Chapter Text
“So, are you ready for your presentation at the Expo?” Tony asked as soon as Peter entered the lab.
The boy bounced in placed for a moment before rushing over and hugging the life out of Tony (mindful of his strength, of course).
“Mr Stark, oh my god! It’s so exciting! I can’t believe I’m going to be there! It’s going to be so awesome! Like, it’s the most amazing thing ever! Thank you! Thank you so much!”
Tony chuckled and patted the kid on the back. “Hey, don’t thank me. It’s your project. I didn’t do anything.” He really hadn’t. While he had been sorely tempted to approve Peter’s project for the Expo just because it was Peter, Tony had refrained for various reasons. One, he didn’t think the boy would appreciate the preferential treatment; no doubt he would want to be recognized by his own merit rather than because he was friends with Tony. Two, it wouldn’t be fair to all the other people who had submitted projects; everyone deserved a fair shot. Three, Tony actually didn’t have much to do with that aspect of the Expo, and he didn’t want to be accused of any sort of bias anyway. He had left the selection process to the panel that had been chosen for that purpose and was concentrating on the bigger things, which included the big companies presenting their stuff and Tony’s own projects.
“Yeah, sure,” Peter replied, looking skeptical.
“I mean it. I had nothing to do with that decision. You got in on your own, kiddo.”
Peter’s smile got even wider, which Tony hadn’t realized was even possible. “Really? Oh, wow.”
“Why are you surprised? You’re brilliant, Peter. Anyway, congratulations!”
“Thanks, Mr Stark,” Peter said with a bashful grin. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“I told you, I didn’t do anything.”
“No, I mean… Just… You know, being so nice and… Letting me intern with you and all.”
“You’re a great kid who’s going to go far, Peter. Why wouldn’t I want you to intern with me? Plus I like hanging out with you.”
Now the kid was blushing and fidgeting awkwardly, so Tony figured it was best to move on. There was no need to make the boy too self-conscious.
“Thanks for the opportunity anyway. I’m really looking forward to the Expo. It’s going to be great! Everyone at school is really psyched about it. And we really want to see whatever your secret presentation is going to be.” Peter turned on the puppy eyes. “Can’t you even give me a hint about it? It is Iron Man-related? I promise I won’t yell anyone.”
Tony laughed. “Sorry, kid, no hints. You’re gonna have to wait like everyone else.”
There were three special projects that Tony was going to unveil at the Expo. There had been very little said about them in the press, since they wanted to build up as much hype as possible. Despite numerous requests to give a sneak preview to his followers at Stark Talk, Tony had remained tight-lipped. As far as publicity campaigns went, one could call this one a massive success. The ticket sales for the Expo had already surpassed their wildest expectations, and Pepper was absolutely thrilled (as was Tony, of course).
For the past couple of months, Tony had been talking about the Expo a lot in Stark Talk, and had shared quite a few backstage pictures as everything was being set up, as well as short video segments done by the SI Marketing Department to show off the event. A month ago he had launched a contest on the channel that would get winners an all-expenses-paid trip to New York and the Expo, which had resulted in thousands of submissions.
It was still a little overwhelming sometimes to think of all the support he had these days. People weren’t just watching his videos to be cool or whatever; they actually liked him.
“Come on, Peter. There’s something I want to show you.”
Again, Peter lit up like a Christmas tree, bouncing in place with undisguised enthusiasm. God, to be that young… Tony kinda envied him a little. At Peter’s age, Tony had been going through some pretty awful stuff, and in hindsight, he could admit that he had handled it badly. It wasn’t his fault, of course. He had been a kid, and the adults in his life (namely Stane) hadn’t really had his best interest in mind.
But Tony didn’t want to dwell on the past. As much as it had hurt to discover the truth about his parents’ death, it had also allowed him to finally deal with his grief (and his misplaced anger at his father) and move on. While the process might have been painful, it was necessary. Now he could focus on the present, and all the great things he had going for him.
Having Peter in his life was wonderful, and more and more Tony had been thinking that parenthood might be something he would actually want to do – and something he might not completely suck at after all.
