Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

From behind the door, he could hear May Parker saying "Order pizza and, if you need anything else, call me or Happy. Okay?" Then, right before he knocked, the door opened.

Harley Keener smiled at Mrs. Parker, murmuring a salute and waving his hand. May blinked a couple of times before she returned the smile, surprise evident on her face.

"Harley, hi! I didn't know you were coming to visit."

"I just wanted to discuss something with Pete. Is he home?"

"He's in his room." May left the door opened for Harley and left for work. She tried to apologize for not staying, but the teen said it was okay. He knew May had a lot of work at the hospital and she didn't have to apologize for not staying for him, when he was the one to show up at her apartment unannounced.

Peter Parker was at the desk in his bedroom, nose stuck in a textbook. He barely noticed the other person in the room.

"Man, you have to leave your cave on one of this days."

Peter abandoned his textbook and turned to face Harley. "Hello to you too, Mr. Keener."

"Come on, Pete!" Harley plopped on the bed, hands thrown in the air. "I haven't seen you in forever. Were you locked in here all this time?"

Peter laughed a little at how dramatic the other boy was. "Unlike you, I actually want to be accepted into the college of my dreams."

Since last Christmas, Pater has been preoccupied with learning. In June high school will be over and he wanted to be ready for college and additional exams he might need to take. But, he had to admit, he started missing spending time with Harley and Morgan at the cabin. They were his siblings in anything but blood. And the last connection he had with the late Tony Stark. Even a year and a half later, the death of their mentor and father figure still hurt.

Harley and Peter became close friends and (in the eyes of their friends and families) they were brothers. From the first time Tony introduced them to one another back in 2017, Harley and Peter became quite the pair. Always there for each other. They both vanished and blip back five years later. They both mourned their father and they both tried to make everything easier for Morgan. But, while Harley was living with Pepper and Morgan at the cabin, Peter had to come back to New York City.

"College is not on my bucket list."

Peter left his desk chair and joined Harley on the bed. "Why are you here, Harls?"

Harley knew he could trust Peter, but what he wanted to talk about with him might no be well received.

Pete saw the uncertainty behind his brother's eyes and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"You can't interrupt me. Like, at all. Just listen." Seeing Peter nod, Harley began. "I think I found a way to bring Tony back. Without losing what we have now."

Peter jumped off the bed, hands clasped on his ears. "No! No, no, I don't wanna hear it!"

"You promised you won't interrupt me!"

Peter was furious. It's been over a year and he thought they were over it. He wanted to be over it. But it seemed Harley still didn't want to accept that Tony was gone. And, deep down, neither did he.

Harley was hurt by Peter's reaction. "You can't just accept that he's gone! He died to save you!"

It was true. Tony risked everything to save Peter. And he knew that. "I know that, Harls. I do, believe me." With a resigned sigh, he said "But there's nothing we can do to change what's already happened."

Harley took out his phone and started speaking, determined to prove Peter wrong. "There is a way. I'll show you."

The rationale and mature part of Peter wanted to say no and throw Harley out of his apartment, but the curious and hopeful part of him took over this time. He sighed in defeat and sat back down on the bed.

Harley then opened the notes app on his phone and began explaining his plan. "So you know how the Infinity Stones work, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good. So, I was thinking, the only person who couldn't be brought back in one way or another was Tony. Vision was rebuilt and Wanda restored his memories, Gamora is alive too -"

"- But she's from the past."

"Doesn't matter, my point stands." He continued. "Natasha came back with Steve after the Soul Stone was returned and everyone who died from the Snap, directly or otherwise, were brought back safely by Bruce."

"Why are you telling me something I already know about?" It seemed like Peter was slowly losing his patience.

Harley saw that, so he got to the main point. "What I'm saying is, why don't we go back in time, borrow the gauntlet from the Avengers before they return the stones, then come back here, snap our fingers and bring Tony back?"

Peter looked his friend dead in the eyes, then yelled. "Are you insane?!"

"It's a foolproof plan."

"No, it's not!" Collecting himself, Peter went to explain why he didn't like the idea. "Look, we might fuck up this timeline. And who's to say this is going to work? Doctor Strange would've tried this if he knew it was possible, right?"

