The first time Tony noticed the teenagers hanging around the Avengers Tower was when he had dragged Steve out to an Iron Man exhibit. Well, it was an Avengers exhibit at the museum but Tony spent a lot of time in the Iron Man section. Really it wasn’t even that much time.
“I was subjected to listening to your life, now you have to put up with hearing about my life,” Tony had said to Steve when he saw Steve’s hesitance about leaving the Tower to go visit the exhibit.
Tony had noticed that Steve hadn’t left his room for a while since moving into the Tower. He talked to Pepper about it and she mentioned that he probably had PTSD, which made sense, especially because of having a traumatic life before he even became a soldier. Then he went through a war, then he woke up 70 years later in the future. Who wouldn’t have PTSD from that?
Anyway, Tony had dragged Steve out of the Tower. They wore baseball caps and sunglasses since “it’s the perfect disguise, Cap” and went to the exhibit. Steve had looked particularly tired afterwards, and Tony knew that it was probably because he was adjusting to actually doing something instead of sitting on the couch and staring at the wall like he’s been doing for weeks. So they left to go back to the Tower.
Unfortunately there was construction towards the back of the Tower where the car would have pulled into the Avengers private garage, so they had to go through the front near the lobby. It didn’t matter that much, but Tony noticed a group of teenagers near the front of the building.
“Um…you see them too, right?” Tony asked slowly. Steve nodded as they walked closer. “Hi.”
The teenagers, who had laptops and phones in their hands, all seemed to have a deer in headlights expression on their faces when they realized that Tony Stark was noticing them.
“What are you doing?” Tony asked eventually.
“Um…the Tower has good Wi-Fi, sir, and…” one of the teenagers managed to say in a nervous voice. “…and some of us don’t have any Wi-Fi or a good connection at home, and I have a project due in a few days.”
Tony stared at all of the teenagers.
“What’s your name, kid?” Tony asked another kid.
“Peter…Parker, Mr. Stark, sir,” he said awkwardly.
“Right, well, have fun, stay in school,” Tony said with a smile before leaving. Steve followed him inside the building. “Hey, Happy?”
“Yeah?” Happy asked as he walked over.
“Make sure none of the security guards bother those kids outside,” Tony said. He pointed towards the windows.
“You got it, boss,” Happy said with a nod. Tony looked around the lobby and silently noted an unused section towards the side, with a staircase.
“You okay?” Steve asked.
“Yup, fantastic,” Tony said as they filed into the elevator. “I got something to do, unless you wanna go bother Clint with me. Because I always have time for that. Bothering Natasha is a death sentence.”
Steve huffed out a laugh and shook his head. He yawned.
“I’m a bit tired, so I think I’m gonna head to my room. I’ll take a raincheck on that though,” Steve said. Tony nodded.
Eventually the elevator stopped on the floor where the Avengers’ rooms were. Steve stepped out. He paused and turned around.
“Um…Tony?” Steve asked hesitantly. Tony quickly stopped the elevator door from closing. “Thank you, for getting me out of my room today.”
“Anytime, Cap. I’m always open to talking about me,” Tony said with a smirk. Steve laughed and walked into his room.
——
Tony adjusted where he was laying down in bed. He turned to see Pepper asleep next to him. Must be nice to sleep and not have nightmares. Although with the amount of stress Tony causes her she probably does have nightmares.
Tony tried to turn his brain off but couldn’t stop thinking about the kids. He wondered if they finished working on their assignments and projects.
“J.A.R.V.I.S?” Tony asked quietly as he stared at the ceiling.
“Yes, sir?” J.A.R.V.I.S. asked in an equally quiet voice as to not wake up Pepper. Tony appreciated that.
“Are there still teenagers outside the Tower?” Tony asked.
“No, sir, they all left. The last one left twenty two minutes ago,” J.A.R.V.I.S. said.
Tony glanced at the clock on the nightstand and stared at the red numbers. 1:43 AM. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. There was a teenager that left at 1 AM? Working on an assignment for school? Tony remembers sleepless nights in college.
Tony continued to stare at the red numbers, his mind not so helpfully reminding him that Steve didn’t even know what a digital clock was until recently. He huffed out a sound and climbed out of bed. He instantly felt cold but ignored it, slipping on shoes and making his way to the elevator.
Tony pressed the floor for his lab and silently waited. If the kids had projects then he didn’t want security telling them to leave or kicking them out, which is why he told Happy to make sure no one bothered them. And he has the best Wi-Fi in the city. And it’s free. So he has no problem with them being at the Tower. But he wanted them safe.