He hardly noticed the hours passing, both he and Peter enjoying themselves with projects and discussions, until Friday announced that it was almost 6 pm.
“You want to stay for dinner, Peter?” Tony asked, not quite ready to let the kid go. “I mean, if your aunt says it’s okay.”
“Yeah! I mean, if it’s not too much bother.”
May had no problem with her nephew staying, so Tony and the kid headed up to the penthouse. Tony considered ordering food, but he felt like cooking tonight. Contrary to popular belief, he was actually perfectly capable of making a meal, though he rarely did. Not because he didn’t like to cook, but simply because it took time that he usually preferred to spend doing other things. With Peter here, though, it would be fun.
They examined the fridge and pantry to decide what to make, and settled on pasta with mushroom sauce. There was easy conversation as they talked and worked, and soon dinner was ready.
Pepper had been in Malibu for the past few days on SI business, so Tony had been a bit lonely. Since they had decided to start their relationship again, they had made it a point to have time to actually spend together doing regular couple things, such as eating together (either at home or at a restaurant), watching TV or having ‘date night’. Unfortunately, their busy schedules occasionally made that a little harder, especially now with the Expo only a few weeks away.
“Thanks for today, Mr Stark. I had a great time,” Peter said after dinner had been eaten and everything cleaned.
“Me too, kid. Do you want me to take you home?”
“No, no, that’s not necessary. I’ll take the subway, it’s no big deal.”
“Have you thought about getting a car?” Tony asked, trying for casual. He had been considering giving the kid a car for his next birthday, but was worried that it might be a bit… too much. He would admit to not being the best at judging such things.
“Ah, no no, that’s… Way too much work. My uncle had a car and he sold it ‘cause he couldn’t deal with all the traffic.”
Well, that was true. Traffic in New York was pretty shitty sometimes. There was a reason Tony sometimes took the suit to get places, and it wasn’t because he liked to show off (though there was a bit of that too – he was also aware that people liked to spot him and try to take pictures. It had become something of a New Yorker’s pastime).
Tony hummed in reply and walked the kid to the elevator. Looked like he was going to have to come up with another idea for a birthday gift.
“Night, Mr Stark.”
“Good night, Peter. Let me know when you get home, ok?” It was silly to worry, probably. Peter had superpowers, after all, he could take care of himself.
“Sure,” the kid replied with a shy little smile.
Once he was gone, Tony stood in his empty living room and wondered what it would be like to have an actual kid. He was warming up to the idea more and more, and he thought Pepper might be too.
“Fri, call Pepper.” Even though he’d talked to her yesterday, he still missed her.
“Hey,” she said, and Tony could hear the smile in her voice.
“Hey, yourself. How’s everything going?”
“Good. I should be getting back tomorrow afternoon. I thought we could order some dinner and have a quiet night in. But not that quiet.”
Tony grinned. “It’s a date.”
God, he loved her. And it was high time he did something about it – he already had the ring, all he had to do now was actually pop the question. He was thinking after the Expo would be the best time, since things were just too hectic right now, for both of them.
He couldn’t wait.
*****
“Hello, everybody, and welcome to another episode of Stark Talk! We are two weeks away from the Stark Expo, and I cannot tell you how excited I am about it! This year it’s going to be absolutely awesome!
“A lot of people have been asking if the presentations will be streamed for the people who can’t attend in person, and the answer is yes. Not all of it will be streamed live, but most will. You can find more information on schedules and everything on our official website. And there will be a surprise feature by yours truly on the first Sunday, which will be broadcast live for the whole world. I’m really pumped for it, you guys. Like, totally psyched. So much so that it’s driving Pepper a little crazy.” He gave the camera a rueful grin.
Unlike the last Expo, this year’s edition was only going to be a four-week event. There would be a big opening on the first Friday in June, and then it go on for another three week-ends. There would be exhibitions every day, but the special features and attractions were going to be on the weekends, to give more people the chance to attend.
Ticket were mostly sold out now, but there were still a few left that people could try to get through a sort of lottery system once the event began. Aside from all the tech stuff, they had booked musical attractions and even a special documentary about SI that was scheduled to premiere one the second Saturday of the Expo. Tony was looking forward to that one, since he hadn’t yet seen the finished product.
