Disclaimer: I don't own it.

Warning: HP/TS

Edited: 11/23/14

Chapter 4

After kicking Tony out around midnight—not wanting things to move too fast—Harry had curled up in his bed, trying to push the fear of turning into a killing monster once again away from his mind. Near the end of the war in Britain, Harry had let go of most of his inhibitions about killing because he knew that if he didn't, the war would never end. And although he had decided to kill, he still felt guilt every time he took the life from another man. He didn't want to go through that again, but if it was for Tony, he would do it in a heartbeat, and the fact that one man had so much control of Harry scared the British man.

While Harry finally fell into a deep sleep, Tony was still awake and working furiously in his workshop. He was feeling great, and not even seeing Steve's face could ruin this mood. Steve had become a little (meaning a lot) annoying ever since Tony helped him with his phone. It was frustrating that one second of his shields down, and Steve had to be the one to witness it. It was like giving a puppy a squeaky toy and expecting it to play by itself with the toy instead of dragging him into playing too. Tony really wished that Steve would just be a cat and feel offended at the thought of a new toy. That would be nice.

"Hey, Tony, why are you still awake?" the devil himself said as he strolled oh so casually into Tony's private labs. Obviously, Steve could bribe even an AI to do his bidding. Tony gritted his teeth, wishing that he could beat up Steve and get away with it. Without bruises.

"Because," was all Tony bit out, his good mood being shoved down the drain. Steve didn't seem to notice (oblivious idiot, Tony thought uncharitably), and sat down next to the work table Tony was at.
"Because why? You've been acting really strange lately, and I'm a little worried about you." Steve was such a girl. Worried? Who would be worried about someone like Tony? He was loud, obnoxious, sarcastic and mean when he wanted to be. Especially to Steve. Why would Steve care about Tony?

"I'm fine, Capsicle. Now go away." Tony wished he wasn't always so rude, but he couldn't help himself sometimes. Especially around the man that his father had been so fixated on his entire life.

One glance at Steve's blue eyes told Tony that the other man was hurt at being brushed off so carelessly. With a loud sigh, Tony turned to face the serum soldier. "Look, Cap, I appreciate you being worried about me, but it's not necessary. Everything's mostly worked out, and I don't think you could help me with the final problem. So go to sleep. Get some rest. Then wake up and beat up a poor punching bag or ten. I don't care. But there's nothing to be worried about with me. Nothing at all." With his nice-ness over and done with, Tony went back to work on the new Stark phone, one that would be perfect for Harry.

Steve didn't move, simply watching Tony work for a while. Finally, he sighed tiredly, and stood. "Fine. I'm sorry for worrying about you. I'm sorry for being a human being and not a robot. I'm sorry for whatever I did to you that made you hate me so much." Tony winced at that, because as much as Tony pretended to hate Steve, he really didn't. And Steve should know why, but he didn't, and if Tony didn't explain why, then Steve would really think Tony hated him forever.

"I don't hate you, Steve," he muttered softly, half hoping that Steve couldn't hear him. To the disappointment of half of him, Steve did hear.

"What?" was all that the soldier said, looking back at the genius who was looking anywhere but at Steve.

"I don't hate you, Steve, I hate my father, and the way that he reacted to your little nap in the ice." Tony hoped that Steve wouldn't ask any more questions, but that was obviously impossible for the blonde.

"What does that even mean? His reaction to my time in the ice? That doesn't even make sense! How did he react?" he fired off, not breathing in between sentences. Obviously, this was just creating more and more questions in his small mind.

"Look, I'm only going to say this, okay, Spangles? My dad didn't like kids. He didn't want kids. He wanted to search for his supposedly dead friend, and that was it. He didn't have time for a kid because he was always out at sea, looking for you. From the day I was born, I was second to you, and you weren't even officially alive. I grew up with stories of how amazing you were, when he never once came to a single science fair or school play I was in. I did everything humanly possible to get his attention, and it was never enough. So although it might sound childish to you that I'm angry at you, I don't hate you, I hate my dad." Tony took one deep breath and said in a more calm manner, "Now go to bed already."

Steve just stood there in shock for a while before nodding and walking away. Obviously, he was going to spend the whole night awake and re-evaluating Tony's reactions toward him.

Tony sighed, wishing he could go over to Harry's house, and just stay there, but he knew that he shouldn't bother Harry. It was two in the morning, and Harry had enough to stress about without Tony over there to keep him awake.

After getting a prototype finished for the new Stark phone, Tony finally went to bed, hoping he could avoid Steve. Maybe for forever.

The next morning, Harry woke up early, hoping to get some programming done before he started his day off. He got about a hundred lines of code done before he decided to go and eat breakfast. Just as he started making some hotcakes, the doorbell rang. Warily, Harry looked through the peephole, and to his relief, saw that it was only Tony. Quickly, Harry opened the door and smiled.

"Tony! Good morning!" he said, and Tony grinned, stepping into the house and pressing a quick kiss to Harry's lips. Smiling, Harry grabbed Tony's hand and pulled him into the kitchen.

"Just in time, Tony! I'm making some hotcakes. Do you want any?" he asked, turning to flip some.

