Reunite
The next few days are a mixture of quiet and hectic. Jay's 21st is coming up faster than any of them are ready for, and he’s on the phone with Pepper for the majority of the day, working out last minute details for the press conference. But things around the Compound are…subdued. After Rhodey’s less-than-subtle ushering of him from the conference room right before Pepper’s arrival, it hadn’t been difficult for Jay to put two and two together and guess that Pepper had had a few…words with the other residents of the Compound, and he was torn between exasperated and fond.
“FRIDAY, how are we doing on Project: Restore?” Jay asked as he fiddled with a hologram of his thrusters in his lab. If he could just amp up the rotations by 12%...
“Project: Restore is nearly complete. I recovered the files you mentioned and began integrating them into our current code. There are only a few holes in the code left, boss,” FRIDAY responded, sounding pleased, and Jay grinned.
“That’s great, FRI! Any ideas for where to look for the rest of the code?” he asked, trying not to let himself get too hopeful.
“I’ve been in contact with Vision, and he thinks he can help,” FRIDAY said, but Jay frowned.
“I thought we’d already recovered all the code we could from Viz,” he said, fidgeting with the hologram without really changing anything just to give his hands something to do.
“We did, but Vision thinks he can help write new code for the parts that are missing,” FRIDAY explained, and her voice was tentative, as though prepared for a protest – one that Jay had to give voice to.
“I don’t want to replace any piece of his code, FRI,” he said quietly. “I don’t want to make an almost-JARVIS – I don’t…I don’t think I could take that. I want to bring him back as he was.”
“I know, boss,” FRIDAY said, and Jay took a moment to be amazed that his A.I. sounded so humanly heartbroken. His baby girl had grown up – he was only sorry that growing up meant she was able to feel emotions like pain and anguish. “But Vision is confident he can write in exactly what we’re missing without changing any of JARVIS’s personality. He says he’s much more acquainted with which parts of himself came from JARVIS and which are from his own experiences.”
Jay took a quiet moment to digest that. “He’s positive he can do it, baby girl?” he asked finally, and he could feel FRIDAY’s approval and delight brush against the back of his mind.
“Yes, boss,” she said, and he nodded, heart clenching.
“Okay,” he said, proud that his voice remained steady. “Okay, baby girl, let him do it.”
“You got it, boss!” FRIDAY chirped, and Jay smiled weakly. He hoped his children were right, otherwise he was in for a lot of heartbreak; but he knew FRI and Vision knew how much JARVIS meant to him – they wouldn’t have made that promise if they had any doubt they could keep it.
“Boss, Miss Potts is calling,” FRIDAY announced.
“Put her through,” Jay responded absently, and Pepper’s face filled the screen a moment later. Jay winced at the lines of stress he could clearly see carved into her face, but she smiled wanly at him.
“Hey Jay,” she greeted him.
“Pep, you look tired. Getting enough rest?” Pepper scoffed.
“You sure know how to charm a girl. And you know I’m not – not until we get this press conference behind us, and probably not for a few weeks after that, until it dies down,” Pepper responded with no heat, but Jay still winced.
“Sorry, sugar bear,” he murmured, but Pepper shook her head.
“Don’t you dare apologize, Jay. You’re going to have the toughest part, and we all know it,” she warned him, and his mouth twisted wryly.
“I dunno about that, I’m pretty sure I get to just hide behind your perfectly-tailored skirts once the announcement is made,” he teased, and she rolled her eyes.
“If I thought I could get you to let someone else take the heat for once, I would absolutely make you ‘hide behind my skirts’,” Pepper huffed, her eyes narrowing at him as she threw up air quotes. Jay smiled at her.
“Can’t let you take all the hits aimed my way, sweet pea,” he said flippantly. “You don’t have a gold titanium alloy suit to cover you. Of course, I could change that, if you wanted…?”
“I am not getting into one of those giant metal death traps, Anthony Stark, I don’t care what you say,” Pepper declared vehemently, and Jay snickered, ignoring her slip.
“Aw, Pep, you wound me,” he said lightly.
“Only when you deserve it,” she responded drily. “But anyway, since you’re pathologically incapable of keeping out of the fight – “
“Hey, I resent that!” Jay interjected.
“ – I wanted to make sure we’re on the same page for tomorrow,” Pepper continued, ignoring him. “Everything’s been set up – the venue, which reporters we’re letting in, and we cleared your talking points with SI’s press department – so you’re set for all of that. The Board was informed months ago and, while they aren’t thrilled that someone they’ve never met is taking over, they’ve been feeling the hurt of not having Tony Stark creating for them for the past two years so they’re overlooking that particular speed bump in the hopes that Jason Stark turns out to be as much of an engineering genius as his father. It helps that I’ve vouched for you, but they still want to meet you as soon as possible.”
“Yeah, I’d figured they would,” Jay sighed. Goodie. Board meetings and press conferences. He was already starting to miss the week-long uninterrupted engineering binges he’d been allowed for the past two years without fear of SI’s stock prices dropping because he vanished from sight or having to deal with some corporate emergency or another. He liked running SI in the sense that it allowed him to direct the company towards the causes he deemed most worthwhile – but he was an engineer at heart, not a businessman. Sure, he could do the business side – hell, he was good at the business side, thanks to his training from birth at Howard’s side – but his passion was in creating and building stuff with his hands, not in shaking hands.