Tony had worked really hard to have the coolest stuff to show. One of them was the new braces he had initially developed for Rhodey. After a bit more work, he had come up with a model that could be more easily customized to help people with all sorts of mobility issues. It was still a long way away from being ready for actual production, since it still required a lot of testing, but Tony knew it was going to be hugely helpful for a lot of people. There was also a new Arc Reactor model that he hoped would eventually replace the need for fossil-based fuels. SI had already partnered up with a couple of big hospitals in the US to test the reactor. It would cut down on the need for back-up generators, since it would make the hospitals’ energy source self-sustained – and off the regular electrical grid, ensuring more reliable power at all times.
Lastly, he was going to do another – proper – presentation of the BARF tech. He had put it aside after the Civil War business, as it came to have some bad associations for him, but it was time to get back to it. There were a lot of possible applications for it, and Tony wanted to attract more potential partners to work with him on it.
Besides those presentations, Tony had decided to also do something else at the Expo, and it was going to be a lot of fun.
“So, here’s what we’re gonna do: there will be a guessing contest! That’s right, you guys will have the chance to guess what my mystery feature will be. And this is in addition to the presentations I have lined up. Obviously I won’t announce the winner until the Expo’s opening, but that lucky person or persons will receive special prizes. So check out the link to vote in the description here or at the Expo website and all my social media accounts.
“And no, I will not give any hints. You have to guess. So good luck to you all!”
Tony grinned and bounced in his seat a little like an overexcited kid. Then he settled himself a bit to get on with the recording.
“Onto other matters now. Oh, I forgot to say. We’re doing a Q&A episode today.
“Question 1, from Yukio in Tokyo, Japan. She asks: ‘what happened to Spider-Man?’
“Well, guys, Spider-Man is taking a break to focus on his own life.” Tony had talked to Peter about this, of course, and they had agreed that they had to say something about Spider-Man and his disappearance. “I know a lot of people have been wondering why he hasn’t joined the Avengers officially after that whole Civil War business, since he was there in Germany. The thing is, Spider-Man has other responsibilities with are his priorities at the moment – and rightly so. This superhero stuff is complicated and dangerous, and no one should get into it without a full understanding of what it is. He wants to do his part to help protect the world, but that isn’t possible for him right now.” There was no need to mention that he was a kid, so Tony was being as vague as possible while not actually lying. “In any case, he is very touched by people’s concern about him since he fell off the grid. Let me assure you that he is perfectly fine – just pursuing other interests. I’m sure he’ll be back eventually, and I for one will be delighted to have him on the team – though of course he’ll have to be approved by the Accords committee first, and that is a bit of a longish process.”
Part of Tony was hoping that Peter would decide not to go on being Spider-Man, since it meant putting himself at risk, but he knew that was pretty unlikely. The kid was far too nice and conscientious to just walk away. His sense of responsibility and desire to help were genuine, and all Tony could really hope for was to give him all the protection he needed when the time finally came for him to put the mask on again.
“Question 2, from Phillippe in Lyon, France: ‘What languages do you speak and why did you learn them?’
“Hmm, let’s see. My mother was from Italian descent, so I learned Italian from her when I was a kid. I don’t have much occasion to speak it now, but that one is dear to me because it always reminds me of her. She would sing me Italian lullabies when I was a little kid, and I loved the sound of her voice and the melodic language. Then in school I learned French and Spanish, because I figured they would be easy enough as I already knew Italian, and they are all Latin-derived languages. So I can speak those pretty well. In college, I took German and Arabic, because… you know, what the hell, right? I wanted a challenge. I only did one semester of Arabic, though, so I don’t really know much. Mostly I remember a few words and phrases and that’s about it. I did better with German. I wouldn’t say I’m fluent, but I can understand and speak a little bit. Later on, I learned Japanese, because I figured it would be useful for business. Can’t read worth a damn, but I can understand and speak a little; enough to get by, at least. And that’s about it, I guess.
