We expect you to welcome them to the Avengers compound they said. It'll be fine they said. All you have to do is shake your old pal Steve's hand and let him and his buddies live in your home. It'll be fine.

It wasn't fine.

Sure it went fine at first. It went fine up until he had to meet the man in question. The man who lied to him about his parents' murder for 2 years. But it was fine. He was fine.

The U.N. decided that it was a good idea to hold a press conference that was live on international television so Tony of course decided to dress out in an Armani suit to remind everyone that he's too expensive for any of them.

He of course had to include his sunglasses in that look because like hell he would let Steve realize his eyes weren't as sharp as they used to be since the super soldier left him to die in a bunker. He would find out soon enough anyways due to the media already knowing that he'd sustained a few injuries that might be life altering.

While backstage he didn't speak to any of the rogue Avengers. Steve held his signature puppy dog eyes as he tried to catch Tony's. Tony chose to look anywhere but near the man. He chose instead to look down at Julien, petting the dog gently on the head.

The media already knew of the service dog by catching photos of the him and the dog two weeks ago. They just don't know what purposes Julien serves him for. They probably all assumed it was solely for his PTSD. The old Avengers didn't spare a second glance at the German Sheperd, probably assuming it belonged to a member of PR or a stage hand.

After Steve walked off with Natasha for some unknown reason, Tony chose to look up from his shoes. Peter, Rhodey, and Vision kept up a tight U shaped fort with their bodies with Tony in the middle.
They only mingled with each other except Sam and Rhodey who seemed to be talking about how the Penguins did at the playoffs. They tried to include Tony but the billionaire shot them down by claiming be didn't watch hockey.

Rhodey had given him a narrowed and knowing glance. He knew Tony hadn't spoken with anyone besides his dog while backstage and even then he had only told Julien to sit down beside him.

It's not that Tony didn't like the rogue Avengers. He just didn't like Steve. He didn't hold their actions against them. Hell, he didn't hold Bucky Barnes' actions against him. The man was brainwashed and was toi confused in Siberia that he doubted Steve told him about the arc reactor. How it powered the whole suit and if it was damaged, he would be trapped to die in the tin can.

Speaking of Bucky Barnes, the ex-assassin was looking at the floor, his eyes narrowed. The man was without a metal arm and looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. Tony frowned a little at the sight and shifted to lean on his right leg, Julien saddled up a little closer to lean further on the billionaire.

Bucky furrowed his eyebrows right after Julien moved, his eyes narrowing yet again. Wait, he wasn't just looking at the floor he was staring at the dog. The long haired soldier held what Tony made out as curiosity in his blue eyes which in turn, made him interested.

Tony instinctively placed his hand over the dog's head and scratched lightly. Julien looked up at Tony just before Bucky did. Tony and Bucky caught eyes as much as one could if one of the duo were wearing sunglasses, and held it for a solid four seconds before a stage hand told them they needed to walk out on stage.

The billionaire took a sharp intake of breath as Steve returned and they walked onto the stage. The roar of reporters was something Tony could never get used to. It was deafening. Now more than it ever did before due to him losing some of his sight. Not only at conferences could he no longer see well but also not hear as well due to a roaring crowd.

Once he made it to the podium he noticed that Steve along with the other rogue Avengers were looking at Julien. Bucky and Natasha excluded. Tony presumed that it was due to the ex-assassins already connecting that the service dog was his own.

Tony visibly hunched in on himself a little before the dog nudged at the billionaire's hand with his nose to distract him from the impending anxiety attack. He cleared his throat before Rhodey stepped up to the microphone and delivered his speech.
The new Avengers had decided Rhodey would be the best fit for the role of their leader and three weeks ago it had been official.

The Avengers worked a hell of a lot better than they ever did before. Communication was never an issue and Tony kept up on new tech for the team to keep them at their best when against an enemy. Though he missed getting a piece of the action, he felt more at ease when he could just worry about coffee and his tech rather than worrying about civilians and his teammates.

Well, the worrying for his teammates had doubled since he'd been off the field but let's not touch on that.

Once Rhodey finished his speech the reporters began yelling out questions. This was the terrifying part. These questions could be directed to anyone in the Avengers. Old or new. And the media was brutal. They didn't hold back on anything.

Tony clamped his hand around the leash clipped to Julien's collar as Rhodey picked out an older and seemingly more experienced blonde female reporter.

"Colonel Rhodes, do the Avengers plan on including the previous team members on the battlefield?" She held onto a pencil and notepad like it was her lifeline as her professional eyes narrowed at the leader. Tony became visibly more relaxed once he realized the question wasn't directed at himself.

"That decision is out of our hands. We'll go along with whatever the U.N. decides in the upcoming weeks." Rhodey answered quickly and firmly before he moved onto the next question. Tony could distinguish the easily recognizable 'bitch face' his best friend adorned.

"Will the old Avengers be welcome at the compound or tower?" A graying older man asked once Rhodey picked him out. It was a smart tactic from whatever channel the man was working for. The old man really stuck out in the crowd of reporters with his large glasses, sweater, and short stance. Tony tilted his head a little trying to remember if he had met the man before, and if so where.