"No, he wouldn't have." Harley tucked the phone into his pocket and said "Where do you think I got the idea? Cause it wasn't mine."

"What are you talking about, Harley?"

"I'm saying that Strange and Wong made it very clear that the gauntlet could've saved Tony, but not at the expense of someone else's life." He put his hands on Peter's forearms. "We can do what they were scared to try. You and I can use the stones, because, if we use them together, we'll survive, and we can bring back dad. Think about it, Peter."

"I don't know about this." Peter dropped on the bed, covering his face with his arms. "What if something goes wrong? I'm afraid of losing other family members."

Harley laid beside his friend. He knew that feeling all too well. After a minute of silence, he said "You know, he told me once to not mope around if people leave me. And I did that." looking at the ceiling, tears were welding up in his eyes. "But he was the only person in my life who actually cared about me and now he's gone. And I can't get over it. I just can't."

They both lost their biological families. Peter lost his parents and uncle Ben. His aunt May tried to fill that hole in his heart, but it wasn't that simple. Harley's father left him and his mother killed herself one year after the Snap (the Blip couldn't bring her back; same situation as many others' who weren't able to get over what Thanos did) out of grief of losing both her children. His sister was placed in a loving foster home after they came back and, as much as he didn't like to admit, Harley knew she was better there. She was happier and he was welcomed to visit anytime he wanted.

But Tony filled the place of the father figure in both their lives. That's why it hurt so much now that he was gone.

Rolling his head over to the side, Peter looked at Harley as he said "It's not fair to others who lost their loved ones in those five years."

Harley wiped his tears, than stood up right on the mattress. "I know."

Maybe it was a bad idea to think about saving Tony, he thought. But, before he can admit that it was dumb to be so inconsiderate, Peter said "But... maybe just this one time... we can be selfish and try to give our dad his happy ending."

"You serious?!" Harley's face lite up like a Christmas tree. "You better not mess with me, Dumpster-Spider, or I swear to Thor..."

"I'm serious, Tennessee." Raising from his bed, Peter displayed a mischievous grin. "Let's go save our dad."

And so the "Bring back Tony Stank" plan began. Harley mapped out the steps very carefully before he proposed to Peter to do it, so they knew exactly what they needed. Scott Lang had the suits and the van, the gauntlet would be with past Sam, Bucky, Steve and Bruce. Peter will be the one to wear the gauntlet and Harley will hold on to him to disperse the power of the Infinity Stones between the two of them for minimal damage. It was perfect.

"But how do we take the suits from Mr. Lang?"

"Spider-Man will take them."

"Harley! Spider-Man doesn't steal."
.
.
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Spider-Man "borrowed" the suits. And Harley got the van.

"Don't scratch it, please." Scott was nice enough to lend the boy the van for the "road trip" he and Peter were going on for the weekend.

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of it. Thanks!" And with that, he drove off to the meeting place he and Peter chose. It was a few miles away from the Compound. Far away for them to not be found by the team if Scott realizes the suits are gone.

Now the boys were in the past, waiting for the perfect opportunity to snatch the gauntlet. "The moment you have it, you activate the suit. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah. Got it. Just tell me when the coast is clear." Harley was on lookout for the Avengers, while Peter was in the shadows, ready to web the gauntlet and take it with him. The only obstacles left were Sam and Bucky.

Sam was looking at the stones like they were somehow going to blow up any second now. "I can't wait to take this things back to where they belong."

"You think Bruce needs help getting everything ready to take them off of the glove?"

"Let's go ask him."

With the two Avengers gone, Peter took the stones and the two dissapeared.

In the Quantum Realm, something happened. Something bad happened. One millisecond Peter and Harley had the Infinity Gauntlet and were facing each other, the next the stones started glowing super bright and a powerful explosion threw the boys into a black void. They didn't have time to panic though, because the void spitted them out. They were suddenly falling from a tree, crashing down by it's roots.

The first to wake up was Harley. He groaned and blinked rapidly to clear his vision. He thought he was fine at first, but, the second he tried to get up, he realized he was not okay. First of all, he was pretty sure his left leg shouldn't be bent like that. Second of all, the glove and the suit were gone (good thing he had clothes underneath it). And third, he was tiny. Like, toddler kind of tiny.

"What the fuck happened?" He looked around, trying to find Peter. "Pete! Where are you?!"

