“I still this this holiday is pointless,” Peter sighed. Despite his cynical words, he was smiling and playing chess with Yukio. “It’s kinda boring. We sit on the roof and watch the ball drop, kids whoever we’re with and make resolutions we know we won’t keep.”
“I agree with you on the resolutions part, but what was that you were saying about boring?” Riri said over the intercoms.
“I’m sorry that you guys have to work on New Years Eve,” Yukio said, moving her queen to take out one of Peter’s bishops.
“It’s okay, we do it every year,” Nate said.
“It’s our little tradition and attempt at keeping New York on our side,” Tony agreed.
“Just be back before the ball drops,” Cassie said. She leaned back on the roof of Stark tower and stared at where she knew stars were supposed to be. “After all, I only bothered staying for New Years to be with you guys.”
“We will be home before it drops, don’t worry,” Rhody said. “Any updates from my mom?”
“Ms. Rhodes is on her way to the tower right now.”
“Then we will be back in a minute,” Tony said.
A few moments later, after Peter and Yukio’s game had ended and Cassie had curled up in her cousin’s lap, a quick burst of wind signaled their family’s return. Iron Man and War Machine landed first, their suits de materializing into Tony’s arch reactor and Rhodey’s watch. Iron Heart and Iron Lad landed next, the machines on the edge of the roof working quickly to take off their suits so that Riri and Nate could freely walk towards the small group.
“Where’s Harls?” Peter asked.
“He went to pick up his grandma at the airport,” Tony said.
“Don’t people notice when two Iron Lads are running around? I though Nate was supposed to be Harley’s stand in,” Yukio asked.
“I am. I was Harley’s stand in tonight,” Nate explained. “He’s in an Iron Legion suit to safely escort Ms. Rhodes to the tower after last year’s fiasco.”
“And I’m a damn good escort,” Harley’s voice startled them too look to the entrance of the stairwell. He was in a knitt red sweater that Riri and Peter assumed to be a gift from Roberta, as neither of them had ever seen it. The gutter in question had her arm looped with Harley’s, her smile softly illuminated by the hint of blue radiating from her grandson’s chest.
“You better hope no one takes that sentence out of context,” Peter teased, walking over with Riri to meet them halfway. Both teens received tight hugs and kisses from Roberta before she left them go and made her way to their father and her son to give them a similar greeting.
“Mom,” Rhodey grinned, hugging her close for a moment. “I hope Harley wasn’t too startling in the suit when he picked you up.”
“Oh not at all, I can sense my boys from a mile away. Even in the suit, I knew it was really him,” she assured.
“She almost said my name in public,” Harley said with his characteristic smirk. “Nate and I could have had our cover completely blown right then and there.”
“Shush now,” Roberta playfully scolded. “Don’t give your mama such a hard time. I was excited.”
“I’ve called ‘Ant-Man’ Dad in public by accident before,” Cassie said. “Not many people noticed, and anytime someone did I just said I was on a phone call with my dad.”
“How about in this New Year all of all try our best to avoid those slip ups,” Nate said. “Now come on, the ball is dropping soon.”
Everyone gathered on the picnic blankets and lawn chairs that they had set up, looking over the sky scrapers to time square far in the distance. They could barely actually see the ball, but the live sound feed from the intercom told them the time until the new year began.
When the countdown reached a minute, Scott and Hope called on FaceTime so they could count with the family.
Thirty seconds. Harley could see Cassie’s eyes gloss over with unshef tears as she stared at her phone. They were happy tears, he could tell, but the kind that were bittersweet.
Twenty five. Peter wondered how the Howletts were spending their New Years Eve. He knew they had gone down to Canada, but hadn’t heard from Wade in a few days. He wondered if they might have kissed if he were here.
Fifteen. Riri texted her mom a happy new year ahead of time so that she didn’t forget. It had been a while since they talked, and she made it her resolution to call more often.
Ten. Ned and Yukio both thought of their significant others.
Nine. Rhodey hugger his mom again and kisses her head.
Eight. Roberta hugged her son back and squeezed Harley’s shoulder.
Seven. Nate looked up at Cassie to catch her looking up at him. They smiled.
One. Tony thought about how lucky he was, and how much joy the last year had carried. Every year just seemed to get better with his kids by his side.
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