Chapter Text
TONY
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“It’s just through here” Leo said, delving deeper into the woods.
Tony panted. Why the hell had the kid decided to lead him on an impromptu hike? He’d said he wanted to show him something, but Tony failed to see exactly what they could find this deep into the woods.
He was alone with Leo again. Tony was secretly relieved: that nagging feeling at the back of his mind was only quiet when the kiddo was by his side. Something about being here had, for some reason, reminded him of everything, every miracle it’d taken for Leo to end up somewhere safe.
Seeing the forge and the other Hephaestus campers had been nice, but it had confirmed something else for Tony: Leo didn’t really fit in. The boy had paraded him around camp, showing him the archery range, the climbing wall, and finally the forge, where about a dozen kids had been building and soldiering the wildest variety of things, from weapons to racing carts, and weird saddles. The kids there, ranging from primary school to college age, were all covered in soot and grime, much like Leo had been when they first met; but it took Leo cheerfully introducing them as his fellow ‘Hephaestus campers’, for Tony to realize with a start he was meeting Leo’s half-brothers and sisters. They all seemed to be in a pretty similar state of shock, all of them gaping at Tony in adoration (well, all but one unimpressed looking girl, with furious red hair and a lot of piercings, who simply huffed and told Tony to stay out of his way).
And so, Tony spent a good twenty minutes watching the brightest young minds he’d ever met work on mouth-watering engineering projects. But despite his glee, he also saw how the other kids unconsciously moved away from Leo as he approached the fires, and the hurt look in his eyes. The other campers stared at him in equal parts horror and admiration as he soldiered a rig using his hand. After one of the older kids flinched when Leo asked him to hand over a wrench, Tony saw Leo swallow hard, and try to brush it off with a joke Tony couldn’t hear, before making his way back to him.
“Ready to see that thing I told you about?”
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So now here they were, hiking. Leo’d told Tony he wanted to show him something special–aside from the forge– after the meeting with Chiron, and Tony had honestly just been thankful for the excuse to walk out of the living room after all that’d happened. He’d expected intense, but not nuclear . And he still hadn’t found Percy or Annabeth. He owed the girl an apology, that was for sure. God, with every passing moment Tony was surer his… idea… was completely insane. He kept screwing up with these kids.
He tried to breathe as he grabbed onto a branch and heaved himself up a rock, remembering Pepper’s words. ‘Take it one baby step at a time’ she’d said. She was making her way across the Pacific, right now. Her way home, to Tony, and maybe, maybe…
“Ow” Leo’s yelp interrupted his thoughts. It took Tony a few quick strides to catch up to him–he’d lagged behind, lost in his head–. But Leo’d just walked into a low branch, and now he was laughing in embarrassment as he rubbed his cheek.
“Let me see,” Tony grabbed his face instinctively, and was turning it over to check the damage before he realized what he was doing. He didn’t notice the awed look on Leo’s face, too busy looking over the wound. There was an angry red scratch marring his tanned cheek, but it wasn’t bleeding. Absent-mindedly, Tony noticed Leo had freckles scattered across his nose and the tops of his cheeks.
Tony huffed a laugh and let go of Leo, ruffling his hair as he backed away.
“You’ll live,” he said lightly, and turned around, expecting Leo to follow, but he looked back to see the kid still rooted in his place. He stared as Leo raised a hand to his cheek, an almost shocked look in his eyes.
Tony frowned. Maybe he’d actually hit himself harder than he thought. “You ok?” he checked.
“Yea-yeah.” Leo stammered, and shook his head. “Let’s keep going.”
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“Hey, Leo” Tony moved a branch out of the way, still thinking about the incident at the forge. “Do the other Cabin 9 kids not…you know-” He moved his fingers in a lame attempt at explaining himself.
He panted as Leo led them through a ravine, looking out into the Long Island scenery. They’d been walking for the better part of an hour now, and Tony was starting to wonder if the kid was just taking him to a deserted spot to kill him.
