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Tony didn't remember when it first happened. No, scratch that, he knows exactly when it starts – the oddities and the strangeness. Harry and Dudley were eight and they had been living in Stark (no, Avengers) Tower for six months. Harry still woke with nightmares, so Steve thought a quieter place would best suit the boys until they adjusted to a new country and a new family. That was fine with Tony; he actually missed the Malibu house and he knew his boys –his boys!—would love it there as well.
And they almost went, too, but Harry had burst into tears at the sight of suitcases and it took a combined effort between Tony and Steve to calm him. The suitcases and moving boxes were silently taken away by Natasha while Clint looked after Dudley during this time. Mentions of moving around never came up again, so they simply stayed in the tower.
Tony stupidly took Dudley's careless remarks toward Harry after that as Clint's influence and banned the archer from ever watching his sons alone again. Oddly, Clint was okay with this and disappeared when even the smallest hint of 'babysitting' came up if he happened to be in the tower. Steve had tried to apologize for the banishment, but Clint had shrugged it off and refused to acknowledge it.
If Jarvis had stuttered like a broken record any time Harry was crying, well, nobody really noticed except for Tony. Tony didn't connect the two and, instead, would spend the next day completely rewiring his AI.
Harry quickly took after Steve and was now usually seen with a box of crayons and a sketchbook of his own. He was a bright child, but both Tony and Steve could tell he was holding back. Neither knew why, though Steve wondered if it had to do with Dudley's slower grasp of ideas. Tony took that to mean that Dudley needed more guidance and didn't notice the look of disappointment when he brought Dudley into his lab, leaving Harry in the living room with Thor and Natasha (Clint and Steve had been out information-gathering).
That day, the television didn't work until Tony came up to fix it. Tony didn't think it was his fault that it started working as soon as he stepped into the room and, when it stopped as he walked out, he pointed at Thor and jokingly accused him of fucking with his tech. Thor looked confused, but thoughtful and hadn't watched anything for nearly a week after that.
Really, all the small instances didn't mean much to Tony. He didn't connect them with anything, especially not Harry. Until It happened. He was in the workshop with his two boys, Dudley in his lap and Harry sleeping on the floor, quietly explaining everything he could to Dudley. The once-slow boy grew under Tony's gentle words and he began to catch on quicker than before. Tony was proud, even if it was simple things (to him) like car radiators and timing belts.
Harry twitched and the power suddenly went out. Tony called for Jarvis and tried not to panic when the AI gave no answer. He gently put Dudley on the floor and asked him to stay where he was. He'd get Steve to look after the boys while he went to see what was wrong; it was probably just some kind of corroded wires he had missed (not likely) when he installed the larger reactor into his building.
He took one step toward the door. Harry screamed. Tony felt time slow as the constant light on his check flickered. Steve had just managed to get downstairs, on the other side of the bullet proof (and who knew what else) glass doors, to watch as it flickered one, twice, before dying completely.
The pain, thankfully, knocked him out before death could grab hold of him. He should, but he didn't have any back-ups. Pepper didn't make him any encased in a trophy box, not since he switched the cores of the reactors.
Death looked a lot like his lab and God looked a lot like Steve Rogers. A tear-streaked Captain America. Tony felt himself smirk a little.
"Welcome back," Steve said, and it sounded a little lame, but Tony loved it. "Thought I lost you."
"Hell must have spit me out as soon as they saw me." Tony turned his head a little, glancing around the room. "What happened?"
"We think it's Harry," Steve said softly, and damn that tone always broke Tony's heart. "Thor and Bruce are looking over him now, but… Well, he was having a nightmare. Something pulsed out, Thor felt that, and then the power shut off."
"Is he okay?"
"Yeah, he will be. Thor's trying to explain magic to him. He was scared at first, but he looked like he was growing used to the idea." Steve motioned to a monitor close to them. On it, Thor was animatedly throwing his arms about as he explained something to a grinning Harry. "Though I think we have more problems than Harry being able to cause a blackout."
Tony struggled to sit up, wincing as he felt something pull in his chest. "What's that?"
"I don't think Harry and Dudley get along. When Thor mentioned magic, Dudley called Harry a freak." Steve frowned at the monitor. "I scolded him and he looked upset, but then he told me their parents used to call Harry all kind of names."
"He's just a kid, St—"
"I know." Steve sighed and got up before helping Tony stand as well. "I know, but I don't like it. I'm going to spend a bit more time with him, explain how to be a proper gentleman."
Tony snorted and rubbed at his chest. It still hurt. "He's just a kid," he repeated.
"And I will not have my son be a bully." Steve ran a hand down Tony's back. "Thor's going back to Asgard in a few days and he's going to get a few books for Harry to read."
"As long as he doesn't turn out like Loki, I don't really care." Tony winced and rubbed at his chest. "Damn, that hurt."
"Do you need me to get Bruce?"
"No. He babies me more than you do." Tony leaned into the arms that came to help him maneuver in the bed. "I want to see Harry and tell him it isn't his fault."
"I don't think he'll believe you."
Tony shrugged. "I have to try. I don't want him scared of his old man dying on him."
Steve laughed and helped Tony out of bed. "I'm the old one here."
"Sure, Steve." Tony stood and ignored the sudden shaking in his knees. "Damn, I need to check the reactor."
"Jarvis ran a few scans on it. It seems okay…"
Tony smiled and patted Steve's arm. "Jarvis likes to say what you want him to hear." Getting Steve to glare at the ceiling was so worth that. "I'm kidding. He's probably right, but I'm paranoid."
Steve turned his glare on Tony, but said nothing more to that. He simply pursed his lips and helped Tony limp his way to Harry and Dudley's room.
Thor was in the middle of explaining how Loki could turn water into snakes when Harry noticed them. Tears formed in his eyes again and he held up his arms with a broken "Daddy" falling from his lips. If Tony hadn't completely fallen for the kid before, he would be lost now. He knew he couldn't pick him up, so tony gingerly sat on the bed beside him and held Harry close.
"It's not your fault, buddy. I'm okay, I promise." He didn't notice when Thor stood to take his leave, but he did feel when Steve sat next to him on the bed. "You couldn't control it, shh…"
Tony leaned back into Steve's warmth as Harry cried. Once they were settled, he looked up and found Dudley watching them with guarded eyes. He sighed and shifted an arm out to motion the boy closer and, after a long pause, Dudley got up to half run to the bed.
"Are you mad at me?" he asked quietly, looking between the two adults.
Tony sighed and ruffled his hair. "Disappointed, but not mad. You shouldn't call your brother mean names."
"But—"
"Dudley Rogers," Steve's voice was hard as he spoke, "you better not lie to us."
Dudley wrinkled his nose before crawling onto the bed. "I'm sorry, papa, daddy. I didn't mean to."
"We're sure you didn't." Tony pressed a kiss to Dudley's head, and then Harry's. "Now you know better."
Dudley nodded quickly and Tony smiled a little. They weren't anywhere near perfect, but he already loved his family (Avengers included) more than he knew.