Actions

Work Header

Rating:
Archive Warning:
Category:
Fandom:
Characters:
Additional Tags:
Language:
English
Series:
Part 17 of Fics in which Tony will not be pushed around
Collections:
Teamtonystark1, Avengers as Family, Assassin Twins + Tony, Cast pearls before swine, A Collection of Beloved Inserts, Tony_Tony_Tony, Read & Loved MCU Fics, From Ghibli to Star Wars, hufflepuffdemiwizard's completed works, Not to be misplaced, Tony Stark, dog-eared fics, ZombieLove's Time Eaters
Stats:
Published:
2021-10-25
Completed:
2021-10-31
Words:
6,053
Chapters:
3/3
Comments:
476
Kudos:
5,692
Bookmarks:
862
Hits:
67,133

The Day Tony Left

Summary:

Sometimes it isn't the big things that are too much, sometimes it's the little ones. When Tony reaches the end of his rope it is a perfectly average Tuesday. There is no battle, fight, argument, there is just the last piece of straw that broke the camels back. This is the story of Tony Stark, reaching the end of his rope, and choosing to walk away.

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Chapter 1: The Last Straw

Chapter Text

Everyone has their breaking point, the point where they’ve been pushed too far. It’s a point of no return, and some people are lucky enough never to hit theirs. Tony’s never been very lucky though.

It happened on a random Tuesday. A Tuesday that was no different from one thousand other Tuesday’s. There was no world ending event, no record loss at Stark Industries. Everything was absolutely fine.

Tony has three meetings on Tuesday’s, the first one is with the Avengers, and it was, as always, annoying, and repetitive, and pointless. The second one, was with a liaison for the United States Government, and it was, as always, tedious, and boring, and pointless. He got through both of them.

“We’re currently approaching the end of the fiscal year and stocks are-“ Pepper turns towards him, and stops. “Mr. Stark, are you paying attention?”

“Of course,” He doesn’t bother to look up from his phone, he’s been working on a sudoku puzzle to keep his hands busy while she talks. He is listening though, it’s just to hard to focus if that’s all he does.

“Mr. Stark.” Pepper snaps, walking over to him. “This is an important meeting. You can’t just be on your phone in the middle of it.” She goes to take his phone out of his hand, and something inside him breaks. He pulls it away from her.

“I can.” He says, and he can see her eyes harden, preparing for a fight. He doesn’t want to fight anymore. “Don’t.” He warns her, a line in the sand.

“Give me your phone.” She says, stepping right over it. Just like everyone does, all the time.  

“No.” He rises to his feet, and turns to leave, tapping away at the puzzle. He can see out of the corner of his eyes, the way her eyes go wide. The door shuts behind him. “Friday?”

“Yes Boss?” Friday asks, and he smiles fondly.

“I need you to call a press conference.” He says, stepping into the elevator, and hitting the button for his garage.

“Regarding what exactly?” Friday asks, sounding just a little unsure.

“My resignation.” The elevator doors open, and he doesn’t hesitate, heading for his fastest car.

“When would you like this press conference to be?” Friday asks, and he smiles, an empty smile.

“I’ll be at Burger King in ten minutes.” He answers, and peels out of the parking garage. He doesn’t want to stop, and thing about things. “They can meet me in the parking lot.”

“Of course, Boss, directing you now.” The navigation pops up. Friday doesn’t ask him why, she doesn’t ask him if, he’s sure. He’s not sure how he would answer if she did.

“Send Pepper, and Maria Hill an email.” Tony says, “tell them both that I quit, and make it absolutely clear to Maria that I quit as an Avenger, and as financial backer to the Avengers.”  

“Done Boss, Ironman was always better as a solo act.” Friday says, and his phone starts ringing as he pulls into the parking lot.

“Screen all my calls.” He says, as he get’s out of the car. “I don’t want to talk to anyone.” He put’s his sunglasses on, and steps up to the small crowd of reporters Friday managed to gather.

“Man, do I have a headline for you,” He grins at them, and steps up onto the curb. “Thanks for coming on such short notice.” There are a few awkward smiles, and a thumbs up from a particularly enthusiastic reporter.