Peter, turns out, was stuck in the aforementioned tree. He too realized they messed up. "I'm up here!"

Thanks to his powers, Peter had no problem coming down. Once on solid ground, he ran to Harley. "Was this part of your plan?"

"I think we messed up."

"You think?!"

If they would've been more observant, the surroundings would've looked familiar to them. But Peter's attention was fixed on finding a way to move Harley without aggravating his broken leg and Harley was trying to guess, based on his and Peter's current bodies, what age they are now.

The rustling sound of leaves made them froze. Someone was coming.

"Who's there?" They knew that voice. It couldn't be him.

But it was. Right there, in front of them, stood Tony Stark.

Chapter Text

When Morgan told him she heard weird noises coming from the woods, Tony expected to find an animal. A raccoon or, God forbid, a bear. What he didn't expect, however, were two boys around Morgan's age. Both of them were dressed in baggy clothes (definitely adults clothes taken from who knows where) and one of them was laying on the ground. At a closer look, Tony realized the kid in question had a broken leg.

"Hey kiddos." When they didn't reacted in any way other than blinking, Tony decided to take a few more steps towards the boys.

"I'm Tony." He sat down next to the kids, speaking in a calm and warm voice. "Can I take a look at the leg?"

To his immense surprise, the kids didn't seem to have a problem with him, though he put it on the list to find out who their parents were and why didn't they teach the boys about "stranger danger".

The second he touched the swelling leg, the boy hissed in pain. "I'm sorry. Bad Idea." Tony withdrew his hand and stood up.

He ended up getting Pepper and together they decided it wasn't worth risking the boy's fracture aggravating, so they called for an ambulance. When the paramedics arrived, the other boy refused to leave his friend's (brother?) side. Tony and Pepper had to promise to take him to the hospital to wait there with them.

That's how the two adults ended up driving to the city, both Morgan and the little boy in the back. Morgan didn't have a problem with the newcomer, even asking him if he wanted a juice pop. How sweet is that?

The orthopedist had to put the leg in a cast, the fracture will take a month to heal. While all three of the kids were left in the hospital room with plenty of crayons and paper to entertain themselves, the adults were taken aside by the doctor to discuss in the hallway. Pepper was just as shocked by the disheveled state of the boys as her husband was. And she too was wondering whether the kids had parents or legal guardians, because she couldn't imagine two little kids living on their own and wandering through the woods without someone out there looking for them.

"The leg will heal in no time." The doctor began. "But I had our social worker look for any records that might tell us where this boys' parents are and she found nothing."

"What do you mean by "nothing"?" Tony could understand that there were a lot of children who lost their legal guardians during the Snap, but this kids were Morgan's age. They were too young.

"What I mean is that we couldn't even find birth certificates for them."

Pepper waited a few seconds before she asked "Then what is going to happen to them?"

Meanwhile, Morgan Stark started interrogating her new friends with all of the big words the three (almost four) year old knew from TV. "What were you doing in the forest? Who are you? You look like daddy's other kids from the pictures in his office, but you're too little to be them."

Talk about a mini Pepper Potts. Morgan was, apparently, more observant than they anticipated. Exchanging a couple of glances, Peter slowly shook his head and resigned himself, knowing full well that Harley already made up his mind. Whether they wanted or not, it was easier to convince Morgan to keep her mouth shut than lie to her and risk having their sister blow up their covers by accident.

Harley then looked at Morgan and said "We are the ones in those pictures. We had an accident with some magical stuff and now we're stuck here."

The little girl frowned. "Those magic things made you small too?"

"Yup. Pretty much."

She put a hand under her chin, adopting a very serious expression. A few moments later, Morgan concluded they must be telling the truth, because she abandoned her place by the table that had all the crayons on it and made her way to Harley's bed.

Peter was surprised when Morgan took his hand and dragged him with her to join Harley on the bed. "Okay!" She said "You need fake names then."

Peter looked at Morgan confused. "Fake names?"

"Yeah, 'cause you can't be Peter and Harley, or mommy and daddy will find out and you won't be able to go back home."

Harley laughed a little, clearly picking up on what she was saying. Morgan must've seen some cartoons or movies that involved time travel and drew her own conclusions from that. Clever girl. She wasn't that far off from the truth.

