A Normal, Everyday Kid.
If there was one thing May Parker knew, above anything else, it was her nephew. Even when he was sneaking out being Spider-Man, something that she spent a good while ranting about, she could tell something was up. She loved the kid to death and knew his every mannerism and tell he could have.
So, when he showed up after his emergency Avengers mission, something she was going to chew Tony Stark out about, with a lanky teenager with a heavy British accent May knew something was up. Even more so when Peter insisted that his new ‘friend’ was a totally normal teenager who was visiting on a Stark internship.
“Right, and by normal are we talking by your standards or mine? Because your normal involves fighting electric men and spending your weekends training with spies,” May chided Peter as he stood in front of the door to her apartment.
The green-eyed teen beside Peter looked as if he wanted to be anywhere else at that very moment.
“I told you May, he is just a normal kid. A normal, everyday kid-,”
“From England,” May added,
“Yeah, from England who is work-I mean interning for Mr. Stark,” Peter finished sheepishly
“You are such a terrible liar you know,” she looked over to Harry with a smile, “I’m May Parker, Peter’s aunt. Please, come in,”
Harry could barely suppress a snort as Peter looked defeated before the pair of them walked into the apartment.
Having only been in America for a week, Tony insisted that Harry should attempt to be a normal teenager for once in his life, instead of holding up in the lab with him. Not that Tony didn’t appreciate his son’s company, but the man was adamant that Harry get to enjoy his life for once. It had been Loki who suggested that Peter show him around New York, to which the young hero readily agreed with a heady blush on his face. Unfortunately, both boys had no idea what to do around New York and opted to just hang out at Peter’s home away from the Avengers.
“Harry. Harry Potter, Ms. Parker,” the wizard responded as she led both he and Peter into the living room
“Nope, none of that Ms. Parker stuff. Peter calls me May, just like everyone else does so you may as well too. So, what your deal? You’re not like flammable, are you? Wait, are you a mutant? Or is it Inhuman, I swear I can never keep track,”
“May,” Peter cut in, “May, you're embarrassing me. I told you, he is just a normal teenager,”
“I mean, my dads are a superhero and a God so don’t think I fall under the normal category,” Harry couldn’t help but add in, watching as Peter’s face fell slightly, and May’s seemed to brighten
“Wait. Don’t tell me. It has to be Tony, I mean now that I’m really looking at you I can totally see it,” May walked around Harry, “You totally have his hair, though it is a bit longer. You even look a bit like him in the face. Now as for…did you say dads,”
“Uh, yeah,” Harry looked askance at this, “I know it’s weird but Loki is like-,”
“Tony slept with Loki,” May yelled, prompting Peter to shush her quickly, his eyes darting around as if the walls had ears
“See this is why I didn’t want to say anything. I know how you like hero gossip,” Peter admonished before rubbing his temples
“Oh, like you don’t enjoy dishing out about Hawkeye whenever he does something stupid, or is it cringe? Is that what you kids say these days,” May couldn’t help but ruffle Peter’s hair as she joked,
“Maaaay,” her nephew responded before looking over at an amused Harry, “I promise she normally isn’t like this when I bring boys over,”
“You have…other boys you bring over,” stammered Harry
“Not like that,” Peter shouted, his face deep red by this point, “I mean like…friends. Not that there is anything wrong with that or anything. I just meant as friends, yeah,”
“And Bobby Drake was just a friend,” May was already starting to win Harry over with her ‘no prisoners’ attitude
“I mean…he and I…uhh,” Peter was at a loss for words, looking from Harry to May desperately, “I need to go…wash up for dinner,” he got out quickly before speeding down the hall and shutting the bathroom door just a tad bit stronger than he expected.
“Is he aware that it is like, three in the afternoon,” Harry said, though his face held more a fondness than anything, something May readily picked up on
“Oh, he’ll be fine, though he was never this flustered when he brought Bobby with him. Wonder what makes you so special,”
“Me? I’m not special,” the words flowed quickly from Harry’s mouth, as he too developed a blush to rival Peter’s, “I’m just Harry, yeah. Nothing…nothing special like that…or whatever Bobby Drake was. Or should have been, if I’m reading between the lines,”
As the British teen stood in her living room, looking every bit as adorable and nervous as Peter had, May knew this one was a keeper. Though she was going to give Tony an earful about how skinny the boy was. Not to mention how those green eyes of his just looked slightly distant whenever he wasn’t distracted by something.
