au where [redacted] had been in endgame
tony keeps in contact with harley, and in the summers maybe he comes to work with tony or maybe tony visits him for a few weeks, and they work and built and create and tony encourages harley and they have a very paternal relationship
and then peter comes into the scene and maybe harley is... jealous. because he’s known tony for six years and the man has never taken him out or built him suits or...
but he doesn’t complain, just takes what he can get and is happy, honestly, he just... gets nervous. watching his father in all these dangerous situations and often times he’s halfway across the country...
but then the snap happens and tony is gone. maybe his mother is dusted. the phone lines are jammed and he can’t reach anyone in new york — not happy, not pepper, can’t leave a message with FRIDAY.
so. he makes the trip to new york (or california, or he systematically checks every stark residence until he finds something).
and thank god, he found pepper. found happy.
and they live the next few months in agonizing stress and anger and isolation from the other avengers (because harley is not blood, but he is tony’s son through and through and he cannot forgive the avengers for what they’ve done to him)
and then tony is rescued, he’s returned, and harley runs after pepper to tony and stands beside happy, waiting for tony to to look at him and to hug him and be reassured that he’s real and alive
and then when tony moves his family to the farm, he makes sure to buy a house with a room for harley.
and maybe, once, harley tries on a gauntlet and tony’s breath hitches and he tries to smile and says “maybe we leave that alone, kid” and harley doesn’t understand and all the hurt and resentment at seeing tony with peter brims in him and maybe he when he speaks he sounds angry when he asks “why?” and tony is used to sarcasm, he’s used to explaining everything to harley, but he’s not used to anger and his face twists and harley continues “i can learn how to pilot it.” and tony frowns and “its not for you” and he’s confused because he doesn’t know where this anger came from and harley growls and maybe says “im just as smart as he is!” and, well, he doesn’t know that but he has to be right? he keeps up with tony with no issue and surely the kid tony runs around with isn’t smarter than tony. and tony flinches but harley continues “why won’t you teach me” and tony is hurt and keeps seeing another brown haired boy, too tall for his age, wearing stark armor and lashes out “because you’re sixteen!” and harley isn’t satisfied with that and wants to fight, wants to yell, but then he notices how red tony’s eyes are getting and the breath deflates out of him and tony reaches out with shaky hands and gently removes the gauntlet and says “the war is over. we don’t— we never should have had kids fighting in the first place. you don’t— you won’t ever be involved in this.” and maybe there’s something so visibly broken that it hurts harley to look at, and he doesn’t press the issue again.
and then pepper’s pregnant and then morgan is born and it’s the first time harley has seen tony smile for so long, so widely, in a long time.
and then, maybe harley doesn’t go to college, he sort of dropped out of school at sixteen and while he’s smart and learned from tony, he doesn’t want to go to college (doesn’t want to leave because this is a safe place, nothing bad happens here and harley knows it’s irrational but... he’s afraid.)
and then the avengers arrive and harley spies on tony with morgan, watching as the man does something and then sinks in his seat and says “shit” and before harley can shush her, morgan repeats it and gives them away and tony looks over at them and harley, twenty one now, knows tony just did something. and he passes morgan off to tony and tries to figure out if the churning in his stomach is excitement or fear
and maybe the next morning, tony takes harley to the barn that doubles as his lab and he... and he takes a gauntlet and fits it around harley’s hand and takes his measurements, has him help modify a suit to fit and they work in absolute silence
harley realizes the churning from last night was fear.
and he’s quiet as tony shows him how the suit works and quiet as tony helps him maneuver and it’s only after tony’s satisfied that he breaks their quiet and asks “am i gonna suit up with you?” and he will, without question, if tony needs him but— he still hasn’t spent all that much time away from the farm, he only goes on short errands with tony or pepper or happy and prefers to be with them over being apart— but if he’s going to go to battle with tony he needs to have information — but tony just looks him deep in the eyes and says “no, no, I just thought it would be good to have one for you, now that you’re done growing” and tony tries to smile but harley knows he’s lying, knows he’s being kept in the dark like he’s a child. and he’s almost angry, but then tony sighs and a hand goes from his shoulder to his head, running through his hair and settling on his neck. “im leaving,” tony says, “going to the compound for a while. ill be back but... pepper has rescue and i want you to have a suit, just in case.” and harley nods, swallowing past a lump in his throat and pushing against the urge to beg tony to stay.
and maybe tony stares at him another moment, just taking in the face of the boy he watched grow into a man and his heart is breaking and maybe he says “be good, kid” and then leaves
and so harley is at home with pepper and morgan, trying to pretend everything is normal and okay, and maybe they have comms in, linked to tony’s hud so they can be notified in an instant if he wants to speak to them but more often than not they’re on radio silence
and then tony calls for pepper and harley is left holding morgan while pepper kisses their foreheads and promises to be right back.
and harley feels like he could be sick, watching pepper fly away in her blue metal suit and thinks of his own suit, locked away in the barn. he holds morgan on his hip and they watch the sky until they can’t see pepper anymore and then he bounces her, swallowing down the sick fear and assumes his role of big brother and suggests a tea party until mom and dad come home again.