How to End the Summer Holiday
September 23rd 2011
It was one of the few days where Tony and Pepper took a day off. Usually they would spend it together and probably go on a date to do romantic and couple stuff. But since having kids, it was difficult for them just to up and went on a date.
That’s why today, Harry has taken the liberty of taking the kids to the zoo. It’s been a while for him and Lily, and the twins haven’t gone there yet, so it was a good opportunity to end their summer holiday with it. Since the nearest zoo from the tower was the Central Park Zoo, he decided he would bring the kids there.
Aria, his wife, wanted to go with them, but her schedule has prohibited her from doing so. She has expressed her displeasure at her boss for her short off days during the summer period. It was her only time of the year to get some semblance of rest from super-secret spying world and spent the week with her family. As much as she loved doing what she did, she also loved her family.
For the tens times, Harry really didn’t like this Fury much, but he respected his wife and trusted her decision to know what she’s doing. Still, it’s not a crime if he disliked the man who spent more time with his wife than with him, the husband of said wife.
“Dad, we’re here, “ Lily squished his elbow, before getting off the elevator.
The father of two was quite sad when his little Lily grown out of calling him, Daddy. It was cute and sweet how the little girl seemed to look up to her daddy, mommy, and brother so much. She still adored them, but since long ceased to calling them, mommy and daddy. It’s such a shame.
They were inside Stark’s tower private elevator that went straight to Tony’s personal workshops, labs and penthouse. JARVIS has informed them beforehand that Tony and the others were waiting in the kitchen.
“You don’t have to run, muffin, “ Harry chuckled, following his princess out of the metal box. “You heard J. Wanda and Pietro are not going anywhere.”
“Young mister and miss are finishing their breakfast as we’re speaking, Miss Lily, “ the AI informed her with a touch of fondness in his voice.
“Thanks, J, “ Lily chirped, but not slowing down instead, she chose to skip in merrily.
The wizard shook his head slowly at his daughter. They arrived at the kitchen to find Pepper flipping pancakes on the electronic stove. Tony and the twins were eating pancakes around the kitchen island.
“Hi dad, how was the trip?” Tony asked from where he sat, with Wanda sitting on his lap. She was eating pancake and greeted Lily with a small shy wave.
“It was fine, “ he smiled. “Lily has grown quite insusceptible to apparition.”
“Wow, congrats silly Lily, “ Tony yawned after saying it.
Out of nowhere close to the stove, the brewing coffee pot poured it’s heavenly liquid (according to his son) to a cup. After the cup was filled enough, it then floated on the air and traveled from on top of the kitchen counter to the kitchen island, where Tony’s hand could reach it.
Tony lifted his hand to pat on the air near him and smiled warmly, “ Thank you, Mamma Mia.”
Harry could hear a mix of low squeaking and soft grunting as a reply from the empty space, on the spot where Tony’s hand still touched the air in an up and down movement. The little demiguise has grown bigger over the past 3 years and she’s a very good lab assistant to Tony, better than the genius’ helper bots, but not on par with J. She’s also very good in feeding Tony.
The magical beast knew how to do daily human activities such as gathering some fruit from the fridge or making coffee and smoothie for her wizard. It’s quite cute how she mother hen Tony into eating and basically put a time schedule for how long he could be in the lab by pulling on his arm and pouting with her big eyes. At least that’s what his son complained and cooed about when Harry asked him about her.
Pepper loved her for it and showed it by getting Mia’s favorite fruit, apples and grapes. As a thank you, she showed herself to her that one time. It wasn’t long, since Mia was shy and very attached to Tony, but Pepper was very happy nonetheless. Tony kept telling him the story for a week before Harry got bored and silenced him with a pointed look.
With a wave of a hand, Tony summoned an apple from the fridge with a non-verbal spell and handed it to Mia, who was still unseen. The apple flew onto the kitchen counter before bit by bit disappeared in what looked like bite marks.
