Tony was seven when he found out that he hadn't made the metal arm up. The Soldier is still confused about Tony.
Tony was walking home from school because his parents had forgotten to pick him up. Or rather they forgot to send Jarvis to do it.
It was the third time this week already and it was only Thursday so one more day to go and since it was winter so it was already dark and Tony was shivering from the cold. He was not clothed for a forty minute walk.
He knew that the other seven-year-olds from his class were always picked up, even when they had a five minute walk home and sometimes it bothered him that he was the only one who got forgotten. He had mentioned it once to his parents and both had scolded him for being stupid. They were busy people and couldn't be expected to always have time for him. He never brought it up again after that.
Before Tony had started to walk home he had tried to call his parents from a phone at school but no one picked up. He had hoped that maybe they could at least send Jarvis but since no one answered his call that wasn't going to happen. The teachers were reluctant to let him go but Tony persuaded them in the end. He could be very convincing if he wanted to be.
Since he would probably be late for dinner anyway he didn't really rush home; there would be consequences either way although this was really not his fault. Tony had learned early on that his father only looked for the blame in others.
He was lost in thoughts, walking past a dark alley when he heard a muffled sound and the screeching sound of metal that rubbed against each other.
It was the metal sound that got Tony to stop and he peeked in the alley. "Hello?" he hesitantly asked and a person in black whirled around, a knife in his hands but Tony didn't pay attention to that. His gaze was locked on the gleaming metal arm the man had.
His feet moved him closer to the man before he could think about it and the man rushed forward and put his knife at Tony's throat.
Tony was only seven but he had been abducted enough times to know when to panic and fear for his life and when to remain calm. This was definitely not the time to panic because that would only make this man snap but it was the time to fear for his life.
And Tony did but when he got a close look at the arm he kind of forgot to be afraid or that there even was a knife at his throat.
He extended a hand towards the metal which was met with a growl but it didn't stop him. "I know this arm" Tony said and carefully moved his fingertips over the metal plates. "I dreamt about this arm but I thought I made it up. But it's just the same" Tony continued and the man whipped the knife away from his throat.
When he stepped back Tony could see that the man was looking him up and down and then he groaned in pain as he put a hand to his head.
"Are you hurt?" Tony asked but then a muffled voice said "You're… you're the boy." It sounded astonished and confused like the man couldn't believe he remembered Tony.
Tony realized only now that the man was wearing a mask over his mouth and nose, he wondered how he could talk with this, and that was somehow more interesting than the fact that the man seemed to know him.
"Why are you wearing this mask? That can't feel good. How do you eat?" Tony asked and pointed at the man's face.
The man didn't answer but he did put his knife away and Tony smiled. He had never gotten out of a bad situation this quickly.
"Can I see?" he asked and pointed at the arm. The man moved away from him, shielding the arm, but Tony saw that it hadn't changed its position and the screeching was back. "Is it stuck? Can you move your fingers? Want me to take a look?" Tony asked in quick succession and already grabbed his bag to get his tools out.
His father gave them to him on his fifth birthday with the words "You have to learn, so you might as well start now. But don't get in my way." Despite the harshness of the words Tony had been delighted. He wasn't allowed in his father's workshop but there were enough electrical things around the house that he didn't get bored.
He's been yelled at a lot after that gift because while he was able to open things up and take them apart he didn't always put them back together in the right way. Once he had opened them up they seemed boring and lacking and he always found a way to alter the original form of them, much to his father's dismay. Jarvis had helped him hide a few things more than once but his father somehow always found out, of course, and after the yelling stopped, he began to shove things in Tony's hands.
He declared it were things he couldn't use anymore and Tony should stick to them instead of changing everything else and Tony had been thrilled. He wondered about the fact that his father took the gadgets back once Tony was done with them but since they never reappeared after that Tony soon forgot about them.
By now he was able to improve almost everything he laid hands on and even though his father still wasn't happy with his work Tony kept continuing. Even at this age Tony was immensely proud of his abilities even if no one else was.
So he got his tools out and he was fairly certain that he could help the man.
The man hadn't moved and he was still eying Tony warily. "Let me take a look? If it's just the metal I can fix it. Maybe" Tony said and eyed the part of the arm that he could see. It seemed very complex, more advanced than anything he had worked with so far, but if the damage was on the outside he was sure he could do it. The hardware was never a problem for him.
