Tony Stark calling

"Yes, Mr. Stark?"

"Actually, this is FRIDAY, Mr. Stark's-"

"Yes, I know what you are," you snapped back unapologetically.

"Mr. Stark requests that he be able to reschedule-"

"No. You tell Mr. Stark that we've already rescheduled this meeting three times in the last month, and I will not do it again." Glancing over your shoulder, you were finally able to see an opening in the wall of traffic that you had been stuck in, making a sharp pull on the steering wheel and forcing the accelerator down with every bit of frustration you were feeling. "I've been sitting in traffic for over two hours, and if he isn't at the compound when I get there, he's going to find himself in exponentially more trouble than he already is. You tell him that." With a slam of your hand against your phone, the line closed without another word.

Taking a long, cleansing breath, or at least making your best attempt at it, you turned up your music and pushed onward, trying to clear your mind of Tony Stark until the last possible second before you had to actually be in front of the man.

~~~

The compound was impressive enough, but it felt far too grandiose for a group of people that needed maybe half the amount of room that the buildings and grounds provided. Everything was built in clean, sharp lines, the colors muted to give it a futuristic look, which was no surprise, and the tech was the most advanced that could be found pretty much anywhere in the world. You expected no less from Stark, but the displays of his knowledge and wealth felt like a poorly-veiled attempt at satisfying his own needs over those of the team.

You put your car into park with an audible groan, looking up to see him standing at the door and waiting for you with a look that did nothing to mask his displeasure at your refusal to reschedule, but you weren't about to let him see that he bothered you in the least.

"She looks mean."

"She looks like she's not about to take any of your crap," Rhodey chuckled with a firm slap on Tony's back. "Good luck, pal. You're on your own." He stumbled slightly and turned away, slowly making his way towards his room as Tony watched. Every time his friend was nearby and the sounds of moving joints in his prosthesis filled the room, Tony's heart felt contrastingly empty; it was a guilt that would never go away, and when the door opened to let you in, he quickly shook his feelings away before you could be a witness to them.

"Mr. Stark."

"Ms. (Y/L/N)," he greeted, extending his hand which you politely took. "How private do we need to do this?"

"Your office is just fine." You followed his lead as he guided you through the compound's main building, through the common room and past the gym, towards the back of the facility where he had claimed the largest office with the most privacy. The décor of his personal space was sparse, and what was there felt cold and unattached; no family pictures, no team pictures, not even anything that gave the feeling of being more than a find in a Pier One shopping spree.

"Mr. Stark, let's cut to the chase-"

"Tony."

"As I was saying, Mr. Stark," you deflected, much to his dismay, "I've been appointed by the Secretary of State to monitor all Avenger activity in accordance with the Sokovia Accords and your agreement to act under the direction of the U.N. Security Panel."

"Okay?"

"I'll begin with a simple question," you replied, leaning into your bag as it sat on the floor next to you, taking your phone in hand and opening the screen before turning it so that he could see the image that was coming to life on it. "That's Peter Parker, correct?"

Tony's eyes widened at the scene playing before him, the footage of Spiderman slinging a web around Ant-Man's legs only seconds before he and Rhodes toppled him to finish their fight in Leipzig. "I...uh...I'm not at liberty to say."

"Hmm," you smiled curtly, but without any true emotion, "okay, how about this," you paused, turning the phone to change the image, now showing Iron Man with Peter at that same airport together, "that's you, right?"

"Y-yes..."

"And this?"

Tony simply nodded without a word, watching someone who looked just like Peter stepping out of his limo in front of the Queens apartment building. The next image was even more damning, and much more recent, showing Iron Man flying side-by-side with Spiderman through the streets and between the buildings of New York.

"Mr. Stark, please tell me your reasoning for providing an underage juvenile like Mr. Parker with equipment that would give him unmatchable fighting ability, the means to apprehend criminals, and would, in every sense of the word, allow him to be considered as a vigilante running amok in New York City?"

"I don't-"

"Oh, and before you lie to me, I need you to also tell me how this is in agreement with the guidelines set forth by the Accords? And keep the image fresh in your mind of your name signed on the very first line as you consider your response."

Tony could hear his heart beating in his chest much more clearly than anything you were saying to him. He was screwed; caught red-handed, and he knew it. What he didn't know was how he was going to get out of it and keep Peter from feeling any aftermath. "You can't prove that it's him, even if it was."

"If that were true, I still have footage of you with someone, engaging in very suspicious activity for a law-abiding Avenger."

"What do you mean, if that were true?" he asked, looking more and more uncomfortable as each moment passed. He looked small to you now, cowering away slightly in his chair as if to create as much space between you as he could.

"I can see through your costumes, Mr. Stark."

"I'm sorry, is that literal? Figurative? Baiting me somehow?"

"Literal. I can see through your armor, through his mask, through the clothes you're wearing right now if I wanted to."

"Shit," he whispered, but you swore that you saw the hint of a smile and a troublemaking glimmer in his eyes. "Prove it. What color of underwear am I wearing?"

Your eyes darted down for only the flash of a second, not allowing him even time to move away from behind his desk, but you didn't need him to. "You're not."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Poorly chosen question on my part."

"Yes, anyway, we'll be confiscating Mr. Parker's suit and any tech that you've given him..." you stopped, checking the time on your phone, "actually, we just did. You are not to be in contact with him, nor are you to provide him with any further equipment that could be used as the vigilante known as Spiderman. I suggest that you forget that Peter Parker ever existed, for your own good."

"And if I don't?" he answered, growing angry now that he was being told so blatantly what he could and couldn't do. He was never one to take kindly to it, and with the cold exchange that you had just had with him, he would never take kindly to it coming from you.

"If you don't follow my orders, Mr. Stark, and stay away from Parker, you will be in direct violation of the Accords, and I will have no choice but to apprehend you. I will clean house of every piece of Stark tech in this place before you can blink, and you'll never see the inside of your suits again. I'll shut FRIDAY up for good and wipe her motherboard squeaky clean. I'll throw your ass in the Raft so fast that it'll make your head spin. So if you think I'm a bitch now, Tony, just try me. This is nothing."

