Chapter 70
"I'm telling you, for the last time, 'Jingle Bells' is a winter song, not a Christmas song," Clint argued, exasperatedly, using his emphatic state to send a ping-pong ball flying across the room.
"And I'm saying that it's only played at Christmas time, same as 'Let it Snow,'" Natasha countered, retrieving the ball that had bounced across the floor, catching Lucy's attention.
Harry lounged on the couch, watching the duo's back and forth, though he couldn't decide if the game of ping-pong or the conversation was more interesting to follow.
"I think I have to agree with Natasha on this one," Bruce interjected, looking up from his book that he had been reading peacefully, despite the loud banter in the background. "Neither of them reference Christmas at all, but they're only played at Christmas time and not after."
Clint huffed at he hit the ball across the table, and Harry stifled a laugh at the archer's obvious pouting.
"You think it's funny?" Clint squinted at Harry when he was unable to contain his snickering. "What is your take on all of it?"
"I'm staying out of this," Harry held up his hands in surrender, shaking his head as he laughed. Natasha took advantage of Clint's distractedness, and sent the ball sailing past him. Steve, who had been curled up with a sketch book resting on the arm of the couch, reached out and grabbed the ball effortlessly before it hit Bucky, who was laying with his head in Steve's lap, halfway to a nap.
Tony strode into the room, his hand intertwined with Pepper's.
"What's all this arguing about?" He asked, taking a seat on the couch beside Harry, making sure to reach down and give Lucy some love before pulling Pepper down into his lap.
"Is Jingle Bells a winter song or a Christmas song?" Clint exclaimed. The veins in his forehead seemed to be bulging, and he was looking at Tony with such intensity that Harry thought he might make Tony's head explode.
"Winter song, obviously," Tony said, and Clint pumped both fists in the air, looking around the room triumphantly. Harry glanced at his dad, who just turned and winked at him. Natasha just rolled her eyes, and took the opportunity to score another point while Clint was boasting.
Harry's phone buzzed and he glanced at the screen, seeing Peter's name pop up.
Peter: At the Tower. Where are you guys at?
Harry began typing, glancing up at Clint let out a whoop of joy at scoring a point that Natasha had evidently let him score.
Harry: In the lounge downstairs. Nat is beating Clint at ping-pong. Bad.
Three dots appeared, and a moment later, Peter's next message appeared.
Peter: Well I have to come watch that. Be right down.
Harry smiled and clicked his phone off, setting it on the table and reaching down to stroke Lucy's soft fur. She had just gotten a bath, and her fur seemed even softer than normal and Harry found himself unable to resist running his hands through it at all times.
The elevator doors dinged, and Peter appeared, warranting a half-hearted greeting from both Natasha and Clint who were wired into the match.
"Hey Pete, how's it going?" Tony smiled as his mentee walked in. Between the holidays and finals week, Peter's presence had been abnormally scarce in the Tower. The team had grown accustomed to him spending the afternoons with them either in the Penthouse or at the bakery, but life had been in the way over the past few weeks, limiting his time with Harry and the Avengers.
"Everything's going pretty well," Peter answered with a smile, walking over to the couch and pecking Harry on the cheek before taking a seat beside him.
Bucky lifted his head, half asleep.
"Hey Pete," he mumbled, before laying his head back down on Steve's lap. Steve looked down at him fondly, a small smile across his face. From here, Harry could see a bit of the sketch that Steve was working on, and he could tell that it was a drawing of Bucky in his old military uniform.
"I missed you," Harry mumbled to Peter as he shifted his weight so that he was leaning into Peter.
"I missed you too," Peter responded quietly, interrupted by loud cursing coming from Clint. Natasha looked almost bored at this point, and Harry wondered how Clint could be failing so miserably while having reflexes that seemed to be 5 times faster than the average person.
"Do you two have any plans tonight?" Pepper asked, rising to her feet and walking over to a mini-fridge to grab a bottle of water.
"I was actually going to ask if it was alright if we went to Rockefeller plaza tonight, to see the tree and the lights, and maybe go ice skating," Peter addressed Tony and Pepper, then looking to Harry. "If you want to, that is."
Harry smiled. He hadn't ventured out of the Tower much, other than to go visit Jacob and Newt, Peter's apartment, and the bakery. But he had watched the tree lighting ceremony on TV with Tony (who had offered to take him, but it had been a cold day that had made Harry's body ache), and he thought the Plaza looked beautiful.
