So, let's take stock of things, shall we? May is acting a little OOC for Tony. Peter is clamming up leaving Tony out in the cold. What on earth is going on in Spidey's little head?

Then we have Clint having a rough time reconciling with the fact that he basically stepped out of line with Wanda, yet the incident seemed to bring Wanda out of her funk or did it?

Steve is really struggling with his presence in Wakanda...and he has too much time to think about Tony and the Accords, not to mention the fact, he has no idea what to do with a teenaged wounded Wanda. He is out of his element.

Everyone is carrying secrets and no one is trusting anyone else enough to share their innermost thoughts...sounds like life, doesn't it?

Remember, no man is an island. Let others in. We need each other.

Happy 2019 :)

God's richest blessings on you all.

God bless,

~~Sawyer~~

NEW YORK

Tony puffed out his cheeks in relief as he landed his Ironman suit to the ground. Jocasta was worth her weight in gold. She had traced Peter's whereabouts this time without any hitches. Tony's heart was thumping against his ribcage anxiously when he saw how vulnerable the young 15-year-old boy looked. Peter was sitting in a dark, damp alley with his back to a wall and his knees drawn up to his chin. Tony wasn't sure he'd ever seen the kid looking so defeated.

"Go away!" mumbled Peter, not even looking up.

"Kid," began Tony, stepping close to him in his suit and then popping the face mask open to get a better look.

"I don't want to hear it, okay? Just go away."

Tony stepped out of his suit and stood over Peter trying to think of what he could say. "I'm not going away, so you might as well look at me."

Peter raised his head, tears running down his dirt-smudged cheeks. Tony winced when he saw what looked like a bruise forming on the kid's cheek. His aunt had smacked him hard enough to leave a mark; even Peter's enhanced healing couldn't hide it. It would take a day or two probably.

"Has that happened before?" asked Tony, indicating the mark on his face.

Peter shrugged. "What does it matter? I warned you before that I don't like it when she freaks out…it freaks me out…and I can't…" Peter choked back a sob that he was trying so hard to hold back.

Tony knelt down to Peter's level. "When?"

"When what?"

"When has she hit you?"

Peter groaned and shook his head. "You're kidding me, right? Look, so she smacked me. It's no big deal! Do you have any idea what I could do to her if I wanted to? In case you haven't noticed, I'm strong. I don't care if she hit me, alright? I deserved it!"

Tony reached out to grab his chin, tipping his head up to get a better look at the bruise. Peter yanked his face away in a huff.

"She has no right to hit you like that."

Peter made a sour, disgusted face. "How is you busting my ass any different, Stark?"

Tony sat all the way down in front of Peter, crossing his legs awkwardly. "I'm getting too old for this shit," He mumbled to himself as he tried to get somewhat comfortable. He decided to ignore Peter's comment because he saw it for what it was—a deflection. Peter was wounded and willing to lash out at anyone who came near him. Tony knew that Peter would defend May no matter what he said.

"The first time I met you, you told me you didn't want your aunt to find out that you're Spiderman. You said she would freak out. Tell me what that means."

Peter shook his head. "Forget about it."

"Pete, what happens when your aunt freaks out? Is that the worst she's done or is there more?"

Peter swallowed several times as tears fell down his cheeks. He tried to wipe them away as quickly as they came. Tony waited patiently as he watched the kid's newly forming Adam's apple bobble in his throat. Peter's voice had barely begun to change. The kid was a lot closer to childhood than he was to adulthood. Being an enhanced superhero didn't change that reality. Peter was still a vulnerable youth that needed protecting. The honest, gut-wrenching truth was that if Tony had even given it half a second thought, he would have never dragged the kid to Germany with him. The whole thing made his stomach churn. He was a selfish bastard to drag an innocent kid into something so dangerous. He should have just told the kid's aunt about his friendly neighbour Spiderman gig and been done with it. Tony shook his head in frustration at the simple thought. Knowing what he knew now, he wasn't sure what his aunt might have done to him. Peter was too respectful to fight back or, from what he saw at the school, even defend himself. If Tony hadn't have stepped in, who knows how many more times his aunt would have slapped his face. It was ridiculous. Why didn't the kid at least try and stop her? Preventing her from hitting him wasn't wrong. It was common sense.

