Work Text:
Of An Evening
It had been a beautiful afternoon, Harley and Abby were on spring break from middle and high school and visiting, and Peter was home during his first spring holiday from Columbia.
"So, how are you liking your classes, Pete?" Tony asked, as he poured himself another glass of lemonade.
"It's fantastic, Dad! I was kind of worried, since I skipped that last year of high school, but, seriously, the people are all super friendly, and I met this older guy in my class, he's like, thirty, and he went back to school. His first degree is in something like Medieval Art History, and, well, there's just not a lot of jobs out there. But, he did used to be a docent for a museum, and THAT sounds AWESOME. But then he got laid off, so he went back to school for civil engineering. We're in the same US History pre-req class," Peter answered, barely stopping for breath in his solioquay.
Harley was already snorting into his soda, and Tony's eyes had grown wide, and he was trying for his best affronted/wounded look. Peter was only just then catching on to what they were snickering about.
"Oh, yeah, thirty is, like ancient!" Harley interjected, earning him a slight cuff to the back of the head by Tony, who didn't even need to turn his way to aim properly.
Harley just snickered harder, even as he glared at the inventor and rubbed the back of his head.
Rolling his eyes and now unable to hide the grin any longer, Tony said, "I can't wait for the two of you to hit your thirties. I'm going to mock you endlessly. Also, I want you to know, I was THIRTY NINE when I became Iron Man, so, you know, I'd survived that...uhm...vacation in Afghanistan..." Tony trailed off, looking around for Morgan. She was not aware of her father's personal history of..."vacations" and the family very much wanted to keep it that way. Preferably forever. Harley and Abby only knew the barest of details, only Peter had stumbled upon most of the truth, and he did his best to never, ever think about what his father had endured.
Peter, being ever the empathetic boy he was, looked stricken, his eyes wide even as he stumbled over his apology. "Oh, Dad, I'm sorry, I didn't mean he's OLD, just that, a lot of us are, like, ten years younger than him, just out of high school, but, Graham is amazing, and he's been out into the world, and had a real job, and he's, he's just...really awesome..." Peter trailed off with a long-suffering sigh, realizing belatedly that the other two were not only not offended, they were poking fun at him as well.
Pepper had come up behind him, and she leaned over to place a gentle hand on Peter's shoulder, even as she pretended to whisper to him, though loudly enough the other two could plainly hear her.
"It's okay, Pete, don't let these two jerk you around. Just because they're both mentally twelve, doesn't mean you need to stoop to their level. Especially that OLD MAN right there..." Pepper grinned evilly at Tony.
Tony, right arm laying on the table, the other bent with his chin resting in it, just smiled at her beatifically, and batted his ridiculous eyelashes as he made big, sad eyes at her.
"Don't you start that, I know better!" Pepper quipped back at him before he gave up the innocent routine with a chuckle.
Abby had wandered over from the other side of the yard where she and Morgan had set up a Badminton set. She made her way over to the picnic table where "all the boys" were lingering after their picnic cookout supper.
"Oh, are we making fun of Papa Tony for being old again? I second that, his knees actually CREAKED earlier. I thought, for sure, this was it. Papa is broken. We need to get him a scooter, because his legs are never going to straighten out again. Morgan was seriously excited about the scooter," Abby said with long-practiced nonchalance. It become a standing pastime to endlessly tease Tony about his Old Man Status, especially after his "mostly" recovery since The Snap.
Looking over at his older informally-adopted daughter, Tony clutched at his chest, eyes wide but sparkling as he clearly tried not to laugh.
"All my children have forsaken me? No, Morgan still loves me, the rest of you all are just waiting to push me out onto the ice floes! I won't forget this, I'm cutting you all from the will!" Tony cried out, planting both palms firmly on the table, even as his shoulders shook with laughter.
Harley and Abigail both rolled their eyes, with Peter scoffing in patent disbelief.
"You know you love us, Old Man!" Harley countered as he poked at Tony's right side, though he was careful to be very gentle, all of them ever aware of the lingering nerve damage and chronic pain Tony was never going to be rid of.
