a/n: uh, deepest apologies for the delay. what can i say, i got lazy?
December 19th, 2012
"Okay, are you two watching?" Tony asked, lifting his hands up. Peter and Harley nodded eagerly. "Perfect, J. Send one up."
The gauntlet of the Iron Man suit—which had previously been on a table—flew up to Tony's hand, wrapping itself around it. Harley gasped, and Tony vaguely heard a 'wow' come from Peter.
"Cool, eh? Jar, can you send another one?" Another piece of the suit attached itself to Tony, causing the man to smile. "Send the rest in."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Harley asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Yeah, of course, it is. Listen, you will bite your words when you realize how badass this will be."
Harley shrugged. "All right."
"Are you ready, sir?" Jarvis asked.
"I am." Tony looked smugly at Peter and Harley. Both the boys giggled. The rest of the pieces shot to their respective places, but instead of flying straight to Tony, they bounced across the room, hitting the floor, walls, and tables.
"Shit," Tony said quietly.
Peter and Harley hid behind a desk, though they laughed anytime Tony swore at his misfortune.
"I can hear you! This is all going according to plan!"
"We don't believe you!" Harley called back. After a minute or so of Tony being thrown around the room, he finally regained control of the suit.
Tony held out his hands triumphantly. "As I said, all is according to plan. I'm the best."
"Sure." Harley snorted.
"Hey, Dad, should you be worried about–"
A piece of armor flew up from behind Tony, knocking him over. He landed across the room, and the suit broke upon impact, pieces scattering on the floor.
"Dad, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Tony muttered, getting up. He looked around the room, glancing at the dismantled Iron Man suit on the ground. "I guess 72 hours is a long time between siestas."
Peter and Harley whipped their heads to him.
"You're kidding," said Harley while Peter walked over to Tony.
"Dad, come on." Peter pulled on Tony's arm, but he hardly moved. "You gotta sleep."
"Yeah, Tony," Harley chimed in.
"You're both being dramatic. I'm fine."
"Daaaad," Peter whined as he continued dragging Tony's arm.
"Oh, fine." He let himself be taken up the lab stairs by Peter. "You sound just like Pepper, ya know."
"Maybe she has a point," said Harley.
"Is this a revolt against me as a dad? I'm an amazing father. We have pizza for dinner once a week!"
They arrived upstairs. However, they all stopped dead, staring at the television. A video was playing, but a completely unfamiliar one.
"-orist. I consider myself a teacher. America. Ready for another lesson? In 1864, in Sand Creek, Colorado, the US military waited until the friendly Cheyenne braves had all gone hunting. Waited to attack and slaughter the families left behind and claim their land. 39 hours ago, the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait was attacked. I... I... I did that. A quaint military church filled with wives and children, of course. The soldiers were out on maneuvers. The braves were away. President Ellis. You continue to resist my attempts to educate you, sir. And now you've missed me again. You know who I am. You don't know where I am. And you'll never see me coming."
"What's that…?" Peter asked quietly, staring between Tony and the TV.
Tony ignored him. "Jar, can we try and locate that?" Tony asked.
"Right away, sir."
"I will be downstairs."
Neither Peter nor Harley argued this time.
—
December 21st, 2012
"Harley, you're doing it wrong!" Peter slapped his brother's hand away from the wiring. Harley ignored him and continued tinkering. "That wire," said Peter, pointing to a green one, "is supposed to be attached to that wire."
Harley elbowed Peter's side. "I know what I'm doing." As if to prove him wrong, a spark came from the tiny robot.
"Dude, even he agrees with me!"
Harley rolled his eyes and continued bickering some more until Pepper came downstairs into the lab.
"This is a new level of lame," she said, causing Tony to apologize. Harley and Peter were ignored. "You ate without me. Already, on date night?"
"I had a quick bite," said Tony. "I didn't know if you were coming home or you were having drinks with Aldrich Killian."
Pepper scoffed loudly, and Harley winced on behalf of Tony. "Aldrich Killian? What are you, checking up on me?"
