Steve stood strong, his back pressed against the door of your room, watching you silently as you slammed your gear into your pack item by item with a determined pace. He had followed you there with the intent of being a blockade from allowing you to leave, but as he continued to wait for you to finish, his resolve began to waver. He knew full well that you would fight him on it, and that he would be an idiot to try to stop you; this was your personal mission now, and it was one that you were taking because of his own failure. You weren't the one who had made this decision to leave on your own; he had made it for you when he stopped looking for Tony and came home without him.

"FRIDAY's system shorted out," he began quietly, relaxing his stance and dropping his gaze to his feet, "no one could tell if he took a hit, or what happened for sure, but our comms went dead and he started to fall."

You stopped immediately at the sound of Steve's voice, hearing it for the first time since leaving the hangar; to have it come with the information that you so desperately wanted left you frozen in place. You wanted to hear this more than anything, and yet you were terrified to hear any of it as the images of Tony freefalling from the sky flashed through your mind.

"Sam couldn't fly fast enough. Even if he did, he couldn't have caught him with the weight of the suit and the velocity, but he still tried. We were fired on again before we could see where Tony landed, but we had a general idea. When we got there..." he paused, coughing to try to clear the lump from his throat, "the suit was smashed but Tony was gone."

"That's why FRIDAY wouldn't tell me anything," you nodded in realization, "if she shorted out, she didn't have any communication with the suit to know what happened. Without Dad here to fix her, she's not going to say much."

"It's my fault."

"It's not, Steve. Don't do that."

"I was actually excited for this mission...maybe in all of that I missed something," he continued, furrowing his brow as he ran the events through his mind for at least the hundredth time, "maybe I should've turned right instead of left..."

"Stop it."

"I should still be out there-"

"Dammit, Steve, I said to stop it!" you hissed, turning to him angrily. "Yes, you should still be out there, but you're not, and now I'm going to do the job that you couldn't. I'm going to find him and I'm not coming back until I do, because that's what he would do for me. That's what he's done for me. We used to be all that each other had, and I know that he's out there waiting for me to be the one person who would never let him down."

Steve pushed away from the door and crossed the room to close the space between you; the air was heavy and laden with words that he wanted to scream at you, but he held back. He didn't want to part from you with your last words said in anger, no matter how pissed off you were making him with each passing second. "Would Tony really want you to do this? (Y/N), you're pregnant."

"That doesn't make me useless. I can still fly the jet, I can hike, I can search. Besides, I'll have Sam to keep me safe."

"Wait...Sam? Sam's going with you?"

"Is that a problem?"

"No, I just...I didn't expect that. I thought maybe Barton..." he answered, bewildered. Sam knew exactly how Steve felt about this; they had just talked about it before he came upstairs only a few minutes before. He couldn't help but feel betrayed that Sam wouldn't be on his side and working to stop you rather than packing his bags to go along. "I'll be right back. Just please, stay here until then."

Steve hurried down the stairs and to the level below, making his way to Sam's room as quickly as he could in the hopes that he didn't miss him and he was already on his way to you. He raised his hand to knock on the door, but it opened before he could connect, surprising the two men enough to make them both take a jump back in shock.

"Hey, Cap, you scared the hell outta me," Sam gasped, the fear in his voice not just from the surprise but from the look on Steve's face as well. "What's up?"

"What's up? Really?" Steve scoffed. "Sam, you're taking my wife...my pregnant wife out on this mission and you never said anything to me about it. We talked about this not even ten minutes ago! How am I supposed to trust you after this?"

"You honestly think that anything you say or do is going to stop her, Cap? Hmm? That's why we stayed out there for two days. You knew that if you came back without Tony, it was a guarantee that she would be doing exactly what she's doing now."

"But you're just encouraging her."

