𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐘.

The uncertainty, for the entire plane ride back to New York.

Not knowing where Pops was. Where he was going. How he knew where the Barnes were, and why he left, and when he was going to come back-

"He's not gonna make it," Tony said, a couple of hours after they got back to the tower.

His head was in his hands and Charlie started at him, fingers tugging at the ridiculous amount of bandage and padding protecting her thumbs.

"I mean, he'll get there," Tony amended, finally lifting his head. he scrubbed a hand over his face. "He'll get there, but... he's gonna get caught. And so are the Barnes."

"How?" Charlie whispered. "I mean- how would anyone even find them? Pops has to have a plan-"

Tony barked out a laugh, but there was no humor in it.

"He doesn't," Tony said bitterly. "'Star-Spangled Man With a Plan my ass- your Pops has never had a plan for anything a day in his life. He acts on pure spontaneous emotion- whatever he's feeling the most strongly in the moment. And right now..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

He didn't need to.

"The government has been keeping a tab on him since he refused to sign the Accords. I tried to tell him, but he didn't want to listen. He never wants to listen."

Charlie's face felt hot- with fear or anger, she couldn't tell.

"They can't get to Bucky and Becca," she whispered. "Dad, they can't-"

"Trust me, I know," Tony said. "But to everyone else, it looks like it was them who bombed the meeting. We aren't even sure that it wasn't them."

"It wasn't," Charlie said with absolute certainty. "They've been really quiet, low profile for the past year. And it's not like they have anyone to take orders from, right now. They're not the Winter Soldier and the Asset anymore."

Tony nodded. "I know. I know. I want to believe it, and I think I do- but Charlie, honey, we really know nothing about them, except that they're dangerous. And while that's not their fault, it doesn't change the fact. We only know what Pops has told us."

Charlie stared at her hands.

"Now, I'm gonna do everything in my power to protect them," Tony said, his words muffled by his hands. "Of course I am. Becca is a child. But if Steve can't just let the experts handle this, and stand back for just a minute- this is going to blow up in our faces."

Tony's phone ringing made both of them whip their heads around.

Charlie watched as Tony scrambled to stand up, grimace at whoever the calling contact was, and finally answer, his voice steady and faux-unbothered.

"Stark here."

"Shit," Charlie muttered, watching as Tony's face slowly contorted into one of fury, and then crushing resolve.

"Yeah, I heard you. I'll be there in an hour."

He slammed his finger to hang up much harder than he needed to, before sucking in a deep breath, trying to regain his composure.

Charlie's feet hovered awkwardly between the sofa and the floor.

"Shoes on, kiddo." He smiled grimly at her. "They got caught."

For all his pretending not to be worried, Tony was sure hauling ass to the building.

He got out of the car before Happy had even come to a full stop; Charlie scrambled out behind him, giving Happy and tight smile.

"Don't talk to anyone," Tony muttered, straightening his tie as they approached the entrance door of the garage. "You're sticking with me because I don't trust these assholes to leave you alone if you're home by yourself."

It was unnerving how quickly his shoulders fell back- how casually his face turned into a smirk beneath his sunglasses the second security guards started looking their way.

It was bullshit. All of it.

And somehow, Tony found a way to shove it down so no one else could see.

The bunker was freezing cold as they walked in, Charlie trying to copy Tony's posture but most likely just looking constipated.

Inside, standing near a glass room, was Everett Ross.

"Stark," the man nodded at him.

Tony blew off his handshake, instead choosing to adjust his cuff links with a raised eyebrow. Charlie bit back a smirk. "Where's my husband?"

"In transport right now," Ross said, clearly unhappy about Tony's dismissal.

"Great." Tony sank down into a chair, looking up at Ross. The condescending smile on his face was gold. "How long are we talking? You guys stop for shawarma on the way?"

"You don't need to worry that fragile, easily removed lump of metal you call a heart, Stark. I just got word they're pulling into the garage."

Tony's eyes flickered towards the entrance doors, government agents bustling back and forth.

Ross turned to Charlie, who glared up at him.

"A wonderful example, your fathers are setting for you," he said, a smile finding its way onto his thin lips. "Causing-"

"Shut up," Charlie muttered, looking away in disgust. "Don't talk to me."

Ross's eyes widened in bewilderment.

Tony threw his head back, and Charlie nearly jumped at the hearty cackle he let out.

"Oh, my God," Tony grinned at her with glee and pride. "She's mine."