“While we wait for Peter to un-fluster himself, what don’t you tell me a bit about yourself? I’d imagine being the son of Iron Man must be interesting,” May patted a spot on the sofa, which Harry took, though he kept some space between them.
“To be honest, I didn’t know he was my dad until recently. I had just got out of Hog-,” Harry paused for a moment, just long enough to be too obvious in his mind, “High school. I mean high school. I had just gotten out and went to stay with my Godfather. Some things happened and I found out that Tony Stark is my dad…alongside Loki,”
“I’m going to go off on a limb and say those things that happened weren’t ‘totally normal’ British teen things,”
“Depends on the British teen you’re asking I suppose,” Harry bantered back with a smirk, “But yeah. After the things happened, Tony and Loki took me here. Said it was safer until school started back up. That and-well I grew up thinking both my parents had died. When Tony and Loki showed up it felt weird. It still does. I keep waking up thinking I’ll be an orphan again, stuck living with an Aunt and Uncle who…,” Harry trailed off for a moment.
The boy looked down as he felt May place her hand on his thigh,
“It may not be my place to say, but if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m an open ear. Peter went through something similar when he came to live with me. I don’t know if he told you, but his parents also died when he was young. It took so many conversations with him to help him cope. It’s the entire reason why I ended up studying child psychology,
“I wanted to be someone that Peter could not only come to but someone who could provide him with the right words and things to say when he would just feel lost. So, if you are going to be a part of this family, I’m happy to offer the same thing to you,”
“Part of the family? I just met Peter,”
“Yeah, well I can tell a keeper when I see them. And you, totally normal teen from England, are a keeper. Besides, Peter needs more folks his age to be with. I can only imagine what it’s like having someone like Captain America be a friend to talk to,”
“And you’re okay with the whole…Loki being my other dad thing,” Harry wondered sheepishly
“If half the stories that Peter has told me he heard from Thor are true, I’m shocked you’re his only kid. Besides, even Earth myths talk about how gender-fluid Loki is. So, him giving birth to you is not that much of a shock. Though if I ever see him I may have to punch him for New York,” there was mirth in May’s eyes as she spoke, and it helped Harry feel all the more comfortable.
Harry couldn’t help but think of Mrs. Weasley as he talked with May. She wasn’t as motherly and doting, but she still had this light about her that made him feel warm and welcomed.
The sound of the bathroom door opening drew both May and Harry’s attention and they watched with amusement as Peter finally came back. His hair was noticeably slick as if he tried to hastily style it with water and had given up when it wouldn’t obey. It was messy, but Harry had to admit the look was kind of endearing.
'You would find that enticing, considering the state in which you keep your hair'
Harry repressed a sigh as the voice of his doppel came whispering into his mind. Ever since they had arrived in America, the mental duplicate had been running a constant commentary on anything and everything. While, occasionally, he would have some good insight, most of the time he just complained in one way or another.
‘I am not listening to you,’ Harry thought back quickly, tuning out whatever the response was going to be to focus more on Peter
“So, Harry, you wanted to check out the Death Star? Ned and I have been working on it for ages and I think we may actually get it finished this time,” the teen became just that much more animated when he spoke about the things he enjoyed
“I would love to. Thanks again for having me over Ms…I mean May,” Harry politely stood up with a smile
“Oh, and he is all old-school British manners too? Peter, you are not allowed to let this one get away,”
Harry and Peter both looked at each other, red in the face, before they ran off towards Peter’s room, but not before May shouted,
“Leave the door open you two! And make sure to leave room for Jesus,”
“I am so sorry for her,” Peter said when they got to his room, leaving his door open just enough, “She just gets excited whenever I come back home. I see her every weekend when I’m not working with the Avengers or on patrol, but every time I come back she just gets really happy,”
“Well, you do fight bad guys for a living. Maybe she is just glad to see you because that means you’re alive,” Harry supplied as he stood awkwardly beside the door. This had been the most time he had spent alone with the other teen and he wasn’t sure just what he was supposed to do.
