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Rose Hill, Tennessee
Okay, so, really?
Totally not Harley's fault.
He'd just been going through the motions, trying to get through another pointless school day without any self inflicted incidents--as his uncaring, non understanding and never home mother so fondly called them--when his bully since the first grade swaggered up to him, jabbing Harley hard in the chest. And if Harley's hands tightened around the Iron Man hand in his pocket, working repulsor and all, the bully didn't notice.
The bully's name was Andrew "Drew" Madison.
Somehow, Drew kept ending up in classes with Harley. They were still made to walk in line sometimes, and since there were no K's--or none that were brave enough to stand up to Drew--Harley was constantly harassed by Drew through most of his elementary school years. After third grade, when Harley couldn't take it anymore and started fighting back, the school seemed convinced that everything was Harley's fault, nevermind that dozens of kids were bullied by Drew every hour on the hour. Maybe it was because Drew's dad, rich and into business and always traveling, was always sending money to the school. It just goes to show that money does infact, contrary to popular belief, get you everywhere and anywhere in life. Too bad Harley's mom was barely making the middle class requirements. Working several jobs and almost never being home? Yeah, that's the life.
Harley sighs. He's just not in the mood. Ever since the attack, his temper hadn't been as controllable as before. It's only been a week since Tony--The Mechanic--was in town, and then it was another week until schools reopened. The parents of Tennessee were not happy about sending their kids back to school the day after an attack on the town, so the town had to agree on two weeks, which was actually a good time period, considering that the roads were destroyed and buildings and power and running water was slowly but surely getting back up. Hey, it's not everyday your town is attacked by people who breathed fire and exploded. It's not something you can just move on from. And Harley's still hung up on Tony leaving. He understands, of course, because his mom would freak if she finally came home one day to realize that Harley wasn't there and was instead being killed wherever the hell Tony went to fight the bad guys. But that didn't mean Harley couldn't be bitter about it. Tony was the closest thing he had to a father in those few days, and it was surprisingly easy to slip into the routine of father and son bonding, even though, although famous, Tony was a stranger. His mom hadn't believed him when he said that Tony freaking Stark was like his adopted father and that, no, he hadn't stolen any of this technology from someone. Who could he have stolen it from? It's not like the people in Rose Hill, Tennessee were rolling in enough cash to buy all these Stark Industries products. (After serious arguing, and Harley reminding his mom that maybe if she was home more he wouldn't be like this, Harley got to stash the stuff safely in his room and continue being a nerd.)
"What, Drew?" Harley asked. "Can we just get this over with so I can go home?"
"I don't think so, Keener," Drew snapped in his nasal voice. Harley almost puked when spit flew from Drew's mouth and landed on his cheek. Harley struggled to keep his cool. "What are you gonna do? It's not like you have a rich daddy to protect you, loser!" Drew cackled at Harley's pained expression, knowing he hit a spot. "Oh, wait! You don't have a daddy at all! Well, Keener, what are you gonna do? Gonna go home and cry yourself to sleep? You can't cry to your mom because she's too busy working her ass off to keep that shithole you call a house. It's not like you're gonna be any better than the rest of us, kid, just because you're good at math and science. Where are you gonna go, huh? No one's gonna want a dirty, poor kid from the back part of Tennessee. No one wants you. Your mama don't want ya, and neither did ya daddy."
Drew was on a roll. Tears streamed down Harley's face, the first time he'd cried since first grade during his encounters with Drew, and his vision blurred a bit, but he could still see the crowd of students around them, laughing and frowning and bouncing in excitement, ready to see a fight.
"I heard ya mama talking about how you said Tony Stark was your friend. You so desperate to have a life that you make up stories, faggot? Hm? You're stupid, thinking someone like Tony Stark would waste his time on you---"
At the dreaded f word, Harley ripped his hand out of his pocket, slapped the Iron Man glove on his wrist, pointed it at Drew, and fired, hitting the little shit dead in his chest. He heard people scream, scatter around him, calling for teachers. He knew there were cameras in the hallway. But he didn't care. He kept firing, enjoying the way Drew screamed, clothes charring as they caught on fire, begging Harley to stop.
"You want me to stop?" Harley smiled, incredulous. "Since the first grade, you've made my life hell, and now...now that I can return the favor, you want me to stop? Have mercy?" He's yelling now, hoisting Drew up and slamming him against the wall. "You think you're so great, just because your dad gives money to the school? Well, let me tell you, you stupid, ugly, fat, sorry excuse for a human being, you aren't jack shit!"
"Harley!" Drew sobbed. "Please, lemme go man, come on. I was just playing."
