Helloo! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Shout Outs!:

CHSHiccstrid

Thank you, I was trying. It wasn't my favorite part either.

Stardust333

Oh yes :)

Journal 2, Entry 29: "Iron Man 2 Pt.2"

Hakon entered Tony's home with his arms crossed and looking pointedly at said man. Tor slunk around his other half and curled up on the couch, pitting the young man.

Tony couldn't make eye contact with his uncle, standing nervously at the entrance to the living room. "Hi, uncle H, have a good flight?"

Hakon raised an eyebrow. "No, no 'hey, how you doing?' What were you thinking? You've got good reflexes, you have to since you fly that death machine, but you're hardly a racer! Are you trying to kill yourself sooner?!"

Tony huffed. "What does it matter? We've tried everything. I'm going to be dead in two weeks anyway, might as well go out doing something fun."

Hakon bit back a lump and stared hard at his godson. "What happened to waiting for me to check with some of my colleges?"

Tony shrugged and looked away. "Doubt there's anything they can think of that I haven't already."

Hakon frowned, hands fisting so hard they began shaking. "You're not the only genius in the world, Tony! And it just so happens that they did have a few ideas you hadn't thought of yet."

Tony winced when Hakon shouted then stared dubiously at his uncle. "Like what?"

Hakon took something out of his pocket and held out his hand instead of verbally answering, looking expectantly at Tony. Tony, while confused, didn't want to irk his uncle any more than he was, so quickly extended his palm under Hakon's. Hakon dropped the object into Tony's hand and crossed his arms while he waited for Tony to examine it.

It took the genius several seconds longer than it should have for him to identify the metal. "Vibranium?"

Hakon nodded. "I told you we hadn't tested everything yet."

Tony frowned, observing the hunk of metal closer. "How did you get this? Where did you get it?"

Hakon smirked. "I have my ways."

Tony shook his head, a tiny and hopeful smile on his lips. "I-I guess you were right. Sorry for not trusting you."

Hakon sighed but accepted the apology before wrapping an arm around Tony's shoulders. "I've talked with my people and, if Vibranium still isn't compatible, they're willing to bring you into the Archipelago. Our technology, as you know, is far more advanced than that of the Outside—especially our medical practices and tech. I've talked to the h-doctors and they're pretty confident they can remove the shrapnel, so there wouldn't be a need for the arc reactor anymore."

Tony almost dropped the Vibranium, a slew of too many emotions crossing his features. "They, really?" Hakon nodded. "Can, can I go even if the Vibranium does work?"

Hakon grinned. "I'll have to make a quick call but probably. They don't often say no to me."

Tony gasped, fighting back the sudden and foreign urge to cry, and hugged his uncle tightly. "Thank you! Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to see your home?!"

Hakon chuckled. "Ever since you could talk."

Tony was suddenly buzzing around before dragging Hakon down to the lab to test the Vibranium. "What about removing the shrapnel anyway?"

"That's something you're going to have to ask Anna about." Hakon admitted. "But probably."

Tony smiled softly as he placed the metal on the table for JARVIS to scan, analyze then run the proper tests on. "Uncle H, this is honestly the best birthday gift you could have given to me."

Hakon hugged him again then ruffled his hair. "I'm just sorry it came so late, kiddo."

Tony waved him off. "So, while J runs this, wanna get some dinner?"

Hakon bobbed his head to the side. "Is that Greek place still there?"

Tony grinned. "It is."

Tor bounded down the stairs, hearing food and stared expectantly at Tony. Hakon grimaced and turned back to Tony. "We might want to feed him first."

Tony chuckled nervously and walked back upstairs with his uncle and Tor hot on his heels. "Good idea. We don't need another fettuccini and gnocchi incident."

Tor barked approvingly even while Hakon shot him an unamused glare. "Pampered d-dog." Tor snuffed and Tony chuckled. Hakon sat while Tor ate and looked at Tony with interest. "So, you wanna tell me the story about the guy that was trying to kill you during your stupid race?"

Tony winced then chuckled nervously. "Some timing, right?"

Hakon arched an eyebrow. "Which part? Him trying to help you end your life sooner or your debunked claim that no one would have suits or arc reactors for another five to ten years?"

Tony smiled thinly and laughed nervously. "Both?" Hakon shook his head but Tony continued. "To be fair, he did have blueprints to an old version of the arc reactor. The guy is Anton Vanko's kid. Apparently he stole some of the designs before they shipped him back to Russia."

Hakon hummed while Tony left for the kitchen before coming back out with a premade bottle of dark green gunk. He eyed it as Tony made a face during a swig.

Tony tilted the bottle towards him, smiling tightly. "Oh, the day I don't have to drink this trash will be on the top ten happiest days of my life."

Hakon chuckled and Tor wuffled, letting them know he was done so they could make their way out without fear of him attacking their dinners.

*O*

They arrived back at the house to Pepper and her new assistant working in the living room, both looking frenzied as they answered calls. From reporters or internal people calling for investors, it didn't seem to matter as both ladies' answers were relatively the same—that Tony would still protect the US, that he was mentally competent, et cetera et cetera.

