A/N: I'm gonna pull at your heartstrings a little at the end of this chapter. Also, Steve became a little pain in my butt in the middle of this chapter, so I had to put him in time out. There's going to be a special guest that shows up, and the next chapter will probably be a long one, because I fully intend on following up Chapter 10 with lots of DaddyTony fluff. Enjoy my good people!
Also, because sometimes I really suck at getting ideas across in my writing sometimes, (my brain works fast and skips concepts), I snuck in Mary and Coulson's relationship all sneaky like, like both of them would be apt to do, and Steve doesn't know that Tony is Tony Stark yet, just as Tony- Peter's dad. He think that Tony Stark is Anthony Stark, separate people. I explain it here to someone else:
So, this very thing held me up for a long time with this fic, and taking it where I want it, too, and the answer is a little silly, probably not 100%, but low key enough to slip right under Steve's radar. It probably sounds silly, but I have two different voices that I use all the time; my relaxed normal voice, and my professional voice. I've worked retail, and in call centers, and right now I am on the phone a lot, too. So the voice I use when I have to be "professional" is more higher pitched, very clear and sharp. But the tone that my family, my friends, and people I meet in the grocery store, is lower toned, full of slang, and sounds more relaxed. So unless someone knew it was me, I could be two people if my voice was the only thing someone had to go by. I do it naturally, too, not thinking about it. Again, not very fool proof, but right now Steve has no reason to think that either Tony or Anthony are hiding anything such as an identity, especially since Anthony Stark doesn't hide that he's Iron Man.
Really, this is all very flimsy, and I cringe every time they meet. Also, I like to pretend that Steve doesn't watch Anthony very much on TV, because it's all projected stuff from news sources just looking to make a buck off of someone's ill-fortune. Don't worry though, I have two different plans, but the identities won't be a problem for long. This is probably one of the biggest flaws of this story, and it was cooked up to a solution in the middle of an anxiety attack, so not the best legs to stand on. :)
This got really long, I'm sorry.
Unbeta'd, and Marvel owns more of this than I do.
Also, if you go to my Tubmlr page (megaranoelle. tumblr. com) you can catch some behinds the scene stuff about the fic. No spoilers, promise. Maybe you can influence the story.
Steve took a deep breath, watching the sun set from the roof of the apartment building, sitting in Mary's borrowed lawn chair. He assured her that he still remembered what watching the fireworks was like, sitting in a lawn chair at the highest point you could find. Bucky would go scout out a place for them, usually not too far away, and if his Ma could get the night off, she would follow them. She always requested the Fourth off, wanted to spend the whole day with her son on his birthday, but that didn't happen too much. Steve never minded so much, Bucky was there, and his Ma always made a little cake for them to share before she left for work. He knew that she had to work, and that the night of the Fourth was always the busiest for the hospitals, for the Nurses and Doctors.
For the first time in a long time, Steve could breath in the summer air without worrying about not being able to breathe. Steve would be able to watch the fireworks without fear of being caught somewhere that he wasn't supposed to be, (because Bucky just looked for the best spot, not for permission.) Mary had told him that if he looked out towards the water, towards the Bridge to Manhattan, and he would see the best fireworks. She had told him that Central Park, or Times Square would have the best fireworks, but Steve didn't want to break a tradition, something he could hold onto here in this new time, and she smiled and gave him a lawn chair from the storage shed in the back.
Mary and Peter had come over earlier, Peter wanted to make breakfast for Steve, and they spent the morning and some of the afternoon celebrating Steve's birthday. Steve smiled thinking about it; Peter had been so excited, because he got to spend the day with both Steve and his Daddy today. Steve was happy that Tony was finally going to be able to see Peter after a long wait. Maybe now Tony wouldn't be sitting at the playground all the time, and could pick Peter up from school.
Steve had been a little worried that someone would keep seeing him and think that maybe he was some kind of creep, or stalker. He'd sit with Tony sometimes, too, just trying to make conversation, and then he was left with too many judgmental thoughts about Stark. What kind of man puts himself, and his workers under the spotlight for so long? Just to be stubborn? It was selfish, and there were so many ways that Anthony Stark could have gone around the conflict to end it sooner. Steve sighed a little, reaching down into the little Styrofoam cooler and pulled out a water.
The firework were about to start, and he was not going to spend the rest of his birthday thinking about Howard Stark's son. He had to find a place to hang the drawing that Peter had made for him, and he would break into the movie kit that Mary had put together for him. She had given him a plastic bowl that was supposed to be for popcorn, showed him microwave popcorn, ("No it is not cheating, Steven Rogers, it's just faster than the old fashioned way on the stove, get used to it."), and then had given him several movies that were on his list to watch. When Peter wasn't looking she had put a pack of beer in his fridge, some different local homebrews she told him, and a bottle of wine. She regularly kept his freezer stocked with ice cream, and warned him that a couple of movies might have him getting in touch with his inner woman, and he could probably demolish a pint of ice cream easily. Steve just raised a skeptical eyebrow at her.
"I've seen your music playlist, Rogers," Mary pointed at him.
"There's a lot of music to catch up on," Steve defended quickly. He was still learning!
The first fireworks started to go up and Steve's attention was brought back to the present. He let a smile cross his face as others joined in, a symphony of color in the sky. He was glad that Mary had suggested that he bring up a radio at the same time, as well. The pops and bangs of the fireworks could have easily dragged him into war-time memories. He was determined to enjoy his birthday.
October 2010
Steve was outside, raking the leaves from the lawn as Mary and Peter returned from their day of errands. He knew that Peter's birthday was coming up in a just a couple of days, and Mary said that her parents were going to be flying over from California to surprise Peter, and she was running around trying to make things perfect. Steve chuckled when he saw Mary pulling several bags of groceries from the trunk of her car, and Peter was trying to climb inside to get to what Steve could only assume was his favorite snacks. He did it every time.
Steve put the rake against the closest tree and went over to help Mary, taking a load of bags from her hands. Mary gave him a smile then wrapped his arms around Peter's middle and pulled him out of the trunk, a box of fruit snacks in his hands. "Looking good, Pete," Steve said when he saw the little boy with the smug look, his treasure in his hands. He had a new haircut, the shaggy curls gone, and now sporting a shorter, spikier look.
