Chapter 14
2008
0 days, 0 weeks 1 month, 0 years
There were moments in time where having an insane amount of disposable income to throw around made no difference in Tony’s life.
It hadn’t stopped the crash that had killed his parents, nor what had happened to him in Afghanistan or with Obadiah Stane.
In fact, there had even been occasions where it had made things worse. Throughout his childhood and his teenage years especially, people around him, from classmates and peers to dates and girlfriends, had been drawn to him solely because of his family name and wealth.
However, there were some times where being able to just throw money at something without a second thought was incredibly useful. This was one of those times.
Tony had rounded up Happy and Rhodey, Pepper volunteering to sit with Peter in the penthouse while they were busy instead, and he took them up to the roof of the tower.
Ever since the day it had rained, when him and Peter had played tag up there, Tony had had an urge to renovate the space. He wanted to make it somewhere for Peter to be able to play and have fun without being cooped up inside 24/7. The kid deserved space and fresh air and so Tony was going to do whatever it took to make sure he had access to it.
He hadn’t told Peter of his plans though; he wanted it to be a surprise.
“The fuck is all this for?” Rhodey asked.
He eyed up the large collection of boxes and crates that had been hauled up there by some particularly disgruntled delivery men who hadn’t turned down the inconvenient extension to their job after Tony offered a cash incentive. Sure, Tony could have flown them up much easier in the suit but he wasn’t entirely sure he was ready to get back in it yet.
There were more there than he had thought there was from what he could remember from his late night shopping binges that he splurged for next day delivery for on every single purchase. He rolled with it regardless.
Honestly, he’d done so much shopping he wasn’t surprised he couldn’t remember everything he’d bought.
Amongst all the items for renovating outside, he had also spent an atrocious amount on clothes. Formal clothes, casual clothes, clothes specifically for painting in so he didn’t ruin any of his other outfits. He had brought clothes meant for boys, clothes meant for girls, and clothes for those inbetween. Just like he had been when it came to the pyjamas, he had been somewhat hesitant to get more feminine things, like skirts and dresses and blouses with frills, but after considering how much Peter loved his Snow-White pyjamas, he got them anyway.
He may have also brought the kid a rather impressive collection of dressing up outfits – ranging from princesses and princes, to knights in shining armour, to buzz lightyear and Captain America and more.
Tony shook his head slightly to refocus his thoughts.
“You two are helping me put together a yard for Peter to play in,” he explained. “Or as close to a yard as you can get when you’re on the roof of a ninety-three floor tower in the middle of the city.”
Rhodey sighed and rolled his eyes. He was smiling slightly though, willing to spend all day trying to assemble outdoor equipment if it would actually get Tony to spend time outside instead of locked away in his lab.
With confidence in his stride, Tony approached one of the largest boxes. A swing set with weighted feet so you didn’t have to cement it into the ground to keep it steady.
“Let’s get to it.”
They spent almost two hours assembling the swings between the three of them. Tony had quickly grabbed up the sheet of instructions, leaving the heavy lifting to his friends as he directed them around bossily, refusing to so much as lift a finger to help with the practical parts.
There had even been one point where Happy had stepped back and joined him while they both laughed at Rhodey’s expense. He had been balancing on his tip toes to hold up the top bar, trying his best not to let it fall down again. The two of the them just watched him struggle for the best part of fifteen minutes before they stepped back in to help and finished assembling the swing set.
After the swings, they’d made a little roundabout, a climbing frame and slide, a set of monkey bars, and one of the small trampolines with a handle bar that were made mostly for toddlers but were still fun to play on when you were older. Tony had wanted to get a full size trampoline but had to stop himself when he had realised it wouldn’t be a very good idea, in terms of space, weight and the probability that it would blow away. Not that he had actually managed to stop himself from buying it – it was in it’s box off to the side of his personal garage just in case he ever is able to find a spot for it.
They also constructed a large amount of planters that they arranged around the outside of the roof space and in rows on the far sides. For now they were empty, but Tony had big plans for them.
He wanted to be there for Peter, present in his life in a way his own father had never been, and one idea he had had right from the beginning was gardening together. They could plant flowers and herbs and fruit and vegetables, and when they were all grown the space would look alive with vibrant greens and they would be able to eat some of the things they’d grown themselves.
Tony gestured to an empty area beside the small room that contained the elevator and the stairs down into the tower.
He was standing in the middle of the roof, Rhodey on his left, Happy on his right, admiring their hard work. The day was almost at an end, they’d been working since lunch, and Tony was grateful he had had his friends there to help him put it all together. It wouldn’t have been nearly as fun to do it all alone.
“I think I’m going to put a seating area there,” he said. “A table and some chairs and a grill so we can have barbecues or picnics up here in the summers.”
Rhodey hummed in agreement.
“And you’re sure we’ll be invited to some of those,” Happy quipped. “You aren’t going to keep them exclusive to you and your new best pal, Peter?”
With a scoff, Tony replied, “Peter loves you guys, and Pepper; I don’t think he’d ever forgive me if I didn’t invite you to hang out sometimes.”
He took one last look around at the planters and the playground equipment spread out across the space in a way that still meant there was room for them to just run around as well.
God, he couldn’t wait to see Peter’s reaction when they showed him all of this.