“What’s this about?” Christine asks. He’s not surprised to see her, she always is there when something important is happening.

“You know, when I was trapped in that cave in Afghanistan, I wasn’t alone.” He starts, he hadn’t talked about Yinsen in the weeks following his kidnapping, he’d kept it to himself. “There was another captive, a doctor, by the name of Ho Yinsen, and despite the fact that he lost his family to my weapons, he saved my life.”

There’s a couple of questions from the gathered reporters. Tony ignores them.

“He was a good man, and he was wise, far wiser than I was then.” Tony shakes his head, looking past the crowd. “He told me something that stuck with me, told me that I was a man with everything, and nothing.” Tony looks down then. “He also told me not to waste my life.”

The gathered reporters are dead silent, waiting for his next words.

“For a while, I thought I wasn’t.” Tony continues, offering them a hollow smile. “I though New York, being an Avenger, quitting the weapons business. I thought that all of that was me, not wasting my life.” He shakes his head. “I was an idiot, because despite all of that I am still the man with everything, and nothing.”

Camera’s flash, and Tony smiles.

“Because of that, effective immediately, I have resigned from the Avengers,” He pushes past the sudden noise from the gathered reporters. “I am resigning from Stark Industries, and I’m going to try something different.”

“Mr. Stark, are you really going to abandon all of the people who rely on you to protect them?” Christine asks, and a part of him wants to laugh.

“Ms. Everhart, I am not the only superhero in the world.” He says, as if he’s sharing a secret. “I’m not the only inventor either, and I am not quitting Ironman. I’ll still be here, although I won’t be here.” He gestures to the area. “I’m done being in the limelight Ms. Everhart.”

There are a few more shouted questions. Tony ignores them all.

“I don’t plan on doing anymore interviews.” He announces, and then he ducks back into his car, and pulls into the drive thru.

“Friday, revoke anyone in the personal, and shield list’s access, and override codes, and get me a map of the US.” He requests, pulling forward.

“What can we get you?” A tinny voice comes over the drive thru speaker. His car is fully charged, and he’s free as a bird.

“Two burgers, a large fry, and a chocolate shake.” Tony orders. There are miles of road in front of him, the car is fully charged, and there’s a million stupid road side attraction’s he’s never seen.   

Chapter 2: 5 People finding out Tony Left

Chapter Text

 

Pepper

 

The door shuts behind Tony Stark, leaving Pepper in the middle of the board room. She blinks after him, baffled.

“Did he just?” Jason from accounting asks, eyes wide. Pepper shakes her head, closes her mouth, and turns back to the room.

“It seems he did.” She says, she’ll have to deal with him later. “I’ll talk to him later.” She’s angry, frustrated. The gall of that man to just walk out of a meeting because she asked him to pay attention. “Now, as I was saying,” She turns back to her power point.

“Shouldn’t someone go after him?” Jason asks, eyes darting between her and the door. “That wasn’t like him.”

“It’s Tony.” Pepper says, she isn’t worried. He’ll be back, asking for her forgiveness in no time.

“Exactly.” Ms. Jones says, raising an eyebrow at Pepper. “It’s Tony Stark, and this is Stark Industries.” Pepper wants to roll her eyes, this again, she’s proven herself capable as CEO, and yet still the Board look to Tony.

“I understand your concerns,” Pepper says, trying to placate the woman. “I will discuss this behavior with him later.” Ms. Jones doesn’t look satisfied with that, and Pepper’s phone vibrates. “See, that’s probably him.”

“Well,” Ms. Jones raises an unimpressed eyebrow. “Aren’t you going to check it?” Pepper doesn’t roll her eyes, managing to keep a straight face. She’s about to explain that she’ll check it after the meeting.

“I do recommend checking it now.” Friday cuts in before she can. “It’s rather important.” Pepper sighs, and opens the email.

              Dear Ms. Potts,

I regret to inform you that I am resigning from my position as both a member of the board, and head of Research and Development, effective immediately.

I wish you the best of luck.

Tony Stark

“No,” Pepper mutters, her phone slipping from her hands. “This has to be a joke, Friday. He can’t be serious with this.”