Ross opened his mouth to respond, looking like he'd just sucked on a lemon, when a blonde woman in a white vest strode into the room, the picture of confidence and beauty.

"Sharon!" Charlie gasped.

She ran towards her cousin, who quickly opened her arms and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Hi, kiddo," Sharon had a relieved smile on her face. She pulled back, bending her knees a bit to study Charlie's face. "You're okay?"

Charlie nodded.

Sharon smiled weakly at her. Clearly, there was something on her mind. "Hi, Tony."

"Baby Cousin Sharon," Tony grinned, standing to hug her too. "Aww, you're so big now."

Sharon rolled her eyes and punched his arm. "Yeah, I've been an inch taller than you since high school, and you'd already graduated MIT by then. Get used to it."

Ross was staring at them, unimpressed. His fancy tech watch made a beeping noise and he looked down. "Transport is here."

"Where are the Barnes?" Charlie asked, eyes trained towards the entrance as Steve's figure approached.

Ross didn't respond.

The doors opened and Steve walked in, flanked with security guards, not looking the least bit bothered by the debacle he'd caused.

The chatter of agents around them and beeping of computers masked the way Charlie sucked in a breath.

He looked completely fine.

Behind Steve were Sam- unsurprising- and... T'Challa?

T'Challa had left right after the bomb had gone off and killed his father- he have followed Steve.

They really did believe the Barnes had done this.

"Tony," Steve said, approaching his husband. "Are you okay? Charlie- you're not hurt?"

Tony just looked at him, a humorless smile on his face.

Steve's eyes fell on the thick wad of bandages where Charlie had destroyed her thumbs into bloody messes. He reached out to touch the burns on the side of her face-

Charlie pulled away, refusing to make eye contact.

"Honey," Steve said quietly, as Sam and Sharon talked a few feet away from them. "I know-"

"No, you don't, Pops," Charlie whispered, her voice tight with anger. "Or you wouldn't have done it."

"I'm not so sure about that," Tony said. The smirk on his face was so obviously a cover so that anyone was looking wouldn't see what he was saying. "He made his choice."

"My choice was to save them," Steve said, with that stupid, self-righteous tone. "I would have done the same for you."

Charlie scoffed.

Yeah, that's why he left a phone call after the Accords signing was bombed, with his teammates, husband, and daughter inside.

"I don't think you fully understand the can of worms you just opened, Cap." Tony said. Charlie looked up. "I've already been doing my best to keep them from not arresting you after the stunt you pulled with the Accords."

Steve obviously didn't miss the use of "Cap" instead of a pet name- he looked at the ground, tongue in his cheek.

He looked at Ross, who had turned away from Sam and Sharon. "What's gonna happen to them?" he asked, gesturing towards a wall of screens, with several angles of security guards escorting 2 pods holding rather familiar figures.

"Becca," Charlie breathed, walking towards the screens. Her hand covered her mouth.

The pods were slowly moving through what looked like some kind of tunnel, do doubt towards a highly-secured cell. Inside- though the image was grainy on the screens- Both Becca and Bucky's wrists were cuffed with metal to the arms of some kind of seat.

Bucky's head was ducked, staring at the floor with an angry, still resolve.

But Becca's eyes were trained on the camera recording her- but brown eyes narrowed threateningly through a curtain of deep red hair much shorter than Charlie remembered.

God, Charlie had missed her so much.

"What's going to happen to them is the same thing that ought to happen to you," Ross said. "Psychological evaluation and extradition."

"Evaluation," Charlie glared at him. "What are you hoping to find? You know this wasn't their fault-"

"Charlie," Tony shot her a warning look. You have to stop talking.

"We don't know anything," Ross said, his voice taking on a condescending tone. Charlie straightened her shoulders. "Except for the evidence, which is a photo shows the Winter Soldier and the Asset undercover in Vienna at the time of the explosion that killed King T'Chaka."

"That wasn't them!" Charlie said angrily. "You just went and found them in Bucharest- how the hell would they have gotten to Vienna and back in that short of a time period? Public transport?!"

Steve was looking at her with pride- the same kind that Tony had shown her just a few minutes before.

"What about our lawyer?" He said, tiling his head at Ross.

Tony rubbed at his temples. "Oh, my God. Steve-"

You already ruined it. Stop talking.

Ross scoffed. "Lawyer. That's funny." He turned towards a pair of security guards next to them. "See their weapons are placed in lockup. Oh, we'll write you a receipt."

"I better not look out the window and see anybody flying around in that!" Sam groaned as someone walked past with the Falcon gear.