Sit down on the bed with him. Otherwise, you look like a creep, his double muttered.
Peter was looking a bit too absorbed by the Death Star, muttering under his breath just silent enough that Harry couldn’t hear. At his copies urging, Harry plopped down on the bed next to Peter, the other boy turning to face him and looking down at how close they were.
“I am so sorry, I should have gotten you a chair or-,”
“Oh no this is fine, unless you don’t want me to close-,”
“It’s just the bed is a mess and I mean, I didn’t even ask if you like lego-,”
“I’m great! Promise, perfectly…perfectly great,”
The two boys eventually stopped with their overlapping conversation, looking at one another before bursting out into peals of laughter.
“How about this,” Peter recovered first from his laughing fit, “Do you want to help me work on the Death Star, or just talk? I’ve been wanting to like talk with you since that alleyway fight. Well, more than a few words here and there,”
“I mean, sure. Though I warn you, I’m not that great a storyteller. Could I recite almost every potion book I read, yes. Can I actually talk about myself for more than a few seconds without feeling terrible? Not so much,”
“I’m the same way,” Peter was exuberant, having found another common thread with the boy, “I once had to do a report in school about myself and all I could manage was ‘likes science and wears glasses’,”
“You wear glasses? How come I never see you with them on,” Harry asked, trying his best to picture the slightly angular face of Peter with a set of spectacles
“Turns out when you get bit by a genetically engineered spider, your eyesight gets fixed. Among other things,”
“Think the spider could spare a few drops of venom, I’d love to not wear these things ever again,” Harry glared at his own frames as he pulled them from his face, “It doesn’t even make sense, both Loki and Tony don’t wear glasses,” he grumbled under his breath
“Sadly, the spider is long gone, though don’t know if it would have even worked for anyone else. Pretty sure it should have killed me. Maybe Loki was right and it was something magical,” Peter mused, “That and I’m sure May has photos of me wearing glasses somewhere. Not that I’d ever let you see them,”
“Why? I’m sure you didn’t look like a total swot while in them,” Harry joked
“Swot? Is that like British for nerd? Because if it is, I’m pretty sure being the son of Tony Stark makes you a bigger one,” Peter fired back, playfully tossing a pillow at Harry
“You’d think so, but I got a friend who has me beat. We’ve been battling for top marks in Hogwarts for years now,” Harry chucked the pillow back, unsurprised when Peter dodged it with little issue, “That is cheating you know,”
“You say cheating, I say skill,” Peter punctuated his words with another toss of the pillow.
It took all of a few seconds before the boys devolved into a pillow fight, Harry and Peter both laughing in glee as they allowed themselves time to just be the kids they were. From her place in the living room, May couldn’t help but smile at it. She knew that Harry was hiding something, but if he was able to let Peter just be a teen with no responsibilities for a few moments, then she would let him keep his secrets. Besides, knowing Tony, he was bound to spill the beans to her when they had their weekend chats about Peter.
While Harry was enjoying his time with Peter, both of his fathers were dealing with someone who was far less enjoyable.
“I don’t know how many times I have to tell you, my son isn’t a threat,” Tony ground out, his ire aimed not only at Fury but his latest thorn in his side, General Ross.
“I find that hard to believe when your son is not only a well-known wizard with flagrant disregard for the rules if rumors are to be believed, but he shares the same blood with the man responsible for leveling all of New York,” Ross yelled. Not softly either, his voice rattled the glass table in his fury
“Right, and while I will continue to atone for actions that were beyond my will-,” Loki began, looking far calmer and more composed than Tony was
“Joining your lovers’ gang of costumed fools is not punishment,” Ross shouted
“As I was saying, actions beyond my will,” Loki badgered his way back into the conversation with ease, “As a Prince of Asgard and ambassador for my people, I have what you mortals call diplomatic immunity,”
“And here I thought you weren’t paying attention to my favorite movie love,” Tony smirked before Fury cleared his throat
“While that may be true, and S.H.I.E.L.D has been given counter-measures to ensure your compliance from King Thor, I can understand Ross’s worry. Harry represents a major political figure in his world. One with a lot of power behind him. While I highly doubt he would ever bring that to bear against us, it does warrant worry,” Fury attempted to reason, though he was siding more with Tony than anything on this matter. He held no love for Ross and his warmongering ways.