“What?” Daniel asks, and Pepper looks at him. She’s panicking.

“Tony Stark just quit.” She whispers, dropping into her chair. “He can’t? Right? He wouldn’t?” They may not be on the best of terms right now, but she never expected the man to just quit.

“We need to call public relations, now. This is going to effect our stocks.” Mr. Peters declares, turning to Sam, who immediately rushes out of the room.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Pepper mutters, “I doubt Tony Stark is going to quit over me telling him to put his phone down.” She shakes her head. “This is just a stunt.”

“Um, Ms. Pott’s,” Jason interrupts, “You may want to turn on Channel 7 news.”

“Friday,” Pepper orders, trying desperately to keep her composure. “If you will.” Dread pools in her stomach as Tony’s face fills the screen.

“-good man, and he was wise, far wiser than I was then.” He seems to be in a parking lot, talking to a small crowd of reporters. Pepper’s hand comes up to cover her mouth. “He told me something that stuck with me, told me that I was a man with everything, and nothing.” Tony looks down then. “He also told me not to waste my life.”

“Dear god, he’s actually doing it.” Someone else in the room mutters. Pepper feels like the world is about to end.

 “For a while, I thought I wasn’t. I thought New York, being an Avenger, quitting the weapons business. I thought that all of that was me, not wasting my life.” He shakes his head. “I was an idiot, because despite all of that I am still the man with everything, and nothing, because of that, effective immediately, I have resigned from the Avengers,” Pepper blinks.

“The Avengers?” She mutters, grabbing her phone to reread the email, maybe it wasn’t them, maybe she misunderstood.

“I am resigning from Stark Industries, and I’m going to try something different.” He declares, and the last bit of hope she has disappeared.

“Mr. Stark, are you really going to abandon all of the people who rely on you to protect them?” A reporter asks.

“Are you really going to abandon us?” Pepper asks, she can’t understand it. All of this over his phone, it was ridiculous.   

“Ms. Everhart, I am not the only superhero in the world.” Like Pepper hasn’t been telling him that for years. “I’m not the only inventor either, and I am not quitting Ironman. I’ll still be here, although I won’t be here. I’m done being in the limelight Ms. Everhart. I don’t plan on doing anymore interviews.”

And then he’s gone.

“Well shit,” Pepper mutters, turning off the screen. “Someone get PR on the phone now, we don’t have time for them to get here.”

 

Maria

 

Dear Director Hill.  

I regret to inform you that I am resigning from my position as both a member of the Avengers, and as their financial backer, effective immediately.

I wish you the best of luck.

Tony Stark

Short, and to the point. Maria reads it again, and again, expecting some sort of explanation, reason. There’s nothing.

“Damn,” She pulls the door to her office. “Someone get me Agent Romanoff, now.” She orders, no one moves. “Now.” She snaps, “Barton too, let’s move it people.”

There’s a mad scramble as people reach for phones, and rush out of the room. She turns to go back to her desk.

“Holy shit.” She hears, and catches sight of someone staring at their phone. “Tony Stark just announced he’s leaving the Avengers, live on the news.” Shit, already?

“You,” She points to an agent. “Call Tony Stark,” She turns to another. “You call Stark Industries,” another, “You call Pepper Potts, I want answers. And someone warn PR, their phones are about to blow up.”

They’ve run the calculations before, and the Avenger’s can’t afford to function without Tony Stark. “I want Romanoff here five minutes ago.” She snaps dropping back into her desk chair, and typing up a response asking him to reconsider.

“Romanoff, and Barton are on their way.” Agent Sheffield reports, rushing back to his desk.

“I want them in my office the moment they get here,” She calls out, shoving away from the desk, one glance at her phone reveals a dozen missed calls and a flood of emails.

“Hey, what’s got you so wound up?” Agent Barton asks, dropping casually into one of her chairs. Natasha following right behind him.

“What’s up?” She asks, her voice breaking slightly. She turns to Natasha, expecting her to be as shocked by his lack of awareness as she is. Instead, she’s met by an impassive stare. “Where is Tony Stark?” She asks.

“Stark Industries,” Natasha says, as if it’s obvious. “He has a meeting with Potts on Tuesday afternoons.” She shrugs, and Maria has the sudden desire to throw both of them out of a window.