“I thought I’d schedule that for a little later and give them the excuse that you want to refine some of your designs before your first meeting with them,” Pepper said casually, and Jay’s eyes narrowed. Pepper’s tone was only casual when she had a motive that she thought you were better off not knowing. He searched her face, seeing only poorly-covered concern written there.
“You’re trying not to overwhelm me, aren’t you?” Jay guessed, and Pepper shrugged sheepishly.
“You’ve been out of the spotlight for two years, and all hell is going to break loose when this comes out. It’s probably better to ease you back in a little at a time – first we deal with the press junket, then we deal with the Board,” she said, expression determined, but Jay frowned.
“The Board is going to be all over you about meeting with me,” he stated, and Pepper gave him a look.
“I can handle the Board, Jay,” she said coolly, and he raised his hands in surrender.
“I know that!” he said placatingly. “I just don’t want to make things any harder on you than they have to be. You’re already dealing with way too much.” And she thawed.
“You know I’d do anything for you,” Pepper said with a warm smile, and Jay returned it, helplessly thinking about how he did not deserve such amazing friends.
“Thanks, Pep,” he said quietly, and she only smiled more kindly in return, then her face turned thoughtful.
“And Jay, don’t forget you can be whoever you want to be in that press conference tomorrow,” she said, her tone so serious that Jay bit down a reflex snappy comment. She continued, “You don’t have to put on the Tony Stark mask from before – you can be something else this time. You can be yourself.”
And Jay blinked at the sincerity of her tone, letting the words sink in. He’d been the drunken playboy asshole to the media for so long; and yes, he was a playboy asshole for a lot of his life – there was no denying that, and he wasn’t interested in trying to hide who he’d been. But after Afghanistan? After New York? He’d changed, and he’d changed so much that his media role had become work to perform, but he’d done it because his PR team had informed him SI could suffer if he didn’t – some nonsense about ‘branding’ or something. But to be able to reinvent himself in the media? To be able to be a give a serious speech without being laughed at and told he was ‘faking it’ or ‘trying too hard’? Without his ‘ego’ getting thrown in his face at every turn, no matter how philanthropic he was genuinely trying to be? That sounded freeing.
Pepper said nothing more, just watched him think with a small smile on her face before glancing at her watch and sighing. “Well, I’d better go. Happy will pick you up at 10:30 a.m. sharp. Don’t forget to dress in that suit I picked out for you – and do something with your hair! We can’t have the future of Stark Industries looking like a hoodlum,” she directed, wagging a finger at him.
“Yes, Mom,” Jay grumbled. “Did you really just say hoodlum?” She rolled her eyes.
“Bye, Jay.”
“Bye, Pep.”
Tomorrow was going to be a nightmare.
Today was a nightmare.
Jay had already been jittery as Pepper stepped up to the podium, greeting the ravenous reporters with her usual cool, collected style, thanking them for coming to the conference.
“Today’s press conference will be a little unusual, since I’m here not only on behalf of Stark Industries, but also on behalf of the Accords council, and on behalf of a very dear friend,” she started, chin aloft and posture regal. “As you know, there has been a void since the passing of Tony Stark, and I believe it’s been felt not only by his friends, family, and company, but also by the world at large. Tony was in the public eye from the moment he was born, but he remained a very private man in regard to certain aspects of his life. It was due to his wishes and the wishes of the involved parties that the information I’m about to disclose was kept private until now.”
There were mutterings in the crowd, but Pepper ignored them, pausing for a moment and drawing every eye in the crowd to her. “In his will, Tony Stark named an heir to Stark Industries…and to Iron Man.” As predicted, that drew a cacophony from the crowd, and Pepper politely waited until it had settled enough that individual voices could be heard.
“Are you saying someone will be taking over as Iron Man?” came a loud voice from the sea of reporters, and Pepper must have thought the question was important enough to answer despite her policy to ignore anything asked before she opened the floor to questions, because she nodded.
“The Accords council has been informed and consented, and the person in question has agreed to serve as Iron Man and signed the Accords,” she said calmly, and the room was filled with noise again.
Another voice managed to be heard above the racket. “Why is this person just now coming forward? What’s changed?” they called, and Pepper looked like she was steeling herself to deliver a blow. Jay’s stomach dropped from where he was hiding in plain sight against the wall on one side of the room, unnoticed in his anonymity. Well, that was about to change.
“Howard Stark made it a stipulation in his will that Tony would inherit Stark Industries on his 21st birthday. Tony decided to do the same with his son.”
There was a deafening silence, and, had it been any other occasion, Jay was certain that he would have absolutely relished this moment – the moment he had finally managed to stun a room full of reporters into absolute silence. But as it was, he could feel only dread, because when the room erupted, it was going to be –
Shouts sounded from every corner of the room, reporters screaming their questions at the stage, each trying to be louder than their neighbor in the face of this massive revelation.
