"Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honour, which is one more than you have", Rhodey was arguing with Sam behind Steve who was reading through the hefty book of the Sokovia Accords. They had already been arguing for a few minutes now, and Eleanor was already done with their bullshit. She couldn't care less if Secretary Ross had some fancy medal, the only thing they should be focusing on is the route to take in this situation.

She looked over at Tony who was leaning back into another sofa, resting his hand over the entirety of his face, clearly also done already, though her attention was snapped back to listening. "So, let's say we agree to this thing, how long is it gonna be before they LoJack us like a bunch of common criminals?".

"A hundred and seventeen countries want us to sign this. A hundred and seventeen, Sam, and you're just like 'No that's cool, we got it'", Rhodey continued, and Eleanor rolled her eyes for what felt like the hundred and seventeenth time this conversation. Nat was also fed up, so playfully squeezed Eleanor's thigh to try and lighten both of their moods. It worked. Eleanor nuzzled her head more into Nat's shoulder and the older woman smiled as she looked down at her wife, listening to the room simultaneously.

"How long are you gonna play both sides?".

Vision didn't give Rhodey a chance to respond, however, and leaned forward in his position next to Wanda, "I have an equation". Eleanor's face scrunched up ever so slightly, it was barely noticeable. Vision's monologues tended to be complex. Almost like a riddle. Not that she didn't think that the vibranium man was nice, he was just too... robot-y for her to completely zone in on everything that he had to say.

"Oh, this will clear it up", Sam exasperated.

"In the eight years since Mr Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. During the same period... the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate". Complex.

Steve had looked up from the accords when Vision had started speaking, and he didn't look all too impressed by what he had said, "Are you saying it's our fault?".

"I'm saying there may be a causality. Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict... breeds catastrophe. Oversight... oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand".

"Boom", Rhodey put himself back into the conversation again, Eleanor flitted her eyes briefly at the man before her gaze rested upon the connected hands in her lap again.

"Tony", Nat started in a somewhat hesitant tone, which piqued the interest of the woman in her arms, her gaze now resting on Tony who didn't look happy to be disturbed. "You are being uncharacteristically non-hyperverbal". Eleanor once again took note of just how exhausted the man looked compared to normal. And this was a guy who could inhale six coffees and work until 4 am, and be awake for any morning group training sessions with zero eyebags. A thing that she was jealous of. Even if she got a full eight hours she still looked like a raccoon unless she covered it up with some concealer.

"It's because he's already made up his mind", Steve concluded.

"Boy, you know me so well", Tony stood and massaged the back of his head and moved to the open-plan kitchen, "Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache. That's what's going on, Cap. It's just pain. It's discomfort". Eleanor and Nat made awkward eye contact before looking back to Tony who was at the sink. "Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal? Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?".

There was a moment of silence before Tony placed a device down which projected a hologram of what was on the screen for everyone to see, it showed a photo of a young boy smiling. He looked happy. Though Eleanor gulped, already sensing that something bad had happened, Tony wouldn't randomly show them a photo of some person in this context if it wasn't relevant to keeping the Avengers kept on a leash.

"Oh, that's Charles Spencer, by the way". Yep, Tony's short attitude immediately gave away that this wasn't going to be nice. " He's a great kid. Computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA, had a floor-level gig at Intel planned for the fall. But first, he wanted to put a few miles on his soul before he parked it behind a desk. See the world. Maybe be of service. Charlie didn't wanna go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale which is what I would do. He didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam, which sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where? Sokovia".

The room was suddenly struck by a very sombre tone as the realisation of what happened to Charles came to light. Nat's grip on Eleanor increased slightly, clearly seeking some warmth, and Eleanor sucked her cheeks in between her back teeth and found herself not being able to look at Tony anymore. Guilt. "He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. I mean we won't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass".

Another silence occurred whilst Tony swallowed some painkillers, "There's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check! Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations, if we're boundary-less, we're no better than the bad guys".

Nat let out a sigh before everyone's attention was put onto Steve instead, "Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don't give up".

"Who said we're giving up?".

"We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions", Steve replied and looked back down to the accords and then back at Tony, "This document just shifts the blame".

"Sorry, Steve, that- that is dangerously arrogant. This is the United Nations we're talking about. It's not the World Security Council, it's not SHIELD, it's not HYDRA", Rhodey spoke once again before Steve interrupted.

"No, but it's run by people with agendas, and agendas change".

Tony walked back to the group, drawing Eleanor's attention, she felt like a damn yo-yo going back and forth between everyone, "That's good, that's why I'm here. When I realised what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stopped manufacturing".

"Tony, you chose to do that. If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose. What if this panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go? What if there is somewhere we need to go and they don't let us? We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own".

Tony stood incredibly close to Steve, looking down on him, and Eleanor could tell that he was practically pleading for them to go along with the accords. She was incredibly unsure of what was the right thing to do, but had a pretty good idea of what she was going to do, but didn't want to unnecessarily throw herself into the argument whilst everyone was still heated. "If we don't do this now, it's gonna be done to us later. That's the fact. That won't be pretty".

"You're saying they'll come for me?", Wanda spoke in an emotionless voice. She had been just as quiet as Eleanor had been, so she had almost forgotten that the brunette was still sitting in the room.

"We would protect you". Eleanor showed a small smile at Vision's words. They would protect her. Whatever the cost.

"Maybe Tony's right". Everyone including Eleanor looked at Nat as though she was crazy, not necessarily for agreeing with the accords, just for saying the words 'Tony's right'. "If we have one hand on the wheel, we can still steer. If we take it off...", she was interrupted by Sam.