"Happy was concerned."
Harley looked back down at the robot and continued messing with it. He should be here, and he knew. Peter stared down, too, as Tony and Pepper continued arguing.
"Boys, what do you think?" said Pepper, waving her hand to them.
"What?" Harley asked.
"We'll watch a movie together? You two can choose. Does that work?"
They nodded. "Sure," said Peter.
Before leaving, Pepper whispered something to Tony, and he followed her upstairs. Harley did not want to think about what they were doing.
"So," said Peter, "can I pick the movie?"
"Nope," Harley replied without a shred of guilt. Better than letting Peter choose Star Wars for like the millionth time.
"Seriously?"
"Uh-huh."
"That is unfair." Peter sighed. "Fine, what are you going to pick? No Star Trek!"
"Fine, uh, I will pick." Harley paused, trying to remember good movies.
"Ooh!" said Peter, bouncing on his heels. "What about that new Batman movie?"
"The Dark Knight something?"
"Yeah, that one!"
"Eh, fine. But you gotta go make popcorn while I find the movie." He sat down on the couch, picked up the remote, and essentially pushed Peter to the kitchen.
Pepper and Tony came to the living room just after the popcorn had finished. Peter and Harley were already sitting on the couch, though.
"What movie did you boys pick?" Pepper asked, picking a place to sit.
"The Dark Knight Rises," said Peter, through a mouthful of popcorn.
"Good choice," said Tony as he collapsed on the couch next to Pepper. "Play the movie, Jar."
"Done, sir."
After they finished the Dark Knight Rises, Peter insisted on seeing the original Dark Night because 'he couldn't remember what happened.' Harley knew it was bullshit, but he didn't mind staying up later than usual. Of course, both he and Peter had fallen asleep during the movie.
A few hours later, Harley woke up to someone speaking. After the initial confusion about where he was, Harley got up, groggily rubbing his eyes. Glancing around, he noticed it was Tony—who was mumbling in his sleep.
"Tony?" Harley said gently. He tried to shake Tony, but the man didn't stir. "Tony, wake up."
This was loud enough to wake up Pepper since she was lying right beside him.
"What's going on?" She sat up, turning to Tony.
"I don't know. He won't wake up."
Pepper shook Tony strongly. "Tony. Tony!"
Suddenly, a suit flew out of the garage, pinning Pepper against the couch. She gasped loudly, staring at the suit. Both Tony and Peter woke up.
"Power down!" Tony screamed before striking the suit down with his hands. Pepper moved to the edge of the couch, panting heavily. Harley was backed up against another couch, staring in horror, while Peter had his jaw dropped.
"I must have called it in my sleep," Tony said quickly. "That's not supposed to happen. I'll recalibrate the sensors. Can we just… Just let me catch my breath. Hey, don't… Don't go. All right? Pepper…"
Pepper focused her gaze on Peter and Harley. "Are you two okay?"
Harley nodded, gulping. "We're… We're okay."
"Why don't you boys go sleep upstairs?" Pepper offered. "I'm going too."
"But…" Peter trailed off, looking between Tony and Pepper. Finally, he joined her and Harley at the stairs. "Goodnight, Dad."
Tony waved meekly. What a great movie night this had been.
—
December 22nd, 2012
Harley lay on his stomach, as did the winter break homework the teachers had assigned. Then, Tony came into the room.
"Hi?" Harley sat up, eyebrows raised. "Do you want something?"
"Kid, you need to pack your bags," Tony said. "Don't know how long, but you're going to New York."
"Wait, seriously? I thought you said we weren't going anywhere for winter break?" Harley got off the bed quickly. "What happened to spending Christmas here?"
"I'm not going with you…" Tony exhaled, crossing his arms. "It's hard to explain… Pepper… Yeah."
"Let me get this straight, we're going to New York for the rest of the break–"
"I'm not actually sure how long. Just- just trust me, okay?"
"Trust you with what? Tony, you just told me I'm going to New York without you for god knows how long, and you won't tell me why?"