Tony ran a shaky hand down his face. "I need to make a few phone calls, to start mopping up the disaster you just made."

Steve just stared at him.

Tony grabbed Charlie's hand, staring him down. "And she's coming with me."

There was a flicker of betrayal across Steve's face. He glanced at Charlie, clearly searching for something-

Charlie looked away.

She let Tony lead her into the hall.

Watching Tony on the phone with Pepper, trying to wrangle lawyers and government ops, was an otherworldly experience.

That Stark persona was fully at work- that perfect combination of confidence and condescension. No stuttering, no room for discussion.

"No," Tony's suit coat was unbuttoned. "Romania was not Accords-sanctioned. And, Colonel Rhodes is supervising cleanup."

Charlie was alternating between staring at the live feed of Becca in containment and her Dad on the phone. More often than not, it was Becca- until another redhead entered the room, flanked on either side by Sam and Steve.

"Try not to break anything while we fix this," Nat said in a low voice, looking pointedly at Steve.

"Consequences?" Tony said, still on the phone. He glanced at his husband. "You bet there'll be consequences. Obviously you can quote me on that 'cause I just said it. Anything else? Thank you, sir."

He tucked his phone into his pocket, rubbing between his eyebrows.

"Consequences?" Steve echoed, leaning against a chair. Tony looked up.

"Yeah, Steve, consequences," Tony said. "And I'm talking about more than just withholding sex, though that it probably gonna hurt me more than it's gonna hurt you-"

"Dad!" Charlie shouted, picking up the notebook Nat had given her to doodle in and launching it at Tony's head.

Steve was giving him a Look. "That's not appropriate, Tony."

"That's kind of the point, things are gonna be G-rated at home for a VERY long time, Mr-sleeping-on-the-couch-"

"OKAY," Sam said loudly, holding up both of his hands. "Since sex privileges aren't on the table as punishment for me-

"The next person to say, 'sex'," Charlie said, her voice muffled with her face buried into the table, "Is going to get bitch-slapped with all of the force in my Stark-Watch."

"What exactly were you telling them on the phone?" Sam finished.

Tony rolled up his sleeves to his forearms. "Secretary Ross wants you both prosecuted. Had to give him something."

Steve hung his head, smiling thinly. "I'm not getting that shield back, am I?"

"Technically," Nat shrugged, "it's the government's property. Wings, too."

Sam groaned. "That's cold."

"Warmer than jail," Tony said bitterly.

A Charlie watched Steve ducked his head, hands on his hips, in that angry way he did when he was trying to contain himself.

He caught Charlie looking at him and took a deep breath. "I'm gonna take a walk."

"Good idea," Tony said, eyeing the way his jaw was clenching. "I'm gonna keep trying to sort this out."

"And I'm gonna go for a walk in the opposite direction," Charlie said. Tony opened his mouth, but Charlie held a hand up. "I'm not gonna talk to anyone, I'm not gonna run off, I'm not gonna cause problems. Just... I need few minutes."

Tony looked like he wanted to fight her on it, but eventually sighed. "Fine."

Charlie nodded and turned into the hall before he could change his mind.

.... And made a beeline for the wall of cameras on the other side of the bunker, showing a live feed of Bucky and Becca.

She walked quickly, almost jogging, avoiding eye contact with any of the officials glancing at her as she walked past.

Within a few minutes, she was there- face to face with the reality of what had been done.

Becca was still staring at the cameras, brown eyes unblinking beneath long lashes and a tilted stare. It was intimidating. Unsettling.

But Charlie wasn't scared of her anymore.

She couldn't be- not when the need to protect her was so much stronger.

Oh.

Oh.

She was finally starting to understand her Pop's motivations towards Bucky.

Becca's hair was hanging around her face, but there was a tiny streak of a different shade of red along her forehead.

Blood.

Charlie's eyes widened.

She leaned desperately against the control panel, searching each screen for an angle that would reveal where the blood was coming from-

It didn't take long to find it.

Her left calf, dark and matted into cuffed jeans far too large for her. She could see it better now; red staining Becca's shoes and drenching the tiny sliver of sock Charlie could see.

The pale pallor of Becca's face was making more sense now- her lips were white and her fingers were clenched, barely peeking out beneath the sleeves of what was clearly Bucky's jacket.

She was shot.

And if she was anything like Steve, her body would be trying to heal around the bullet- they clearly hadn't removed it yet.

Oh, God, she must be in so much pain.