Somehow, Leo caught his dirft, and he snorted. “Yeah, no. I’m the first demigod with Hephaestus’ curse in over four hundred years.”
“...Oh,” Tony gulped. “Right. So they’re… jealous?”
“What? No!” Leo pulled a face. “Why do you ask?” he said, warily.
Shit. “Uh, it’s nothing, Leo. Don’t mind me.” Tony said, as they delved deeper into the woods.
Leo looked back at him, his jaw set.“They’re scared of it.” he explained flatly. “It’s called a curse for a reason: demigods who’ve had it… well, the thing usually leads to tragedy. Which means everyone’s just waiting for me to royally screw up. All the time.” He smiled humorlessly. “And that is obviously very fun.”
God, Tony felt like an asshole for bringing this up. Every time he felt he was making some progress, like there was an actual chance of this working out, he went ahead and screwed it up and made Leo relive some of his worst memories; or forced him to talk about his past, or…
“Leo, I-” he started, but Leo interrupted him coldly.
“We’re here.”
Tony looked around, taken aback by Leo’s harshness. He’d been so lost in his own mind, he hadn’t noticed the huge limestone wall they’d stumbled upon.
“Uh…” Tony raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”
Leo snorted before smiling devilishly, his sour mood seemingly gone. The way he could be mad one second and look perfectly fine the next gave Tony whiplash.
“How good are you at climbing?” he asked.
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‘Man,’ Tony thought as he heaved his way up the rock behind Leo, trying to find a groove on the wall to push himself from, ‘This is proof I really like this kid, because I would kill anyone else who tried to make me climb a freaking rock in a suit’. While Tony was struggling, Leo seemed happy as a clam, dexterously moving up the wall with the ease and gracefulness of familiarity–and youth, Tony thought with a wince–; his subtle strength and agility reminding him, once again, just how powerful the kid actually was.
With one last strenuous push, Tony made his way to the top of the rock, and lay on his back as he regained his breath, enjoying the warm afternoon sun on his face. After a moment, though, his vision was clouded by a particularly annoying teenager, who smiled mockingly at him.
“Well? Are you done sunbathing?” Leo asked, before sighing dramatically. “I did actually want to show you something but, you know,” he faked nonchalance and picked at his nails, “If you’d rather tan…”
Tony snorted–and swore to himself he’d strangle the kid after he got custody–, before taking the hand Leo was offering him.
Now that he was vertical, Tony could see that the dense forest vegetation had given way to a peaceful clearing, with a small, trickling creek running through it. Butterflies swarmed above the water, and he could hear birds chirping nearby.
In the middle of this bucolic landscape, stood a massive hangar.
Tony didn’t know why he kept being surprised by this place: by all means, he should be used to it by now. But he couldn’t stop himself from gaping when Leo went up to the looming doors of the hangar, and swung his arm back before blasting them with a burning, blue fireball.
The doors–instead of bursting into pieces–shone bright red for a moment before opening with a creak.
Leo smiled back at him, all giddy excitement and shining eyes.
“Cmon!”
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The place was, quite literally, Tony’s dream come true: several workbenches and carpenter’s tables were lined cleanly parallel to the walls, bits and bobs of unfinished projects littering them. Maps, blueprints and scrolls hung about the walls, as did the most impressive collection of tools Tony’d seen aside from his own. The big guns–like the oven and chainsaw table– stood against the far wall, next to a beautiful small plane–maybe 1960’s?–.
Abandoned in a dark corner, were the destroyed remains of a Greek warship, eerily similar to Argo III . He came to the grim realization that he was staring at its predecessor, and the thought of Leo being on that ship as whatever it was destroyed it filled him with dread.
Tony looked at the projects on the nearest table: he was sure he looked like a kid at a candy shop, and Leo’s giddy smile confirmed it. On it were tools, what looked like a pair of old Converse, swords, and an impressive bow, but it was a round, naked metal sheet with a complex rotating mechanism that caught his attention.