"You can't hurt her by blocking her. Had she wanted to kick your ass for what you did today, hell, I'd have offered to hold you down for her but lashing out as she did…" Tony stopped himself mid-sentence, recognizing he was ranting. He puffed out his cheeks again realizing that his anger was directed at the wrong person and Peter wasn't hearing him anyway.

Peter took a deep breath, sniffling and wiping his sleeve across his face. Tony reached out and patted his knee. He was at a loss for words. He couldn't explain the difference between discipline and abuse to Peter. Hell, Tony wasn't even sure if he could explain it to himself. Everything felt blurred in his mind at the moment. He'd chosen to discipline Peter by hitting him. What was the difference? All Tony knew was what May had done pissed him off. In her anger, she'd hurt Peter and that wasn't okay in his books. His red flags were up.

"Is there anything else about Aunt May I should know about?"

Peter shook his head but Tony didn't believe it. May's reaction had been over the top in his opinion and not normal at all. It was the response of a woman out of control. Peter was not a rebellious kid by any means. There would be no way the kid would have done anything worse than the normal teenage shenanigans; granted blowing up his school's science lab might have taken the cake for teenage mischief. A part of Tony couldn't blame her for reacting but even Tony, with his temper, wouldn't have done much more but maybe smacked the kid's ass if he gave him attitude. But Peter hadn't. Peter had been nothing but apologetic and remorseful. May's reaction was just plain wrong.

"It's not her fault, Mr. Stark. I screw up a lot and she works hard. She's tired."

"I'm tired too, kid. Everyone's tired. Still no excuse," insisted Tony.

Peter shook his head. "You're wrong!"

Tony heaved a sigh. He looked at Peter; his heart was breaking over how shattered the boy looked. Tony would have never guessed May Parker would lose control like that. She's always radiated love and support any time he'd seen her. None of his red flags were raised when he'd seen her before. He reached out and brushed Peter's hair out his face again. Maybe his gut was wrong. Maybe he was making a mountain out a molehill. He'd misjudged people before, hadn't he?

"Okay, kid. You win. If you say that was a onetime thing, I believe you." Tony saw Peter visibly relax at his words. The bruise on his face told Tony another story but he had to admit, he'd never seen anything on the kid before that he'd noticed. He could be overreacting and May could have just overreacted as well. Tony stood to his feet and pulled Peter to his.

"Let's go back to the tower. We've got a lot to figure out."

Peter nodded grimly. "Am I in a lot of trouble, Mr. Stark?"

Tony put his arm around Peter and pulled him in for a sideways embrace. A long time ago, he'd remembered telling Peter they weren't there yet. Tony was never comfortable showing physical affection to anyone outside of Pepper. Peter had changed that about him. Peter brought out a paternal side of him that he didn't even know existed, and somehow he was okay with that.

"Nothing we can't handle, Underoos."

Wakanda

Clint ended the call with his wife feeling worse than he had when he'd made it. He had hoped for some kind of absolution but Laura knew him better than anyone so she hadn't given it to him. He knew he had to work through his emotions of guilt on his own. Talking to his sweet little girl had only further pricked at his conscience. If some strange guy had touched his daughter like he'd done Wanda, he wouldn't have rested until he'd hunted the guy down and beat the living crap out of him. Clint ran a hand through his sandy brown hair and stood to his feet. He needed to do something. Sitting around Wakanda with no purpose or job to do was going to make him go out of his ever living mind. So much waste time. He could be taking care of his family and his farm. Hell, he had a tractor that needed fixing and crops to plant. The upstairs hallway needed renovating and Laura's car needed an oil change. Why did he always leave everything behind when it came to the damned Avengers? He knew Laura understood his need to help but maybe he didn't anymore.

"You okay?"

Clint spun around to see Steve walk in the room.

"Ya, I'm fine. How's Wanda?"

"Good. She's working on Algebra." Steve walked into their mini kitchen and grabbed a drink from the fridge. "You want anything?"

"No, I'm good." Clint fidgeted a little wishing he'd have left before Steve came in. He was dreading the conversation he knew was inevitable. "Always hated algebra. Never thought I'd use it for anything until the day my dad pointed out I use it every damned time I shoot an arrow."

Steve smiled and walked into the common area, sitting down in front of the window and putting his feet up on the stool.

"Were you close to your dad?"

Clint shrugged. "Yes and no. Probably the same with most kids. He was my hero until I was about 12 and then he was just a pain in my ass."

"My dad saw me as a disappointment. I never could live up to his expectations for me. He wanted an athletic football player; instead, he got a weak, brainy humanitarian."

