Changing Tides

Clint hadn't even left for twenty minutes before Fury called him. Harry glared at the ceiling (for lack of a better place to look) once Jarvis patched him through; the last thing he wanted to do was talk to Shield. Coulson hadn't been able to hold back his questions when he picked up Clint on whether or not Harry looked at the trunk and it was all he could do to stop Hermione (who had been there) from asking ridiculous questions.

He had just managed to get away from Hermione and now this. “What do you want, Fury?”

“Coulson informed me that you haven't opened the trunk we gave you.”

Harry shrugged and went back to wiring part of the new suit casing. “Didn't see a need. I've got things handled.”

“Handled how, Stark? What is the percentage of the Palladium?”

The monitor next to Harry flashed with a 28% and he frowned. “None of your concern, Director.”

If he had the video feed on, Harry was sure the man would be scowling as he said, “It's going to be my concern if you kneel over and die.”

“I won't die, at least not right now.” Harry rubbed at his eyes. “Is there a reason you called other than to berate me for this?”

“I did. We need you to come onto this project eventually, but since Agent Barton is out--”

“On your orders.”

“--we will need to send someone--”

“Are you setting e up with a babysitter?” Harry turned in his chair and clicked on the video feed so he could glare at Fury. “No.”

If Fury was shocked to suddenly see Harry's face, he didn't act on it. “I don't consider any of my Agents to be babysitters.”

“But you want to send one.”

Fury's eye narrowed. “The idea has its merits.”

“Agent Romanoff?”

“Unavailable.”

“Top-secret spy mission?” Harry grinned as Fury's eye twitched, most likely in annoyance. “Bingo. Leave it, Director. I can take care of myself.”

“Your health says otherwise.”

“Fury?”

“Stark?”

“Leave me the hell alone.” Harry turned the call off. “Jarvis, lock it down. Don't let anyone but family up here.”

“Accepted, sir. Full personal-level lock down commencing now.”

Harry closed his eyes and felt more than anything the way the tower shut in on itself. Everything from the lab up, and now the reactor basement, would be completely locked out from anyone that Harry didn't trust completely. That left Hermione, Neville, Blaise, Edwin, and Clint – the only five people he wanted to watch his back (except for Bruce, who wasn't even around).

The last thing he wanted to do was answer to Fury and his questions about the reactor and his health. The second-to-last thing Harry wanted to do was help with the project; official Shield business was Clint's main thing, not his. His was, well, Harry wasn't sure what his was anymore, but if he was going to die soon, it wasn't going to be sitting down.

He took the rest of the day to get a few things done that he had been putting off. Contracts that needed his approval were looked over, Hermione's attached notes were taken into consideration, and he approved the ones he felt were right for the direction Hermione wanted to go. It was her company now and he had faith that Howard – the Howard he wanted to know – would appreciate where she would take it.

Her shock at seeing them done made Harry wish that he had done it sooner.

After she left with the folders, Harry took Neville up to the garden and listened as his friend broke down what was what. A mixture of Muggle and Magic , but thankfully no plants that moved and tried to kill you. When Harry asked about those, Neville laughed and brushed some dirt off his pants.

“Those are in my room,” he said. “I suggest you don't go into that second closet that's attached to the room because I think the Snare's gone wild.”

Harry shivered and promised that he wouldn't even go into Neville's room, let along closet.

That night, after he finished the rest of the wiring for the reactor, Harry lay on his bed and simply stared at the ceiling. He had just finished changing out the reactor, the poisoning was getting worse, but he had no idea how to stop it. How did you stop something like that? He had no weapons, both Draco and Miranda's potions weren't working any longer, and he could see the small countdown Jarvis had up next to the glaring 30% palladium-level bar. If he were lucky, he had about three weeks, with the last one being him probably just on his deathbed.

There was no Yensin to help him out of this one. Nobody that knew what he was going through, nobody to tell him that he was being an idiot. Sure, there was always going to be Edwin, but Harry doubted the old man wanted to listen to him say, “So I'm dying.” No, he would need to do this alone.

Harry was tired of doing things alone and, like a blessing in disguise, the palladium bar disappeared and a picture showed up instead. Harry sat up to take a better look, confused as to why he was staring at a pile of blankets.

“Jarvis?”

His phone went off and Harry grabbed it. He opened the text from Clint, and then laughed.

Like my new nest? I stole half the blankets from Fury's room.

Harry recognized one of the blankets as his own and he felt touched that the archer would take it with him. He sent back a message, congratulating Clint on his thievery and requesting that he didn't try to nap up wherever he was to the point where he fell out.

Birds can fly, dumbass, is what Clint sends back and Harry just shook his head. He figured Clint wouldn't be sleeping wherever he set himself up at, but he had hoped for that kind of response when he sent the message anyway. It was always fun to pretend, just for a moment, that everything was normal.

After that, though, Harry couldn't sleep. He knew that they would be setting up the reactor soon (tomorrow at the earliest, a week at the latest) and he would need to make sure it was completely working before things went to hell. There was also the new suit he had stashed away. There were a few things left to fix on it, especially the bracelets he had crafted for it. He wasn't sure if the system would work as it should; with his luck, it would crash through walls instead of finding a non-destructive way out.

Hermione would hate to make even more repairs to the tower, and Harry was sure she would make him do it all as punishment.

Knowing he wouldn't get sleep anyway, Harry pushed himself out of bed and went down to his lab. It didn't take long before he was elbow-deep in the bolts and wires of his suit, fixing it as he put it all back together. It would need to be tested before he actually took it out, but for now it could rest there. The bracelets were still upstairs, but testing could come later, tomorrow.

Harry glanced at the time (nine am) and wrinkled his nose. They could be tested tomorrow, then. Frist, he would get at least three hours of sleep before Hermione woke him and complained about spending all night in the lab.

Edwin was in the kitchen when he wandered through and he smiled at the old man. “Good morning.”

“Up late, sir?” Edwin held up his cup, most likely filled with tea. “Something to drink?”

“I'm just going to bed, so no.” Harry did grab a banana, though, hoping to hold his stomach over until he woke again. “When Hermione starts wondering where I am, can you let her know that we can do the reactor set up whenever she's ready?”

“I can do that.” Edwin tilted his head. “Jarvis, did you get the message?”

Harry laughed as Jarvis repeated back the instructions. “That's cheating. I thought that would stop once Clint left.”

“Your friend has the right idea and I am getting to be old.”

“Never.” Harry pulled his banana out of the peel. “Good night, then.”

“Mister Stark?”

Harry bit off some of his food and turned. “Yes?”

“Perhaps we should fit the reactor together tonight. It would give us more time to work out anything that may go wrong.”

Harry swallowed and looked away from him. “Yeah, sounds good. Once I wake up, we'll start the process.”

He left before Edwin could any anything else, too afraid that it would be some kind of sentimental thing he couldn't handle.