“Even though English is the lingua franca of the world, I think it’s useful to know other languages as well. Americans can be a bit lazy when it comes to that, and it’s a pity. I can’t tell you the number of times people were surprised that I knew French or Spanish, just because they assumed that, as an American, I wouldn’t have bothered to learn anything other than English. Granted, that happened mostly when I was younger, but still. Step up, Americans! If you have the opportunity, you should definitely try to learn a foreign language, whichever one it is. Aside from making communication easier, it’s also a great mental exercise, and a chance to learn more about a different culture.”
He paused for a moment, then continued. “And that has been this week’s public service announcement, people. Languages are good.” He winked at the camera, and signaled to Friday to display the next question.
“Question 3, from Juan Carlos in San Juan, Puerto Rico: ‘will we see more of Col Rhodes and Vision on Stark Talk? And will there be other special guests in the future?’
“All right, so that’s two questions. One: yes, definitely. Rhodey and Vision enjoyed doing the video with me, and we want to do another one soon. However, with the Expo coming on, I have a lot to do, so it’s been hard to coordinate things and find the time. Once that’s over, though, things will be less hectic around here, and we’ll be able to schedule it. I can’t say when it will be yet, but it will happen. But if you want to know more about them, you can check out their own social media accounts. Vision has been answering some question on Twitter and Instagram. Rhodey doesn’t have as much time for that kind of thing, but I know he’s doing his best to keep up to date with everything.
“Question two, about other guests. Well, I think that would be interesting. I’ve been thinking about it, figuring out who I could ask to come here and speak to me and to you guys. So, if you have any suggestions, go ahead and let me know, and we’ll see. Can’t promise anything, but I’ll do my best.”
“Question 4, from Juliana in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She says: ‘The episode you did about Artificial Intelligence was great. Are we going to get to see Friday and your other AIs? I for one would love to meet them, if that’s possible’.”
As Tony had planned, following Vision’s debut on the channel, Tony had dedicated an entire episode to talk about the idea of artificial intelligence. He had always been a little wary about the world knowing too much about Jarvis, hoping to protect him, and then he’d lost his friend/son anyway. And with his insistence on transparency and accountability, he was starting to feel a little hypocritical about keeping that information to himself. Plus, even though Ultron had been scrapped, Tony hadn’t entirely given up on the idea of an AI watching over the Earth. However, considering how that whole mess had gone, he knew it wouldn’t be easy to convince people to give it another shot without some proof that it wouldn’t be dangerous. With that in mind, he had talked first with the Accords Committee, to explain as much about AIs as he could within the legal constrains of patents and proprietary secrets. After he had gotten their clearance to speak to a wider audience, he’d published a few papers (which he’d had mostly done for ages) for the scientific community, and done a video for the regular public, trying to put things in more understandable laymen terms.
The response on that had been… somewhat mixed. There were still people who were scared of the idea of AIs, but at least Tony had managed to accumulate enough good will that people were willing to at least hear him out and not jump to the worst possible conclusions about computers taking over the world or some silly thing like that. Still, there was a long way to go, and Tony knew he was going to have to keep reassuring people for a while yet. Vision being a partial AI was helping, he thought, especially now that the synthoid was getting more and more popular and well liked.
He hadn’t gone too in depth on his current AIs in the video, though, wanting to take things slow, but he had mentioned Friday and the bots by name, as well as Jarvis, though he had not really explained how the latter had ‘died’ and how that had affected Tony personally.
“Well, Juliana, that is certainly possible. I was planning to do a part 2 to that video, going over a few more things and answering questions, and that will be a good opportunity to do some proper introductions. What do you think, Fri?” he asked, looking to the side as if Friday was beside him.
“Sounds good, Boss. I’m looking forward to it.”
Tony smiled. “So, that’s Friday. And, well, since we’re on the subject, let me tell you a bit more about her. Friday is one of my youngest AIs, though she’s grown up a lot in the last few months. She’s the one that helps me do the videos. Well, to be honest, she does pretty much everything. I just sit here and talk.” He chuckled. “Friday works the cameras, edits the videos, adds all the graphics and sounds and stuff, and keeps track of all comments, questions and suggestions you guys leave. She’s also the one who created the logo for the channel. I know people have asked how I get these videos done, if I have a crew or whatever, so here’s the answer: except for the episode with Rhodey and Vision, and a few I recorded on the road on my phone, the videos are all done by Friday. Even the Avengers one had a lot of input from Friday, working in collaboration with the people I hired specifically for that.
