A/N: Thanks to my new "Avengers" beta, CoGDork, for working on this chapter for me! Woo, took a while to update but life has been crazy lately. XD

CHAPTER 4
Getting To Know Ryan

The smell of pancakes wafted into Ryan's nostrils.

He turned over on the bed, rubbing an eye tiredly. It was pretty early-that much he could tell-but fresh cooked food? That sounded wonderful. He got out of bed, stretching and allowing himself to make his way down the hall. Of course, the smell lead him to where he wanted to be anyway: the kitchen.

He was, however, surprised to see that it was Tony who was cooking. The man turned at the sound of Ryan's bare feet on the floor and smiled. "Morning, kid. Hungry?" He asked, then noticed the child's confused look. "What? Just because I'm a billionaire doesn't mean I don't know how to cook."

"I just never thought you'd be the 'domestic' type." Ryan admitted.

Tony shrugged, flipping a couple of his pancakes and seemingly unfazed. "Sometimes I'm not. But I do like cooking... I've been a bachelor for so long, so I've obviously learned to cook. You kind of have to," he explained, tilting his head. "Now sit down, breakfast is almost ready."

"You actually made that for me?"

"For us. Pepper should be coming anytime now, she's taking a shower." Tony corrected, keeping his eyes firmly on Ryan. "Look, I know this is awkward. But Pepper was going to have to get to know you eventually. And she likes one-on-one time to do it."

Ryan nodded his head, then seated himself down at the table to allow Tony to dish out the pancakes. It was so strange, but in two days, Tony had shown him more welcoming and kindness than many foster homes had. "You know you don't have to do this, Tony..." Ryan replied. "Being so nice to me. Giving me a nice bedroom, cooking me breakfast."

Not for the first time, Tony was understanding that his friend really hadn't seen much kindness from adults, even after his mother died. "Ryan, I'm not doing this because I feel obligated to. You're a good kid, and I like you," he explained, placing a hand on Ryan's shoulder as the billionaire set the boy's food in front of him.

"You think I'm a good kid?" Ryan laughed a little, shaking his head. "I didn't get kicked out of so many foster homes because I'm perfect. I've lied, stolen, picked fights... I may look like a good kid, but I'm not..."

Tony shook his head. "You've had a shitty life. Of course you're going to rebel. I did the same thing when I was your age and I had a pretty good life." Ryan wasn't surprised - everyone knew Tony hadn't been so clean cut when he was younger, and he still wasn't always that way now either. "Just remember, you steal anything here and you're liable to end up in prison for a long time."

Ryan cracked a smile at the joke, letting Tony rub the top of his head. After a moment had passed, Tony spoke up again. "So did you sleep well? I hear sometimes it's hard for kids like you to sleep somewhere they're not familiar with."

Was Tony doing research now? Had he pried, he might have found out that Tony had, despite his slacker attitude. He'd actually done more research on the subject than he'd really cared to admit. And oddly enough, it was because he'd actually enjoyed having Ryan there the night before... enjoyed having another body than just him and Pepper in the house.

He took up the coffee he'd made himself from the counter. He couldn't think that way much though, he told himself. He could already see the headlines now: "Tony Stark: Billionaire, Bachelor, Single Dad?". The media circus would have a field day with how inept he was at it, and...

He shook his head. No, he told himself going into this it was just a mentorship. And a mentorship, he promised himself, it was going to stay.

He looked over at Ryan, who had covered his pancakes in syrup and was stuffing himself already when he finally responded. "I slept fine, Tony," Ryan replied. "Hey, do you think I could get a coffee too?"

"You drink coffee? You're thirteen. You're too young to be drinking this." Tony held up his own cup with a bit of surprise. "I have orange juice, soda, milk..."

Ryan looked as though he wanted to pout. But he quickly figured it wouldn't work on Tony. "Come on, Stark. Let me live a little." Ryan got up and started towards the coffee pot. "I do like coffee... It keeps me awake most mornings. I usually stop by McDonald's on the way to school and get it."

"You seem pretty awake to me." Tony replied. "Do you not sleep well?"

Ryan was silent for an unnervingly long time before speaking up. "I live in a group home, Tony. My first night there, someone got stabbed in their sleep." Ryan explained, to which Tony tensed. "They're supposed to confiscate stuff like knives, but some of the kids find a way. A lot of us are good kids... but sometimes you can't help but sleep with one eye open."

Tony stared for a long moment at Ryan. It definitely made his heart drop a bit to hear that. "And they make you walk to school?" He asked.

"I do that by choice. I hate the bus, and it's only a ten minute walk."

