A Sleepover
CHAPTER 23: A SLEEPOVER
There were a lot of milestones and important events in a child's life that Tony mentally prepared himself for.
There's Harry going to school; Harry's first tooth extraction which thankfully they haven't had the need for yet; Harry's first time in Disneyland; Harry's first international trip; Harry's first crush; Harry getting a girlfriend (or boyfriend); Harry graduating high school; to name a few.
He mentally prepared a lot of scenarios, but he never expected Harry having a sleepover.
Granted, Tony never had a sleepover as a kid. He was shipped off to boarding school at eight years old. It wasn't like he could call that a sleepover. The closest he had done was pass out drunk in another’s dorm room when he was 14.
He knows not a thing of what happens in a sleepover that doesn't involve bumping uglies. And Jesus, he doesn't even want to think about the possibility of that ever happening to his son. Not until he's thirty, at the very least.
So, Tony spent a whole night looking into sleepover activities and what a child should bring when invited in one. Steve was no help. When he told his boyfriend that Cedric Diggory invited Harry to a sleepover for his birthday, Steve simply shrugged and asked what got him riled up about it. "Pack him pajamas, his toothbrush, and Ron." He said. Stupid advice. Obviously, a birthday party sleepover isn't simply about going to sleep. Steve hadn't read the same information Tony did, and that blond Super Soldier had no idea sleepovers involve arts and crafts, games, storytime and other awesome kid activities.
No, Tony could not rely on his boyfriend. He doubted any of his teammates had experienced a sleepover. Maybe Sam, but birdbrain #2 was out doing Fury’s bidding with birdbrain #1 and Robocop.
Amazingly enough, he got his needed help from Happy of all people. To be fair, his personal bodyguard has about three nieces and two nephews he's close to so it shouldn't really surprise Tony.
With Happy's trusted sleepover necessities list he got from his sister, Tony went on to personally take care of everything Harry might need.
"Okay, so we got your pajamas, a change of clothing, toothbrush and toothpaste, favorite blanket, your birthday gift to Cedric. What else is on the list, kiddo?"
Harry peered inside the backpack and glanced back on the list. "It says medicine, inhaler, and EpiPen. Do I really need to bring medicine? I’m not sick."
"Only if you need it every day. You're not asthmatic so you don't need an inhaler, but I'll put in an EpiPen just in case," said Tony as he dug through the medical bag inside Harry’s room. Harry doesn’t have allergies per se but they couldn’t be sure given his son barely had any medical records the past four years. "What else?"
"A cuddly toy."
Tony picked up Ron from the side of the bed and held it between them. "Cuddly toy, check. Do you want to bring Leo with you?"
Harry nodded so Tony also grabbed the doll from above the pillow and placed it beside the backpack with Ron. "A flashlight and snacks," instructed the child with finality. "Daddy, why do I need a flashlight? Is it gonna be dark in a sleepover?"
"Huh," mused Tony. "I think it's just precaution. Or maybe you’ll be sleeping in a fort. Everybody knows you need flashlights for a fort."
Regardless, Tony moved to grab the flashlight from the bottom drawer of the nightstand and place it inside the front pouch of his son’s backpack. He’ll just have to pack Harry’s snacks before they leave the house. Technically, Tony wouldn’t be driving Harry to the Diggory’s brownstone home in Hell’s Kitchen for another four hours but he didn’t want to leave the packing at the last minute.
If he was honest with himself, Tony really wanted to keep Harry at home instead of letting him sleepover at his friend's house. Harry was only six. Six seemed too young for a night out without their parents. Sure, Harry spent the night with Rhodey before, but it was different. Rhodey was his godfather.
But Harry was so excited, and Tony didn't want to take his son's childhood from him. The Diggorys are good people—at least from what JARVIS (and Bucky) gathered. There was absolutely no reason for Tony to be concerned about Harry in their care. And it wasn’t like there would be a lot of children invited. Aside from Harry, there’s only four others: Rory, Gabrielle, Dennis, and Cedric’s cousin, William. Harry wouldn’t be overlooked all night.
