I'm smiling next to you - A Marvel Fic

III

A/N; Sorry for not updating in a while! School's been a real dickwad lately, and i just couldn't muster the energy to write anything. 

Tony was the first one to get up out of his seat. He looked around the conference room, observing each of his team's members reactions.

Bucky looked like he was about to get sick, his face as white as a freshly washed bedsheet. Steve was beside him, holding his hand and whispering soothingly to him, seemingly trying to calm him down. Next to the two of them, the fellow spies sat, silent. The twins and Vision were trying to talk to them, but the two spies seemed to be having a telepathic conversation between them.

The genius walked past them, towards his two best friends, Bruce and Rhodey. Sam was for some reason missing from the meeting, but he was sure Steve would inform him about what they were going to do. Bruce was deep in thought, and Rhodey was gazing to somewhere far away. His head snapped up as soon as Tony came nearer. The billionaire beckoned to him as he walked past, and out of the conference room. He didn't want to talk in front of the rest of the team.

The two best friends walked alongside each other, in silence, until they had reached the lab. Tony's fingers made a soft tapping sound as he entered the code to his lab. He was a bit hesitant to relay the information that he had to Rhodey, but he knew his best friend wouldn't judge him for it. Making a beeline towards one of his desks as soon as FRIDAY opened the doors, he picked up a folder and threw it towards the Colonel.

Rhodey was barely able to catch it, but his hands still closed around it. Judging by his friend's weird behaviour, he gathered that Tony wasn't in the mood to talk about whatever is in the folder. Instead of talking to his friend, he walked towards the couch and plopped down. He saw Tony pull out some of his blueprints, and he heard a low mumble coming from him. Immediately after a soft beat started playing, unusual for Tony's taste of music. He shrugged and opened the folder, his eyes scanning over the first couple of words.

Soldier 2231 - Wolf Spider
Peter Benjamin Parker
16 years of age.
Abilities: Superhuman strength, Advanced metabolism, Enhanced senses, Sticking abilities, Ablility to shoot webs, Sixth sense (Danger Warning sense), Advanced Healing.
Subject has been in containment for five years, under training of the newly Winter Soldiers. Subject hasn't been out on a mission, needs to be prepared for Mission 'Avenge Traitor'.

It was just a short file, having the information in it that Fury gave them. Rhodey looked up towards Tony, who was humming along with one of the calmer songs from AC/DC, his hands mindlessly tinkering with one of his suits. The soldier could feel his heart constrict. This is gonna be bad news for Tony if this was going to be a Bucky situation. Nothing was going to happen to Tony, if he could do something about it. He fiddled through the folder. His eye fell to an even shorter file, seemingly from another Winter Soldier. He started reading, putting the map on his lap.

Soldier *X* - Winter Soldier
James Buchanan Barnes
101 years of age
Abilities: Advanced healing, Slightly heightened senses, Advanced metabolism, Cybernetic (vibranium) arm.

Rhodey frowned. Why did Tony have this file in here? He glanced at the billionaire again, and felt his heart sink. Tony had stopped working. He was fiddling with his hands, and glanced at his best friend every so often. Rhodey stood up, and slowly walked to the genius, and said with a soothing voice. "Why did you give me this Tony?"

The man didn't react for a moment. He just kept fiddling with his hands, carefully avoiding Rhodey's gaze. "I-uhm" He began. "If this boy- this kid is really someone like Bucky, I- I don't want him to end up like Buck." Then he did look up towards his friend. Rhodey was shocked at how broken Tony looked, a look he hasn't seen for a while. "And yes, I know, the kid has already been all of that shit, but I- I don't know if you remember a little kid, like eleven years old. Like, approximately five years ago? Ring a bell?" 

Rhodey nodded carefully. He did have some memories of a scrawny boy, but he didn't really remember him that well. But he did feel a sense of happiness and warmth thinking back to the kid.

Tony smiled a little at that, but the smile dropped of off his face as he continued. "Yeah, well, that's Peter. He's the new Winter Soldier." A tear rolled of off his cheek, and he looked away from Rhodey. "I just wanted to rescue him, but the memories from Bucky are still too fresh, and I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to save him, and instead make it worse." He dropped his head in his hands, and Rhodey quickly walked over to him, putting a careful hand on the genius' shoulder. "I want to save him Rhodey. Gods, who knows in what kind of state he is, and it's all my fault that I'm too scared to do anything about it." A choked sob escaped his lips. He turned to Rhodey, falling against his life-long friend. He started sobbing more frantically, and Rhodey put his arms around him, softly soothing him. 

"I miss the kid so much Rhodes. I miss him so much, and I'm too fucking scared of saving him." He gripped his friend tighter, burying his face into the man's shirt. When he spoke his next words, his voice was barely a whisper. "I just wished he didn't leave me."

Rhodey didn't know what to do, and instead just gripped his friend tighter. He softly called out to FRIDAY, requesting Pepper to come down here. Because if there was one thing Tony needed right now, was an evening with his wife and friend.

A/N; Little backstory for you guys. Next chapter is back to Peter, so get ready!
-Noortje ;P