Tony greeted both women warmly before dragging Hakon down to the lab with him, frightened by Pepper's glare that said she still wasn't pleased by the stunt he pulled in Monaco.

Hakon let Tony pull him down but traded warning glares with a certain red headed 'assistant'.

The look was not lost on Tony. "You know her. Dare I even ask?"

Hakon shook his head with a sigh. "SHIELD. She's their best spy."

Tony's eyebrows rose and he leaned forward as if he could see up the stairs and into the living room where she sat. "They don't even trust me? What have I done? Sure I may have been a bit stupid in Monaco but that was a lot of fun until Ivan, Vanko's kid, got whip happy! And a stunt like that isn't something to call the heavy guns in for. Besides, she was here before that when…oh, when I made Pepper CEO."

Hakon nodded and scratched Tor's ears as he stood watching the two men. "Yeah, that might strike them as odd. However, Tony, Fury trusts no one. He had her trailing me once to figure out where I actually live."

Tony chuckled. "How much did that one annoy her?"

Hakon beamed while Tor started to grunt and growl like he was telling the story, Tony had a sneaky suspicion he was. "So, so much. It was rather entertaining…for most of the Archipelago too."

Tony's face suddenly lit up. "Please tell me your people recorded it, for prosperity sake?"

Hakon laughed. "Yup. It's now used as a training video."

Tony sat heavily in his desk chair, cheeks red. "You have to show me that when I go."

Hakon grabbed the other chair and wheeled over to his godson as he pulled up the results of the test. They waited several tense seconds for the results.

A blue tinted image was pulled up on the expanded 3-D floor as JARVIS spoke about the results. "I cannot confidently say if Vibranium will work or not with the arc reactor technology, sir. The inherent properties of the metal are largely unknown to us at this time because of the government's secrecy of their experiments. While my tests show that it has viability to be a conductor, it simply has not been tested as such. And if it has, the results are in a database I have no access to. If Hakon doesn't know, it would be unwise to attempt this material with no way to predict the conductive properties that the Vibranium may have, nor its longevity as a conductor."

Tony cursed and glared at the computers. "What about using it to run my heart?"

There was a pause before JARVIS answered. "The same problem still arises and I would be remiss to suggest it in the possibility that might have a similar leaking issue to that of the palladium core."

Tony sighed but Hakon gently gripped his shoulder and ordered the AI, "We know it works as a conductor, a pretty decent one too. I don't think there's a problem with contamination, it's used in prosthetics all the time." Tony looked down at Hakon's left leg, eyebrows raised curiously. "Yes, even mine but I'm not sure how much different it will react given that it's in an arc reactor and if it could 'leak' from that…we've clearly never needed to test that."

He sighed, chewing his lip as he thought. "Odin's beard, I was hoping that was going to work. I can get you to the Archipelago tomorrow if need be-"

Tony winced. "Can't do tomorrow. Pepper looked like she was going to skin me alive at the suggestion of canceling the party. It's still going to be pretty low key, for me at least."

Hakon sighed. "Alright, but the sooner we can get that poison out of your chest the better."

Tony nodded and swiped the hunk of metal off the examination table. "It's as good a plan as any…Uh, uncle H?"

Hakon turned with a questioning look. Tony fiddled with the Vibranium while not quite meeting Hakon's eyes. "Do you think Vibranium is a good replacement? I mean, how high do you think the chances of it are leaking into my bloodstream like the palladium?"

Hakon thought while JARVIS chastised Tony, reiterating his prior statement of the risk. Tony shook his head at his AI as he listened to Hakon's response. "I—uh, personally I think it's a better option than the palladium staying in your chest."

Tony nodded and started to say something when the door to the lab suddenly hissed as the lock disengaged and both men turned with surprised eyes at Rhodey who looked tired with a dash of dismay. "Tony, you gotta get upstairs and get on top of this situation right now."

Tony pocketed the small handful of Vibranium and waved the results away, instead pulling up his last bout of research from just before Hakon's arrival—Ivan Vanko. Not the best cover up but it was better than letting Rhodey, for as much as he loved and trusted the platypus, see that he had the rarest metal on earth, which would lead to questions and it possibly leaking back to the military, thus opening a can of worms that would never let his uncle's people give him the okay to be brought in to see them.

Rhodey strode closer, hands waving around within his close space. "Listen, I've been on the phone with the National Guard all day, trying to talk them out of rolling tanks up the PCH to knocking down your front door and taking these!" He jabbed a finger at the wall Tony had deigned to storing and showing off his suits.

Hakon shook his head and grumbled in Ancient Norse, something that made Tony stifle a chuckle and Rhodey glare at them more. He waved at the screens before looking back at Rhodey. "Have they done any kind of research? If Tony had never condensed the arc reactor technology or built the suit, Vanko still would have been able to attack Tony using that technology.

"And he made an arc reactor because his father was a partner on the project, so of course Tony's estimates were off. He didn't know anyone else had ahold of the blue prints."

Tony nodded, finger pointed as he added on. "I also destroyed his reactor and from what I've heard, he just died under very mysterious circumstances."

