Chapter 1
Looking back, maybe Happy wished he could say it all started as a normal day, like people usually do when the most terror-inducing days of their lives happen, but no. It was worse.
It was a good day. A really good day.
Tony had been bragging about this day for weeks.
Happy had known his friend long enough to know that bragging was just his way of being proud without making himself vulnerable. Not letting anyone else see how much things mattered to him, just in case they’d use it against him later on.
He had to know Happy would never do that, but old habits die hard.
Later, in a calm moment during their chaotic days, Pepper told him that Tony's excitement wasn’t just about Peter shadowing him for a day.
It was about the reason behind it.
The boy had to write an essay about the man he wanted to become in the future. The teacher asked them to pick a man they admired, spend a day shadowing them, and write about how that day showed them what they could improve in themselves.
What kind of school asks kids to write about self-improvement instead of American history or something actually useful, Happy didn’t know.
He definitely thought it wasn’t a good use of the school’s funding or the kids' time.
But with Peter enrolled in Midtown, the school had probably already racked up millions of dollars from one Tony Stark, in the name of improving things for Peter Parker.
So if May and Tony thought this kind of shit was a good use of Peter’s time, who was he to say anything about it?
But if someone did ask his opinion, he’d definitely say Peter Parker didn’t need to be taught how to be a good man. Instead, they should be using his time to teach him stuff he didn’t already know.
Not that there were many things Tony’s mini-me didn’t know. But they could at least teach him things like how to use punctuation.
The kid might be a genius, but he still couldn’t put commas or periods in his endless text messages to save his life.
Anyway, since Peter’s grown-ups didn’t seem to care about it, Happy just accepted.
So, he took the news of Peter’s first official visit to Stark Industries very seriously. He was the head of security, after all, and hell would freeze over before he did his job half-assed.
One of his best friends was about to have the most important person in his life shadowing him through a massive company with hundreds of employees for a whole day. And in Happy's opinion, there were too many damn variables in this scenario.
Didn’t matter how much media training his boss had at this point or how used he was to being in the spotlight, always performing to the public’s expectations. He was completely unable and probably unwilling, too, to hide how much he cared about one Peter Parker.
And that could cause all sorts of problems if you asked Happy.
To small ones, like someone seeing Peter for what he was: a direct opening to Tony’s heart, and deciding to say something mean to the boy; to bigger ones, like selling his information to the press or posting about him online.
Or, worse, someone could decide to take revenge for some twisted reason that only made sense inside their own head, and go after Peter. Try to hurt Tony’s boy.
And Happy would die before he let anything happen to Peter.
"Tony, you need to follow the plan. Do not go off script," he lectures his boss one more time.
He’s standing beside Tony’s work table in the lab. Tony has his legs crossed up on the desk, looking bored out of his mind with his lecture, but Happy needs to make sure everything goes smoothly today.
"Any more orders for me today, boss?" The billionaire sasses, and Happy has to hold himself back from rolling his eyes.
"I’m being serious, Tony. This is about keeping Peter safe."
"Happy," Tony finally looks him straight in the eye and lowers his legs, sitting up straight.
"When have I ever not taken Pete’s safety seriously? Relax a little. I’m sure you’ll latch onto him like a cute little fungus and make sure no one dares to even say hi to him," Tony adds with a wink.
"Tony, I’m being serious."
"So am I. Friday’s always watching him, right, honey?"
"Of course, boss," her automated voice chimes in. "There’s never a moment when you, mini boss, and Mrs. Boss aren’t being monitored by me."
Happy hearing something like this and not being completely creeped out is just a testament to how long they've been friends. He got used to Tony’s kind of crazy.
"That's my girl. See, Happy? Everything’s under control. I’ll stick to the script, the floors we’re going to are clear of any unnecessary personnel, and you’ll be the shadow of my shadow."
"And the phones?"
"Friday will sound the alarms and give a warning if anyone even thinks about taking their phone out near us. They won’t stand a chance."
If only Happy knew that in a few hours, that would be the least of their worries.
"And now it's time to see just how boring owning Stark Industries can really be," Tony announces with his hand on Peter’s shoulder, guiding him toward the boardroom.
It might fly over Peter’s head, but Happy can see it in the way Tony says it, the man already sees his position belonging to Peter in the future.