“Well, he left early.” Maria snaps, and Natasha finally seems to catch on that she should be worried. “He was last seen declaring his resignation from both Stark Industries, and the Avengers in a Burger King parking lot.” She can feel herself starting to yell.

“What?” Clint asks.

“That’s not possible,” Nat says. “We saw him this morning, he was fine.” Maria is struggling to resist the urge to strangle her.

“Clearly, something changed.” Maria snaps, turning her screen so Agent Romanoff can read the resignation letter. She watches as her eyes scan the screen, and see’s the moment the blood drains from her face.

“He’s withdrawing funding?” Agent Romanoff asks, finally sounding concerned. Maria nods.

“Can he do that?” Agent Barton asks, wide eyed with shock. Maria is considering throttling him.

“It’s his money.” Natasha points out, still not looking away from the screen. “What are we going to do?”

“You, are going to find him.” Maria snaps, pointing at her. “When you do, you’re going to beg him to come back.” She can see Natasha growing defensive. “That’s an order.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The two of them chorus. Maria waves them out of her office, it’s going to be a long week.

 

Rhodey

 

“Colonel Rhodes!” A young Private Rhodey vaguely remembers meeting before calls out, rushing up to him. “Have you seen this?” The kid shoves a phone towards Rhodey.

Tony Stark Quits the Avengers and Stark Industries

Rhodey reads the headline, blinks, reads it again.

“Can you believe it?” The kid asks, practically vibrating with excitement. Rhodey hands his phone back, feeling numb.

“I need to make a phone call,” he mutters, turning back to his office, the kid salutes as Rhodey rushes off. He’s pushing the door open when General McNamara stops him.

“Colonel Rhodes,” General McNamara greets, slightly out of breath. “We need you to make contact with Stark.” Rhodey nods, gesturing to his office doow.

“I just heard; I was about to call him.” Rhodey explains, Tony Stark has always been a workaholic quitting everything is so out of character Rhodey doesn’t know what to think.  

“Good, I’ve got others in talks with Stark Industries, but we need to know what happened.” General McNamara explains. “Update me as soon as you’re done.” He claps Rhodey on the shoulder and disappears down the hall.

Rhodey shuts the office door behind him, and locks it. Everyone on base is going to want to talk to him today. He pushes away from the door, and starts dialing.

“C’mon,” he mutters. “Pick up, pick up, pick up.” The line rings, and rings, and for a moment he thinks Tony’s not going to answer. There’s a click as the call connects. “Oh, thank god.” He relaxes dropping into his chair with relief.  

“Hi Colonel Rhodes.” The cheerful voice of Friday greets, and Rhodey’s feels a sudden sense of foreboding.

“Hi Friday,” He replies, voice hollow. Tony didn’t answer. Tony didn’t answer.

“Can I ask what this call is regarding Colonel Rhodes?” Friday asks, and Rhodey blinks. The reason he’s calling couldn’t be more obvious.

“Tony just quit.” He says, and it doesn’t feel real. It isn’t like him at all. “What do you think I’m calling about?” There’s a pause, and he wonders if Friday is talking to Tony, conveying what Rhodey said.

“In what capacity are you calling?” Friday asks,  “Personal or Professional?” Rhodey can’t believe she’d ask that.

“Personal of course.” He snaps, and there’s a hum from the AI, as if she’s considering his words.

“You are calling on a work number,” Friday declares, “Please explain your goal for speaking with Tony, and who you will share the content of your call with.” Rhodey groans, pushing to his feet, and beginning to pace.

“My goal Friday, is to find out why my best friend just quit his own company, and the avengers.” Rhodey says, “Can you please just put me through.” He’s frustrated, and he needs to know what’s going through Tony’s head.

“Who will you be reporting the content of this call to?” Friday repeats, she doesn’t trust him. He stops still, Tony’s AI doesn’t trust him.

“The Brass are going to be breathing down my neck about this Friday.” Rhodey explains, and he’s about to defend himself, defend his friendship.

“That doesn’t sound like a personal call.” Friday says, annoyed and distrustful.