Tony placed his hand on his forehead. "It's not safe… here."
"Why not?" Harley demanded.
"Harley…" Tony sat down on the boy's bed. Slowly, he breathed out. "You're not safe here. This Mandarin guy… I can't read him, but something bad's going to happen. Already has. Happy… And you'll be safe in New York, away from… away from me."
Harley stared at the floor. "What happened to Happy?"
"Pack your things, okay. Warm stuff, you got it? Be downstairs in thirty minutes."
"Got it."
Once Tony left, Harley threw open a suitcase. He didn't pack so much as dump drawers into said suitcase, but it got the job done. Harley lugged the bag down the stairs, noticing that Peter and Tony were already waiting for him.
"Perfect," said Tony listlessly, "you are here."
"Yup." Harley stared at Tony, waiting for any type of explanation.
"Uh, Dave—the driver—is gonna drop you off."
"Are we staying at May and Ben's?" Peter asked.
Tony shook his head, staring into the void. "No, no…" He snapped back, looking between Harley and Peter's confused faces. "They're not in New York. Visiting family."
Then where are we staying?" Peter said, looking Tony directly in the eye. "
Tony didn't reply though he muttered quietly to himself. Harley wondered if he had even slept. A noise from the driveway distracted them from the stalling conversation.
"Car's here," Tony noted. He placed his hands on Harley and Peter's shoulders, guiding them out of the house. They stopped moving in front of the car, and the driver opened both back doors. "I'll… Yeah, this is Dave. He's gonna take care of you 'till you get to New York. Got it?"
Peter and Harley nodded in acknowledgment. "Got it," they repeated.
"Good, good." Tony all but shoved them into the car. "Love you." Then, he shut the doors. Dave began driving away from Tony, who stood there, watching them leave.
"Dave?" Harley asked, trying to get a good look at the didn't respond, keeping his eyes straight on the road. "Do you know why we're going to New York?"
"Your dad will explain."
What was that supposed to mean? Surely Dave knew that Tony had not, in fact, 'explained.' "Are you sure you can't tell us?"
Dave opened his mouth to reply, but Peter beat him to it. He nudged Harley with his elbow and said, "that isn't gonna work."
"Why not?"
"Dad does this a lot. And he never ever says what happened or why he did what he did." Peter set his gaze out the window. "Seriously, just trust me."
"What is it with everyone saying trust me?"
"Because this always happens!" Peter's voice wavered, but he went on. "Dad does this all the time. There's no point in arguing with him, okay?"
"Fine," Harley grumbled. He stared out the window, too, with the silence buzzing in his ears.
—
"We're here," Harley said as the car slowed down. He opened the car door and then shut it loudly, which caused Peter to jump up in his seat, his eyes shooting open.
They followed Dave into the unknown building. Through the lobby, around the halls, and up the elevator. They went to the highest floor, and once they arrived, Dave pulled out three keys, one by one, unlocking the door. He turned the knob, and it swung open, revealing a (ridiculously big) apartment.
"Is this where we're staying?" Peter asked quietly, being the first to walk in. He dragged his suitcase behind him.
"Yes."
Harley walked in next. He tried to take the entire apartment in, every nook and cranny. "Which way are the rooms?"
"Right this way, sir," said Jarvis. In sequence, a path of ceiling lights blinked, showing him the way.
"Jarvis!" Peter looked up at the ceiling. "You're here?"
"I am. Mr. Stark includes me in most of his properties."
"Follow him then." Dave moved to the door, grabbing the keys again.
Harley turned to Dave, making sure to raise his eyebrows at the man. "So you're just leaving us here? With no supervision? Is Tony going to be happy with that?"
Dave was completely unfazed by Harley's tactics. "Yes. Those were his orders. There will be someone with you tomorrow. If anything happens, tell the robot, and someone will help you." Dave didn't wait for a reply; immediately after he delivered his speech, he closed the door, and the locks clicked shut from the other side.
"Well, this is great." Harley raised his hands, staring at nothing in particular. Peter cast him an 'I told you so look that Harley ignored. They both followed the lights to their respective rooms.
