I
It was a Wednesday afternoon when he got the call.
The day had started off normally, the avengers milling around the tower floors, some training, some relaxing and some even cooking- namely Bucky. He had a problem, it was stress baking as Steve had dubbed it, and apparently it wasn’t a new thing but it wasn’t like many of them minded as they all got a ton of good food from it all while calming the ex-assassin down.
Tony’s phone has rung loud and clear echoing throughout the lounge
“Can someone get that- I’m kinda busy!” Tony yelled from the kitchen where he was patting out a small flame that had ignited thanks to Bucky leaving Steve to look over his cookies.
“I got it!” Clint yelled back dropping from the vent and grabbing Tony’s phone
“Yelloo?” Clint said as he answered the call
“Hello is this Tony Stark?”
“Um this is his phone but it’s Clint speaking on behalf of him, who’s this?”
“This is New York police department” Clints eyes widened as he cupped his palm around the phone speaker
“Tony what the hell did you do to piss of the NYPD?”
“What? Nothing I can think of- just ask em you idiot” Clint nodded and placed the phone back near his ear
“What’s the nature of your call?”
“We got someone here saying he knows Tony, we thought it was a hoax but now I’m thinking maybe not so much- look just tell Mr. Stark that we require his presence as soon as”
“Will do” Clint hung up just as Tony emerged from the kitchen, the latter looked at the blonde expectantly
“They say someone is asking for you down at the station, seemed urgent as they want you as soon as”
“Did they say who?”
“Nope” and with that Clint clambered back up into the vent he’d dropped out of prior to the call leaving Tony to scramble through his memory of who the hell it could be.
“Hey Pep, I’m heading down to the police station” Tony called out as he started to make his way to the door
“Ok see you later- wait what?!” The click of Peppers heels could be heard a mile off and Tony froze as soon as he heard her “what the hell did you do?” She slapped Tony’s shoulder as soon as she was close enough
“Ouch- What makes you think I did something?” Pepper looked at her fiancé incredulously “okay point taken, look I’ll see you back soon” Tony pecks Peppers cheek before leaving for his car which awaited him outside.
Upon arriving at the station he was met with one of the officers who led him to a room near the back which Tony was sure was an interrogation room. He was taken into the side where another officer stood looking in through the one way glass, before Tony had a chance to look though the same glass the officer caught his attention and quickly introduced himself as the officer who had called Tony. The officer who introduced himself as Jacob gestured to the glass and the person who sat on the other side.
It took Tony a moment before realisation kicked in. It was Harley. Harley Keener.
“So you know the kid?”
“Yeah- Yeah I do” the officer seemed slightly surprised in the answer and Tony’s shock but nodded regardless “why’s he here? What did he do?” Jacob exhaled tiredly and crossed his arms over his chest
“Quite a lot if I’m honest” he turned his attention back to the teen “he’s been taken in multiple times for things like petty shoplifting, property damage, vandalism and even had to break up some fights he got into”
“Why’s he here now though?”
“Well the kid not only caused severe damage to a car but also smashed in his foster fathers shin” Tony’s head snapped to face Jacob
“Foster father?” The officer looked confused but explained
“Yeah the kids been tossed around at least twelve foster homes and group homes as well as been kicked from eleven foster families for behavioural issues”
“What kind of issues?” Tony asked carefully
“Anger mostly. Most of them thought he had some anger issue in need of medication but nothing was ever confirmed, don’t think many even cared enough. I gotta say though I feel bad for the kid, he’s been dealt a rough dealin in his life so far” Tony’s mind was consumed by every possible scenario in which the kid could’ve faced “you wanna talk to him?”
“Yeah, I would I mean it’s been long enough” Tony huffed out as he was shown the door to the room where that kid from Tennessee was sat.
Harley’s attention was taken by the sudden opening of the heavy door that had been firmly shut for around a hour at this point, his eyes widened slightly when Tony emerged from behind the door and Tony too still looked ever so slightly shocked at seeing the kid all grown up. Harley quickly composed himself and looked back down at his hands, one of which was handcuffed to the metal table after his first attempt at running out. Tony glanced down at said handcuffs before sitting down opposite Harley. Neither knew where to begin, they hadn’t spoken in years.
“Didn’t think you’d show” Harley spoke first
“Well here I am kid” Tony took in the small room whilst Harley massaged at his reddened wrist where the handcuffs had been put on too tightly. “What happened to your mom and sister” Tony decided to bite the bullet and almost regretted asking but to Harley’s credit he took it in his stride
“My mom died of alcohol poisoning around two years after you left, we got taken into foster care and Amber got adopted pretty much straight away”
“Why didn’t you?” At this Harley scoffed
“Because I was what they labelled a troubled child. I was mad, really mad. I mean everyone I ever looked up to- everyone who took a fucking moment to care about me pissed off in some way or another” he began to pick at the scratches on his knuckles
“Harley I- god- I ain’t gonna sugarcoat it but that sucks”
“Yeah I know. Don’t worry I’ve made peace with the fact no sane person out there’s gonna want me” Harley looked up to Tony and for the first time the older man got a good look at the teens face, he noticed the nasty gash that sat just above the kids right eye as well as the bruises that were scattered around it, he was also sure he could see a red tint in Harley’s hair but it was hard to tell since his hair was darker than it used to be.