"Aren't you part of the duo who told the Government to kiss their asses a few years ago?".

"I'm just reading the terrain. We have made some very public mistakes. We need to win their trust back".

Tony leaned forward against a chair and spun his finger in circles, "Focus up. I'm sorry. Did I just mishear you or did you agree with me?".

"Oh, I wanna take it back now". Eleanor smirked slightly, this was more like it, some jokes, not just insinuating that whoever disagreed with the other was stupid.

"No no, you can't retract it. Thank you. What about you, does the other bat for my team too?", he stared expectedly at Eleanor, who looked around and saw all eyes on her now which she had been trying to avoid.

She cleared her throat awkwardly and sat up out of Natasha's hold, both immediately missing the contact. "I don't necessarily want to sign them... but I agree that it may be something that we need to do. It stops us from having to retire or immediately get thrown in jail if we step one toe out of line, and if they try and hold us back, or make us do something then we can try and do the right thing anyway and deal with the repercussions later. But signing them means that we don't immediately have to deal with repercussions, you know?".

Tony smiled and looked between the two women, they were his oldest allies in the team and so she was glad that he didn't have to go up against them or have them retire. "Okay, case closed. I win".

"I have to go", Steve mumbled and pocketed his phone, drawing the attention back to the other side of the room as he swiftly got up and dashed out of the door. Eleanor frowned at the outburst, wondering what it could be about but not pressing the issue too much in her mind, there were too many things happening at once. When it went quiet again, Natasha looped her arm around Eleanor's shoulder and loosely let her arm hang there.

It was silent for a few minutes as everyone sat in thought. It seemed as though it was going to be a 50/50 split between who would sign and who wasn't, and there was no telling what would happen between those with differing opinions. This group of people considered each other family, and it saddened Eleanor to think that half of them would have to retire and move out of the building.

"Okay, so", Tony looked around the room, "You two are signing?", he looked at Eleanor and Natasha who nodded hesitantly, the others who said that they would sign were Rhodey and Vision. It was clear that Steve wouldn't, and Sam made it clear that he was against them too. Wanda was a special case, at the moment she was unsure. She didn't like how it was being forced upon them and would put them in limbo in a lot of situations, but she was aware that as someone with powerful enhancements it would be dangerous for her to not sign them, she wasn't a person that they would let roam around like a regular citizen. Nat and Eleanor for example would be able to get away with it. They're well trained but are classed as regular humans. Wanda on the other hand, not so much - in the eyes of the government.

Next up was assigning people to go to the amendment of the accords in Vienna in three days' time. Not everyone who will sign needs to go, just one or two faces to show that the group was on board, and for any press opportunities. It's likely that an interview will need to be done by whoever attends so that they can answer questions on behalf of the group. Tony opted for Natasha and Eleanor to be the ones in attendance. You don't find one without the other, and the public liked that. The Avengers were very much like celebrities in the current world, and so they were on the front of magazines a lot.

Something that people favoured about the two women was the fact that they were two women. There wasn't a lot of LGBT+ representation in the media, so whenever they were pictured together, even if the theme wasn't about the fact that they were two married women, people still classed it as a win for the community. Which both of them were happy with, of course, it came along with some harassment from people with mindsets from the 1960s, but for the most part, they had a positive reception.

This positive reception would be a win in terms of looking good for the media in Vienna, so it only made sense to send them, and they agreed to go. After a month of not being able to leave the compound often due to people hopping on several hate bandwagons for the group, it would be a breath of fresh air to be able to go anywhere, let alone another country.

—

"This is a giant mess", Eleanor flopped down onto their bed in a starfish position, "Like an unfathomable mess, what the fuck", she ran her hand down her face before flopping it back out to the side. Nat hummed in agreement as she worked on taking off her shoes. Unlike Eleanor who just slipped them off, she liked to take the time to undo her laces so that it wasn't a rush to undo them when she next wanted to put them back on.

The younger woman had her eyes closed to try and ease the ever-so-present headache that she must have caught from Tony, so didn't know that Nat was approaching until she felt the bed dip next to her. She opened one eye to see Natasha sitting on her knees looking unsure of what to do with herself. This whole thing was taking more of a toll on her than she cared to admit. The sight made Eleanor's heart drop and she reached her outstretched arms over in Nat's direction and gave her a soft smile.

With the invitation extended, Nat gently shuffled herself closer to Eleanor and practically laid her entire body on top of her, the only part that wasn't touching her was her legs, as Eleanor's were still out to the sides from the starfish pose. Nat nuzzled her face into the crook of Eleanor's neck and rested her hands on her chest, allowing herself to feel peace when her wife's arm wrapped around her torso, and the other hand ran through her hair.

"I know bub, it will all be okay, I promise", Eleanor whispered and gave Nat a small squeeze and rocked side to side slightly, and Nat placed a lingering kiss on her jaw in appreciation, before resting her head back on Eleanor's neck.

"I'm so glad to have you, I swear you're the only thing that keeps me sane in this world that just keeps trying to knock us down", Nat chuckled dryly at the end, but Eleanor could sense the emotion behind it. The universe did have a habit of sending waves of struggle towards them, they couldn't get more than a year's worth of peace before something else popped up, it was exhausting, but they had each other to lean on.

Tears came to Eleanor's waterline as she thought everything over and sighed, "I don't know what I'd do without you".

A/n - For any Stranger Things fans, I started a Robin Buckley One Shots book :) Also, I got a turtle tattoo yesterday and it is now named 'Tortellini'.