"I think that would be fun. Today's a good day, and I feel surprisingly great," Harry smiled, looking between Peter and his parents.
"That's a great idea," Tony smiled, looking at Pepper who was wearing a small frown. He could tell that she wasn't as open to the idea, out of worry for the safety of both of her boys.
"How about, and I'm just spitballin' here, Pepper and I tag along? We won't embarrass you, and we'll keep out distance so we're not embarrassing you-" Peter and Harry both rolled their eyes, "-but I think it's been too long since I've taken my fiancé out on a date. Whatdya say Pep?"
It was Pepper's turn to roll her eyes, but she smiled. "I think that sounds like a nice night."
"Do you think it'll be really busy, three days until Christmas?" Peter asked, a bit wary. He didn't want to make Harry uncomfortable in a large crowd.
He had gotten used to the rush at the bakery, but the plaza was different. It was a lot of people, and it could be loud and crazy, much like the rest of the city.
"Probably a bit, but I think most people will probably go either tomorrow or on Christmas," Tony replied.
"You might have to bust out the disguises," Bruce teased.
"You guys have disguises?" Harry questioned, looking around with an inquisitive look.
Bruce dropped his head and began chuckling to himself.
"What's wrong with the disguises?" Steve asked, a look of profound confusion on his face.
"A baseball cap and glasses isn't a good disguise," Bruce tried to explain, but at the further confusion on Steve's face, his laughing continued.
From the ping pong table, a loud expletive rang out and Clint began signing furiously at Natasha, who was wearing a smug grin on her face. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could have sworn he saw Steve start to say something, only to be hushed by Bucky.
"So what do you say? Think you'd be too embarrassed to have us 'old folks' tagging along?" Tony redirected the conversation, pointing the question back at Harry and Peter.
"I guess, if we have to," Harry nudged Peter and winked, and Peter played along with his teasing.
"I suppose. Otherwise, it's considered, like, elder abuse or something, right?" Peter added, a sly grin spreading across his face.
Tony stood there gaping like a fish out of water, for once at a loss for words. Finally, he spoke, "oh that's just low."
"Just like you'll be when you fall and break your hip while ice skating," Peter quipped. Tony turned to Pepper, but he could only manage to point at Peter as if silently saying 'did you hear what he said to me?'
The whole interaction had tears springing to Harry's eyes as he laughed. He glanced around the room to find everyone else watching the interaction as well.
Tony finally clapped his hands together and rose to his feet, eyes crinkled to create deep laugh lines around his eyes.
"Harry," Tony began, "I've got to steal Peter away for about a few hours to make some adjustments to his suit, but how about you meet us in the living room at 6 and we'll head out?"
Harry nodded, giving Peter a small squeeze before releasing him from the embrace that they had been tangled in.
"Make sure you bundle up," Pepper warned in a mothering tone. "It's cold out, and it'll only be worse on the ice."
"Okay," Harry gave her a grateful smile. He knew that some kids his age, like Ron, may have found the overbearing nature of their mother's worrying to be annoying, but Harry liked it. Mrs. Weasley had been like a mother to him, and Professor McGonagall like a grandmother, but Pepper was the first woman that he ever considered to be his mom, for as long as he could remember.
"Maybe I can con Steve or Bruce out of one of their sweaters," Harry grinned, looking at the two Avengers who just shook their heads at him.
"Just make sure you don't steal the purple one, I'm planning on wearing that later on a date with Caroline," Bruce piped up, causing everyone to turn and look at him.
"Ha!" Clint exclaimed, jumping up and down. "I told you! I knew that they were dating!"
"Clint, not trying to be rude here buddy, but I think everyone already knew," Tony made his way over to Bruce and gave his shoulder a friendly squeeze.
"You guys knew?" Bruce looked around, bewildered.
"It's kind of our job to figure things out," Natasha shrugged before turning to Clint. "Which is why it's so pathetic that he's overjoyed. I swear, I don't know how you've made it this long in the military and working for S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Have fun on your date, Bruce," Pepper wished him before making her way over to Harry and giving him a small kiss on the forehead and exiting the room. Tony and Peter followed shortly behind.
Harry yawned, a sudden feeling of sleepiness coming over him.