“What’s that?” he pointed.
Leo blushed, and brought a hand up to rub his neck in embarrassment. “Hah, actually… I was working on a replica of Captain America’s shield. Using celestial bronze instead of vibranium, obviously.”
Tony snorted and shook his head. “Obviously” he agreed. “What about these?” he pointed at the gears attached to it.
Leos’ face lit up like a Christmas tree. “They make it spin! So that, regardless of the user’s force, or the angle of the throw, it will perform a perfect 360. I’m, uh- still working on it, though. I can’t get it to reduce speed on reentry, and sometimes it falls from its axis…” he finished lamely, looking at Tony with a hopeful glint in his eyes.
“You asking for my help?” Tony asked with a smile.
Leo huffed. “Not any more ” he looked away from Tony, and sauntered to the work table. “But,” he continued, his voice teasing, “If you get bored of just standing there and want to actually build something, then…”
Tony shook his head and smiled fondly before joining Leo at the table and ruffling his hair. The kid preened at the attention, but still feigned annoyance and brushed his hand off with a groan.
“Let me see those blueprints…”
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“So,” Tony started casually as he tightened a screw on the shield, “That thing over there, that’s… Argo II ?” He nodded his head at the shipwreck.
He saw Leo frown at the debris. “Yeah. What’s left of it anyway.” He sighed, before his expression became thoughtful and a soft smile appeared on his face. “Someone told me once that the things we built… they’re not supposed to be with us forever. And what matters is the use we give them while we have them. What they teach us, you know?”
Tony smiled: God knows it’d taken him a while to learn that lesson. “Whoever told you that must be very smart.”
“It was my mom,” Leo said softly, his voice carefully controlled.
Tony wasn’t sure where they stood in regards to these touchier subjects of Leo’s past. He didn’t know whether it was his place to bring them up, or if it’d hurt Leo to talk about them. But something about the calmness with which he’d said it made Tony think he actually wanted to talk about this.
“What was she like?” he asked carefully.
Leo looked down with a smile. “Smartest person I’ve ever met. No offense” he added. “But yeah, greatest mechanic in Texas,” he said proudly.
“Oh,” Tony raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t known Leo’s mom was a mechanic, too, but then again, it made sense. If she actually was that good, though, the chances Tony’d known her were pretty high: the world of mechanics was small, after all. “Any chance I knew her? What was her name?” he asked.
Leo’s smile turnt sour. “You didn’t. She was brilliant, but… no one wanted to hire her. So.”
Tony frowned. “Why-”
“Well, you know-” Leo spat bitterly. “Companies weren’t exactly tripping over themselves to hire a poor, Latin, single mom.”
Tony gulped, feeling chastised, and angry. At the world, at how unfair it’d been to Leo and everyone in his life, apparently.
“I’m sorry” he said, and meant it.
“You’re fine,” Leo sighed.
They stayed quiet for a bit, but Tony still had something to say.
“For the record,” he started. “Everything I’ve said, about you being one of the best mechanics I’ve ever met? I meant it. Every word. And I’m sure your mom would’ve been really, really proud of you, Leo.” He saw Leo’s shoulders tense, and heard his sharp intake of breath. He put a hand on his shoulder. “And I’m-” he cleared his throat, which felt tight all of a sudden. “I am, too. For what it’s worth.”
Leo let out a shaky breath, and looked up at him.
Tony felt a pang of guilt at seeing his teary eyes but before he could speak, Leo said: “Thanks. I- yeah, thanks.”
“Of course, kiddo” Tony said softly, fondness seeping into his voice.
Leo looked back at the remains of Argo II . “You know, Argo was the first thing I really built. My first real project.” He looked at Tony and grinned. “Actually… Did I ever tell you about my first mission?”
Tony shook his head: out of all the stories he’d heard from the kids–which he was sure didn’t even cover half the shit they’d done–this one was new.
