Crashing Through the Feelings
Thank you to Artemisia25greek for following and favoriting. The previous chapter was a flash back to when Crash was 8 right after the New York events. This chapter is back to original time of the first chapter. I hope you enjoy! Please review to give me ideas.
Chapter 3: Bedtime
Crash stood outside Steve's room, waiting to knock on the door. He was still nervous about doing it this late at night, he wasn't sure if he would still be up. He finally closed his eyes, sighed then knocked on the door. Steve was sitting in bed, watching a movie on the TV, when he heard the knock. He sat up, and paused the movie, then looked at the clock. It was only 8:20, and he knew mostly everyone was still up. He went to the door and found Crash standing holding a paper and a pencil.
"Hey Crash, what are you still doing up?" Steve leaned against the door frame and studied the kid. It had been almost four years since Tony had adopted him, and while he had somewhat opened up, he was still extremely shy. Crash kicked the floor then looked up to him.
"I got homework that I need help on. Can you help me Uncle Steve?" Steve moved from the doorway and put a hand on Crash's shoulder and guided him into his room. Steve led him over to the table in the corner, and sat him down.
"You want anything to drink? I've got some orange juice I think." Steve bent down and dug through the fridge.
"No thanks, Uncle Steve. Pepper doesn't like me drinking anything thirty minutes before bed." Crash fiddled with the edge of the paper, waiting for Steve to come back over and help.
"So, what is this homework about?" Steve poured himself a cup of orange juice, then walked back over to Crash.
"History stuff." Steve nodded then slid the paper towards him. Steve nodded then slid the paper back to Crash. Crash stared at his feet, waiting for Steve to talk first.
"Well, I don't know for certain, but I do know that they thought what they were doing was right. That's why anybody fights for what they fight for. They believe their way is right, and will back their belief all the way. That doesn't mean they are right though." Steve picked up the pencil and set it closer to Crash on the table. Crash looked up and took the pencil in his hand. He wrote down a paraphrased version of what Steve had said, and just finished when Beckett started talking.
"Crash, Mr. Stark is calling you." Crash threw his head back and groaned. He stood up and tapped the earpiece to answer the call.
"Crash, where are you at?" Crash stood facing the table looking at his paper, then occasionally to Steve.
"Dad, I'm still in the tower. I had to have help with my homework so I went upstairs to Uncle Steve. I'll be right down." He heard Tony sigh over the comm.
"Get down here now. You still need to take a shower before bed. And it is already past bedtime." Crash turned and looked at the clock that read 8:40. He rubbed his face, then agreed and ended the call. He turned back to Steve who was sitting and smirking at him.
"I forgot I had to take a shower before bed. Goodnight Uncle Steve." Crash walked around the table and gave Steve a hug, before grabbing his pencil and paper and going to the door. Steve walked him over and opened the door.
"Crash, tell Tony that I need to talk to him for me will you?" Crash nodded and walked out of the room. He got out of sight of Steve's door, then ran the rest of the way to the elevator. He pressed the button, and waited for the door to open. When it finally did, Tony was standing in the middle of the elevator, with his arms crossed. Crash got onto the elevator and stood in the back corner as Tony pressed the button for his floor.
"You shouldn't even be up here this late. You know your bedtime, and you know you are supposed to have your homework done. I should ground you for a week." Crash walked up to behind Tony and gave him a hug. Tony turned around and hugged him back, breathing heavily. Tony was the only one that knew it had actually been a real car, and it wasn't one of his tricked up holograms. He had almost lost his adopted son, and wasn't ready to face that. He backed out of the hug and stepped to his side, still having an arm around his shoulder.
"That car wasn't a hologram, was it?" Crash looked up to Tony while waiting to reach their floor. Tony kept staring forward at the door, staying silent to not answer the question. Crash shook his head and took the silence for a yes.
