~Broken Family~

Family Preservation

Tony watched as Harley hesitantly hugged his mother but remained tense, as if still afraid. Then, with another glance over his shoulder, Harley disappeared into the house.

It was hard to keep his emotions in check, especially these days. He woke up every morning wanting to close his eyes and go back to sleep, praying it was all just another nightmare, but the thought of Harley sleeping peacefully in his bed got him jumping to his feet, pacing in the living room until he got out. He was never at rest until he was sure Harley was safe and not in the hands of HYDRA again.

He didn't know what he would do if he lost Harley, too. It had almost destroyed he and Pepper to lose two of their children who were more beloved than Tony could express in words. Losing Harley, even if it was for a few days, had been the unspeakable end of the world.

After a little under an hour, when he couldn't take it anymore, Rosa opened the door and gestured for him to come in.

The house was modestly decorated, with no lavish stuff all over the place. The living room was neat, tidy, and modern, the walls a toothpaste-white and the floor smooth, chocolatey wooden panels. All the decorations were of abstract things, except for a singular photo on the mantle. Upon further inspection, Tony saw that it was Harley as a toddler, raised up on a man's shoulders, probably his father. The man wore a military uniform and had a huge smile on his face, probably coming back from duty.

Tony felt a strange twinge of something. It wasn't loss, yet it wasn't guilt. It was just that seeing Harley when he was young, back before he had even met Tony, reminded him that Harley did indeed have a life before Tony Stark, one that he hadn't gotten to be a part of. And that was pretty hard for a foster parent to accept, especially one of an older child.

The woman, Ms. Natalie Lynch, as she didn't use the same last name as her ex-boyfriend or her son, gestured for him to sit in one of the many chairs arrayed in a circle. Harley sat on the edge of his seat in the one directly across from his mother, bouncing his good leg up and down nervously and messing with the straps on his brace, eyes staring off into the distance.

"Please, sit down," Natalie said. "I still can't believe...I mean, my Harley staying with the Tony Stark..."

Tony gave Harley's shoulder a pat as he passed him, sitting down in the chair next to Rosa with unease. He didn't like the way Natalie had said "staying."

"You, uh---" he cleared his throat. "You have a lovely home, and it's nice to finally get to meet you."

"You as well." She smiled, but something flickered underneath it. Jealously.

"So, tell me," Rosa said, looking pointedly at Harley to get his attention, "how are you feeling, Mr. Keener?"

Harley shrugged. "I..." He glanced from Tony to his mother, as if afraid of letting one or the other down. "I'm not sure. I--I mean, it's--it's great to be with you, Mom. I've...I've missed you." Tony recognized the relief in his voice, the happiness of getting to be with his mother at last. But also of the hesitancy, given the situation.

"Well, you are aging out of the system in three weeks." Rosa delicately folded her hands across her dress which, of course, had roses on them. "What would you like to do?"

Harley glanced at his mother, but a bolt of alarm shot through Tony and he tried not to jump to his feet.

"Hold on," he interrupted. "What do you mean, 'do?'"

"Whether or not he wants to continue to stay at your place of residence and gather his things first or whether or not he wants to return to living with his mother straight away."

Tony jumped to his feet and opened his mouth, wanting to scream, wanting to cry, wanting to argue, wanting to fight tooth and nail for custody of his son, but he remained silent. This was Harley's decision... And it wasn't already made, right? Surely Harley wouldn't abandon him?

Harley stared at Tony's face, seeming to take his silence as the answer he needed.

No, Tony thought quickly. I'm not staying quiet because I don't love you! I'm staying quiet because I DO!

"I..." He coughed dryly, looking from Tony's obvious pain to his mother's desperate hopefulness. "I mean, I'm not sure. It's--it's a pretty big decision, ain't it? Don't we gotta have this in court and stuff?"

"Of course." Rosa nodded. "There's always things to do in family court. But you can make the decision on whether or not you want to stay with your mother now, or return to the state of New York to gather your things first."

"Hold on." Tony's voice shook. "Doesn't he get to choose?"

Rosa lifted her clipboard. "The main goal of child services is family preservation. And, now that Miss Natalie Lynch has served her time and gone through our rigorous program," She gave a nod to Natalie, "I believe they are ready to reunite."

"But what about my family?" Tony challenged. "Gosh, I've had him this long! Nearly five years with my son, and now you want to take him away? Three weeks until he's eighteen and ages out of the system?!"

"Which was not even legal," Rosa reminded him, "until you paid millions in the court case." Harley's eyebrows rose---he probably hadn't known how much the Tennessee government had wanted him.

Her tone softened. "Look, Mr. Stark, given that Mr. Keener is so close to aging out, this may be the only chance he will get to settle in before graduating high school and starting a life. I know this can be hard, and I've watched countless other families go through the same thing. But just because we are preserving the Keener-Lynch family doesn't mean we are tearing apart yours. There will still be time for visits, and, of course, Mr. Keener can always choose to move back in with you once he turns eighteen. But right now, it's up to the state and to the parent."

"What about the legal guardian?!" Tony practically shouted. "Huh? What about all those papers I signed that said he is my son?!"

She glanced through the papers on her clipboard and sighed. "The papers you signed stated that your...you would become the legal guardian of your late adopted child, Peter Parker, as he had no more living relatives willing to take him in. But in the case of Mr. Keener, the adoption paper you signed stated that you would remain his legal guardian until, and I quote, 'the primary guardian and birth mother, Natalie Lynch, is approved for reunion.'"

"But he's MY SON! I don't understand how---"

"Tony." Harley interrupted Tony's outburst with a singular, quietly spoken syllable. He exchanged a grin with his mother and looked back up at him. "I want to stay. I...I want to be with my Mom."