“Well, you see…” Leo said dramatically, a playful grin appearing on his face. “I was staying at a Wilderness School in Nevada…”
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Tony burst into laughter as Leo recounted his adventures, wiping tears from his eyes as the kid gesticulated wildly:
“Plus!” Leo said, waving his arm around for emphasis. “Imagine third-wheeling them for like, two weeks! I was just standing there in the middle of all their unresolved tension like ‘uh, guys, we still have a mission to accomplish’, you know?”
Tony laughed along and shook his head.
“Oh, man. I don’t envy you.” A thought popped into his head as his laughs subsided.
“Hey, speaking of. You got anyone special in your life, kid?” Tony asked. “Cause Percy has his girl, and Death Grips definitely has a thing for the blond guy…” He saw Leo’s face go from shock to illuminated understandment in only a couple of seconds–jeez, he could be clueless sometimes, it’s not like Nico’d been subtle–. Tony waggled his eyebrows. “Chicks–or, well, guys too–totally dig the genius inventor thing, I’m telling you”
Leo fidgeted with some wires and looked down. “Nah, not really. I had a thing with a girl a while back, but she’s sort of… finding herself now.” he said, his voice unaffected.
Tony nodded, and inhaled.
“So no, uh- no one really keeping you here?” he asked, praying his voice didn’t betray how scared he was.
Leo shook his head, frowning. “Not really. Why do you ask?”
“Ah, well, you know,” Tony started lightly, hiding the shake in his hands by fidgeting with some nails. “I could use your help, back at the Tower. With this whole… program… thingy.”
He winced internally. Smooth, Tony. “You could come stay, make use of the labs…” He left the words hanging, before he looked back at Leo and saw in horror that the kid looked apprehensive.
“I mean.” Tony backtracked, and huffed defensively. “I can’t let your talent go to enemy companies, can I?” He said, his fear of rejection making the statement come across way harsher than he’d meant it to.
Tony cursed himself when he saw Leo’s hurt look at his words, his face falling. Shit. This was exactly what he feared. Yeah, he was bad at feelings and scared shitless , but he wasn’t going to become his father. He wasn’t going to make Leo feel like the only valuable thing about him was his intellect.
Tony sighed, and took a deep breath.
“Look, kid, you could spend your days watching TV and getting crumbs on my couch and I would still want you.” He didn’t dare look at Leo, striving to get it all out because even if Leo didn’t want to look at him ever again, Tony wanted him to know he was wanted . “Granted,” He continued “I think you would thrive at the labs, at a school that understood your potential, but if you don’t want that I respect it. I know you’ve been screwed over by the education system. So if all you really wanted to do was goof off, you could do that, at home. And… I'll also understand if you don’t want to come. Adults have been shit to you, and you have every right to hate me, too. But I think you should know that there’s someone out there who wants you, kid. If you’ll let me.” He took a deep breath, and looked up. Leo’s eyes shone with unshed tears, his face frozen in shock.
“Leo,” Tony said slowly, wanting to broadcast his words straight into the kid’s heart, to make him understand, to make sure he knew . ”I don’t want the genius kid whose designs absolutely outshine my own. Or, I don't just want that. I want to get mad at you for not doing your homework and for talking back, because you’re a mouthy little shit. And I want to go to those stupid parent-teacher meetings just to hear everyone tell me how smart I already know you are and feel proud and get you ice cream. I want to do family game nights, and go to museums and to the movies on weekends, and away on holidays over the summer. I want to spend insane amounts of money on your Christmas presents because my God, you’ve earned it, and stay up past your bedtime working in the lab together, only for Pepper to tear me a new one. Oh, she’s gonna love you so much kid, she’ll forget about me entirely. I want you two to team up against me and make my life a living hell because I’ll still choose to come home to you guys every night. I want to send you off to college, but only if it’s Columbia, so you still live at home with me. I can do Boston if you come every weekend and-” Tony stopped his rambling, a couple tears making their way down his face. He hadn’t even realized he’d started crying.