Peter Parker is the future of Stark Industries, anyone with an eye and a fully developed prefrontal cortex could see it too.
"Tony," Pepper appears at the door, her tone full of reproach. "You can’t say that to him."
"I can’t lie to him either, honey."
"Don't listen to him, baby," Pepper gently pulls Peter closer, hugging the boy and guiding him toward the boardroom.
"My own family, leaving me behind. Do you see that, Happy?" Tony spins around with a dramatic flair, in his full drama mode.
Happy has been following them since the kid entered SI through the main lobby, for once, and not through Tony and Pepper's private garage and elevator. Just the thought of how many people now know Tony has a kid gives him the creeps.
But when has Tony Stark ever chosen to make his life easier?
To be fair, Happy knows for a fact that Tony wasn't thrilled about the idea either, but the man could never say no to Peter.
At least never with something like this, the boy wanting to spend time with him. Happy would bet his job, his apartment, and maybe even his old collectible Maverick, that Tony would rather drop dead than, ever give Peter the impression that he is embarrassed by him or has more important things to do with his time.
So today, Happy is making sure everything goes smoothly, or as smoothly as it can go at least.
He doesn't dignify Tony's theatrics with a response and watches the billionaire roll his eyes and stride into the boardroom. Happy follows, entering last.
The board members are already seated around the table, expressions full of boredom and dissatisfaction, as always.
Happy quietly closes the door and takes his place beside it.
He’d rather be closer to Peter, but he doesn’t want to make it too obvious to this kind of people how important Parker is. Not that it isn’t already clear from the boy’s presence in the room in the first place, seated in between Pepper and Tony.
But is Happy’s job to minimize the amount of damage of this day to Peter Parker’s general safety.
"What’s with the bodyguard, Stark?" One of the men sneers, his tone laced with mockery.
Happy suppresses the urge to glare.
He hates them. They think they’re so above all of them, above Tony. Their words are always full of hidden barbs masked by their superficial politeness.
But of course, he maintains an expressionless face, he is a professional during his work hours after all.
A few of the board members glance at Peter with judgmental expressions, and the boy shifts uncomfortably in his chair, clearly uneasy at being subject to their scrutiny.
Pepper clears her throat, taking most of the attention out of the boy.
"Gentlemen, if we could start? I'm sure your time is very valuable, and we don't wish to waste it discussing how Tony chooses to employ his personal security team," she says with finality.
Pepper has always had a knack for saying "Mind your own damn business" in the most refined way possible.
Some of the men continue to look at Peter, but they seem to realize it’s better not to say anything about it. After all, Tony is still the full shareholder of SI, and Pepper is the CEO. Challenging them outright is rarely a good idea.
If Happy weren't so professional, he might allow himself a smug smile right now. But he settles for standing a little taller and keeping his eyes on Peter.
They start a long conversation about the stock market, but Happy doesn’t lose his focus. He’s a damn good bodyguard, the best out there, because he’s always expecting things to go south.
And yet, nothing prepared him for the dread he'd feel when the worst actually happened.
He’s used to bad stuff happening, of course he is, he has been Tony Stark’s bodyguard for the last 20 years of his life. And he always took his job very seriously, Tony’s his brother, but the man is also an adult.
An irresponsible one? Definitely. But an adult, nonetheless.
With Peter, it's a whole different ballgame.
He might be Spider-Man, but he's also his best friend's child. This brilliant, fearless 14-year-old who somehow doesn’t see the value in himself.
A kid with his whole life ahead of him, so unaware of how little time he has lived at his point, how much he has yet to learn.
The first sign something's wrong is FRIDAY’s sudden alarm. Happy’s first instinct is to glare around the room, looking for the idiot trying to take a picture of Peter. Make sure they don’t actually get one.
But before he can do anything, he hears the automatic doors lock.
The threat isn’t inside the room. It's outside.
He’s already moving toward Peter without even thinking, his heart is trying to fly out of his chest with how fast and hard it's beating. Happy doesn’t know what's happening, but he knows it’s bad, and that he needs to protect precious Peter Parker.
Because Peter is the one thing that, if lost, would utterly destroy the world of every single person in the little family they created for themselves.
Then there’s a loud bang.
A shot.