“Yeah, well it is.” Rhodey snaps. “I’m worried about him.” It’s the truth.

“Boss is fine.” Friday shoots back, and then the call disconnects. The silence feels like it echoes as Rhodey drops back into his chair. There’s a knock on his door, and he pulls his cell out to send Tony a text. There are a dozen new emails in his inbox, more coming in every minute.

 There’s another knock on the door. He gets up to open it.

“General wants to talk to you.” Private Martin says. His phone buzzes in his pocket, and he looks down at it.

Your messages are currently being screened. Friday was replying for Tony. Try again later.

“Yeah, let’s go talk to the General.” Rhodey grumbles, gesturing for Private Martin to lead on. He’s going to need to go on leave, he’s got a best friend to check on.

 

Steve

 

Steve heard about Tony leaving the Avenger’s on the news, and the only thing he felt was relief. He’d been stressed since they had exposed Hydra, worried that Tony would fin out about Bucky, worried Tony would hurt him.

---

“Where are you going?” He asked, Nat was packing her bag.

“Mission from Maria,” she says without looking up, and Steve frowns. They’re a team, Maria can’t just take Natasha away for a mission.

“What mission?” He asks, “What about our missions?” Natasha shrugs, zipping the bag up, and pulling it onto her shoulder.

“Don’t know if you heard, Tony’s gone.” Natasha says, Steve can’t understand why that would matter. He looks at her, and she claps him on the shoulder. “I work for Maria, gotta go where she sends me, but good luck with your search.”

“What if I need you?” Steve asks, and Natasha smiles at him heading out the door.

“You’re a big boy Steve, you’ll figure it out.” She says, and the door shuts behind her. He tries to shake off the sinking feeling in his gut.

“Friday,” He calls out, wanting to know if there’s any updates on Bucky. There’s no answer. “Friday?”

“Stark tech.” Clint says, passing through with a suitcase. Steve blinks at him.

“What?” He asks, looking around the room. “Where are you going?” Clint smiles at him, in a way that feels like the pitying looks he got as a kid.

“Friday is Stark tech, no Stark, no Friday.” Clint explains, and Steve hadn’t considered that. “And I’m going home, it was either the farm or the barracks, and I miss my kids.”

“What if I need you?” Steve asks, trying to understand why everything was falling apart.

“Then call me Cap.” Clint smiles. “Best of luck, and I’ll see you around.” He waves, and shoves his stuff out the door.

---

Even when they moved him into the barracks, Steve still thought this could be for the better, he got word that Bucky was sighted in Guatemala, and he’d rushed off for the quinjet.

“Cap!” Someone called, as he rushed past and boarded the jet. He turns it on, and prepares the liftoff only to realize, there’s no fuel. He grabs his phone, punching in Tony’s number.

The line rings, and he paces the length of the quinjet. Every second they waste the lead grows colder.

“Thank you for calling Tony Stark,” Friday chirps when the call connects. “What are you calling about?”

“Friday, I need to talk to Tony.” Steve states.

“What are you calling about?” Friday repeats, and he rolls his eyes. Of course, Tony’s AI wouldn’t understand the urgency.

“I don’t have time for this Friday,” Steve snaps, “The quinjet isn’t fueled up.” There’s a noise that sounds distinctly confused, and Steve still hasn’t figured out how Tony made his AI’s do that.

“I don’t understand.” She says, “Why are you calling Boss, and not your boss, Maria Hill?” Steve stops in his tracks. “All funding for the Avengers, and maintenance for your equipment is her responsibility now.”

“What?” Steve deadpans. He resists the urge to crush his phone. “I don’t have time for this Friday, I need to go.”

“If you’re in such a hurry, then you should try calling the correct number,” She chirps and with a click the line goes dead. He calls back immediately, punching the number in, but the line doesn’t even ring.

“Damn it Friday.” He growls, and scrolls down to Maria’s number. She has the good sense to pick up right away at least.

“Director Hill.” She answers, sounding professional.

“Why isn’t the quinjet fueled?” Steve asks, storming off of it, and glaring at one of the people working nearby.

“Do you know how much it costs to keep that thing fueled?” Maria asks, “We don’t have any urgent international mission’s we’ll fuel it when we do.”  