“I know it’s a lot.” He breathed. “But, Leo-”
“Yes.” Leo interrupted him, eyes wide. Tony stared at him in shock.
“What?” he asked, not wanting to get his hopes up. He couldn’t mean…
“Yes” Leo said, with the happiest smile Tony’d seen on him yet, before laughing in relief.
“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, YES”
Tony laughed too, but his laugh was one of disbelief.
“Yes, as in, you’ll come? You…want that?”
Leo nodded, still laughing, before he suddenly burst out crying.
“Woah, woah, Leo-” Tony wiped the kid’s face with his sleeve. “Here, it’s ok, there you go-” He mumbled words of reassurance, the words tripping over themselves as he fretted over him. He patted his hair down, wiped his nose with the end of his sleeve, stroked his hands down his face. He felt Leo’s arms come around him in a hug, and hid his smile–and his own tears, which had decided to make a comeback–on the kid’s hair.
They were going to be ok.
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The way down was a lot smoother, even with the sunlight all but gone.
Still, they were slowed down by Tony glancing back at Leo with a giddy smile every couple of minutes. Could you blame him? He still couldn’t really believe it himself: Leo was coming home with him. With him. To New York!
Leo huffed as he walked up to Tony.
“Man, I need new shoes. Look at this!” He said, raising his foot. He was wearing tattered shoes–Vans, Tony noted–, which were dirty from the hike, but the top of his left shoe also had a hole in it. Leo grinned and shook his foot: a small pebble fell out.
Tony shook his head. “Gotta get you some shoes, kid.” He smiled, thinking of the future. Of how lucky he was to have a kid to buy shoes for.
But Leo, instead of smiling, gaped, his eyes widening. “Oh my god, no.” He started ranting, a desperate tinge in his voice. “I didn’t mean- I wasn’t- I’m fine! You don’t need to buy anything, or-”
Tony frowned. “Hey, hey, Leo, chill.” He placed an arm on Leo’s shoulders to stop him from panicking. “You’re fine. You need new shoes, and not only do I want to get you some, but it’s also my job now. From now on, it’s my job to make sure you’re clothed, fed, looked after, thriving. And I’m so happy it is. So, no more… whatever this guilt-thing is. I’m a billionaire, right? Now I finally have something worth spending money on.”
He sighed in relief as Leo’s shoulders dropped slightly, a wary smile making its way to his face.
“Ok,” he said, looking mildly embarrassed. “Let’s, uh, let’s keep going, or we’ll miss dinner.”
Tony followed him, feeling conflicted.
He wasn’t an idiot: he knew Leo had issues, trauma. Hell, the kid had been practically neglected for the better part of his life, and that was without taking the whole “having to witness and subsequently be blamed for your mother’s death at age eight” thing into account, or the several near-death experiences. Actually, Tony thought one of those experiences might’ve been more than near-death, just based on a couple comments Leo’d made offhandedly. So, Tony knew coming to live with him wasn’t going to fix all of… that. The thing about feeling guilty at Tony buying him shoes was probably the lesser of his issues. But, he also didn’t know how Leo would react if Tony tried to get him to talk. It was hard to tell when he’d be fine talking about something like his mom, and when it’d get him to snap or shut down. Back at the tower, he’d told Tony the horror that’d been his life in the system like he was talking about the weather, but other times…
And Tony had no idea what Leo’d think of talking to a therapist. Surely he’d seen therapists while he was in foster care? A new surge of anger flooded Tony at the thought. If he had, that meant people had known what was going on and done nothing about it. God, add that to the list of reasons Leo didn’t trust adults. Suddenly, Tony felt very, very small, the task in front of him impossibly difficult. What was he thinking? There was no way he could help Leo, not when he had all his own shit to deal with.
He told himself to breathe. ‘Baby steps,’ he reminded himself.