Rhodey huffed and glared at the pair. "But the designs are still out there!"

"And they mean diddly squat unless you're a genius in physics and engineering." Tony countered. "Seriously, we've had the technology sitting at our fingertips ever since my dad set up the large reactor at the factory, but no one ever made the jump from that to what I made—bar Ivan. Like I said, it takes a genius. But honey bear, I know what game they're trying to play and I've already beat them at it."

Rhodey's face bunched up into an irritated scowl. "They're tired of your games, Tony!"

Tony started to snap back but swayed unsteadily instead, face flushing a terrible white. He clutched Hakon's arm and sat heavily as a sudden wave of pain and burning sickness swept over him. "I need a replacement, now."

Rhodey watched in confusion, anger momentarily gone, as Hakon helped Tony sit without flopping over then, turned to run to the far desk where Tony kept the box of premade palladium cores. But Tor already had the box in his mouth and handed it to Hakon. Hakon smiled and gave him a quick pat while Tony verbally thanked him, taking out the arc reactor for his uncle to change. Tony's hands were too shaky from the sudden near failure of the device and worsening palladium poisoning.

The palladium popped out with a hiss and wisps rose from the port. Rhodey inched closer, eyebrows pinched. "Is that supposed to be smoking?"

Hakon snatched a new core and quickly discarded the old one. "You idiot, this should have been changed before we went out to dinner."

Tony took the refreshed reactor and slid it back into his chest, promptly ignoring his uncle's berating to answer Rhodey. "If you must know, it's neutron damage from the reactor core."

Rhodey picked up the discarded core, looking at its rusted appearance with disgust. "You had this in your body?"

Hakon fixed Tony under a stern glare, the same one that had corralled the twins so often. "Don't try to ignore or get smart with me, kiddo. You know it should have been changed earlier." Tony started to argue but Hakon cut him off. "No! We have a plan but we can't enact it if you're dead because you let a corrupted core remain for longer than it should have."

Tony peeked up at Rhodey but he was backing away, leaving Tony to fight this war by himself. Tony huffed and took a few deep breaths as everything settled again before looking down in mild shame. "Sorry."

Hakon nodded stiffly and snatched Tony's bottle, adding a few more scoops from the packet before shaking it all together and setting it roughly on the table by Tony. "Drink your sludge."

Tony made a face but dutifully took a swig before looking back at Rhodey. "What are you staring at?"

Rhodey dropped the hand that had been resting on his chin. "You." He glanced at Hakon who was fiddling with his watch before walking out of the lab, Tor trailing after him. "What are you planning?"

Tony sighed and took another drink. "Hopefully something to permanently deal with the shrapnel. Look, honey bear. I love you but—I need to get working on something, and-"

Rhodey smiled, Tony rarely liked having people around when he delved into a project. "Yeah, I get it. Just don't push yourself too hard, Tones."

Tony smiled. "Thanks. So, you coming tomorrow?"

Rhodey shook his head fondly. "Can't let you get too crazy."

Tony chuckled then waved to his best friend who disappeared back up the stairs, the smile fell into a determined stare as he pulled out the Vibranium again. "Let's see what you can do."

*O*

Hakon met Tony in the lab early the next morning. Tor grumbled as they passed the kitchen and was forced to wait on breakfast which made him express his displeasure by stealing Tony's blueberries.

Tony frowned at the black menace as he chowed down. "If mustard didn't taste so disgusting on blueberries, I'd smother them all in it."

Tor chuffed and glared at him while Hakon rolled his eyes, giving Tor a look. "Honestly, you're just a big baby. Can't even wait ten extra minutes."

Tor swished his tail around to block his view of the humans as he settled on his bed.

Tony shook his head and turned to his uncle, holding up the new arc reactor that glowed dimmer than that of the palladium core. "Ready to see what it will do?"

Hakon nodded and stood near Tony as he sat down in case of adverse effects. Tony shot him a smile then removed his current arc reactor before quickly slotting in the new one. They waited, silent and still, for thirty seconds as Tony felt the new arc reactor thrum strangely in his chest and JARVIS monitored it.

Finally the AI spoke up. "The new arc reactor is holding up and preliminaries show no signs of deterioration as with the palladium core. However, power output appears to be fluctuating, it is nothing dangerous for the parameters of keeping your heart function but I cannot get a good read on it. I must insist that all Iron Man activities be suspended."

Tony nodded and Hakon sighed in relief, both adorning small smiles but the latter said, "I think we can deal with that for now."

Tony hummed, not exactly happy, but not disagreeing. "I already have one suit designed with an external arc reactor…"

"Tony, no!" Hakon snapped. "No Iron Manning until the shrapnel or a better arc reactor is dealt with."

Tony pouted but reluctantly agreed. "So, how'd the call go last night?"

Hakon winced and stared out the window at the ocean with a contemplative frown. "Well, now that your heart is not a dire emergency, they've put the trip on hold."