“What happens now?”
“No idea, they asked me if there was anyone I could call and you were the only person in my contacts left. My social worker will probably be round here soon- probably fuming as well. I was supposed to keep my head down but I just-“ Harley stopped himself, he wasn’t ready for Tony to know- not yet. Tony nodded accepting the fact that if Harley wanted to tell him he would do it in his own time. Within the following hour he and Harley spoke of various things until Harley’s social worker Jeannette showed up- and as Harley predicted she was fuming, but not only that she seemed disappointed, something that didn’t sit well with Harley who diverted his attention from Jeanette almost immediately, Tony on the other hand greeted the woman before taking his leave giving a quick pat to Harley’s shoulder to which the boy flinched.
Tony left to go speak with Jacob again, after finding out how much Harley had been tossed around it made him feel guilty for not checking in after Harley went quiet- he figured the kid wanted nothing to do with him, thought he didn’t need him but he couldn’t have been more wrong. However before he could approach Jacob, Jeanette reappeared leaning on the wall with an exasperated sigh.
“Stupid kid” she mumbled before straightening up
“Tell me about it” Tony made himself known. After Jeanette’s mild flustered outbursts of ‘oh my god you’re Tony Stark’ they got to talking. After Jeanette had explained the situation and that Harley would be shoved into some emergency care until they found a permanent placement, Tony offered up the idea of Harley staying with him. He presented the obvious pros of the situation, he’d get a good education, he’d be fed, clothed, cared for, and most importantly Tony would try and keep the kid on track. At first Jeanette had been rather apprehensive around the idea but eventually agreed as long as Harley agreed, it was his choice at the end of the day.
Once the offer had been laid out for Harley the room became eerily silent, both adults awaiting Harley’s decision. Tony noticed the frown that etched its way into Harley’s face, the boys eyes darting from the table to his wrists to Tony’s hands which lay folded on top of one another on the table.
“Okay” Harley finally spoke lifting his gaze to meet both Tony’s and Jeanette’s “I’ll do it” he clarified, Tony couldn’t but let out a breath of relief. Soon after, an officer came into the room and released Harley from his restraints but kept a trained eye on him for any signs that Harley would take off again. Tony was debriefed on what charges had been put against Harley and agreed to discuss them with him later, it was only moments later that Harley was sat in the back of Tony’s fancy car adorned with smooth jet black leather seats, even in the car Harley felt out of place. The ride back to the tower was silent, neither made any attempt to converse with one another and quite frankly neither knew what to say.
“So this will be your room, I’m just a floor up so if you need me just come knocking okay?” Harley nodded mutely and scanned around the room which was practically the size of his garage. “Look Harls” Harley raises a brow at the nickname but let it slide “you’re gonna have to tell me what happened sooner or later, and don’t try to bullshit me okay? Because I know your lying, we’re connected after all” Harley smiled lightly at the last words
“I know” was all he said, Tony had a feeling he’d get nothing more out of the kid that day so he left his to settle in the room.
Tony entered the lounge to be greeted by the expectant faces of his friends, Tony rolled his eyes and went to grab a cup of coffee, he couldn’t even think about explaining the whole situation before downing a cup of energy. Once the mug was set down in the sink he went to sit on the single seater across from the others. Tony went on to tell the others about who the kid was and why he was here- although he did spare the details of Harley’s most recent offence.
“Kids had it rough huh” Natasha spoke absentmindedly as she fiddled with her silver arrow necklace, Clint was silent whilst he expertly twirled an arrow between his fingers, Steve and Bucky were too silent as was Bruce, and Thor ceased his pacing.
“Right well I’ll let you all absorb that and for the love of god do not mention anything around those subjects around Harley okay?” And with that Tony left the lounge with Pepper trailing just behind.
Pepper paused just as she closed their bedroom door behind her,
“What you’re doing for Harley, it’s- it’s amazing” she said wholeheartedly, her fiancé turned to look at her with a small smile
“He’s an amazing kid, and I find it hard to believe that the world could be so cruel to such a great person”
“How old did you say he was?”
“Sixteen” Pepper gave Tony a look of ‘you know what I’m thinking of’ and Tony nodded “I’m sure he’d love to meet Harley some day” and that was all that was said that night until they were awoken by an alert from FRIDAY.