Because maybe Tony couldn’t tackle all the big things at once–and he probably shouldn’t, either. Tony knew from his own traumatic experiences that doing too much too soon was going to do more damage in the long run. But maybe it wasn’t all about getting Leo to talk. Maybe Tony could also show him. Show him he was safe, and cared for, and had the space to talk if he wanted to.
Getting him new shoes was first on the list. He made a mental note to set up a ‘Leo project’ with FRIDAY’s help. He needed new clothes, too, Tony thought absentmindedly. He seemed to like–or at least, didn’t outright hate–the ones Tony’d gotten for him that first night, but he thought it best if Leo got to choose. Something about self-expression or whatever. And he needed to get him a desk. School things, if he decided to enroll. September was only a couple months away… was it too late for schools to accept enrollments? Would Leo even want to, or was it too soon? ‘Shit,’ Tony realized ‘He needs a record to get into school. And… papers. He doesn’t have any, not where I’m his legal guardian. How long is the adoption process for teenagers?’ And then, Tony’s stomach sank when he realized that, as far as the government was concerned, Leo was a runaway, problem child who’d committed several small felonies and misdemeanors, and was technically still in the system. He was still in the system. Tony gulped, trying to quench the sudden wave of panic that’d risen to his throat. He wasn’t going back there. Ever. Tony was going to arm himself legally, make them drop each and every charge, and make sure his bond to Leo was unbreakable to the eyes of the law. But.. Did Leo even want to be formally adopted? Would he see it as… a loss? A confirmation of everything he didn’t have? Or would he see it as Tony saw it, a confirmation of everything he would have? A safety net. Tony’s way of saying that, in everything but blood, Leo would be his kid? He needed to rectify his will ASAP. No way in hell was he letting those bastards at the board prevent Leo from claiming what was rightfully his. Tony was going to make sure Leo never felt vulnerable or alone again.
“...Tony?” Leo’s uncertain voice brought him back to reality. “Everything…ok?”
He’d been so busy worrying over Leo he’d failed to realize he’d just gone fully mute for the better part of twenty minutes. They were almost at the camp, now.
Tony cleared his throat. “Yeah, yeah, I’m good, kid. Sorry, I kinda went inside my head a little bit, there.” He smiled at Leo, hoping it looked convincing and not… constipated.
Leo smiled back, although something in the raise of his mouth made Tony think the kid definitely knew something was up, but he was kind enough not to press it.
“Hey,” Tony pointed out. “Almost there, now. You think we’ll make it in time for dinner?”
Leo thought for a second, and then shrugged. “Dinners here tend to be a pretty relaxed affair. And they drag. So I think we’ll be ok.” He grinned. “I’m gonna get pizza.”
Tony raised an eyebrow, amused. “Just pizza? How about you throw some veggies in there for balance?”
Leo stared at him in disbelief. “Seriously?” He rolled his eyes dramatically, but his smile betrayed him. “I guess I can make that sacrifice.”
Tony snorted and ruffled his hair, as they emerged from the forest and into the camp.
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The place looked completely different at night. More… magical. The kids were all sat at tables that spread over the grounds surrounding the amphitheater, talking and laughing lightly, and the fireflies that’d made their appearance added to the overall cozy feel.
Suddenly, Tony spotted someone lying against the wall.
“Hey, Leo” he said, not taking his eyes away from the tall figure that was engaged in a relaxed conversation with some kids. “Why don’t you go find us a table? I’ll be right back.”
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Tony walked towards him. Percy’d changed into a clean, orange camp t-shirt, and looked like he’d just taken a shower himself, his hair damp. He was talking softly with some middle school kids, but ushered them away with a smile when he saw Tony.
Tony sighed in relief. He wasn’t sure what Percy thought of him at the moment, but he didn’t look murderous, at least.
“Hey,” Percy nodded. “What’s up?”
Tony looked at him warily “Shouldn’t I be the one asking that question?”
Percy grimaced. “Yeah, maybe.”
