Chapter 8
Harry nodded as the elevator doors dinged and opened up, revealing a huge living area. Standing in the middle of the open kitchen and living room was the entire team, a 'welcome home Harry' banner hanging from the ceilings. Balloons were tied to the backs of the barstools along the island in the center of the kitchen, and Pepper had made cupcakes which were perched upon the marble countertop.
"Welcome home kid."
And for the first time ever, Harry felt as if he was actually home.
*
"You... you did all of this for me?" Harry asked quietly, looking up to look at Tony who was standing over him.
"Of course kid, you're part of the family now," Tony replied, shrugging it off as if it was no big deal. But to Harry, it was a big deal. Nobody had ever celebrated his birthday-- sure, he had gotten cards and simple gifts from some friends at Hogwarts, but usually they were intercepted by the Dursley's and destroyed.
"You didn't have to go through all this trouble..." Harry began, feeling guilty. This must have taken them a few hours to prepare for, and he knew that everyone here had more important things to do than to plan a welcome home party for him, someone they barely knew.
"Please," Tony waved his hand at Harry's statement, "Pepper had a blast putting all of this together. Now let's go!"
He pushed Harry's wheelchair towards where everyone was gathered around.
"Can I get you anything to drink Harry?" Pepper asked, fluttering around the kitchen excitedly. Tony chuckled, thinking of how different Pepper was acting now versus how she did at work. It was like Pepper Potts at work was a completely different person than Pepper Potts at home.
"I'm alright, thank you," Harry responded quietly.
"He'll take a water," Bruce told Pepper, who began fixing Harry a glass of water. "Need to stay hydrated."
"I- I can get it myself, it's okay," Harry answered quickly.
"Oh don't be silly. This is your party, you just sit and relax," Pepper said, placing a glass of ice water in front of Harry.
Harry's hands began to shake, partially because of the nerve damage he had suffered, but partially because of panic. Everyone was here, watching him and treating him like part of the family, but he wondered if it was because they were trying to guilt him into doing something he didn't want to do. They didn't seem like the type of people to do something like that, but then again, neither did some of the men that Vernon had loaned him out to.
"Harry?" Clint asked, taking a swig out of a beer bottle, Natasha glaring at him enviously.
"I'm sorry," Harry blurted, habit taking over. Everyone went silent for a moment, looking down at their drinks. But Steve kept his eyes on Harry.
"I was just asking what you decided to watch tonight?" Steve repeated patiently. His voice was soft, as not to startle the quivering boy anymore.
"Oh, um, the Titanic sir," Harry mumbled.
"Harry, please call me Steve," he sighed.
"I'm sorry, it wont happen again si- Steve," Harry quickly corrected.
"So how about we start the movie?" Natasha asked in attempt to change the subject. "First person to cry has dinner duties for a week."
"You're on Romanoff," Clint snorted. "It's a movie, how bad can it be?"
*
"It's a movie, how bad can it be?" Natasha mimicked, teasing the sobbing Clint.
"Leave me alone!" Clint cried, throwing the blanket over his head to hide from everyone.
"Whatever you say, but you've got dinner duties for the rest of the week," Natasha chuckled.
"Yeah, but unfortunately I'm not sure who that's a bigger punishment for- him, or us," remarked Steve, and the rest of the team nodded, turning a slight shade of green at the thought.
"I'll have you know that I happen to make a great..." Clint paused, making everyone chuckle. "Sorry, I've got nothing. I'm a God awful cook."
Harry sat on the floor, his heavily bandaged back resting against the cool leather of the couch. He had insisted on sitting on the floor, despite everyone's protests, claiming that he was tired of cushion from beds, chairs and couches. But it was really because he had always been taught he was just filth, and he didn't deserve to sit on the couch, or have a bed, or even a blanket. The only reason he had a pillow was because he stole it out of the trash and smuggled it inside without his aunt or uncle noticing.