Harley's wasn't anything special. It was huge, of course, with the same design as the Malibu mansion, but it lacked the homeyness. He just left his suitcase at the door, too lazy to unpack. He wandered back to the living room and sat down on the couch.
"Hey, Jarvis?" said Harley, drawing out the words. "Do you have control over the TV?"
"I do. Would you like me to turn it on?"
"Yes, please." The television lit up, showing the current channel. The news. Harley was about to ask Jarvis to change it, but something caught his attention. Tony.
"-someone's gonna kill this guy?" a man asked. Tony glared at him, clearly irritated. The man shrugged. "Just saying."
"PETEEER!" Harley screamed, hoping his voice would get to Peter's room. "Jar, can you–"
"Already done, sir."
The TV continued. "-oliday greeting I've been wanting to send to the Mandarin. I just didn't know how to phrase it until now. My name is Tony Stark, and I'm not afraid of you. I know you're a coward. So I've decided that you just died, pal. I'm gonna come get the body. There's no politics here. It's just good old-fashioned revenge."
Peter came into the living room, not trying to walk in faster. He glanced at Harley, then at the television. "What do you– wait, is that Dad?"
"Yeah. That's why I told you to come here."
"And on the off chance you're a man, here's my home address. 10880 Malibu Point. 90265. I'll leave the door unlocked." Tony grabbed the man's phone and threw it against the wall. It shattered. "Bill me."
Peter and Harley stared wide-eyed at the screen. "Holy shit," said Harley.
"No, no, no, no." Peter paced around behind the couch, holding his hands up to his head. "Dad just… Oh my god. Oh my god!"
"No way Tony did that." Harley looked at Peter. "Is that even the right address? Wasn't it something like–"
"No, that's it. It's… It's right. Dad's gonna… They're gonna…"
"Tony will be fine, okay?" Harley waited for Peter to nod before continuing. "He's a genius, right? He has a backup plan for sure. This is probably what he wanted to happen." The words felt false in Harley's mouth, but Peter looked relieved if only a little.
—
December 23rd, 2012
Harley would rather throw himself out the penthouse window than listen to the news for one more minute. It had already been five hours of incessant torture, and he could not take it anymore. But, no, Peter insisted on having the television on because there might be some information on Tony.
"Peter, please, for the love of god," said Harley, covering his ears with his hands. "A few minutes of another channel, please. This is so boring."
"No!" Peter snatched the remote up, just in case Harley decided to steal it. "Just a little more, then we can stop."
"At least go on a different news channel. Clearly, BBC isn't gonna have anything. They've been saying the exact same shit all day!"
"But what if we leave the channel and in that exact moment, something important happens?" Peter hid the remote behind his back, making direct eye contact with Harley. Harley crossed his arms.
"That's stupid! Just gimme the remote. We'll rotate from channel to channel." Just as Harley was about to take the remote from Peter, news footage appeared on the TV.
"A missile is headed towards Tony Stark's house," said an annoyingly calm voice. "We suspect it's from the Mandarin, but information and data are still coming in." Peter and Harley gaped at the television as the missile collided with the Malibu mansion. It immediately began falling apart, chunks of concrete rocketing down the ocean.
"No, no, no!" Peter screamed, letting the remote hit the ground. "Dad!"
Harley's eyes went from the TV to Peter, who was breathing heavily and clearly on the verge of tears. "Tony…" Harley said softly, wrapping his arms around himself. "Shit."
More missiles were flown to the house, and more of it blew up. The dust made it harder to see, but Harley couldn't see any Iron Man suits flying away. A few more missiles and the mansion crumbled, falling into the ocean.
"DAD!" Peter shouted as tears gushed down his face. All the noise drew the housekeeper—who had arrived that morning—into the living room. Her eyes doubled once she saw the screen, but she kept quiet, unsure what to do. Harley didn't know either. He placed his arms around Peter, who hugged him back. Peter cried into Harley's shoulder, refusing to let go.