Then his genius son took the, what Harry shuddered to think, a scathing hot beverage with a big swallow. “Oh darling, where have you been all this morning?”
“In the pot, brewing, “ informed his 7-year-old daughter calmly, albeit a bit smugly.
“Oh, you sassy, sassy sweet girl, “ Tony gushed over his daughter from above her head, smiling widely. “I taught you well.”
The red-head beamed up at the billionaire with a wide smile of her own.
Wanda and Pietro adored both Tony and Pepper. But like what they said, boys were closer to their moms whereas girls were closer to their dads. While it wasn’t true for Pietro since he loved them both equally, the same thing couldn’t be said for Wanda.
She absolutely was what they called a Daddy’s girl. She thrived on making Tony proud and the attention it was given to her. It’s probably had something to do with being the older sister and the way she always felt the need to protect and made Pietro happy while they were in the clutch of HYDRA.
It just made sense that nobody had shown her attention much and since Tony was the first person who saved them and even adopted them, she would latch onto Harry’s son as if he was her real parent, blood be damned.
After that, Pietro greeted them unintelligible with his mouth full of pancake, which Pepper chided the boy gently. “Finish your pancake first, dear.”
The white-haired boy ducked his head shyly to hide his pinkish cheek and nodded minutely, still looking down on his eaten pancakes. Pepper smiled and kissed his hair sweetly when the boy whined, “ Mamaaa.”
Then Tony’s girlfriend turned back to the stove once more before turning around with the pan with a hot pancake and a spatula.
“Harry, Lily, “ she scooped the hot dish onto Wanda’s almost empty plate, where Tony began cutting the pancake for himself and Wanda. “Do you want pancakes?”
“Thank you Pepper, but I had my fill with some breakfast of my own before coming here, “ he politely refused. “But I think Lily still have room for more pancakes.”
“Yes, please, “ his daughter retorted with undistinguished cheer. “Pepper’s Blueberry Choco chip pancakes are the best.”
“Don’t let your mom hear that, sweetheart, “ He ruffled through her hair. “Or she would never make you her famous strawberry whip cream pancakes anymore.”
Lily gasped, gripping onto Harry’s hand tightly. “Don’t tell mom. I love her pancakes equally with Pepper’s. Yours too, dad. I so love your banana caramel pancakes. They’re very yummy.”
She fluttered her eyelashes at him innocently just like Tony when he was a child (and he still does so to Pepper, *sigh). The healer didn’t know where they got that trait, because they have different moms and it definitely didn’t come from him. He had a suspicion that maybe they got it from his dad, James Potter.
“You are very much like your brother in this regard, “ he sighed in defeat. “Your secret is safe with me.”
“Here you go, Lily, “ Pepper put a plate of warm pancakes on the island, where Lily hopped onto the stool and whooped in victory.
And that hand fisted in the air was definitely her brother’s influence.
She then held her hand up to high-five Tony, who grinned and enthusiastically high-five her back. He muttered under his breath about how childish his children were, no matter how old they got.
***
After Happy dropped them off as closed as he could with a car near the zoo entrance, Harry immediately ushered the children to the zoo. JARVIS had helped him booked the tickets online so he didn’t have to queue in line with the rest of the visitors to buy tickets.
After they got inside the zoo’s park, the kids began dragging him to the gift shop first after seemingly examining the zoo map. There, Harry indulged them with one gift per each kid. Something simple like an animal headband, doll or hat.
Pietro chose the snow leopard head cap and immediately put it on happily. The red-headed girl picked a white bunny ear headbands and his girl chose a penguin doll. They wanted to buy some more for Tony, Pepper, Aria, and his adoptive parents even for James and Teddy, but Harry put a stop to it.
They pouted at him and at the same time attacked him with big puppy eyes that would even put Snape’s icy heart melted on the spot to Harry’s amusement. He assured them, they would stop by the gift shop on their way home back to the tower. They would pick the gifts by that time, not before.
“So, where should we go first, children?”