"No, I'm protecting her, Steve," he snapped back, holding steady. "You of all people should know that this is what best friends do. I'm going with her, and I'll keep her safe. You know that I'm not going to let anything happen to her. The last thing I need is to have both you and Stark on my ass if I did."

~~~

While you sat on the edge of your bed waiting for Steve to come back, you reluctantly pulled your phone from your pocket and swiped the screen to find the number you needed, opening the line and bringing it to your ear with a long sigh. You needed to talk to someone about what was happening, but with the team already under the stress of it with you, none of them were a great choice. After almost ten rings, you decided to give up, but before you could disconnect, the line came to life.

"What's new, pussycat?"

"Wade," you answered softly, nearly a whimper leaving your throat as your emotions began to build again, "I need you to be serious for a minute, if that's alright?"

His tone was immediately reserved and focused on what you were saying, any hint of humor completely wiped away at the pain he heard in your voice. "(Y/N), are you okay? Did something happen?"

"My d-dad..." you gasped, trying and failing to hold back from crying again, "they can't find him...Steve came home without him...I have to go out and look..."

"No. No, (Y/N), you don't," he argued almost immediately, "are you listening to me? I'll do it. Let me go look for him, okay? Please, just stay home where I know that you and tiny you are safe."

"Sam's coming with me. I'll be okay."

The line sat silent for a moment as Wade considered what you were saying. He wouldn't be able to get information out of anyone but you, since no one on the team really knew him well enough to trust him with it, and without it, he had no idea where to even start looking. He also knew that with this being about Tony, you weren't going to back down anytime soon, and that you had called him merely for support; he decided that if that's what you were looking for, then that's what you would get.

"When are you leaving?"

"Soon. I'm just waiting on Sam."

"Okay, will you do one thing for me?"

"Sure," you sighed, glancing up at the clock with a quick wipe of your eyes, "what is it?"

"Don't leave until I call you back."

~~~

Sam slung his pack over his shoulder and pulled his door shut, but Steve didn't make any motion to get out of his way to let him pass by. He wasn't going to start a fight with his friend just to make his point, but he would push him as far as he could go up to it. "Cap, get out of the way."

"Sam, think about what you're doing."

"I have, Steve. This is for you as much as for her." He was about to go on, but the ring of his phone interrupted him; he held up a hand to pause the conversation with Steve and turned away just slightly to talk. "Hello?"

"Hey, is this Sam Wilson?"

"Yeah? Who's this?"

"Wade. The white Wilson. (Y/N)'s best friend."

"I'm (Y/N)'s best friend," Sam argued, "but I know who you are. What can I do for you?"

"Admit that I'm her favorite Wilson, and I'll tell you...wait...no. She asked me to be serious. I can do this," Wade sighed, taking a deep breath to center himself. "She told me that she's going out to look for Stark, and if you say that you're her best friend then I know you're with me in not being thrilled about it, am I right?"

"Yeah, you're right."