"Oh," Harley nodded slowly, letting Drew drop to the ground, bleeding and burnt and crying. "For five years, you were just playing? That's cute." Harley was halfway down the hall, ready to escape the oncoming hoard of teachers running for him. "Oh, Drew?" He smirked. "Call me a faggot again, and I'll cut your heart out."
Harley walked out the door.
He was halfway home when he was intercepted. He didn't even try to fight it as his mom screamed from the sidelines, being held back by neighbors, as he was handcuffed, checked for other weapons, and shoved in a car that wasn't police, but actually the FBI and some agency called SHIELD.
When Tony gets a phone call from Tennessee, he knows who it is. What he doesn't know is what to expect. When he answers it, ignoring Pepper's evil eye and the pissed off looks from the board members around him, Tony knows right away that it's not just some silly checking in call. It's an actual emergency.
"What happened?" Tony says slowly, dangerously. "Harley, what did you do?"
"I....I didn't mean to put him in the hospital."
"Where are you?"
"I don't know. Some people from an agency called SHIELD came and got me, saying I got one phone call, that I couldn't see my mom, and that I had to be blindfolded because they didn't want me to know their location."
"Fucking hell, Harley," Tony yelled, startling Pepper and the others. He shrugs off her hand and stomps to the window, pressing a button on his phone that calls his suit. He opens the window and jumps out. He hears Pepper scream, but he doesn't worry. He's not even halfway down before the suit catches him. "I'm tracking the phone. You wanna explain to me what happened?"
"Can I tell you when you get here? Some guy Coulson is about to come in here, saying I shouldn't be contacting you--" The line went dead. Tony swore.
Tony adored the kid. Really, he did. But really? It was hard enough making sure no one, and he meant no one, not even Pepper, knew about Harley, but now SHIELD knew? The kid was a genius, but pretty soon, Fury would realize that whatever technology he was using probably came from his friend Tony Stark, and then everything would burst into flames.
"JARVIS," Tony said. "Connect me to all news reports that involve Harley."
JARVIS doesn't respond, instead showing and giving Tony an ear and eyeful of people, excitedly yelling and standing outside a building that was without a doubt where Harley was as they gave different versions on what happened.
"Harley Keener, a young twelve year old boy from Rose Hill, Tennessee, was reported to have pulled out a gauntlet from his pocket that was immediately recognized as a piece from the Iron man suit! How he got this is unknown. His mother was even more surprised to......"
"Today, Rose Hill, Tennessee was given quite the shock when the preteen Harley Keener viciously attacked a student, Drew Madison, with Iron Man technology...."
"Drew Madison is currently in the hospital, being treated for his third degree burns, concussion, broken leg...."
"No, but the real question is: How did Harley rebuild a piece from Tony Stark's Iron Man? From what I could understand, not even the best of scientists had been able to recreate even a sliver of what Mr. Stark has made..."
"Harley is currently being held in police custody in Baltimore, Maryland. We wonder if Tony Stark will show up!"
"Other Avengers, concerned, have shown up! Here we see Hawkeye, Black Widow, Thor, and Captain America enter the building. They have grudgingly informed us that Bruce Banner's Hulk was already inside, wanting to talk to Harley first hand, since Bruce is a close friend of Tony....."
Tony groaned. It was worse than he imagined. Not only had Harley attacked someone, he used the tech Tony gave him, tech that directly made people point his fingers at him. The reporters were right, though. Not even the best engineers had been able to copy his suit. Harley could, if given the right materials and if not repressed to living in a backwater town where people instantly hated you if you so much as showed an ounce of being better than them. Tony gunned it. He could recharge at the place anyway.
After he finished tearing Harley a new one.
Yeah, so...about tearing Harley a new one? Tony wasn't sure that would work.
Reason number one was the reporters. When Tony landed, and stalked up to the building, he'd been swarmed by the press, shoving cameras and microphones at his mask and screaming, "Tony! Tony! Do you know Harley Keener!" Boy, did he. "Do you know why he has your tech?" Uh, yeah...about that. "What are you going to do about it?" That was a really good question. After giving silent answers to those questions, he knew he couldn't really just let the kid take the fall for this. Harley had helped Tony back when Killian was being a douche and when Pepper was in danger, and in the midst of it all, Harley treated him just like he treated everyone else. Like shit. But with a bit more sloppily hidden awe under his wavering mask of indifference. The kid wanted to be an engineer and meeting the world's best had basically given him a pre-teen's version of an orgasm.