"Daddy picked me up while Mama did the boring food shopping," Peter proclaimed, smiling at Steve. "We got matching haircuts!"
"He's going to up looking like Tony's little twin in no time," Mary said as she put Peter down on his feet, slipping the box of snacks from his hands. Peter looked up at her with a pout, until he noticed that Mary was opening the box, pulling out one little pouch and handing it to him. He beamed a grin at her, giving the expected 'Thank You', before ripping into it. "Tony has a business function tonight, and apparently he remembered me saying that Peter needed a haircut soon, so he picked him up on the way."
Steve also knew that it was going to be Tony that was going to meet with Mary's parents tomorrow, so that Peter would be surprised when they showed up. He thought it was a little odd that Tony was going through the trouble to take care of Mary's parents, even going so far as to put them up in a hotel himself, just for Peter. Maybe it wasn't odd, maybe he was just surprised that Mary's parents accepted Tony so willingly as well. Sometimes, Steve had his mind still set in the 40's.
"Daddy says I'm going to be smart, just like him," Peter said conversationally, concentrating on his fruit snacks as the three of them headed towards the apartment building. "I already jumped two grades, and Daddy says he jumped school grades all the time." Peter was already in third grade, and keeping up just fine, and there was no doubt that he was a gifted little boy. "I don't think I wanna go as fast as Daddy did, though."
"Why's that, bud?" Steve asked as he held the door open for the him and Mary.
"Well, then I wouldn't be in the same class as Wade," Peter said first, and Mary and Steve rolled their eyes a little. Peter and Wade were nigh inseparable, specially during the summer. Steve was shocked that neither of them had gotten hurt when they played together. "And Daddy was still a teenager when he went to college." Steve raised an eyebrow. "I like school, I don't wanna go through that much."
Something about Peter had said, about his Dad's schooling, it struck a chord in Steve. It was odd, but it was something he had recently read, wasn't it? Now Steve needed to get back to his apartment. He could just be overreacting, or perhaps there was something about the puzzle of Peter's Dad that was slotting into place.
"Heaven forbid you and Wade should not go to the same school," Mary said, taking her key out to open the door to the apartment. Peter pushed the door open, smiling up at her, before taking off his jacket. "You can just put those bags on the table, Steve, thanks."
"No problem," Steve nodded, putting the groceries on the table. Peter had already wandered into the kitchen, ready to help Mary with the groceries. He was well trained on chores. "If you need anymore help let me know, I've gotta check something back at the apartment."
"Go on," Mary waved her hand. "No need for you to help us with groceries," she chuckled. Steve gave her a smile and waved to Peter before heading back over to his apartment, the leaves forgotten outside.
Steve knew he had just read about someone finishing school at a young age, and he knew that it would be a long jump between that person and Peter's Dad, but something was urging to double check the facts. His laptop was at the table and he sat down, opening it up and watching it load. He had been int he process of transferring his handwritten notes to the computer, hoping it would make it easier for him to find certain facts, like what he was looking for.
As he opened the text files with his notes, he watched recent news pop up to the side. It had been an automatic feature that Mary had set up for him, to keep him updated on the world now, so he could compare and contrast the past as he learned it to what was happening now.
'Tony Stark Attends Clean Energy Gala Tonight'
Nothing about the article should have caught Steve's attention, but it did, and he clicked on it. Maybe it was because of the name Tony, and he didn't like to refer to Stark as Tony, as it would mix him up with Peter's father.
'Former CEO of Stark Industries, Tony Stark, will attend the Fifth Annual Clean Energy Gala in New York City, tonight for the first time. It's the first public move that Stark has made in what experts believe to be one of the new directions of SI. Others think that he's trying to clean up his image from last May's incident in Monaco.'
The article went on, but what caught Steve was the picture they had caught of Stark. It was dated today, just an hour ago, when the article was posted. He had been caught coming out tailor's shop, a suit bag over his arm, his driver ahead of him to get the door for his boss. What drew his eye was the haircut that looked familiar now, that was obviously new, and the sunglasses that Stark wore. He had seen those sunglasses, many times.
'It's rumored that Stark will be attending alone tonight, with current CEO, Virginia "Pepper" Potts, still in California. Seeing the Stark name at a Clean Energy function is a far cry from the Weapons Galas he was attending just a few years ago.'
The thing about sunglasses in the 21st century, Steve had come to find out while on an information gathering mission with Mary, is that there are either too many of the same pair, or custom ones for various celebrities, those of importance. This statement could be true for just about anything, but this particular mission, (to get Steve's feet wet with SHIELD), it was easier for them to track the targets purchases, and that included what Steve thought was too many sunglasses. He had seen hundreds of them that day, and now Steve recognized the logo on the side of the sunglasses that Stark was wearing in the picture.
Steve had more research to do, he had to be certain on his thoughts, and not that he was jumping to conclusions.
Tony adjusted his sunglasses a little, waiting on the tarmac by the car as the jet landed. It had been a while since he had seen Mary's parents, and her mother still gave him the evil eyes, but he could not appear to be nervous in front of them. Only the Fitzpatrick's could make him forget that he was the great Tony Stark. To them, he was just the man that had made their daughter pregnant, and had a hand in Peter's life. Mary's Dad kind of liked him though.
The door to the jet opened as the steps were pushed up and secured. Mary's mother, Rachel, stepped out first, followed by William, and Tony started walking forward to greet them. Rachel looked at him, but accepted his offered hand to shake, followed by William.
"It's nice to see you both again," Tony said, giving them a smile.
"Good to see you, too," Mr Fitzpatrick said, smiling back. "Thanks for the ride, Tony."
"Ah, well," Tony shrugged a little, putting his hands in his pockets. "The jet was in California, and the pilot hasn't been flying Pepper very often, so I wanted to give him a job." He knew that the pilot, and co-pilot, both had families, and while they did make a salary, Tony liked to give them bonuses for last minute flights. Such as this one. "I hope you don't mind, but I moved your lodgings from the hotel that Mary told you about, to the Manor. Peter and Mary are coming over tonight, and Peter's going to spend the night, so I thought it would be a nice surprise for him."