"Morgy's right, Pete. We need to get ourselves some new names."

Peter thought about it for a minute. Harley clearly changed the plans, from getting out of there, to waiting for the right time to get another chance to use the Stones. He has gathered that they must be in 2022 (judging by Morgan's looks and the calendar he saw in the waiting room of the hospital), in the summer of that year, to be precise. They had a little over a year to fix what they've done and go home. Choosing some cover names might be the best option, if they want Mr. Stark to not find out who they really are.

"Fine. What do you have in mind, Harls?"

"Easy. Our middle names." Plopping down on the pillow he had, Harley fully expected Peter to tell him that that would be too obvious. But, to his surprise, Peter nodded in agreement.

"What are your middle names?" Morgan looked very excited to be part of the boys' little scheme.

Harley extended his hand to Morgan, which she took it. They shook hands as he "introduced" himself. "I'm Ty."

Morgan giggled before turning to shake Peter's hand, causing the boy to giggle as well as he said "You can call me Benjamin."

"It's too long." Morgan took it upon herself to nickname him. "Try Benny. Or Benji."

That made Harley laugh. "Hi Benny Boo."

"Oh, shut up!" Turning his attention back to Morgan, Peter said "I'm going to go with Benji."

"Good choice." You would think Tony Stark's daughter wouldn't resemble him this much at such a young age, but you would be wrong. The two boys were pleasantly surprised to discover how wrong they were. Morgan will make a fine ally in their new quest to go back to their timeline.

"But we still don't know if we're gonna stay with you, Morgan."

Just then the door opened and in came the Starks and a woman who looked very professional. Harley knew a social worker when he saw one and she was definitely one. Looks like they're staying with Tony, Pepper and Morgan at the cabin after all. It was easier than anticipated though.

Chapter Text

Happy had to bite his tongue to stop himself from cursing after he put down his phone. Tony called him and asked the poor man to run to the nearest store and buy clothes and carseats for two boys around four years old. What on Earth were they thinking? Fostering two small children when you already have one it's something he expected from Tony, sure, but not from Pepper. She was supposed to be the voice of reason.

But Happy can't exactly question his bosses' judgment, can he? He decided to do what he was asked and keep quiet until he meets the kids.

Back at the hospital, Pepper left with the social worker to get the paperwork she and Tony will have to fill out, while the man was left to watch the kids. Tony listened to Morgan talking about what she and the boys were planning to do once they were back home and found out that the kids were named Benji and Ty. Probably some nicknames, if he had to guess. But at least it was something.

"Alright, gremlins!" Tony got up from the uncomfortable chair he was on as he spoke. "How about we get out of here and continue the chit-chat in the car, okay?"

Nodding their heads, Morgan and Benji abandoned their drawings and turned towards the door. Tony dragged the wheelchair the hospital provided them with and helped Ty get into it. The second the boy was out of the bed, he sped down the hall like he was in a race, the other two kids immediately running after him.

"Hey! Wait up!" Poor Tony could already picture the many creative ways Pepper will kill him if something happens to them in the hospital's hallways.

Unfortunately for Tony, not only did he bumped into Pepper in his haste to stop the wheelchairs race, but the impact was powerful enough to knock them both on the floor.

"Tony!"

"I'm sorry, Pep." He helped her get back up on her feet, brushing and smoothing over her clothes. "I was trying to catch the kids."

She took a hold of his hands and smiled at her husband's panicked face. "I've noticed."

Tony stared at Pepper, who was giggling a little, and pulled back his hands. "Why are you laughing? You don't care that three preschoolers are running amok in this hospital? You know, Mrs. Stark, I had the impression that you were the responsible one in this marriage, but I guess that's not the case."

Tony continued talking as Pepper dragged him by the arm towards the hospital's main waiting area, where the kids were waiting for them, no longer entertained by the wheelchair and the coloring supplies the nurses give them.

"Okay, they're coming. Keep quiet. Not a word of our plans." Peter shushed Morgan and Harley, while keeping an eye on Tony and Pepper, with his ears perked up in case someone enters the building.