Tony grabbed him, pulling him into his side and wrapping the boy in a hug, neuropathy not-withstanding, Tony wasn't going to let faulty, radiation fried nerve endings stop him from hugging his kids. Reaching up, he pulled Abby into his other side, and Peter joined from the back, wrapping his arms around Tony's neck from the rear. Morgan, having started across the yard to retrieve Abby for their game, was quick to run and bounce into Peter, causing Tony to grunt slightly and wince as he was thrown into the edge of the picnic table.
"Ooof, guys, I give, I give! Okay, I've been sufficiently loved! Any more love and I'm going to be crushed!" Tony cried out, laughing, as he pried three teenagers and a kid off of him bodily.
"Okay, bye Daddy! Come ooonnnnn, Abbbbbby!" Morgan grabbed Abby and pulled her back over to the newly set up badminton game, and Peter sauntered off to referee what was likely to turn into a free-for-all. Morgan had no idea how to play, and Abby wasn't sure either. There was definitely going to be a lot of running, yelling, and batting at a shuttlecock with racquets. Peter just wanted to make sure that unintentional black eyes and bloody noses were kept to a minimum.
Once the other three were gone, Harley climbed up on the bench next to Tony, eyeing him warily, mouth set in a hard line, clearly thinking about something.
Tony looked at him sideways, one brow raised and a faint smile to his lips.
"Do I want to know what you're thinking about so hard there, bud, or am I better off being in the dark, plausible deniability and all that?"
Shaking his head, Harley did his best to grin, but the sentiment didn't reach his eyes. "It's nothing, Mechanic," Harley replied, before tucking his head into his crossed arms on the tabletop.
Reaching over and ruffling the kid's hair, Tony tried to decide to push it or let it go. Hearing Harley's soft sigh made his decision for him.
"Harley. What's wrong. If you don't tell me, I can't fix it. Now spill!" Tony advised, rubbing the teenager's back as he did so.
Harley just buried his head deeper, but Tony could half-way hear him mutter something.
Tony rolled his eyes before leaning down toward's Harley's face, getting close enough to the boy's arms that Tony knew the boy could feel his breath there. "Harls, I hate to tell you this, but hunching like this really hurts my back, and my arm isn't thrilled either. Can we maybe take this conversation up, I dunno, about twelve, fourteen inches? And maybe not muffled into your arms?"
Sitting bolt upright, a quickly hidden look of fear running across his features, Harley tried to feign disinterest.
Now quite concerned, and trying to figure out what might have triggered that response, Tony looked into his face. Unable to see much beyond a shaggy mop of dirty blonde curls, Tony was becoming even more determined to get to the bottom of Harley's sudden mood.
"Kiddo, you're starting to worry me now, want to explain what's going on, or should I break out the tar and feathers?" Tony kidded, trying to lighten the sombre mood.
Finally giving him a legitimate smile, although it was brief, Harley took a minute, but finally answered softly.
"Did, did we hurt you? Earlier, when we all jumped on you? I, I remember when we first came to visit, right after you got home...I know what happened was...it was really, really bad, wasn't it?"
Surprised at the question, Tony took a minute himself, trying to figure out the best answer.
"Well, I'm going to be real here, kid. Yeah. It was...not good. But it's what had to be done. To bring you guys back. The world needs a Peter and a Harley and an Abby. And, also yes, sometimes when you guys forget that you're not little anymore, it's rough. But you don't need to worry about that. I'm the grown-up--" Harley couldn't help but smirk at that statement.
Tony just gave him a haughty look before harrumphing, but with a grin of his own.
Tony let it slide.
His expression becoming serious again, he continued as if he hadn't stopped. "And I'll tell you guys if it's too much. I'm okay, Harley, and I've been okay for a while now. I'm not going to break." Reaching out, Tony gently grabbed the boy's chin, pushing his face up to meet his own eyes.
"Harl's, did you hear me? I'm okay. I'm retired, the most dangerous thing in my life is that damn weedeater, I swear it's possessed."
Harley nodded, finally looking up with a genuine grin. "Okay...Papa Tony..." He trailed off, using the long ago set aside nickname, the one Abby still stubbornly clung to. The title that made Tony's chest warm every time he heard it.
Giving the boy a bright smile of his own, Tony ruffled his hair before responding.