~~~

Now in a full panic, once he had watched until the last second to make sure that you were really gone, he ripped his phone from his pocket and dialed frantically, desperate to find out if they had really taken Peter's suit or if you were just bluffing. He was practically praying for the latter. He didn't want the kid involved in things like this; he was only trying to help, which he should have known would immediately get screwed up given his track record on helping anyone.

"Parker? Are you okay-"

"You ruined my life," quickly came the cold reply, followed by a click, and then...nothing.

Part 2

Tony had been sitting outside of Peter's apartment building for hours; so many that he had no idea what time it was, or if the span of days had even passed after being so locked into his own mind. He had positioned himself just down the street so that it wouldn't be so obvious that he was there, but still within a distance that he could see when the light of Parker's room was on or off. Pete wouldn't answer his calls, but he also didn't expect him to at this point. The kid had put so much trust in him that Tony felt unworthy of ever regaining it, though he still wouldn't go out without a fight and at least a chance to make it right again.

"Sir," FRIDAY said gently, waking him when he had given in to a few minutes of rest, "I have a call for you."

"Hmm?" he jolted awake, shaking his head in surprise and to reorient himself when the surroundings threw him off. "What? Who? Who is it?"

"Mr. Parker, boss."

"I'll take it," he instructed her eagerly, straightening in his chair. "Pete? Listen, I'm so sorry that you got caught in the middle of this. I'm going to fix it, alright? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good, Mr. Stark."

"Really? Because you sounded pretty rough when I called you."

"Right, well I had just gotten done trying to explain to May what was happening, and the best I could come up with was a drug bust with how many people were raiding my room."

"Shit," Tony groaned, dropping his head into his hands. He rubbed his beard anxiously, taking a deep breath to try to hold back the nerves that had to be coming through to Peter in his voice. "I'll fix it. I'll figure this out."

"She didn't believe me."

"Okay?"

"Mr. Stark...she knows."

He didn't respond right away, trying to fight the sick feeling that was settling in the pit of his stomach. When Peter said that Tony ruined his life, he apparently wasn't being dramatic in the least; from the little that he knew of Peter's aunt, he could tell that she wouldn't likely take to the news with a smile on her face, nor would she be on board with her nephew being Spiderman. "That probably didn't go so well, did it?"

"You could say that again," Peter chuckled, but there was no true humor in the sound, "I'm grounded."

"You're grounded?"

"Yep, and uh...I can't talk to you anymore...so, um...I guess this is the last time I'll call you, Mr. Stark. But I want to say thanks for everything anyway...I mean, I got to go to Germany, right?"

"Boss, I've got an urgent call on hold for you."

"Pete, listen, I'll talk to May if you want me to. I have a meeting with Secretary Ross tomorrow and I'll get this all cleared up. This is my fault, kid, and I'm going to fix it."

"Boss."

"FRIDAY, hold on," Tony snapped. "Parker, I'll call you back. Just be sure to answer next time, alright? I can't sit in my car all day and night just to get your attention."