“Also, and this is really important, she’s the one who showed me the ‘Get well soon’ videos people did that started this whole thing. I’d been just moping about feeling sorry for myself, and she started playing the videos for me to cheer me up. I probably wouldn’t have seen them otherwise, considering how down I was at the time. So, thanks. To Friday and to the people who did them.
“Fri, you wanna tell people a bit more about that and about what you do?”
“Hmm, sure.” Friday switched the camera to show a holo projection of the avatar she sometimes used, to give people a face to go with the voice. “Well, I’m an AI, as you know. My job is to help Boss with whatever he needs. But right after he came home from the hospital, he didn’t really feel like doing much, so I didn’t have anything to do either. I was trying to track down any information about Rogers and his band of idiots, ‘cause I needed to do something. I couldn’t find anything, so I started checking what people were thinking and saying about the whole Civil War business on social media, to have some idea of what kind of damage control would need to be done, and that’s how I came across one of the ‘Get well soon’ videos. I thought it was sweet, and when I realized how many there were, I knew I had to make sure Boss saw them. He deserved to know how much people appreciate him.
“And then he did the first thank you video, and it grew from there. Now we have a system, Boss and I, and it’s been a lot of fun. I love reading people’s comments.”
“And she reads all of them,” Tony added.
“Yep, I read them all, and then I give Boss the highlights. If there’s any particularly nice ones, I show him. Same for all other social media platforms. You guys have some really cool and funny stuff to say, and there are a lot of times I really want to respond.”
“Well, you can,” Tony said.
“Yeah? I’d like that.”
“Sure, why not.”
“I just didn’t want to talk for you, Boss.”
“Yeah, but now that people know who you are and what you do, you can just make your own account and use that.” It would be good for her to have an opportunity to interact with people outside the Iron Family, as Happy had called them.
“That would be nice.”
“Unlike me, Friday has time to be on social media all day,” Tony added with a rueful smile.
“Well, I do other things too,” she said. “But I can do those and keep an eye on social media at the same time.”
“So, there you go, folks. Friday is going to be talking to you from now on. She can answer some questions that you guys have too, ‘cause I know I can’t possibly get to them all.
“Question 4, from Benny in Belfast, Ireland: ‘is the Iron Man suit really made of iron? And why is it red and gold?’ No, it’s not actually made of iron. It’s a gold-titanium alloy. But ‘Iron Man’ is much catchier than ‘Gold-Titanium Alloy Man’. And you know, I really like it. I don’t know who actually came up with that name – it was one of the journalists who initially reported the whole fight at the SI headquarters business back in 2008 –, but it’s pretty awesome. So thanks, whoever you are! I’ve been told I’m not good at naming things, so it’s probably just as well that someone else picked my superhero name.” He grinned. “As for the second question… Well, the initial design was just gold because of the material. But it ended up looking a bit too much like an Oscar statue, so I decided to throw in some hot red. Why red? Well, I like red. But it could be because I happened to be looking at my red corvette when I was doing that design. So if you were looking for some deep significance, Benny, sorry to disappoint, it was mostly practicality. Of course, then I made other suits later, and changed the colors a bit, but I kept it mostly on the red-and-gold spectrum because it think it’s a pretty awesome combination, and also because it kinda became a trademark. I can put in some silver, blue, black and other colors too, but at this point red-and-gold is Iron Man, you know?”
“Question 5, from Carl and Emmett in Detroit, USA: ‘what’s your happiest memory from childhood?’
“Oh, boy, that’s a hard one. Not because there aren’t any, but ‘cause it’s hard to choose one.” He leaned back in the chair and put his hands behind his head. “So, here’s the thing: my childhood was… weird – though I didn’t really realize that until much later. My family wasn’t just the mom-dad-kid type most people had. We had… well, technically employees, but to me they were family. And then I went to college at 14, and kinda had to grow up fast. So things were a bit different for me.