His heart seizes up with cold, hard dread as he gets to Peter’s side, gently grabbing the frozen boy’s arm and moving him under the table, using himself as a shield between Peter and the door.
He could recognize the sound of shots anywhere, and after Ben, Peter probably does too.
He already knew this, but at this moment there is no excitation on his mind, he would rather die before someone gets to Peter.
That’s his priority. Make sure this child comes out of whatever this is okay. If it means dying to protect him, so be it. Not a single regret or second thoughts.
He is not the only one who thinks that, of course he is not. Not when Tony and Pepper are in the room. He knows they’d give up every single thing for Peter, he’s the one thing they love more than each other.
Tony and Pepper are right behind him, ready to shield Peter themselves if Happy wasn’t already on it.
Happy feels Tony putting a heavy hand on his shoulder, whispering to him, “Good man, always Pete first.”
Then the man quickly takes off his watch and slips it onto Peter’s arm, who seems to be finally unfreezing from the shock, panic filling his eyes. He looks down at the watch, clearly confused, and then back up at them, eyes wide as saucers.
“I can help,” he says, but before this train of thought can go any further, Tony cups Peter’s face with both hands and kisses him on the forehead.
“I’m sorry, bambino, but I need to protect the things I can’t live without.”
Happy remembers, what feels like a lifetime ago but really was just moments before, how he was worried about the board noticing how much Peter meant to Tony, and now it all feels so damn irrelevant.
There is an armed shooter inside the same building as them, as Peter Parker. Not Spider-man, just Peter.
“FRIDAY, activate baby gate protocol,” Tony commands.
Tony looks Peter right in the eyes, and Happy feels the metal forming around the kid, right under his protective arms.
In seconds, Peter’s in a full Iron Man suit, and for a moment, Happy wonders what the hell Tony is thinking.
But he should know better, because Peter tries to move and can't, he's locked in place. The kid shoots Tony a glare full of accusations.
“Mr. Stark, you can’t lock me up! I can help!”
“FRIDAY, Peter’s safety is priority one. Do whatever it takes. Pepper and Happy can give you directions,” Tony says, and then he addresses Peter, sounding genuinely sorry. He must know how pissed off Peter is going to be about this. “I’m sorry, baby. I love you, okay?”
Tony's up in a second, bends down, and quickly kisses Pepper, right next to Happy.
“Do you have Rescue with you, honey?” he asks.
“Yes, you can go. I’ll take care of Peter. Be careful.”
“Yes dear, love you,” he says, and in an instant, Tony unlocks the door and slips out of the room, locking it behind him.
Peter, for his part, is full-on panicking.
“Tony,” he screams after the man, breaking Happy’s heart in the process. The kid's face is streaked with tears.
Parents going up against people with weapons? That’s gotta be a raw wound for him, Iron Man or not.
“Pepper, why’d you let him go? He doesn't even have a suit on. I can help, just tell FRIDAY to let me go!”
The boy is crying, and even though he’s wrapped up in Iron Man armor, Happy doesn't move a muscle from his protective stance. He’s not taking any chances.
Happy’s knees are screaming in agony from the position he’s in, he isn’t twenty anymore, but that doesn’t matter right now. The only thing going through his mind on repeat is: protect Peter Parker at all costs.
Before Pepper can answer Peter's pleading, obviously to tell him that Tony will handle whatever this is and he is exactly where he needs to be, FRIDAY, the ever-loyal AI, cuts in.
“I’m sorry, Mini Boss, no commands can override my main directive to prioritize your safety. Miss Boss doesn’t have the authority to go against my programming when it comes to your protection.”
“I would never want you out there, sweetheart. You’re exactly where you need to be,” Pepper says, word for word to what Happy thought she would say.
“Pepper, I can help,” Peter tries again.
“But you don’t need to. You’re our child, and that’s all we care about.”
“I can’t lose him too, Pep,” Peter whispers, his voice breaking. The tears have yet to stop.
They hug, Peter, crying from inside the suit, only his face out, and Pepper holding the metal like her life depended on it. Happy stays right where he is, a human shield between Peter and any threat out there. He’s not moving, no matter what.
Not until he is completely sure they’re safe.
Because this right here is what Tony lives for. These two people in front of him are Tony’s whole world. And after everything Tony has done for him, all the trust, all the years, giving him a job and a family, Happy will never let anything happen to them.