Tony turned from opening the door so they could get breakfast. "What, why? You said-"

Hakon nodded with a hand raised calmingly. "I know, I know. Something came up…There's been a plan for something in the works for—a long time. I had no idea it was going to be this week but… they want to make sure it's not going to threaten security. I'll know by tomorrow or the day after when we're in the clear."

Tony huffed in disappointment. He'd waited this long, he could wait a little longer but still! "Wanna make some blood bread for the party then watch as people freak out when I tell them what it is?"

Hakon chuckled. "Isn't this supposed to be a birthday party? Not a Loki's Day celebration?"

Tony laughed as the door to the lab automatically closed softly behind him. "Come on, don't tell me you never pulled a few pranks on your birthdays."

Hakon smirked. "My birthday is on Loki's Day. It's mandatory."

Tony nodded as if his point was proven. "Look, you told me no ragers, I agreed, but I need to get the entertainment somewhere and since you and Pep have confiscated all my catnip."

Tor's head shot up but Hakon scowled at him before telling Tor 'no catnip' very firmly. He shook his head at Tony as he opened the fridge to get ingredients for their breakfast. "You are the worst."

Tony smirked. "You raised me—or the better parts of me as I like to think of it."

Hakon muttered but couldn't help but smile.

"I'll take care of getting Tor's food." Tony said as he slid into the kitchen.

Hakon turned to get a pan, shooting a 'thanks' over his shoulder.

Tor ran across the floor then skidded to a stop at the edge of the kitchen, already sitting by the time he stopped moving. Tony smiled at him and grabbed a new feeding bowl he bought along with a bag. Tor stood curiously and sniffed at both on the counter, large enough to look over the edge without putting his front paws on the counter.

"Ah-ah! Tor." Tony warned, staring hard at the black dog.

Tor whined and backed off, staring unhappily at Tony.

Tony smiled and went back to scooping out a good helping from the bag and into the bowl.

Hakon turned when he heard the sound of kibble being poured. He started to say something then stopped, looking back at his cooking and shaking his head.

Tony set the bowl down in front of Tor who looked down at it in confusion and leaned forward to sniff it. After a few good whiffs, he hissed at it then sat back and glared at Tony. Tony stared in shock when the beast of a dog hissed at the bowl then looked expectantly up at him. After he regained his composure, he gestured to the food again and Tor sniffed—turning his head further away from the bowl and its vile contents.

Tony's jaw fell open. "How? It's even the fish kind!"

Tor snuffed at it again before standing and walking over to the refrigerator.

"No!" Tony placed himself in front of the fridge. "I got you perfectly good dog food! The best dog food. You are not going to snuff at it, you are going to eat it and appreciate the thought I put into it because only eating fish cannot be good for you."

Tor began to grumble and growl before stepping closer to Tony with a snarl that would have been frightening if Tony hadn't grown up around his ilk and all their same mannerisms. Tor wasn't going to attack, it was just a lot of hot air and bluff. Both could hear Hakon snickering in the background but neither dared to break the battle of wills.

Tony held the mutt's glare until Tor finally backed off and sulked out of the kitchen. He nodded victoriously and by that time Hakon was mostly done so he started setting the table. They sat down to eat in pleasurable silence until Tor snuck up, seriously, how does a dog that large sneak?

One second, Tony was bringing a delicious bite of bacon omelet to his mouth and the next, his plate was gone. He squawked in shock, shooting up to his feet to see Tor a few feet away, the entire plate nearly devoured bar the porcelain itself and all he could think to say was, "Breakfast thief! I demand you give it back right now!"

Tor glanced at him, stood, and used his nose to push the bowl of kibble to Tony's feet before leaving, head and tail held high.

Tony stood in shock and watched as the menace jumped up on the sunny portion of the couch and proceeded to take a nap. Beside him, Hakon nearly face planted into his plate as he tried to hide the peals of laughter. He sat with a huff then looked over at the dog food and glared with a hint of a smile. "Shoulda put mustard on the eggs."

From the couch, Tor licked his chops loudly before yawning and splaying comfortably.

*O*

Hakon slipped away from the party when his communicator vibrated, shooting one last glance at Tony who was messing around with the DJ's board—thankfully not in his suit. He managed to talk him out of that one using the stupid logic that the only suit that would work now wasn't painted, and would take too long to do so by the time Tony thought about making an appearance in it—who wants to see a plain grey Iron Man?

He found Tor curled up on his bed, having made a hasty retreat once guests wouldn't stop trying to pet and coddle him. Hakon smiled and answered his communicade from the Changewing Commander. "What news?"

:Well, it seems Loki's plan already went a bit awry but it's nothing serious. Folke's already been scheduled by SHIELD to keep an eye on him and anything else… odd there.: The commander said evenly.

Hakon frowned, noting the distinct lack of information, and asked with a sigh, "What happened?"

:We had to send in a quick spy to get a read on the situation before Fury, but it appears Thor's on Midgard and he appears to have lost his…well godly everything.:

Hakon was silent for a long second before the information finally registered then he was trying to stifle roaring laughter. "Please tell me Folke's going to recording this!"

The Commander chuckled. :Per Fury's orders.:

Hakon glanced at Tor who shrugged and curled up further. "Wonderful. Is Tony cleared again?"

