Chapter 10
“So where are you headed?” Natasha asked Tony as Wanda poured him a bowl of soup. She kept her voice level, friendly, as if she wasn’t subtly interrogating him. Tony didn’t look at her as he sat down at the breakfast bar and shrugged. “I think I’m heading to Italy. I just need,” he took a breath as Wanda set a bowl and spoon in front of him, “a break. Thank you.” He looked up to make sure Wanda knew the last part was directed at her. She simply smiled in response. If Tony’s head wasn’t so cloudy with thoughts, he would’ve noticed that her facial expression was slightly off.
(Natasha had taught her well, but she still had a ways to go when it came to being inconspicuous.)
“A break from what?” Natasha asked, subtly texting underneath the bar to let Peter know that she basically knew something was going on, and that she was stalling for him. Another deep sigh. Tony opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but closed it after a few seconds and shrugged instead. Happy was still standing in front of the elevator, clearly unsure of what to do. Wanda sent him a wink across the room while Tony was looking down at his bowl of soup, still having not tried it yet. Natasha noticed this.
“You gotta try it, Tony, Wanda cooks like she casts spells, she’s powerful.” They had already decided that he’s not leaving until he finishes the entire bowl. Natasha checked her watch when she felt it vibrate, seeing a message from Peter that said just ‘10 minutes’. She could do that. She could keep Tony busy for another 10 minutes.
—
“Fuck! FUCK!” Harley shouted as he looked down at the now flat tire on his truck. They only had minutes left of their drive to the compound. Minutes. And now they were on the side of the road, the tire on the front driver’s side not only flat, but completely torn apart. He couldn’t just put the spare on; he had forgotten to put it back in place the last time he needed to use it and his tools were nowhere to be found in the truck.
Peter was still in the passenger seat, breathing heavily with his hands covering his face, clearly trying to remain calm. He wasn’t crying. Yet.
“We’re so fucking close!” Harley yelled, face to the sky, which had gone from just being cloudy to beginning to rain, which was perfect. Considering the circumstances, the rain was absolutely perfect. Suddenly, Peter’s head shot up, taking in their surroundings; not many buildings, but lots of tall trees. He could work with that.
He tapped both of his wrists twice, his bracelets expanding into webshooters. “Lock the truck.” He said as he exited. Harley looked at him confused, but took the keys out of the ignition and locking the car up. Harley admired the determined look on Peter’s face as he shot a web at a nearby tree. Even in this dire situation, he couldn’t ignore how beautiful Peter looked, rain causing his curls to stick to his face, eyebrows scrunched together as he wrapped an arm around Harley’s waist. Harley knew what he was doing; he hated swinging, unlike Peter, but he wrapped his arms around Peter’s shoulders and his legs around his waist.
Peter didn’t give a warning as he propelled the two of them upwards, swinging them with careful precision and a tight grip. His touch never faltered, even as the rain poured down harder.
—
“I appreciate this, girls, the food was amazing, but I should really get going.” Tony said once he finished his bowl of soup. Natasha was right, obviously, Wanda was a wizard (witch?) in the kitchen, but he needed to leave before either of the boys got home and noticed he was gone. Natasha checked her watch when he said that. “Just a minute more?” Wanda asked urgently, getting worried.
Tony checked his own watch. They’d be home by now, at least Harley should be there, he should have already been on the plane. He shook his head, beginning to get a little confused. “No, I need to catch the plane, I should’ve been on it like 15 minutes ago.” He stood up and placed his dishes in the sink. Happy began to look nervous again.
“You still need to sign some papers, sir.” He remembered his first excuse for coming up here. He didn’t know what he would have Tony sign, but he would figure it out, right? Tony shook his head, grabbing the shoulder bag he brought up with him and making his way to the elevator doors. “Whatever they are can wait.” Happy looked back at the girls, Wanda staring with wide eyes and Natasha frantically tapping on her phone. Why hasn’t Peter texted back?