Reason number two happened when Tony finally managed to get the suit off and climb into the elevator and meet the rest of the team and Fury and a surprisingly alive Phil Coulson in a very large room with a long table and chairs. Tony had just stepped through the door when Harley flew out of his chair and wrapped himself around Tony's middle as tightly as humanly possible, cutting off Tony's circulation and staining Tony's designer shirt with salt water. Tony didn't care though. He couldn't, not when he looked down and Harley looked up and stared at Tony with those big, blue, innocent eyes and Tony felt his entire world shatter all over again in a not so good way.
He heard Fury and Coulson sigh heavily, probably because they knew Tony was a goner and couldn't count on him to actually discipline the little shit who was still managed to look innocent and adorable.
Tony led Harley over to the table and helped him sit down. But as soon as Tony sat down, Harley was all over Tony again, sitting in his lap and burying his face into the place where his arc reactor was.
"I thought you said you were gonna remove it," Harley says shakily, sniffing. "Said it caused you pain."
"Yeah, well," Tony sighs. "You and my CEO didn't want me to take the chance on a surgery that had an equal chance of not working. You both said I had shitty luck. I couldn't argue with that logic."
"Can we get back to the problem at hand?" Fury barks. "Stark, is this your kid?"
"How come I didn't know you had a kid?" Natasha demanded, obviously more than put out that her time spying on Tony was somewhat worthless because she had missed this one very important piece of information.
"It's called keeping secrets, Natashalie, thanks," Tony snaps. "And it's none of your business anyway. But, yeah," Tony sighed, running a hand over his face. "This is my kid."
"Don't sound so disappointed," Harley whined. "You know you love me."
"Eh," Tony replies.
Fury grinds his teeth and slams a hand down on the table. He's just not in the mood. SHIELD---well, what was left of it---was having a really hard time lately. All these national crisis seemed to happen at the same time: Thor fighting the Dark Elves and saving the universe and almost dying, Iron Man fighting Extremis and almost dying, Captain America and Black Widow bringing down SHIELD and Cap almost dying. The only two people who managed to keep their heads down were Bruce and Clint, but that was just a stroke of luck on both of their parts, since Bruce was camping out in the basements of Stark Tower, cut off from the world, and Clint was still trying to get over being Loki's mind bitch. All those crisis happened right after each other, causing loads of unnecessary stress on Fury's part. And the team was angry with him, especially Clint and Natasha, since they found out Phil was alive and not, you know, dead from a bloody chest wound. In Fury's not so perfect defense, he just wanted to save the world. For the Avengers, that reasoning simply wasn't good enough.
Coulson stepped forward.
"Stark," he said slowly. "How old is he?"
"For an intelligence agency," Harley said, fully recovered and now out of Tony's lap but still sitting inches away in his own chair, "you guys are pretty fucking stupid. I'm twelve, turning thirteen soon."
"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Fury barked. "Now people think Iron Man gives away his tech willy nilly!"
Clint, still trying to decide if he actually just heard Fury say the words willy nilly, said, "I don't see why we have to be here. What, the not so more Avengers are gonna discipline him? He's Stark's kid."
"Stark won't punish him," Steve snorts.
Harley whips his head around and gives Steve a glare so cold Steve gets a flashback of going underwater in the plane. Harley doesn't like him, Captain America or not. For a national icon, this guy was a dick. "I don't like you," Harley states. "You're the biggest bully I have ever met. What kind of national icon are you, jackass? Jeez..."
"Excuse me?" Steve spluttered, outraged. "Who do you think--"
"I think I'm talking to a man who was so desperate to change who he was, utterly ashamed and embarrassed of himself, that he was willing to ignore all clearance forms, sign his name, and eagerly become a lab rat in a dirty basement in Brooklyn. You and I both know you didn't do it for the sake of your country. You did it because you were tired of being the little guy. News flash, running away from your problems aren't helping you. If it weren't for you, you do realize that maybe Bucky could be resting in peace and not in some crazy Hydra induced craze that makes him want to kill you?"
Fury and Coulson look at each other. That information that had been leaked wasn't that informative. If anything, Natasha had taken great care to assure that only the basics were released. SHIELD couldn't give away all their secrets. Harley catches everyone's stunned looks, and Captain America's wounded puppy look, and shrugged.
"I got bored," Harley said defensively. "Hacking the government systems at the Pentagon and what was left of SHIELD wasn't all that hard. It was a shame, though. I expected a much bigger challenge than what I was presented with."
"You hacked the Pentagon?" Tony exclaimed. "I am so proud of you. How easy was it?"
"Like, gameboy level security. I'm now embarrassed to be an American."
"Enough!" Fury yells. "I want to know how we are going to cover this up. SHIELD isn't what it used to be. People are wary of us. We don't have allies. Stark, you having a kid who has your tech makes him a target to potential villains. Are you ready to face that threat after you gave up being Iron Man?"
