Chapter 5
As the pair made their way back to the tower, Harley attempted to convince himself that he was not kidnapping a young child and that Brothers are different, Harley. All the while Peter happily chatted alongside him. He had long since put the younger boy down, his arms had tired easily from the small weight, and Peter now skipped next to him, his small hand in Harley’s larger one.
“An’ she said fo’ my bir’day she’s gonna get me a chem’sty set!” Peter exclaimed happily galloping in his worn out flip flops. The boy didn’t seem to mind how he kept tripping over them. Harley gulped, not wanting to tell the boy that his birthday had passed well over a week ago. There would be time for things like that later.
“Did she put you back in daycare?” Harley asked. Peter had been in daycare before, when the workers at the orphanage wanted to busy him while the other kids were at school so that they could have the place free to themselves. The toddler had hated it. He was always getting picked on by the other kids and was already light years ahead of all that ‘baby material’, as Peter liked to call it.
“Nuh-uh, she said school ‘ain’t worth shit’.” Peter said, hopping into a puddle as they passed. Harley chucked at the mix of the vulgar language and Peters young voice. “ ‘sides, she said I’m too smart.”
“Well that’s one thing she was right about.” Harley said as he laughed.
As they walked Peter had shared some more things about what had happened between now and when they had seen each other last. It sounded like this woman was a first class bitch but still not as bad as some of the people the two boys had encountered.
As Peter continued to speak, it made Harley realize exactly how much he had missed the child’s non stop chattering. His voice was like music from the heavens to Harley’s ears.
“Where we goin’?” Peter asked, swinging his and Harley’s hand.
“A, uh….” Harley was at a loss for words. Did he tell Peter that Tony had adopted him? It would probably make the boy upset, that his big brother had a home and he didn’t. Right now the pair were still caught in the relief of being reunited… Harley decided it would be easier to avoid the complicated things for now. “A friend’s.” He said instead.
“You made a friend?!” Peter exclaimed, looking at Harley as if the boy had just conquered the world. Harley tried to not take it as an insult. “Can you teach me how to make a friend?” Peter asked, causing a knot to form in Harley’s chest.
“Yeah bud, yeah I can teach you.” He replied. He picked Peter up as they entered the tower.
“Are we gonna take the ‘vator?” Peter asked, resting his head in his brothers shoulder. The boy looked tired, like he hadn’t had a good, nightmare free sleep in far too long. In all reality, he probably hadn’t, Harley didn’t remember the last time Peter had slept a full night.
“The vator?” Harley asked, confused.
“Yeah.” Peter said, pointing in front of them. “The ‘vator, silly.” He said. Realization sparked and Harley laughed.
“Ohh, the elevator.” Harley amended, Peter nodded furiously. “Yeah bud, we’re taking the vator.”
Peter beamed in return.
***
In Tony’s opinion, the countless meetings Pepper insisted on dragging him to were some of the most pointless things he has ever wasted his time with. Usually, the numerous hours he spent seated around an overly large table, listening to other board members drone on about last months stock, got the company nowhere. The decisions were never fully made in only the meetings and he later found Pepper held prisoner over piles of paperwork, doing all the dirty work herself anyway, so what was the point of Tony’s attendance? He had made Pepper a CEO for a reason.
Nevertheless, there were only so many times Tony could tell Pepper no before she began to become fed up with him and he started digging himself an early grave. Thus; the reason he had to attend one of those horrid meetings today.
It was hard for him, to leave Harley alone in the Penthouse. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the boy, just that he was concerned for his safety.
Tony was well aware the boy had been left on his own many times before, but it didn’t change his growing concern: What if he got hungry and hurt himself in the kitchen? What if he was tinkering and cut himself on a sharp edge? What if he connected the wrong wires and caused a mini explosion? Or a big one?
But what probably scared Tony the most, was that he, a Stark, was having these concerns. It almost made him ... parental. Fatherly, even.
Stark men aren’t meant to be fathers.
Now that Harley is finally with him, Tony finds himself wondering if it took him so long to adopt the boy because he was afraid he would turn out like his own father. A man who only wanted Tony as an heir, someone to train to take over the company. Not as someone to love or father, as a tool, as an asset. But now, with Harley here and here for good, Tony knew he could never treat the boy as he has been treated by his father. He simply didn’t have the cajonés for it.
He was pretty confident in his abilities, even if he was still more of a mentor to the teen than a father. Baby steps.
The elevator doors opened as Pepper berated him for his lack of participation in today’s shareholder meeting, telling him that if he showed more interest, the company would thrive. He had hired all those employees and passed the position of CEO down to Pepper so that he wouldn’t have to pay attention.
As long as the company didn’t revert to manufacturing weapons again, he would rather put his time and effort into upgrading his suits and getting to know Harley.
Speaking of Harley, the boy was sitting on the couch, his head and the tops of his shoulders visible from where Tony and Pepper were stepping off of the elevator. His dirty blond hair was much cleaner than when Tony had first taken him in.