“Patches, he’s a teenager,” Tony argued, “One who has never had a normal day in his life. The only trouble he is going to get into is probably underage drinking and too much partying,”
“You are aware that our son pretty much lives in your lab, right,” Loki added, only to be waved away by a mildly amused Tony
“So did I at that age and people still call me a party animal. The point is, that the boy isn’t a danger to anyone. He has enough on his plate with a dark wizard who wants him dead and a Headmaster who has no concept of boundaries. He isn’t about to start lobbing out curses and hexing random people because he feels like it,”
“That kid of yours walks around with the equivalent of a WMD in his pocket and you expect me to just roll over? He needs to be put under constant surveillance, if not locked up until he can prove he is not a danger to this country and its people. Once more, we could study what makes these Wixen tick. We’ve never had a chance to understand them like this before. We could finally put in place countermeasures to prevent them from trying to destroy us all,” Ross slammed his fist onto the table, spittle flying from his mouth as he yelled
“Are you talking about…experimenting on my child,” Loki’s fingers dug into the glass table, sending a spider’s web of cracks along its surface
“I’m sure Ross is-,” Fury began, getting ready to step between Loki and the General if need be
“If it would ensure the safety of this great nation, I would happily don the gloves myself,” Ross refused to back down from Loki, his eyes hardened as he stared the monster in the face. Every word he spoke was true. That boy was a landmine of potential information and growth if he could get his hands on him.
“Anthony,” Loki breathed, the air turning frosty as the God fought to maintain control, “I will see you at dinner. I fear that if I spend another moment in the presence of this…feckless whelp of a man, I shall call down more than the might of Asgard in my bid for retribution. Consider that to be the only warning you will get shall you come within eyesight of my child,”
There was no subtle nature to Loki’s vanishing, instead, he disappeared with a loud crack, leaving behind green flames that refused to go out in his wake.
“You should keep your pet under control Stark,” Ross spat out
“That’s enough,” Fury stood, towering over Ross easily, “You have made your point General. While I refuse to keep the boy under the kind of watch you would prefer, S.H.I.E.L.D will be keeping an eye on him. I suggest you take the grace a God has given you and end any plans you may have for Harry. As for you Stark,”
“Oh, am I allowed back in the conversation now,” Tony said, grinning at the dressing down Ross had just gotten, “I’m all ears,”
“Go home and ensure that Loki doesn’t go back on his word. I don’t want to have to deal with any intergalactic incidents from your baby daddy,” Fury ordered, looking over at Ross who appeared he have more to say.
The General opted to bite his tongue and took the out, giving Stark another prideful glare before leaving the meeting room. No matter what any of them thought, he was going to get his hands on that kid. It was bad enough when they got caught unprepared when Loki attacked with his aliens. Ross wasn’t going to let that happen when that dark wizard and his freaks came looking for Harry on his turf.
As Ross left, Tony let out the breath he had been holding. The men harbored no love for each other. After the entire fiasco that had been the accords and Ross’s general dislike for the fact that Tony had stopped making weapons for the military, the pair were always at odds. However, it had never been this level of personal before.
“You know…I just got him, Fury,” Tony spoke plainly with one of the few men he truly trusted, even if he never said it, “I just fought tooth and nail to not only get custody of Harry but fought off some evil ghost from a dagger for the same reason. I’m not going to let anyone take my kid. I don’t care if I have to wage unholy war, Ross can’t have him. Won’t have him,”
“And he won’t Stark. He’ll have to get through me before he even can lay a finger on Harry. That being said, I would appreciate it if you kept me up to date on both him and Loki,” Fury watched as Tony’s jovial nature turned into irritation in a moment, “Nothing too crazy. Just let us know if either one of them seems to be headed in a less-than-good direction. S.H.I.E.L.D and myself will help them, best we can,”
“I’m going to hold you to that Fury. I mean it. You keep your end of the deal and I’ll even add you to my Christmas list. I assume you take everything in black, so you’ll be easy to shop for,”
The two men went their separate ways, Tony letting his mind drift as he made for the elevators to the parking garage. He knew that bringing Harry home was going to make waves, he just didn’t think he’d draw the eye of Ross. The man was ruthless, still hounding him about getting vials of Banner’s blood. There was no telling what he would do with Harry’s, not that he was going to give him the chance.