Tony’s smile fell. “Percy… I’m so sorry.”
“What?” The kid frowned in confusion.
“For how things went in there.” Tony explained slowly. “I…made your girlfriend cry?” Percy’s face went from confusion to understanding, and he shook his head.
“No, Tony, that wasn’t you. Or, it wasn’t because of you.” He explained. “Annabeth… this, our…our plan, it hit a little close to home.” He took a deep breath, like the memory of Annabeth crying physically pained him. “But we talked, and then she and Chiron talked, and it’s- well, it’s not like suddenly everything’s great , but it’s getting there. And that’s partly thanks to you, so… thanks, Tony.”
Tony let the information sink in, and he felt the knot in his chest loosen.
“I… I still feel like I owe her an apology.” he huffed. He looked around. “Where is she, actually?”
Percy’s smile fell. “She’s in her cabin. Said she needed a bit of time alone.”
Tony sighed. “I’m sorry, kid.”
Percy shook his head again “She’ll be fine. Strong girl. But after that… I don’t think I’d want to have dinner surrounded by all this…” he looked fondly at the loud, raucous affair that was camp dinner. “...chaos, either.”
Tony nodded, and looked to his right. There, on the long table presiding over all the others, sat Chiron, Nat, and Bruce, but Steve was nowhere to be seen.
“I don’t know where they are, either,” Percy said like he’d read his mind, a curious tilt in his voice. “He and Nico stepped out right after you did, and they haven’t come back yet.”
“You think Nat knows?” Tony frowned.
Percy shrugged, and Tony took that as enough of a confirmation to go ask his friend.
As he turned around, he clapped Percy in the shoulder as farewell, but stopped dead in his tracks.
“Oh, Percy,” he remembered. “I know your mom is in New York. And… I could use your help with this project, when you’re in the city. If you’re in the city, that is. I… what are your plans, exactly?” he asked innocently.
Percy snorted at his attempt at subtlety. “I… don’t really know. I want to go to college, poli-sci, maybe, but… I mean, just the paperwork , given my record…” he trailed off.
Tony frowned. Looked like the biggest monster for these kids was bureaucracy–pardon the cliché–. Their records-or lack thereof, in Nico’s case– made it impossible for them to go to school, or even attempt to live normal lives.
“I can help with that,” Tony promised. “I’ll be doing the same for Leo, now that-” he didn’t realize he’d slipped up until Percy widened his eyes.
“Now that…?” Percy asked, an excited glint in his eyes.
Tony spluttered. “Well, I- uh…” He spoke slowly, trying to gauge Percy’s reaction. “I asked Leo if he… if he wanted to come stay with me, at the Tower. Sort of… permanently.”
Percy grinned, and laughed joyously, clapping Tony in the shoulder. “That’s amazing, Tony!” Tony sighed in relief, as Percy continued. “Oh, I thought maybe some good would come of this, cause I knew Leo, like, idolized you, but I never imagined this! You know…I didn’t really like you at first.” he confessed.
Tony snorted. He’d gotten that much, yeah. He told Percy this, and he laughed.
“I was worried about Leo, and what would happen if he met his idol and you didn’t like him, or you ignored him. But, clearly, I worried for nothing.” He explained. Tony felt a surge of gratitude for Percy. All this time, he’d been looking out for Leo.
“Congratulations.” Percy said earnestly, before smiling devilishly. “I suggest you invest in a fire-extinguisher”
Tony laughed at his cheek, ruffling his hair. “Yeah, yeah. Thanks, kid. You’re welcome to come visit and stay for as long as you want, by the way. Just drop by, whenever. I mean it” he said emphatically.
Percy nodded happily. “Of course. I gotta check in on you two!”
Tony laughed. “Alright, I’m gonna go check on the rest of the team, now. Tell them the good news.”
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“Hey cowboy,” Nat greeted him, leaving Tony dumbfounded. Before he could ask, she looked pointedly at his dirt-stained suit and muddy shoes, eyebrows raised.