:He is. Do you know the day you're coming in?:

Noise from the party downstairs drifted through his doorway and he rolled his eyes. "Probably not until the day after tomorrow at the earliest. Tony's gonna need a day to get over the hangover he's giving himself. Speaking of which, I oughta go down and stop him from drinking anymore before it's too much for that weakened reactor."

Hakon could see the Commander grinning. :We're gonna have ta throw him a traditional Viking party after his heart problem is taken care of?:

Hakon groaned. "Don't encourage him!" Cheers and laughter rose again and he sighed. "I gotta go."

He left Tor in the room as he made his way back downstairs to the party, far smaller than what Tony could have thrown—especially with his recent outcries—but the group here still was rather rowdy.

Tony leaned against the DJ counter as he drunkenly recalled some of his funnier Iron Man adventures or mishaps, his current ramble being about how he could pee in the Iron Man suit which led to the story of why he put that function in.

Hakon groaned as he listened to Tony before turning when he felt two presences come up beside him. He saw Pepper staring at Tony disgruntled while Rhodey shook his head slightly in baffled shock.

"Seriously, I have generals and the freaking Secretary of the Navy breathing down my neck and this is what Tony's doing. Telling bathroom jokes?" Rhodey growled, he almost couldn't believe his friend.

Hakon rolled his eyes as he looked away. "Lay off, Rhodey, it's his birthday. And you and I both know he could be doing something a thousand times more stupid than telling childish jokes…or TMI stories."

Pepper sighed but nodded reluctantly. "This is rather tame. I was afraid with how he's been acting recently…I suppose I have you to thank for keeping him so, controlled, Hakon?"

Hakon smiled lightly at her, noting the relieved lines around her eyes. "In more ways than one. He probably hasn't said anything yet, Pepper, but I'll be taking him for a little while—in," he glanced at Tony who was staggering sideways while laughing profusely, saying slowly, "a few days. After he's worked off most of the hangover."

Pepper frowned suddenly and turned to Hakon. "What, why?"

"Leaving?!" Rhodey hissed. "He is not leaving until he convinces SecNav and everyone else that he's back on the job as Iron Man!"

Hakon arched an eyebrow, saying before walking off into the crowd, "Then you will have a rather difficult time getting Tony's cold body to cooperate."

Pepper's eyes widened and scrambled after Hakon, demanding an explanation for such an absurd declaration.

Rhodey stood frozen, replaying all of Tony's recent interactions and stupid stunts, then cursed his obliviousness. He should have seen the signs before. He'd seen them all too often in pilots chosen to fly high risk missions and what he saw last night…

A sudden bout of anger swept over him. Why hadn't Tony said anything sooner? Why wasn't he doing something to ensure America's protection with his tech if he wasn't going to be around much longer to use it? He just stuck his neck out for this moron and it was all going to be for nothing and he was going to look like an idiot. Worse, he was going to feel like the idiot who was oblivious to his friend's cries for help until it was too late.

Hakon grabbed Tony around the shoulders while Pepper took the mic, eyeing Hakon and silently telling him they were going to be having a conversation later. Hakon led Tony away from the group while Pepper smiled and dismissed them. "Has this been a good ole party or what?"

There were drunken cheers and Tony waved from the back, looking blearily at his uncle and asking something that most assumed to be inebriated nonsense but was actually Ancient Norse. "What about cake? Can we race? I've always wanted a buddy to race with in the Iron Man armor. I made one for the honey bear so we could!"

Hakon sighed and quietly told him no to which he pouted, earning many giggles from the observing crowd.

Pepper sighed at her boss and his uncle as she continued. "Awe, thanks you so much, Tony thank you all so much for such a…wonderful night. And we're gonna say goodnight now. Thank you for coming."

This earned many disappointed whines and while those with class left, many straggled. Pepper groaned quietly in annoyance and looked at Rhodey in exasperation, Tony being absolutely useless as he was still arguing with Hakon as he led him down the hallway.

"Honestly, kiddo, are you five again and overdid it on the Halloween candy? This is ridiculous." Hakon chastised.

Tony groaned and followed his uncle's pull. "Just because you can hold liquor like Steve Rogers doesn't mean the rest of us can. Can't we just wait until the others are gone and have a quiet night with Pep and Rhodey? You know, I wanted to take her to France for my birthday but she said no."

He continued to ramble and Hakon tuned him out as they entered the rec room, Tor now trailing beside them. They sat down on the couch by the boxing ring to wait it out until Pepper and Rhodey came back to check on then lecture Tony…or possibly Natalia, as he come to learn her current name, just to make sure he wasn't going to do something even more stupid like getting the Iron Man suit.

They only had to wait ten minutes for Pepper and Rhodey to come into the room, arms crossed with matching expressions. It was then that Hakon realized he was in for it just as much as Tony was. Pepper was the one to lead the berating of 'are you dying!?' with Rhodey chipping in, glaring at both men as he brought up the very recent hearing and that they both claimed Tony was going to be around for quite some time.