– chaos.
Pepper just waited in the face of it, calmly standing at the podium and offering no responses other than to stare serenely at the crowd. When they finally began to quieten, she gave a sharp nod. “Thank you. Now if you think you can behave yourselves, I’d like to introduce you to Dr. Jason Stark.”
The press conference looked like an absolute nightmare.
“Jesus, that poor kid,” Clint muttered, watching Jay walk up to the stage following Miss Potts’s introduction. He’d clearly dressed for the event, handsome and dashing in a pressed navy suit and hair nearly tamed, but still looking achingly young on the screen. Although Steve would admit that his opinion of Jay’s youthful appearance probably stemmed a bit from comparing him to his father, who’d looked older and more worn every time Steve had seen him, lines etching their way onto his face and grey inching into his hair. Tony had always been annoyingly attractive, but it had been clear his age and stress were catching up to him the last time Steve saw him.
Steve yanked himself out of that thought quickly, returning his attention to Jay and reveling again in how very like his father Jay looked with his expressive brown eyes, slightly curly hair, and perfect, open smile. And looks and smarts weren’t the only things he appeared to have inherited from his dad – it seemed like Jay had snagged Tony’s natural ease in front of the press as well. He was impressively calm in front of a hoard of people shouting at him, especially considering that this was his first time in front of the press. And wow, it was a hell of a first time. The reporters were going wild with the news of Tony having a son, and Steve found himself increasingly guiltily glad that he wasn’t in Jay’s shoes. The press junkets from when he’d been the Army’s dancing monkey had been much less…rabid, and even the conferences they’d had to attend from time to time after battles as Avengers had been calmer than this. But Jay was handling it like it was nothing, a small, easy smile on his face as he stepped up to the podium and holding one hand up to quiet the crowd. To Steve’s surprise, the reporters actually did fall silent, appearing as eager as him to hear what Jay had to say.
“Hello, thank you for coming out today,” Jay said formally, still smiling easily. “I’m Jason Stark, but people usually call me Jay. And before anyone gets too nervous, no, I will not be announcing the shut-down of a major part of Stark Industries – I think my dad hoarded the lion’s share of the dramatics in the family gene pool.” He winked at the reporters, earning surprised laughter from the audience, then sobered. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions, and I will certainly leave plenty of time to answer them at the end – so if you’ll please hold them for now, I would very much appreciate it.” He smiled earnestly at the reporters, and the few hands that had shot into the air quickly dropped.
“He’s good,” Natasha commented, and Buck – James – made a noise of agreement.
They fell silent as Jay started speaking again. “I found out Tony Stark was my father when I turned 18. My mom wanted me to have a normal life growing up, and my dad respected that. He supported us while I was growing up, though I didn’t know it, and asked only that she offer me the chance to reach out when I was old enough. On my 18th birthday, my mom handed me a phone and said there was a pre-programmed number that I could call if I wanted to talk to my dad. It was probably the most surreal moment of my life.
“I’d admired the Avengers growing up, but I’d followed the news on Iron Man the most because of my interests in engineering and electronics. I started at MIT when I was 15 in part because I knew he’d gone to that school, and I got my doctorate in mechanical engineering last year. He was an inspiration to me even before I knew he was my father, and it will always be a great sadness in my life that I didn’t get to know him growing up, although I do stand firmly behind my mother’s decision, as I’m very grateful that I was able to grow up out of the public eye as a normal kid – or, as normal as a 15-year-old in college can be, at least.” He gave the crowd a self-deprecating smile, earning a few chuckles from the reporters.
“But I’m here today because I can’t remain out of the public eye any longer. I only had a year to get to know my dad, but in that year, he taught me a lot about duty and responsibility, especially when you have the ability to do something that other people can’t. He passed that ability on to me when he gave me the name ‘Stark,’ and I intend to do everything in my power to make myself worthy of it. I’m nothing particularly special – there are others out there who are far smarter, far kinder, and far better than me. But by an accident of birth, I was given a name that has the ability to help people, and I was given a father who taught me about the responsibility to use it. I only hope that I can do my father and all of the people who admire Iron Man proud, and I promise to do my best to do just that.”
And with that, Jay paused, letting the genuine note in his voice ringing through the room.
“Holy shit, the kid is a wordsmith,” Clint whispered, and Steve had to agree, riveted on the figure at the podium.
“I’m pretty sure he just won the hearts of every Iron Man fan out there,” Natasha agreed, eyeing the screen thoughtfully. Steve wasn’t entirely sure what to make of her expression, but his attention was quickly drawn back to the screen where Jay had opened the floor for questions.
The press conference had been exhausting, and Jay couldn’t remember ever being more grateful to leave the SI building.
“So how’d I do?” he asked as he and Pepper slid into the back of the car.
“You did really well,” she reassured him, looking at her tablet. “All the comments online are extremely positive, and the Board has already contacted me with their approval of how the press conference was handled.”
“Good, that’s good,” Jay said, slumping down in the seat.
“You did good, boss!” Happy called from the front, and Jay smiled tiredly.