"The U.N. has asked that we make arrangements for them to stay at the compound." Rhodey had said straight to the point, giving the old man a small smile before pointing to a young brunette woman out of the yelling reporters. Tony cringed at Rhodey's choice. She held a E!News microphone and by the look of Rhodey's face, he realized his mistake as well.

"I'm sure everyone has come to realize that Mr. Stark has been recovering from injuries after the events that broke up the team and due to him not being involved in any battles as of late, they must have been pretty significant. Two weeks ago, press have spotted him walking a service dog which is here today with him." The brunette took a moment to fumble with her notes before Rhodey spoke up.

"Please get to the point, Miss." The Colonel bit out before he gave a sparing glance to Tony.

"What I'm asking is, what injuries did Tony Stark sustain during the civil war events?" She flipped her notes closed as she looked up towards the stage. Her eyes darted to Rhodey and Tony, back and forth.

The U.N. had said to answer any and all questions regarding the health, safety, and efficiency of the Avengers. Even if Rhodey did want to shoot the question down, he had orders he needed to follow. He hesitated before he spoke up.

"I'm not a doctor, but I'll try to explain." It almost sounded like Rhodey was going for a lighter tone rather than a serious one.

"During a fight with... Two individuals, Tony endured a lot of head trauma. This trauma was at the front of his brain. The uh, prefrontal cortex." The Colonel looked towards Tony before continuing.

"He lost something around 60% of his vision."

The reporters began talking with one another. Some murmuring, others yelling. Amidst all the uproar, Tony could see Steve with his eyes closed tightly, head facing the floor. The new Avengers held expressions of sorrow while the old held shock. James Barnes' face was pale. He looked like he was going to faint from the guilt and shock of it all, oddly enough.

Rhodey reeled the reporters in by demanding them to be quiet. The crowd quickly quieted down as they wrote in their notebooks at the speed of light and rambled quietly to officials on their phones.

"Medical professionals aren't entirely sure how much vision he'll lose in the long run, but for now Tony is focusing on his health." Rhodey took another glance at Tony along with a small smile thrown the billionaire's way.

Tony was surprisingly more or less calm as he gave a reassuring half smile to his best friend. If anything he felt relieved that his secret was out. But in return, the anger for Steve doubled. How the hell was he supposed to help the planet if his friend hit his head one too many times?

Like Tony expected, the reporters were a little speechless. They were either staring dumbly at the stage with their mouth gaping open or scribbling messy script on a notepad.

"What's your dog's name?"

Most of the reporters turned to the a young female reporter due to the oddity of a question while in a government press conference. She had brunette hair pulled neatly into a ponytail and a microphone in her hand that read Clevver News.

There were a few laughs mainly out of a few reporters in the middle of the crowd and Rhodey.

"That's a personal question." Rhodey reminded the woman and the female reporter quickly recovered. Tony realized she used the question to get their attention before she grabbed out her notes. Yet another odd but smart tactic.

"This question is actually directed to Mr. Stark. He is the one who's in charge of clean up, correct?" She took a quick glance at her notes before looking back up at Tony. Rhodes quickly side stepped to the right, allowing Tony to step up to the microphone.

"Yes?" He asked, surprisingly in an even voice. Thank God he looked relatively put together today and actually got more than a 5 hour rest before the press conference.

"Are there any new efforts after the Sokovia accords for clean up? Does the city pay for the damages? Are construction companies hired for clearing alien battle remnants or people of higher profession?" The woman seemed smarter than what she looked. It was sad she wasn't working in journalism for a higher respected news channel or site.

"We are definitely more organized today the we ever were before. After a battle we immediately call clean up. We have the scientists I employ at Stark Industries who specialize in the study of aliens pick up any remnants so they don't get into the wrong hands. After they do a sweep, construction crews that are either provided by me or the city clears the streets of debris and rubble."

Tony chose not to look at Steve, but the super soldier was feeling some sort of emotion. Guilt? Confusion? Anger? Steve had steeled himself due to his expression being watched by millions on live television, but he still furrowed his eyebrows slightly and narrowed his eyes.

Tony gave a sparing glance to Bucky. He looked, uh, well. Bucky looked like he was having a mid-life crisis. Or should he say a late-life crisis due to the ex-assasin being 100 years old? Anyways, it was safe to say the man looked like shit. Bucky's pale face and blue eyes never looked up from his shoes and his left shoulder constantly worked itself up and down as if it was giving off immense pain.

Tony felt bad for the poor guy. He was brainwashed to kill people for 70 years, now residing in the new and confusing modern age, and to top it all off he got his arm blown of by the one and only Tony Stark.

Tony stepped back and let Rhodey take over the rest of the questions. It was a lengthy conference and most of the questions went on without a hitch besides a few jabs at Wanda and the danger of her powers, questions about Barnes and his triggers, along with insulting questions towards the star spangled Captain himself. Needless to say, Tony was glad he could finally leave to the compound and head down to his workshop for some much needed time with his bots.

~

Wow. 2,200 words. I'm so tired that I have almost nothing to say on this author's note.

I'll have a chapter either by tomorrow night or sometime on Wednesday.

Love you guys <3