"Must have been hard on you."

"It was, but I never really blamed him. I was just as frustrated with who I was as a person."

Clint walked over to Steve and sat down across from him.

"I'm sorry if I crossed some lines…"

Steve held up his hand. "You don't need to apologize, Clint. Not to me."

Clint scrubbed a hand across his face. "When I thought about how much she could have jeopardized with that damned phone…"

"You don't have to explain yourself either. Clint, I don't care why you did it. Hell, I don't even care that you did it at all. It worked." Steve shook his head. "Ever since we came to Wakanda, that girl has been distant and I haven't known what to do. She wouldn't even let me comfort her after a nightmare. I've been at my wit's end."

Clint swallowed hard.

"Look, I don't agree with what you did and you can bet your ass, I'll never do it to her myself but you made an impact. It shows me that you have a knack for parenting that I don't."

Clint chuckled sarcastically. "Trust me, I have no knack," he mumbled dejectedly.

"The point is I trust you, Clint."

Clint's throat felt thick with emotion. It meant a lot to him that Steve trusted him. He knew Captain America trusted him with his life but now he knew Steve trusted him too.

"Thanks, man."

Steve nodded and stared out the window. "She's hurting, Clint. I don't know how to remedy that."

"I know." Clint sat back, allowing himself to relax a little, "When we were fighting against Ultron, her brother kept baiting me. He'd show up and snatch Wanda from me over and over. Kept saying things like "keep up old man' or 'bet you never saw that coming'. It set my teeth on edge. I knew he was playing with me and it was like some kind of entertaining game to him."

"Is that what Wanda was referring to?"

Clint nodded. "One of the last times he did it, I was so exasperated that I lifted my bow to shoot into midair at his disappearing form; totally just joking around but seriously pissed and annoyed at the kid. Pietro was a pain in the ass but the whole time he was only protecting Wanda. That was his primary goal in life and I admired it. I never understood why he saved me."

Steve spun the water bottle in his hand. "I think Wanda summed that up for you."

Tears burned Clint's blue eyes. "If I could have prevented it…"

"I know, Clint." Steve stood to his feet. "It's why I'm so angry with Stark. I mean, the Accords are wrong on so many levels but when I saw that kid…" Clint took a few deep breaths to remain calm.

Clint nodded in understanding. "I'm not sure what Stark was thinking either. That kid couldn't be more than Wanda's age. Dragging him into it makes him no different than Hydra."

"Wanda and her brother are innocent victims. I've said it before and I'll say it again. We can only trust our own instincts."

Clint looked into Steve's eyes and for once could see clearly the pain. There was so much Steve was hiding from him. When Steve showed up at the Raft and broke them all free, he refused to talk about what happened. Scott Lang refused to leave, willing to do anything to get back to his kid. Sam had been so angry at both Steve and Tony that the man disappeared to God knows where. Clint hadn't heard from him that was for sure. Wanda had been so traumatized. Who the hell puts a 16-year-old girl in an underwater prison in the middle of the ocean with a bunch of criminals? She's a damned little girl. Clint forced himself to calm down. Whenever he let his emotions get the best of him, it didn't do him or anyone else any good. He probably should have just stayed behind and taken a deal like Lang, then he'd be with his family where he belonged. Being in Wakanda wasn't helping anyone.

"Damn it!" shouted Steve, "I hate what these Accords have done to us. Why does Tony have to have such a friggen guilt complex?"

Clint was quiet. While he understood Steve's mistrust of authorities, he also understood Stark's side too. Steve saw the accords as another attempt for a shadowy group to control enhanced individuals. Tony, on the other hand, was wracked with guilt. Each new event showed the man's lack of coping skills culminating with Sokovia. Tony needed to seek absolution for everything he thought was his fault. Following some kind of rulebook or authority gave him that release and a way to assuage his guilt.

"Call him," said Clint.

Steve's brow hit his hairline. "What?"

"You heard me. Call him." Clint walked up and stood in front of Steve, reaching out to set a hand on his shoulder. "You've expended so much time being angry and it's gotten you nowhere. It's time to get up off your ass and face him, Cap. You know I'm right."

Steve shook his head. "I set him a phone…"

"It was a cop out and you know it. Nice gesture but you know Stark. He's not ever gonna be the bigger man in this. He's too emotionally spent." Steve sighed in frustration. "Look, I like Stark but we both know he had the emotional maturity of a gnat."