"How are you feeling Harry?" Bruce asked, turning to the kid who was sitting on the floor, leaning against the loveseat where Pepper and Tony were cuddled up underneath a blanket.
"M'tired," Harry responded through a yawn. He shifted his casted leg that was propped up on a pillow, and looked towards his wheelchair.
"Would you like me to help you get to your room?" Tony asked as Pepper sat up to let him stand. Harry nodded wordlessly, reaching his good hand up to grab Tony's extended arm. Slowly and gently, Tony helped Harry to his feet (or one good foot) and into the wheelchair that Steve had pushed over to them.
"Thank you," Harry murmured, slightly out of breath. It was frustrating to him how tired he got doing the simplest of things. Bruce assured him that it was just because most of his energy was working towards helping him heal, but even still, Harry was exhausted all the time.
"No problem," Tony replied, trying to make sure Harry realized that it really was no problem. "Let's go get you into bed."
Saying goodnights to everyone, Tony wheeled Harry out of the living room and down the hall.
"This one is your room," Tony stated, stopping in front of a closed door. He reached out and turned the doorknob, pushing open the door.
"Here you are," Tony announced, pushing Harry into the room.
"This- This is mine?" Harry asked, looking around the room in awe. There was a king-sized bed adjacent to one of the walls. The wall furthest from where they were standing was made entirely out of glass with a view that overlooked the entire city. There was a dresser in another corner of the room, as well as a small sitting area in front of an electric fireplace. A large flat screen hung on the wall across from Harry's bed.
"Yup," Tony replied, wheeling Harry through the room. "Through here is the bathroom, and the door in there leads into the closet. It's kind of empty right now because Pepper didn't know what all you like to wear, but as soon as you're feeling better we can go shopping and show you the city. Until then, you'll have to settle for online shopping."
"I- I can't accept this," Harry stuttered, looking around the massive room that could have easily fit the Dursley's living room and kitchen in it. "It's too much."
"Harry, I insist. You're part of the family now, and that means you are going to be treated like family. Besides, this is actually the smallest room in the penthouse," Tony chuckled. "Now, let me help you into bed. Bruce said that your leg is healing surprisingly fast, so hopefully you only have this big bulky cast for another week or so before you get to switch to a boot. Until then, you have the pleasure of being waited on hand and foot... literally."
Tony laughed at his own joke. Harry managed to crack a small smile to please the man, but inside he could not feel less like smiling.
There was absolutely no way he was going to be able to sleep in such a large room. While he had hated his cupboard, the small space had always felt cozy and inviting after a bad day. This room felt empty and cold.
"I know it feels a bit barren and uninviting at the time being, but Pepper is looking forward to helping you decorate. I think that once we get a little bit of Harry up in here, it will feel a lot more like your own," Tony said softly, as if he could read Harry's mind.
"Thank you Tony," Harry said as Tony helped him get into the bed.
"Goodnight kid," Tony replied with a gentle smile as he tucked Harry into the bed. "Sleep well."
*
Tony awoke in a panic at 2:48 a.m to Jarvis' voice.
Next to him, Pepper stirred for a moment before sitting up and looking around groggily.
"Sir, it appears that Harry is in emotional distress," Jarvis spoke.
"What?" Tony cried, popping out of bed hurriedly. "Jarvis, is he okay?"
"He requested I not tell you, but his heartrate and blood pressure rose so I was required to notify you," Jarvis responded.
"Shit," Tony cried, racing out of the room and down the stairs to Harry's room.
"Harry!" Tony exclaimed, knocking softly on Harry's closed door as not to startle the kid. "Harry, I'm coming in!"
Opening the door, Tony spotted Harry's empty bed. Frantically looking around, Tony finally spotted Harry, lying on the floor a few feet away from the bed. The small boy was curled up in a fetal position, sobbing into his knees.
Tony flew to his side, cradling him in his arms, despite how bad Harry flinched when he made initial contact.
"Shh, I've got you," Tony coddled, rocking Harry back and forth soothingly.