"What?" Harley whispers. When he looks up at Tony, the clear disappointment in his eyes is enough to make Tony reconsider all the choices he made since he was three years old. The way Harley looks at him, like Tony's his inspiration, makes Tony want to do better and be better and it's just such a strange feeling because no one has ever directly looked up to him before like Harley has. And he can't let Harley down, not when the kid depended on him and he was the kid's rock, his safe haven. Harley didn't have much. His mom as never home, he had no friends in Tennessee, and a sister that may or may not still exist. But in Harley's eyes, he had Tony, safe and smart and comforting and slightly awkward but something he'd been craving for a long time--a father.
Bruce had been silent, along with Thor, but he had been observing. In the silence that followed, Fury smirked, clearly pleased that Harley was not yet informed that Tony had given up his superhero status to be a normal guy. Coulson looked like he wasn't sure how to feel. Everyone else looked indifferent, except Natasha, who watched Tony with narrowed eyes, suspicious. Bruce frowned. He didn't know much about this kid Harley, but he knew that he was important to Tony, a status that not a lot of people could make. Adults had been blown off by Tony but this little kid had managed to weasel his way into Tony's life. Enough that Tony gave him a piece of his suit, something he'd never do for anyone else. He knew Harley was in trouble. There was no escaping it. Maybe if Harley hadn't used Iron Man technology, he'd be unknown still to the world, but that wasn't how it happened. Now, the entire world knew that Tony and a twelve year old boy were connected, because there was no way a kid could have stolen Stark tech, not without getting gunned down on sight. Not even Natasha, master spy and assassin, hadn't been able to sneak Stark tech out of the tower, even when she tried to shut down JARVIS.
"Yeah," Tony says quietly. "I, uh,.....I wanted to try normal for a bit. It's not so bad. Kind of boring, though."
Harley looks utterly crushed, his fingers still locked into the fabric of Tony's expensive designer suit jacket. He looks like he's going to start crying again.
Tony clears his throat, feeling his own eyes burning.
"Well, I didn't destroy all my suits, obviously. I flew here."
That didn't help much.
"I do not understand," Thor booms, looking up from his Stark phone, which he had been using to text Darcy and Jane. It was a new skill his mortal lover demanded he learn. He couldn't deny her anything if he tried. "Why does it matter?"
"W-what?" Steve says. "He attacked someone."
"Do you not verbally and sometimes physically threaten friend Stark on a daily basis?" Thor asked innocently. "If you say Harley, son of Stark, had done a wrong, than so have you."
"I-I don't know why you came to that conclusion...."
Thor stares Steve down. "This meeting is pointless. Young Harley was simply defending himself against a simple minded attacker. If he has this Iron Man technology, so what? It is not like the people of Midgard will also get this technology. I see nothing wrong here. He is in Stark's care, is he not? He should be fine, if he can now spend time with his father?" Thor started to get a little misty eyed, probably remembering his situation with Loki and how his younger brother only wanted attention and approval and rightful birthright from his adoptive father, Odin.
"I knew I liked you for some other reason than your impressive biceps, Point Break!" Tony smiles. "You heard the god!"
"I do not follow orders from--" Fury's cut off as Thor stands, rising to his full height, chest puffed out. Thunder boomed in the suddenly gray sky, rain down pouring on the now screaming reporters that ran for their vans. Lightening flashed three times outside, dangerously close to striking the building. Fury swallowed heavily and cursed under his breath. No matter how badass he was, he wasn't going to fight an all powerful, still grieving, now angry Norse God. Nope, just wasn't how he wanted to go out. "Fine. Stark, you get the kid in your care and keep an eye on him. I expect to not see the this on the news unless it's for something good. Understood?"
"Aye aye, Captain," Tony said dryly. "Come on, Harley. Thank the nice thunder god for helping you get away from the 5-O."
"Thanks, uh, Thor, your kinglyness."
Thor smiled.
"You may just call me Thor. I look forward to seeing you again son of Stark."
"I don't like it," Clint says. "One Stark was bad enough. Now we have two?"
"Is Harley really Tony's kid?" Steve asked, staring into his fifth bottle of vodka. He still wasn't drunk. Stupid super serum. Ha, try saying that ten times fast. He kinda wished Harley wasn't Tony's kid, so that way Harley could go back to wherever the hell he came from and take his truths with him. Yeah, Steve was desperate to escape his many diseases and stop being the weakest guy in New York. But come on! There were newborn babies that were healthier than him and stronger. He downed the bottle and waved his hand for another.