“FRI, can you do me a favor? Access the files I have on the ‘Mini Me’ project. I want a full breakdown of possible configurations for a suit. It needs to be lightweight and easily concealable. I’m thinking of nanotech. See if you can convince Shuri to lend me some vibranium, off the record of course,”
“And what shall I name this project Boss,” FRIDAY asked in his ear
“Hmm. How about Iron Mage? I think that has a good ring to it,”
“-and next thing I know I’ve got this huge fang just sticking out of my arm,”
“What? No way,” Peter tossed some popcorn in his mouth as he watched Harry
“I still got the scar,” the other teen pulled up his shirt sleeve, revealing a long and shiny scar that ran a good distance down his arm, “The basilisk didn’t so much as bite me as slice me up. Merlin, did it hurt like hell though, and that’s before the venom kicked in,”
“Wait, there was venom,” Peter shouted.
The past few hours, the boys had been trading stories back and forth. It had started off as a joke, Harry trying to one-up Peter breaking his ankle while swinging with him losing the bones in his arm in quidditch. Next thing they knew, the two of them were rambling about those close calls and dangerous events that they’d been in,
“Yeah, lucky for me Fawkes, he’s a phoenix, came down and cried on it. Healed me right up. Though the arm still stings now and again,” Harry rubbed the scar slightly before pulling his sleeve back down, “Though the worst part was hearing it cry when it died. It was just doing what it was told, part of me still feels bad about it,”
“Yeah, I can imagine…wait. You knew what it said,” Peter fixed Harry with a look, “Could it speak English or something,”
“More like I speak snake. They are honestly pretty friendly. I used to have this one snake that hung around my shed, really big gossip,” Harry said with a straight face
“The fact I can’t tell if you are joking or not scares me,” Peter smiled, before stiffening slightly, his head tilted to the side, “Ah, I think that’s for you,”
“What’s for m-,” Before he could even finish, there was a knock at the door, “You and your freaky spider powers,”
“Says the boy who can talk to snakes. At least I don’t talk to spiders…I think,”
“Don’t recommend it if you do, the ones I’ve talked to were…a bit too bloodthirsty for my liking,”
Before Peter could ask for clarification, Happy Hogan opened the door, the man not bothering to knock.
“Hey, hate to tell you, but this isn’t supposed to be a slumber party. Tony wants you back home for family dinner,” the almost perpetually grumpy man groused
“But Mr. Stark can’t cook. I’ve seen him burn boiling water before,” Peter said
“If it makes you feel any better, he said Loki had the idea. Either way, Harry, time to head back to the Mansion. And Pete, stay out of trouble while you’re here. No chasing supervillains without letting us know,”
“I’ll try but I’m still-,”
“Yeah, friendly neighborhood wall-crawler. Just stick to unfriendly neighborhood purse-snatchers until you come back this weekend, got it,”
Peter rolled his eyes as Happy left the room, Harry chuckling slightly at the antics of it all,
“At least he means well. Most of the adults I know have a habit of pushing me into danger,” Harry stood from the bed at the same time Peter did
“Yeah, he does. I just can’t help it though. I see someone in trouble and I got to-,”
“Jump in and help them? Yeah, my friend Ron calls it my ‘people-saving thing’,”
“Nice to know I’m not the only teen who has one of those. Uh, anyway, probably don’t want to keep Happy waiting,”
Peter walked Harry over to the door out of his room, both boys not sure of what to do.
“Uh, see you later I guess,” Harry got out, trying to figure out if this was the moment you hug someone goodbye
“Yeah, I’ll be back at the Mansion this week, so see you then,” Peter was torn between the urge to hug Harry or just shake his hand
Merlin, you both are so useless. Either kiss him goodbye Harry or leave. The longer you stand here, the more embarrassing it gets.