Normally, Harry would have hated being so close to someone else, especially a man. But something about being pressed against Tony's shirtless chest felt safe.
As the panic attack began to subside, Harry focused on the soft glow of the metal in Tony's chest. He wasn't sure what it was or why it was there, but he trusted the man, and had been a part of the wizarding world long enough to know that often times, some questions were better left unanswered.
"Are you okay? What happened?" Tony fussed, running his hands through the kid's unruly hair once Harry's breathing returned to a semi-normal speed. He was still shaking like a leaf, but the color had returned to his face.
"M'okay," Harry grumbled breathlessly. "Sorry I scared you. I told Jarvis not to wake you."
"I'm glad he woke me," Tony responded firmly. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine. I just tripped," Harry replied quietly, making sure to leave out the real reason he had gotten up.
He hadn't been able to sleep in the large bed, and every time he closed his eyes, he saw Uncle Vernon's daunting figure standing above him. Freaked out and beginning to feel constricted by the large, empty room, he had decided sleeping in the closet might make him feel more comfortable.
"Harry, you could have asked for help, you didn't have to try to go by yourself," Tony said, pinching the bridge of his nose to relieve the pressure building.
"I didn't want to wake anyone," Harry shrugged, letting Tony remain under the impression that he had just needed to go to the bathroom.
"I suppose this was a stupid idea," Tony said after a moment, thinking about how Harry wasn't able to move anywhere on his own. "We put you in your own room without anyone to help you. You could have really hurt yourself when you fell, and nobody would have known until Jarvis notified us."
Harry remained quiet, letting Tony think out loud.
"What's going on?" Steve mumbled from where he was standing in the doorway, rubbing his eyes. He was wearing a light blue sleep shirt and a pair of old pajama pants with Cookie Monster on them. Everyone in the Tower teased him for those pants, but he found them to be very comfortable.
"Everyone okay?" Steve asked, a bit more awake now. He took in the scene- Harry cradled against Tony's chest, no glasses or wheelchair, and Tony looking very concerned and disheveled. It didn't take a genius to put together what had happened.
"Whoa, Harry," Steve said, hurrying to the boy's side. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Harry replied. "I just didn't have my glasses on and I tripped while trying to hop to the bathroom."
Tony frowned. Something about Harry's story didn't sound right. He had just needed to go to the bathroom, but Jarvis alerted Tony because Harry was in emotional distress, not because he had fallen. Harry was lying somehow, but he wasn't sure about what, and he knew that Harry wasn't in the right place to answer questions about it.
Steve gave Tony a knowing look that signaled that he was thinking the same thing. Together, they wordlessly helped Harry use the restroom and get back into bed.
"Goodnight," Steve said after he made sure Harry was comfortable. He gave a half-hearted wave to Tony and left the room with a yawn.
"Need anything else?" Tony asked as he finished tucking Harry back in.
"I'm okay, thank you," Harry replied, still feeling guilty for making Tony wake up in a panic.
"Alright... well, goodnight," Tony lingered, messing with something on the bedside table for a moment. He was about ready to walk out of the room when he heard Harry whimper.
"Wait."
The whisper was so quiet that it almost wasn't there. But Tony heard it. He turned around and looked at Harry, who was staring at him with wet, green eyes.
"Actually, Pepper is snoring, so I'm going to stay down here for the night, if that's alright with you," Tony grinned, his white teeth bright in the dark room.
Harry nodded against the pillow. Tony wasn't supposed to hear him, but deep down, a part of him was glad that he had.
"I'm going to sleep in the recliner over here," Tony nodded towards the sitting area. Quickly, he pulled a blanket out of a basket at the foot of Harry's bed, and walked over to the recliner.
"Goodnight Harry," he whispered.
"Goodnight Tony," Harry responded, eyes fluttering shut.
And for the first time since Harry could remember, he slept through the rest of the night without the interruption of any haunting nightmares.
And for the first time since Tony had met Harry, he was able to sleep without worrying about how the kid was doing.
They both just slept.