Chapter 57
Tony was whistling to himself happily when Harry entered the living room the next morning. He hadn't said anything to anyone about the slight incident with Clint, and he planned on it staying that way.
"Morning kiddo!" Tony popped up from where he was rifling through a box.
"Morning dad," Harry smiled, walking over and perching himself on the arm of a recliner. "What're you up to?"
"Oh I just figured you'd want to see..." Tony grabbed something out of the large box, and held it up excitedly. "These!"
"The shirts came in!" Harry exclaimed, leaping up from his seat and positioning himself beside his dad.
"And just in time, too," chuckled Tony, shaking his head. "The bakery opens in four days. You gotta have uniforms!"
"They're not uniforms," Harry explained, exasperated. He'd been trying to explain to everyone for the past few weeks that the shirts he had ordered for himself and employees (and other members of the team who didn't want to be left out), weren't uniforms but were instead shirts that they could choose to wear to work. Harry didn't give a damn what his employees wore, as long as it was appropriate to face customers in.
"Okay, okay, I get it," Tony held up his hands with a laugh. "You're starting to take after me with that sass."
Harry smiled, growing warm with the statement. A few months ago, he may have faltered at the idea that maybe he was being too sassy and might get in trouble, but now, it was something that brought him closer to Tony. Something that made him feel like Tony's son.
"Let me see the back," Harry grinned, excited about seeing it.
The shirts were simple pocket-tees, and had a lily flower on the pocket in simple white print that stuck out against the periwinkle fabric. When Tony flipped the back around, however, Harry couldn't help but let out a breath of awe.
"I love it," he breathed. Steve had offered to make a design for the logo, and while Harry had helped express to him what he wanted, he had never seen the final design.
In the center was the logo hung on the large sign outside the bakery. The cursive letters swooped elegantly, but weren't so fancy that they remained illegible. The tail of the 'y' curved around and made a half circle that ended with a blossoming lily flower directly above the 'i', and there was a curve in the 'L' that also curved into a flower that directly faced the other.
"Friday, could you call Steve into the living room, if he isn't too busy, please?" Harry asked, wanting to thank Steve for his work.
"Mr. Rogers is on his way," Friday announced.
A few moments later, Steve appeared in the living room, only to find a blur racing toward him and enveloping him in a hug.
The action, that he soon realized had come from Harry, took him greatly by surprise, and he looked up at Tony who was smiling proudly at his son.
Carefully, mindful of Harry's still ever-healing body, he wrapped his arms around the kid.
"Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good hug, but what brought this on?" Steve chuckled, the laughter making his body bouncy slightly beneath Harry's embrace.
Harry pulled away, tears in his eyes. "The t-shirts for the bakery came in... thank you."
Steve's eyes crinkled at the edges as he placed a gentle hand on the teenager's shoulder. "Of course, pal, I'm glad you liked them."
"Liked them? He loved them! Who knew that Capsicle could draw like that?" Tony exclaimed, winking at Harry as he teased Steve.
"How'd they turn out?" Steve questioned, taking a few steps towards the box in the center of the room.
"Oh! I had one made special for you!" Harry cried excitedly, diving into the box and rifling through it's contents.
"Aha! Here it is!" He pulled out a huge t-shirt that was specifically for Steve's large stature.
Tony couldn't help himself, and burst out laughing. He walked over to where Harry was holding up the shirt, and positioned himself behind it jokingly.
"Look at how big this thing is!" He laughed. Steve rolled his eyes and snatched it away from Tony's joking. Everyone knew that the 'big' they were referring to, was not in weight. Though the soldier weighed over 200 pounds, it was all accounted for by height and muscle. The shirt, though huge when held up, would fit snuggly around Cap's body-- the way he seemed to like all of his t-shirts to fit.
"Are you getting excited about the opening?" Steve asked, grinning as he accepted the t-shirt.
" I'm excited, but also terrified. There's still so much to get done before Saturday!" Harry replied. "Speaking of which, I was originally coming out here to ask you if anyone could take me to the bakery later. I need to train some of Peter's friends, since they're helping out this weekend," Harry turned to Tony, suddenly becoming sheepish as he asked. He knew that his dad was busy, and he didn't really want to ask much more of him, especially since he had already spent so much time helping him out with the bakery over the past few weeks.
Tony frowned, desperately wanting to say yes to Harry, but knowing that Pepper would wring his neck if he missed that afternoon's board meeting.
"I'm so sorry, buddy. I wish I could, but there's a board meeting, and I really can't miss this one," Tony apologized, heart breaking as he watched Harry's face fall slightly.
"But hey, Bucky and I don't have anything later, and I'm sure we could get Nat and maybe Clint to tag along, if you're alright with the four of us," Steve offered, noticing how Harry was growing more tentative again. He had been making a lot of progress the past several weeks, and they were finally starting to see some of the kid's spunky personality, but sometimes the smallest things made him revert back to shy, submissive tendencies.
Harry offered a small, shy smile. "I'd like that."
"Then let us know a time, and we'll head over there, okay pal?" Steve's face slipped into a comfortable smile, one side of his face crinkling with a lopsided, closed-mouth grin.
"Thanks Steve. And thank you again for the design... it's everything I could have hoped for, and more," Harry gave him another, smaller and more tentative, hug.
"And I'll see you tonight, after your meeting?" He turned to his dad, looking hopeful.
"Absolutely. I'll have Friday let you know as soon as I get back, capiche?"
Harry nodded with a little giggle, giving his dad a quick hug and levitating the box of shirts.
"Love you dad. See you in a bit, Steve!" Harry cried, taking off down the hall and toward presumably Natasha's room where he knew he could find both S.H.I.E.L.D agents to show them the shirts. The heavy box of shirts floated lazily off behind him.
Steve shook his head with a deep laugh as he watched the teenager disappear.
"Yeah, I still don't think I'll ever get used to that."