A Dad of Ir⎊n Will || Marvel

nınë

It's been four months since the snap and they've barely made any progress.

Carol has gone back to her job of doing whatever the fuck out in space. Rhodey is helping what's left of the military adjust. Clint's gone AWOL. Harley's situated himself comfortably as part of the family. And they've all stopped having feeling meetings. Tony sees the rest of them moping around the compound and thinks maybe they still need them.

He doesn't say anything about it.

"Uncle Rhodey said to tell you to come eat," Harley says as the door to the lab slides open. He's still wearing his pajamas, but he has sneakers on too as if he's been running everywhere looking for anyone.

"Nightmare?" asks Tony when he notices the shoes on the boy's feet. He brushes his hands off then makes to stand up in order to follow the teen out of the lab where a part of him feel like it still needs to be right now. He feels like he's onto something.

"Pepper's working and you weren't there when I woke up. I'm fine."

"You can always just ask FRIDAY where I am."

"I wasn't thinking about it. No big deal."

"If you were panicking because you were alone, it kind of is a big deal, kid. You don't have to—"

"Stop! I don't need you to baby me, okay? I'm fine!"

Tony doesn't say anything because he gets that Harley is upset. Gets that the boy isn't necessarily yelling at him, just trying to convince himself that things are okay. But he has every right to be upset and Tony knows that too. Especially considering none of their ideas are working out the way they had planned. They're no closer to getting their families back. It's been months since Tony has come back and nothing has changed. They're still a bunch of depressed assholes trying to fix a problem they couldn't defeat the first time around. The kid was just a little too loud. A bit too abrasive. Tony's footsteps stutter and he leans against the wall to try and get his breathing back under control.

"I'm sorry, Tony, I didn't mean—"

Tony shakes his head because it's not the kid's fault that they're all so on edge lately. That this trauma had triggered childhood trauma from a drunken Howard when Tony was so young but still couldn't do anything to make his father proud. Even now he can't get this right. Can't fix anything.

"Just a weak heart," Tony says as he tries to catch his breath. Harley snorts.

"Bullshit."

"What," teases Tony, a hand rubbing at the spot where the reactor used to be, "you don't believe your old man?"

"Sorry to say I'm smart enough to know better." Harley's tentative smile drops and he shakes his head. "I really am sorry. It's on your trigger list, loud-angry-voices. I shouldn't have yelled."

"It's fine. I know you don't like being coddled. It's not on your list, but I know that. I just wanted to make sure you know I'm here if you need to talk or something. I don't know. Feelings aren't my specialty."

Rhodey was the only one with any real therapy experience other than Harley and he'd been the one who forced them all to sit down and write up a list of their triggers. FRIDAY made everyone digital copies. No one expected Tony's list to be as long as it was. Tony was more surprised that theirs weren't longer.

He'd had to talk to Rhodey about that too because sharing a list practically the size of his bank account made him feel weak. It's like he had been 15 again, listening to his dad yell at him to be smarter. be better. Be more.

Rhodey'd had to talk him from the alcohol cabinet more than once.

"Tony, no," Harley insists, "I know you're only trying to help. You're always trying to help. And I— I shouldn't have yelled. Especially not at you, when you're the only one actually doing anything about all this. While all those other assholes are up there moping. I'm just..." The boy shrugs and shakes his head. "I don't know."

Tony watches as he plucks a small bolt across the room where it clangs against one of the walls.

"It's not your fault," Tony says leaning against the table with him. He has his arms crossed over his chest. "I'm frustrated too. I don't— I can't figure out what I'm missing."

"I bet the other guy could've helped you figure it out," says Harley, resigned to not being good enough for a second dad.

"Who?"

"Your intern kid. The one you're doing all this for."

"Well Peter can do physics quicker than some people can tie their shoes so he probably would have figured it all out on his own. I'm more of a mechanic than a physicist, you know?" Tony chuckles but shrugs. "And besides, I'm doing this for both of you. You don't deserve to have lost your mom and your sister because I wasn't strong enough. How's that fair?"

He stares at Peter's text books on the desk by the holoscreen then drags his eyes over to the table in the corner where Nebula had taken up residence a few months ago before she went back up to space with Carol and the talking raccoon. He'd taught her how to build, fix and affix her own replacement parts and pieces from scraps while they were in space. She'd said he was more of a father to her in a few days than Thanos had been her entire life. He thinks that maybe he's doing this for her too.

Harley is looking at him in awe, like he's hung the moon and the stars, but he doesn't notice as he stands straight up, walking past the teen, patting his shoulder as he goes.

"C'mon, kid. You said Platypus made food?"

"Uh..yeah!" Harley says shaking himself out of his head and hurrying to follow the mechanic. The strongest man he ever knew. "Well he ordered from that diner you like and got Happy to go pick it up, but basically yeah."

Tony gives a soft laugh as he motions the boy closer and throws an arm around his shoulders while they head towards their quarters where Rhodey and Happy have breakfast ready to be served.

"Breakfast is breakfast, kid. Remember that."

"Hey, Tony..."

"Yeah?" Tony answers a small grin on his face for the first time in the last couple of days as he glances down at Harley before looking in the direction they're walking.

"Do you think— I mean, it's fine if you don't want me to. I'd understand. But— uh would it be okay if I called you Dad or Pops or something."

Tony stops walking to look directly at the teen a few steps behind him. He's grown over the last few months so he stands a few inches from being  taller than the older man, but he's still just a kid. Tony's kid. But he looks so nervous and insecure that Tony doesn't even think before pulling him into a hug. Harley is holding onto him like a lifeline.

"You can call me whatever you want. I told you, you're my kid and I'm not going anywhere so you're stuck with me. I promise."

Harley holds him tighter.

-§-

hey futher muckers
i dont really have much to say, but i was tryna finish the next coupla chappies before i posted this one
and i did! im just...adding more words than i initially planned for them 😅

anywayyss lemme know what you think
& as always i hope you enjoyed
love y'all

-- angel janeé xoxo 💋