The click of disconnection left his conversation with Peter at that as his goodbye, with FRIDAY opening the line that clearly couldn't wait even another second for him to do it properly. "What?" Tony greeted angrily, slamming the car into drive and tearing away down the street and towards home to begin to work on plans to repair the damage that had been done. He didn't hear anything really after that, giving only quiet agreements and prompting as the call continued, finally hanging up when his limited attention couldn't be held.

"Boss, I have another call, and I believe that you may want to actually listen to this one."

"FRIDAY, how many times have I told you that the nagging has to stop?"

"Approximately as many times as I have told you that most of your problems stem from your lack of focusing on what is being said to you during phone conversations such as this one."

"Fine, whatever. Who is it this time?"

"It's Captain Rogers."

~~~

Being the sole government employee appointed to the monitoring of the Avengers after the ratification of the Accords was an exhausting job to say the least. True, the number of events had decreased significantly since the team erupted and split itself apart, but it still created only more work for you. The media had run with the names Team Cap and Team Iron Man, each of them thinking they were right and each of them shouldering the responsibility to save the world without each other. At least you still had control of Steve's team in the Raft, but in addition to not yet knowing the Captain's whereabouts, you now had to deal with Tony recruiting and outfitting whomever he wanted; you had more work than you could do in the number of hours given in a day.

Even when the time came to crawl into bed, exhausted and sleep-deprived, you had to push files out of the way just to get under your blankets. Work had enveloped every aspect of your life; the Avengers had enveloped every aspect of your life, and it was difficult to resist the urge to feel resentment towards every last one of them. Well, other than Stark. He was far and away the worst of them all as far as you were concerned, and resentment towards him came easily. As luck would have it, he wasn't about to let you forget it either.

Tony Stark calling

"You have got to be kidding me," you hissed, staring at the name across your phone in disbelief. It crossed your mind to ignore it, but you knew that it would only make him push you harder. With an angry swipe of your finger over the screen, you gave in just to get it over with. "Mr. Stark, it's 3am."

"I need to talk to you."

"Then call me during business hours."

"I don't have business hours, and neither do you," Tony argued. "Yes, it's 3am, but you just now turned off your lights."

You bolted up, sitting uncomfortably straight in your bed at his words; the man was watching you. "Son of a bitch," you mumbled, "Stark, where are you right now?"

A small knock echoed from the other side of your apartment door, just loud enough to surprise you and make you jump at the proximity when you weren't expecting it. "Are you serious?! You came to my home? Just talk to me on the phone like a normal person. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Oh, sweetheart, let's not go there. I don't know you well enough to lay it all out there just yet."

"I'm not answering the door."

"I'm not leaving."

"You've got to be kidding me," you hissed again, closing the line and pushing up angrily out of your bed. Looking down at yourself to be sure that you were fully covered before making your way to the door, you kept your phone in hand and begrudgingly dragged your weary form across your apartment. If he wanted you to answer the door, then fine, you'd answer, but he would quickly regret it; you'd be certain of that.

With the rapid swing of your door, Tony came into view, but the sight that you beheld stopped you from delivering the speech that you had written in your short traverse across your home. He was sporting a fresh black eye and a few cuts over his normally perfectly groomed face. He looked exhausted and broken, and when his eyes met yours, they were so full of sorrow that you gasped quietly at the striking contrast to the last time you had seen him. He was a pale comparison to the confident man that you had met only days before.

"I'm here to turn myself in."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I've violated the Accords, and I'm here to turn myself in," he repeated, holding his hands out in front of him as if ready to be handcuffed. "I'll tell you what I did if you promise me that you'll leave Peter Parker alone. Give him his suit back and I'm all yours."

"I don't-"

"Ah, before you argue, I've already got a new one ready to ship to him, but he'd really like the one that you took. He's got it all worn in, you can understand. Fits in all the important places," he smiled, albeit without true emotion. "So you see, he'll get one either way, but it would be better if you agree and just let the kid move on from the crap that I've gotten him into. He promises to behave."

"Hold on, let me get this straight. You're giving yourself up just so that Parker can have his suit back?"

"Sure, that's the highlights, I suppose. He hasn't done a damn thing to you, but apparently I've incited some sort of rage that only my surrender will satiate. So, here I am. I, Tony Stark, have egregiously violated the Sokovia Accords, knowing that I was acting unlawfully, and I am here now to surrender myself for appropriate action towards punishment and restitution."

