Chapter 47
"Oh boy. Tony has another surprise, lord help us all," Natasha chuckled, entering the kitchen. She surveyed the growing group of people, eyes landed coldly on Loki.
Ever since Loki had met Harry, Natasha and Clint had tried desperately to be accepting and mild-mannered towards the god of mischief. However, sometimes it was a bit difficult to separate the good from the bad, especially when they both remembered how vividly Clint was affected by the mind-controlling incident.
"What's that supposed to mean? I'll have you know, that my surprises are overwhelmingly good... most of the time," Tony countered, pointing his finger at the smirking female agent. Rolling his eyes, he lowered his hand and dramatically leaned against the counter in mock-exasperation.
"In my experience, most of his surprises have been good," Harry chuckled. "But I've heard stories of the ones that... well, at least he had good intentions."
This made everyone, including Tony, laugh. Everyone gave Tony a hard time about his extravagance, but nobody meant anything bad by it.
"Believe it or not, Tony has actually become a bit more... tame, when it comes to his surprises," Pepper declared as she entered the kitchen and walked over to give Tony a kiss. Unlike her fiancé, she had been up for hours, and had already completed one board meeting for the day.
"This is true. At least I'm not buying giant stuffed bears anymore," Tony laughed.
"Um, it was a bunny. Much less charming," Pepper teased, giving Tony's nose a small, loving touch.
Tony nodded, remembering now.
"That was a long time ago," he stated wistfully. He looked lovingly into Pepper's eyes with a warm smile, and kissed her forehead.
"You Midgardians are so open with your displays of affection," Thor declared, loud voice echoing through the room.
"It is disgusting," Loki wrinkled his nose.
"I disagree, brother, I find it quite adorable," Thor said with a broad grin, before turning to Harry. "In Asgard, such public displays of affection are frowned upon. It is quite sad."
"It is not. It makes people uncomfortable, which is why we strongly frown upon it," Loki rolled his eyes.
"I think we can all agree to disagree on this one," Steve commented, attempting to mediate. He knew everyone that lived in the Tower teased one another about showing physical affection in front of one another, but nobody really cared. As long as you kept the large displays of affection private, small ones were accepted everywhere else.
"So when is said surprise arriving?" Natasha asked, clearing her throat.
"It should be arriving at any time," Tony replied, looking at his watch.
"I can confirm that the 'surprise' has arrived and is currently being delivered downstairs," Friday chimed in.
Tony's face lit up, and he stood up straight. "I believe that is my cue. I will be right back with it."
He gave everyone a mischievous grin before bolting towards the elevator.
"What on earth does he have planned?" Bucky shook his head with a small chuckle.
"Believe me when I say, it's good, and very Tony," Pepper replied with a laugh.
"I am excited to see what the man of iron deems as a good surprise," Thor declared heartily.
Harry shifted his weight from foot to foot. In all of this excitement, he couldn't help but be a bit sad. He wished Peter were here to share the surprise, but he wasn't due to get back from the Mathlete's competition until later this afternoon.
A warm embrace encircled him, and Harry instinctively leaned into the comforting feel of Loki's magic. When he had first met the man, he would have guessed his magic to be cold and hard, not warm and inviting. But now, he knew the god's kind and compassionate side- one that was not exposed to many people.
In a way, the god of mischief reminded him of Professor Snape, after he had learned the truth about the professor. His actions and his mannerisms may be cold and calculating, and not always the kindest, but his intentions weren't harmful. He may have made some poor choices, and hurt some people that he hadn't meant to, but he realized his mistakes and he was trying to fix them.
Harry turned to Loki and mouthed a 'thank you'. He hadn't realized how anxious he had been until he felt the god's magic comforting him. It was as if the anxiety had been sucked out of him, leaving him feeling comfortable and warm inside.
"Is there a party going on in here?" Bruce chuckled, coming down the hall and into the living room- kitchen area. Even with the penthouse's enormous size, with so many (large and muscly) bodies, the room seemed to fill up quickly.
"Tony had a surprise for Harry, and we all just sort of ended up here," Natasha shrugged, popping a grape- when did she get those?- into her mouth.
"Sounds like a normal Sunday morning," Bruce nodded, stealing a grape from Natasha's magically appearing handful. She half-heartedly swatted at his hand, but allowed him to steal one anyway.
"Is Clint the only one still sleeping?" Harry laughed, looking at the time. While it was later than normal, the spy had been up latest last night with excitement during the celebrating. Even still, Harry couldn't imagine how he was sleeping through all of the commotion that was in the kitchen right now.
All of a sudden, the elevator dinged and the room grew quiet, watching the red arrow light up, before going dark again. The elevator doors opened to reveal-
"Surprise!" Peter exclaimed, stepping out of the elevator, a bright red leash in his hand. At his side was a beautiful, fully grown, golden retriever.
The room exploded with noise and excitement, and Harry quickly made his way across the kitchen and into the living room to where Peter and the dog stood.
He gave Peter a quick hug and kiss, before kneeling down and petting the dog. Behind Peter, Tony exited the elevator, a big grin on his face.
"How did you-?" Harry looked from the dog, who was thoroughly enjoying the ear rub he was giving her, to Tony.
"I had Peter collected from his hotel this morning, instead of waiting for the bus to come and get them and drive him home. And this is Lucy. She's a fully trained service dog, and she's yours."
Harry's mouth dropped open. He looked back at the adorable dog, who seemed to be smiling at him, tail wagging, and he let out an excited laugh.
"She's mine?" He asked finally, collecting his thoughts.
"Trained for your needs, and searching for a loving companion," Tony replied, grinning proudly. He mentally patted himself on the back for this one. It had been a lengthy process, but he was excited that his kid got someone else to love him just as much as he loved everyone else.
"I love her!" Harry pressed his forehead against Lucy's and inhaled the sweet smelling scent of her shampoo. Her gorgeous, freshly groomed coat gleamed, and her tail was swishing back and forth at Mach speeds.
Behind them, Clint entered the room, rubbing his eyes with a yawn. Stopping when he heard all the commotion, he squinted and took in the sights.
"What is going on in he- OH MY GOD, WE GOT A PUPPY?"
Everyone laughed as Clint bolted over to where Peter, Harry and Tony all were. Almost immediately, the archer began baby talking to Lucy, which earned him even more laughter. Harry stood up, and threw his arms around Peter once more, before taking a step back and looking at his dad.
"Was this an adequate surprise?" Tony smirked, eyes crinkling at the edges.
Harry took a few steps towards his dad and threw his arms around him, wrapping him in a tight hug.
"Thank you," he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut and tightening his grip on his dad's shirt.
Tony, returning the hug, gave him a gentle pat on the back.
"You're welcome buddy. You're welcome."