“God, I’d forgotten how much that takes out of me,” he commented, and Pepper made a noise of sympathy. “Tell me there’s nothing else going on for the rest of the day, Pepper dearest.”
“Wish I could, but the Bartons and Langs are scheduled to arrive today, kiddo,” Pepper responded with a sympathetic half-smile. Jay groaned dramatically, pressing himself further into the seat.
“But I just wanna build stuff,” he whined, then his eyes narrowed, and he snapped up. “Wait, did you just call me kiddo? I’m older than you!”
Pepper snickered, leaning forward to ruffle his hair, and he squawked indignantly. “Not technically, you’re not!” she chirped, and he batted her hand away.
“Keep it up and I’ll start calling you ‘Mom’ in front of other people,” he threatened, and she stared him down.
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me.”
“We’re here, you two, you can hop out now. Unless you want to have a third civil war back there,” Happy called, sounding amused, and they turned as one to glare at him.
“I sign your paychecks, Hap, you can’t sass me,” Jay grumbled.
“Actually, I sign his paychecks,” Pepper sniffed, and Jay pushed her lightly as she opened the door and started to climb out. Not for the first time, Jay thanked whatever deity had given his former self the insight to have the Compound gated so that reporters weren’t able to ambush them when they got out of the car.
“I was speaking metaphorically!”
“I don’t think that’s how metaphors work, Jay.”
The two squabbled the whole way up to the Compound’s entrance, stepping inside and making their way to the common room, only ceasing their bickering when they noticed far too many eyes on them.
“Oh, you’re early!” Pepper finally chirped, smiling brightly at the Bartons and Langs, who were huddled with their suitcases in hand in front of a bewildered-looking group of Avengers. The TV was still playing quietly in the background, though no one was paying attention any longer. Steve and Sam both looked slightly frightened, seated on the couch and appearing to be trying to hold themselves as still as possible. Natasha and James were mostly unreadable, though Jay caught Natasha’s eyes flicking almost nervously towards the Bartons a few times. Scott looked to be in shock, staring at his family from where he was seated in one of the cushy chairs, and Clint had jumped out of his seat and was looking at his family like a dying man at the fountain of youth. Pepper completely ignored the tension in the room, smiling at each of the guests. “Have you been here long?”
“No, we, uh – we just got here,” answered a blond woman who Jay didn’t recognize. Extremis pinged him with facial recognition, identifying her as Margaret Lang.
“Excellent. Miss Hale was supposed to meet you and help get you settled, but I think she wasn’t due to arrive until 2. I’m afraid I’m about to have to duck out – it’s been a bit of a busy day, and I’ve got a few things to do,” Jay held in a snort at that particular understatement, “but I’m sure she’ll be here shortly to direct you to your rooms and talk to you about transportation and schools for the children and such.” Pepper gave one last polite but bright smile, then leaned to give Jay a quick kiss on the cheek, followed by a stern look. “Be good and don’t get into trouble, I’ve got enough to do already.”
Jay beamed at her. “Aw, Pepper darling, when do I ever get myself into trouble?” he needled, and she cocked an eyebrow at him in warning, then turned and left.
Leaving him to deal with the Bartons’ and Langs’ arrival. Dammit, she did that on purpose.
An awkward silence filled the air for a moment after Pepper’s departure that was broken by the little girl standing by Margaret Lang – Cassandra, Extremis told him – crying out, “Daddy!” and running to jump into Scott’s lap.
Scott looked shocked and overwhelmed for a moment, then grinned. “Hey, peanut,” he said, and Jay was pretty sure he wasn’t alone in noticing that the man’s voice trembled. “It sure is good to see you.”
“I missed you, Dad! Everyone was talking about how you were a terrorist, but I told them you’re a hero! And I was right, that mean witch lady messed everybody up,” Cassie declared, voice full of an innocent sort of satisfaction, and Scott winced. Jay internally winced for him, knowing Scott hadn’t been exposed to Maximoff until after he’d met up with the Rogues, so he didn’t exactly have that excuse for his behavior.
“Yes, Scott, why don’t you tell her all about how the witch influenced you,” a new voice said acerbically from behind him, and Jay spun to see a familiar dark-haired woman standing with her arms folded in the doorway, skewering Scott with her eyes.
“Miss van Dyne,” Jay said in surprise. “I didn’t realize you were coming today.” Hope had the decency to look at least a little guilty.
“Sorry to drop in, Maggie contacted me to let me know they were leaving the safe house and coming here, and I wanted to have a word with Scott,” she explained, and Jay nodded.
“Uh, no problem, I’m sure Miss Hale will be able to set you up with a room if you need it,” he said, eyes darting back and forth between Hope and an increasingly-pale Scott.
“Wait, did you say safe house?” Clint asked, brow furrowed as he tore his eyes away from his children to look at Hope, then Maggie.
“Yes, Clint, where did you think we’d gone after you went rushing off after Captain America?” Laura bit out, and Jay hid a wince. He’d really liked Laura when he’d visited, but the woman was one hell of a spitfire, and she was mad.