The kids didn't just raced around the not-so-busy halls, but plotted their next steps in the new plan titled "Back to the Future" (for obvious reasons). Morgan wanted to be part of that plan, so they had to include her. And so the little girl was entrusted with making sure Pepper doesn't find out what's really going on. Thay really don't need to be scolded by their mother more than they will be when they get back to their original timeline.

Harley insisted that they don't tell Tony anything about the time travel mumbo-jumbo until after his leg is all healed up. His reasons were quite justified ("I want to be able to run from him if he gets mad.").

Meanwhile, Peter hoped he would be able to figure out a way for this timeline's Tony to survive. Maybe they weren't able to get their dad back the way they planned, but that doesn't mean they can't save this version of him. 1 in 14 milion chances was total bullshit and he will prove it.

Then, of course, they'll ask nicely for two of the quantum suits and use them to, hopefully, get back home. The boys were fortunate enough to have memorised their coordinates before activating the suits last time. Now, fingers crossed and pray the plan doesn't backfires again.

Happy was a little sceptical about the boys at first. One, because they appeared out of nowhere. Two, because they got Pepper to take them in. Don't get him wrong, Pepper is a mother and a human being, Happy would never believe her to be the kind of person to just abandon someone in need, especially some kids. But she took the decision to foster the kids and that surprised Happy. Usually, Tony is the one who takes crazy decisions based on what he feels in that moment, not Pepper.

And three, it’s because the man had the vague feeling that the boys were familiar. Like he saw them before. And he couldn't point exactly where, when and, most importantly, how that was possible.

But then Morgan introduced the two boys to him and she was so excited to have Ty and Ben (the man won't address that poor kid "Benji", it sounded weird to him; so "Ben" it is) come home with her, that Happy decided he could set those unsettling feelings aside for the time being. For the sake of the little girl he loves so much.

"If anything unusual happens" Happy told himself "I'll be there to help. Better be safe than sorry."

Chapter Text

"I could get used to this." Harley said as he lounged on the king sized bed in the master bedroom.

Pepper convinced Tony and Happy to get the injured boy and take him upstairs, while she got everything else from the car. Morgan and Peter helped her, then joined their brother upstairs. Now that the kids were alone (for a few minutes, at least), they all got comfortable on the mattress.

"Keep in down. What if someone bursts in?"

"You're paranoid, Pete." Harley turned his head from Peter, to Morgan. "Isn't he paranoid, Mo?"

"He is." Morgan gigged, looked at the door, then turned her attention back to a all too stressed Peter. "In this house, we knock."

That earned a small chuckle from Peter, that was soon replaced by a sigh, as the boy tried to relax.

Downstairs, Tony was on the phone, waiting for Rhodey to pick up. He answered after the  fourth ring. "What took you so long, Sour Patch?"

"Not that it matters to you, Tones, but some of us still have to go to work once in awhile."

"Yeah, well, sucks to be you." Tony leaned over the back of the couch, watching Pepper pacing back and forth in front of the staircase. She had a notebook in her hands and was currently writing down everything she thought the boys might need.

Returning to his convention, Tony asked "Anyway, wanna go to Home Depot with me?"

That took James by surprise. "What for? You tearing down the house or something?"

"Nope. Pepper and I are fostering two four year old boys and we need another bed in the guest room."

It took Rhodey a few seconds to realize what his friend said. When it clicked, he said in a quiet, but confused voice "What?!"

"Do you need some hearing aids, Platypus?" Asked Tony between chuckles. Oh, how he loved to mess with Rhodes' poor heart.

"No. I'm good."

"So, are you coming or not?"

"Yes, but I'll need the whole story behind this." They said their goodbyes, then Tony hung up.

Shopping with Tony Stark was a nightmare most of the time, but not this time. Rhodey was blown away by the fact that his unorganized, chaotic friend had a list and was actually behaving like the responsible adult he should be.

He was also quite taken aback by the story and reasons behind this impromptu home makeover. "You mean to tell me that Pepper took an impulsive decision. Without you proposing it to her."

"It's that so hard to believe?"

Without even taking a moment to think about it, James responded "Impossible, in fact."

Tony chuckled, then turned away from his friend to look at another bed that he was sure wouldn't even fit in the guest room. He then came with another idea. "How about we get two toddler beds and throw the one in the guest room away?"

"Or, better yet, you put it in the garage since that's where you sleep anyway."

