𝒩𝑜𝓌 𝐼 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓈𝒽𝑒'𝓁𝓁 𝓃𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓂𝑒 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝒶𝓈 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝓊𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓌𝒶𝓎
Audelia Motter and Tony Stark had each other's backs through thick and thin. But after the abduction of the billionaire in Afghanistan by the Ten Rings...
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Audelia watched as the news recapped the eventful evening on the river.
The Ferry that was split in half by the weapons that Peter was desperately trying to stop, not knowing that Audelia had already made some calls and gotten the FBI on the boat.
The courageous acts of the Spider-Man to stop it from sinking, only to fail.
Iron Man, the hero of New York, swooping in to save the day.
To Audelia, that only meant that he was back, and would come through the door any second now. And even with all the time in the world to think about what she wanted to say, she had nothing.
Tony let out a sigh as the front door closed behind him, leaning back against it as he stared up at the ceiling. He didn't want to take Peter's suit, but it was the only choice he had left. Now, he was back at the compound, and he knew something entirely different was waiting for him just beyond a few walls.
Audelia was sat on the window seat when Tony entered the living room in the living area portion of the compound. The tv was on, volume low, as Audelia just stared out the window before her into the treeline.
"I had to take his suit," Tony spoke first, leaning against a wall as she stared at her. She hummed.
"Probably for the best. I took him to dad, hoping to get through to him. Guess it didn't work,"
All was quiet for a moment, Audelia still refusing to look back at Tony as he watched her.
"How long did you know?"
"Know what?"
"That he was the one to kill your mom,"
Audelia shrugged, playing with the ends of Tony's MIT sweatshirt, the one she practically lived in now.
"I think I always knew. But the brain is particularly good at blocking out traumatic memories. I didn't remember until Wanda warped my mind that day in Africa,"
"...why didn't you hate him?"
"Because Bucky Barnes and the Winter Soldier aren't the same person," her eyes finally met his as she sucked in a breath. She felt as if it had been years since she had seen him, when it was only a week. "I knew how to separate the pair, because I was there the day he pulled Steve out of the water in D.C. The man that saved him, he wasn't the Winter Soldier anymore. Wanda giving me that vision, it just solidified for me that they were two separate people."
Tony frowned as she stepped forward across the room, his hand now resting on the back of the couch as he looked down at his feet.
"I'm sorry," he spoke after a moment, though didn't look up. "I've...I've been unfair to you since that day in Siberia. Treated you like shit if I'm being honest. I'm just sorry."
"I'm...I'm not sorry," Audelia said, looking up to meet Tony's eyes without hesitation this time. "I am sorry that I didn't tell you, that I hid it from you, but I knew for a total of what, three days? I knew if I said something, you'd act out and wouldn't listen to reason. But it also wasn't my secret to tell, you deserved to hear it from Steve. But I'm not sorry for protecting Bucky, for betraying the team in the airport to help them escape."
