When You Were Never Mine

The Fallen

Tony's face fell, his mouth agape and ready to retort with equal destruction that you had just stabbed into his chest, but he couldn't do it. The words seeped into the recesses of his mind, eating away at his thoughts, destroying his sanity neuron by neuron. You had planted a seed of doubt, and a seed of hatred that would, unbeknownst to you then, escalate to such a fevered state that the nuclear explosion yet to come would be obliterating.

"I didn't know you thought that way about me," he whispered, his voice shaking. "I wish you would have told me sooner."

"Tony...that didn't come out the way I meant it to...I'm sorry-"

"Yeah, me too," he nodded with a sad smile, before turning away to leave. His watch sounded with an alert, followed by an image that brightened the hallway around you; you would normally take a stand at his side to see what information was coming in, but you held firm as if you had just been informally released from duty. "What am I looking at, FRIDAY?'

As Tony's voice continued while he walked, T'Challa again appeared to stand with you, looking out over the grounds in much the same was as Tony had been. The man was an enigma that you couldn't read, and with each sound of his voice, you had no idea what words it would carry. "Is it over?"

"Is what over?"

"Your engagement."

You turned to the man with a gasp, unable to contain your shock. "I don't think that's any of your business. I couldn't care less what kind of arrangement that you and Tony have, but it definitely doesn't give you any right to ask about our personal lives."

"Hmm, perhaps that is true, I apologize for any insensitivity. However, your personal life does have some bearing on my next actions. You must come with me." T'Challa reached out for you again, but this time you evaded his grip, inciting the quietest growl of offense from his throat. He paused and lowered his hand, closing his eyes for a second and taking a long, deep breath to calm his reaction to how resistant you were being. It wasn't something that he was accustomed to in his role as Prince, and now as King. "(Y/N), I would appreciate your assistance. If you would please join me?"

"Assistance with what?"

"You know where he is."

"And you think that I'm going to tell you?" you laughed. "Well, I'm sorry to be such a disappointment again, but I have no idea where they went. He's closed his mind to me and won't connect. "

"But that doesn't ensure that he will not do so again."

"Fire up the chopper," Tony said from the other end of the hallway, turning quickly to make his way to the hangar. He didn't even so much as look at you, making it unquestionably clear that you weren't invited. T'Challa had heard as well, with just a hasty look over his shoulder being enough to determine his next course of action.

"Come with me," he ordered much more firmly and succeeding in taking your arm, "this is not finished. You may not know where I can find Barnes, but if Stark knows, you're my best guarantee to find out."

And find out, he did.

~~~

"I know that road. What is this?"

As Tony watched a screen that you couldn't see from the vantage point where T'Challa had held you back, what you could see was a wave of pain slowly crossing his features. You could barely make out what he was looking at, but it was tearing away at him like nothing you had ever seen in him before; even the look on his face at the compound only hours before was nothing in comparison to this destruction. Then, one word, called out in pure, blood-chilling terror, had you breaking free from the King's grip to hurry to Tony's side; you took his gauntlet-covered hand, and he never tried to deny you.