Who Charms Who First?
Peter had been waiting.
Because obviously, Harry’s dinner with Tony was a big deal.
And obviously, he needed details.
So, lying in bed, still sore from patrol, he picked up his phone and texted.
Peter: Soooo… how was dinner with Stark?
Seconds later—
Harry: It was fine.
Peter squinted.
really?That was it?
Peter huffed and texted again.
Peter: That’s all I get? ‘It was fine’?
Peter: Dude!!! I need the details and why is Mr. Stark intrested in you- your not going to be invited to avengers right?!. because that's cool, you would be a good hero.
There was a pause.
Then—
Harry: That's all you get and No, he didn't want to meet me to invite me into the Avengers.
Harry: Are you injured?
Peter froze.
Then quickly typed—
Peter: Whaaat? Nooo. Why would you think that?
Harry: Go to sleep, Peter. And i better not find that was a lie.
Peter groaned.
Because of course Harry was more concerned about injuries than gossip.
Still—
Peter: So no crazy drama?
Harry: Go. To. Sleep.
Peter sighed.
But just before putting his phone down—
Peter: …Did Teddy like him?
Harry: Yes.
Peter grinned.
That meant everything.
Peter (to May): It seems everything went fine. Harry says Teddy likes Mr.Stark.
May(in a late night shift): That's good. Why are you still awake go to sleep.
Peter groaned.
Peter: I swear Harry and you are so similar sometimes.
Peter: Fine I'm going back to sleep.
Peter: Good night.
And with that thought, he finally went to sleep.
Harry was up early.
It was a habit, ingrained from years of waking up at the crack of dawn out of necessity.
Even now, when life had finally settled into something less chaotic, his body still insisted on greeting the sun before anyone else.
So, naturally, he found himself in Tony Stark’s high-tech kitchen, preparing breakfast before anyone else had stirred.
Despite the state-of-the-art appliances surrounding him, he stuck to a simple but well-balanced meal.
Scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, golden-brown toast, and a side of fresh fruit.
He even made blueberry pancakes for Teddy, knowing his son would be excited.
It was exactly what Tony had said he liked for breakfast especially blueberry pancakes when they’d had dinner the night before.
Harry blinked, processing.
Huh.
Maybe some subconscious part of him had picked up on it.
Or maybe—just maybe—he was already getting used to the idea of family with Tony in it.
Tony woke up and followed a delicious smell coming from kitchen and was surprised to find Harry cooking break fast.
Harry turned smiling at Tony."I woke up early and made breakfast for all of us. Hope you don't mind."
"Mind? I don't mind even if you make breakfast every day, it smells delicious and oh my god! Is that blueberry pancakes?! They are my favourite!. Forget about working as a consultant, become my chef instead".
(Or forget about working at all, move in with me.
But he doesn't say that.
Not now atleast.
He really wants to ask where he learnt cooking but keeps mum about that too.
But Tony files everything away. From, Harry's work as a supposed consultant, his wary demeanor, his extreme competency, his supposed involvement with taking down terrorists, him being emacted at 13, his zero records to how he interacts with Teddy.)
Harry huffed a laugh. But said nothing.
A loud thump came from the hallway, followed by the rapid patter of little feet.
Seconds later, Teddy came barreling into the kitchen, his messy curls bouncing as he ran straight for Tony, still groggy and standing near the counter.
“Grandpa!” Teddy leaped.
Tony barely had a second to react before he suddenly had an armful of an overexcited three-year-old.
"Oof!" Tony caught Teddy just in time, his hands instinctively going under the boy’s arms to support him. His brain, however?
Full system failure.
Teddy beamed, completely oblivious to Tony’s internal crisis. “Good morning!”
Tony, meanwhile, was internally panicking.
What do I do? Am I holding him right? Why is he so small? HELP.
Harry, who had been plating the food, immediately noticed the mild distress on Tony’s face.
“Relax,” he said, smirking slightly. “You’re not holding a bomb.”
Tony shot him a look. “You sure? Because I feel like I need a manual for this.”
Harry walked over, giving Teddy a fond look before adjusting Tony’s hold on him. “Here. Support his back a bit more—yeah, like that. And don’t overthink it. He’s not going to break.”
Tony hesitated for half a second before shifting his grip as instructed.
…Okay. This wasn’t so bad.
Teddy, in all his unbothered glory, just grinned and leaned his head against Tony’s shoulder.
Tony?Full emotional meltdown.
He cleared his throat, looking away as if that would help him ignore the warmth spreading in his chest.
“You trust me to hold him?” he asked, his voice quieter than usual.
Harry’s expression softened.
“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have let him jump on you.”
Tony went still.
Because, yeah. That meant something. And promptly buried his face in Teddy's curls to hide his smile.
Pepper Potts walked in.
She was dressed impeccably as always, tablet in hand, her expression all business.
She had walked into Stark Tower expecting to deal with yet another round of Tony’s inevitable chaos, but somehow, that chaos had taken a completely unexpected turn.
“Tony, you have a meeting in an hour,” she started, barely glancing up from her screen. “If you’re late again, the board will—”
She finally looked up and froze.
Because Tony Stark—her boss, her ex, her best friend, the man who had way too much chaos in his life—was standing there… holding a small child.
A child who, if Pepper did the mental math, was the right age to have been conceived during their relationship.
