Baby Brother

I had so much fun with the Idea of Harry as Tony's little brother that I just had to add to it. The whole universe just exploded in my mind and I will probably keep adding to it. If someone really wants to read something specific, please just send a quick message my way :)

Work Text:

Baby Brother

Tony Stark couldn’t sleep. Sadly that was not that unusual for him. It was late, his body was tired and his mattress soft, but his brain was running a mile a minute. No. More. It was almost impossible to lie still. His arms were almost hurting with the need to move. He shifted around, hoping the sudden movement might help, but the relief was short lived. With a frustrated sigh he gave up and got out of bed. His eyes were bleary, as he slipped into his warm house shoes. It wasn’t cold in the Stark Family's huge New York Penthouse, but it was the middle of December and so cold outside that house shoes were simply a habit.

Quietly he made his way down the hallway and towards the kitchen, maybe some warm milk would help. It was past one in the morning, hopefully no one would hear him.

“So what you are trying to tell me, is that you have another child.”

His mother’s voice drifted out of the sitting room, causing Tony to freeze. What?

There was a long silence, Tony was almost convinced he had misheard, when his father’s quiet voice almost inaudible to him answered: “It was before we even met, Maria.”

No. No way. Carefully Tony inched closer to the door. He might not be able to see what was going on inside, but he sure as hell was going to listen to this. His Dad had another kid? He had a brother or a sister? Tony wasn’t stupid, far from it even, he knew of his Dad’s reputation. But this, this was something else.

“I got that, yes. What I also got, was that you knew all along and didn’t think it necessary to tell me.” His mother’s tone was so icy, it made Tony shiver involuntarily, “Did you think I would not want to be with you, if I knew you already had a child? Did you not want Tony to know…”

“No. No!”, his Dad hurried to interrupt her, “It was nothing like that. I was at the London office for a couple of months. It’s where I met her. I knew she was married and had a little girl, but I didn’t care. When she got pregnant, I asked her to leave her husband. Take her girl and come to the US with me, but she refused. In a divorce, she said, she’d be in the danger of losing custody of her daughter. And even if not, her husband wasn’t a bad person, she couldn’t just take his daughter onto a different continent. Especially not, if there was a danger of me getting bored of her in a couple of months.”

Tony almost gasped in shock, giving himself away, as he heard the anguish in his father’s voice. His Dad, who always seemed so composed and aloof.

His mother’s voice sounded much softer now, as she answered him: “So she went back to her husband and raised your baby as his.”

“Lily. Her name was Lily.” Lily, Tony had a sister. An older half-sister that probably didn’t even know he existed.

There was another stretch of silence and the sound of fabric rustling, before his mother almost inaudibly asked: “Was?”

“I saw her a couple of times. From afar. Never talked to her or anything. When she got older I hired someone to occasionally keep an eye on her. Make sure she was okay. He called me yesterday. Lily and her husband died in a housefire six weeks ago.” His father’s voice broke. He was crying, Tony realized in horror. His Dad was actually crying.

“Howard, I am so, so sorry.”, his mother answered, her voice muffled. Is she hugging Dad?, Tony thought, I hope she is or I will.

“Her son survived. He is only a baby. Apparently he is now living with Lily’s sister, Petunia.”

“You have a grandson.”, Mom stated, a mixture of wonder and panic in her voice.

“I have been thinking about this all day. What do I do, Maria? He is with his aunt and uncle. But I… I need to know, if he is okay. With Lily I knew she was. But Harry? His name his Harry. Harry James Potter.”

“If you just show up there and ask, Petunia would find out her mother cheated.”, his Mom answered.

“Yes. But if I don’t do anything? He is my grandson. My orphaned grandson. I need to make sure he is okay. If he is not, I could have done something.”

Silence again. Tony’s mind was racing. He had just gained a sister and lost her again immediately. Would the same happen with his… nephew? A nephew. The thought was too strange.

“You wouldn’t have to tell her. You could say there was a trust fund or something for little Harry. You wouldn’t even have to give her your real name.”, his Mom whispered.

“Are you sure?”, his Dad’s voice was full of wonder at his mother’s words.

“Yes. It is almost Christmas, fly out to England, make sure he is well cared for and healthy and then come home to us. If he has a good home then he should stay there and you know it. I assume it is why you never contacted Lily.”

“Yes. She had a good Dad. They are both dead now, her parent. Died in a car crash two years ago.”

Another loaded silence before Dad continued.

“But you are right. I have to make sure. But… What if he is not okay?”

“Then we make sure that he will be.”, his mother told him firmly. There was another shuffling of clothes. a screeching sound. Tony decided that he had heard enough. There was nothing more to gain from this conversation anyway. He scampered off to bed, although he did not manage to fall asleep until the early morning hours.

When Tony woke up again around midday he met his mother in the living room, forlornly looking at the Christmas tree.

“Where is Dad?”, he asked instead of a greeting.

His mother turned towards him, she looked just as tired as he felt.

“He had to take a quick business trip,but he will be back in time for Christmas. Don’t worry.”, she added, lovingly stroking his hair, her eyes still thoughtfully trained on the tree.

Tony was in the entrance hall, trying out his robot’s ability to walk on the smooth marble floor, when his father returned two days later, what looked like a bundle of blankets in his arms.

“Tony.”, his Dad greeted him, “Where is your mother.”

“Upstairs. Living room.”, Tony answered immediately, staring at the very much moving heap of clothes perched high in his father’s arms. The driver entered just as his Dad almost sprinted up the stairs, and one of the bags he was carrying looked suspiciously like diaper bag.

Tony did not manage to concentrate on his robot again, but he did not dare to spy on his parents either. Instead he tried to carefully interrogate his father’s driver, but the man wouldn’t budge.

“Tony!”, Mom called half an hour later, “Do come up here, will you?”

Tony could not remember the last time he had moved this quickly. His parents were in front of the Christmas Tree. His mother sitting down almost on the edge of her seat, his father standing straight, the bundle in his arms now very much recognizable as a small child with a crazy amount of inky black hair. The baby had his little face hidden in the crook of Dad’s neck, his left hand seemed to be clinging to the back of it, as if he was trying to bury his tiny fist in his father’s white hair.

“Tony, well… his mother started, shooting a helpless glance at her husband.

“This is Harry.”, his father simply stated, “He will be living with us now.”

Well. That didn’t explain much. If Tony hadn’t eavesdropped on his parents, he would have had no idea what to think about the whole thing.

“See?”, his Mom asked, “It will be nice to have a little brother around. Don’t you think?”

“We are going to adopt him.”, his father added, before trying to turn little Harry around so Tony could actually look at him.

Harry did not make a sound as Dad managed to loosen his surprisingly strong grip and turned him around in his arms to face Tony. The two boys looked at each other. Harry’s emerald green eyes darting around way to nervously for a child his age, Tony decided.