“I – why did you leave the farm?” Clint asked, a strange mixture of confused and ashamed, and Laura glowered at him, shifting Nate on her hip.
“Ross came after us – us and the Langs,” she said caustically, gesturing at the couple. Clint paled, but Laura continued mercilessly. “Apparently, he thought we’d make good leverage for getting you to do what he wanted. Thankfully, Tony Stark had enough foresight to predict that, and he arranged for us to be taken to a safe house before he left to find you at the Raft.”
Now all of the Avengers were looking pale and slightly green. “Tony – Tony did that?” Clint choked out, and Laura smiled mirthlessly.
“He was a hero. Of course he did,” she said, and Clint flinched. Jay decided maybe now was the time to intervene.
“Um, Mrs. Barton,” he called out, and her fury abated for a moment in favor of confusion as she turned to search out the source of the voice. When her eyes landed on him, her face danced through a complicated series of emotions – recognition, sorrow, sympathy, and something a little softer.
“You’re Tony’s kid,” she said, her tone far more gentle. “Jason, right?
“I go by Jay,” he offered with a small smile. “Thank you for what you were saying about my dad. I, uh, my dad said good things about you, too. He talked about how kind you and Clint were to him, and how much he liked the little Agents.” Jay aimed a quick conspiratorial smile at Lila, Cooper, and Nate before returning his attention to Laura, who was looking at him with an expression Jay couldn’t quite put a name to.
And to Jay’s great relief, the tension seemed to finally start to dissipate.
“Oh, sweetheart, you don’t need to thank me – your dad was one of the best people I’ve ever met. Any kindness we showed him, he repaid a thousand-fold,” Laura said warmly, and Jay blinked at her words, shocked by the sincerity behind them and entirely certain he didn’t deserve such adulation. But he forced a smile regardless.
“Thank you, Mrs. Barton.”
“Laura, please,” she insisted, and his smile turned more genuine.
“Laura, then,” he conceded easily. He studied her for a second, noting the underlying anger and hurt in her expression and internally warring with himself, uncertain whether it was his place to try to help. While it certainly wasn’t unreasonable for her to be angry – she’d been left to raise three children on her own for two years while having to watch her husband become a criminal and a fugitive, of course she was angry – anger at Clint was misdirected. He was certain Laura knew that and was just lashing out because she was hurt, but Clint was ashen and refusing to stand up for himself, clearly still lost in his own guilt and self-recrimination – guilt and recrimination that was Jay’s fault. And it was that particular thought that sealed it for him; maybe it wasn’t his place to interfere, but some of Laura’s hostility was his fault for his fake-death, so he needed to try to fix it.
He cleared his throat. “I don’t mean to nose into where I don’t belong, but I just wanted to say…my dad thought the world of both you and Clint, and he valued your friendship dearly. I think if he’d known what had truly happened, he’d have never been able to forgive Maximoff for the wedges she drove between him and the people he cared about, but he’d have forgiven everyone else in a heartbeat.” It was quiet for a moment, Clint’s mouth popping open in surprise and Laura looking at him thoughtfully.
“Your father was a very forgiving man,” Laura finally said, voice still slightly doubtful.
Jay shrugged. “Some people would disagree with you. I think he mostly was just good at directing his forgiveness towards people who deserved it,” he countered with a small smile. Laura raised an eyebrow.
“And what about you?” Laura challenged, though her voice was more curious than heated. “Do they deserve your forgiveness?”
“They do, and they have it,” Jay said without hesitation, and he ignored the sharp inhales he heard from the direction of the Avengers. Laura eyed him carefully for a moment, then nodded.
“Far be it from me to say they owe me more of an apology than the man whose father they killed,” Laura murmured finally, and Jay exhaled in relief. He expected her to turn back to her husband, but she just looked at him a little harder, and Jay was uncomfortably reminded of how perceptive Laura was. “You’re very like him,” she commented, and Jay felt his heart speed up a little. Okay, he’d literally been around her for like ten minutes max, there was no way she could figure out his secret that quickly, especially since people he’d worked with for years hadn’t figured it out (yet, a small voice in the back of his head piped up).
“Thank you,” he responded evenly, proud that his voice didn’t betray any of his worry.
“Boss, you have an incoming call,” FRIDAY piped up, and several people jumped, unprepared for the disembodied voice interrupting what had been a strangely intense moment. Jay’s lips quirked up into a smile, amused when Lila and Cooper’s eyes lit up, looking at the ceiling in wonder.
“Take a message, FRI,” Jay responded easily.
“I think you’re going to want to take this, Boss.”
It’s Peter, she pinged him through Extremis, and Jay very carefully didn’t allow his eyes to betray his surprise.
Ask him to hold for a second and tell him I’ll be there soon, Jay instructed quickly, letting a calm smile slide over his face.
“I’d probably better go, then. If FRI says it’s important, it’s important,” Jay said apologetically, and Laura waved him off.
“Go, man, we can take care of the newcomers,” Sam chimed in, and Jay realized with a small degree of embarrassment that he’d forgotten the rest of the team was there. “It probably has something to do with Stark Industries after that press conference anyway, and you wouldn’t want to piss of Pepper. That woman’s terrifying.” He shuddered, and Jay held back a smile, making a mental note to have FRIDAY show Pepper a recording of that later.
