Chapter 6
“I know that face.” Pepper says, waggling a finger at Tony as she comes into the room. “I don’t like that face.”
Tony’s smiling, watching Harley and Peter as they sit in the living room, toying with cars, teddy bears and potato gun prototypes.
It’s only been a few minutes since his life altering conversation with Harley and Tony’s still feeling good about his decision. This picture: these two boys together, playing and smiling, help to confirm his feelings.
“Tony.” Pepper says again, voice sharp with annoyance. “Are you going to tell me about the kid?” Tony takes a moment more to look at the boys before turning to Pepper.
“Harley’s been here a while, Pep.” He says. “Thought that by now, you would’ve gathered he’s staying.”
“The other kid, Tony.” Pepper sighs. “The toddler?” Peppers giving him the look that says not a joking matter. From Pepper it also warns Tony that he’s digging himself into some deep shit.
“Right, yeah, he’s Harley’s little brother.” Tony says, sipping on a cocktail glass of apple juice. He has been trying to cut down on his alcohol intake since Harley’s been around, one of the requirements from the social worker and himself. He remembers his father drinking a lot through this childhood, he doesn’t want the same for Harley. Well, Harley and Peter, now.
“Harley has a little brother?” Pepper asks, face screwed up in shock and confusion.
“Huh, wonder if I looked like that when I found out.” Tony jokes. “But yeah, Harley’s got a brother and the kids staying.”
“Do you have the papers for that?” Pepper asks knowingly.
“Well, not yet. I figured I cash in a favor from you.” Tony says, pulling her to him. They’ve had an on and off thing going recently. Whenever Tony screws up, goes out jumping into a fight or makes a rash decision about the company she gives him the silent treatment.
He hasn’t made any drastic mistakes recently.
“And what might that favor be from?” Says Pepper as she accepts the touch and leans into his hold.
“I don’t know. I have this weird feeling I went to a board meeting this morning?” He smirks, resting his hands on her hips.
“I’m supposed to convince CPS to allow the adoption.” Pepper deadpans. By now, she is used to Tony’s shenanigans.
“It’s one of your super powers, Ms. Potts.” Tony says. “Might help that I'm a billionaire.”
“I think there's more than just that helping you.” She whispers, pecking a quick kiss on his lips. She breaks apart from him and makes towards the elevator “I hope you know this isn’t going to be easy.” She says.
“Since when did you like things easy?” Tony calls back to her, hearing Pepper huff a laugh as the elevator doors close.
When he returns from rinsing his now empty glass out in the sink, the boys have moved from the couch to the floor. They’re sitting so close that Peters practically on top of Harley, the older boy rubbing a hand through the youngers knotted curls.
“So, Peter.” Tony begins as he comes to sit on the coffee table in front of them. “How would you feel about a warm bath?” He's been itching to get that kid clean since he first laid his eyes on him. Tony almost feels dirty himself just from looking at the boy.
Peter smiles, turning to Harley excitedly.
“Can I?” He asks, bouncing in place.
“Sure.” Harley says, stealing a glance at Tony. The man can tell that the older boy still doesn’t completely trust him, especially not when it comes to Peter. They still have a lot of progress to make. “How about I help you tonight so Tony can see how we do things?” He asks the boy. Tony can read right through his cover up. What Harley means is: let me do it because there’s no way Tony Stark knows how to bathe a kid.
It probably for the better, if Tony’s honest with himself. He really doesn’t have any idea.
He watched from the doorway as Harley started the tap, stopping to check the water before he helped Peter undress. The boy in question is tiny, sharp ribs protruding from his chest and knees so knobby they could be door handles. Peters small, downright tiny, and just the sight of him makes Tony want to order a buffet of food. The boys’ prominent spines and dulled skin show how malnourished the State’s failing system has left them.
Harley has been ravenous in the time that he’s been with Tony. He seems to be constantly hungry, and even more so than just a growing teenage boy should be. It’s not like the boy’s enormous food intake bothers Tony, it’s not that at all, it just worries him. That and the boys submissive, go with the flow attitude.
When Tony had first made the rushed decision to adopt Harley, he had secretly been terrified. He had absolutely no clue how to raise a kid, and luckily Pepper dealing with the legalities of the adoption had allowed him to do his reading. A lot of the websites and mommy blogs he found all warned new parents that adopted teens could lash out while they were adjusting. But Harley? He just seemed scared to do anything that seemed even a bit out of line.
The last time Tony checked, he hadn’t even made a line.
Although, now that he saw the two boys together and new Harley has a little brother, it seemed to make more sense. There was something, someone, that had needed Harley. Harley had needed to grow up faster, to be the adult when all the others had failed them.