“I have an urgent mission.” Steve snaps, this is getting ridiculous.

“Where do you need to go, we can fly you commercial.” She offers, and that is unacceptable, it’ll take far too long to get through airport security.

“I don’t have time for that.” Steve argues, and it feels like he’s arguing with a brick wall. “I need to get to Guatemala now.”

“Why?” Maria asks, as if that’s any of her business. He tries to wait her out, but he really is in a hurry.

“Why isn’t important.” He doesn’t owe her an explanation. He never had to explain any of this before, nothing should change now.

“If it’s not important, then you don’t need to go.” Maria replies.  As if it’s that simple, she doesn’t understand. “Now, if it is important, and time sensitive, and you have any evidence of a situation in Guatemala you need to tell me so I can liaise with the proper authorities.”

“That’s not how this is supposed to work,” Steve grumbles, now she wants to tell other people. Unacceptable. He considers hanging up, and trying Tony’s phone again.

“Well, that’s how it works, so talk.” Maria snaps. He rolls his eyes, and explains the situation with Hydra. Things were so much easier when Tony was around.

 

Harley

 

When Harley hears about Tony quitting, he picks up his phone, and sends a quick text.

So, you finally did it huh?

About time old man

Who you calling old?

You watch your mouth kid

What you going to wash it out with soap?

Stop by whenever you get to Tennessee old man

Yeah, yeah, like I’d go on a road trip and not visit you

 

 

Chapter 3: A Thing with Feathers

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

How to find one of the most well-known men in America? It’s a question Natasha never thought she’d have to ask herself. Never thought it would be a challenge Tony didn’t have that many friends, The Avengers, Potts, Rhodes, and Hogan.

She knows the Avenger’s don’t know anything; the blank look Steve gives her when she tells him what happened is evidence enough of that.

She starts the search with Pepper Pott’s. Tony was supposed to be in a meeting at Stark Industries when he was giving his goodbye press conference, if anyone knows where he is its Pepper.

“Friday, you need to put me through to Tony,” Pepper is already pleading when Natasha silently slips into the office. She takes in the frazzled state of Stark Industries CEO, as she paces in front of the window. “Right now.” She snaps.

“I’m sorry Ms. Potts, but I am not going to do that.” Friday responds, and Pepper turns her eyes going slightly wide when she see’s Natasha seated on her couch.

“Why not?” Pepper demands, giving Natasha a questioning look. Natasha just waves at her.

“Because Ms. Potts you are calling in your capacity as Stark Industries CEO, and not as Tony Stark’s friend.” Friday explains, as if talking to a particularly stubborn child. Pepper huffs, pinching her nose as she let’s out a sigh.

“I didn’t want to have to do this Tony,” She mutters. “Override code, Alpha Epsilon Seven Three Five Theta Four Twelve Percent,” Natasha wonders what she could have done to have Tony refusing her calls.

“I’m afraid all override codes belonging to Virginia Potts are now void.” Friday says, not sounding the least bit apologetic. Natasha wasn’t expecting that.

“Can I ask who else’s codes are void?” She pipes up before Pepper can say anything.

“Everyone except for Tony Stark is no longer able to use Override codes.” Friday answers, voice colder than a Russian Winter. She raises an eyebrow at Potts, pulling out her phone.

“Friday, this is ridiculous. Tony and I have been broken up for weeks, but he can’t just run away from all of his responsibilities like this,” She gestures out at New York. Natasha starts to pull up Rhodes’ military file while she listens. “It’s not good for him to isolate himself like this, it’s not healthy.” It’s a good argument.

“Yes Ms. Potts, I am aware of the negative impacts isolation can have on humans.” Friday says, and Natasha can hear the sigh of relief from Pepper. It’s premature. “Which is why I am ensuring that Boss get’s an appropriate amount of human contact every day, but I do appreciate your concern.” Natasha snorts, earning a glare from Potts.

“Friday, you have to understand, this is completely unacceptable.” Potts scolds the AI, as Natasha spots a leave request that was just filed by Rhodes. Interesting.