Tony was starting to get an even better picture of the boy's life now. Shaking his head, he decided it was time to change the subject. "Either way, no coffee... I don't need you wired at work today," he explained, then nodded. "Finish breakfast, we leave in thirty minutes."

"You're no fun." Ryan groaned.

"I'm tons of fun. But coffee is not for kids." Tony smirked.

And without thinking on it much more, he left the room to clear his head.

"This place is so much cooler than I even imagined!"

Tony and Pepper exchanged a smile at Ryan's look of awe when they entered Tony's office. It was true, of course; Stark Industries was one heck of a sight to behold. The man put a hand on Ryan's shoulder, and then nodded. "Well it is quite a sight, I agree. But you're only seeing my office. Pepper's going to show you the really cool stuff." He then added. "She's the CEO so she knows just as much as me..."

Pepper looked at Tony with a shrug. "He's right, though I'm not taking you anywhere too dangerous. Like somebody else would."

"Where's the fun in that?" Tony asked, seemingly shocked.

"I don't know, but I'd rather not face another lawsuit if he gets hurt," Pepper replied bluntly, to which Tony gave a simple eye-roll.

Ryan didn't seem to mind much, however, and simply looked around the office as they talked, in awe of the awesome technology Tony had. It was clear that he was going to see a lot of tech from the beginning though, with it being Tony Stark and all. Eventually, however, the arguing did cut into his fascination, at which point he finally spoke up. "Are you guys going to argue this entire time? Because I'll get comfy, maybe you can just show me how these computers work." He noted, running a hand along a fancy "computer".

"Hey! Careful with that! Not a toy!" Tony replied, speaking up quickly.

Ryan pulled back, though a little disappointed. Tony simply sighed, and then nodded. "The kid's right, we shouldn't be arguing this much. Just don't ruin his good time-show him the really cool stuff." Tony encouraged Pepper who nodded in agreement.

"Alright, kiddo, let's get started." Pepper turned her head toward her boyfriend, and gave him a pointed look. "And I already planned to show him the cool stuff. Safe doesn't mean 'lame'."

Ryan didn't know if he believed that, but he'd soon find out who was right.

He followed Pepper at a bit of a distance.

It wasn't that he was afraid of anything, but rather just plain nervous. He hadn't been alone with her up until this point, and he wasn't sure what to say or do. He simply listened to what Pepper was saying while watching the different experiments and inventions in awe. He really didn't know what half of them did, but they sure were cool!

He put his hands in his pockets, his eyes traveling everywhere they could. At least, everywhere but towards Pepper. He wanted to avoid making things too awkward as much as possible...

"So, if you don't mind me asking..." Ryan was forced to look at her now, given the nature of what she was implying. "What made you decide to actually take Tony up on his offer for mentorship? I wouldn't think he'd be anybody's first choice."

Ryan opened his mouth to answer, but stopped short of speaking. How did he phrase it in the least strange way? "I don't know... I guess part of it is because Tony was so kind to me... When he asked, I mean. I feel like a part of me wanted to see if he actually was just blowing smoke up his ass. Honestly."

A smile tugged at Pepper's lips. As if she was actually... amused? He had expected her to be insulted but instead... "Well, yeah, I can understand that," she chuckled. "Tony's a nice enough person when you get to know him. But saying he's rough around the edges would be putting it nicely."

"I think that's a prerequisite for being a superhero. Comic books are filled with people like that."

Pepper nodded, in her own way agreeing. "That's true... Unlike Tony, I actually HAVE read comics. So frankly, I think every superhero has to have a little 'something' to them like that." She explained. "I'm not sure about the real life ones though. I've only had first-hand experience with Tony and Rhodey."

"Rhodey?" Ryan asked. "Was he the guy in the grey armor at Stark Expo?"

"Bingo."

Ryan nodded his head, at least knowing a little about him. Mostly that he'd almost helped cause chaos there, before actually helping Tony out. "Is he like... Tony's sidekick now?" He asked curiously. "Because they seemed to make a good team."

The CEO snorted in response. "I think Tony would like to think so. But I think Rhodey fancies himself more of a solo act." Pepper explained, a genuine smirk on her face. "Stick around Tony long enough though, and he'll probably give you his own answer. You won't go long without meeting his best friend."

"If this thing even lasts that long," Ryan shrugged.

Pepper didn't reply to that. And Ryan, of course, had a good feeling as to why. She didn't even know how long Tony's fascination with him would last. It could be fleeting, it could be long-lasting, but Ryan had his money set on the former. "So... What do you usually do on weekends?" She asked as she carefully opened the door to one of the labs. "I mean... other than right now."

