Daddy's Day Out
CHAPTER 14: DADDY’S DAY OUT
His daddy said he's going on a date with Uncle Steve. Harry didn't know what a date was and how it was different from the numbers on the calendar, but it must be fun because his daddy kept smiling when he thought Harry wasn't looking.
When he asked if he could also go on a date next time, his dad only laughed and told him not for another 10 years at least. Ten is a small number but 10 years meant more than a thousand days. JARVIS said it's 3,652.425 days— that's a lot. Harry's going to be so old by the time his dad lets him go on a date.
He watched his dad put on different shirts the past hour and brush his teeth three times. Then he counted every pace back and forth his dad made. He counted 203 before the elevator dinged open.
And then he watched him all but sprint towards the living room. Huh. Harry thought his daddy was going on a date with Uncle Steve, yet it was Aunt Tasha's voice he heard.
"—waiting for you in the lobby. Don't worry, I got the kiddo."
"Thank you so much, Nat. Harry's done with breakfast and he already brushed his teeth. There’re snacks in the kitchen and someone will bring up your food in case coffee becomes lunch. He's got his chewable vitamins on the top shelf. Harry knows where it is. He takes them before lunchtime," his dad said in one breath.
"Cool. Got it. Now go before Cap thinks you stood him up," Aunt Tasha pushed his dad's shoulder lightly.
Harry got a hug and kisses on his forehead before his dad really left the room. He wished he asked if he could come with him and Uncle Steve on their date instead. Maybe next time.
"Come here, katyonak, and give me a hug," Aunt Natasha opened her arms wide, prompting Harry to barrel into them. He buried his face onto the woman's stomach, crooking his glasses awkwardly.
She laughed and pulled away, reaching down to rearrange his glasses. "I always thought you looked adorable in these. Did your dad choose them?"
Harry shook his head. His dad said he liked the bright pink ones but Harry thought he might be joking. Pink wasn't his favorite color. It's red— like Harry's. "I did," Harry said proudly. "I can see good now."
"Better," corrected his aunt. "And I'm glad. Would have been a shame if you couldn't see this pretty face well from a distance. How would you know it's me who's coming, right?"
Harry giggled. "You have red hair, Aunt Tasha. Like Mummy. I would know."
Aunt Natasha smiled at him and ruffled his hair before ushering him towards the couch. They'll watch some kids spy movies, she said, and criticize their movements. Harry didn't understand but it sounded fun.
"Aunt Tasha?" asked Harry once he was comfortable on the couch with his lion.
"What is it, Harry?"
"Can we go on a date too in ten years?"
**
The last time Tony went on a date, it was a disaster.
It was around 4 months before he found out about Harry. Unlike how the media portrayed him, he wasn’t exactly charming when it comes to real, honest-to-God dates. Most of his previous relationships were likely either alcohol-induced or alcohol-maintained. This meant whenever he actually tries to start a relationship, it always ends up down the drain.
She was a Product Manager at Google and generally a nice woman. They met during one of those compulsory charity galas and seemed to hit it off— enough to schedule dinner the next week. Everything was fine at first. Tony drove them to a nice, classy restaurant, had small talk, the usual. Things went downhill quickly after that. Beth, as it turns out, likes asking personal questions like his childhood and his past relationships. Tony didn’t want to be rude and refuse to answer, so he did what he normally does every time he feels vulnerable: hide. He excused himself to the restroom and fucking stayed there for thirty minutes. When he finally got ahold of his sanity, Beth had left the restaurant. A waitress told him she left a message saying she had an emergency at work.
To this day, Tony wasn’t sure if there really had been an emergency. But the fact still remained: she never called for a reschedule.
And now, Tony is going on a date with Steven Grant Rogers.
He spent the whole night thinking about it. Tony still could not believe he got asked on a date— especially not by someone like Steve. Wasn’t only two months ago he didn’t think he and Steve were friends? And then suddenly— they’re going on a date? How did Tony not see that?
He thought maybe he agreed too hastily, and that maybe a date was a bad idea after all.
There was just so much at risk. If things go badly—which in Tony's experience, it likely will— the team dynamics would change. Their relationship will get so awkward, he might just have to move Harry and himself back to Malibu.
Oh, and Harry. If Tony could only choose one person to save in the entire universe, he would not even hesitate in saving his son. Harry is the most important everything in his life. Dating means more going out and the occasional bunking over. It'll take away time, and he only just got Harry after a long time. It’s not exactly fair to his son who had to share his dad, nor to Steve if he couldn’t commit fully because his priority would always be his kid. The idea of dating while he’s had Harry for only two months seemed selfish and greedy.
If he’s being honest with himself, he wants to be selfish and greedy for once. He’s been pining after the Brooklyn boy since even before he was thawed out of the ice. Tony’s got a complete vintage set of the Captain America comic books as a kid. He still even has his Captain Ameribear and Bucky Bear stored in a vault two floors under the basement, along with the rest of his collectible items he’ll never admit to owning.
And when he met Steve Rogers, he felt like a little kid seeing his crush in the playground and pulled his metaphoric pigtails. It wasn’t the best first meeting, Tony agreed, but even after they finished fighting the aliens, he was disappointed Steve didn’t bother reaching out. It wasn’t until he offered to house everyone in the tower that he got to talk to him again. Maybe along the way, Tony fell in love with the man behind the name.
He tried looking back to their previous interactions to see clues that might point out Steve actually liked him enough to ask out. He came back empty. Sure, there were times that Steve seemed to like hanging out in his lab, but that was mostly because DUM-E kept making him real smoothies, instead of the chemical concoction it keeps giving Tony.
