Lamborghini | Tony Stark

THIRTY - ALL MY FAULT

"What the hell happened here?"

Tony's head snapped up from his shoes when he heard Bruce exclaim loudly, his hand pressed against the window of the Quinjet as it flew over New York City, heading for the compound upstate.

The Avengers had been gone from Earth for three months by the time they'd finally completed the mission they'd travelled to another planet for, thankfully returning with everybody in good health, nothing more than a few cuts and bruises to keep the memories firm.

Tony had thought about Sasha every single day while he'd been gone. Part of him despised himself for leaving her, knowing just how much it killed her to have him walk out of the door not knowing if he'd return alive or not, but there had been no other option.

He'd missed her achingly, a constant pull on his heart strings that felt like his soul was being slowly drawn from his body through the soles of his feet made it hard for him to walk most days, though he found strength in the dream of seeing her face again.

Every day that passed, Tony saw as one step closer to being reunited with Sasha, despite ultimately not knowing when they'd return. Things had turned dark on the mission, many narrow escapes from death by himself and others, moments of uncertainty and unity in a matter of minutes, each of them doing whatever it takes to end the war raging on their planet.

And by the time June rolled around, The Avengers thought they'd succeeded, destroying the dark forces that wreaked havoc on their earth and it's people, only to return to a disaster zone.

Everybody joined Bruce at the window, staring down at the Brooklyn Bridge with a third of it missing, a gaping hole where a piece of New York history once stood. There were buildings demolished and construction sites all over the city, a clean up job had clearly taken place, but damage had been irreparable so far.

Tony felt his heart drop, as if it had stopped beating all together. He'd smiled more that day that he had done in his whole life, the thought of being able to take Sasha into his arms and hold her so tightly he'd never let go fuelled him with an undying amount of positivity that radiated into the rest of the team, laughing and joking with one another now knowing they could finally rest.

Only their dream was short lived, bliss being drowned in a tsunami of resent as they flew over a city torn apart.

The Quinjet landed at the compound and Tony was the first to descend onto the tarmac, pulling a pair of red-lensed glasses from the pocket of his jeans and tapping the frame.

"FRIDAY, talk to me."

With urgency, Tony paced towards the compound, fists balled and knuckles white. He truthfully didn't care what had happened, not in that moment, all he wanted to know was if Sasha was alive, the ruin they'd looked down on upon their return to Earth surely taking more lives than anybody wanted to hear about.

"Recent news reports suggest there was another attack from the same invaders as last time. According to the articles, the beings were destroyed by Wanda Maximoff, Doctor Stephen Strange, and Spider-Man, amongst others."

"The kid? Oh God, not the kid."

Tony clenched his jaw with angst as his stomach sank, anxiety wrapped around his veins like barbed wire around a fence, slicing him bitterly with his own feelings.

"Call Sasha Coulson, now."

"Calling Sasha Coulson."

Tony double tapped his chest, nanotech deploying his suit of armour in seconds as he continued to walk away from everyone else, ignoring their calls and shouts.