Ryan smiled, weekends being actually one of his favorite times. Sure, he mostly stayed at the group home, but... "Weekends are fun, because that's usually when my baseball games are." He explained, to which she looked surprised. "What? Just because I'm a writer, I can't play sports?"

"I'm just surprised. You didn't seem like the... team sport type."

Ryan tilted his head a bit, and gave a small shrug in response. "I guess I'm not that big of one. But my last foster home got me into it, trying to help me make friends," he explained. "And I think it's pretty fun. Even if I'm really just OK."

"I played softball when I was a little kid." Pepper pointed out. "Is it like, a little league or something?"

"Yeah, but part of an older division." Ryan replied. "Maybe if I stay at whatever high school I go to I'll go out for my school team."

"Stay?"

"Well, yeah. I've already been to six middle schools in three years," Ryan replied, giving a light chuckle. "I, uh... I kinda get into fights when kids pick on me. Schools aren't happy about keeping the 'weird foster kid' around then. Neither are foster parents."

Pepper looked at Ryan, and though not wanting to sound like a mother, felt compelled to ask... "Why do you fight so much?"

Ryan was silent, he rubbed his arm and tried to avoid her eye contact again. The CEO already had a feeling there was a deeper reason than just "bullying". "I learned to fight to protect myself. Sometimes you have to." He then added. "Same reason I told Tony I sleep with one eye open. You can't just trust everyone."

He expected a look of pity he felt she'd give him. He'd had enough of that in life as it was, and he was done with it. But surprisingly, Pepper only gave a smile, not even betraying a hint of it. "Well, I can't blame you there, I guess." She explained. "So, you want to see where Tony keeps his really cool inventions?"

"Wouldn't that probably classify as dangerous?" Ryan asked jokingly.

There was a shrug, and Pepper punched in a code in another door. "I guess I can let it slide at least this once..."

Ryan looked at her with a grin of his own. He was starting to like Pepper, much to his surprise. And he wasn't sure if that was going to be for the better or worse.

Tony hated the fact that he had to call the day short, because he was actually having fun.

But of course, some nutjob had to be staging an attack somewhere outside of DC. Which meant that, for all intents and purposes, Iron Man had to get out there and do something. It wasn't like the world could count on many others. So without giving much thought to it, he'd communicated to Pepper to bring Ryan back to the home as he took off to handle the issue.

It had been quite the battle to fight. A couple of terrorist-made robots, a few terrorists themselves... He'd really not enjoyed it, especially when he'd taken a few blows during the fight that seemed to leave him sore, and in general pain. So he was thankful that, after taking care of it, he was able to arrive at home without having to worry about much.

Pepper was, of course, waiting up in bed for him. She looked over him quietly, and took in his bruises. But of course, she was all too used to Tony's bruises after a fight now. No, she had a different look in her eyes this time. "What's up?" He managed, taking a deep breath.

"You're in over your head here, Tony." Well, that didn't take long. "This kid you're mentoring needs more than just fleeting guidance. Did you know that he's been to six schools in the last three years because of fighting?"

Tony looked a bit surprised, but wasn't much. At least, not after what he'd learned over the last two days. "Well, I'm not too shocked. He's a good kid, but he does have a lot of anger in him. Frankly, I'd be shocked if he didn't get into fights." Pepper groaned a bit. "Pepper, what do you want from me? I'm not father material..."

"But he needs some sort of parental role model."

Tony shook his head. "Mentoring him is the best I can do." Tony explained. "Honestly, can you imagine living life as the son of Iron Man? He'd probably grow up with more issues. Especially now... just a couple of months ago I was barely fit to take care of myself, let alone anyone else."

"That's not my point, Tony. But we should at least try and find him somewhere to live other than where he is right now." Pepper explained. "Nothing we're doing right now is going to change his life enough."

Tony snorted, and looked at her with a smirk. "Like who? Rhodey? Happy? Maybe we can give him to SHIELD and they can raise him to be some sort of super spy." He then added, with a joking tone. "He can be the real life James Bond."

"Tony."

The billionaire gave a deep sigh as he climbed into bed. "Alright, I'll see what I can do about getting him somewhere safer. I know a few people in the foster care program. If anything I can at least get him into a home that doesn't suck." He replied, seemingly defeated. "Until then though, I'm ready for some shut eye."

"And you'll make calls in the morning."

"Yes, honey."

"Don't 'yes, honey' me."

"Alright, alright, I'll do it." Tony replied.

They'd just have to see where it went from there.

A/N: And finally some movement. Sorry there was no real "action scene" at the end there. But I felt it'd just be filler for the storyline so I'm waiting for the right moment for an "action scene". But as Tony is still active as Iron Man, it'd be weird to not mention his escapades from time-to-time until then.