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Tony is 10 years old the first time he hears his uncle Charles and Erik fighting. Their voice aren't raised, but Tony recognizes the tones anyway. He doesn't mean to eavesdrop on them, but he needs to ask Erik about access to one of his dad's labs because there's something in there he needs.
It's not that Tony is surprised that the two men argue. They argue constantly, but it's never like this, never this intense - like the air is charged with electricity. It's making the hair on the back of Tony's neck rise.
This is also how Tony learns why his uncle Charles can't walk - and although he loves his older adoptive brother so much, he hates him just a little at that moment. Because he adores Charles and he knows Erik does too, so he doesn't quite understand how Erik is the one to fault for Charles being tied to the wheelchair for the rest of his life.
All he can tell is that Erik is to blame. And for some reason, that escapes Tony at the tender age of 10, Erik seems more torn up about it than Charles does. It's not until he learns the art of sarcasm and Charles' habit of internalising his bitterness many years later, that he realizes his brother and his uncle are about the most fucked up role models he could have ever had for relationships. And by then it's kind of too late.
This day, though, Tony stills outside the door, his stomach churning from the tension he can feel from two of the most important people in his life. It's not that his makeshift family is made up of perfect individuals, but he'd never imagined that Erik...
The two of them still and Charles sighs deeply.
"We'll continue this later," Erik mutters, just loud enough that Tony can make it out.
"As I've told you time and time again, old friend, I do not need your pity and your guilt trips give me a bloody headache," Charles says lightly, but Tony can tell by his frown that he probably does have a headache. Tony knows that his brother can be stubborn, his dad says so ever so often, but Tony still loves him. Erik's the one who tells him he's good but that he can get better. Howard- well, his dad rarely tells him anything and his mother has other things to see to as well.
So that leaves him with Erik, but at this very moment he wants to hate him - just a little.
There's another silent exchange between the two men and Erik's shoulders slump in defeat. He turns and leaves Charles on his own in the room.
'Come on out, Tony - there's no reason to lurk in doorways. It's not considered polite.'
Tony slips through the door and walks over to Charles where he's seated in his wheelchair. "Is it true?" he asks before he can stop himself. It's really his uncle's own fault. He always tells Tony to be honest to him.
A flicker of something crosses Charles' face. "Erik believes it to be his fault, but in truth it was an accident. I was at the wrong place at the wrong time." Charles pauses for a moment. "We both were."
Tony isn't sure if he should call Charles on it. If he should tell him that if he, Tony, has to be honest, then so does Charles. However, Charles is one of those few people that Tony sees as a true authority figure and he tends to automatically be on his best behavior when he's with him.
"So, you'll never walk again?" Tony asks quietly. He isn't sure if it's okay to ask this, but he feels he has to know. His mind is already going a mile a minute, and he makes sure to keep it quietly - working deep down. Charles won't read him, but sometimes surface thoughts get picked up. He knows this, Charles has told him this - probably to put him at ease. Not that it was ever necessary - Tony trusts his uncle more than most people.
Charles watches him for a moment. "No, the doctors have said this from the beginning and I've come to accept it."
This is why Tony loves his uncle. He doesn't cover things up or think Tony is too young to hear.
"And I don't want you to blame Erik," Charles continues sternly. "He blames himself more than any of us ever would."
Tony nods slowly. He'll try hard not to feel angry at Erik for this - because he still loves his brother and because Charles is asking him not to.
Charles watches him for a moment, then nods, his serious facade falling away, a crooked smile making him look years younger. "Come on, tell me how your knight's armor is coming along," Charles says a little louder, blinking rapidly and taking a deep breath. "Are you still going to go with that garish red and gold paint?"
Tony leads Charles towards his own work room, telling him about wanting to enable the armor to fly, because he's found the old drawings for Howard's anti gravity car. The look of mock horror on Charles' face makes him giggle.
He's already drawing up schematics in his head, brainstorming ideas for a secondary project. He swears silently to himself that by the time he graduates, he'll have Erik and Charles at the ceremony and he's dead set on Charles standing next to his brother - no longer bound to the wheelchair and maybe, just maybe it will mend whatever it is that is broken between Erik and his uncle Charles.
The End