The anger that seeped in Charlie's bones was Steve-worthy- deep and all-consuming, leaving no room for anything else.

Before she really realized what she was doing, her feet were marching towards the staircase, her face contorted into something sour.

She opened the door to the basement floor, and immediately knew this was the right place. Dark walls, cameras everywhere, people with badges scurrying around.

Charlie spotted a tall head of grey hair, standing next to her cousin, and her vision tunneled.

"Ross!" She shouted. She charged forward and someone beside her stuck out their arm.

"You can't be in here, kid." The security guard stared down at her.

Charlie flipped them the bird and ducked under their arm. They made a sharp movement towards their taser.

"Don't!" Sharon stuck her hand out at the guard, "Don't touch her- Charlie, you can't be in here!"

Ross just stared at her with folded arms as she made her way towards the glass wall they were looking out of.

The glass wall that had Becca on the other side, in a containment pod, the only one in a very large, empty room.

They'd even separated her from Bucky.

"She's bleeding!" Charlie shouted, throwing her finger up to point at Becca's leg through the glass.

Sharon, still sticking her hand out to appease the guard, looked where Charlie was pointing. "Oh God- I didn't even see that. We'll get medical-"

"No, we will not," Ross spoke evenly.

Charlie's mouth dropped, eyes blazing. "The hell do you mean you won't?!"

"She's dangerous," Ross said simply. "She could kill anyone we sent in there. And we're  not wasting our doctors."

"She's not gonna hurt someone you send in to help her!"

"There is absolutely no proof of that," Ross said, looking down at her, completely unbothered. "Not to mention, she is a criminal under investigation-"

"So this is how you treat prisoners?!" Charlie shouted, shoving her finger towards the glass. "Look at her in there!"

"She's contained," Ross said. "And that's our priority. We don't have to explain our reasoning to a child-"

Charlie let out a cry of outrage. "You know who else is a child?! Her! I swear to God- let me go in there then!"

"Absolutely not."

The familiar voice made Charlie spin on her heel.

Tony was waking towards them, suit coat donned. He nodded at the guard, and then at Sharon- who looked thoroughly relieved.

"Dad!" Charlie yelled, fuming, "Becca is in there, shot-"

Tony's eyes snapped at her, and the look on his face made her immediately shut her mouth.

"You said you were just going to take a walk," he said in a low voice.

Charlie stared up at him, anger suddenly plummeting into shame. "I just-"

"Yeah, you just," Tony muttered, glancing around the room. Ross and Sharon were in deep conversation, and judging by the sharp hand movements Sharon was making, she was trying to reason with him. "You and your father both just. Honey-"

He scrubbed a hand over his face. "I needed one thing from you. I need you to be safe. and in one place, while I try to- to sort this out. Please."

The desperation in his words was urgent.

"I'm sorry," Charlie said quietly. "I'm sorry. I know. But Becca- Becca's hurt, and they're refusing to get a doctor in there."

Tony glanced at the glass wall, and expression softening when he saw the little girl looking extra small in her containment pod.

"Ross," he called, suddenly standing up straight, voice lighter- but not any less threatening. "Refusing to treat your prisoners, that just your style?"

"The Asset is more than just a prisoner, Stark," Ross turned.

The way Tony's voice darkened was unnerving. "I'm sure my lawyers would love to get ahold of the fact that Secretary Ross refuses to give medical services to minors he keeps locked in a box."

Sharon spoke up, and although her voice was quiet, it wasn't at all timid. "Respectfully, sir, you're not the only person in charge of this. They'll be transferred to a secure psychiatric ward soon. You can't hold them forever."

"Thank you, Agent 13," Ross said, not sounding thankful at all. "Stark, take your daughter and leave this room."

"Are you going to fix Becca's leg?" Charlie demanded.

"We've already paged someone," Sharon assured her.

Tony took Charlie's hand, who realized she probably didn't look very threatening with the massive wad of bandages on each hand. "I'm going to do a follow up, I'm sure you already know."

"Trust me, Stark." Ross made a pointed look at Charlie. Tony's hand tightened around hers. "You do not have the upper hand here."

Tony turned away, making sure to keep Charlie close.

"Wait," Charlie suddenly skidded to a hault, something catching her eye. "What is that?"

Ross glanced at the small doll with red yarn hair,inside a glass case, on displays "The Asset had it."

Charlie stared at it. "She has a doll- and you took it from her?"

"Charlie," Tony said quietly, in warning.

