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."
"Why, because for once I was wrong and you were right?"
"That, but I'm not sorry for the fact that I made a decision for myself for once," Deli looked down, shaking her head before she stood up, looking back up at the man across the room.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"That all my life, every decision I have made has been for you," Tony cocked an eyebrow, still not seeing her point as she continued. "You became a superhero, so I became one in order to protect you. You wanted me to step up into the spotlight and speak to the media more, so I did it for you. You want to move into the tower and uproot our lives after the Mandarin, so I follow you. Always, I do it all, for you."
"I never asked you to. I never forced you to,"
"But I have loved you so much and for so long that I do it without a second thought," the exasperation was clear in her voice. "I'm sorry for how it all happened, I'm sorry that I hurt you, but I'm not sorry that I made a decision for myself to make sure that a man who was framed wasn't killed for someone else's agenda."
Tony stared her in the eyes for a few moments, taking in everything she said as Audelia rocked on her feet, trying to contain her nerves.
"I mean, you made the choice to leave Nathan all those years ago, that wasn't me,"
It made her laugh, that laugh that Tony had been in love with his whole life, and brought a smile to his face.
"I think we both know that decisions was made entirely because of you,"
"It was the right call. I had only been waiting for you for, I don't know, like two decades?"
For the first time in awhile, Audelia wore a genuine smile on her face as she looked at Tony. He held one on his lips as well.
Without a second of hesitation this time, he strolled up to her, taking her left hand in his as he played with the ring on her finger.
"I wasn't lying when I told you that mom only ever wanted you to wear this," he told her, eyes shining with love when he looked at her. "She used to tell me that we were twin flames."
Audelia laughed, shaking her head.
"Two halves of the same soul," she whispered as she looked up at him. "Guess both of our moms knew from the beginning."
Tony let go of her hand, wrapping his arms around her as he brought her in close, inhaling her scent as she did the same to him, burying her head in his shoulder as she let a single tear slip down her cheek.
"You have done...so much for me in our lives, that it's time I repay that," Tony whispered into her hair. "We're done, for good."
It took Audelia a moment to realize what those words meant, before she pulled back with wide eyes.
"We're done? You mean it?"
"Until the world gets invaded by some giant alien, Imperial and Iron Man are done," his hand cupped her cheek, thumb running over the skin. "The most important thing in my life is standing right in front of me, and it's time she had my full attention. Plus, there's a little girl that needs us."
The elation that flooded Audelia was instant as she tugged Tony into her, placing her lips on his in an instant. Tony didn't hesitate, bringing her in as close as possible as he molded his lips with her's, never wanting to pull away from this moment with her.
"We still have shit to work through, I hope you realize," Tony commented with a smirk as he pulled away for a moment. "I'm not totally over Siberia, there's still a lot of shit that needs worked through."
"Work through it later. Right now, please just love me, Tony,"
"I never stopped,"
Their lips were brought back together for a split moment before Tony lifted her up and threw her over his shoulder, a mischievous smirk on his face. He gave her ass a pat as he carried her down the hallway, her laughter bouncing off the walls until the bedroom door closed with them inside.
Two halves of the same soul, that would find their way back together no matter what.
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I don't want you guys to feel as if them making up is rushed, because I don't believe it is. They'll have their share of ups and downs, this isn't something you walk away from in one conversation, but they're meant to be together and want to just brush it aside for the moment, like any normal couple. I don't know, I'm the author I don't really need to explain my decisions lol