The pieces clicked together in the worst way possible.
Her face went blank.
she said coolly, setting the tablet down with controlled precision. “I’ll have my resignation on your desk by the end of the day.”
Tony blinked. “Wait, what?!”
Pepper folded her arms, her expression eerily calm. “I assume you’d prefer to handle this… situation privately, considering the timing.”
Harry was highly amused but seeing the rising panic in Tony’s eyes, decided to intervene.
So he said smoothly, “Teddy isn’t Tony’s son. He’s mine.”
Pepper’s eyebrows twitched, her carefully constructed composure slipping. “What?”
Harry, still very much enjoying this, let the words sink in before delivering the final blow.
“I’m Tony’s son.”
(Tony: He admits it.
Tony felt warm .
This means progress right? If he's willing to announce it aloud even if it's only to Pep)
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Pepper stared at them, clearly unsure whether to laugh, cry, or completely reevaluate her entire life.
Because Tony became a grandfather not just a father.
She expected a kid but not a grand kid.
(And why is Tony's kid who looks like 15 something has a son?
A teenage dad!! What about his girlfriend?
Family?
But looking at Tony's pleading look she stopped herself from questioning)
" Harry Evans and my son is Edward Evans nick named Teddy. It's nice to meet the great Pepper Potts."
Pepper finally sighed,"Just call me Pepper."
She turned to Tony.
“Tony… I don’t even know where to start.”
Harry just smirked.
Teddy, meanwhile, chose that exact moment to yawn dramatically and snuggle closer to Tony’s chest.
Pepper’s gaze softened slightly at the sight.
“…You’re a grandfather,” she murmured, still realing,shaking her head and teased. “How does that feel?”
Tony groaned.
Pepper sighed again but smiled faintly. “Well. I suppose I won’t be resigning after all.”
Tony exhaled dramatically. “Oh, thank God.”
She had been ready to resign.
Now, she was standing here, watching Tony Stark—her former boss, ex-boyfriend, and the most emotionally stunted genius on the planet—holding a tiny child who had just called him Grandpa.
And, the kid’s father?Tony’s teenage son.
Yeah. That was a lot to take in before breakfast.
Which was exactly why, when Harry—still looking far too amused at the entire situation—gestured towards the breakfast table and said, “You might as well sit and eat with us,” she almost refused on instinct.
But then—
“Please stay!”
Teddy, bright-eyed and smiling, turned his full, devastating attention on her.
And Pepper Potts, the woman who had survived Tony Stark’s most ridiculous antics without flinching, felt her entire heart melt in real-time.
“…Okay,” she heard herself say, before she could even think about it.
Sitting down at the table, Pepper was immediately presented with a tiny plate of pancakes.
Teddy beamed at her, practically bouncing in his seat. “I made sure Daddy put extra blueberries in them! They’re the best!”
Harry, sipping his coffee, snorted. “You supervised, Teddy.”
Teddy pouted. “Same thing.”
Pepper, already resigned to her fate, muttered to Tony .“He’s definitely your grand son.”
(Tony felt like floating then.
Is it possible to fall in love at the first meeting?
He always thought love at first sight belongs only to lovers and didn't even think it was possible.
Why did no one warn him?)
Pepper couldn’t help but smile as she took a bite. And, okay. The pancakes were good.
She glanced at Teddy, who was watching her with expectant excitement.
“…You were right,” she told him, warmth creeping into her voice. “These are definitely the best.”
Teddy’s face lit up.
Harry, catching the look in Pepper’s eyes, smiled slightly. Hook, line, and sinker.
Teddy 1. Pepper 0.
Somewhere between Teddy explaining the very important difference between different kinds of syrup and insisting Pepper try at least one of his strawberries, Tony realized something.
Pepper was doomed.
He had never seen her this soft before.
And he knew, knew, that she was completely, utterly enchanted.
It was a little alarming how easily Teddy won people over.
Tony wasn’t even sure if Teddy knew he was doing it on purpose or if it was just pure, natural chaos.
Either way?
Pepper Potts, Queen of Composure, was laughing at Teddy’s little stories.
And Tony?.Yeah. He was definitely losing his most competent ally to a three-year-old.
Tony groaned. “FRIDAY, remind me to update my will. Apparently, I need to leave everything to my grandson.”
(Harry's felt his heart stutter because even if that was a joke, from people like Tony, he was seriously considering Teddy as family.
Harry felt unusually happy, it means Teddy has more family.
He doesn't care about wills too much. Not when everything Harry owns will go do Teddy.
Unlike him,Teddy will never have to worry about money.)
FRIDAY’s voice chimed in, far too amused. “Noted, Boss.”
Pepper just shook her head, smiling.
Teddy just giggled, completely oblivious to the fact that he had just effortlessly stolen another heart.
They didn't talk much, Harry has to go to work, Teddy to daycare.
Tony and Pepper have meetings to attend.
They parted ways with the promise of meeting again.
That evening Harry finally told May, Peter and Ned why Tony wanted to meet.
The freak out was to be expected.
It took a while with Harry explaining that he recently found out and wanted to have Tony informed with a tiny hope that Teddy can have a grand father, before the calmed down.
(Meanwhile Rhodey (in despair): When will I enter the scene again?! Did I get forgotten? Hello!!. Did no one remember me?
Happy: *Sympathetic* Pats his shoulder in comfort.)