"Well, since our mutual friend has lost her damn mind and won't listen to reason, I think that the odds would be better with two against one to keep her from doing her usual stupid shit. I'd like to offer my services."

~~~

Just as he had moments before in your room, Steve stood statuesque against the hangar bay doors, avoiding your eyes while watching you in his periphery as you loaded your gear into the jet. He glanced at Sam as he passed by and fought the urge within him to fight what was happening; he had said all he could and it didn't stop either of you. He still believed that he brought this on by his own actions, so he had no war left to wage. He saw you approaching him and his breath caught in his chest, oddly finding himself filled with nervousness as you came closer; he had no idea why, only that this must be merely a fraction of what you were feeling too.

"Steve, we're ready."

"Yeah, okay..." he mumbled, pushing away from the wall. "Fly safe." He turned away and was about to leave the room, leaving you standing with a look of abandonment that he couldn't stand to see.

"Really?" you uttered quietly, your voice barely cooperating. "That's it? Fly safe?"

"Well you won't let me go with you, so yeah, I think so."

"You need to stay here with the kids, we talked about this."

"No, you talked about this while I stood there and listened without a chance to argue," he turned back to you, talking through clenched teeth, "just like every other time that you've decided that you were going to do whatever the hell you wanted no matter what the consequences. I can't stand by and be okay with you running off like this. You're putting more than just yourself at risk. Again, (Y/N)."

"Steve, he's my dad."

"I don't care! I don't care if he's your dad, okay? I only care about you."

You took a few steps back, hearing Sam walking towards you but keeping your eyes on Steve. Raising a hand back to keep your friend away, you watched and waited for Steve to retract his words, but he never did. "If you care about me, then you have to understand why I'm doing this. I care about Tony, Steve, even if you don't."

"That's not what I meant," he groaned, rubbing his hand along his cheek in frustration. He couldn't find any words that would come out right and was talking himself into a hole that he couldn't climb out of. "I do care about Tony. I'm just...I'm just scared to watch you go. The last time you walked away from me..." he stopped, pressing his hands to his hips and looking anywhere but at you.

"Hey, I promised you that I wasn't going to do anything risky. Sam and Wade are doing all the heavy work here, like I said. I'm just the pilot. I'm going to be careful."

An idea popped into his mind and he turned away again, this time holding up a hand to keep you in place so that you wouldn't leave. "Hold on, okay?" He hurried through the doors, leaving you to look back at Sam with a shrug that he returned readily, neither of you knowing what the Captain was up to. When he returned a few minutes later, the two of you gasped at what you saw. "Here," he paused, holding the shield out for you to take, "I want you to bring this with you. I'll feel better knowing that you have it, and that both of you know how to use it."

You turned and handed the shield to Sam, hurrying to step into Steve's arms for a proper goodbye now that he was willing to accept one. He held you against him for what felt like forever; so long as to make Sam have to clear his throat suggestively to break you apart.

"Love you," Steve whispered before kissing you goodbye and reluctantly letting your hand go. His mind flashed back to the moment when that same hand passed though you as if you were nothing more than a ghost, when you were ready to leave him for the last time, and a rush of panic filled him again. "I'm sorry that I didn't find him, (Y/N). I'm sorry for all of this. Just please...come back."

Sam entered the jet as the two of you said one more goodbye, resting the shield against the wall as he took the pilot seat to lay in the coordinates of your first stop. He checked each system one more time, even though he had just done the same thing only moments before, not willing to leave even one thing to the chance that he might make a mistake.

"It's so shiny," Wade gasped, taking the shield into his hands, "and it's really not as heavy as I thought it would be."

"Hey, put that down," Sam commanded, pointing back to its original spot, "no one said you could touch."

"I bet (Y/N) would let me."

"I bet not."

"She used to let me touch whatever I wanted..." Wade challenged with a sigh, "those were the days, man."

"Woah, woah, woah, hold up just a damn minute," Sam choked, turning the chair around fully to face him, "you and (Y/N)? When the hell did that happen?"

"Why does everyone say it like that? It was before the whole flatbread pizza face, alright? I was fucking gorgeous, I'll have you know," he scoffed. Wade stood and reluctantly put the shield back to rest and took his seat again with a heavy exhalation, dropping himself into it with a loud thud. "Picture Ryan Reynolds but with better aim and a bit more murderous rage. That was me."

"Damn, he's a sexy man."

"Right?! Thank you!"

"You're welcome?" Sam answered uncertainly, turning back to his work. "Alright, hot stuff, how are we doing this? You and I have to keep her in line, and we both know how much she loves that."

"I don't follow?"

"Haven't you ever tried to tell (Y/N) not to do something?"

"Yeah, I just tell her to knock it the fuck off. Never had a problem until now."

Once again, Sam turned around, now the look of surprise on his face was beyond the surprise about your history with Wade; this was going to be information worth his weight in gold and he was eager to hear the magical secret of how Wade was able to crack your code. "How? You've gotta tell me how you did that. (Y/N) is so damn headstrong that even Tony can't get her to back down once she's made up her mind. Steve's still out there trying to get her to stay home and we're about to leave. Come on, share."

"Nah," Wade smirked, "I think I'll keep that one for myself. We don't know each other that well, birdman. We need to establish a trust before I put out."