Harley seemed to be whispering, head bowed while he murmured. Tony furrowed his eyebrows, it didn’t seem like the kid had noticed his and Peppers arrival yet.
“Harley?” He asked, walking to the couch slowly, not knowing what to expect.
Harley reeled, jumping slightly as he emits a high pitch squeal which did not sound like him.
“Tony?” He says. “How was the meeting.”
Tony relaxes at this, he’s just being silly, Harley was probably just muttering to himself in his loneliness.
“Oh you know, boring as always. I will say though, the catering service was much nicer this time. Cheeseburgers always win over steaks in my opinion.” Nothing like a good ol’ American burger. He was thinking about suggesting some for dinner. “I’ve gotta hand it to Pepper-“
He cuts himself short as he rounds the couch. There, sitting on the floor and wheeling around Harley’s new and improved voice start car, was a baby. That must be who was responsible for the earlier squeal.
“I guess I don’t have to ask you what you were up to.” Tony says, staring at the new child. “He’s not yours right? Because I thought you were still too young for that talk.” Peter stares right back at Tony. “Did Pepper drug my coffee again?” Tony whispers to himself.
“Tony.” Harley starts carefully. “This is Peter, my little brother.” Peter beams at this, small baby teeth forming an adorable smile. He has a dimple on each of his dirt streaked cheeks. The boys look entirely different, yet similar at the same time. They both have medium toned skin and curly hair. Harley’s is dirty blond while Peters is a chocolate brown but their facial structures are the same, though Peters is covered by more baby fat.
The boy looks similar to how Harley did when Tony had found him at the library that day, if not worse. He’s caked in dirt and smells disgusting. His curly hair is tangled together so badly, Tony wouldn’t blame a bird for mistaking it for a nest. His clothes are oversized, his bony shoulders and collar bone visible through a whole in his t-shirt. Tony immediately wants to make this kid eat a meal fit for an army, and have him take a nap, his dark circles are bad enough to rival the man’s himself.
“Did you kidnap a baby, Harley?” Tony asks, talking a measured step closer to the boys. Peter giggles, brown eyes sparkling as he does so.
“M’not a baby Mr. Stark!” He laughs, holding up three small fingers. “I’m three!” Tony laughs, ignoring the wince Harley tries to hide at the admission of age.
“Oh course, kid.” Where the hell had that come from. “So… was there a vendor on the street or has this been a thing?” Tony asks.
“We have the same mom.” Harley supplies.
“Mm, right.” Tony nods. “So.” He gestures to Peter. “Is kiddo here to stay or is this just a play date?”
“Actually…” Harley drawls. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” He’s fidgeting with the strings of his hoodie, a nervous habit he’s had for as long as he can remember.
“Okay, shoot.” Tony nods.
“Actually, let’s go to my room for a minute.” Harley says, glancing at Peter. “Pete, stay here a minute. We’ll be right back, okay?”
Peter nods, make ‘vroom’ sounds as he pushes the car along the floor.
Once in the safety of his room, away from prying eyes and little ears, Harley takes a deep breath.
“So I was thinking, and I know this is a lot to ask for and it’s not my place and that you’ve already done way, way too much for me but I was just thinking, you know: because Pete’s my brother, and he’s just a toddler and all that, that maybe he could come here too? I mean, he’s been through a lot of shit and he’s living with a real bitch right now so if we can’t take him then could you please help me find him a new home? I know he says he’s not, but he’s just a baby Tony, he’s just a baby.” Harley’s breathes are hitched by the end of his plea, his eyes moist with the images tears he is struggling to hold back.
Tony’s gapping at him, eyes wide and mouth opening and closing like a fish. He can obviously tell that this is all really important to Harley. This kid, who he could have sworn was as tough as a tank, is on the verge of tears.
Tony gears are turning like no one’s business. Had this kid just asked him what he really thinks he just heard? “W-what?” The man finally stutters.
“Please don’t make me say it again.” Harley begs.
“I-I.” Tony gasps. Saying yes is a lifetime commitment, it means having a kid for longer than Harley, it means being responsible for a toddler which, by Tony’s definition, means tiny impressionable and breakable human, and fits in the same category as newborns and young kids: Fragile.
He’s pretty confident in his child rearing skills when it comes to Harley, a teenager capable of fending for himself and keeping himself alive if push comes to shove. This? This is a small toddler. And Tony knows jack shit about toddlers.
But the one thing that Tony does know, is that anything, anyone, that’s important to Harley, is important to him too.
It doesn’t matter what his father would have thought, it doesn’t matter what Obadiah would have said. They aren’t here. No one is here, but Tony and these boys and for once in Tony’s decently long life, this isn’t anyone’s decision but his own.
“Yes, yes of course I will.” He finally says. He can hear a small Peter sized sneeze come from the living room, he can see Harley’s heart warming, shit eating, grin.
And it makes Tony smile too.