Hakon took it easily, having heard far worse from his father after his inventions went awry. "He was having some heavy metal poisoning problems but that's been fixed and will permanently be fixed soon. Rhodey, you know Tony. If he isn't the one to think of the solution he'll jump to the conclusion that it isn't possible." At this he sent a displeased look at Tony who huffed.

He rolled his eyes and looked away. "How was I supposed to know you had some grand idea?"

"Because I told you I had a few more ideas to try." Hakon said dryly.

Tony huffed. "So I jumped the gun, sue me."

"I just might!" Pepper nearly yelled, pushing the edges of her tentative grasp on her emotions—so frayed from the past several weeks of his spiraling behavior. "Do you have any idea what you've been putting us through, Tony? We could have-"

"Tried to help me?" Tony cut off, leaning away from Hakon to tiredly rub his eyes. "Not much you could have done there."

Hakon frowned at his godson while keeping an eye on Happy and Natalia who just entered and stood at the doorway. "Anyway, since he's not going to apologize, if you're still up for a little something—maybe we can play something before having JARVIS lock him in his room."

Tony glared at Hakon, muttering that JARVIS wouldn't do that, before sitting up again. "Hey J, bring up the Maces and Talons board."

The side table lit up with a rendition of the ancient Viking game. Hakon shook his head with a smile. Tony had taken quickly to the game when he was seven—saying it was far more interesting and fun than Chess because of all the unusual pieces.

Tony looked pleadingly up at Rhodey who groaned. He never did quite get the game and all its intricacies but he had a decent chance with his better knowledge of stratagem than Tony. And with him currently being drunk, they were near equal.

The others settled back to watch with Hakon who would play the winner. Tony moved the Accomplice piece while Rhodey was working out his next move to block the frontal assault Tony had previously engaged while working to thwart the new move.

"I want you to have an Iron Man armor." Tony said suddenly, startling Rhodey so much he accidentally jerked his finger on the screen and sent the piece to a random spot on the board.

Rhodey looked worriedly into Tony's eyes. "Are you about to keel over? Hakon, call a doctor."

Tony waved both men off, looking at the board so he wouldn't have to meet anyone's eyes. "I've been planning it for a while. You were right in that I might find myself indisposed at some point and need back up and I can't be everywhere at once."

Rhodey's mouth started flopping like a fish to which Tony shook his head, holding up a hand to cut off the other's confused statements, looking Rhodey in the eye. "I made it for you and only for you. You put someone else in that suit and it's just not going to work. I trust you Rhodey but no one else. And for Thor's sake, don't bastardize my suit by equipping it with Hammer tech. I will take it back!"

Rhodey had fallen quite, shoulders sagging in shock, while Natalia silently watched from the chair expressionless, but Tor could read her surprise, suspicion, and worry, communicating all of those to his other half.

Pepper stood and sat next to Tony after Hakon moved, gripping his shoulder. "Tony, if you do this, they're going to press even harder claiming there's something wrong, or that they were right and further use that against you."

Tony's nose twitched. "Not if I say it's done as a sign of good faith. The military has an Iron Man, despite how much I don't like it, but it's controlled by my best friend so I still have a little control over that." He suddenly whipped around to Rhodey. "And if I hear they're tearing apart my baby to figure it out and build more, Valhalla help you and them, I will rain down fire!"

Rhodey smiled, almost laughing at the absurdness of it all. "I-I won't let that happen Tony."

Tony nodded firmly and went back to the forgotten game.

"Tony?" Tony looked up at Rhodey. "Thank you. This, this really helps."

Tony waved him off. "Yeah, yeah, they've been breathing down your neck—you've put it on the chopping block for me. Just use it wisely…and have a bit of fun in it with the other pilots."

Rhodey frowned, leaning an elbow on the table. "You still owe me a plane for that incident."

"He hit me!" Tony cried, looking back at Hakon for back up before calling up JARVIS to support his claim.

*O*

Hakon shook his head, trying to remember how he allowed his current situation to occur. Both he and Tony sat in the hole of a giant donut atop Randy's Donut Shop, trying to work off Tony's hang-over and poisoning, not made better by his heavy doses of alcohol. I should have confiscated every drop and made them all figure out something for a sober party…except then they would have smuggled stuff in, which Tony would have openly encouraged.

Tony took a slow bite out of his sprinkled donut while Hakon ate his maple bar and Tor, having already devoured his bear claw, was begging for more. "No. You already eat all my fish, you're not getting all my donuts. These are my hangover donuts."

Tor huffed and playfully nipped at his shoe that was dangling down. Tony cried out and yanked his feet up, protectively curling around the pink box. Tor yipped and ran around the donut once before planting his front paws on the donut and snapping at the box while Tony hissed and stuffed another donut into his mouth.

Hakon was laughing so hard he struggled to maintain balance and almost fell off the giant donut a couple times.

"Sirs! I'm gonna have to ask you to exit the donut!"

Both men hushed and looked down at the person disturbing their peace. Tony lowered his stylish sunglasses to see who it was and if it was worth the trouble, while Hakon grunted and frowned at the head of SHIELD.