"I think I'm going to go take a short nap," he rose to his feet. Bucky and Steve smiled and him and waved from their place together on the couch, and Bruce glanced up from his book that he had resumed reading and gave him a small smile as well. Clint and Natasha had gone back to their intense round of ping pong, and gave small acknowledgements of his departure.
It was chaos, but it was beautiful and comfortable, and Harry knew he wouldn't have it any other way.
*
Harry stirred, the blankets that were covering him warm and too cozy to move out of. He cracked his eyes open and looked out the windows to where the sun was setting.
Winter had always been one of his favorite seasons, but he hated how early the sun went down. There was something disconcerting about going to sleep when the sun was up and waking up an hour later to darkness outside.
Glancing at the time on the bedside alarm clock, Harry forced himself out of bed and made his way to his closet. He knew that it was cold outside, but he couldn't decide what to wear. He wanted to look nice for Peter, but he knew that dressing up wasn't always the most practical for the cold.
His eyes landed on the sweater that Cedric had given him. It was by far his warmest and favorite sweater, but it didn't feel right to wear it on a date with Peter. He knew that his boyfriend didn't care-- on the contrary, he loved hearing about Cedric. But it felt too personal, too fresh.
He couldn't.
Harry was so lost in thought that he hadn't heard Steve knock at the door of his bedroom. Suddenly, the Captain's deep voice filled the room, startling Harry so badly that he found himself scrambling into the corner of the closet in an attempt to make himself as small as possible and hide from the source of the loud noise.
"Oh...shit, Harry I'm sorry," Steve cursed, his voice soft. "I thought you would have heard me knock, but... are you okay? I'm really sorry."
Harry's heart was pounding in his chest as he realized what had just happened. His cheeks flushed as the embarrassment of his reaction set in.
Sheepishly, he uncurled himself and stood up, but he didn't make an effort to move towards Steve.
"I just brought you a sweater that doesn't fit me anymore and I thought you'd like. It's warm, and I thought you might want to wear it this evening? You don't have to, if you don't want to, though," Steve rambled, uncharacteristically unconfident. The man usually oozed confidence and charisma, and here he was, standing timidly in the doorway of the walk-in closet.
"Thank you," Harry stepped forward as he finally spoke, accepting the sweater from Steve. It was a very nice sweater, and Harry knew that he had solved the problem of what to wear for that evening. "I'm sorry. I didn't hear you and I just..."
Harry trailed off, taking a deep breath. It felt stupid to still be frightened after months of normal life. He still found himself looking over his shoulder and waking up every night with nightmares of his time at the Dursley's.
"It's just sometimes I forget that he's gone. I forget that he can't still find me and use me again," Harry admitted, knowing that it was best to just say how he was feeling instead of keeping it bottled up.
Steve's brows furrowed sympathetically, but he placed a gentle hand on Harry's shoulder and led the teenager out of the closet and over to the bed where they took a seat.
"Have I ever told you about my parents?" Steve asked, and Harry shook his head. He couldn't recall ever hearing more about Steve's childhood than the stories that Bucky had told him about the scrappy little kid from Brooklyn that was always sick.
"My ma, Sarah, she was... she was amazing. She worked her butt off everyday so that she could provide the best life and care for me. Even though it was the 40's, she knew how Bucky and I felt about one another, and she didn't care. Her love was unconditional-- the way a parent's love should be."
Steve's face was wistful and he seemed distant as he talked about his mother. Harry could feel the amount of love that Steve had for her.
"My father was a different story. He lost his job when I was about six, and he couldn't hold a job after that. Money was tight, and he grew fond of drinking. He'd end up at the bars instead of trying to find work that would cover the bills. He was nice enough sober, but when he'd drink..."
Steve's jaw clenched as he talked, and Harry could see the fire in his eyes.
"He started hitting my ma around. I tried to stop him, but I was sickly and small, and ma always made sure that I was out of harms way, even if it meant putting herself in it. I think he's a lot of the reason I am how I am now, as messed up as that sounds. I never want to back down from a fight, because I refuse to let the bullies win."
Steve turned to face Harry before continuing.
"After my father died, I think my ma and I were both hesitant to believe that he was gone. It had gone on for so long, and we had both gotten so used to that constant fear, that it didn't feel right to be over. I think what I'm trying to say, is that I understand, and it's okay. It's okay to forget sometimes. It's okay to still get scared. You went through hell for fifteen years of your life-- that's not going to just go away over night. I know that it sucks, and bud, I'm really sorry that a good kid like you has to go through it, but you're strong. You've come a long ways since I met you, and I am excited to continue to watch you grow up."