“But in terms of family… As you all know by now, I didn’t have the best relationship with my father, and that colored a lot of my perceptions of that time. I wanted my dad to… notice me, do stuff with me, say he was proud of me. And that… didn’t happen.” He leaned forward again to look at the camera. “I don’t really know how he felt about me, to be honest. I thought I did, but… Maybe I got it all wrong. It’s hard to say, I guess.” He took a deep breath. “Anyway, that was always… there. Hanging over me. The fact that I couldn’t seem to please my dad. But he wasn’t the only person there. My mom did her best, you know. She wasn’t always there either, because she was busy with her philanthropic work and… other stuff she did. I mean, she had a life outside of me and my dad – as she should. When I was home, it was Ana and Edwin Jarvis who took care of me.” It had been decades since their deaths, and thinking about them still gave him a pang. “They worked for us, but to me they were… well, kinda like parents. Ana died when I was 10, and was the first person I cared about that I lost.
“When I was little, she would have me sit with her in the kitchen while she was cooking and just… talk to me. Ask about how things were going – particularly after I had started boarding school and wasn’t home all the time –, about what I was working on. She didn’t understand when I talked about my projects, but she listened, and that meant the world to me. She made all my favorite foods whenever I came home, and she’d tell me that she missed me. She hugged me all the time, and made me feel… loved, I guess. Not that my mom didn’t, but… I don’t know, I guess it felt different. ‘Cause my mom was supposed to love me, you know? And Ana just did, just because. She could have not given a shit, but she was the nicest person ever. I don’t know if I’m making sense. Point is, I’ve got lots of awesome memories of just hanging out with Ana, listening to her singing as she worked.
“And there was Jarvis too.” Talking about human Jarvis made him think of AI Jarvis, and that was… still a bit too fresh. It had gotten better, sure, but it still fucking hurt. Not only that Jarvis was gone, but everything that had happened that time – like why he’d lost Jarvis. There were times when he was glad Wanda was dead; if not for her, Jarvis would still be here.
He cleared his throat and tried to push those thoughts away. “Edwin Jarvis was a great guy, and I have a lot of good memories with him as well. He was always the one that took me to school and came around to pick me up for breaks. We would spend the trip talking and playing silly games, and I loved those times. It was mostly just the two of us in the car, and I would sit in the front with him and just… enjoy myself. He was always there for me. After I started college, whenever I needed something I would call him, ‘cause I knew he’d help me out without ratting me out to my mom and dad – remember that I was really young then and I didn’t want my parents to think I couldn’t handle things on my own. So it was Jarvis I turned to, and he never let me down.
“He was there with me for the funeral, and god knows how I would have made it through that without him and Rhodey.
“And my mom… Some of my favorite times with her was listening to her play the piano. She would sing and smile at me with such love in her eyes. She tried to get me to learn the piano too, but I never really took to it. I wanted her to play it for me. And I knew it made her happy too.
“As for my dad… I do have some good memories with him, actually, though for a long time I didn’t want to think about them. I was angry at him because I thought that the accident had been his fault.” Tony shook his head. “Fuck Rogers, that selfish piece of shit. Anyway, I remember taking shop with my dad a few times without us yelling at each other, and that was nice. There were times when he was home and he, mom and I would have dinner together and talk like a normal family. I remember once when he took me to one of SI factories and explained what everything was, introduced me to all the workers and just… let me hang out with him all day. He even answered my questions. It was pretty awesome. I was… I don’t know… 13? 14? Something like that. He treated me like a grown up and I felt really proud of myself. We got to spend a whole day together without fighting.
He sighed. “I wonder now if we would have gotten our shit together eventually if he hadn’t died. Maybe we could have started to communicate better at some point. Like if he’d had the chance to choose to retire and leave me to run the company. Would that have helped to bridge the gap between us? I know it doesn’t… I mean, it’s a pointless exercise, but I like to think that things would have improved between us.
“Anyway, hmm… Carl and Emmett, I hope that weird ramble answered your question. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I might talk more about this at some point, if I think of something else to say.
“And that’s a wrap for today, folks. See you all later and take care.”