“Thanks.” He turned to make quick eye contact with the Langs and Bartons. “If you need food or anything else, just ask FRIDAY and she can have whatever you want delivered here. Other than that, Miss Hale should be here soon to go over everything with you. Uh, welcome to the Compound.” He gave them a quick smile, waved awkwardly to the group, then darted away, heading for the elevator that would take him down to his lab.
Did Peter say what he was calling about? Jay asked.
No, just that he wanted to speak to Jason Stark, FRIDAY responded, then paused. He sounds…guilty, more than anything, Boss.
Guilty? Why would he be guilty?
You’re the human here, Boss, I’m just the level-headed, entirely rational AI. Your guess is likely to be better than mine.
Such sass, baby girl. Where could you have learned that?
It’s a mystery.
Jay huffed a laugh as he stepped out of the elevator and into the lab. “Throw him up on the screen, will you, FRI?” he said aloud, bracing himself but still finding himself entirely unprepared to see Peter Parker’s face again for the first time in two years.
He looked older, puberty having changed him more in two years than Jay had expected, but he still had those same wide earnest brown eyes and way-too-innocent expression that made Jay just want to parent the shit out of him. But god, he was what – 17, now? Jesus, that made Jay technically only four years older than him. Yeah, he was better suited for ‘older brother-ing’ the shit out of the kid now.
“Dr. Stark,” Peter said, and wow his voice had gotten a little deeper. He was also clearly trying to convey an air of polite respect and professionalism, and Jay hid a ridiculously fond smile.
“Mr. – “ Jay had to clear his throat of the weird choked-up sensation that he would forever deny had manifested from seeing Peter. “Mr. Parker,” he managed to get out formally, trying to keep his voice even. Geez, why was seeing the kid doing this to him?
“You know who I am?” Peter asked, expression adorably surprised, and Jay resisted the urge to coo at him.
“My dad mentioned you before he left for Germany – something about a kid with too much intelligence for his own good running around Queens in pajamas,” he couldn’t resist needling him a little and was gratified to see Peter turn beet red. Ah, some things never changed.
“They weren’t pajamas!” Peter protested, clearly flustered, then took a breath to regain his ‘professionalism.’ “Sorry, Dr. Stark – “
“Call me Jay, please,” Jay interrupted, and Peter floundered for a moment while Jay’s eyes shone with amusement. God, he’d missed this kid so much.
“Oh, sure. Um. Call me Peter? Right, yeah, so Dr. Jay – I mean Jay, um…” Peter trailed off, looking entirely thrown.
“Peter, was there something you wanted to talk to me about?” Jay prompted, making sure to keep his amusement out of his voice. He didn’t want Peter to mistake it for Jay mocking him. Peter appeared to shake himself, expression clearing.
“Right, yes, sorry. Uh, I saw your press conference today, Mr. – uh, Jay,” Peter started. “And I was hoping I could talk to you about Mr. Stark? Uh, your dad Mr. Stark, not you Mr. Stark. Although I guess you’re Dr. Stark. But I think Mr. Stark also had doctorates, so that would make him Dr. Stark, too.” And Jay couldn’t hold back the broad grin from his face now, an immeasurable amount of affection swelling up in his chest at his kid’s familiar ramblings.
“Peter,” Jay called, eyes dancing when Peter’s mouth snapped shut and the boy rubbed his neck sheepishly. “What about my dad were you wanting to discuss?”
And then all the light drained out of Peter’s face, and Jay’s heart dropped. “I never got the chance to apologize to him, and – and I know you’re not him, but I want to apologize to someone, and yeah, I apologized to his gravestone but it’s just not quite the same, so I thought maybe I could apologize to you because I hurt you, too. I’m so sorry, Dr. Stark.” And his voice was so earnest and heartfelt and torn that Jay couldn’t do anything but stare at him, shocked and feeling the beginnings of horror starting to fill him. What on earth did this kid think he needed to apologize for?
“What are you talking about?” Jay finally managed to get out, and okay, yeah, maybe not the most sensitive phrasing, but he was working with some compromised emotions here. Peter looked more dejected at his question.
“It’s my fault he’s dead. I didn’t protect him. I got hurt at the airport, so he told me to go home, and I went, and then he went to Siberia and died,” Peter said, his voice hushed and miserable. Jay opened his mouth to protest immediately, but Peter jumped back in before he could. “If I’d just been better at the airport, maybe we could’ve caught the Rogues and none of that other stuff would’ve happened. Or if I just hadn’t gotten hurt, I could’ve gone with him to Siberia and had his back. I’m just – I’m so sorry. He did so much for me, and I let him down. I let him die.” Peter sounded so tortured, so heartbroken, that Jay suddenly fiercely wished he’d gotten teleportation as part of his new Extremis abilities so he could just fucking hug his poor kid who was punishing himself for something that was so incredibly not his fault.
“Peter, no, you can’t think that,” Jay said softly, plaintively. “It wasn’t your fault, it wasn’t anyone’s fault except Maximoff’s. Please don’t blame yourself.”