"We don't want to intrude," William started, but Tony waved a hand. He started to lead them to the town car that was waiting.
"It's not intruding. We know that you guys weren't able to be here for Peter's last birthday, so we wanted to surprise him this year." Tony opened the door for them, letting the couple get in first, before climbing in and sitting across from them. "I know that Peter's going to be ecstatic to see you both."
"Hope you aren't spoiling him, too much," Rachel said as the car started to move. "He's a sweet and well-behaved boy." Mary's mother never made it a secret that she didn't exactly approve of Tony, specially since she was used to seeing the playboy that Tony used to be before Iron Man.
"He's still very well-behaved," Tony said before William could say anything to his wife. Tony needed to prove to her that he was at least a little bit competent. "Mary keeps me in check as well, but when I have Peter we still have chores and rules at the house. His homework comes first, but he also knows that he can ask me for help if he's having trouble with it. I've only had to punish him twice, and I didn't like it all, but I also didn't leave it for Mary to handle when she picked him up." Tony cleared his throat a little, leaning back into the seat. "I'm not the parent that Mary is, but I love Peter, but know that I am still his parent."
There was a beat of silence in the car as they drove, Mrs Fitzpatrick eyeing Tony. "So, can I assume that we'll be having Peter's favorite for dinner tonight?" William asked, smiling. Tony couldn't help but smile back before nodding.
Peter being excited to see his grandparents was probably an understatement. When Mary and Coulson came over with Peter, the little boys eyes had widened, and he was over to where the couple were in a second, jumping up into his Granpa's arms. This would be the first time that Mary's parents were meeting Coulson as well, and Tony was staring at him, a little wide eyed himself.
"Agent," Tony said after Peter ran over to his surprise. "I wasn't aware that you owned anything that was a black suit and a white shirt." Coulson was dressed in khaki's and a dark blue sweater, wearing glasses that Tony had never seen before.
"I'm not an Agent all the time," Coulson told him, a little smirk on his lips.
"You could also try calling him by his first name," Mary told him, again.
"But, Agent is his first name," Tony said with complete innocence. He secretly loved doing this with Mary, he had to give her a hard time about Coulson, but they all knew it was in jest. "But, seriously, Agent, good luck meeting the parents tonight. Her Mom is a firecracker."
"I didn't get her daughter pregnant," Coulson said, a smile on his face, looking a little smug in Tony's direction. "I don't think I'm going to have the same problems as you."
Tony blinked. "Ouch, that's a new level of sass. That one might have actually hurt me."
"Be sure to record this, Jarvis," Mary said, trying not to laugh.
"Har har." Tony let out a little huff of air through his nose. "Well, I'll let you introduce the boyfriend, and I'm going to run downstairs real quick." He looked at Mary, tapping the arc reactor a little. "Won't be but a couple minutes."
"Left you a present downstairs as well," Coulson told him as Tony started to walk off.
Tony raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't stop, another depleted core was calling his name, and a refill on his very unflavorful, life-saving, green liquid. Tony took his time going down the stairs, feeling a bit of the fatigue starting to hit him. He'd need to conserve what he had until the new core kicked in, which would probably be int he middle of dinner.
As Tony walked through the doors to his workshop, he raised an eyebrow at the three crates that were sitting on the floor. He walked over to the his desk, grabbing a new core first, never taking his eyes off the gray crates. They looked old, a bit dusty, probably hadn't been opened in about a decade. Tony grabbed the glass of chlorophyll from the desk, taking a long drink, as he walked over to inspect them. He swallowed, then almost coughed the liquid back up when he saw what was printed on the crates. 'Property of H. Stark.'
Why in the hell would Coulson bring him some of Howard's stuff? And stuff that Tony hadn't known about, at that. Maybe it was Howard's research on Project Rebirth. Now that was something that Tony wanted no part of. Instead Tony turned and lifted up his shirt, looking at his reflection in the glass. The black lines were spreading, becoming more complicated, climbing up his chest, reaching out towards his shoulders, creeping every closer to his neck. He wasn't going to be able to hide the lines for long.
"Sir?" Jarvis asked int he silence of the room, watching his creator investigate the damage of the arc reactor. "If I may, perhaps it is time to make a phone call?"
Tony let out a little sigh, letting his shirt drop back down. Jarvis was right, he usually was. It had been six months since he had discovered the palladium poisoning, but he believed tho have contracted symptoms all the back before Christmas. "Start tracking his location, J. Let me know the second you have a contact number, unless it's during dinner."
"I would not jeopardize you so in front Miss Parker's parents," Jarvis told him. Good Guy, Jarvis. Tony smiled at the thought. The man that Tony wanted to talk to would take more than a couple of hours to contact, of that he was certain, but it would be better to start now.
Steve waited for Mary, after dropping Peter off at Wade's house, wanting to catch her alone. A week after his initial search, he had the proof he needed, and now he needed to talk to Mary. Waiting int he hall, he caught her eye and motioned to his apartment. She raised an eyebrow, but followed him over, shutting the door.
"You look like something's troubling you," Mary commented as she looked at Steve, standing just inside the living room, his arms crossed over his chest. Troubling was not the word she would use, but she didn't know what was going to happen.
Steve Rogers seething with anger was not even close to what she had expected. "Were you ever going to tell me who Peter's father was? That all this time Howard Stark's son has been coming around?" Steve knew that he was probably overreacting a little, but he'd been awake for almost a year now. After getting what he could from his own searches, and from Howard's file, he had gone to SHIELD, and had gotten some unexpected help from Natasha Romanoff. She was undercover as Tony Stark's PA Steve had found out then, and it was obvious that she knew about Peter. It wasn't Mary that had told her either though.
"No," Mary said and Steve blinked. He had been ready for excuses right away, not the straight look and confident denial. "I was wondering how long until you would figure it out, but no." She shook her head. "It wasn't pertinent to the information that you would need after waking up, or working for SHIELD."