While Rhodey had no idea how they got into this mess, he was more than happy to make his friend laugh and help him and Pepper with the kids. He had now all the more reasons to visit. After all, James was eager to meet this two boys. And he was sure to investigate their sudden appearance in the woods as well. Because, let's be honest, Rhodes was an Avenger; he wasn't going to just let this mystery remain unsolved.

Back at the lake house, Peter and Harley put together a mental list of people they should be careful around. A list of people they were close to and could, potentially, be recognized by. Happy was already suspicious. He ended up at the top of the list. He was immediately followed by Rhodey, Natasha and any other Avenger.

But, how does one avoids the people that are basically family and always allowed within close proximity of the house and the Stark family?

Chapter Text

Rhodey and Happy helped Tony set up the guest room and move the old bed out to make space for the two new beds they bought for the boys. Though Pepper did have to interrupt them several times to remind the three men to work quietly, because the kids were sleeping just across the hall from the guest room.

Now, after the day they had, the kids deserved their nap. Peter and Morgan entertained Harley, who was still stuck in Pepper and Tony's bedroom, until they couldn't keep their eyes open. Pepper found the three of them huddled together on the king sized bed, sleeping soundly, just as Tony and Rhodey returned from their shopping spree.

By the time the kids woke up, the boys' room was finished and Tony, Happy and Rhodey moved to the living room downstairs to have a drink and relax. Pepper was in her home office, answering some emails, when Peter stumbled upon the three men lounging on the couch. He just wanted to have a glass of water and return to his partners in crime. But, by the looks of it, that wasn't going to happen.

When Rhodey turned to the sound of tiny footsteps, he was surprised to see the little boy. "Hey there, buddy!"

Peter froze. He knew that Happy was suspecting something was up with him and Harley. Still, he hasn't figured it out yet. What if Rhodey recognizes him?

The other two men turned around as well. Tony, seeing the kid's terrified look, stood up from the couch and got closer to the boy. "It's alright, kid. This is my friend, Rhodey."

"Are you going to introduce us, Tones?" James was visibly excited to meet his friend's foster son.

"This is Ben."

Peter wasn't used to people knowing his middle name, let alone using it. Couple that with it being his uncle's name and you get a very confused and emotionally distressed Peter Parker.

While he spaced out, Happy and Rhodey approached him as well. When it became clear that he wasn't responsive, Tony crouched down next to Peter, in an attempt to get his attention. It worked. Kind of. Because, when he finally realized that he was surrounded, the kid bolted up the stairs, glass of water forgotten.

Tony blinked a couple of times, slowly. Then he stood up. "Well, I think you scared him, platypus."

"...and then I panicked and ran back here." Peter was out of breath by the time he finished recounting what happened.

Morgan was laughing at him, while Harley was shaking his head, a disappointed look on his face.

"Honestly, man, you're a superhero with a secret identity. You should do better in a stressful situation."

"Then you try going downstairs and keep calm, see how it goes."

So that's what Harley did. Morgan jumped into action, eager to open the door for him, while Peter tried to stop him.

"I didn't think he was going to run away."

"Stop laughing, it's not funny." Tony was having a blast laughing at his friend, but Rhodey did have a point. It wasn't funny. They traumatized a child, after all.

With all the commotion, even Pepper couldn't work in peace. So she came out of the office, only to find the colonel on the couch, a pillow on his face, while Tony was laughing hysterically.

She decided to seek answers from Happy, who was silently watching the duo. "What is going on here?"

"One of the boys came downstairs and Rhodey tried to engage him in a conversation. It didn't work, the kid got scared and ran away."

"And I think we're about to have a repeat." said Tony, who calmed down enough to notice all thee preschoolers coming from upstairs.

"Ty, honey, you shouldn't be walking on that leg." Pepper hurried to pick up the boy, knowing that, if he was willing to walk all the way from the master bedroom to the living room, he wasn't going to just stop because she said so.

After the kids were comfortably seated on the couch, Rhodey tried his luck again, since he was closer to them. "Hey guys! Did Morgan here tell you about her uncle Rhodey?" He tickled his honorary niece, then added "That's me, by the way."

Harley smiled, a hint of mischief in his eyes. Luckily for him, Rhodey didn't catch that. What he caught, however, was what the boy said. "She said you were cool. Which is great. We've never had a cool uncle before and our parents are in heaven."