"He acts just like him," Bruce said quietly. "Is that really such a bad thing? It's obvious that the two care about each other. You see the way Harley has Tony wrapped around his fingers?"
"Yeah, I saw it," Natasha snorts into her whiskey. "Harley found out Tony wasn't Iron Man anymore and the look on Tony's face was him getting ready to go rebuild his suits and fly through another portal to save the world, just for the kid." She frowns, toeing at the ground. "It's....it's kind of nice, you know? To see Tony actually do something good with the kid. I mean, Tony's childhood wasn't the best. Let's face the facts here--Howard was the worst father ever." Steve opened his mouth but closed it again when Natasha glared at him before continuing. "I know Fury, who was friends with Howard, could confirm that Howard was....abusive. Howard was a drunk. He hated Tony existence. Tony's always been told that he's worthless and that he'd never amount to anything by his own father, thus his self loathing thoughts and past alcohol problems. But with Harley? Tony's someone else. He's a father. A good one. You see the way Harley jumped into Tony's arms?"
She cleared her throat, feeling uncomfortable with everyone's intense gaze on her. "What? I'm just saying....yeah, the kid's an asshole, but at least he isn't gonna grow up damaged and abandoned like Stark did." She stood. "I'm going home. Come on, Clint. You owe me a foot massage."
"You didn't tell me you had a kid!" Pepper hissed.
Tony had arrived half an hour ago, settling Harley into the guest room and telling him that if he needed anything, ask JARVIS. Pepper, after finding out where Tony was, hightailed it to the house Tony had bought in the north in the mountains. It was secluded, private, and quiet. It would have been nice, if not for the fight they were having right now.
"He's not my blood," Tony says. "But...I feel like he's mine. You didn't see his face, Pep, when I walked into that conference room. It was like the sunrise, Pep. I can't just...." Tony's bottom lip shakes. "I can't just abandon him." Not like my dad abandoned me.
Tony didn't finish his sentence. He didn't have to. In that moment, Pepper could see how much Howard had destroyed Tony as a child, building him up, only to viciously tear him back down. And Pepper could see that Tony felt completely responsibility for Harley. He wanted Harley, not out of obligation, but out of pure desire to be the father figure in this kid's life. Pepper couldn't drag Tony away from Harley if she tried.
"I'm sorry," Pepper whispered, hugging Tony. His arms wrapped around her and he breathed in her strawberry scented hair. "I'm so sorry. I don't want to make you chose. Just...talk to his mom, alright? You can't just kidnap a kid, even if you're Tony Stark."
Tony nodded, wiping away tears that he knew Pepper saw. Thankfully, she didn't comment. "Yeah. I was gonna go down to Tennessee, talk to her about--Jesus, I feel like a recently divorced man--custody plans. She can't really argue, since she's never home and can't really support Harley the way he needs to be supported. But I'm rich, and I have no life outside of you, so Harley will have, like, hella attention."
Pepper was proud of him. It was nice to see Tony like this, seeing him want to be a parent. Before, about a few months ago, she and Tony had talked about kids. Well rather, she talked about kids while Tony gaped at her like a fish out of water. And then Tony had been damn near hysterical, saying he'd be the world's shittiest father because he still had daddy issues with his dead for two decades dad and that Tony liked to blow things up and that he drank so much and that had promptly ended the conversation. Hours after the failed conversation, Tony apologized to Pepper and said that they could try for kids, but that she should get him some parenting books or something because there was no way he was going into this whole being a dad thing completely blind. Now, though, seeing Tony excited to take care of Harley, she wasn't sure if she should tell Tony if she was five months pregnant or not.
"Guess what!" Tony screamed when he came into Harley's guest room. Harley yelped, dropping the toaster he was taking apart, looking a little guilty.
"Uh, hey...." Harley smiled nervously. "What?"
"If this talk with your mom goes well, you'll get to live with me!"
"You...." Harley couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You want to keep me? In your house?"
"Dude, don't say it like that," Tony whined. "That makes it sound like you're my pet or something. Actually, I was thinking of a more custody type thing. Since I'm not actually your biological father, it's going to be hard to convince her. But, really, it's not like she can fight me on this. She's never home and you're obviously out of control. And your sister living with other relatives isn't going to look good for your mom in court, so chances are you'll live with me and see her on holidays or something. But Stark Industries lawyers are fucking awesome so---"
Harley's hugging him now, smiling and a little misty eyed and so happy he can't really breathe. Tony wanted to keep him. Someone wanted him, wanted him for real this time and not just for money or anything. He wasn't even all that sad about possibly not ever seeing his mom again. It's not like she ever stayed at the house long enough to see if her son was even still alive. Now though, he had something. He had Tony.
He had a father.