"Oh yeah! I love pancakes! They're the best!" Tony said, standing behind Harry and wrapping his arms around his stomach. Harry smiled and put the finished hotcakes on a plate for Tony to take.

"I don't have syrup," Harry wrinkled his nose at the thought of the nasty sugar filled liquid that America thought was good, and grabbed out some jam and butter. "But I've got these if you want them."

Amused at the look of disgust on Harry's face, Tony dug into the pancakes, already feeling better despite only a couple of hours of sleep.

"So, when are you planning on moving to my tower?" Tony asked in what he considered a subtle way. Harry rolled his eyes.

"I thought I already told you how I feel about moving into your tower. It's too close to Fury, and I don't want us to move too fast. If I lived with you, there would be no way for this relationship to actually become something more than lust. It's just not possible. So I'm going to keep living here, while you keep living in your tower, and when I feel like the time is right, and if it's still fine with you, then I will move in with you. Now eat the food and then you can take me to your favorite sights in New York if you've got the time." Harry smiled at the excitement in Tony's face.

"You betcha I will! I know every nook and cranny in this whole town! There's so much you need to see! Now, I know you're British, but that's no excuse to not have explored this city already," he said, giving Harry a reprimanding look. Harry almost blushed, shrugging. He hadn't been super worried about looking around New York, he'd just been thinking about getting away from England. Now he was a little ashamed for not doing it earlier.

"I guess I never thought about it. I was just trying to get away from the people back in England, and didn't really consider getting to know the city I would be living in now." Harry didn't realize until a moment later why Tony had that interested look on his face, but when he did, he almost smacked his forehead in disbelief. Mentioning any of his real reasons for leaving England was sure to make Tony curious, and a curious Tony was a nosy Tony. If he ever found out about magic before Harry was willing to share that particular story, Tony might never forgive him.

"Why'd you leave England?" Tony asked casually, leaning back in his chair. Harry sighed heavily and sat down. Looking anywhere but at Tony, the British man considered telling Tony the truth. He could do that, and depending on Tony's reaction, they could end their relationship early on before too many more strings were attached. But at the same time, Harry didn't want to cut any strings. He wanted to keep living this blissful lie for as long as possible and hope it wouldn't hurt too badly when Tony finds out.

"Uh, well, let's just say that I got some unwanted attention by too many people, and their expectations of me were impeding on my life." He thought about adding anything else, but decided that the vague truth was better than specific lies. "Yup. That's about it."

Tony looked curious now, and a little confused. "Wait, what does that even mean? Did you have a stalker? But you said 'people', so there had to have been a whole group full of stalkers. Were you a criminal? But every record that I've got on you shows that you've never done anything, although, you apparently were a trouble child if any of your neighbors or relatives have anything to say about it. They kept saying how you did the evilest of things, despite the fact that you were ten and younger when these alleged things happened. Stuff that even a genius like me couldn't have done. Why did they think you did all of that?" Harry laughed, not even trying to cover up his amusement.

"Ah, that's a story that I'll only be able to tell you half of for now, but I'll tell you what I can. So my relatives hated me with a passion, and they thought that because my parents were who they were that I was the devil's spawn. There was no changing their minds, and they convinced everyone, even my teachers', that I was a troublemaker. Soon enough, all of those adults started to come up with their own stories and rumors of what I'd done. It was horrible, and I never had any friends as a kid, but now that I look back, it's a little funny." It really wasn't that funny now that Harry thought about it. He remembered feeling the unfairness of it all, wishing he had someone who believed him, and not Dudley or Uncle Vernon. That empty feeling he had as a child came back for a moment, tearing at his heart.

Tony must've realized that he'd crossed onto a landmine, and that Harry needed him, because in seconds, he had his arms around Harry. Harry burrowed his face into Tony's shoulder for a minute, trying to collect his cool again, and forget his childhood. Even after he was calm, he still stayed in that position, trying to stay in that moment for forever.

When Tony finally pulled a few inches away, Harry looked up and smiled, standing on his tiptoes to press a soft kiss to Tony's lips. "Thanks, Tony. I didn't realize that I felt that bad about my childhood until now. Not that I didn't know that my childhood was horrible, just that I felt so bad about it. Hmm. Weird, huh?" Tony didn't even bother smiling, he just pulled Harry back to his chest.

"Sorry for bringing up the bad memories, love. I just thought that maybe you had some funny stories to tell. You know, misunderstandings that turn into huge deals. That kind of stuff." Harry laughed slightly. He felt better already.

"It's not a problem, really. I think it was good to be reminded. Keeps me remembering how good life is now. Especially with you in my life. Now eat your food. I'm fine." With one more reassuring smile, Harry pulled away and went to put on a jacket. He knew that New York could be cold.

Tony watched him move away with a curious look. Thankfully it wasn't a pitying look. Harry couldn't stand pity.

The next few hours were the best hours of their lives. They went around New York City, seeing all the sights, and having an amazing time. Tony loved the chance to show off his knowledge, and Harry loved to see him do it. When it was finally over, both wished it would last forever.