Not on his watch.
They stay there for what feels like hours.
They hear another shot, a few minutes after Tony leaves, and that sends Peter into a full-blown panic attack.
The only thing that gets the boy to calm down is FRIDAY playing the sound of Tony’s heartbeat through his cellphone. The volume is low, just enough for the three of them to hear, not the rest of the room.
This gives him a little bit of relief because his boss is somewhat safe. He wouldn't let FRIDAY do this otherwise, risking the chance of Peter hearing his heartbeat stop.
It takes a while for Happy to even remember there are other people in the room with them. They’re all huddled up in little groups. It doesn’t matter how high and mighty you think you are, at the end of the day, you’re still human. Still fragile.
Everything can change in the blink of an eye.
At first, everyone’s just scared, but as time goes by, they start to get restless, louder, demanding answers, demanding to be let out. Until Pepper snaps at them.
She usually keeps it together, but who could blame her?
Her husband is out there facing a shooter, and her kid’s a sobbing mess, probably going to need more therapy after sitting here thinking he’s gonna lose another dad to gun violence. Poor Peter.
So she told them they could go out there and make things worse for the people risking their lives to make sure everyone gets home today, or they could just wait. She wasn’t going to stop them either way.
After that, no one dared raise their voice again.
A few of them give Peter analyzing looks, like they’re starting to figure out just how important he is, especially with the whole wearing a freaking Iron Man suit right now.
That leaves a pretty clear message: he’s in Tony Stark’s inner circle, and he’s got a lot of power.
Of course, Peter would never see it that way. To him, Tony and Pepper are just parents who give him love and time, like any other guardians he’s had. But these people are sharks, smelling blood in the water.
A young, impressionable kid who has Tony wrapped around his finger, how tempting Peter must be for power and money-hungry people. This is what Happy was worried about from the start, and now here they are.
Finally, the door unlocks, and Happy is on his feet in a second. Until he is a hundred percent sure that the threat’s gone, he’s staying on full alert.
But Peter’s still locked in his seated position, so that’s a good sign. Otherwise, FRIDAY would’ve taken over the suit and flown him out by now.
Tony walks in, and Happy lets himself relax. He looks over at his boss, who seems clearly tired but okay, unhurt.
Happy feels a weight leaving his shoulders.
In all his years on this job, with all the threats he’s faced, the sleepless nights spent mourning over Tony’s possible death, or even the Spider-Man scares, nothing felt like today. Seeing Peter not as a young hero choosing to fight crime every night, but as Tony’s kid. A child in a place he was supposed to be safe, with his family, having to face the possibility of becoming an orphan again.
Nothing ever felt like that.
He wants so much to kill the person who did this, who could be so rotten to think it’s a good idea to do something like this. Almost ruin someone's life on a whim.
At his side, Happy hears Pepper let out a breath while Peter lets out a sob, full of relief.
Tony crosses the room, quick as lighting. And in the blink of an eye, Peter is standing, wrapped in Tony’s arms.
“FRIDAY, baby gate protocol off.”
The suit retracts back into the watch on Peter’s wrist, and the boy wraps his arms around Tony's midsection.
“How could you lock me in here while you were out there?” Peter's voice is accusing, but the sobs make it clear it's coming from a place of fear.
Tony, being the changed man he is, doesn’t hesitate to show affection in front of all the sharks. Peter needs him, and that's all that matters.
He kisses the boy’s hair, right where it peeks out between his hugging arms and murmurs.
“You don’t understand what it’s like to be a parent, baby. What I did, what Ben did, it’s the only right answer for us, to make sure you’re safe. You can hate me for it, resent me, scream all you want, but you’ll be alive and breathing. I can’t live in a world where that’s not true.”
Happy looks away, not wanting to intrude on their moment, but Peter’s full-body sobs are hard to ignore.
As he averts his eyes, he notices Pepper is ushering the last of the men out of the room. Ever the visionary in moments of crisis, she took care of it to make sure her family had some privacy.
Happy wonders if he should leave too, but before he can decide, Pepper closes the door and lets her shoulders sag. She looks up and gives him a shaky smile, her eyes finally showing the tears she’s been holding back.
He may not be a parent, but he isn’t an idiot. He knew from the start Pepper was scared too, but Peter needed a parent to lean on. Now that Tony’s here, he can hold both of them, be the rock.