It doesn’t matter anyway. He already said yes— and no one ever cancels or stands up Captain America on a date. Not even Tony Stark.
Who says they’ll be having a second one, anyway? Maybe Steve would find out how difficult Tony was and back out on the idea. Tony thinks he wouldn’t be surprised.
The next morning, he was full of nerves. Yet, with a kid relying on him, he still had to be a father first and foremost. Tony made breakfast (he’s getting rather good at frying eggs and bacon), helped Harry in bath (because the kid loves baths enough to have them every day), and had a quick discussion with his son about his date.
When Natasha came and all but pushed him out of the room, the nerves went full throttle again. Steve was waiting for him in the lobby.
Steve was waiting for him in the lobby.
“Hey,” the man carved by Aphrodite herself smiled widely at Tony. “How was Harry?”
Yay! A topic he can fully agree on. “He’s good, as usual. We had a discussion about trying showers next time. He wasn’t convinced.”
The crinkles beside Steve’s eyes appeared when he laughed. It made Tony’s heart flutter madly. He hoped the super hearing could not pick up on it. “So, where are we headed?” asked Tony, none of the nerves showing due to lots of practice.
He was enthusiastically led out the building and towards a Harley parked across the street.
“Really, Rogers?” asked Tony drily as he stared at the death apparatus. “Me? On a bike?”
“Don’t worry, Stark. You get a helmet,” responded the death-chaser with an amused grin.
Tony wore the helmet. He also managed to design a better one while on the way to wherever Steve’s taking him. The only plus factor of the whole thing was that Tony got to wrap his arms around those firm, Dorito-ratioed waist. He can attest— the Dorito comment was definitely a fact, both in shape and in possible taste.
Of course, they’re in Brooklyn. Why did Tony ever doubt that? Steve parked his death apparatus beside a literal hole in the wall coffee shop. They didn’t even have seats!
“Are we drinking coffee standing up? Because I’m very familiar with it,” said Tony as he watched Steve buy their coffee without asking him for his order. “Also, what did you just buy for me?”
“No. They actually do have seats but it’s in their yard. And I ordered something called Kape Baraco for you. Trust me, you’ll like it.”
“That’s awesome, but if you haven’t noticed, there’s no entryway to their yard, Rogers. Do they even have a yard?”
“Oh, we’ll have to walk around.”
“… who even designed this?”
Turns out, they do have a yard. And it wasn’t small, too. The building owner apparently travels a lot and found her love in coffee (Tony can relate to that) but instead of actually opening a coffee shop with an actual shop which she could definitely afford, she ended up carving a hole in her building and sold coffee to passers-by. Only her best customers— which Steve was, apparently— have access privilege to her backyard garden.
When Tony asked Steve how he even found the place and earned a spot in the best customers, Steve admitted he picked the nearest place that sold coffee from the old building he used to live in and tried every coffee they had just to find out what the fuss was all about.
“Oh my god this is strong,” was Tony’s first comment after he got a sip of his drink. “Beats the hell out of my Colombian roasts.”
Steve tipped his cup in agreement— although his was probably filled with something like Ben & Jerry’s coffee ice cream and milk put in a blender.
“Thanks for agreeing to go out with me, by the way. I know you’re probably busy with Harry at the moment,” said Steve after a moment.
Okay, so they’re going for the mothership. Tony can do those. He practiced a lot earlier while waiting for Natasha to come up. “Yes, I am quite busy with Harry at the moment. We have to talk about that, actually.”
“Of course,” responded Steve easily.
“Here’s the thing, Steve— I know this is a date, but I have to know what your reasons are for asking me out. Because if it’s just a passing interest, then we can consider this a coffee run with a friend instead. I am aware this is too early to ask about commitment, but we’ve known each other for more than a year. I can’t deal with a messy break-up, especially since it affects the team and my son. You have to understand that being in a relationship with me— if it does come to that point— means you can’t be angry if I suddenly cancel dates or can’t sleepover without a heads-up at least a day in advance. Harry always comes first.”
If Tony expected Steve to frown and tell him they can consider this a coffee run with a friend, he’s sorely disappointed. Because Steve, with his gorgeous blue eyes and adorable left dimple, only smiled brighter.
“No, I completely understand. If you can call four months of Natasha telling me to get over my head and ask you out instead of freezing whenever you enter the room and avoiding you so I won’t end up making a fool of myself, then it could be a passing interest,” said Steve with a hint of humor. “Of course, this isn’t simply because I’m bored. It’s not exactly easy for me to as well, especially since we’re both men. Back in the 40’s, this would have us both killed before we even get to finish our coffee. I know asking you on a date means I’ll have to share with Harry, and you’ve got nothing to worry about in that respect. I love that kid to pieces, Tony. I understand if he comes first. Hell, he’s been my priority too ever since he called me Uncle.”
“So, this is not just some sexuality experiment for you?”
Steve shook his head seriously. “I’m never experimenting on you, Tony. I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t sure.”
“Oh,” Tony squeaked. “Awesome.”
Steve’s lip curled in an amused smile and started talking about the weird old man he met when he went out for a jog in Central Park. He had a very long white beard and wore a dark purple velvet coat in the middle of summer.
Both just put it out as New Yorkers doing New Yorker things.
**
They did end up having lunch outside. Tony made sure to text Natasha and told her he wouldn’t be returning early, and to let Harry know he’s bringing home a box of his favorite donuts. Natasha texted back immediately a photo of Harry grinning madly and giving him two thumbs up.