Steve rose to his feet. "Now, I think Peter and Tony are about done working on Peter's suit, so I'll let you get ready."
He gave Harry's shoulder a small squeeze and was headed to the door before Harry found his voice.
"Steve?" He spoke quietly. Steve turned to face him, eyebrows raised in a questioning yet caring expression.
"Thank you for sharing that with me. And for the sweater. I really appreciate it," Harry thanked.
"You're welcome pal. Anytime."
*
"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show up," Tony teased as Harry appeared in the living room, dressing in the cable knit sweater that Steve had brought him earlier.
"It's 6:01, I'm barely late!" Harry exclaimed defensively, accepting the coat that Peter was handing to him and thanking him with a quick peck on the cheek.
"Yeah, yeah. Pepper still considers one minute to be late when I show up to things," Tony rolled his eyes dramatically, which earned a slightly less dramatic eyeroll from Pepper.
"That's because the things you're late for are important meetings and conferences with very important and influential people," Pepper reminded him.
"Whatever," Tony waved it off. "Are you kids ready to get this show on the road?"
"How about we go warm up the car, and give these two a moment to say hello without crowding them?" Pepper suggested, ushering Tony out the door before turning back to Peter and Harry.
"We'll meet you downstairs in the garage in a few," she smiled at the teenagers before disappearing down the hall.
"Hi," Peter turned to his boyfriend, taking in his appearance for the first time. Harry always looked good, but tonight he seemed to be glowing with excitement and happiness.
"Hi," Harry grinned, biting his lip anxiously. "I missed you. It's been too long since it's just been the two of us."
"I know, I'm sorry. I couldn't say no to Mister Stark tagging along," Peter apologized.
"No, no, I'm glad he's coming. I haven't really ventured out much, so it's kind of nice to know that they'll be with us," Harry corrected, not wanting to give Peter the wrong impression. "But, I definitely think that you and I need to figure out a one-on-one date soon."
"I completely agree."
Peter smiled, bringing Harry's hand up to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to his knuckle. Harry's sweater sleeve slipped down, exposing his wrists, and Peter's eyes immediately fell to the scars that resided there from only a few months ago.
Harry pulled his hand away and quickly glamoured the marks, cursing his stupidity.
"I'm sorry, I forgot to hide them this morning," he avoided eye contact with Peter as the memory of his boyfriend's cries echoed through his mind.
"Hey," Peter murmured, grabbing his hand again. With his other, he used the crook of his finger to tilt Harry's chin up so that he was looking at him.
"You don't have to hide from me," Peter hushed.
Harry let out a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding, and leaned his head into Peter's until their foreheads were touching.
"I love you," Harry whispered, looking down at their intertwined hands.
"I love you too," Peter's voice was soft, and he kissed Harry's forehead gently. "Now, what do you say we head down to the garage before Mister Stark starts trying to see if his horns are loud enough to be heard up here?"
Harry laughed, knowing that there was truth to what Peter was suggesting.
"Deal," he agreed. And with that, they took off down the hall towards the garage where a very impatient billionaire was waiting.
*
Rockefeller Plaza was even more beautiful in person that it was on TV. Christmas music played softly from speakers above, and people all around laughed with their families as they looked at the lights that hung on the tree.
"This is incredible," Harry breathed, his breath crystallizing in front of him. He pulled Peter closer to him.
"Thank you," he whispered, knowing that despite all of the commotion around them, Peter would be able to hear him.
"Alright, I'm thinking the best way to work this is to divide and conquer. Peter, you and I can grab the ice skates, and Pepper, if you and Harry want to grab some hot chocolate, we can meet back up at that bench over there to put on skates?"
"Sounds good," Pepper replied.
Harry was surprised to find that the ice skating rink was fairly empty, as compared to what he was expecting the crowds to be like only a few days before Christmas.
Peter and Tony went to stand in line to rent skates while Pepper and Harry waited in line to buy some hot chocolate to thaw out their already freezing bodies. Outdoor heaters were scattered intermittently throughout the plaza, but near the ice, there wasn't much that could be done.
"Sorry about your dad. I know that he's made himself a part of this date, and I know that there's not much I can do to stop him," Pepper apologized as she and Harry stood in line.
