A/N: Sorry for the delay and for the brevity of this chapter. Thank you so much for the reviews!

Chapter 11: Ti Prego di Scusarmi, Fratellino

Tony's mind came to a screeching halt as it filtered Arno's words. Fury coursed through him. He hardly reacted to the sound of his favorite 'Quiet! Genius at work' mug, a gift from Clint on their last Christmas together as a team, shattering into pieces. He barely noticed Barnes and Bruce approaching swiftly and that only thanks to Winter Soldier Arm who asked for the precise location of the threat.

"No," the engineer whispered. Arno looked at him in confusion, clearly not understanding what was going through Tony's mind. How could he? Tony had never said a thing against Howard, not wanting to hurt his younger brother.

"He didn't do that to you," he mentioned to force out through clenched teeth. "He didn't use me as an ideal you couldn't possibly live up to."

Arno decidedly avoided his gaze, "If the shoe fits…"

"No!" Tony shouted. Memories threatened to drown him with voices that deceptively sounded like a combination of Steve and Howard ('If only you were more like Captain America.' – 'Your father would have never done this. How could you?' – 'If I could trade you for him, I would do it in a heartbeat.'). At least, Steve had compared the quality of two grown men, unlike his father who had made parallels between a heightened human and his five-year-old adoptive son. To think that Howard had used him to make Arno feel like he had to prove himself made Tony sick.

"You listen to me, Arno. Howard Stark was an asshole who bullied his children into behavior by constantly reminding them how they fall short in comparison to someone else. He may have been a great friend, a remarkably monogamous husband, an outstanding businessman and a genius, but he was a shitty father. Howard Stark couldn't stand the sight of me, and I disappointed him on a near-daily basis. That's the truth. I received a message from him only a few years ago stating that he was proud of me, but you know what? I think that was addressed to you. JARVIS, roll the tape!"

He remembered how that tape had actually given him some strength initially – to know that Howard had believed in him meant a lot more than it should have – but most of all, it had also managed to shatter his confidence. He had long ago accepted the fact that he would never be able to step out of his father's overly long shadow; that people hated him for something they had loved Howard for notwithstanding. When he had read the hidden will, and realized that he was not even remotely related to the Stark family, and that, with a probability of 95.9%, had been conceived naturally, he had come to the conclusion that Howard's words ('My greatest creation is you.') had never been meant for him. He simply served as the middleman making sure Arno knew about the tape. It did not hurt nearly as much as he thought it would, and still more than he was prepared for.

As they watched the tape, Tony worriedly glimpsed at his brother who looked sad, but also relieved and a tiny bit happy.

"It doesn't matter what he says though," continued Tony once he had JARVIS cut off the feed, stepping up to his brother and grabbing his shoulders. Arno was appallingly thin. Had he lost his appetite while worrying about the future? "You are a brilliant man with the ability to change the world. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise."

"I can't do what you do," was the desperate reply. "Tony, I can't! Being the Iron Man is slowly killing me. I can't do that! I was never meant for that. I was trained to make sure the company thrives, to constantly provide ideas for R&D and to write unique codes nobody else can. I'm a programmer, not an engineer! I don't do the whole 'create and build' thing that you do. Everybody thinks that replacing you is easy, because 'hey, you are dedicated, allegedly smarter than him and Stark was lazy. Why are you making such a fuss?' How have you convinced them that all you ever do is party? How can anybody look at the stuff you create and think that you put anything but your full focus behind it? I'm so tired, Tony. I love Pepper, she is wonderful, but she doesn't understand that I can't go to every function, charity event and board meeting while doing all that other stuff…" Tony roughly grabbed his brother's far too thin body, and hugged him. They had talked yesterday, but this breakdown still came as a surprise to Tony. Arno had not seemed this desperate.

"Shush, fratellino," whispered the engineer. "Everything is going to be alright. I won't leave you alone this time around. We'll do it together, we'll share the load. Stop worrying."

He hoped that Steve would let him. Yes, Tony (and Arno too it seemed) was officially out of the hero business, and he would not return, but he could not just abandon his brother when he was so obviously desperate. R&D did not sound too bad. He could work with that. People always needed things. He had always wanted to go deep into the medical field. It would be interesting to learn, and if Arno was there double-checking his ideas, the world may not be destroyed in the process. It seemed… safe. Arno pressed his forehead against Tony's shoulder and the former Stark heir kissed the top of his brother's head.

"Go catch some sleep, we'll figure out the details tomorrow."

Once Arno left, Tony addressed Steve, "Change of plans. I don't care what strings you need to pull to make this happen, but after this is over, I'll work at the SI Research and Development department. Arno will serve as my control checkpoint. Iron Man won't fly again. The armors will be dissembled after we fix Arno's code."

"No Iron Man? But…" began Steve, but Tony cut him off quickly.

"Iron Man died during the Civil War. He's no longer one of the good guys. I never should have convinced Arno to take up the armor, but I was just fooling myself, I guess."

Iron Man had been his ticket out of the crippling guilt, his atonement for past sins, but he had forgotten one thing: he was still Tony Stark, fuck-up extraordinaire. Back when he had built the armor, he should have just given it to someone else, somebody who actually had a heart.

Steve seemed to recognize the determination, and promised that he would do his best, which surprised Tony. He had expected more resistance.

"I have one condition," said Steve, and Tony frowned, wondering when Steve had become a businessman. It seemed as if prolonged exposure to him could be a factor.

"Avengers Tower is still yours, Steve. I can work at SI and get an apartment someplace else. I'll make sure the tower stays functional in my absence this time."

"Thanks, Tony, but this is the exact opposite of what I want. I'd like us to reconnect. I'd never invade your privacy, but if we set up our headquarters here, would you agree to come to team meetings? Even if you are not an Avenger, your opinion is highly valued." Steve's blue eyes were soft and pleading, and who the hell could refuse Captain America?

"Avengers consultant?" Hell, yes! "Sure, I can live with that." He did not smile. This was still a mess, and he hated that his brother was so distressed. He was still furious with Steve, and he was tired of playing the hero (or the villain). He had abandoned everybody he loved in order to save them. However, this here, this tiny step… Perhaps the future did not look as bleak as he made it out to be.