Too Obvious to See // MARVEL // STONY

2.15 this actually really hurt me yknow?

Art is to console those who are broken by life. - Vincent van Gogh

TONY STARK opened the doors of the barn, walking inside. His gaze fell upon the tractor. He walked over to the big thing.

'Hello, Deere,' Tony mumbled while pulling on a few things, switching another. 'What ails you?'

'Do me a favor. Try not to bring it to life.'

Tony turned around and saw, of all people on this planet, Nick freaking Fury standing there. Tony was completely done with everything. This man was probably here to give him a lecture about Ultron, as if he hadn't already gotten it by his teammates. With that, how could they think that Tony would think that it was a good idea?

Tony sighed. 'Why, Ms. Barton, you little minx. I get it. Maria Hill called you, right? Was she ever not working for you?'

However, Nick ignored the comment. 'Artificial intelligence,' he stated while slowly walking over to Tony. 'You never even hesitated.'

'Look, it's been a really long day, like Eugene O'Neill long, so how's about we skip to the part where you're useful,' Tony told the other man, not wanting to hear the speech again.

'Look me in the eye and tell me you're going to shut him down.'

Here was the problem, though. Tony couldn't. He was many things. Billionaire, philanthropist, genius, playboy, arrogant, straight-to-the-point. But a liar wasn't one of them. Tony was going to shut Ultron down, for sure, but he wouldn't stop trying creating a better version of Ultron. He wasn't a quitter. He would work for what he truly believed in.

'You're not the director of me,' Tony eventually decided to answer.

'I'm not the director of anybody. I'm just an old man-' Nick responded while he sat down, '-who cares very much about you.'

'And I'm the man who killed the Avengers,' Tony accidentally said. A weight fell off his shoulders. 'I saw it. I didn't tell the team. How could I? I saw them all dead, Nick. I felt it. The whole world, too. Because of me. I wasn't ready. I didn't do all I could.'

Nick shook his head. 'Maximoff girl, she's working you, Stark. Playing on your fear.'

'I wasn't tricked, I was shown. Wasn't a nightmare, it was my legacy. The end of the path I started us on,' Tony told Nick with pain in his voice.

It was the truth. Tony was aware of himself, the whole time. It wasn't like a dream. A dream feels like everything goes too fast, but you still understand everything. This felt as a scene in his life that he somehow didn't experience. It wasn't a stupid trick, it was the truth. It was the bigger picture. It wasn't the fear that scared Tony so, it was the fact that it could become true.

'You come up with some pretty impressive inventions, Tony,' Nick stated while he stood up. 'War isn't one of them.'

Tony had hurt filled in his voice. 'I watched my friends die. You'd think that's be as bad as it gets, right? Nope. It wasn't the worst part.'

'The worst part is that you didn't.'

Tony only looked up at Nick.