Chapter 63
Harry was writing some last minute recipes on to notecards when he heard a knock at the door. Glancing up, he saw his dad in the doorway holding a mug of cocoa.
"Hey," Tony grinned when his son set down the pen and greeted him with a smile. "How's it going?"
"I think I'm almost finished," Harry replied, glancing down at the mess that he had created before him. Different notecards were strewed all across the desk, and he fleetingly wondered if he should consider typing them so that they were more legible.
Tony made his way over to the desk and, at glancing over Harry's shoulder, let out a low whistle.
"You've really been busy," he observed, setting down the mug of cocoa carefully, trying not to slosh the mug's hot contents.
"I just want to make sure everything is perfect," Harry sighed, turning and looking up at his dad with big, green eyes.
"Come here kiddo," Tony helped pull Harry out of his seat carefully, and wrapped him up in his arms. "Everything is going to be perfect, because you've poured your heart and soul into this place. When I became your investor, it wasn't just because you were my kid. It was because I knew that you had a special talent and that you would love to share it with others. Is that still the case?"
"Yeah, I really enjoy it," Harry responded, smiling as his dad pulled him back so that he was standing at an arm's length away.
"Then everything is going to be perfect because you love what you're doing, and you're having fun doing it."
Harry's eyes pricked with tears, and he quickly blinked them away. For what felt like the millionth time in the past few days, Harry was overwhelmed with an incredibly lucky feeling. He couldn't believe that Tony was his dad, Pepper was his mom, and the rest of the team was his family. He had Peter, and new friends from the bakery. It was something that he never could have ever imagined for himself.
"Thank you dad," Harry buried his face into Tony's chest as he gave him another hug. He inhaled the smell of coffee and soft scent of motor oil that permeated the faded Black Sabbath shirt. On anyone else, the smell would have been strange and off-putting, but on Tony, it smelled like home.
Beside his face, the arc reactor emitted a dull shine through the thin t-shirt, and Harry realized he had never asked what it was, or asked any questions. In the past, he had felt that if something wasn't directly told to him, it wasn't his business to ask any more questions. Now, he felt as though he could be inquisitive without coming across as rude or nosy. Now, he had a family that was patient and kind.
"Hey dad?" Harry began tentatively, pulling back from Tony who gave him an encouraging nod, eyebrows raised and ready to hear the question.
"Can I... I was just wondering if I could ask...?" Harry trailed off, not sure how to phrase what he wanted to say.
"Sure, kiddo, you can ask me anything," Tony said seriously, before tacking on a joke to the end of the sentence. "But you may or may not get an answer."
This helped break up the tension that was forming in the room as Harry smiled. Stepping around his son, Tony took a seat on the edge of the bed and patted the comforter to indicate that Harry should sit down beside him.
Carefully, Harry took a seat as well before continuing on. He placed his hand gently over the arc reactor, and looked up to meet Tony's eyes.
"What happened?" His voice was barely above a whisper, and he chastised himself for asking. Maybe there was a reason that nobody had ever told him. Maybe Tony didn't want to talk about it, or he was born this way and hated when people asked him, or-
"So about 10, almost 11, years ago, I was sent to Afghanistan on a work trip. Back then, the company still sold weapons and war technology, and I was there to pitch the idea for a new missile to aid the U.S military. While I was there, our vehicle got ambushed, and I was kidnapped. I was hurt pretty badly-- had several pieces of shrapnel lodged in my heart. When I woke up, there was this... contraption in my chest, made out of an electromagnet and a car battery."
Harry's eyes were wide as he listened. How could he have no idea about what had happened to his dad? Especially when what had happened sounded so... scary?
"I was being held captive. They called me a mass murdered, because my company's weapons were responsible for so many deaths. They wanted for me to build them the Jericho, to retaliate, and at first... I refused."
Harry held his breath, knowing that the outcome wouldn't be good.
"They tortured me. Held my head underwater, beat me with both their fists and any other objects they could find. Finally, I broke and said I would do it. But, that's when I had drawn up my first blueprint for the Iron Man suit. I told them I needed the materials for the Jericho missile, but I was really building the suit along with it."
Tony searched Harry's face, deciding that he didn't need all the gory details of what happened next.
"I ended up escaping. It wasn't pretty, or the perfect escape that I had been hoping for, but it got me to a point where I was rescued safely. They brought me home, acting as though I deserved this 'hero's welcome' but I realized that I didn't want to be building weapons anymore. I saw all of the damage that they did. I wanted to shift the focus of the company, and that's exactly what I did. I announced my identity as Iron Man, made a better arc reactor for myself, and the rest is history."
"Don't forget the part where you poisoned yourself in the process," Pepper spoke from her spot in the doorway, arms crossed but wearing a kind smile.
"You poisoned yourself?" Harry exclaimed with eyes wide.
"It was minor," Tony waved the statement away, and from behind him, Harry could see Pepper shaking her head no, indicating that it was not 'minor'.
"You're okay now, though, right?" Harry's eyes were filled with concern, and Tony couldn't help but put his hand on his son's shoulder reassuringly.
"I'm fine now, I promise. Both the reactor and I are in tip top shape, and plan to stay that way for a long time."
Harry wrapped his arms around his dad, enjoying the embrace and once again finding comfort in the soft light that was being emitted from his chest.
"Thank you for telling me," Harry murmured into his dad's chest. Tony turned and glanced at Pepper, who seemed to understand that the two wanted some more time alone, because she stepped in and placed a soft kiss to both of their heads before disappearing once more.
"Harry," Tony's voice was soft, and at the use of his actual name, Harry glanced up.
"I've dealt with the nightmares. I've dealt with the PTSD- hell, I still am dealing with it. But that's okay, and it's normal. I know that you worry about seeming 'broken' and 'fragile' because of it, but you're not. Because look at the things that I've survived. Look at what Bucky has survived, and Steve. We all struggle sometimes, because of our pasts, but that doesn't mean we're weak. It doesn't mean that we aren't strong. I've felt the same things, kiddo, and I know how it feels to have those thoughts. But you're stronger than you know, and I just wanted to reiterate that."
Tony wasn't surprised when he felt Harry's arms thrown around him again, the front of his shirt growing wet with tears. He just pulled his son close, and kissed the top of his head.
"I love you buddy," he whispered.
"I love you too, dad," Harry responded, head still buried in Tony's shoulder.
"Now," Tony pulled him away at arms length. "You'd better get some good sleep-- you've got a big day tomorrow."
Harry grinned through the lingering tears, thinking about the opening day once more.
"I can't wait."