Even then, he made Harry wear the watch connected to JARVIS and had him promise not to take it off the whole time. Bucky and Natasha hadn't said anything but Tony was positive the two assassins had already put-up surveillance around the Diggory's place. Steve wasn't as worried, but he did have a long discussion with Harry about what to do in case of emergencies. Tony doubts their 6-year-old needed to learn how to tie a square knot, but to each their own.
When Tony finally had to drive Harry to his friend's house, sans Steve who was stuck dealing with a meeting with the Vice President, he found himself feeling excited for his son and worried about him. Harry looked nervous himself, which didn’t help Tony at all. He had half the mind to turn the car around and declare they’re having an Avengers slumber party instead.
He doubts any of the Avengers, especially Steve, would mind.
Harry’s friend lives in a 4-story, 4-bedroom, 3000 sq ft brick townhouse home-slash-law-office, relatively tasteful but not exactly a place Tony would find himself living in. Cedie’s parents were either traditional or the house has been in their family for generations, as shown by the probably original staircase and wood panels. Tony bets on the latter.
They were greeted by a man, a few years younger than Tony. “Mr. Stark, you and Harry are just in time. Ms. Vance just brought Aurora over.”
“Glad we’re not late then. And please, call me Tony,” responded the billionaire easily, accepting the handshake without a second thought.
“Of course. You can call me Amos. Unusual, I know. It’s a family name,” Amos shrugged, though the end of his lips curled into an amused smile.
Harry, perhaps having heard the voices of his friends in the living room, tugged Tony’s hand to grab his attention. “Can I go say hi?” The child whispered when Tony bent down.
“Sure, kiddo,” said Tony. “We’ll go in right after you.”
Harry grinned and quickly dashed towards the origin of the voices. Tony sighed wistfully, having a little moment in his mind to think how far Harry had gone since he took him out of the Dursley’s house.
“The other parents are in the kitchen if you want to say hi,” suggested Amos.
Might as well, thought Tony. “Sure,” he shrugged.
Other parents was mostly an exaggeration. It was only just Ms. Vance and Mrs. Diggory. Dennis was dropped by his brother, Gabrielle’s mother left already to pick up her older daughter from ballet school, and William stayed with them since Wednesday. Amos said William’s parents had to visit a sick yet still vile in-law and didn’t want to subject their son around such company.
Tony never thought he’d ever be the person who makes small talk about recent first-grader art projects or listen raptly to gossips about little Justin’s father cheating on his wife with his secretary. Rumor has it that Mrs. Finch-Fletchley is filing for divorce and sole custody of their son.
But here he was.
Surprisingly, he wasn’t appalled.
Well, appalled by Mr. Finch-Fletchley’s infidelity, yes. But not the position he’s in. Really though, Emmeline was right; how can they risk their families for some fling. He may be a playboy in his early years but he has never cheated on anyone. Though that may have something to do with him never actually being in a relationship in the first place. Just the thought of him cheating on Steve had him shudder. He’s nowhere that stupid.
Unfortunately, neither Emme nor Tony could stay for long. Tony still had a conference call to attend, and as much as he wants to watch over his son the whole night, a fully grown man looming over children while they sleep may be grounds for criminal charge in most states.
“Right, I’ll come pick you up tomorrow morning at 10 on the dot,” informed Tony seriously as he stared down at his precious son. “If you need anything, JARVIS is on your watch. He’ll connect you to me or Papa straight away.”
“I know, daddy. You said it about a million times,” drawled Harry tiredly, but the small smile on his face cannot be dismissed.
Tony’s lip twitched, suppressing his chuckle. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on Harry’s forehead. “Sue me, my baby boy is having his first sleepover. Can’t a dad worry?”
“I be fine, daddy,” assured the 6-year-old earnestly, staring at his father with equal devotion.
“I love you, kiddo.”
“Love you, too.”
Tony finally did smile. He kissed him again on the forehead just to be sure. With a final hug, he watched Harry run back inside the living room to continue with whatever game they were having.
The drive back to the tower was harder than he anticipated. Without the constant chattering of his son, the silence was almost deafening. He should be used to it, Tony knows that much, considering he doesn’t always have Harry in the car with him. But the thought of his son not being at home when he arrives at the tower or not at school waiting to be picked up in a few hours was frightening.