—
The news stayed on though neither he nor Harley were really listening. It was more of desperation than anything else.
The phone rang, waking Peter up from his daze. "Who's that?" he asked quietly, lifting his head up.
Harley shrugged. He looked completely indifferent to the phone call. "Check." Peter stood up, walking to the telephone. He picked it up slowly.
"Hello?" His voice cracked, but Peter didn't really have the energy to care.
"Hi, baby, it's Pepper," said the woman. Peter let out a small smile despite everything. "I was at the house when the missiles hit." With that, Peter's smile dropped.
"You- You were? So Dad's fine? I mean, if you're okay then–"
Harley perked up, twisting his head to look at Peter and the phone. "Wait, Tony's alive?" he asked.
Pepper sighed. "I don't know… We haven't found him yet, but he had the suit. I'm sure he's…"
Peter nodded into the phone. His voice came out broken. "Are you coming to New York soon? Or are you staying back home?"
"I'm going to stay here for now," said Pepper. "In case we find your dad. I promise we'll tell you first thing, all right, sweetie?"
"All right." The phone shut off, and Peter half-heartedly dropped it, letting it hang against the wall.
"So?" said Harley loudly. Peter gave him a look, and Harley got the message. Hey, no news is good news, right?
—
December 24th, 2012
Harley's head flew up at the phone ringing again. Pepper had been calling all day, trying to cheer them up. It proved fruitless. Harley checked his watch. Why the hell was Pepper calling at ten? Sure, it wasn't particularly late, but it wasn't early, either. Peter was passed out on the couch, impervious to the noise, so Harley answered the phone himself.
"Pepper?" he asked, hoping to get this over with. "Anything new happen?" He knew the answer would be no, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. Oddly enough, no one replied. "Pepper? You there?"
"Harley?" croaked a familiar voice.
"Dad?" Harley exclaimed, half a gasp forming on his face and ignoring the d-word he had just used. "You're alive? How? Pepper said–" Harley stopped once he heard Tony panting on the other side. "What's- What's wrong?"
Silence.
"What's happening? Are you having another panic attack? Like from the other night? Is it about New York?"
"Just… just stop talking," Tony muttered.
"Okay."
Tony continued panting, and Harley wasn't quite sure what to do. The only thing he had really seen like this was Peter's asthma attack, and that didn't exactly fall into the same category as this.
"Just breathe," Harley said quietly. You were supposed to do that during a panic attack, right? "Really, just breathe." The breathing slowed down eventually. "What's wrong?"
"It's all… It's all gone wrong. The suit isn't charging, and this fire chick tried to kill me." A few moments passed. "It's all… I don't know what to do."
Harley thought about it. "Why don't you just build something? You're a mechanic, right? Why don't you just build something?"
"You might be onto something, kid." Tony sounded more confident already. "Bye, Harley."
"Uh-huh." Harley bit his lip. "Yeah, bye Tony…" The phone call ended, and Harley let out a breath. Jesus Christ, Tony was alive! He went to tell Peter.
—
December 26th, 2012
It was Christmas morning, and they were watching a movie. Obviously, Peter had rejoiced after Harley told him about Tony not being dead and all but the air of uncertainty stayed. Who was to say if Tony was still alive? So, Harley forced them both to watch Home Alone, partly because it was his favorite movie and partly because he refused to watch another second of BBC.
They were at the part where Fake-Santa gave Kevin some Tic Tacs when someone said, "Good movie."
Harley nearly got whiplash as he jerked his head around. Tony was standing there with a grin, and Peter jumped off the couch like a goddamn spider to hug Tony.
"Dad! You're alive! You're back!"
Tony looked at Harley, then back at Peter. "Harley didn't tell you about my impromptu phone call?"
"No, he did. I just…" Peter continued hugging Tony in silence. Tony raised the other arm, beckoning for Harley to hug him too. Harley didn't waste a second, enjoying Tony's embrace. Everything was all right again.
(Maybe not because their house was, ya know, destroyed, but we won't talk about that)