You couldn't believe what you were hearing, your mouth hanging open as you listened and tried to process it all in your exhausted state. You were fairly certain that you weren't dreaming, and that you really were awake, but you still couldn't understand what was happening. This was such a complete turnaround from the man that you had come to know that it was throwing your senses off. "Stark...what did you do?"

"Will you leave Parker alone?"

"Tony-"

"(Y/N), tell me that you'll do what I asked you to do."

Your heart began to race, deciding if the risk to your own job would be worth what he was offering, but if Tony Stark was admitting to screwing up, it had to be something big. "I'll leave Parker alone."

"I helped break Steve's team out of the Raft."

"You...you did what?"

"Barton, Lang, Wilson, and Maximoff. You'll never find them on your own, and I'll never tell you where they are."

"Anthony Edward Stark," you began quietly, still staring at him in complete disbelief and confusion, "you're...under arrest."

Part 3

The lights from the cars passing by were painfully bright as you drove through the streets of Manhattan; even at the ridiculous hour of nearly 4am now, there was enough traffic to create a fantastic headache, as if your backseat guest wasn't enough to do it already.

"Do I get my one phone call?"

"Are you serious?"

"Is that not a real thing?" Tony asked with a smirk. "I mean, I see it on TV shows all the time..."

"Who would you call?" you goaded. "Would you call your pal Steve? Ask for a return of favors maybe? You help him break his team out of the most secure prison in the world, so he gives you a hand next? I thought you guys weren't getting along so well."

"We have our days..."

You let the comment hang in the air for a while, turning your focus back to driving and hoping that he would just stay silent for the rest of the trip, but of course, this was Tony Stark; you were asking far too much.

"Are you gonna put me in the Raft then?"

"Nope."

"You're not?" he perked up, leaning forward eagerly to get more from you. "But I already picked out which cell I wanted. And I like the blue uniforms."

"Why would I put you in a prison that you just helped someone break out of? How does that make sense to you?" He didn't respond as quickly as you thought he would, and when you glanced over your shoulder to see why he held back, his gaze was dropped to the floor and his hands were nervously fidgeting in his lap. "Stark? What's going through your head?"

"Hmm? Oh...nothing..." he jolted from his trance, quickly shifting to look out the window so long as he wasn't looking back at you, "so, where are we going then?"

"I have to make a stop in Queens."

"Wait, right now? You're going to Parker's house right now?"

"I have to make good on my promise," you answered plainly, taking a few more turns to bring Peter's apartment into view. You could hear Tony's breaths quicken from behind you, but you tried to not bring any attention to it. "You're not talking to him. He's coming out to get the suit and that's all." Bringing the car to a halt, you put it in park and grabbed your phone to text Peter that you were there and that he should come out to meet you. Tony was watching out the window anxiously, but it was all you could do to keep your exhausted eyes open now that the car had stopped and you didn't have the focus of driving.

"There he is," he whispered to himself more so than for your benefit, "he looks terrible."

"You make quite the pair, then," you nodded, grabbing the bag from the passenger side of your car. With a quick rummage through it to be sure that everything that was confiscated from Peter earlier was there, you zipped it closed and opened your door, pausing to turn back to Tony with a sharp point of your finger. "Stay."

"Like I have a choice," he muttered, his eyes still on Peter.

"Good morning, Mr. Parker," you greeted, taking the few steps around your car to meet him, "sorry to wake you so early, but Mr. Stark insisted on a 3am surrender."

"He really did it then?" he asked immediately. He leaned down slightly to see into the backseat, finding a bruised and fatigued Tony looking back with a small nod when he wouldn't raise his cuffed hands to give a wave. "He really turned himself in for me?"

"He did."

"Why?"

"Got me," you scoffed, tossing the pack to him with a heavy hand, making it bounce into his chest as he grabbed it. "But now that you've got your suit back, you and I need to come to a very clear understanding, young man...please stop looking at Mr. Stark and pay attention."

"Right...sorry...attention is all yours...ma'am..." he straightened, fighting the urge to so much as glance at Tony, and finding it more difficult than he thought.

"Just because you have that back, it doesn't mean that you're in the clear to be Spiderman. I've given you your property back, and that's all. How you choose to use it, or not use it, preferably, will determine if you and I have any future interactions. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Please stop looking at Tony."

"But he looks so...sad."

"He's a grown man who's made his decisions, Mr. Parker. I think he might be trying to teach you a lesson here," you replied, returning to the driver's side of your car to leave, "it would be advantageous to you to learn it."

