It Only Takes a Second

- LXII -

"Harry, are you sure that this is okay?" Steve asked, looking around at the dark bakery. Harry had been awake since three, and had been waiting for Steve in the kitchen, knowing that the super-soldier was always the first one awake.

He had asked- or practically begged- Steve to take him to the bakery, where he needed to continue his baking for opening day, which was only a day away.

"Yes, Steve. I promise, I'll take it easy. I'm just making up some dough and starters today so that I can freeze them and use them in case we start running low. And then this afternoon, Peter is stopping by to help bake some of the cookies and bread."

"That doesn't exactly sound like taking it easy," Steve muttered, thinking about his very limited cooking abilities. If he hadn't had to cook it in the 40's, he most likely didn't know how to cook it now. This greatly limited his repertoire of recipes, making it unfathomable that Harry had memorized all different ingredient lists and instructions for each item.

"I'll sit on a stool- please, Steve," Harry pleaded, flipping on the lights. The city was still dark, and Harry knew that even despite the note that was laying on the counter saying where he was and who he was with, his dad would still freak out when he realized that his kid wasn't in the apartment.

Steve sighed in defeat, knowing that not even he could win this battle. Harry could be even more stubborn than Tony at times.

Steve was about to say something when, from inside his pocket, his phone began ringing. He pulled it out and winced when he saw Tony's name displayed upon the screen. Grimacing, he hit answer and put the phone to his ear.

"What the fuck, Steve?" Tony exclaimed, and Steve bit back the immediate urge to chastise Tony on his vulgarity.

"Look, Tony, he was begging and-"

"You should have woken me up! I would have come with you, and-"

Harry glanced towards where the super-soldier was standing, holding the phone away from his ear a bit. He felt a rush of pity and guilt, knowing that it was his fault that his dad was chewing Steve out right now. Silently, he held out his hand to Steve, indicating that he wanted the phone.

Gratefully, Steve passed the device over to the teenager who he knew would calm Tony down. He knew that Tony was freaked out every time Harry wasn't around, because of his history, but he hadn't realized that it was so severe.

"Dad," Harry interrupted as Tony continued to rant. Immediately, the voice on the other end of the line changed.

"Kid, you scared the shit out of me," Tony sighed, but his voice wasn't angry anymore. If anything, he sounded more exhausted than anything. Harry felt like curling into a ball at the realization that it was because of him that his dad was so tired.

"I'm sorry," Harry spoke quietly. "I left you a note. You've just been so tired, and you were finally sleeping, and Steve was awake so... I'm sorry, I'll come home."

There was a small sigh of defeat on the other end as Tony realized it wasn't fair to ask Harry to give this up. It was one of the only things that kept him moving forward, and one of the only reasons he ever left the penthouse. There was no doubt in Tony's mind that, without the bakery, Harry would remain in the Tower 24/7. And that wasn't healthy either.

"No, no," Tony said, "you're already there, and you should be allowed to leave without telling me directly. I'm sorry I've been so overbearing. I just...."

Tony blew out a breath, noting that Pepper would be proud of him for how calmly he was handling this. All he really wanted to do was drive down to the bakery, scoop Harry up into his arms and keep him there forever. But it wasn't realistic, or fair to either of them, to think like that.