Tony sighed and shared a look with his uncle who nodded, it would probably be best to see what the Midgardian version of Odin wanted. Tony slipped down to the support beam of the donut and waited for Hakon to slide down as well, ignoring the amused look in the elder man's eyes. Tony easily jumped to the roof of the donut shop, something he was a tad more worried about with Hakon.

Tor ran around and tried snatching another donut from Tony. Tony bared his teeth and grabbed a jelly donut— not one of his favorites—and threw it off the roof. Tor took off after it, skidding to a halt at the edge and whining for a moment, shoulder blades twitching and glared at Hakon, before trotting to the corner of the building and jumping off. They heard the dull thud of four large paws landing on the industrial garbage bin then the gravel grating as he darted across it.

Tony and Hakon opted to take the ladder they used to get up. They entered the shop to find Fury already sitting at a booth waiting for them. Tony plopped down into the booth and Hakon scooted in next to him. He held his head, migraine coming on from the excess of alcohol and sudden bout of exercise. "I already told you, I don't want to join your super-secret boy band."

Fury grinned and grunted a laugh. "No, no, no. As I remember, you do everything yourself."

Hakon eyed Tony and reached for Tor and the service dog pack he wore, pulling out a small bottle with a dark green liquid. He uncapped it and handed it to Tony who took it but pulled a face, looking pleadingly at Hakon. Hakon shot back a look with an eyebrow raised. "With how much you overdid it last night? Your body needs all the extra help it can get. Drink."

Tony chugged back half the chlorophyll water in one go before taking a bite out of another donut and looking at Fury in confusion. "I'm sorry, I don't want to get off on the wrong foot—do I look at the patch or the eye?"

Fury watched them with interest but it slipped into a frown, taking a sip of his coffee. Hakon bit his lip to keep from smiling at Fury's unamused glower.

Tony's mind wandered, an even shorter attention span with his head aching. "Why do you wear an eyepatch? Some epic undercover mission gone bad?"

Fury's good eye twitched while Hakon chuckled. "Yes, a very epic battle with a cat."

Fury gaped at Hakon before regaining control and nearly growling at him. "How did you know that?!"

Tony's eyes widened. "Wait, seriously? Super spy extraordinaire lost a fight to a pussy cat?"

Hakon lifted a cup of water to his mouth. "Shoulda listened to Talos."

"Zip it Hyse! That is sensitive information under the most extreme high security files. How did you even learn that? No, wait, Rambo. She's the only one."

Hakon grinned. "We talk sometimes."

Fury glanced at Tony who was watching them with interest. "We are not done with this discussion, Hyse."

Hakon huffed softly but amusedly.

Tony sighed as they fell quiet, entertainment gone. It was around then that he noticed that the shop felt rather deserted and looked around, confirming that they were the only ones present, something that was not true twenty minutes ago. "Where's the staff here?"

Fury tilted his head and started reaching out to touch Tony's neck. "Oh, that's not looking so good."

Tor growled from where he sat next to Tony and Fury pulled back, minding Hakon's wary look.

"What do you want, Fury?" Hakon asked.

Natalia, in an odd mockup of skin-tight tactical gear, marched up to their table and reported to Fury. "The perimeter is secure but I don't think we should hold it for too much longer."

Tony lowered his bottle of dark green water and peeked over his sunglasses, looking her up and down before turning to Hakon. "Huh, well you were definitely right. So is Natalia your real name? Do you even have a real name?"

Hakon smirked as he took a sip from his cup while Fury glowered at Hakon.

Fury quickly introduced her and she smiled pleasantly. "I'm a SHIELD shadow." She looked over at Hakon, mouth twitching downwards. "Or I'm supposed to be a shadow. Once we heard that you were ill, I was tasked to you by Director Fury."

Tony rested his head on a hand, eyebrows arching at the pair. "You just now realized I'm sick? Aren't you supposed to be the best super spy agency in the world or something?"

Fury growled in annoyance while he deflected. "You've been busy. Made your girl your CEO, given away all your stuff. You-you let your friend fly away with your suit. Now, if I don't know better-"

Tony leaned back and felt Tor lay his head on his lap, giving his twitchy fingers a distraction. "You don't know better. And I didn't just give it to him, it's a gesture of good faith to get Senator Stern out of my hair. I enjoy tearing down their arguments in a good court hearing but it's starting to get old and I don't like constantly wasting my time like that."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Fury waved his hands, face incredulous. "Don't like wasting time? This coming from the guy that will put me and anyone from SHIELD on hold just to watch the light blink unless it's Phil?"

Tony chuckled and shook his head. "It's so fun watching it blink."

Hakon grinned, he'd sat by Tony many a time, tinkering as the light blinked.

Fury's lip curled again but Tony sighed and quickly sobered up, getting tired of their continued presence when he was supposed to be enjoying a pleasant hung-over morning eating donuts with his uncle while said uncle's dog terrorized him for the delicious pastries. "Okay, niceties out of the way. What do you want from me?"

Fury laughed, sounding almost deranged. "What do I want? No, no. What do you want from me? You have become a problem. A problem I have to deal with. Contrary to your belief, you are not the center of my universe." Fury ranted, getting more heated the longer he spoke.