Steve chuckled and dropped his head into his hands. "There's a lot you don't know, Clint. About me. About Stark. About Bucky."

Clint shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me. Water under the bridge. Be the bigger man."

Clint winced at his own words. Talk about calling the kettle black. He needed to take his own advice too. He needed to be the bigger man and talk to Wanda. He needed to apologize and explain himself to her.

Steve looked up at him, his blue eyes piercing Clint then softening just as quickly. He shook his head several times and stared off into space.

"His parents were murdered and Bucky did it."

Clint blinked. 'Come again."

Steve crossed his arms and paced towards the large bay window overlooking a beautiful meadow. The peaceful and stunning scenery made Wakanda a true sanctuary of supreme beauty and tranquillity. A perfect haven in an otherwise abysmal world. He heaved a loud sigh before turning to face Clint.

"Stark thinks I'm being difficult about the Accords but he doesn't see things as I do. He might now; maybe not, I dunno. I'm sick to death of groups having an agenda and the authority to make decisions only to be overthrown by another group with an even worse agenda. It's like a bad game of chess. Our fate is best in our own hands. If Stark was reasonable, I'd be able to explain it."

"Hang on a sec. Back it up. Tony's parents were murdered by Barnes? Hold the damned boat here. I thought his parents were killed in a car accident or something."

"All a ruse set up by Hydra for the serum Stark's father had. Howard was up to his neck in things he knew nothing about. Hydra wasn't taking any prisoners."

"How long have you known about that?"

"I didn't know Bucky did it if that's what you're asking."

Clint felt his heart skip a beat in his chest. Anyone who knew anything about Tony Stark knew the man had daddy issues so deep, he almost drowned it in.

"Holy hell." Clint began to think back to how Steve looked when he'd broken them out of the Raft. Broken and downtrodden were just a few words that came to mind.

"I was wrong. All along I thought Zemo's plan was to the free the other Winter Soldiers, but they were red herrings. He wasn't stupid enough to want them running amuck. He was Sokovian. He already knew how much damage unbridled rage could do. Do you know what he said when he finally cornered us?"

Clint was silent giving Steve his undivided attention. He'd waited for a long time to hear the story and for Steve to absolve himself.

"He said 'an empire toppled by its enemies can rise again, but one that crumbles from within is gone forever.' No truer words have been spoken and they came from a madman, completely destroyed by revenge."

"Steve," began Clint, wanting to comfort his friend.

Steve turned and faced him, tears falling down his cheeks. "I should have told him I knew his parents were murdered. I just wanted to spare him the pain. I mean, he already thought his parents died in a car crash, how would knowing they were murdered by Hydra make it any better? And, then, all three of us were watching it on video like some kind of sick joke. You should have seen Tony's face, Clint. He was completely stunned. Hell, Bucky…" Steve pinched his nose as a sob caught in his throat.

Clint's throat felt thick with emotion. Undoubtedly, it hadn't been a win-win situation. Clint couldn't imagine finding out his parents were murdered let alone being in the same room with the man who had done it.

"Do you think Barnes had any memory of it?"

Steve inhaled deeply. "From looking at his face, oh yeah, he remembered alright and he wasn't proud of it. But, damn it all to hell, he had no friggen choice. He was brainwashed for crying loud. Tony was so blinded by rage that he couldn't see that. What was I supposed to do, huh? Just stand there and let him kill my best friend?"

"I thought Tony was your friend too, Cap." Clint winced as the words came flying out of his mouth. He couldn't help it. His heart ached for Tony at that moment. As much as Stark was an annoying jerk 98% of the time, Clint knew the man's heart was in the right place. Seeing his parents murdered in front of his eyes, grown man or not, must have been excruciating. Clint could hardly blame him for losing his shit.

Steve gritted his teeth. "Bucky never stood a chance against Stark. Not in the face of that kind of rage. He would have killed him."

Clint couldn't disagree. Tony Stark as Ironman was a worthy opponent.

Steve raked a hand through his dirty blonde hair and then leaned his head against the window, looking defeated. Clint's hands found his hips and he stood staring at his friend in silence for several moments before looking around the room. He took several steps towards the coffee table and snatched up the closest phone. He walked to Steve and grabbed his hand in his.

"Make the call, Cap. Do it before you self-destruct." Clint clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder in love and respect. He rested his hand for several moments and then turned and walked from the room.