"But he works for SHIELD," Steve said, picking up a folder from the coffee table. Romanoff had gotten him a copy of Tony Stark's file from the SHIELD database. When he looked at the picture inside, he couldn't believe that it had taken him this long to figure it out. He should have been paying more attention.
"No, he's a consultant," Mary said, now crossing her arms over her chest. "He's not an Agent, and he doesn't go on missions. He was brought in under the supervision of Coulson and Director Fury. I wasn't working for SHIELD until they were already trying to make contact with him."
"It doesn't change the fact that all of this was hidden from me," Steve argued, frowning at her.
"What would the knowledge of his identity changed, Steve?" Mary stared him down. "You wouldn't have told him who you were, and you couldn't talk to him about the only shared subject that you two have. And I'll tell you, even if you had tried to talk to him about Howard, he would have made sure that you never had the opportunity to open your mouth around him again."
"Howard Stark is the other half of Project Rebirth," Steve started to say. "He's the one who created my shield."
"And you weren't around when he eventually married, and had a son," Mary countered. "That Howard was older, and had seen more, then when you knew him." Mary stepped closer to Steve, and it was clear now why she was trusted to be Steve's Handler. It didn't matter that she was several inches shorter than Steve, she held herself better than several Generals that Steve had known in the Army. "If you read the files, then you know that Tony was also only Fourteen years old when he lost his parents, so I'm not sure what exactly you and Tony would be reminiscing about. Tony was born thirty years after you went down in the ice. Had knowing who Tony was had become necessary information for you to know, then I would have told you." Mary met Steve's narrowed gaze with her own.
"It doesn't change the fact that you went out of your way to keep it from me," Steve said to her. He recalled Mary's words every time Peter had spouted out some random fact about his Dad. "you would say that he worked for Stark, that he was doing projects with him. You tried to mislead me from him."
"And that was out of my own pure selfish need." Mary growled out. "I know Tony's past, I know the personal details, you don't-"
"Through no fault of my own!"
"-and I was trying to protect him, not you!" Steve blinked a little at Mary's choice of words. "Until the time that you decide on whether or not Captain America still exists, he is not going to know your true identity. And neither is Peter. The boy has a looser mouth than his father," Mary muttered the last sentence, before looking back at Steve. "If there is going to be a problem with this new revelation that you've uncovered, then I want to hear about it now. I'll find you a new place to live, and I'll keep you out of Tony's way. If this is something you can deal with, and not say anything that would make things uncomfortable, then good, we never have to bring this up again."
Steve and Mary looked at each other, her clearly waiting for an answer. Steve licked his lips a little, really thinking about it. She had a point, Steve and Tony weren't going to be having any heart to hearts about Howard, and it was obvious that there were things that happened in Tony's life that Steve didn't know about. Again, not for a lack of trying on his part.
"I don't think that it would be convenient to move," Steve said, a little grudgingly. He didn't want to move away from Peter, because none of this was his fault. Mary nodded at him and took a couple steps back, and he could see when Agent Parker went back to being Mary.
"What I did was personal, and had nothing to do with SHIELD," Mary re-iterated, a bit softer and kinder this time. "People make mistakes, but I stand by my actions." Steve still held respect for her; at least she stood by her decisions. "Whatever your personal thoughts about Tony, as a Stark, are, are yours to keep and work out." Steve nodded. He had a lot of new thoughts about Tony.
"Perhaps there are some that you can answer, though," Steve wondered, looking at her.
"Let me start with some of the first ones that my own parents asked me." Mary shifted her balance to one hip. "No, Tony doesn't pay me off. No, I don't blackmail him to spend time with Peter. No, I'm not in love with Tony Stark, neither is he in love with me. No, he isn't going to leave us."
"How many times did they ask you those questions?" Steve asked her. He had been going to ask a couple of those questions.
"They still ask me those questions," Mary deadpanned. "My mother doesn't particularly like Tony, mostly because he got me pregnant after my husband died." Steve raised his eyebrows a little. "Long story short, I was grieving and wanted to get drunk, Tony just liked getting drunk, and one unfortunately alcohol addled night later, we never saw each other again until I went to tell him about Peter."
"So, when Tony was making the arrangements for your parents to come last week..." Steve asked without asking.
"He did that because he wanted to, and because my mother scares him a little." Mary smirked a little. "He let them stay at his place so he could get time with peter as well. It was nice, because it let Phil and I go out on an actual date without interruptions." Mary's phone went off with a text, and she grabbed it form her pocket. "And speaking of dates, I've got one I need to get ready for. Any other questions you have about Tony, are going to be things that you're going to have to ask him about."
"Without revealing who I am?" Steve raised an eyebrow. Didn't that kind of go against everything she had just scolded him about?"
"Not everything is related to Captain America, or Howard Stark, now is it?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him. "I trust that you have manners, and tact, enough to figure out a way to talk to him."
Steve hummed and nodded, watching Mary leave his apartment, closing the door quietly behind her. He still thought that Anthony Stark was selfish, but now he had to reconcile the thoughts he had about Stark and Tony into one person. The tough part was going to be not getting angry with him without clearing up Tony's actions with the man himself first.
"Sir, I have tracked down a secure contact," Jarvis said to Tony as the man worked on the new Mark VII armor. He wanted another suit where he wouldn't have to have a robotic station put the armor on, it would take too long in the heat of battle. The repairs to the Mark V suitcase armor had taken longer than he thought, but the Mark IV armor was completely out of date for his own comfort. The Mark VI armor was still operational, Tony liked having more than one backup.
Tony's head jerked up though at Jarvis's words. "Put the connection through now, J." Tony slid over to his computer station on the stool he was one, watching the screens pop up as Jarvis made the call. He watched the signals bounce across New York, then over seas, over the Atlantic, through the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and eventually over to India.
The static filled ringing ended, and Tony heard the click as the call connected, but no voice answered at first. Tony wasn't surprised. "What are you doing in Calcutta, Brucie-bear?"
There was a little bit more silence, before an answer. "Tony?"
"Were you expecting someone else? Should I be jealous?" Tony put on a pout, even though the man couldn't see him.