The wizard immediately regretted asking them when the three kids began chattering non-stop. They each have a different section of animals they wanted to see and Harry could already feel the itch to sigh.
“Blimey kids, “ he sighed exasperatedly. “One by one please. Lily.”
“I want to see the penguins, Dad, “ Lily uttered sheepishly.
“Wanda?”
“I want to feed the goats, “ she said quietly.
“The one from the kids’ zoo, sweety?“ He asked the little girl, who nodded in answer. “How about, you Pietro?”
“I want to see this, “ the boy pointed his finger up at his hat, meaning he wanted to see the snow leopard’s exhibit.
The wizard frowned, thinking of the best route as he skimmed his finger over the map. The kids watched him aptly, waiting for his decision.
Harry clapped his hand when the idea came to him, “ Since the feeding time ended at 2, we should feed the animals first. After that we will go to the Penguins and Seabirds area before we visit the leopards. Then we will stop at the gift shop to buy some gifts for the family. To shorten the route, we’re going to apparate, okay?”
It’s been a while, but Harry has visited this zoo before a couple of times, so he still remembered the area quite well.
Lily as the oldest of the three shrugged casually and said, okay, while Wanda looked like she was going to jump up and down in excitement. On the other hand, her twin brother, Pietro looked disappointed.
“Don’t worry, honey, “ he reassured the boy. “We’re going to have time to see the leopards before we go home.”
Looking up through his eyelashes, the boy pouted, “ You promise?”
“Yes, “ the wizard patted his shoulder, before asking the twins. “Have your dad apparate with you before?”
They both nodded and Wanda informed him, “ Twice with papa and once with uncle Teddy, but Pietro always got sick.”
“Only a little. Then I got better very fast, “ Pietro defended himself. “Don’t worry grandpapa.” When he saw the worried look on his grandfather’s face, he immediately added, “ I will be fine. And we can see many animals if we apparate.”
Reluctantly, the healer bit his lower lip and said, “ Alright, if you’re sure. But please tell me, if you can’t handle the nausea.”
After finding a hidden spot, Harry side-long apparated with the kids. For normal wizard, doing this many apparition would be exhausting and quite dangerous for something as trivial as apparating with three kids around the zoo to more than one spot in a day.
Then again, the former boy who lived has already had a very strong core magic, even before he defeated the dark lord. Couple with being the master of Death, his magic was almost unlimited. So, avoiding splitting himself and the kids when apparating was very easy.
They arrived somewhere hidden out of no-maj’s eyes, close to Tisch Children’s Zoo. The girls were fine from the quick travel, but the white-haired boy stumbled a bit after they arrived, looking quite pale. But as he promised, he got better from his nausea quite fast. Harry was relieved when his grandson got over his sickness and was grinning by the time they passed the sign of the kids’ zoo.
It wasn’t long before he accompanied the kids to the feeding station where they were all handed with food for the animals. Harry told them he would be watching from a spot and not to wander around where he couldn’t see them. As a precaution, he put tracking charms on them, just in case.
Harry was smiling as he watched them from the fence. His daughter and grandchildren looked very happy as they began feeding the goats and sheep. Then he suddenly felt eyes on him.
The British wizarding war may be over decades ago, but Harry was still on alert and bit paranoid when his senses alerted him to simple things as people watching him.
The man pretend to wipe his glasses and subtlety turned around, before putting them back on his face. It wasn’t long before he saw a familiar blonde looking back at him, in surprise. The wizard sighed in relieve before he plastered a smile and motioned for the man to join him.
The man smiled back and shook his head, but Harry motioned once more for the military man to come. Sighing, the blond man jogged down towards Harry.
“Hello captain, “ he greeted, looking amusingly at the man who was walking around in a kids’ zoo without kids of his own. “What brings you to this part of the zoo?”
Rogers scratched the back of his neck and answered sheepishly, “ Hi Harry. It’s my fifth day coming to this zoo. I tried to visit every single section, but I got distracted to draw some of the animals, “ he grabbed a sketchbook clamped under his armpit. “And I finally got to this part of the zoo. Back in my days, there’s only one type of zoo. So I’m just curious about what animals they actually put in a children’s zoo.”