Tony rubbed his eyes, ears ringing—he really wished Fury would quiet down and finish up. Maybe I can convince Tor to be a hot water bottle when we get back home, try and sleep some of this off.

Hakon watched Romanov get up and leave, heading for a case on the service counter.

"I have bigger problems than you in the southwest region to deal with. Here." Fury snapped his fingers and gestured to Tony.

Tor sprung up and snatched Natasha's wrist, revealing some kind of needleless hypodermic injector in her grasp. Natasha gasped from surprise, not pain. Tor continued to hold it tightly, adding a deep growl, but he didn't put enough pressure into the bite to even break skin.

Hakon scowled at Fury, knowing it was on his orders, while Tony stared in mild fear at Natasha. "Uh, what is that?! Are you trying to steal my kidney and sell it?"

Fury groaned and looked pointedly at Hakon who lifted his eyebrows expectantly. "It's lithium dioxide, it's to take the edge off. We're trying to get you back to work."

"Next time, lead with that." Hakon said shortly. Tor released Natasha after Tony patted his side but he still growled another warning.

Natasha proceeded with the injection after only a small hesitation.

Tony hissed as it bit then rapidly spread through his system, already feeling a bit better. "Well, just give me a couple boxes of that and I'll be right as rain."

Natasha frowned as she took her seat by Fury again. "It's not a cure, just abates the symptoms."

Fury continued to gaze at Tony's neck. "Doesn't look like it'll be an easy fix."

Tony rolled his eyes as he leaned an elbow on the table. "Trust me, I'm good at this stuff. I've been looking for a suitable replacement for palladium—we both have. We've tried every combination, every permutation of every known element."

Fury looked oddly pleased as he smiled. "Well I'm here to tell you that you haven't tried them all."

Tony rubbed his eyes from the headache, now a combination of hangover and dealing with stubborn people. "What? What haven't I tried? Vibranium? Hate to tell you this, but I have and it barely works. It's doubtful if it will sustain the suit."

Fury tilted his head in interest. "No, that wasn't what I was thinking but now I am intrigued."

Tony scowled at him. "Don't expect me to say more than that. I don't need to tell you a thing."

Fury nodded then looked up as someone on the other side of the glass gestured. "That, I figured but that's still not what I'm referring to. There's a reason you came up on our radar again. It's when you started pulling every file your father ever made about the arc reactor."

Hakon felt his stomach plunge while ice crept up his veins. "You didn't." He hissed.

Fury had the gall to look mildly abashed. "We couldn't just leave highly classified information lying around for any willy-nilly to find it. Look at your friend in Monaco."

Tony glared at Fury, hands clenching under the table as he tried to control his growing anger.

No one actually saw him move. Tony jumped when Hakon sprung from beside him but he was already on his feet by the time the movement registered. Not even Natasha saw him lash out until Fury's head whipped to the side with a pained grunt.

Hakon glared at Fury as he reached up to his broken and bleeding nose. "Five and a half months. Five and a half months, Fury! We have been looking for something, anything to save Tony and you've had it this entire time—it wasn't even yours to take!"

Tony reached up to grab his enraged uncle's arm but he couldn't really calm him down, not when his own anger threatened to bubble over.

Natasha hurried over with a pile of napkins and handed them to Fury while watching Hakon closely in case he decided to attack again. Fury winced as he held his nose, more than a little surprised at the strength Hakon still had left.

"Maybe we should continue this discussion back at your home, Stark." Fury said, his voice sounding off due to his nose being pinched.

Tony dipped his head so he could peek over the sunglasses. "You think I want you or your ilk anywhere near my place after you stole from me? I get that it's not something you want falling into bad hands but you had to know I was being poisoned by the arc reactor and you've done nothing until now."

Fury's lips thinned. "You work best under pressure."

Hakon felt his blood freeze, just barely keeping his human form intact through Tony's death gripping his arm.

Tony shook in poorly concealed fury, distantly feeling bad about gripping his uncle so tightly, and hissed, "I think the threat of me dying in less than a year was pressure enough."

Fury sighed, consternation washing over his features while Natasha at least had the decency to look ashamed, despite the fact that it wasn't her responsibility or duty to have returned the information. "Stark, you have to understand that you have a history or self-destru-"

"Uh-uh!" Tony roared, leaping to his feet now. "No, you don't just get to decide whose bad habits or hobbies are acceptable and whose aren't. I have been looking for a cure and only when I'm a week away from death do you decide to give it? No! No. If you send anyone by my place, it had better be Phil, and he had better have the files you stole. If it's anyone else, I'll sic Tor on them and witness first hand why Hydra was so terrified of his predecessor."

Fury glared but didn't say anything as Tony slid out of the booth with Hakon and Tor on his heels, glaring balefully at the sitting pair as they marched out of the donut shop. It was a silent and terse ride back to the house where a familiar car already sat with Phil leaning against the hood.

I honestly didn't start out disliking Fury and SHIELD like this initially but as I was writing it got me thinking. Anyway, see you soon and leave your thoughts!