"We haven't talked in over five years," the man told him calmly. Tony could hear the background noise of people talking, and horns and cars. Seems he had still called during busy hour in India.
"Yeah, and I would take the blame on that, but not all my fault now is it?" Tony smirked a little at the exasperated sigh. "That's right, when my beloved Science Bro decides to go AWOL without telling me how to contact him, I decide to take only, mmmm, Twelve Percent of the blame."
"Twelve percent? How did you come up with that number?" Bruce Banner shouldn't have asked, he had known Tony for far too long to know better than that.
"Well, I'm not the one who turned into a giant Green Rage-"
"I get it," Bruce cut Tony off quickly.
"Hey, no one's listening in on this call," Tony assured him. "I had Jarvis make the call, and I've made some upgrades to my beloved since we've last talked."
"I can assure you, Dr Banner," Jarvis spoke up then, "that should anyone try to listen in on this call will only hear the very best of the band Milli Vanilli." Tony couldn't help but laugh at the AI's choice of music.
"I'm glad I'm the one getting this call, then," Bruce said, and Tony could practically hear the eye roll. "So, why am I getting this call?"
"If I were anyone else, I would be offended, Bruce," Tony said, putting a hand to his chest. "It would sound like you don't care about me." Bruce just let out a hum and Tony chuckled. "Well, I'd like to ask a personal favor."
"Tony Stark, asking me for a favor?" He had Bruce invested in the favor at least. "Alright, my curiosity is peeked, against better common sense."
"There's no room for common sense in science," Tony threw back jovially. He took a breath and let his serious tone take over. "I really need your help, here, Bruce." Tony pulled out a small silver device from his pocket. He placed his thumb over the little groove and a little needle shot out, taking a sample of his blood. "I think that I may be in over my head, and I'm running out of time." Tony sucked on his thumb and watched the small screen light up with results. "51% Toxicity"
"Running out of time?" Bruce parroted back, but there was a little bit of concern in his voice. "What's going on?"
"I'm sure even you heard about when I went missing in Afghanistan?" Tony didn't want to give a history lesson, but he had to know how much Bruce knew. It wasn't common knowledge that Stony had the arc reactor. He was very good at hiding it from anyone that might have taken pictures, muting the glow with specially designed patches under clothing.
"And then you declared yourself to be a superhero? Yes, that information made it out of the US." Oh good, Bruce knew the basics.
"Remember the giant arc reactor that Howard had built in the California HQ?" Tony had known Bruce since he was just a teen, first meeting him when he was an intern at Stark Industries.
"The one that blew up," Bruce stated, more than asked.
"Okay, well, that's what the Iron Man armor runs off of, Arc Reactor tech," Tony told him.
"That tech can work on something that small?" Bruce asked. The noise was dying down in the background, and Tony assumed that he was heading inside. "Does it charge like a battery?"
"Well, no, not exactly," Tony crinkled his noise a little. "I've miniaturized the arc reactor-"
"And it works?" Bruce was completely involved now. Tony had him hooked in the science department at least, even if it wasn't in his usually field of study.
"Oh, it work," Tony muttered. "It works so well, that's it killing me."
He could hear the frown in Bruce's voice. "It's killing you? How is it killing you? What's it running on? Are you getting radiation waves from it?" That would be Bruce's first guess, but Tony couldn't exactly be surprised from the man that had somehow managed to survive being bathed in Gamma Rays.
"Well, the arc reactor is running off of palladium, and it's implanted in my chest, and it's keeping me alive." Tony rushed everything out at once. "And I need your help trying to find a suitable replacement element."
"I'm not exactly the best person-"
"You're a physicist," Tony argued. "I'm an engineer. Really, I'm lucky to be alive since I've been handling this all by myself."
"You're a genius that could easily be a physicist if he tried," Bruce bounced back.
"You're a genius, too, welcome to the club." Tony leaned his elbows on the computer desk. "Please, Bruce?" He asked quietly. "I got,..." He paused, taking a slow breath. "I got people I don't want to leave behind, and I've been working on this for six months."
"If you've been working on it for six months and haven't gotten anywhere, what makes you think that I'll be able to figure it out?" Bruce was starting to crumble, Tony could feel it.
"Because you'll know what to look for right away, and we'll be working together?" Tony put on a little smile. "It'll be a Science Bros reunion, you and me."
"Last time I was there-"
"Yeah, I know, I heard all about it." Tony had donated to the clean up, and subsequently kept military eyes off of Bruce long enough for him to make his escape. Brice didn't need to know that though. "I can get you in without anyone seeing, and I've got a place for you to stay where no one will even suspect you to be."
"Aren't you in New York?" Bruce asked, hesitation and uncertainty in his voice.
"Yes, yes I am," Tony nodded. "In fact, I'm at the old Manor, so you already know that there's plenty of room for you here. J's got this place on lock down. So what do you say?"
Tony heard Bruce sigh. Heard him sigh about four times in fact. It took Bruce Banner exactly Three minutes and Twenty-Three seconds to make a decision. "Alright. I'll come as soon as I can."
February 2011
"As soon as I can" turned out to be nearly four months later. In that time, Tony managed to get the entire shell of Stark Tower built, and was working on the wiring of each floor as contractors finished putting in the walls. The Stark Expo had gotten enough presentations for the first four months when it opened, and as soon as the rest of the snow melted, crew would be out there cleaning up the Flushing Gardens space, preparing pavilions and booths, getting ready for a late Spring opening.
Tony spent Christmas Eve with Mary and Peter, and had flown Mary's parents back up for Christmas Day. Pepper had him booked for New Year's with doing press work for the Stark Expo, and dancing around what the Stark Tower was supposed to be. He promised that it be unveiled at the Stark Expo.
Surprisingly though, Tony hadn't had a lot of interaction with The Neighbor. Maybe because it was winter? Maybe because SHIELD was actually using the man for missions now? Tony wasn't sure, but he rarely saw him when picking up and or dropping of Peter now, and never saw him outside the apartment building either. When Tony mentioned the sidewalks and parking lot being cleared of snow, Mary had mentioned that Steve woke up early on those days to get the sidewalks for everyone, before continuing his crazy need to go for a morning run. Tony would deny it until he was blue in the face that he didn't spend any extra time thinking about The Neighbor. Good thing he stay in his lovely state of denial.