"Love you, too, Kiddo. You know, you were the first of my Child Collection as Pepper started calling you guys way back when."
Laughing now, Harley responded, "seriously? Like you're the villian in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"?! Iron Man, Child Collector! Oh, Mechanic, if the tabloids ever heard THAT ONE!" Harley was laughing so hard he could barely breathe.
Rolling his eyes and turning himself around on the picnic bench, Tony readied himself to stand up, but not without first giving Harley another head slap. "Yeah, you laugh it up there, Bud, but don't forget, you were the Mark 1!"
Peter wandered back over, reaching around Harley for plates and silverware, intending to take them in for washing.
"What's so funny? I wanna know! And, come on, Harls, help me take these dishes, we can make one trip" Peter asked, even as he hip checked Harley slightly where the younger boy sat.
Giving a beleaguered sigh at having to do chores on spring break, Harley pushed away from the table, grabbing plates and cups as he did.
As they walked away with their loads, Harley, always impatient for the next item on the agenda, turned and asked, "hey, Tony, anything exciting going on in the workshop?"
Heaving himself up, taking a moment to steady himself on his right leg and getting balanced with the still present cane, Tony's eyes lit up, always ready to talk about tech. "I certainly do! Come on, I'll show you! We can even blow some stuff up!"
--ooOOoo--
Four hours and at least six small explosions later, Pepper had put Morgan in bed, despite her protests. "But the Boys are still up!" had been repeated several times, to which Pepper had replied that they were nearly grown-ups, and could stay up later than first graders. Morgan had been grumpy at the denial of her wishes, but Abby had stepped in to help.
Abby had intended to meet up with the boys, but decided that foregoing joining them in the workshop, and instead offering to help Morgan to learn how to braid hair was a better option. Abby was growing up fast, and sometimes, despite the age gap, she kind of liked getting to play "little kid" games again. The only bedtime stipulation from Pepper was that the younger girl would agree to play in bed, and quietly, until she fell asleep.
"Come on, Moo Mo, we'll go up and do Girlie Stuff while the boys are out in the icky garage with all those creepy june bugs," Abby told her, as she picked up a yawning, eye-rubbing second grader who was clearly "not at all tired" as Morgan kept repeating.
With Pepper mouthing a silent but heartfelt, "thank you!" to Abby, the older girl nodded with a smile and they made their way upstairs.
It's spring break and it's the weekend, Morgan deserved the treat, and Abby deserves to be a little kid as long as she can Pepper thought to herself as she came downstairs. She had fully expected the other three to have had wandered back inside by that point, but she found the downstairs empty.
Directing her voice to the ceilling, Pepper called upon the house's AI. "Jarvis, would you please tell Tony and the kids to come back inside? It's almost ten o'clock, they can keep playing with Tony tomorrow."
"Certainly, Madame, I will let Sir know."
"Thank you, Jarvis," Pepper replied, as she settled into the corner of the couch with a book she'd been wanting to read for almost a month.
An hour and a half later, Pepper still hadn't seen hide nor hair of The Boys, and she was starting to be irritated. Sure, Tony was an adult, theoretically, but he frequently lost track of time; hours, even days while he was working on something, even forgetting to eat. More than once he'd had to have IV's placed for dehydration brought on by caffeine diuresis and lack of water intake, and there was that one time, years ago, when he'd actually passed out from his blood glucose being in the 40's after not eating for three days. "Adult" in this context was, literally, just a number. Even Morgan was more capable of taking care of herself than her father was. Add to that, it hadn't been all that long since Tony was recovering from the Endgame battle, fighting for his life and bedridden for months. His recovery, as much as was possible, was pretty much complete, but Pepper, Dr. Cho, and Dr. Banner still frequently discussed his need for regular nutrition and REST. It was a Sisyphean task.
With a long-suffering huff, Pepper got up from the couch and marched out to the workshop behind the house. The boys were supposed to have done the dinner dishes before bed, but that looked like a very slim possibility at eleven-thirty at night.
"Anthony Edward Stark! Why are you--WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Pepper exclaimed, seeing Tony standing on a chair, his reading glasses glasses crooked and only halfway on, Peter wearing his Spider Man Suit and hanging upside down from the ceiling, and Harley decked out in old Iron Man boots and gauntlets.