"No!" Charlie snapped. She wrenched her hand out of his grip, glaring at Ross. "Give it to me, I'll hold onto it."

Ross raised an eyebrow. "It could be laced with explosives. A hand grenade could easily fit inside."

"She wouldn't put a hand grenade in a babydoll," Charlie scoffed.

Actually, on second thought, Becca probably would, but Charlie was too in deep now to turn back.

"Fine," Ross said, waving his hand at a guard. "You hold onto it. Hope it doesn't explode all over you."

Charlie waited until the guard opened the case and handed her the babydoll. "It won't."

Tony was staring at her, looking thoroughly exhausted as Charlie walked back to stand beside him, clutching onto Becca's doll like a lifeline.

"She needs it," Charlie said quietly, not meeting his eyes. "Its... it's hers."

Tony nodded. "Then we'll keep it safe for her until she gets out."

"You're rubbing off on her," Tony said flippantly, as he and Charlie walked back into the glass-walled room.

Steve looked up from where he'd been doodling in small notepad.

Tony gestured at their daughter as Charlie sat down, opposite both of them, rubbing the headache forming between her eyes. "Ran downstairs, into the control room. Yelled at the Secretary of State."

"I'd say thats every bit you as it is me," Steve said, smiling slightly.

Tony jerked his head in a nod. "Touché. But when I'm trying to mop up flood after flood you two start, it makes things difficult."

"You could have just left her at home."

"Yeah, well," Charlie tilted her head angrily, "when your father takes off to a foreign country to go with absolutely no warning to go round up a couple of super-soldiers that have literally tried to kill him more than once, you kinda wanna be there when he gets back."

Steve sighed. "Charlie-"

"Don't," Charlie muttered, toying with the red yarn on the doll's head in her lap.

"You shouldn't have brought her here, Tony," Steve said, exasperated.

"Yeah, actually," Tony said sharply. "I did. Because quite frankly, I don't trust any of theses lovely government officials to leave her alone if she were somewhere else."

Steve just shook his head.

"They could make something terrible look like an accident, and we wouldn't be able to go public and do something about it, because to the rest of the world doesn't even know she exists anymore."

That made Steve look up. Charlie grimaced.

"She's leverage, Steve," Tony said harshly. "They know it, we know it- but you didn't think about that, did you?"

Steve opened his mouth, but Tony interrupted him immediately. "You don't see to realize that your actions do, in fact, affect other people. You put your daughters's safety at risk- you put my safety at risk. Nat, Sam, Rhodey- you see where this is going? Even the Barnes, Steve-"

"I'd you cant trust the government," Steve said, exasperated, "then why would you sign the Accords?"

"Because it's all about publicity to them, Steve, they just want a clean image. The world is angry and in a panic and they had to act. If we go public about our terms and they violated them, the world would turn on them and not us. We can adjust things, and they don't have a way around it."

"And unfortunately, they had a point with the Accords. We do need to be held accountable. Kept in check. If we think we're above the law, or consequences, or punishment- were no better than the people we're trying to protect the world from."

Steve groaned. "They're trying to take away our freedom, Tony-"

Tony slammed his hand on the desk, making both Steve and Charlie jump. His brown eyes blazed with anger. "Are you even listening to me, Steve? Your version of freedom is action without consequence- and quite frankly, that's not how the world works."

"If I see a situation pointed south..." Steve glanced at the screens against the wall. "I can't ignore it. Sometimes I wish I could."

Tony scoffed. "No, you don't."

Steve smiled thinly. "No, I don't."

"Unless it's something to do with your family,"Charlie muttered, looking down at the doll in her hands.

"Bucky is family too," Steve insisted. "Sometimes..."

"Sometimes," Tony said, leaving over Steve's chair, making Steve look up at him with a slight smile, "I wanna punch you in your perfect teeth."

"Me too," Charlie said helpfully.

Tony's voice was soft. Maybe a little bit pleading. "But I don't wanna see you gone."

Gone.

Charlie didn't want to think about that at all.

"We need you, Honey." Tony said. He had sunk into a chair, but his and Steve's knees still touched. "I need you to support this. Support me. So far, nothing's happened that can't be undone, if you sign. We can make the last 24 hours legit. The Barnes gets transferred to an American psych-center...instead of a Wakandan prison."

Steve slowly stood from his chair and put his hands on his hips, pacing. "I'm not saying it's impossible, but there would have to be safeguards."