Peter was overly polite as well. Calling him Mr. Stark and all. Tony should probably give the boy some time to show his personality, he’s counting his chickens before they’ve hatched.
Peter and Harley have a routine during bath time, Tony can tell. Let the tub fill, undress, hair, body, rinse and get out. It’s efficient, he'll give them that but, a little dull. Even as uneducated on the subject as he is, Tony knows there should be time to play along with the bath. Little boys like Peter should have voluminous bubbles to splash about and countless of little plastic bath toys to get stuck in the drain. There should be more than a few inches of water. More to the bath than just efficiency.
Nevertheless, Tony watches. It’s not his place to say anything, not just yet. He needs to let the boys do their own thing, he needs to take his time to learn how they live and what they do and what they like. He needs to establish a bond with them and grow that relationship before he starts making decisions and working his way into their dynamic. At least, that’s what he read on the mommy blogs.
He still had no idea what he was doing.
Still, when Harley moves to redress Peter in the grimy clothes the boy was wearing at his arrival, Tony can’t help but cut in.
“Wait.” He says. “I’ll call someone to bring up new clothes.” Harley looks at him skeptically, and Peters eyes are wide with surprise. It saddens Tony that these boys still aren’t sure this is all real.
He holds up a hand as a signal to wait and leaves the room, tugging his cell phone out of his pocket. He calls Happy while he searches his own room for a temporary replacement.
“Happy Hogan.” Says a man’s monotone voice when the line is picked up.
“Add a little more pep to your step.” Tony says, opening his t-shirt drawer.
“Why, you called.” Happy grunted. “You only call when you want something.” Tony winced. He had to hand it to the man, that was usually the case. He made a mental note to shoot Happy a friendly text every now and then.
“We-ell, since you asked.” Tony said, chuckling when he heard the man sigh on the other end. “I need you to pick up some things for a toddler.”
There was a moment of silence over the line, the other man frozen with confusion.
“Should I ask why?” Happy says.
“Probably not.” Tony advises. “Just go to the store, pick up some clothes and dailey items. Try and be snappy about it.”
“Tony, I have no idea what a toddler needs.” Happy says.
“He’s three, just ask a worker. Oh, and Happy? I’d rather you over do it than under do it.” With that, Tony pulls the phone away from his face and ends the call. Whatever problems occur on that forefront are Happys to deal with, now. Tony has more pressing matters, like figuring out whether they should get burgers or pizza for dinner and what t-shirt would look better on an underfed three year old: AC/DC or Stark Industries.
***
Tony ends up settling with the Stark Industries shirt, if only because it’s Pepper’s, and therefore smaller. Still, when he watches Harley slide it over Peter's small frame, he frowns at how the fabric still swallows the boy, and comes down to his feet. His fingers itch to fatten these boys up.
Well. He thinks. I guess that means dinner time.
“Clothes are on the way!” Tony exclaims, clapping his hands. He notes not to make that a habit when he sees the way it makes Peter flinch. “I was thinking we could go out to dinner? Pizza or burgers?” He asks.
Peters face lights up at the suggestions and he hurriedly pulls on Harley’s pant leg so he can whisper something in his older brothers ear. Tony watches, letting the boys do their thing.
Harley smiles at whatever Peter has said and turns to Tony.
“He wants to go to Burger King.” He says.
“Please!” Peter adds, ever the polite one.
“Yeah, he wants to go to Burger King please.” Harley amends. Tony beams at the casualness of it all, how Harley’s getting comfortable enough to ask for something. Before, the boy had been timid and shy, avoiding making any requests or comments other than ‘thank you’ and ‘yes sir’.
“That sounds perfect.” Tony agrees. There’s a small battle in his head then, while he struggles to make a quick decision. “Okay, Harls why don’t you go clean up and Peter and I can see what’s on TV?” It’s a leap he’s barely willing to take; suggesting that Harley step away for a moment and leave Tony alone with Peter. Harley eyes him warily, eyes flashing a silent threat before nodding and kneeling down to Peters height.
“I’ll be quick, bud.” He promises, trying to soothe Peters obvious apprehension. “Tony’s cool, if you need something just ask him and if you want me you can come and get me, okay?” He brushes Peters hair out of his face as he talks, voice soft and calm but not babying the younger boy either.
“Promise?” Peter asks, brown eyes big. Tony can’t help but notice how much they make the boy look like Bambi from the movie Pepper had made him watch. He wondered if he was going to be seeing a lot more animated movies such as that one in his near future, kids were supposed to like those types of things after all.