All three of them looked...hideously guilty. Though Harley was clearly trying not to laugh, and Peter was slowly spinning in a circle...upside down...So it was hard to get a good look at his expression. Pepper was pretty sure she heard Harley mutter, "oh, man, Mechanic, she used your Big Name..."
Throwing up her hands, Pepper fought back a grin, and tried to continue her frustrated tirade before the humor got to her. *If they know I enjoy their antics, they'll just get worse* Pepper thought to herself.
"You know what, never mind, I don't need to know, just, GET IN THE HOUSE. Tony, you need to rest, I don't want you sacking out on me the rest of the week because you've exhausted yourself *again.* You can save that for when they're all back at school. Also, how did you even get up on that chair? If you fall and mangle your leg again, I'm going to ship you off to a facility." Tony winced at the threat of a rehab facility. Pepper turned to the two younger boys next.
"Pete, there's a farmer's market in the morning I thought you might like to go with Morgan, Abby, and me, but it starts early. And Harley, I'm responsible for you, and that means you need to eat, and sleep, and be safe. Your Mama will kill me if I send you home damaged. Now, come on, it's bedtime. All of you." And with that, Pepper bodily grabbed Tony's left arm and started pulling him down off the chair he was standing on. He was able to scramble down with only a slight grimace as his bad right leg took his weight, before he was able to grab the cane off the worktop and thump after his wife.
Fortunately, there were no further arguments from any of the male members of her family, and Pepper trooped them into the house with fair willingness.
Once they were all in the kitchen, Peter poured himself and Harley a last glass of water, and Tony firmly kept his mouth shut. But Tony's eyes were wide and soulful, doing his best to play the innocence card as they listened as Pepper gave sleeping arrangements.
"Okay, Peter, you're in your own room, like always, and Harley, you can bunk with Peter in the trundle if you guys want, or you can have the guest room down the hall from us. It's totally your choice, but if you guys bunk, it needs to be quiet. And," Pepper broke off, a stern look directed at Tony, "you are going to take care this week. I'm serious, I'm not going to have you go down because you over did it before the week is half-way up. And if I see you mucking around with your arm, I will not hesitate to put you back the sling. You know good and well what Strange said about working it back slowly. Understood?" Pepper asked, voice firm, but eyes alight with laughter.
She meant it, Tony was forever having to be reminded that he was never going to be the same after The Snap, but she was also playing it up a little for the boys. Peter in particular was her ally in coralling Tony's wilder antics. Pepper fully intended to recruit Harley next.
The two boys just looked at each other and grinned, nodding their heads, and Pepper knew they were happily going to share a room to swap tales of high school and college with each other probably until sunrise.
"Harley, honey, you know where the clean towels are, and the extra blankets, right?" Pepper asked, moving over towards the doorway as she asked, Tony in tow.
"Yes, Ma'am and thank you! 'Night-night Mechanic, Pepper!" Harley answered, as he and Pete started for the stairs, Peter calling back "G'night Pepper, 'Night Dad!" as the boys continued their animated discussion about boot repulsors and web fluid on the way up the stairs.
Once they were alone in the kitchen, Tony pulled Pepper into his embrace, kissing her soundly before she could start ordering him around as well. Pepper's eyes widened at the sudden affection, but then she smiled as she kissed him back, and she leaned carefully into his embrace for a few long minutes. Finally pulling back from him, she tilted her head with a smile.
"Tony, I know what you want, but, there's a house full of children here, I-OOOH!" Pepper nearly squealed, stopping herself at the last moment from full volume, determined NOT to alert the rest of the house as Tony had just goosed her solidly on the butt.
Tony didn't wait for an admonishment, "But, Pep, the boys are all busy with violent crime-fighting ideas, and Morgan is asleep, and Abby probably is too, and we're all the way at the end of the hall..." He wiggled his eyebrows in what he hoped was a seductive fashion. Unfortunately, it was more Marx Brothers than sexy.
Shaking her head, Pepper gave him one last, very chaste, peck on his cheek before she grabbed his left arm and started pulling him up the stairs. "Not tonight, Tony..."
We'll see about *that Tony thought to himself with a feral grin as he limped up the stairs after her.