"You've got this on lock down?" Tony jumped at the sound of a new voice in his workshop, hitting his head on the chest piece of the Mark VII armor. He turned around, hand on his head, until he saw Bruce standing there, large hiking backpack on his shoulder, couple of duffle bags in his hands.
"Brucie-bear!" Tony grinned, running over to the man, hugging him, making the man uncomfortable with all the stuff he was still holding. "You've let your hair grow out, I like it."
"Finding a barber is less of a priority when you're traveling the world," Bruce said, smiling a little when Tony let go. "I do have half a mind to let you die to heavy metal poisoning now, though." Tony frowned at him, and Bruce raised an eyebrow. "The SHIELD Agent that picked me up?"
"Agent?" Now Tony was raising his eyebrow. Coulson was with Mary today, and he had sent Natalie to go pick up Bruce. No one knew that Bruce was even coming except for him and Jarvis.
"The red head." Tony's face dropped, and now Bruce's eyebrows went up. "You didn't know she was SHIELD?"
Tony took a deep steadying breath, before clenching his jaw, anger burning through his body more than the palladium did. "Jarvis," Tony growled a little, heading over to his computer. "Get Mary on the phone, now." Bruce put his bags down by the door, deciding to walk around Tony's workshop while he talked to whoever he had to.
The phone rang through the workshop until Mary picked up. "Tony?"
"Lucy, you've got some 'spalinin to do," Tony growled out a little.
"What are you talking about?" Mary sounded confused, and Tony tried not to snort.
"The stunning, yet deadly, SHIELD Agent that's been acting as my PA?" Tony should have been more suspicious when the PA took down happy in the boxing ring barely paying any attention. "I'm kind of impressed that you guys managed to work her in for so long without me noticing. They couldn't just have asked you to report back to them?"
"I wouldn't have done that to you, Tony," Mary said, and Bruce looked over at him. It had been a while since anyone other than Pepper called Tony with such familiarity. "I try not to bring my work home with me, and I've made it clear that I won't do any missions where you're involved without your knowledge."
"So, you had no idea about this Natalie? I assume that isn't her real name," Tony snorted a little. "She's fired, by the way."
"I didn't assign her, but I'm pretty sure you can't fire her right now," Mary said, with a roll of her eyes. "She's working with Pepper, as well."
"All the more reason to get her out." Tony rubbed his face with his hands. "I'm not part of one SHIELD's missions, Mary! And I don't want SHIELD getting involved in stuff they shouldn't know about!"
Tony could hear her frown as she responded. "And what are you doing that you don't want them to know about? Is it something that you don't want me to know about? Do I need to be concerned, again?"
"I'm trying to work on the arc reactor." Tony's fingers started to drum against the desk in annoyance. "But the way I work on it needs to be my way, and I won't have SHIELD in my business if I don't want them, too."
"Tony, I can't understand your anger if you don't tell me what's wrong." Tony hated when she spoke calmly, like when she was speaking to an upset Peter. He hated it because it worked sometimes. "How did you find out the plant?"
"Because someone else told me, and don't I feel like the fool now." Tony blew out some breath. "You swear you didn't assign her to me?"
"I told you, I'm not involved that anything that might have to do with you, unless you're directly involved as well. It just doesn't seem right." He heard Mary give a little sigh and he nodded. "I'll see what I can do."
"Get her assigned to Pepper if you can't get her reassigned, but tell them I no longer need a PA." Tony walked away from the computer station, over to where Bruce was inspecting the different Iron Man armors on display. He punched in a code and the glass lifted up from all the spots to let him get closer. "speaking of missions, is your Neighbor taking more missions now? Haven't seen him in a while."
"Do you really want to ask me that, Tony?" She asked a little coyly, and Tony instantly started to shake his head.
"Nope, in fact, forget I mentioned it." Bruce raised an amused eyebrow at him.
"So, do I have to act as your PA for now?" Mary asked, unaware that Tony was narrowing his eyes at the older scientist as Banner smirked. "Not that Jarvis doesn't already share your calendar with me."
"Is there something that I'm going to miss?" Tony asked her, looking away from Bruce.
"You haven't forgotten Friday night, have you?" She asked. Jarvis brought up a small calendar in front of Tony, but he swiped it away before Bruce could look at it.
"Nope, I sure haven't," Tony responded quickly. "I'll be there in blue, and bells. Well, maybe not bells, I don't wanna steal the show."
"I'm glad that you're able to learn this lesson for one night," Bruce whispered, and Tony wished he were closer so he could elbow him.
"I'll be sure to remind you, just in case," Mary continued, not having heard Bruce.
"Sounds like a plan. Now, go do Agent-y things, with Agent, and get SHIELD off my back. Bye." He made a motion and Jarvis cut the call. Bruce was smiling at him, the fact that SHIELD probably knew where he was now mostly forgotten.
"Tony Stark, have you settled down?" Bruce asked, and Tony launched himself for a trash can, pretending to wretch.
"Gross, Banner, how could you even suggest that?" Tony stood back up, leaning against a table. "No, that is not a girlfriend, a wife, fiance, any of that stuff. She's a friend."
"Sounds like a pretty close friend," Bruce commented, walking around the workshop again, headed towards Tony's computers. "Like a female Rhodey. How is Rhodey?"
"Practicing in one of my Iron Man suits, probably." Tony brushed off the Mark IV armor a little before closing the glass doors again. "Had to make a deal with the military before they broke down the doors. But, only Rhodey can use the suit, so I feel moderately okay about that."
"Is this Mary?" Tony's head whipped around and he saw Bruce holding up a picture. It was a picture of the three of them on the roof on the Fourth of July, fireworks behind them. "Cause, if this isn't settled down, then apparently I have the wrong idea."
Tony groaned a little. "Well, there goes the surprise." He rubbed his face a little and walked over to Bruce. "Yeah, that's Mary there, but we're not a thing. Like I said, we're friends, who also happen to be co-parents?" Bruce raised his eyebrows, again, at Tony. "That's our son, Peter. He turned six last October."