~~~

It had felt like an eternity for Tony now, as if he had been in the back of your car for days, the muscles of his back in spasms at the lack of movement for so long. He had watched the sun come up as you were stuck in traffic, daring to close his eyes for what he thought was a mere few minutes; when they opened again, the city was gone and he found only trees and open sky surrounding him, and the car at a full stop.

"How long was I out?"

"Couple of hours," you hummed under your breath quietly in reply, your eyes closed as you leaned against your door. "Take a couple more, would ya?"

"Where are we?"

"Home."

Tony sat up straight now and turned in every direction, suddenly fully awake and looking at the scenery outside until a familiar sight caught his attention and it took the breath from his chest in a loud gasp. "Wait...this is the compound...what...why..."

"I'm not arresting you, Tony," you cut in, your voice still struggling to find its power through your exhaustion. "You might notice that the cuffs are off."

"No, you're arresting me, (Y/N). That was the deal," he argued unexpectedly, "I turn myself in and you leave Parker alone. We had a deal, so keep it."

"They'll leave him alone so long as he doesn't do anything to get their attention."

"But you hate me!" he finally snapped, leaning over the seat in front of him to see you fully. "You've wanted nothing more than to lock my ass up and throw away the key! I could see that twinkle in your eye when I told you that I helped Steve, don't deny it! There's no reason for you to back out of this now!"

"I don't hate you, Tony," you sighed, pushing yourself up with a quick run of your hand through sleepily messed hair. Sitting to look only straight ahead, with the clear view of the compound in front of you, you didn't have it in you to fight him. "Yes, you seriously screwed up and let Steve's team go, but your intentions were selfless. You did it to help your team, but even more so for Parker. I honestly didn't think you had it in you."

"Thanks? But what does this mean for you? If you don't bring me in, aren't you going to get fired?"

"Oh, I'm sure it's going to be epic," you laughed weakly, "no doubt that you'll hear my boss screaming from way out here. It's okay, though. I hate that damn job, and Secretary Ross is such an asshole, you have no idea."

"I have some," Tony groaned. The silence filled the car for a few minutes, neither of you so much as moving as you waited for the other to say something. He was so conflicted, having prepared himself to have been incarcerated by now, envisioning you swinging the key just out of his reach and with a wide smile on your face. To see you now, looking tired and resolved to your unexpected decision left him at a loss, and he couldn't think of anything consoling to say. "I remember you, you know?"

"I was wondering how long it would take."

"Let's blame how scary you were for the delay," he laughed quietly. "And yes, you do hate me, (Y/N). You have every right to."

"It takes two people to have a one-night stand, Tony."

"Yeah, but it takes me to not even leave so much as a goodbye or a thank you. I was definitely no one's catch back then," he scoffed, "probably not much of a catch now. But really, (Y/N), I'm sorry."

"Old news," you smiled, sitting up now with a quick clap of your hands to startle yourself awake with a resolve to end the conversation before it got any heavier. "Alright, Stark, off you go. Try to stay out of trouble, would ya? I'm sure my replacement will be an even bigger bitch than I was."

"Pfft, like that's possible."

"Hey," you huffed, reaching over the seat to slap his arm, "rude! I'm trying to be nice here and this is what you bring?"

This time his laugh was genuine, as if the weight of the world had been pulled from his shoulders, and in many ways, he felt that it was. As he looked at you in those few seconds, he remembered when you came to his office that first time only a few days ago, and how he was in awe of your composure, though he would never have told you that because she was just so damn scared of you. Even with that, you were the only person that he could turn himself over to, risking his own safety to wake you up at 3am to do it. Even though you were a formidable adversary and still scared him just a little, he decided right then that he actually really liked you and didn't want you to leave.

"So, listen," he began, "since you're about to be out of a job, and I happen to have one that I need filled here, how about you stay? Hill's been busy with Fury so much that her work here hasn't been getting done, and we really need a coordinator. I think you've got the balls to keep this team in line. You sure cracked the whip on me."

"Hold on," you countered, "now that Steve's team is out, will they be coming back?"

"I assume that eventually we'll figure it out, yeah, but I told him that we'd keep him in the loop on team business until then. Under the table, of course."

"But until then, I'll be working with a vigilante team that's in direct opposition to the Secretary..." you mumbled quietly, rubbing your chin thoughtfully. "I'll be helping a team that he would kill for just to get back under lock and key."

"I suppose you would, yeah?"

"I'll take it," you smiled, reaching out to shake his hand in agreement. "I think you just gave me my dream job, Stark. I'm gonna make that old bastard's life a living nightmare."

"Shit," Tony chuckled, taking your hand, "you've got me terrified, sweetheart."