Avengers Stories //Oneshots//

Farmhouse Blues (Part 1)

This is going to be a two part thing. Beware that there will be nightmares descripted in this, possible panic attack (haven't planned that far), and a little bit of OOCness. This is an AU story following the story line of Age of Ultron.

Staying in Clint's house wasn't as bad as Tony thought it might be. Sticking to the corners hadn't worked out when he and Steve started arguing again. Tony was thankful that he was asked to look at the tractor, not knowing how long he would have been able to hold up his front against Steve.

He had fixed the cobb web covered tractor after his impromptu meeting with the one eyed pirate himself and had even taken it out for a test run. The look on Clint's face when he saw a tractor thought to be dead seven years ago still working was priceless and Tony had never wished for a camera more in his life.

He had fixed the tractor at the cost of his clothes, but it had been a small price to pay and Tony was used to his clothes being destroyed in the lab. He had changed and had only then noticed how late it was getting, the sun becoming low in the sky. A ball of anxiety that had been forming since they came felt to increase in size for a few seconds before he fought it down as best he could.

His anxiety stemmed from being in a new and totally different place. It had eased when he was fixing the tractor, engineering being his element, but then he was back in a farmhouse with children running around. Children who didn't realize he was a former weapons manufacturer. Children who didn't realize that they were in the presence of the Merchant of Death. Such an old moniker, yet it stuck so well.

He had tried to make up for what he'd done. He's tried so hard. He'd shut down the weapons division despite it being against the opinion of everyone he knew. He'd created the Ironman suit to save people. He'd joined the Avengers in hope to make up for a lot more things he'd done in his past.

The partying, the recklessness, his nativity to what his own godfather was doing, Yinsen's death. He was trying to make up for everything. In creating Ultron, he might be destroying everything. He had tried to protect the world from a threat he'd seen in that wormhole. He had tried to protect the universe and his team from his vision. He had tried to protect the world from himself.

Yet he only succeeded in creating a murder bot.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm his racing heart, he migrated from room to room in the large house soundlessly. He marked spots that needed to be repaired in his mind whille making a list of things he needed on a notepad and pen he'd had in his pocket. He wasn't sure when he put it there, but he was thankful for it.

Clint said they would be staying here for the night, maybe tomorrow night, too.

With his passed two sleepless nights and the exhausting activities, Tony wasn't sure if he'd be able to stay awake that long.

Steve and Clint were out working in the yard before the sun went completely down. The kids were playing video games on the couch and Tony thought he saw Bruce and Natasha talking on the back porch earlier, so he had decided to let them be for a bit. There was obviously something going on, and Tony wasn't one to but in on personal relationships like that. It may seem like he was, but he only eavesdropped when he felt like there was something big and dangerous going on.

He moved to the kitchen, notepad and pen put away. He stuffed his hands in his pockets to try and hide the fidgeting they did when he was nervous. His tapping on countertops sometimes annoyed people, as well as when his feet or leg nervously bounced, so he tried to keep himself moving.

Laura, Clint's wife, was cooking dinner. Chicken with a side of salad by the looks of it. She leaned down and opened a cabinet, seeming to have not noticed him quite yet. Or maybe she had and just didn't acknowledge him. Maybe she didn't want him here. The woman reached out and started to pull a heavy duty pan out, letting out a small breath as she struggled. Without thinking, he jumped forward and crouched, pulling the pan out for her.