“I – it was though, and I’m so sorry,” Peter said, his voice choked, and Jay wanted to cry. Had he been carrying this guilt around for the past two years? Punishing himself for something that, not only wasn’t his fault, but that hadn’t even fucking happened?
And suddenly, he couldn’t stand it.
Pepper was going to be furious with him for not running this by her first – but he trusted Peter with everything, and he’d be damned if he was going to let this kid beat himself up for one moment longer.
FRI, you with me, baby girl? he asked, knowing Peter would probably need some sort of proof, and FRIDAY had all his medical files on hand.
Always, Boss. And for what it’s worth, I think you’re making the right decision.
Bolstered by his girl’s support, Jay took a deep breath. “Peter, there’s something I need to tell you,” he said tentatively, uncertainty starting to creep in. How exactly was he supposed to explain this? He’d never had to before, everyone who currently knew had been there when it happened. Peter’s eyes snapped up to meet his, eyes red-rimmed and unhappiness clearly written on every inch of his face.
He tried to choose his words carefully. “I…I’m not Jason Stark. Or, I guess I am technically, but not really because there is no Jason Stark.” Peter was looking at him with complete confusion and the beginnings of concern, and Jay blew out a puff of air in frustration; apparently Peter’s rambling was contagious, and he had zero idea how to break this. Ugh. Maybe try the whole ripping-off-the-band-aid-thing? He mentally shrugged and steeled himself. “What I’m trying to say is I’m not really Tony’s son – I’m Tony.”
Silence greeted his proclamation, Peter staring at him with a frozen expression that gradually morphed into sincere concern. “Um, Dr. Stark, are you…are you okay?” he asked cautiously, and oh Lord, that was the ‘this guy is crazy’ voice. Jay had heard it enough over the years to be able to immediately identify it.
“FRI, show him, baby girl,” Jay said tiredly, and he got a ping of confirmation in the back of his head.
“Whoa! What’s – “ Peter’s eyes were suddenly searching, darting all over the screen as files pulled up. He looked around for a moment, then his brow furrowed. “What is all this?”
“My medical files,” Jay responded, mentally pulling them up himself. He found the one he was looking for and gently pushed it towards Peter’s network. “Take a look at the note Dr. Cho wrote at the bottom of this one.”
Peter’s eyes widened. “Dr. Cho?” he asked, recognizing the name, then his eyes darted to the screen. “’The mixture of Dr. Erskine’s serum and the Extremis virus appear to have had an unusual interaction, resulting in Mr. Stark’s full recovery from his injuries, but also reversing the aging process. Mr. Stark’s current physical status and appearance is equivalent to that of an approximately 17 or 18-year-old male. Comparison with images and medical files of Mr. Stark from that age range supports this approximation,’” he read aloud, eyes growing progressively wider and voice filling with wonder as he read. He looked up from wherever the report was on his screen to refocus on Jay, expression filled with a mixture of hope and fear, as though he was worried someone was going to pop out and yell ‘Gotcha!’ at any moment. “Is this – are you really – “ he asked, voice hesitant and appearing unable to complete the question as his eyes roamed over every inch of Jay’s face.
“Yeah,” Jay said quietly, heart racing in his chest. “Yeah, Underoos, it’s really me.” And then Peter’s expression broke.
“Oh my god, Mr. Stark, I – I can’t believe it. You’re alive. You’re alive,” he cried out, eyes welling up, and Jay’s heart ached.
“Yeah, squirt, I’m alive. Takes more than a couple of super soldiers to kill Tony Stark,” Jay said, trying for a grin, and Peter let out a watery laugh that was all-too-quickly followed by his expression crumpling again.
“Mr. Stark, I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to help you. I – I shoulda done better at the airport, I shoulda gone with you to Siberia, and I’m really really sorry,” Peter said, voice broken, and Jay shook his head vehemently.
“That’s not true, and I don’t want to ever hear you say that again, kid,” he said firmly. “Now you look at me, Peter Parker.” He waited until Peter’s eyes were on him, red and miserable. “You went above and beyond in Liepzig. I should never have brought you there in the first place, but you did incredible and you more than made me proud. And you absolutely should not have been with me in Siberia. Not only would that have been insanely dangerous and I would never have put you in that position considering we thought we were going to be facing five Winter Soldiers against only three of us, I was also breaking the Accords by going without informing anyone, and I wouldn’t have brought you into that. You are not at fault for any of what happened. And I’m the first to admit to feeling guilty about things that may or may not necessarily be my fault, but you are not allowed to follow in my footsteps. None of this was your fault, and I want you to talk to me any time you start to feel like it is so we can work through that. You don’t get to inherit the Tony Stark Guilt Complex, okay?”
Peter’s expression was priceless, one part kid-caught-with-a-hand-in-the-cookie-jar, one part tentatively joyful, and he finally, blessedly smiled. A small smile, sure, but Jay would take it. “Okay, Mr. Stark,” he agreed, and Jay grinned at him, wide and relieved. Then he sobered.