The man relaxed slightly when Tony spoke but he didn't react otherwise. "If you let me look at it I can help" Tony said again and the man shook his head.
"It'll hurt" the man said and turned away from Tony, obviously ready to leave.
"Don't" Tony rushed out and clutched the leg of the man. "It won't. I will just take a look."
The man stopped and picked Tony off his leg.
"Please?" Tony asked as he was sat down again and his fingers itched to touch the arm. The man sighed and mumbled something that Tony could barely make out behind the mask but he was sure he heard the word 'again'.
"Fine" the man roughly said and crouched down so that the arm was at eye level with Tony. It screeched again because it didn't move like it should and Tony gently touched it.
The man still flinched the moment his hands made contact and Tony removed his hands. "It will not hurt. Pinkie promise" he said and held his pinkie finger up. The man looked at him and didn't move and so Tony explained: "You have to give me your pinkie so that the promise is made."
The man still didn't move and Tony sighed. "Okay, then don't" he pouted. "But it still won't hurt."
He concentrated back on the arm and extended his hands again. The man jerked the arm away from him again and Tony was startled but he tried not to show it. That had been one of the lessons: never show your uneasiness. Instead he patted the man's knee and mumbled some nonsense like his mom sometimes did with the dogs when they were frightened.
It seemed to work because when Tony reached for the arm again the man held still. He still seemed guarded but at least he allowed the touch.
Tony gently moved the arm as much as he could without making it screech again and realized that two plates were displaced and they were the reason the arm couldn't be used correctly.
"I can fix that" Tony told the man and pointed at the plates. "Then you can move it again."
The man watched him for a minute and Tony fidgeted. This was too much attention on him; he had learned that drawing the attention of someone was not a good thing.
"Do it" the man eventually said and Tony scrambled to get his tools, relieved to finally escape the scrutinizing look.
He set to work and chattered away about his day and school and what he had learned today and how mean the other kids sometimes where to him because he was too smart and he told the man about Jarvis and his mother and the watchdogs they currently owned and it all seemed to distract the man.
It took Tony some time to move the plates back to their original place because he wasn't quite strong enough but eventually he managed it.
When they clicked back into place the man flinched again and Tony quickly said "I'm done. Move it?"
The man's eyes narrowed but he did what Tony had asked and the arm moved smoothly again. "See. I said I could do it."
The man stood up and made some more movements with the arm to check the movability before he looked down at Tony again.
"You have to go now."
Tony solemnly packed up his tools, trying hard to not let the disappointment show on his face. He was used to the way his father never thanked him or approved of his work but he had thought that the man would at least say thank you. He stuffed his tool kit back into his bag and then stood up.
"Someone should look at it" he said and pointed at the arm.
"You did" the man said and even through the mask Tony could tell that he was confused.
"Someone who knows stuff. Who can properly repair it. There is most likely some damage on the inside. That needs to be repaired too."
"But you did" the man said again and Tony felt strangely warm. The man thought that he had repaired it and Tony beamed up at him.
"Don't get it stuck again then" he said and put his bag back on. "I don't want anyone else to work on it" Tony said with all the possessiveness a seven-year-old could muster.
The man nodded but before Tony could turn around to finally walk home the man grabbed his shoulder and held him back. "You cannot tell anyone."
He didn't elaborate but Tony was sure that the man wasn't only talking about the arm. Tony nodded nonetheless.
He hadn't planned on telling anyone anyhow. First of all because he wanted that arm and if he told anyone they would come and probably take it away from him and then because he had no one to tell.
His parents wouldn't be interested in listening to him, particularly not now, after he would be late, and Jarvis would listen to him but he often enough thought that Tony just made up another story. He would never believe this. Especially not after Tony had ranted on and on about the arm he kept dreaming about.
So Tony nodded and said "It's like a game, right?" The man looked startled at that but he eventually agreed.
"I promise not to tell anyone if you promise to bring the arm back again sometime."
Tony didn't wait to see the reaction of the man to that and instead walked away. He smiled faintly because he knew that for the first time since he learned how to use his tools he had helped someone.
When he looked at his watch though, he yelped and lost the smile. Now he would definitely be late for dinner.
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing this.
If you spot something funny please do tell.