"I knew it wasn't. Beckett told me, plus I felt the heat off the hood of the car. Why'd you lie? You always tell me not to lie because it's bad." Tony sighed and looked down to the little boy standing by his side. He looked into his big brown eyes, and saw the kid he once was with his own father. Always inquisitive and too smart for his own good. He moved his hand from his shoulder to his head, and smiled.
"Pepper would have killed both me and you if she had known it was a real car. So, I'm pretty sure I saved the both of us there. You, should be thanking me." Tony smirked and put a finger on Crash's chest. Crash laughed and pushed Tony's hand off his chest, then wrapped him in a side hug. Crash nodded then looked back up to him.
"Okay, then. I won't tell anyone. Except for maybe Steve, or Bruce, whenever we find him." Crash tried to hide his smile as best as he could, but failed and Tony shook his head.
"You won't if you know what's best for you." The elevator dinged and the door opened. They walked out and walked down the hall to Crash's room. Tony opened the door and found Rhodey and Clint asleep on the couch and the recliner. Crash looked up to Tony and frowned. Tony shrugged his shoulders and walked over to them.
"Alrighty. Clint, Rhodey get up. Kid's gotta go to sleep and he's not sleeping in my room." Tony started clapping and snapping in front of their faces, trying to wake them up. Rhodey was easy to get up, but Clint was a different story. Crash looked at Tony and Rhodey and looked expectantly at them. Tony groaned knowing what Crash was indirectly asking. He nodded then stepped back. Rhodey stood still, and Crash walked over and pushed him back a few steps, then returned to his original position. Crash put his left hand up above his head and his right hand forward. The smaller versions of the suit Tony wore came from the wall on the opposite side of the room.
"Uncle Clint, get up. I need to go to sleep." Crash stood over him with the suit on, waiting for him to get up. When he didn't Crash turned and looked at Tony who just laughed and motioned to Clint on the couch. Crash turned around and grabbed both of Clint's hands, then started to back up, trying to drag him off the couch. When that didn't fully work, Crash picked him up, and put him over his shoulders. He turned around and looked to Tony for permission. Tony put an arm across Rhodey's chest and backed him up even more.
"Go ahead kid, if you think it'll work." Crash nodded, and body slammed Clint on the ground. He immediately jolted up and looked at Crash. He leaned back on one arm and rubbed the back of his head.
"What was that for kid? I was asleep." Crash rolled his eyes, then crossed his arms.
"Beckett, lower the helmet." The helmet of the suit disappeared and he looked at Clint. He was still sitting on the ground and had been so focused on Crash that he didn't notice Rhodey and Tony standing behind him laughing.
"Uncle Clint, it's literally in my name. I need to go to bed, and you can't sleep in my room. So stand up and go to your own room." Clint laughed and looked over to Tony and Rhodey. Crash put his hand out to help him up, and Clint took it, hopping up to his feet. Clint rubbed his back and walked over to Tony.
"You know, you could have just yelled at me or something. You didn't have to get the suit out and everything." Tony smiled at Crash making noises that sounded like the repulsor canons, and aiming at stuff around the room.
"Yeah, well. He barely gets to play with it, and I didn't want to drag you off that couch. It's a win-win for me. I get to see my boy happy, and you upset. Plus we tried yelling." Rhodey laughed and walked over to Crash shaking his head. Clint stared at Tony in disbelief then shrugged it off. Tony walked over to Crash and pushed a button on his watch. The pieces of the suit came off and went back to the wall on the display rack. Crash front flipped out of the boots and onto the bed.
"Hey, uh uh. You gotta get in the shower. Now. You are thirty minutes past your bedtime. Say goodnight to Clint and Rhodey. Get your pajamas and go in there." Crash drug his feet getting his clothes and yelled out of the bathroom to Clint and Rhodey. They laughed and walked out into the hallway, waiting for Tony to take care of Crash. Crash opened the door to the bathroom and told Tony that Steve wanted him. He acknowledged him and motioned him to get back in the shower.
"I gotta go up to Steve's room real quick. Crash said he wanted me." Tony stood outside the room talking to Rhodey and Clint.