Of course, his beautiful, wonderful, honest-to-God perfect boyfriend was there, waiting for him in the foyer of the penthouse with open arms, ready to give him the hug he needed. Tony hadn’t even known Steve was done with his meeting.
“There, there,” cooed the Super Soldier as he cradled the billionaire’s head between his chest and chin.
“Shut up,” muttered Tony without heat, burrowing his face further into his boyfriend’s warmth. “Fuck, I’m overreacting, am I?”
Steve clicked his tongue. “Wouldn’t call it overreacting. It’s normal to be worried. I’m worried myself.”
“It’s just a sleepover,” Tony said, mostly to himself. “Nothing to be worried about, right? 6-year-olds have sleepovers all the time. Emmeline acted like it was nothing so it’s probably nothing.”
The Super Soldier kissed him on the head and slowly pulled away. He hadn’t given Tony a response but he did drag him towards the kitchen. A minute later, a cup of iced tea was thrust into his hands. Tony raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend, shrugged, then drank the cold beverage.
“It’s okay to be worried about a sleepover, sweetheart. Maybe Ms. Vance does not mind as much, but she’s had Rory in her care since her conception. We’ve had Harry in for less than a year. Think of yourself as a new parent. You’ve never had the overprotective stage when Harry was just a baby. It stands to reason you’ll be overprotective of him for quite a while. Not to mention, that little boy of ours didn’t have the best upbringing.”
Tony hummed, letting Steve’s words sink in for a moment. “Huh, I never thought of it that way.”
Steve raised his glass.
“How’d you get so wise, Cap?” said Tony with a subtle shake of his head and a tiny smile.
The blond shrugged, then ducked his head to hide the blush on his face. “There’s this thing called blogs on the internet. JARVIS helped me look into some of the parenting ones. A lot of interesting points and anecdotes on them.”
“Wait— you read parenting blogs?”
“Why do you sound so surprised?” defended Steve, eyes wide and looking affronted. “It’s not like I have any experience with children before Harry. I need all the information and instructions I can get. There’s a whole section in there about step-parents and adoptive parents. It was enlightening.”
Tony’s grin was almost up to his ears at Steve’s words. His heart was thrumming widely in his heart, and Jesus— he fucking loves his boyfriend. He placed the glass back on the counter and placed both hands on Steve’s cheeks, pulling him closer.
“You. Adorable. Perfect. Gorgeous. Absolutely Wonderful Man,” uttered Tony, punctuated by a kiss on Steve’s face at every word.
Laughing, the Super Soldier gently pushed the billionaire off of him—but not before kissing him passionately on the mouth. It’s such a wonder how easily Steve could make Tony fall in love with him again and again.
“So…” started Tony once again, looking at his boyfriend with a sly grin. “The kid’s out for the night. Got any plans?”
**
They ended up watching Friends reruns in their underwear, with a tub of ice cream and bags of potato chips.
**
“Tony, your phone,” mumbled Steve sleepily, swiping his hand blindly to wake the older man beside him. He opened one eye to peek at the bedside clock, only finding it was already a quarter past five in the morning.
“Wassit, huh?” grumbled Tony back, grunting when Steve hit him on the face.
“Sir, Mr. Diggory is on the phone,” came JARVIS’s voice from the speakers, prompting both Tony and Steve to sit up immediately, sleepiness leaving their systems in a second.
Just as quickly, Tony had JARVIS connect the call. Beside him, Steve crawled off the bed and fished the pair of boxers he threw on the floor hours ago, putting it on efficiently just in case.
“Tony? It’s Amos,” said the man on the phone, tone thankfully not frantic, but there was a hint of worry in them. “I’m sorry for calling so early, but the kids woke me up saying Harry has locked himself in the boot closet under the stairs. It took a while to take him out of there, but he looks alright. He says he’s fine, too, but I just think you’d want to know.”
“Shit,” cursed Tony, following his boyfriend’s actions and hurriedly putting on his own clothes. “Thanks, Amos. We’ll come by to pick him up in 10 minutes. Can you please put him on the phone for me?”
Steve, having felt the same concern, grabbed Tony’s hands and squeezed it when Harry’s timid voice echoed through their room. “Daddy? Papa?”