"It's okay, really," Harry replied. "I was telling Peter earlier, I'm glad you guys are here. The city is still so new and unfamiliar, and it's so busy that I get nervous. Having you guys with me makes me feel safer."
Pepper wrapped her arms around her son and gave him a small hug. Seeing how far the tiny kid that they had saved back in June had come was so impressive, and she couldn't be any prouder of him.
About twenty minutes later, the two of them had reconvened with Tony and Peter, and they had all already finished their hot chocolate and were in the process of lacing up their skates.
Quickly, they discovered, Peter (unsurprisingly) was a natural, and that Pepper and Harry weren't half bad at balancing and picking up the gliding motion of their feet on the ice. Tony, on the other hand, couldn't hardly stand up without falling flat on his face.
"You can easily travel and do flips at Mach 5 speeds, but you can't manage to balance on ice skates?" Peter teased as Tony clung to the wall of the rink as if it were the only thing keeping him tethered to the earth.
"Shut up. We can't all have impeccable balance and cat like reflexes," Tony snapped, watching as Peter skated forwards and backwards around him.
Harry was laughing, gliding across the ice tentatively but efficiently. Peter appeared at his side, and linked their arms together.
"I hope you know that if you do that and I fall, we're both going down," Harry warned, but he was giggling. He had been ice skating once before on the Black Lake in the middle of the winter once they were absolutely sure that the water had frozen over. Even still, everyone had stuck to the outer edges of the ice out of fear that the Giant Squid's tentacles would somehow break the ice from the underside of the surface.
"You won't fall, you're a natural," Peter assured him. The two made a very slow, but successful, lap around the rink with their arms linked together. Harry was beginning to settle into a comfortable rhythm, and he leaned a bit more into the warmth that Peter was providing.
"Peter?" A voice called, causing Peter to turn. Harry lost his balance, and he went tumbling over backwards, falling flat on his back and pulling Peter down with him.
The two laughed, laying there flat on their backs on the ice. Peter over on to his hands and knees and pushed himself up to a standing position before extending his hand and helping Harry to his feet.
"Are you okay?" He asked Harry, still laughing.
"Completely fine. You?"
"Well I suppose that I already put some ice on it, so I'll be fine," Peter teased.
"Peter, is that you?" The voice called again, and this time, the teen turned to the direction that his voice was being called.
Roger Harrington and Betty Brant, two kids from Midtown High that were in Peter's class, made their way towards the couple.
"Hey!" Peter greeted them. "Good to see you guys, how is your break going?"
"It's been great so far. Just enjoying a break from having homework," Roger grinned.
Harry stayed back, remembering that day at the bakery when Peter had introduced him as a friend. He wasn't upset about it, and he understood why Peter had done what he had done, but he didn't want to risk outing him.
But Peter surprised him by reaching for his hand and pulling him over carefully.
"Roger, Betty, this is my boyfriend, Harry," he introduced them, smiling at Harry.
A slight look of surprise crossed Roger's face, but was quickly replaced by a blinding grin as he extended his hand to the new teenager.
"Hi Harry, it's real nice to meet you," he shook Harry's hand. "You've got a good guy with Peter. I'm on the decathlon team with him, and he's the best teammate you can ask for. You should come to one of the meets sometime. I'm sure the rest of the team would love to meet you."
Harry smiled kindly, looking at Peter with admiration. He knew that this couldn't have been easy for Peter, no matter how painless he had made it look.
"I would really like that. I'll have to make sure to go to one sometime," Harry replied, and Betty let out a small gasp.
"Oh my God, I love your accent. Where are you from?" She exclaimed, eyes bright, and Harry couldn't help but chuckle.
"I'm from England, but I'm living in New York permanently now," Harry responded, grabbing for Peter's hand as they continued their conversation.
He gave Peter's hand a loving squeeze.
The four continued chatting for a few minutes longer, before Roger and Betty finally said their goodbyes and glided away once more.
"Sorry about that, didn't realize I would see anyone from school here and-" Peter was cut off by Harry's lips on his own.
When they broke apart, Peter looked a bit surprised. It wasn't that he didn't like it, but Harry wasn't typically the initiator in such a bold move.
"What was that for?" Peter chuckled, looking at Harry's adoring expression.
"Because I'm so happy that I found you, and because I'm really proud of you. I know that you weren't completely sure about coming out at school, and now the cat's out of the bag. I love you."
Peter captured Harry's lips in another kiss, breaking away with a blinding smile on his face.
"I love you too."