Pepper looks over at Tony, and Happy instinctively does the same, ignoring his decision to give his friends some bit of privacy. Tony must feel their gaze because he locks eyes with his wife, gives her a little smile, and opens one of his arms, still holding Peter, in a clear invitation.
The moment Pepper steps into the hug, she finally lets herself cry, loud and clear.
Feeling uncomfortable, like he’s intruding, Happy quietly makes his way to the door and steps outside. He doesn’t go far, though. He stands firmly in front of the door, making sure no one else sees Tony’s family this vulnerable.
When they finally come out, Pepper and Peter with red, swollen eyes, the day has already turned to night.
All the plans Tony had to show Peter around, do things with him, to make new memories with his kid, forgotten.
Or better yet, stolen by some random new employee who was mad because a girl in his department didn’t want to go out with him. So, of course, he thought the only logical way to deal with rejection was to storm into SI and try to kill as many people as possible.
Good thing they had fewer people in today. No one was killed, but from what the cops in the hallway told Happy, 32 people were injured.
Poor Pepper, had to go through this emotional rollercoaster of a day and will probably end with a full night of work writing a public response.
His boss probably should go into crisis mode too, but knowing him and Pepper and how their priorities have shifted over the last year, the man had a much more important job to do. Console his spider kid.
Pepper and Peter give Happy a quick wave as they head to the elevator toward the penthouse, but Tony stays behind, standing by his side.
The man doesn’t hug him or anything. All Tony's hugs and kisses are reserved for his wife and kid, and thank God for that. Happy would've quit a long time ago if Tony ever tried smothering him with affection like he does Peter.
“I'll never be able to thank you enough,” Tony finally says, his voice full of sincerity.
“There’s nothing to thank me for,” Happy replies gruffly, and he means it. He doesn't expect any gratitude, he was just doing his job.
“Let me say it anyway. You chose to protect Peter above everything else, Happy, and for that kind of loyalty to him, I'll be forever in your debt.”
Coming from Tony, these words carry a lot of weight. The man knows how dangerous it can be to owe someone, tell people they can ask you anything.
“I don’t want you to owe me anything, boss,” he clarifies. “I did the only thing possible. My job is to protect you and your family.” Our family, it’s what he wants to say, but he keeps that to himself.
“Your job isn’t supposed to come before your life, and yet you shielded Pete with your own body.”
“He’s Peter,” Happy simply says.
Tony pats his arm and adds one more thing before heading toward the elevator to be with his family, where he belongs.
“You chose Peter, Happy. I’ll never forget that. Thank you.”
Later, when he’s in bed, trying to fall asleep but unable to, flashes of the day go through his mind: the sound of the shot, Peter's fearful face, and his sobs after Tony left.
The ping of a notification on his phone pulls him out of his thoughts.
He pulls himself up and gets his phone on his nightstand, it’s not like he is getting closer to sleeping, no matter how much he tries, either way.
It's from May Parker, and there's a photo of Peter and Tony in their PJs, both looking asleep, cuddling like there’s no tomorrow.
“Thank you! I don’t know which of them you did what you did for, but you will never understand how deeply grateful I am for today. We have heroes all around us in this life, and sometimes, when you deal with them every day, it’s too easy to forget how truly heroic they are, forget how brave. Sometimes I felt this with Ben, now with Peter and Tony. Thank you, Happy, for being the hero you are. I’ll never forget what you did. You are part of this family, and every hug I get from him, every extra day I see him grow up, I’ll always know it’s partly because of you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
And if his eyes got a bit wet, well, it’s a good thing he lives alone in this forever-empty and silent apartment, so it’s nobody's business.
He feels like he doesn’t deserve the gratitude coming from Peter’s parents; he didn’t really do anything, after all.
The shooter never even made it to the room they were in. And even if he had, the Iron Man armor would be 100% more effective than his body ever could be.
But even feeling undeserving of May’s words, Happy feels his body relax, sleep finally calling to him.
As May’s words echo in his mind, he wonders, is he really a hero when it’s so damn easy to just love Peter Parker?
And then, that sneaky little voice inside his head always finishes the thought with a whisper: “And it would be easy to love May too, to really be an official part of this family.”