“Ms. Potts, you have to understand, harassing a retired individual is completely unacceptable.” Friday snaps back.

“This is Stark Industries,” Pepper says, “he’s Tony Stark, he can’t just walk away from this.” Natasha shakes her head, that’s not going to work.

“He has the right to resign, just like any other employee.” Friday is arguing back as Natasha opens the door, waving Hogan over. “I can give you the legal codes if you need them,” She offers.

“What?” Hogan asks, stepping into the room.

“Perfect!” Potts lights up when she sees him. “Happy tell Friday that the Majority Share Holder, and functional owner of the company can’t just walk away.”  Hogan’s eyes go wide and dart to Natasha with a look of panic.

“As majority shareholder he has the right to remove you from your position and replace you with someone who won’t force him back after he quit.” Friday states, and Natasha goes still. This isn’t just a silly fight, if he’s threatening to fire Pepper, chasing him is going to be a risk.

“Are you threatening me?” Pepper demands, and Natasha barely refrains from rolling her eyes. Of course, yes, Friday is threatening her.

“I’m just making sure you’re clear on what your role in this company is Ms. Potts.” Friday says. “That will be all.” The words are said with a finality that isn’t there in Pepper and Tony’s usual sign off. The line clicks.

“What did you just pull me into?” Hogan demands, glaring at Natasha.

“Tony quit Stark Industries!” Pepper says before Natasha can. “You need to call him, maybe he’ll talk to you.” Natasha smiles, that could be her in.

“Maybe he will,” Happy agrees. “I’ll call him after work.” Pepper scowls. Natasha’s going to have to get a tap on his phone line, not an easy task when Stark himself developed the tech.

“What happened?” She asks, turning to Pepper.

“I have no idea.” She sits down abruptly, head in her hands. “He was texting during the board meeting, I told him to stop, and then he just walked out.” Natasha would bet it wasn’t that simple, would bet that Potts was treating Tony the way she tends to when she’s annoyed with him, as if he were a recalcitrant child. She sends a text to Director Hill.  

Update Potts scolded him during a board meeting, and he walked out.

Get a tap on Hogan’s phone line, and tell me what you get.

Any word on Rhodes?

He put in a leave request

We got a tracker on him?

On his car

She looks out the window, ignoring Pott’s and Hogan, there’s a flash of silver on the horizon, and a sinking feeling in her stomach that a tracker on Rhodes’ car isn’t going to be super helpful.

The call between Hogan, and Tony doesn’t give them a location, and with Tony telling Hogan to stay put, and not worry it’s not a very helpful lead either.

Natasha turns to the news, and runs into a problem. Tony once told her about the time he lost a Tony Stark look-a-like competition, and with his very public press conference the whole country is looking for him, and spotting him, in a variety of locations.

She starts her search.

Las Vegas, Nevada

New York City, New York

Yosemite Park

San Diego, California

The World’s Largest Ball of Twine

 It seems like such an easy task, finding Tony Stark, the most recognizable man on the planet. Finding War Machine, a giant mechanical armor owned by the military. She’s a trained black widow, finding the two of them should have been child’s play.

She’s spent two months travelling from state to state trying to track him down, been everywhere she could think of, and now she’s in the middle of nowhere Tennessee.

Oak Ridge, Tennessee. They didn’t have money for tickets so she’d had to slip past a security guard to get into the American Museum of Science and Energy. It seemed like a likely dead end, the type of place Tony Stark would be featured in, and never visit.

“Harley!” Someone calls out, and she glances up to see him. The man has the signature goatee, but he looks a decade younger than Stark, and he’s wearing a Hawaiian shirt, and socks with sandals. “Slow down, if we miss something we can just come back tomorrow!” He calls after an overly excited teenager.

“Whatever you say Mechanic,” The teenager rolls his eyes, but slows down. “You ever build one of these?” He gestures to a display case, and she takes a second to really look.

“Have I ever built one of these?” He blusters, with the fake bravado Tony was prone to using when he was teasing. “Of course, I have.” He elbows the kid, and she can see it now, he’s still got the wrinkles around his eyes, but he’s relaxed in a way she’s never seen him before. “I’d bet you there isn’t a thing here I haven’t built before.” He declares, and that’s Tony Stark.