“Always, bud.” Harley nodded, pulling his hand away from Peters cheek and moving to his room to collect a fresh pair of clothes for his shower.
“So, kiddo.” Tony says, trying to match the tone Harley had, had. He doesn’t want to sound like he’s talking down to Peter, but he doesn’t want to seem too sharp or stern either. “What kind of shows do you like?” He asks.
Peters brow furrows as he follows Tony to the living room, trailing behind slightly.
“I dunno.” He says, voice small and almost a whisper, much weaker than it had been around Harley.
Tony takes in the expected information, he hadn’t really expect Peter to have watched a lot of TV. It seemed too ‘posh’ for the neglectful childcare system he had been hearing about. Besides, even if TV was something Peter watched a lot of, he hadn’t really expected the three year old to remember the names of his favorite shows.
“That’s alright, I’m sure we can find something.”
They do find something, some show about a scientist named Bill…. something. Tony would have thought it a little old for someone as small as Peter, but the boy seems captivated by the screen. Much more so than he was by the cartoon Tony had tried first.
“You can sit on the couch, you know.” Tony suggests when he notices Peters been standing for a handful of minutes. The kid glances at him, eyes calculating like he’s trying to decide if this is some kind of trick. It saddens Tony. “You saw Harley sitting on it earlier, right?” He tries instead, when Peter doesn’t make a move. “It’s okay, I promise. Couches are for sitting on.”
Peter glances at him again, small fingers playing with the extra fabric of the oversized t-shirt. Happy should be coming with the clothes soon.
“Promise?” Peter asks, just like he had done with Harley earlier.
“Yeah kiddo, I swear on my arc reactor.” Tony says and, to his satisfaction, the boy nods and hauls himself onto the couch. It’s the cushion farthest away from where Tony sits but, hey, progress.
Happy comes out of the elevator some minutes later, just when the science guy is about to demonstrate a reaction by mixing sodium polyacrylate and water. Tony pretends he’s not a little sad he missed the reveal.
“Hey, Hap!” He greets the man, turning around from where he sits. “Got the goodies?”
“Yeah…” Happy trails, glancing at Peter from where the boy eyes the man, fingers twisting in the shirt. It must be a nervous habit, like Harley’s sweatshirt strings, Tony notes.
“Happy, this is Peter.” He says, nodding to the kid. “He’s Harley’s little brother.” He adds.
Happy's eyes soften in realization, though he’s still a little confused. Not that Tony can blame him, he’s still a little confused himself.
“Right.” Happy mutters. “I got the what the lady told me to.” He says, thrusting three black shopping bags into Tony’s face.
“Well,” Tony says, “I did say go overboard.” He takes the bags and sets them on the floor in front of the couch. “Lets see what we’ve got here, yeah Pete?” Peter nods, scooting closer at the excitement of new things.
As Tony rifles through the bags the more nervous he becomes and the more out of his league he realizes he is. Half the things in here he hadn’t even thought about, much less planned on purchasing. There were pajamas, underoos and shirts and pants and socks, a few sippy cups and stuffed animals. Toothpaste and baby shampoo, a plastic boat for the bath. Some coloring books and a pack of pull-ups and a small pair of light up sneakers that look like they could fit a doll.
Tiny children were so unbelievably fragile.
Tony huffed a breath, looking at the bags with an overwhelmed stare. Now or never, he supposed.
He was about to suggest Peter pick out an outfit, about to ask if he needed help when Harley walked in. The boys hair was still wet and his clothes were slightly wrinkled and he had no doubt come straight out of the shower. These boys.
“Those the clothes?” He asks, pointing to the bags at Tony feet.
“Yup, go crazy.” He says, choosing instead to sit by and watch again. Learn what Peter wore and how he preferred things before trying to handle the reigns himself. Just follow the mommy blogs.
Harley grabbed the first bag and began shifting through it, pulling out a pair of small blue jeans a red shirt. He moved onto the second, pausing when he saw the coloring books. Tony’s heart squeezes again, did these boys not have toys before?
Harley comes away with a pull-up and a pair of tiny socks before moving to Peter, who had slid off the couch to better examine the contents of the bags. The TV is now mindless background noise.
Dressing the boy is a simple task, and Peters helpful in lifting each leg when needed and moving his arms as instructed.
Tony grins as the boy’s eyes go wide when he catches sight of the light-up sneakers.
“Thank you, Mister Stark!” He exclaimed, turning to Tony with a wide smile. His baby teeth are precious.
“Your welcome.” Tony says.
He thinks he could get used to this.