“And I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you, kid. After…after all that happened, I was pretty messed up. I hadn’t ever planned to use Extremis on myself, and suddenly being 18 again along with Steve nearly killing me and losing the rest of the Avengers to Team Cap and all that…those first few months were a little rough.” Yeah, ‘a little rough’ like the Titanic had ‘a little malfunction.’ He continued, “I wasn’t really ready to talk about it to anyone who didn’t already know, and by the time I was, Pepper and Rhodey had already worked out a grand plan for how I’d re-enter the world that relied a lot on secrecy. If I’d known – “ and Jay had to catch his breath. “If I’d known you were blaming yourself all that time, I’d have never let you keep thinking…” and he trailed off, unable to finish, internally berating himself. He should’ve known. He should’ve known Peter was too much like him and would be punishing himself for letting down an adult he looked up to (though Jay still found it bizarre that Peter looked up to him at all). And now he’d let Peter go on for two years staggering under the weight of a guilt he should never have had to carry. God, it was just like him to fuck up everything he touched, wasn’t it?
“Hey,” Peter called out, getting his attention, and Jay was surprised to see the kid looking at him sternly. “If I’m not allowed to beat myself up and feel guilty, neither are you, Mr. Stark,” he declared, and Jay made a noise of protest, but Peter cut him off. “Nope, you said it yourself, you’re bad about feeling guilty for things that aren’t your fault, so you don’t get to feel guilty about this if I don’t. That’s the deal, take it or leave it.” And Peter crossed his arms stubbornly. Jay choked out a laugh.
“You sure you’re not mine biologically?” he asked with an amazed grin. “Alright, squirt, you’ve got yourself a deal.”
The conversation went on for hours before Peter finally apologetically said that he needed to work on his homework, and Jay waved him off with a wide grin and an insistence that Peter visit him at the Compound sometime soon.
“Boss, the team is currently having dinner. Mr. Lang and Mr. Barton are with their families, but the others wished me to convey an invitation to join them,” FRIDAY told him, and Jay chewed on his lip for a moment, debating.
“Tell them thanks, but I have something else to take care of. I’ll get something later,” he decided.
“Will do, Boss. What’s next on the agenda?”
Jay sighed. “I need to talk to Harley,” he said, having already come to the conclusion during his chat with Peter. If one of his ducklings knew the truth, it was only fair that the other one should too.
“Sure thing, Boss! Mr. Keener has already called four times,” FRIDAY said cheerfully, and Jay sputtered.
“Four times? FRI, why didn’t you say anything?”
“You were busy speaking with Mr. Parker,” she said primly.
“Oh my god, FRI, he’s going to think I’m ignoring him,” Jay grumbled, and if a disembodied silence could be pointed, this one certainly was.
“FaceTiming him now,” FRIDAY said, her tone sniffy.
“Jason Stark?” Harley’s face popped up on his screen, and Jay was amazed again at how much of a difference two years could make with someone so young, especially since Jay always had a picture in his head of how Harley had looked when they’d first met, all tiny and with his floppy hair and faux-innocent pout. The kid was 16 now, and he looked so much older than the 11-year-old whose shed Tony had invaded, a kind of carefree intelligence etched on sharp features.
“Hi, Mr. Keener, sorry to keep you waiting, I was on another call,” Jay said formally.
“That’s okay, I figured you might be busy,” Harley responded easily, so different from Peter’s wide-eyed hero-worship that it was almost disarming. “Anyway, I was calling because your dad was really great to me, and I just wanted to let you know if you ever need anything you can call me. Sounds like you’re as much of a genius as your dad so you probably won’t need me for anything like that, but Tony talked about how crazy life in the spotlight was, so if you ever need a dose of normalcy, I’m here.”
To say Jay was touched was a hell of an understatement; what had he done to deserve so many astonishing people in his life?
“Thank you,” he finally managed, then mentally shook himself. Now or never. “Actually, I’m glad you called – I’d been planning to call you once I got off the phone anyway.”
“Oh yeah?” And now Harley’s face was lit up with curiosity, leaning into the camera interestedly. “What for?”
Jay bit back a smile; the kid reminded him of himself a lot of the time, always searching for a new mystery to hold his interest. “There’s something I need to tell you, something kind of bizarre.” And then he hesitated, searching for the right words as he had with Peter – only to be beat to the punch.
“You’re Tony, aren’t you,” Harley guessed, watching Jay’s face carefully, then let out a crow of triumph and punched the air at the naked shock that took over Jay’s expression. “I knew it! I knew you weren’t dead! Takes more than that to kill Tony Stark.”
“Shit, Harl, how the hell did you know?” Jay asked incredulously. “And don’t say it’s because we’re connected, I swear to god,” he added quickly as Harley’s mouth opened. Harley wilted, then grinned impishly.
“Just had a feeling, that’s all,” he said smugly, smirking, and Jay shook his head.
“A menace, you’re a fucking menace, what did I ever do to deserve this,” he muttered without heat, a wide grin spreading over his face.
“Musta saved an entire village in a past life or something,” Harley preened, grinning just as widely. “So. When do I get to come visit you at the Compound?”