“Oh” he said–eloquent as ever–. “Leo took me on a hike.” he explained.
Nat smiled where she was sitting next to Bruce, looking smug. Bruce, on the other hand, stopped diving into his food, which looked to be some kind of curry– weird, Tony noticed, since he hadn’t seen any tables with food– to raise his eyebrows in shock.
“You went on a hike… voluntarily?”
“I didn’t say that.” Tony argued. “Also, where’s Steve? Wasn’t he with you guys?”
Bruce shook his head. “He stepped out with Nico a while back. And I was at the Apollo cabin the entire time.” His eyes lit up. “You would not believe the things they’ve shown me. I’m talking magical remedies that put our Western medicine to shame.”
Tony filed that information under the ‘definitely ask later’ folder in his head, and turned to Nat, an unspoken question in his eyes.
“I was… mediating” she smiled in amusement. “That thing with the poster” she said, like it explained anything.
“Okaaaay,'' Where Nat was concerned, Tony’d learnt through the years sometimes it was best not to ask. “So do we not know where Steve and Nico are?” He frowned, looking at the sky. “It’s already pretty dark. You think we should go look for them, or…?”
Bruce smiled, looking at something behind Tony. “I don’t think that’s gonna be necessary, Tones.”
Tony turned around and, sure enough, Steve and Nico were making their way to them.
“Hey, you two” he greeted, checking them over. They seemed fine, if a little tired, which quenched Tony’s worries. Gosh, he was growing soft in his old age. It was funny how fast he’d become used to the small presence on Steve’s side, almost feeling like Nico’d always been there.
“Hey,” Steve smiled, his hand resting reassuringly over Nico’s shoulder. “Are we late for dinner?”
Tony smiled back, as he saw Leo walking over with two plates of pizza in his hands, and a brilliant grin on his face. Tony waved him over, flinching as Leo almost dropped the plates in an attempt to wave back, before laughing. “I don’t think so. You’re just in time.”
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Dinner was a fun, raucous affair, with kids fluttering between tables, and food magically appearing on their plates. Although–Steve was the one to inform him– he was the only one seeing it ‘appear’, as the kids, and Steve himself, could actually see the ‘friendly spirits’ serving them their food. Tony wasn’t bitter. It was fine.
Throughout their meal, he kept sneaking glances at Leo, feeling his heart swell with pride just by seeing him. That was gonna be his kid, formally, unquestionably, sometime soon. He wondered how Leo would feel about Tony making a public announcement–he couldn’t really leave all his assets to a kid in his will without doing so, or the fallout would be chaotic–. He felt a little queasy at the idea, reminding himself to fully erase Leo’s record before doing that, so that the press couldn’t attack him with it. But, aside from that, the idea actually… excited him.
Truth is, Tony kinda wanted to show him off. Could you blame him? He was gonna get to call himself a parent–and wow if that word didn’t freak him out and excite him in equal parts–to the coolest kid in the world.
These thoughts kept him occupied as they ate, and before he knew it, people were heading to their cabins, yawning and making plans for morning. The Avengers were going to take some of the Big House’s unoccupied rooms, but Tony lingered and let the rest of his team get ahead of him, catching Leo’s arm and motioning for him to stay with.
He pulled out his phone, and dialed Pepper’s number.
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He spent most of his conversation with Pepper sneaking happy glances at Leo, feeling proud and grateful. Even though Pepper had been the one to convince him of going through with this, he still felt his chest glow at hearing her excitedness over meeting the kid. Tony couldn’t wait for his….–his little family, he thought with a thrill– to be all together under one roof.
“Yeah.” he answered with a smile, looking at Leo. “We’re going home.”
And now, he addressed the kid–this kid, who’d won his heart in less than a week and was now staring at him expectantly and a little awed–, with a wicked grin.
“Now… What do you say we take that gorgeous plane I saw in the hangar for a little ride?”
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