"Have you told him about your presentation yet? You know he's gonna want to go." Rhodey crossed his arms and turned to Tony. Tony had forgotten about the presentation until Rhodey had mentioned it. He ran a hand through his hair and shrugged.
"I know if I don't tell him, he'll wonder where I'm at, and get ticked that I didn't tell him. But if I tell him and he can't go, he'll be disappointed. I might let him go and he can just stay in the car or something. That's probably what I'll do." Clint smiled and shook his head at Tony's lack of fatherhood knowledge.
"You can't tell him and get his hopes up then take it away. Don't tell him until you are sure with your decision." Tony sighed and nodded then said goodnight to the two. They went to their rooms and Tony went up to Steve's room.
He knocked on the door and waited for Steve to open it. "Hey, Crash said you wanted to talk to me. What's up?" Steve stepped away from the door and walked over to the table where he had sat with Crash almost an hour before. Tony stepped in and closed the door behind him, then walked over to the table.
"Crash came up here earlier to do homework. He wasn't bothering me or anything." Steve got another glass of orange juice from the fridge and sat down at the table. Tony was getting suspicious of why Steve had wanted to talk to him, so he straight out asked.
"I have a feeling Crash isn't the only reason you wanted to talk. What's bothering you?" Steve nodded then looked up at Tony.
"I'm gonna bring some of the avengers to Lagos to intercept some Hydra agents on a mission. I wanna know who I should take. Who will you not need over the course of the next few weeks?" Tony looked over to Steve who was busy staring into the bottom of his orange juice. He ran a few things through his mind and nodded, agreeing with what he was about to say.
"Wanda, she could help do some things with her powers, and she needs the training. Wilson and Romanoff, could help you train her. You think you'll need anyone else?" Steve finally looked up and shook his head.
"Not really a good time to start training, but it'll do. Who is gonna stay here with Crash?" Tony sank back in his chair and looked up to the ceiling for answers. What was he going to do with Crash? Should he take the kid with him to the college, or should he leave him with Pepper?
"I don't know. I'm probably gonna leave him with Pepper, or someone else. I don't think he would find it very interesting at the college. And he is NOT going with you guys." Steve sat forward in disbelief.
"You don't think he'll enjoy his dad showing off some new thing he created? And he'll be able to get out of the tower, not just to go to school." Tony looked away from the ceiling and his eyes met Steve's.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. But I still don't know. I'm not going to tell him about it until I'm sure of my decision." Steve nodded in agreement and finished off his glass.
"Well, I guess that's the only thing I really needed to talk about away from all the others." Tony shrugged and looked out of the window in Steve's room. When he saw the time he started to stand and walked to the door.
"I gotta go make sure Crash is asleep. If he's smart he will be, but he is probably playing with some toys." Steve laughed and opened the door, letting Tony go down to Crash's room. When Tony opened the door, he saw Crash land a frontflip on to the bed. He laughed and shook his head as he watched Crash lean up and smile at him. His hair was matted down to his forehead, still wet from his shower.
"Did you see me land it? I've been getting better lately." Crash was way too hyper to go to bed, Tony thought.
"You have been. Did you finish up with your homework?" Crash thought for a few seconds then nodded. Tony raised an eyebrow and looked at him.
"Yes, I did. Can you read me a story?" Tony looked down at his watch and figured another ten minutes past wouldn't hurt.
"Ten minutes. That's all. It's already 9:40 and you need to get to sleep." Crash nodded then jumped off the bed and grabbed his favorite nighttime book off the shelf. Tony sighed but looked at Crash who was giving his best begging face. He walked over to the bed and sat down, leaning against the headboard. As Tony read the book, Crash slowly started to drift off to sleep. He had fallen asleep leaning up against Tony, who was hesitant to move in case he woke him up. Tony tried to move numerous times, but everytime Crash would move or make a noise so Tony stayed. Tony fell asleep with his arm around Crash, still leaning against the headboard.