Tony stepped into his lab and waved at Dum-E and U in the corner.
“J.A.R.V.I.S?” Tony asked.
“Yes, sir?” J.A.R.V.I.S. replied.
“Can you get me footage from outside the Tower?” Tony asked.
“Of course,” J.A.R.V.I.S. said as he started compiling footage. “Where would you like to see?”
“The teenagers from earlier, when Steve and I came in,” Tony said.
Tony stared at the screen as he watched the teenagers typing on their phones and laptops. He sat down in his chair and rubbed his chest.
“I wanna see more footage, like when they got here,” Tony said eventually.
“Which date are you asking for?” J.A.R.V.I.S. asked.
“What do you mean?” Tony asked.
“The teenagers come to the Avengers Tower often,” J.A.R.V.I.S. said.
“When did they first start?” Tony asked.
“May 26, 2012,” J.A.R.V.I.S. said. “The Avengers Tower had finished the repairs by then, after New York and Loki.”
Tony nodded to himself. He clenched his hands and sighed. Tony couldn’t believe he didn’t notice them until now. It’s been two years since Loki, which Tony did not want to think about. He didn’t want to think about flying through that portal-
“Are there any unused areas of the Tower?” Tony asked.
“There is an empty floor above the lobby,” J.A.R.V.I.S. replied as he showed security footage from the empty floors. “And there is elevator and stairwell access to that floor. There are two more floors that are empty as well, and they are right above that one, sir.”
“So right near the lobby? Great. J.A.R.V.I.S, order a hell of a lot of furniture,” Tony said. “Comfy. And snacks too. And shelves. And…more stuff.”
“Of course, sir. Do you have a preference for anything?” J.A.R.V.I.S. asked.
“I don’t care if it’s expensive, and I want…a locker room, two of them. Boy and girl. I want on that floor, the one right above the lobby,” Tony said.
“That would be Floor One, sir,” J.A.R.V.I.S. said.
“Yup, that,” Tony said. “And stock the locker rooms too. Towels, hygiene supplies, all of it. And in the area where we’re putting couches, I want some bean bag chairs. And outlets, a lot of them. Everywhere I went outlets. And chargers too.”
“Yes, sir,” J.A.R.V.I.S. said.
“I want someone cleaning the floor so it’s not dusty,” Tony said. “Rugs too, randomly scattered around. And books too! So lots of shelves.”
“Do you have a preference for books?” J.A.R.V.I.S. asked.
“Textbooks, stuff that’ll help for school, and books that they’ll read for fun too,” Tony said. “Oh and first aid kits because teenagers are menaces at times and can get hurt.”
Tony adjusted himself in his chair.
“So this is probably illegal but it’s only illegal if you get caught, which you won’t, but I want you to hack into school systems in the area and figure out what classes the kids take. I’m not talking about confidential information, I just mean what classes are taught at the schools,” Tony said.
“Of course, sir,” J.A.R.V.I.S. dryly.
Tony walked over to grab a cup of coffee after suddenly remembered that coffee existed.
“Coffee needs to be added to this list,” Tony said. “Coffee is important for growing children.”
“No, it’s really not, sir, but I shall add it to the list nonetheless,” J.A.R.V.I.S. said sarcastically.
“Do not spray me with the fire extinguisher!” Tony said loudly to his robots after noticing one of them with the extinguisher. “Don’t do it! I will donate you, don’t do it!”
Tony rubbed his temples as he waited for his coffee cup to fill. He zoned out slightly and eventually became aware of his surroundings when J.A.R.V.I.S. started talking again.
“Sir, I have that list of classes that you requested,” J.A.R.V.I.S. said. “I have summarized and organized it alphabetically for you.”
“Thank you, J.A.R.V.I.S, always helpful. Pull it up,” Tony said.
Algebra
American Sign Language
Archery
Architecture
Art
Astronomy
Biology
Botany
Calculus
Chemistry
Computer Programing
Culinary Arts
Electrical Engineering
Engineering
English
First Aid
Forensic Science
French
General Medicine
Geography
Geometry
History
Italian
Marine Biology
Math
Meteorology
Photography
Physical Education
Physics
Psychology
Robotics
Russian
Science
Spanish
Theatre Arts
Trigonometry
Veterinary Medicine
Video Making
Woodworking
Zoology
“I want textbooks for all of the classes in the area,” Tony said. “And not just for the classes, but other stuff too. Also books in different languages for teenagers who aren’t fluent in English and prefer reading in a different language.”