"You are a horrible human being."

"I am not."

The kids were now watching TV in the living room, all four of the adults having moved to the kitchen. The moment they left, Peter took it upon himself to point out how out of place Harley's words were.

"You made Rhodey cry."

"He'll get over it. Relax." Harley then leaned forward to whisper to Peter "Besides, this was my plan since we came downstairs. I'm making everyone feel uncomfortable, so they'll stop asking questions. That way, they'll leave us alone."

And to think he's not a villain. The way this boy crushed James' spirits and made Tony, Pepper and Happy drag the poor man away and to the kitchen would make you think otherwise.

Chapter Text

It was past 1 am, the first night Peter and Harley were spending in the past, and now was the perfect time to enact the second part of their plan to get back to their original timeline. The first, obviously, was to create their cover story, ran with it and hope for the best. The second part is to gain access to Tony’s resources; namely FRIDAY.

Peter was helping Harley go down the stairs, all the while muttering to himself about how they might get caught, or Pepper, ever the caring and responsible mother, will check on them during the night and panic when she notices they’re not in their assigned room. Sue him for thinking it’s too soon to try and play hackers with Tony Stark’s supercomputer. His AI can and will rat them out if she feels like it. He knows where FRIDAY ‘s loyalties stand, after all.

Harley, on the other hand, wasn’t too worried about it. “As long as you don’t jinx it, we’ll be fine. Trust me.”

“Hard to do that when this is where we ended up after I trusted you.” Peter retorted.

Harley said nothing, silently agreeing with Peter. Fair enough. He knows he messed up the first time, but he’s not planning on a repeat, that’s for sure.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, the boys made a beeline for the holo-table Mr. Stark had in his living room. Harley jumped up on the chair that was next to it, while Peter stood in front of it, palms splayed on the glass top of the table. A second passed where they both held their breathe while the sensors scanned Peter’s handprints. Then the tabletop lit up in a bright blue hue.

“Acces restricted to unauthorized users.” FRIDAY’s voice said in a monotonous tone.

“Unauthorized users? Aren’t we already in the database? With full access?” Harley voiced his confusion. This didn’t make any sense.

Peter thought about it, then turned to Harley and said “I think FRIDAY deleted us from the system.”

“What?! Why?”

“Because we are technically dead.”

Harley frowned. A minute passed where they didn’t say anything, seemingly accepting that there was nothing left to do, before jumping off the chair. “Well, that just won’t do.”

Peter watched as Harley let FRIDAY scan his hands before she repeated the preset message again. Only this time, Harley did what Peter didn’t: he addressed FRIDAY directly.

“I know you can see and hear us. What’s this all about?”

Peter was about to tell Harley that she’s not going to answer him because FRIDAY isn’t JARVIS. Harley got the chance to interact with both AI’s, unlike Peter, but both boys knew Tony’s secon AI wasn’t as keen to making conversation as his first one.

But he didn’t get the chance to say anything, because FRIDAY decided to play nice and answer Harley’s question. “I can not confirm your level of authorisation, as the information provided to me suggests both Peter Parker and Harley Keener heve been Snapped. Although your biometric informations match theirs. I suggest you speak with Mr. Stark if you wish to have your clearance level restored.”

The boys were left staring at the table, mouths agape and eyes wide opened, as the AI finished talking and the blue lights faded away. Now what? How were they supposed to work on designing the Quantum GPS bracelets and the suits without FRIDAY and Tony’s holo-table?

Chapter Text

It’s been a few weeks since they started fostering Ty and Ben. In that time Pepper had noticed some odd behaviors from the boys. For starters, they were talking in hushed voices around pretty much everyone, maybe except Morgan.

Not that she thought that was a weird habit necessarily. Pepper knew kids were not always prone to speaking loudly about anything and everything, and she knew the boys needed more time to get used to her and Tony around. She understood that. But she was still worried something else might be happening. Pepper wasn’t about to throw the kids in a psychologist’s office just yet, but it’s been discussed with her husband.

And that wasn’t all. Ben was avoiding eye contact. That, Pepper noticed when Happy came over. The boy didn’t seem to like to look at him at all. And, shortly after that, she noticed Ben avoiding her eyes as well. And Tony’s too. But other than that he seemed fine around them, if a little shy.

