" Tony asked as the group settled into their seats. "I didn't scare him off, did I? I promised to be a good boy."

"No, not at all," Steve answered readily, "there were just factors at play that he needed to attend to and couldn't make it. He sends his regrets."

"I bet he does," you mumbled under your breath, and it wasn't missed. You looked to your three teammates with a feigned surprise, even though you did wake up that morning feeling a little argumentative with a hint of petulance. "What?"

Tony was the first to ask, while Steve and Natasha seemed to shy away even more. You hadn't been hiding anything from Tony, per se, but you weren't exactly forthcoming without a little push. "Exactly," he asked, turning to face you, "what?"

"I'm just...I'm not surprised, okay? I didn't expect him to show up in the first place."

"So why do you look like someone just kicked your puppy? It sure seems to be bothering you."

You looked up at Steve with a quick glance and a subtle shake of your head, communicating that you didn't want to have this conversation here, hoping that the two of you hadn't been separated so long that he could no longer read you. You knew full well that Bucky had likely told him everything. "Don't read too much into it, Tony. He just couldn't make it."

"He couldn't make it to a meeting that's this important? We're talking about putting the team back together, and so that I can hear your insane suggestion that we bring him along for the ride." As Tony spoke, his words became more energetic, pushing himself forward in his chair to lean into the table to make his point physically. "I can't forgive him this easily, as you think I'm going to, and I'm sure as hell not likely to forget any time soon."

"Then why are we even here?" Natasha finally joined in. "If you're not ready to move past it-"

"That's not what I said," he immediately argued. "I said that I can't forgive and forget, but I can be a damn professional if I have to be. This is about getting the team back together, and I've decided that I need to figure out what this being a bigger person thing means. I don't know how the hell I'm supposed to prove that to anyone if the center of my rage-filled psyche doesn't show up. So, what was so important that he was allowed to take a pass and we weren't?"

This time, Steve was the one to look to you, almost as if he were seeking permission; he knew exactly what was said between you and Bucky during your recent argument, and even though he would never intentionally use that information for his own gain, he wasn't above using it to protect his friend. "Buck doesn't want to see (Y/N)," he blurted out, eliciting a gasp from you as you stared him down.

Once again, Tony turned to you, almost giddy that the two of you were on the outs, "why? What happened?"

"Nothing," you deflected. "Let's just stay on task, okay? We can do this without him."

"No, there's something," he persisted, "you keep looking at Rogers..." Tony sat quietly when you didn't play into his continued questioning, now mimicking you in looking to Steve for answers that you wouldn't provide. When Steve dropped his gaze to the tabletop in return, the lightbulb came on in Tony's mind and he slammed is open hand on the surface with a loud crack. "Oh, come the fuck on, you're kidding me, right? I've been pretty damn forgiving with this shit for years now, but this is too much."