Lesson 4: Ask for help

Tony stumbled out of bed, eyes blinking as he got dressed and headed towards the kitchen in search of coffee. He had gotten halfway through the living room before he stopped. There was someone lying on the couch.

Stepping closer, Tony realized it was Ita. The lawyer was dressed in a dark blue suit with a black tie. The back of his hand was resting across his eyes and for all Tony knew, Ita was asleep on his couch. The only problem was Tony didn't know why.

Warning bells began to go off in Tony's head. Ita rarely ever dressed like a normal person. Ever since they had been kids, Ita always wore something strange or ridiculous whether it was a hat, an outfit or accessory. In fact, the only times Tony saw Ita dressed like a normal sane person, was when there were important meetings or a court appearance; his way of saying 'let's get serious.' Considering Tony didn't recall any important meetings (and someone would have been here already to nag him about it unless Ita got stuck with the job) and no lawsuits in action at the time... well this was some cause for concern.

Glancing back, Tony spotted Clint and Steve hovering at the edge of the room, looking unsure and confused. Okay so at least he wasn't the only one lost.

"Isn't that Mr. Fujiwara?" he heard Steve asked.

"Yeah but I didn't hear anything from Jarvis about a visitor," Clint whispered back.

Neither had Tony.

Ignoring Steve and Clint for the moment, Tony returned his attention back to Ita. The only way to find out would be to ask. "Ita," Tony called out, hoping it would be enough to wake him. "Why are you dressed like that?"

"Like a normal person?" Clint snickered in the background.

"Good morning to you too Tony," Ita promptly answered, not moving. "Hello to you too, Agent Barton, Captain."

A knot began to form in Tony's chest. 'Tony.' Ita had called him Tony. When Ita had started working at SI, he would always call Tony boss, his sign of respect that they were at work. Calling him Tony would be reserved for personal, off the clock moments or serious talks. This was not looking to be a good sign.

"As for why I'm dressed like this," Ita continued, not noticing Tony's growing turmoil. "My father is coming to visit today."

'Okay... that wasn't a bad thing,' Tony thought to himself, panic withdrawing. It occurred to him, that Ita did sometimes dress normally for personal events too. That was how he finally got Seika to agree to date him. There might have been bubbles, rose petals and some creative use of yarn, paper and glue involved too.

Beside, Taiyo was a great guy. Between Jarvis and Tony, there were days that Tony didn't think of Howard as his father. It wasn't strange that the man was coming to visit. Until a year ago he was Tony's head lawyer, the very position that Ita held after his father's retirement.

That was when Ita sat up to look Tony straight in the eye. "Tony, he's coming to visit you specifically."

Instantly all the panic returned. Tony felt the blood drain from his face. "Is it too late to run for the hills?" Tony asked weakly. He took a seat on the floor next to the couch, feeling the nausea swaying in the pit of his stomach.

Ita reached to pat Tony on the shoulder sympathetically. "No. He's already waiting for you in your lab. I just thought I would give you the heads up before you went down there ignorant of what was waiting. Besides if you run away, he'll be forced to call in Aunt Peggy, Uncle Arthur and Aunt Tensi."

Tony visibly flinched. No. The last time all four of them had to sit down with Tony, it had been three months after his parents' death and his alcohol use, partying and self-destructive tendencies had been at the highest. After, Tony had gotten sober, toned down the partying and tried to rein in his life because he never, never wanted to see that level of disappointment and worry on the four of six people whose authority Tony actually had respected back then. Aunt Peggy threatened to move in with him. No. No. Tony did not need a repeat of that.

"Here," Ita said, breaking Tony's thought. He handed over a blue pillow and two cups of coffee. "Dad has the plate of fresh baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies down in the lab too."

Tony sighed glumly as he tucked the pillow under his arm and grabbed the two cups. "I guess I shouldn't keep him waiting." He shuffled towards the elevator with a gloomy look.

Best to get it over with.

xXxXx

Once Tony had disappeared into the elevators, Ita flopped back down and resumed his previous position on the couch. Clint and Steve shared a look before Clint asked, "Hey, why did Tony look like someone just kick a puppy?"

"My father is here," Ita responded as if it explained everything.

"Is... that a bad thing?" Steve asked cautiously.

Ita lifted his hand to look at two Avengers. "Your concern is rather touching, but if you're worried that my father is going to do something to Tony, don't be. My dad thinks of him as a second son. At worse Tony's going to get grounded for a month, at best he's going to scolding about how he's being reckless again."

"Like Tony's going to really listen to that," Clint scoffed.

"He will," Ita said confidently.

"Why are you two making it seem like a big deal that he has to go and talk to your father then?" Steve asked.

Ita rested his hand back over his eyes. "Because, to Tony it is a big deal. My father is one of the few people that Tony hates disappointing. Which is a completely unfounded idea by the way. But to Tony, if my father had to come here to talk to Tony then that means somewhere, Tony did something wrong. Of course my father is just worried and concerned about Tony, but Tony doesn't always see it that way…" Ita trailed off. "I'm too tired to explain our complicated family relationship."

"You two are related?" Steve asked, surprise written all over his face.

Ita made a negative sound. "No it just complicated. Now hush. I had to wake up early to pick up my father from the airport. I would like to get a few more hours of sleep before I have to drive him back."

"Tony will be okay?" Clint asked.

"Tony will be okay."

xXxXx

Much later Tony found himself on the couch of Ita's apartment. It was a bright red color, squishy in all the right places. Tony sank into softness, squeezing his face into the soft blue pillow. Taiyo had left just two hours ago.

"That wasn't so bad now was it?" Ita asked. He took a seat on the white carpet floor. His long thin fingers were seeking out the soft spots under Tony's ribs, poking at Tony and tickling him.

Tony swiped at Ita's hands. His response was muffled by the blue pillow. "No."

Ita's mouth twitched into a smile. "I swear you act like you're still a teenager, the way you're sulking."

"Not sulking!"

"Hmm, so what are you going to do next?" Ita asked. Between the terrorist's attacks, bombing of the lobby, life had been very stressful. Ita was use to Tony causing chaos but even the alien attack on New York didn't feel as bad. Possibly because it was more personal.

Tony lifted his head. So his anxiety attacks were not getting better. Yes anxiety attacks, he could admit that much to himself now. It wasn't… there… People were worried about him. Like really worried if his talk with Taiyo was anything to go by. "I think… I could use some help," Tony said softly.

Ita gave him a warm grin. "And we'll be there to support you along the way."

One more chapter to go. :3