“Oh really?” The teenager asks, and they turn towards her. She slips into the crowd so they don’t see her. She needs more information.

“Really.” Tony declares, voice overly serious. The kid rolls his eyes. She tries to remember seeing Tony this happy, and can’t. Not with the Avengers, not with Potts.

 “Drink,” Rhodes orders, walking up with a bottle of water for each of them. That confirms it, it’s the real deal.

“Thanks,” The kid smiles at Rhodey, before turning back to Tony. “If I can find something in this museum you haven’t built, you have to look over my ideas for my armor.” Rhodey laughs, and Tony holds a hand out to the kid.

“Deal, but if I win you promise me not to do any super hero related activities until you’re twenty-one.” Tony offers, the kid grabs his hand with a smirk.

“Perfect, Rhodey,” The kid turns to him. “Where did you say the brand-new medical tech was being displayed.” Tony’s eyes go wide, and he turns to his friend with a look of mock betrayal.

“I believe that’s on the third floor.” Rhodey states, and the kid starts dragging them both to the elevator. She follows behind at a more sedate pace.

She knows the moment he spots her, his expression going tight, but then the kid is there, quizzing him on when he last built a prosthetic arm, and how old he was when he first built an arm. She watches as he smiles, and laughs, and takes in how relaxed and happy he is.

She waits until Rhodes and the kid are competing in some sort of competition while Tony sits on a bench.

“So,” She greets, dropping onto the seat next to him. “This is retirement?” He doesn’t jump, just offers her a bottle of water.

“Yeah,” He agrees, “Living the dream.” There’s a soft smile on his face as he watches the kid, Harley rapidly assembles something out of a mess of plastic and wires.

“I’ll be honest,” She muses, feeling a bit maudlin. “I never thought any of us were getting out of this life without a casket.” It hangs there in the air between them.

“Yeah,” he says after a minute, breaking the silent. “For a long time, I thought that too,” A shrug, and then he gestures towards Harley, “You know he wants to be just like me?” He’s incredulous, but she isn’t surprised. The kid clearly adored him, even if he mocked Tony mercilessly.

“I see that,” she agrees.

“I’m glad I quit,” He admits, “Because every day I’m here, I’m showing him that he doesn’t have to be miserable to be like me, he doesn’t have to be lonely, and he doesn’t have to put up with the way others treat him.” He shakes his head, as if dispelling a bad memory.

“So, that’s it then?” She asks, “You’re out.” He laughs wryly.

“As far as Maria Hill is concerned?” He asks, turning a calculating look on her. “Yeah, I am. You know, a casket doesn’t have to be your only way out.” It’s not an offer, but it’s close.

“I think for some of us, it is.” She says, this has been her life as long as she can remember, and it feels to late to escape now.

“Maybe,” He shrugs, content to let her find her own path eyes back on Harley. She accepted her fate a long time ago.

“Maybe,” She agrees. “I’m glad you found this,” she says, looking at the teenager who’s grappling with Rhodey over a stolen part.

“If you ever need me,” He starts, and she smiles.

“I’ll call.” She promises, and his lips quirk up into a smile.

“I was going to say,” He teases, “don’t.”

“We both know, that if I ever really need you, I won’t have to call,” She says, “You’ll already be there.” He opens his mouth to say something, just as Harley hefts his finished creation.

“Harley Josiah Keener!” He snaps, jumping to his feet. “You put that potato gun down right now!” He’s rushing forward, chaos breaking out. “Where did you even get a potato? Did you bring that in here?” She slips into the crowd, and pulls out her phone. Sending a text to Maria Hill.

Just another look-alike.

We need you back in New York

I’ll be there.

She glances back at the three of them, and smiles.

Maybe, things will be alright.

Hope, what a strange feeling.

 

 

Image

 

Notes:

The art is a piece I commissioned for this by @nyx.vee on Instagram. Now updated to the finished version, I'm so happy with how it came out Nyx is the best.

Notes:

This is based on the time I almost quit my job because I was told not to go in a specific room anymore, but my workplace gets cold and that room is warm. Dumb reason to quit, but I very nearly did.