“Yes, baby, it’s Daddy. Papa’s here, too. How are you feeling, kiddo?” asked the father gently through the phone, all while he and Steve were stepping out of the bedroom and moving quickly towards the elevator.
“Had a bad dream,” Harry responded quietly. “Mr. Amos said you’re coming to get me?”
“We are, sweetheart. Papa and I are in the elevator right now. We’ll be there as soon as possible,” assured Tony, heart breaking a little at his son’s somber tone. “Are you gonna be alright for a little while, kiddo?”
“Uh-huh. Sorry.”
Tony shook his head and closed his eyes. “Nothing to be sorry about, Harry Stark. Remember what Dr. Granger said?”
“It’s ‘kay to be scared,” recited the child back to his father.
“That’s right. Good job, buddy. We’re in the car now, just a few more minutes and we’ll be there.”
After a short exchange with Amos, Tony ended the call with a weary sigh. Steve reached over from behind the wheel and squeezed his hand once again. “He’s okay, Tony. He’s okay.”
“He hasn’t done that in weeks, Steve,” griped the older man. “Fuck, maybe the sleepover was a bad idea after all. I knew the staircase looked a little familiar. Fuck.” Tony buried his face in his palms and breathed slowly.
"We don't know that, Tony," said Steve. "You and I both know recovery isn't a straight line."
The other man pursed his lips, obviously skeptical of Steve's words, but not bothering to say anything. Instead, Tony looked away and watched the world go in motion from the window, tapping nervously on his leg with his index finger. It's hard for him to think otherwise. The only thing going on his mind as they drive quickly through 5th Avenue was Harry having a nightmare and Tony not being there to comfort him in an instant.
Maybe that's what bothered him the most. Chances are Harry would get a bad one at any time regardless of where he slept. Tony understood that much—having similar experiences after all the traumatic events in his life. But at every nightmare his son had, Tony was there to hold him through it. For the first time since taking Harry out of the Dursley’s house, Tony was not.
As soon as Steve parked the Rover, Tony jumped out the car and rang determinedly on the Diggory’s doorbell. Amos, perhaps waiting for Tony and Steve downstairs, was quick to open the door and let them in.
They skipped the usual greetings and the small talk, as Amos led them up the stairs towards Cedric’s room where Harry and the others spent the night.
Confused and worried, Tony asked, “Harry came all the way down here to hide?”
Amos nodded grimly. “William woke up when Harry left the room and decided to follow. He woke Cedric after realizing where Harry had gone to and then had him wake me up.”
And Oh God— if the William kid hadn’t noticed Harry leaving the room, Tony wasn’t sure how he’d react if Amos suddenly called him and told him Harry’s gone missing.
Everyone apart from Harry and Mrs. Diggory was still asleep or had fallen back to sleep. Tony found his 6-year-old sitting with his arms around his legs in the middle of the living room while the woman sat next to him wrapping an arm around his shoulders.
Within seconds, Tony dashed and crouched in front of Harry, prompting the child to snap his head up in relief. “Daddy!”
“I’m here, baby. Daddy’s here,” murmured Tony softly as he pulled his son into his arms. He could hear Steve and the Diggorys talking in the background but Tony ignored them in lieu of keeping Harry as close to him as possible.
Steve soon came to sit beside them and pulled the two into his arms.
“Papa,” whimpered Harry, clutching on Steve’s shirt with minimal strength.
“You’re okay, bubby. We’re here.”
Tony held Harry even as Steve made their apologies, gratitude, and farewells. He held him in the car instead of putting his son in his car seat. Even in the tower, Tony hadn’t let Harry go. Harry, for his part, was entirely compliant with the arrangement.
Later that day, when Tony and Steve finally had Harry sit down and talk about what had happened, the young boy admitted dreaming about his time with the Dursleys and that waking up in a new environment scared him. However, he also insisted on really liking the sleepover and would want to do it again sometime in the future.
Tony was hesitant; no surprises there. If he had his way, Harry would never attend a sleepover again in his life.
But then again, it’s everything Tony wanted for his son; for him to have a social life, good friends, better experiences, and a happy childhood. And damn, he’s proud of Harry for how far he’s come.