With those words burning in his mind, Harry reached out to pat Peter on his shoulder before storming out, face a bright beacon of red.
“Good night Mrs. Parker, thank you for having me over,” Harry all but yelled as he bolted out the door Happy was holding open.
“It’s still May annnd he’s gone,” May looked over at Happy, “How long before they stop tripping over each other,” she asked the bodyguard
“Two awkward nerds that don’t have any understanding of social interaction? I will be surprised if they ever get to the hand-holding stage. By the way, still on for Thursday? Last chance to see Hamilton before it leaves,”
“Yes, yes. Now go, I’ve got my own embarrassed teen to console,” May whispered
“I can hear both of you perfectly fine you know,” Peter shouted before he shut the door to his room.
“Yeah,” Happy gave May a slim smile, “Think I’ll let Tony or Loki handle it from here. See you Thursday, May,”
By the time Happy was back in the car, Harry was nose-deep in his phone, the glare reflecting slightly off his glasses. Even in the low light of the car, he could tell that the young teen was still blushing.
“You know, Googling how to talk to boys isn’t going to help you in the least bit,” Happy said, his tone only slightly jovial, “Pretty sure you just have to figure it out,”
“I’m not searching that,” Harry hissed from the backseat, suddenly closing his phone, “I’m just…never mind,” he muttered, absently looking out of the window as the cityscape of New York flew by.
Having never been to a city before, thanks once again to the great upbringing he had with the Dursleys, Harry was in constant awe of just how bright and busy it all was. There was always something moving or gleaming. The noise, which he hated his first time going into the city with Tony, had grown on him slightly. He could understand how someone like Peter, who grew up among all the noise, could find it charming. The chaotic nature of it all seemed to soothe the part of his brain that constantly needed attention, lest he start going stir crazy.
This city…it is rather beautiful. I’ve never seen such a symphony of sound and color before.
‘Of course you haven’t. You’ve been in my head for who knows how long’ Harry thought back, pressing his head to the cool glass.
While you might be right, I still have…faint memories of cities like this. Perhaps they are just remnants of your dreams or fantasies.
‘Stay out of my fantasies, please. I don’t need you lurking about more than you already do
What else am I to do here? I do not get to conversate with the locket unless you are wearing it, leaving very little for me to entertain myself with. It feels like being trapped in our cupboard again. It is maddening.
“Our cupboard,” Harry whispered out loud, his eyes briefly flicking to see if Happy was paying attention. Thankfully the man was focused on grousing about New York drivers at the moment.
Yes. Our cupboard. I was stuck in there as much as you were, if not more so. Barely even a voice in the back of your developing mind. While I am thankful you are finally able to hear me, I will forever resent the years you ignored me. Leaving me to drift aimlessly among your subconscious. Were it not for that blasted magic from Black, I would be once again suppressed alongside the rest of your trauma.
‘I do not suppress my trauma’ the thought was all but growled in Harry’s mind, "I don’t even have trauma," he spoke out loud as he shifted a bit in his seat
‘Living with those Muggles you call family counts as trauma alone. Not to mention the multitude of life-threatening events that you have lived through. Hell, the past month of your life was just one traumatic event after another. You have to be aware that none of this is normal
Normal. The world tumbled around Harry’s mind as his double faded into the background, having said his fill.
Sure, his life wasn’t ideal, that was for sure. Traumatic though seemed like a bit of a stretch. Besides, he had seen what people were like dealing with trauma. They never seemed to shut up about it, at least from what he had seen on telly. No, there was very little chance that he had any trauma to speak of. Even if he did, he was still alive and functioning it wasn’t that big of a deal.
Harry Potter didn’t have trauma, not in the least bit.
Deny it all you will, Harry Potter, but at some point, it will come to a head. I, for one, would prefer you deal with it sooner than that.
As the voice went silent, returning once more to its section of his mind, Harry couldn't help but feel a spike of worry. Perhaps he would take May up on her offer, it would at least give him an excuse to see Peter again as well. Glancing back to his phone, he closed the tab on how to talk to boys and started texting Peter, seeing about setting up a time for him to speak with his Aunt.