“Ah, “ he responded genuinely, “ can I see your sketchbook? Howard told me you’re an amazing artist.”
Blushing, the good captain handed the book, “ Amazing? Naaaw, I just like to draw. But I wouldn’t say I’m amazing at it.”
“Well, I’ll be the judge of that, won’t I?” Harry smiled, flipping the book open and was surprised to find a vivid image of the lemur. It was very clear and just life-like that Harry couldn’t help but admire the sketch.
He started flipping to the next page and continued on until the last page with penguins on it. “My father was right about you, captain. You have gifted hands. These pictures are very remarkable.”
The man out of time looked embarrassed but not quite unhappy at the compliment as he quietly said, “ Thank you.”
“So, five days, huh?” The wizard gave the sketchbook back to him. “Where’s James? I thought you were staying with him.”
“Aw, no, “ he shrugged. “Bu… James had to travel to Nepal a month ago. It was too quiet staying in his apartment alone by myself, so Peggy invited me to stay with her.”
“Hm, interesting, “ Harry cocked an eyebrow curiously. “I recalled meeting him for lunch a couple of weeks ago.”
Steven’s face grew redder when he’s been found out. “I’ve kind of been staying with Peggy since then. We have a lot to catch up on.”
“Oh?” Harry curled up a half smile. “Ms. Peggy has stopped traveling?”
The big muscled man gave him a radiant smile. “She postponed further travel plans to stay in New York. Peggy has been accompanying me to museums and historical landmarks. She’s actually here with me right now, but she has to go to the ladies room.”
“I bet that’s not all you do with her, “ he looked knowingly at the young man.
At this last statement, the man’s face grew more relaxed by the second. There was a soft look on his face as he continued talking about his first love. “We’ve been talking about a lot of things happening to her since I was presumed KIA. She has accomplished so much. I’m just sad I wasn’t around to see all she had achieved in her life.”
“It’s alright, Steve, “ a slightly wrinkled arm slipped around his arm from the side. It was ms. Peggy, smiling serenely while looking up at her young man. “I have a fulfilling life and now in my old days, I’ve got a young beau accompanying me around. Not many 90 years old can be as lucky as me at this age.”
The old lady still looked beautiful with her white hair drained into a ponytail and a slightly wrinkled face. Looking fragile she might be, but she could still wipe the floor with men Tony’s age. Howard’s super soldier serum were amazing.
Steve looked down and smiled lovingly at the old woman. He patted her hand that rested on his arm gently, so tenderly as if he was afraid his strength would hurt her. “I think I’m the lucky one.”
The she turned towards Harry and greeted him. “ Hi, Harry. Did you come here with Lily?”
“Yea, ms. Peggy, “ he smiled softly. “ I’m trying to finish the summer holiday with a bang, “ he chuckled. “Tony’s twins are also here. Do you want to meet them?”
“Oh, it’s been a long time since I meet the kids, “ she looked happy at the prospect of seeing the children again. “But I’m just here to accompany Steve, though.”
“It’s okay Peggy, “ he cocked his head to the side, watching Peggy with such a besotted look as if she wasn’t old enough to be his grandmother. “I would love to see them as well.”
Harry called out to the kids to meet with Steve and Ms. Pegs. They seemed happy surrounded by the children while Harry looked from where he was standing calmly.
If only they didn’t get separated for decades, Harry sure they would be married by then and have children and grandchildren together. Tony would have uncle Steve in his life and a bunch of cousins to play with. Their love story was quite a Shakespearean drama, which ended rather sadly.
Their chance in building a family might have pass, but that didn’t mean they didn’t deserve a chance to be together.
Harry wished he could do something. Maybe he could.
After all, he had a genius son and father. And if that didn’t work, he could as a certain grumpy Asgardian sorcerer for help.
***