Natasha was about to sabotage Tony’s trip down, about to shut the elevator down as the doors closed, when Wanda had a strange look in her eyes. They looked like they were trained at the ceiling, but Natasha could tell that wasn’t where she was ACTUALLY looking. As the elevator doors shut, Wanda’s eyes went back to Natasha’s.
“They’re here.”
—
The ground was slick when Harley and Peter landed on the tarmac. They both ran as they saw one of the compound’s glass doors swing open, with Tony walking out looking agitated. Peter’s crewneck sweatshirt became a second skin from the rain causing the material to be flush with his body. At the sound of frantic footsteps, Tony looked in their direction, his heart fluttering and sinking at the same time when he saw the source of them. He stopped in his tracks, paralyzed by his flurry of emotions. He opened his mouth to speak as they ran over, but nothing came out.
“Tony, wait!” Peter yelled at the older man, despite him being still. Peter stopped to stand a foot in front of Tony, Harley stopping next to his boyfriend seconds later (he’s not superhuman, okay? He can’t run as fast as Peter!). They took a couple seconds to catch their breath, Tony looking at them in awe and sadness. “Please don’t go. Please.” Harley whispered, and Tony hadn’t ever heard his voice be that broken before.
Tony let out a sad sigh. “Boys, I-I can’t. I don’t want to be in the way.” His voice was strained. Peter opened his mouth to interject, but Tony interrupted him. “I can’t live with you guys like this. I can’t. It would be different if it was- if I was only in love with one of you. It would be different if I felt this way a few years ago, when monogamy wasn’t even in my vocabulary. I can’t do this, I can’t ruin your relationship, I love you both too much to-” Tony’s ramblings were cut off by a hand cupping the left side of his face and rough lips on his. He didn’t even know who did it, it made him melt all the same.
It was Harley, he found out when the taller man pulled away. He couldn’t help but look up at those sweet blue eyes, not noticing when another hand pulled his face in the opposite direction, softer lips on his this time. He could feel Harley’s thumb rub against his facial hair, gentle despite how calloused his hands were from working in garages since he was 16. This time when the kiss ended, he had to look down to see big brown eyes looking up at him. Tony’s eyes fluttered between the two younger men, both looking at him with eyes he thought were only reserved for each other; they were full of love.
It was silent for a moment, the only sounds around them being wind blowing through the trees nearby and heavy raindrops hitting the cement tarmac. “Do you wanna come home, Tony?” Peter whispered. Tony’s eyes shifted to Harley, who was smiling down at him. Anticipation was building; anticipation for Tony’s response, anticipation for the idea of Tony coming home.
The sadness in Tony’s heart melted away at the question. Home. Coming home. That question, that one little question that meant big things, that’s what really proved to him that home wasn’t a place. Home wasn’t a mansion in Malibu, or a village in Italy, or even that little house in Manhattan that had Peter and Harley’s cars in the driveway. Harley and Peter, they were his home.
Tony was unaware that the time where he was thinking was stretching far, it was making the younger men nervous. Tears prickled Tony’s eyes, the ones that fell being washed away by the heavy rain coming down on the three of them. He nodded, a smile quickly forming on his face. “Yes.” He whispered, happiness shining through the clouds around them. The younger men looked at each other, shocked. “Yes?” Harley asked, excited. Tony nodded frantically. “Yes, yes, please yes.” He began to laugh at the end of his sentence, unable to hold back his joy. The younger men couldn’t hold back their own laughter, both of them holding onto Tony tightly.
Peter leapt into Tony’s arms and kissed him, Tony’s arms instinctively wrapping around Peter’s waist to keep him close. He pulled away when Harley wrapped his arms around the both of them, causing Tony to look up at the taller man and kiss him with just as much intensity, never letting go of Peter. As he kissed Harley, he heard distant shouting and clapping.
He and Harley both pulled away to look in the direction of the noise, smiles on all of their faces as they saw Happy outside the glass doors clapping happily, and an open window a few floors up with Natasha and Wanda both shouting happily, Wanda was even jumping up and down. Harley, Peter, and Tony all laughed again at their enthusiastic audience.
Despite the heavy rain and dark clouds around them, all they felt was pure joy.