Faultlines

Long Time Coming

"I like having pictures of my friends around.", Harry chose to answer instead, still weary of what was going to happen next.

"You like to hide them, too.", Tony turned around to look at him, "Hide them from me."

"If I have to: sure."

"Where is Barnes, Harry?", Tony turned around to look Harry dead in the eyes. All pretense and nervous laughter vanished.

"Being treated. If you came here to try and get me to give them up, any of them, I fear I'll have to disappoint you."

Tony nodded gravely, "That's right. Harry Stark. Loyal to the end."

"You think this is about loyalty? Interesting."

"Mh. Maybe stubborn is the word to use? Like Zemo, I guess. They have been interrogating him for months, you know? And he stubbornly refused to talk. Until yesterday. And then he spilled the beans. About his family... about how he planned to have 'the Avengers torn apart from the inside'. Rather successfully, I'd say."

Harry knew what was coming next. He could feel it in his bones, in every fibre of his being. "Some people are predictable."

"Yes. Some. Ross now thinks you aren't one of them. He doesn't know what to make of you. But when Zemo told us Barnes... Barnes had killed our parents and there was a video... well. He meant to play that to me, I hear. Predictable son that I am, he expected me to get suitably angry. Of course I didn't see it, but you did. I hear you were really composed. Calculated. Chose to take out Zemo. Ross is impressed. I am not.", Tony interrupted his little rant, looking at Harry darkly, who chose to let his brother get this off his chest, before replying, "Composed? That really didn't sound like you. Oh no... you didn't explode anything. Didn't punch someone's lights out. You just... what? Accepted it? There is only one reason for that, dear brother of mine: you already knew."

Harry took a deep, audible breath.

"Yes. I knew."

Tony's face went blank. Strongly suspecting and knowing were two very different things, that Harry knew all too well.

"You knew. Knew that Mom and Dad were murdered? Knew it was Barnes?"

"I knew they were murdered and I strongly suspected Hydra used Bucky to do it."

Tony was breathing angrily through his nose now, if it weren't Harry standing in front of him, he strongly suspected Tony would have hit him.

"How long? How long have you been lying to me?"

"Since the fall of SHIELD.", Harry admitted, "I told Steve not to tell you. I was worried about what you might do."

"Worried about what I might do.", Tony echoed, "How dare you? How dare you make that decision for me?"

"Oh, come on, Tony.", Harry huffed, "I had good reason to be. So yes, I made that choice. You know what? I don't even regret it. You were a mess. Don't think I am that blind. You hid away for months. Probably drank your weight on a regular basis. I was worried you'd do something rash. Worried you might go after an amnesiac super soldier. I did not want to have to scrap you of a pavement somewhere."

"So that's what you think of me then? Tony. Who can't be trusted with the truth? Because he is... too fragile?!"

"There is no shame in needing help, Tony! It does not make you weak. I have been trying to tell you that for years. Damn it, I wish I had had the foresight to go see someone. I didn't. I buried myself in work and caring for Teddy. But I damn well should have. So no. When Steve told me, I didn't tell you. I was scared, Tony, seriously scared for you!"