But the most disturbing thing Pepper heard came from Ty. The kid would take it upon himself to talk for his brother when situations required. When that happened, he would often throw in bits of informations about their past. Just like the night he told Rhodey about their parents being dead. Pepper was still shocked by how easily he was able to share the heartbreaking information.

One night she couldn’t sleep, just thinking of the little boy telling her, when they were exploring the backyard, "Once, a bald man held me hostage."

How was she supposed to handle that information? What was she supposed to do about it? It wasn’t even prompted, the child just said it and then moved on to walking with his new cast boot.

Pepper debated telling Tony about it, but, ultimately, decided to keep it to herself. Just until she thought of her next course of action.

Who knows what other horrible things these poor babies went through before Tony found them?

Chapter Text

Morgan kept coming downstairs, asking her parents for various objects before running back up to her room. At first, Tony and Pepper thought it was adorable and didn’t questioned it. After all, it’s not the first time their daughter asked for papers, or tape, or pens. It’s normal, the kid has an art project to work on and she’s keeping it a secret for the moment. Nothing to worry about. Besides, when Pepper asked Morgan what she was up to, the little girl said that it was something she, Ty and Ben we’re putting together “to save the world”. So, judging by her words, they were probably playing superheroes, or something along those lines.

Although, after the fourth time Morgan asked for something without a clear explanation, Tony started to get a weird feeling. Like there was more to it than just children doing arts and crafts. So he decided to follow his daughter upstairs. Just to check on the kids, make sure everything’s okay.

Meanwhile, in Morgan’s room, the boys were hard at work, having come up with a new strategy to go around their current “predicament”.

Harley assumed the role of watchman, waiting for Morgan to come back, while Peter was diligently writing down everything he could remember about the time GPS bracelets.

“Hurry up, Webs!” Harley whispered, as he hurried back to sit on the floor next to Peter. “Tony’s intercepted our supply shipment.”

Peter scribbled the last of his equation before pushing every last piece of paper he was writing on under a pillow nearby. Then he glared at Harley as he spoke. “I’m pretty sure I messed up that last result, thanks to you.”

“Thanks to me? It’s not my fault you’re a slow writer.”

“I have small hands, what did you expect?”

They would’ve kept bickering if it wasn’t for the fact that they now had company.

“Hey, kiddos.” Tony let Morgan enter her bedroom and take her place on the floor next to the boys, before stepping inside himself. “Maguna tells me you’re doing math together. Mind if you show me what you’re working on?”

All three kids looked at each other, the two boys silently thanking the little girl for lying for them. For a child that’s barely 4 years old (her birthday was celebrated a mere week ago, with only the family present, but still an enjoyable time), Morgan Stark is truly a genius prodigy. Her understanding of the situation Peter and Harley are in keeps surprising them every day.

The kids only nodded in reply to Tony’s request and showed him simple additions and subtractions, something the man wasn’t that blown away by, seeing as him and Pepper already tried (and succeeded) to teach Morgan about. Thus, it was easy for Tony to simply assume his daughter showed her friends how to do.

Crisis avoided. For the time being, the boys could breathe easy, knowing their secret was still intact.

That was until, later that evening, as Pepper was tucking the kids in for the night, she found a lone forgotten page under a mountain of toys. She looked at it and closely, then decided that Tony was better at determining if this was just something one of the kids copied from somewhere, or if it was worth looking more into it.

The woman folded neatly the paper and proceeded to make her way down to the kitchen, where she knew her husband was.

“Tony, can you take a look at this, please.” She shoved the paper in his hands, not giving the man a chance to back away and ask questions about it first.

He skimmed over the equations that were messily written in crayon, then gave Pepper back the sheet. “Quantum physics. You’re trying something new, honey? Cause I’m telling you right now, it looks like something I would come up with.”

It took a second for Pepper to get over the shock, before she responded. “It’s actually something I found when cleaning up Morgan’s room.”

If Tony was drinking something, he would’ve choked.

While it was clear his 4 year old daughter couldn’t have written this, that just made the other two possible culprits be his foster sons. And they weren’t that’s much older than Morgan.

But what kind of preschooler knows quantum physics?