The alarm sounded at 3am and Tony woke with a slight gasp, Pepper pushed herself up to rest on her elbow sleepily
“Boss I must inform you that Mr. Keeners heart rate has elevated alarmingly fast” Tony practically fell out of his bed leaving a sleepy and confused Pepper behind, Tony rushed down the hallway clumsily and almost fell into various walls before almost crashing head first into the elevator. He was almost breathless once he stumbled into Harleys room, the latter boy was curled up on his floor beside his bed clutching at his shirt, his breathing was heavy and uneven. Tony sprang into action and crouched a little way away from Harley before coaxing the boy into trying to breathe steadily, Harley’s eyes remained unfocused so Tony grabbed the boys face in his hands and made him look at him.
“Breathe Harley okay? It’s me, it’s Tony, the mechanic. You gotta keep breathing just focus on me, focus on my voice” Harley’s breathes became slower and more even as Tony continued to talk softly to him and eventually Harley collapsed into the older mans arms. Tony could feel the poor boy shaking like a leaf but the more concerning issue was that he could feel Harley’s ribs very easily, however he dismissed it for the moment as he also felt Harley’s slim hands grip tightly and desperately to the back of his shirt. The pair stayed like that for a lengthy amount of time before Harley eventually pulled away, his eyes gave away how tired he was, not just physically but mentally too. His once bright blue eyes, full of life and fun were now dull and lifeless.
“I’m-I’m sorry I-“ Harley’s voice was hoarse “I didn’t mean to wake you I just-“
“Hey it’s okay, I don’t mind alright? Anyway you’ve helped me through panic attacks it’s only right that I return the favour kid” Tony helped lift Harley back onto his bed “just get some sleep” Harley nodded and fell to his pillow, he was out almost instantly.
The next morning Harley awoke to the bright sun attacking his eyes through the gaps at the sides of his blinds. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and prepared to hop out of bed but stopped abruptly once he saw Tony slumped by the side of his bed, his head resting on the edge of the mattress. Harley couldn’t help but smile, Tony had stayed by his side after his panic attack- the whole night. Harley carefully and quietly stepped around Tony and made his way to the kitchen, checking the clock on the wall to see it was only seven thirty. He found himself stopping again when he noticed someone already sat at the kitchen island eating some cereal, but he was hungry so he swallowed his nervousness down and went off in search of the cereal. The man sat at the island was none other than the winter soldier, James Barnes. Harley had heard stories but he went against others judgement and waited till he got to know the guy then he could make opinions. Buckys eyes tracked Harley as he slowly attempted to locate the bowls and cereal.
“Third draw down on the second unit kid” his gruff voice caused Harley to jump slightly but he followed the instructions regardless, then lo and behold there they were. Thanks to Buckys guidance he managed to get all he needed for his first proper breakfast in weeks. Bucky continued to watch Harley as he went about pouring a rather small portion of cereal into his bowl before adding a helping of milk. The teen sat a few seats away from the ex-assassin and began eating at a slow pace.
“Names Bucky” Harley looked up to said man who’s hair hung down by his face
“Harley” he replied politely
“Ah Starks kid” Harley nodded
“Yeah and you’re Captain America’s guy right?” Bucky chuckled lightly at this, his and Steve’s relationship had been officially outed a few weeks prior to Harley arriving, they’d been spotted in a restaurant and after the onslaught of questions they finally ripped off the band aid and admitted it- they were more surprised that people hadn’t seen it coming. Of course with their news came many negative opinions, mostly from people who believed America’s star spangled man being bisexual and in a relationship with a man wasn’t right or wasn’t the image that should represent their country. Despite these comments the two super soldiers took it in their stride and weren’t shameless with their relationship.
“I guess so” Bucky finished his current bowl of cereal before reaching for the box and serving himself even more, when Harley raised a quizzical eyebrow Bucky just shrugged “super soldiers need more food is all” with that answer Harley went back to eating.
Steve came into the kitchen a little later, and before cooking his usual eggs and bacon he placed a soft kiss to his boyfriends temple, Bucky leaned into the touch and looked after Steve with a soppy smile plastered on his face- boy was he whipped. Steve and Harley also began talking and their sweet little conversation was only interrupted when Natasha came waltzing in around an hour after Harley appeared. She sipped at her coffee before standing behind Bucky and pulling his hair into a messy bun, Bucky promptly thanked her as he wasn’t the most well practiced at hair styling, Natasha responded with a small pat to his shoulder. Throughout the morning several avengers stumbled into the kitchen, some left whereas some stayed to chat and see who the new kid was. Tony was the lady to appear at around ten.
“Mornin where’s my coffee” was all he said and Pepper handed him a steaming mug of fresh coffee which he nursed in his hands from his place on the couch.
The morning moved slow and despite the amount of time Harley had to eat he still hadn’t managed to finish his cereal, this didn’t go unnoticed by Bucky who watched the teen with a slight suspicion.
Harley excused himself but not before Tony told him to meet in his lab whenever he was ready.
Harley would be lying if he said he wasn’t at all worried about what conversation was about to take place.