“Of course,” J.A.R.V.I.S. replied.
“Hey, look, archery,” Tony said with a smirk. “Clint would get an A in that class.”
——
Over the next week, furniture and supplies came. Tony supervised, and even made sure the floor would be easily accessible through the stairwell off to the side.
Tony made a comment to Steve and Pepper at some point asking for suggestions, and Steve said that maybe a suggestion box would be nice, in case the kids wanted something specific. Tony liked that idea. He then forced Steve and Thor and Bucky (who apparently got captured by Hydra and was tortured and mind controlled and killed his parents, but he’s not thinking about that right now) to help the delivery company with lifting the heavy stuff.
Natasha suggested a gym, since gym memberships are expensive. Tony made a note to have the construction workers build a gym on the second floor of this ‘Students Lounge’ as Clint called it.
Clint had also been helpful and mentioned that maybe a private tutor or two might be helpful for some kids that need a little extra help with things. He then accidentally tripped into Natasha afterwards because he’s clumsy but Tony ignored them both and focused on finding tutors, which then led him to therapists for the kids. Pepper and Sam suggested that one.
Steve made a comment about liking art, so Tony had Steve help J.A.R.V.I.S. come up with ideas for art supplies for the kids. Tony was thoroughly impressed with himself because he managed to get Steve out of his room (for more than five minutes) for the third time in a week.
Thor had suggested pop tarts at one point and Tony rolled his eyes but gave in. Clint also managed to fall out of the vents and nearly gave him a heart attack, but that’s not important right now.
Bucky didn’t talk much, since he was still recovering from when Steve got him out of Hydra months ago, but he did suggest food. Tony had obviously already thought of snacks but he still told Bucky that it was a good idea. Steve smiled and later thanked Tony for that, knowing it was still difficult for Bucky to work up the courage to talk and pitch into conversations.
Bruce even mentioned having a few doctors incase someone got hurt or was previously hurt and couldn’t get medical attention. Tony had the third floor be for therapists and doctors, who could at least do basic check ups.
Tony stretched and walked around the ‘Students Lounge’ with a smile. Pepper came up behind him - he did not flinch this time - and rested her head on his arm.
“You okay?” Pepper asked.
“Yeah, because the kids won’t be sitting in the rain anymore,” Tony said with a nod, his mind flashing back to the footage of the kids outside in the rain.
——
Peter and Ned walked towards the Avengers Tower and stopped when they didn’t see any other teenagers outside. Usually when the sun was out, there could be almost 50 of them. But none of them were there.
“Maybe Mr. Stark kicked them out,” Ned said awkwardly.
“Um…I don’t think so,” Peter said as he stared at the sign where everyone used to sit.
FOR THE TEENAGERS WHO LIKE TO SIT IN THE RAIN: DON’T DO THAT ANYMORE. COME INSIDE. FREE WI-FI. COMFY COUCHES. 24/7.
Peter and Ned slowly walked inside and followed the signs. They adjusted their grips on their backpacks.
YES THIS WAY
Peter laughed at the sign and followed the staircase, Ned trailing behind him.
HERE IS WHERE THE COMFY COUCHES AND SNACKS ARE
Peter and Ned walked through the doorway and froze at the room. Couches were scattered around the floor, with shelves and books. A coffee machine and kitchen area. Tables and chairs were around the room.
“Woah,” Ned said, his eyes widened.
“Cool,” Peter said with a smile.
“Black Widow,” Ned said in an excited whisper as he pointed to Natasha talking to a girl in the corner.
Peter looked around more and noticed that Captain America was on a couch towards the back and was drawing with a few teenagers. Hawkeye was telling a story to a few people that seemed completely classified. Bruce was helping a girl with her homework in the corner. Thor seemed extremely interested in a story another girl was telling. Peter could only hear bits and pieces about her dog finding a snake in the backyard. Thor then started telling his own story about how his brother would transform into a snake and then stab him.
Peter’s eyes widened slightly at that but he sat down at a table with Ned. He noticed the charging ports at the center of the table and immediately plugged his phone and laptop in to charge.
“This is so cool,” Ned said.
“Yeah it is,” Peter said with a smile as he pushed away memories of sitting in his room waiting for the Wi-Fi to load. “I think we should come here more often.”