Stark looked at you confused, the silence in the room was deafening as everyone began to blatantly eavesdrop. That action just put Tony even more on alert that something was going on. That wasn't a good thing. "Yeah, egotistical, self-centered, maniacal, megalomaniac though he was, he was my dad. What of it, kid?"

Shit. Shit. Shit.

You knew it was bad if Bucky didn't want to talk about it, but you hadn't realized it was this bad. No wonder Bucky had wanted to keep this secret.

Fuck.

Too late now.

Tony deserved and needed to know regardless.

You hesitated a moment, tried to find the right words. Stark looked at you expectantly. "D-do you know how they died?" you finally asked. They weren't the right words, but they would get the conversation going in the path you needed it to. It seemed to click then, you could almost hear the gears moving in his brain.

He raised an eyebrow, suspicious. "Car crash. What's this about, Tink?" His tone was defensive, his expression icy. He was going to hate you for this, but it still had to be done. He deserved to know the truth.

"Striga, no. Stay out of this," Bucky protested from behind you.

"He deserves to know, Buck," you glanced over your shoulder to where the horrified Bucky was getting up from Cap's couch.

Stark grabbed your shoulders, turning you to face him again. "Deserve to know what?" he demanded, his voice full of pain. Not rage, not yet, but you saw the glimmer of it in his eyes. He knew whatever you had to say would make him angry. He shook you. "Deserve to know what, Y/N?" He was pissed to use your actual name. Stark never used anyone's real names. Ever.

You looked up at him, meeting his eyes more bravely than you felt. "You deserve to know why they died," you told him, the words spilling from your mouth without filter. You saw the tears of grief in his eyes at the memory of their loss, saw the rage that they'd been taken from him. His expression hardened in an anger you had never seen from him. He didn't move, waiting for you to continue. "Hydra had them killed," more words spilled out. "He was transporting a prototype superserum. Hydra staged the car accident so they could steal the serum and create evil Captain Americas," you explained as fast as the words would come out.

He looked shocked, hurt, confused, angry. The emotions rushed too quickly through his eyes. "How?" he demanded finally. "How do you know all this?" he finally asked, his hands still gripping your shoulders hard enough to bruise.

"I... I spent however long I was there stitching Bucky's mind and memories back together," you started to explain, though you didn't have the words to really tell him about watching that horrible memory through Bucky's eyes.

That was completely the wrong thing to say and enough of the story for Tony to piece together what you were saying. You saw his expression harden and he whirled, shoving you to the side as pain and grief turned to rage. An Iron Man gauntlet assembled around the outstretched hand that was now pointed directly at Bucky. You had no idea where it had come from.

You shot into action as you heard the repulsor activate, before anyone could move. You moved in a blur, placing yourself between Tony and Bucky and grabbing Tony's gauntleted arm as you did, hauling it so the repulsor was pointed directly at you. Without his full suit, you were stronger than him, even though you were tiny. "Stark! No!" you pleaded as the rest of the team jumped to their feet.

No one dared move for fear of Tony shooting you, accidentally or on purpose. It didn't matter, they didn't want you shot. No one moved except of course: "Loki! No! He might shoot Y/N on accident if we interfere!" You caught it out of the corner of your eye when Loki was shoved back on the couch by Thor, who placed Mjolnir on Loki's lap to Loki's protests. The rest of the team was trying to figure out how to get closer or diffuse the situation without risking you getting shot.

"He killed my parents!" Tony roared, trying to push you out of the way, or get his arm back from you. You dug in your heels, planting yourself firmly, tightening your grip on his gauntlet, keeping it pointed at your throat.

"It's not his fault! It was mind control, Stark! He didn't even remember doing it until I rebuilt his memories!" your words were urgent, a futile hope that he would listen to you, that he, like Loki, would believe that mind control was a valid excuse for doing horrible things. Tears came to your eyes. Bucky had helped you so much and he was your friend. You couldn't let Stark kill him over something that hadn't been his choice. But Stark was...Stark and more than a friend. You hated that he was suffering now, but he had needed and deserved to know the real reason his parents had died.

"He killed my parents. They died by his hands!" Tony roared at you, trying to force you to see his side.

"Stark, no! Please! It's not his fault! Mind control, Stark!" you begged him to listen to you. You noted small movements around you, backup from the team hopefully, but you had to keep your attention on Tony. Loki was struggling hard against Mjolnir on his lap, but to no avail, while Thor tried to get him to come up with a reasonable plan.

"Their blood is on his hands. It's his fault. Now get off me, kid. I don't want to hurt you," Tony's expression was rage and grief and you didn't doubt that he would hurt you if you didn't let him go soon.

Blood-red tears spilled from your eyes, leaving red streaks down your cheeks. "I know what they made him do is unforgiveable, but if your parents are his fault, then that village, those children. Their blood is on my hands!" You wailed, reminding him of the horrible things you had done against your will. It was just as bad, if not worse.

"It's different, you're just a kid!" Tony protested, but softened ever so slightly at your tears, at your heartbreak at his reaction to what you had done too.

"It's worse!" You insisted as your tears fell faster. "I don't have to live with the memory of what my body did in that village. I don't remember what they made me do, but I stitched Bucky's broken mind back together. I made him relieve and bear the memories of every single horrible thing they made him do, so I could save my own skin, so I could get my own ass out of that hell. I at least had some choices whether to obey or endure the pain of the obedience disk,"

"No, you didn't!" Loki and Bucky both snarled, knowing exactly how much pain you had endured instead of obeying.

"Loki, for once in your life: SHUT. UP!" Thor growled.

You knew you cared what Tony thought about you, about your actions. Though you'd only actually known him for months, he'd still become family, much more than just your friend. "If you want to kill him for what they made him do, you'll have to kill me first. I'm equally guilty of awful, terrible things. Please, Tony. I know you're a hero-" tears were falling so fast now that your vision was becoming blurry, as you moved his hand to point the repulsor directly at your heart. One blast from it would kill you permanently. "Please, if that's truly how you feel about our actions because of what Hydra forced us to do, then please, be the hero now. It's better to end it now than to let a monster like me go free. Please, Tony. Kill me now." Your voice sounded so young, heartbroken, helpless, desperate to do the right thing. You couldn't help the tears, or the catch in your voice at your next words. You saw the single tear spill from his eye as his anger turned to grief.

"P-please...j-just make it quick?"

You heard the repulsor charge.

"NO!" Loki's roar of grief and rage registered above those of the rest of the team.

You closed your eyes, couldn't help flinching against the blow to come.

It never came.

The gauntlet fell apart in your hands as Tony's knees buckled under him. You both ended up on your knees on the ground, clutching onto each other as you sobbed heartbreak, grief, pain. Tony didn't truly think you a monster.

"Was he really going to shoot his daughter?" Bucky asked softly, shocked and horrified that Tony would even consider killing you. Poor Bucky's brain was still messed up if he was confused enough to think Tony was your dad.

"No, Lady Y/N was never in any danger," Thor replied.

"You do know she's not actually his kid, right?" Clint's voice was just as soft as Bucky's and Thor's.

Loki was at your side the instant the repulsor had charged, the sound of it charging was so iconic, no one could deny what was happening when it made that noise. Loki's arm was around you as your knees hit the ground, offering what comfort he could, relief that you were ok radiating off of him. All of his focus was on you and your safety.

Even Loki didn't notice the hammer gripped in his hand.