Bruce studied Tony for a few moments, and he shuffled his foot a little. "I can see it, that's what's changed since last we spoke. You've taken on the responsibility of fatherhood."
"Ugh, that makes me sound so, domestic." Tony moved his mouth, sticking his tongue out like there was something on it. "that's such an ugly word."
"You keep a picture of your kid at your desk, Tony," Bruce said, looking at him over his glasses. "You've got it bad, you've got fatherhood."
"Well, you've discovered my secret," Tony said, nodding like it all made sense. He let out a little sigh, letting a warm smile curve on his lips. "That's my kid, and he's sharp as a whip, let me tell you. He's already in third grade, going for my record, but he doesn't want to skip anymore grades. He's got good friends, and would you believe it, he's well-behaved. Does his chores and everything."
Bruce smiled at Tony, watching him go on about Peter. Tony stopped and looked at the other scientist. "What?"
"When we spoke, you said you had people." Bruce held up the picture a little. "You mean, your son, you wanted help, so you can be around for your son."
Tony bit his bottom lip a little and nodded. "Yeah, I mean," Tony sighed. "Yeah." He lifted up his t-shirt to show Bruce what was going on on his chest. Bruce entered Scientist mode and leaned in, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "These didn't start until last spring, and I've been able to hold off some the spread-"
"Chlorophyll?" Bruce asked automatically, and Tony nodded.
"But I'm really pushing how much I need to drink." Tony and Jarvis had raised the dose again last week, but Tony was starting to get more headaches, and getting dizzy again. "Jarvis, bring up the work we've already done. Show Bruce the elemental test we've already done."
"Of course, Sir." Blue holographic screens popped up behind the computers and Bruce walked over to study the notes.
"SHIELD brought over some of Howard's old stuff, and I've been slowly going through that." Tony motioned over to the crates in the back of the workshop, one of them not opened. "Apparently he was a founding member of SHIELD, so there's that."
"Do you think there's going to be something in there that might be able to help?" Bruce asked, moving over to the next screen, going over the combinations that had failed as suitable replacements for palladium.
"Well, there's a note in there from the Director, Fury. Says that Howard thought I was the only one with the means and know-how to finish what he started." Tony wrinkled his nose a little, thinking about the note.
"To finish what?" Bruce looked over, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"I don't know, I'm assuming the arc reactor technology." Tony shrugged. He hated spies being spies, never just saying what they were thinking. "I haven't been able to pull anything from his notebooks, though, nothing that I didn't already know."
"We should go through the rest of it, then," Bruce said as he walked over to the crates.
"You just want to jump right into work?" Tony said, watching the man. "You don't want anything to eat? For me to show you where your room is?"
"You'll show me later, anyway," the older man said with a shrug. "And all I need is some tea right now, and I'll be good for a few more hours."
"Is tea how you keep the big guy down?" Tony smirked when Bruce looked over at him. "I always thought it was a big bag of weed."
"I'm not going to help you if you try to get the other guy to come out." Tony smiled, but made a motion of zipping his lips. "And when this is all over, I wanna meet your kid."
"I thought you'd never ask!" Tony smiled. "I get to pick him up from school today, and he'll be eating dinner here. I can't wait to introduce him to Uncle Bruce."
"Uncle Bruce?" Bruce raised an eyebrow. "We haven't seen each other in five years."
"And?" Tony walked over and helped Bruce take the top off the unopened crate. "Uncle Bruce, I do believe that we have work to do."
Bruce looked through the crate and pulled out a couple of old film reels. "At least we'll have entertainment while we do it."
"You say entertainment," Tony said looking at the film reels, "and I'm thinking childhood memories."
"Never know until we look. Jarvis, where is a projector we can use?" Bruce asked, putting the film reels on a chair nearby.
"If you'll follow the lights in the ceiling, I can direct you to one, Dr Banner." A couple of the lights above the lab door started to flash, and Bruce followed them. Tony watched him go, and flopped down into one of the chairs by the crate. He closed his eyes and took a breath. He had been beginning to lose hope that Bruce would ever be able to make it, and that if he did he would be too late. There was still that possibility, but Tony wasn't going to give up yet, not just yet.
Tony had pulled out a few more personal notebooks of Howard's, and was flipping through them, looking at random equations, drawings of a cube, when Bruce returned with a film projector. It was set up, and within fifteen minutes they were watching a old reel of the Stark Expo. Maybe Tony could use this, drum up the public support. He'd use the complete version of course, but he could use this stuff.
Both men were barely paying attention when it happened. "Tony?" Tony's head whipped up at Howard's voice. "You're too young to understand this right now, so I thought I would put it on film for you." Tony frowned, leaned forward in his seat a little, vaguely aware of Bruce doing the same besides him. "I built this, for you." On film, his dad motioned towards the model of what was now the Stark Expo. "And someday you'll realize that it represents a whole lot more than just people's inventions. It represent my life's work. This is the key to the future." Was his dad really trying to tell him that the Stark Expo was the legacy he wanted Tony to live up, too? "I'm limited by the technology of my time, but one day you'll figure this out. And when you do, you will change the world. What is, and always will be, my greatest creation, is you."
Tony took a slow breath as the film reel ran out of tape. He slumped back against his chair, warring with the thoughts, and heaven forbid, feelings inside of him from the film. "What the hell was that supposed to mean?" Tony breathed out, throwing the journal in his hand onto a table. "Was that supposed to help, because-"
"Sir, if you are to pick up Young Master on time, I would suggest leaving soon," Jarvis interrupted Tony's incoming tirade. Bruce was silently grateful, and he thought that maybe the AI knew what was coming. Tony blew out a breath through his mouth and nodded.
"You wanna stay here, or go with?" Tony asked Bruce as he got up from his chair.
"I'll stay here, go through some more stuff. I'm thinking it's probably not a good idea for me to be showing my face a lot right now, anyway," Bruce said as he cleaned his glasses.
"I'll be back with the little tyke. You're gonna love him," Tony said, the thought of Peter enough to make him start grinning.