"Who do you think I am?" Tony said. "Look- I get it. Ultron. My fault. Wanda, not properly trained, also on me. S.H.I.E.L.D- it's all me. But I am trying."

Charlie stared at him. "Dad. It is not your fault."

She was suddenly hit like a bullet with the fact this this very closely mirrored a conversation they'd had a couple of years ago- at Clint's farm when she told them about Afghanistan.

She knew better than anyone how guilt could eat a person alive.

"Once we put out the PR fire," Tony brushed aside the comment, clearly not believing it, "those documents can be amended. I'd file a motion to have you and Wanda reinstated-"

Of course that made Steve look up. "Wanda? What about Wanda?"

"She's fine," Tony said exasperatedly. "She's confined to the compound, currently. Vision's keeping her company."

Steve threw his head back indignantly. His voice had raised to almost shouting. "Oh God, Tony!"

"Don't yell at him, literally what else was he supposed do?!" Charlie exclaimed.

"Every time I think you see things the right way..." Steve was shaking his head, waving his hand in Tony's face like he was reprimanding a small child.

"It's a 100 acres with a lap pool," Tony chuckled in disbelief. There was no humor in it. "It's got a screening room. There's worse ways to protect people."

Steve glared art him. "Protection? Is that how you see this? This is protection? Its internment, Tony."

"Oh my GOD, Pops," Charlie groaned. "Don't lecture us of all people on internment-"

"She's not a US citizen."

"Oh, come on, Tony-"

Tony was shouting now. "And they don't grant visas to weapons of mass destruction!"

Steve wheeled on him. "Mass destruction? Like the Stark technology that killed her parents? You wonder why she doesn't want anything to do with the Accords-"

The room fell silent.

Charlie made a small noise, feeling suddenly nauseous.

Tony's voice wasn't exactly steady as he said, "That's a low blow, Steve. You know that was Obadiah, you know I didn't know what was happening at Stark Industries, that's the whole reason Charlie and I were kidnapped!"

"Wanda's a kid!" Steve shouted.

"GIMME A BREAK!" Tony bellowed.

Pure exhaustion written into every feature of his face. Hurt and betrayal in his eyes, looking at his husband with something that looked like resolve.

"Wanda is a fucking twenty-five year old woman!" Charlie shouted, feeling frustrated tears welling up in her eyes.

"Charlie." Steve shook his head.

"No!" Charlie yelled, her voice cracking. "Wanda's a grown woman, fully capable of making her own decisions, but leaves Dad to take all of the accountability, and the backlash-"

Tony was looking up at her from where he sat, an indescribable look on his face.

"You know who's actually a kid?" Charlie said, a tear trailing down her cheek now as she looked up at her father. "Me. I'm a kid, Pops, your kid, and you insist on doing everything you possibly can to hurt me!"

Steve stared at the ground. Then he ran a hand over his face, looked down at her, and bent his knees to get down eye-to-eye with her.

"I love you," he said. His voice was quiet.

Charlie's lip quivered. Her Pops's eyes searched hers, flitting back and forth as his hands rested on her shoulders.

"Then why do you keep choosing everyone else over me?" She whispered.

Steve opened his mouth, looking a little bit unsure of what to say.

Charlie nodded, wiping away an angry tear that had fallen onto her chin. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

There was a long moment of silence. Charlie pulled away from her father, repeatedly swiping at her eyes as tears started to flow freely. She all but collapsed into a chair, far away from both her parents, tugging her sweater over the bandages on her thumbs.

"You can be a real ass, Steve," Tony said after a while, smiling thinly at his husband. "You know that?"

Steve glared out of the glass wall.

"I'm doing what has to be done," Tony said after a long moment. His voice had tightened. Leaving no room for argument. "To stave off something worse."

Steve nodded faintly, not even looking at him. "You keep telling yourself that."

With that, he stood and left the room.

He didn't look back.

As Charlie watched him leave, she felt whatever was left of her heart shatter into a million pieces.

A/N:

Pushing the agenda of Aunt Peggy, Tony, and cousin Sharon because why the fuck was that never addressed in the MCU if J.A.R.V.I.S and Peggy were best friends. Like, Tony wouldn't know her or Sharon? stop lying to me.

Sharon Carter is not and never has been the villain and I hate how the MCU reduced her to merely a love interest. Agent 13 is so badass in the comics, and she still is in the MCU. APPRECIATE HER.

Family drama. Charlie hurting. Charlie getting angry. The way she's so much like each of her parents.

Her... passion towards Becca being treated right.

What did y'all like?

Drink some water!