"I'm sure I will," Bruce said chuckling. "Go on, don't be late to get your kid." Tony gave Bruce a mock salute and hurried out of the workshop.
It didn't take Peter long to warm up to Bruce, both of their shy natures recognizing each other, and then being combined with Tony's outgoing nature. They were working on dinner together in no time, the six-year-old asking Bruce all the questions in the world. Tony grinned, watching them, letting Bruce make something that he picked up from his world travels, the world travels that had encompassed Peter's attention.
Tony took the distraction to quietly slip away, and back down to the workshop. He locked the door, frosting the glass, and walking towards the back, taking a seat in one of the leather chairs. "Jarvis, set a recording, please." A screen popped up in front of him, showing him recording options, and an image of himself.
"So, it's the end of February, Twenty Eleven, but I'm sure that Jarvis will have marked that in the file. This is, kind of a last minute decision, and since I'm basically talking to myself down here, it's kind of weird, and irking me out a little." Tony gave a little chuckled, looking down at his hands. "It's easier with an audience, because all you have to do shower them with pretty words, shiny things, and put on a show, but that's not what I'm doing down here." Tony looked up at the screen. "Right now, you're six, Peter, and you're upstairs with who I hope becomes one of your favorite Uncles, right next to Rhodey, Uncle Bruce. He's a Science Bro, and he'll be able to teach you so much more than I could, or can, depends on how this goes. I've been down here int he workshop going through some my Dad's old stuff, and for once he touched on an idea that could have possibly meant more, but I'm gonna take his idea. Recording myself, all the things that I hope I've said to you, and all the things that I might not have been able to say to you, hopefully yet."
Tony took a breath and sat up a little straighter. "If you ever internet search me, I'm gonna prepare you for what you're going to find. I'm sure there are going to be a lot of people who will try to tell you all about me as well, you know, when the press finds out about you. I did not make a lot of friends in my time. And the whole press thing? Your Mama and I thought it would be best if no one outside of our friends and family knew about you, because you're too young to get pestered by nosey assholes. Sorry if it made things worse when the eventual reveal happens. I've got Pepper updating my will to put you and your Mama in it, so, it's eventually going to happen."
"Sir, you've gotten off track," Jarvis gently reminded him.
"Thanks, J, whatever would I do with out you?" Tony smiled a little. "Jarvis is going to be your greatest asset, Petey, mark my words. Anyway, yeah, so when I was younger I didn't exactly make the best of choices, and I just want you to avoid making those same mistakes. I made my choices because of how I grew up, and I've tried to make it so that you didn't go through that, so this could be a warning track for absolutely nothing. I wanted to rebel, so I did a lot of, er, questionable things. Drinking, a few drugs, and just don't, don't even try that stuff, it is not worth it, trust me. And yeah, I slept around a lot, but I like to think that I wasn't an asshole about it. I don't remember a lot of it.
"Oh, but let you me tell you, the day I'll remember most, was when your Mama brought you to me, came and said, 'Hey, we have a son together.' I'll admit, at first I was ready to throw some money at her, but then she pulled this tricky spy move, and suddenly there's a baby Peter in my arms, and your hand was on mine, and that little adult voice inside of me woke up and pointed out that I would be a fool to not be around. The first two years I didn't change too much, at least I don't think so, but your Aunt and Uncles might say different. But then, some bad guys got me, taking advantage of my naivety, and I got this," Tony tapped the arc reactor in his chest. "For some reason, you like this, and you're the only one who can touch it. Anyone else gets near it, I freeze up, get panicky, want to lash out, but not you. I feel calm when your little hand rests over it." Tony let out a breath, leaning back in the chair.
"I wish I could have spent more time with you," Tony said, looking down a little. "Wish I would have thought more about it when I announced I was Iron Man, but who knows if it would have made a difference. Every time I did something though, I drew attention to myself, and I ended up hurting you. I couldn't come and see you, had to wait for everything to die down, and I hated that. "You lived with your Mama, and she did all the hard work. Go easy on her as you grow up, she's an amazing person, one of the best friends that I've ever known, and the best mother I've ever seen. "Wish I could have taught your more, held you more, told you I loved you more. I'm still a selfish man, and sometimes I still think of myself. I'm really not a good role model, but I tried to change enough."
Tony's fingers tapped against the arc reactor and he stared off to the side for a second. "If you're watching this, and I'm not somewhere still around, then, I'm sorry." He looked back over at the screen, and he tried to ignore that his eyes looked a little shinier. "I'm sorry if it was the palladium, sorry that I didn't ask for help sooner, sorry that I didn't tell someone sooner. I'm sorry if I put myself in front of danger, again, but I have a weird sense of, well, no self-preservation that's still hard to push past. I just want to make things perfect for you, for you to not inherit my enemies, to be safe even if I'm not around. But, if you're watching this, and I'm around, probably down in the workshop, depending on how old your are, I give you full permission to go find me, and smack me. Cause seriously, I should have told someone for all the times I was dying, especially right now."
"Daddy! Come get food!" Peter's voice called through the hallway to the workshop, and Tony smiled.
"That's you, obviously. Listen to how cute you sound. But seriously, if I'm not around, listen to your Mama, and your Aunts and Uncles, and your Grandparents, and the Neighbor. Ugh, I can't even say his name now, but he's not exactly talking to me right now. That's if you still see him around, cause I'm sure you won't be spending forever in that apartment." Tony let out a little snort. "No, you'll get this house, the Manor, and the house in Malibu. Talk to your Mama, she'll know what to do, but you'll be able to do whatever you want with the houses. Pepper will take care of the company, so you don't have to worry about that." Peter started to knock at the door. "I love you Peter, so much, and I hope you never doubted that, not for a second." Tony gave one last smile before he stopped the recording and got up. "Save that tot he private server, Jarvis."
"Of course, Sir." Tony smiled a little at Jarvis' voice, and went over, opening the door, catching an arm full of little boy.
"Come on, Daddy," Peter grinned at him. "It's time to eat."
"Alright, let's go." Tony smiled at him, smothering his face in messy kisses, making the little boy squeal and giggle.