Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The penthouse was quiet for once as Stephen finished clearing the table. His husband had finally finished the secret project he had been working on for the last couple of days and had taken all of their kids down with him to show them. Stephen didn’t mind the silence, though it was a strange feeling to have the floor empty for once. No teammates, no husband, no cubs.

Well they would come up again eventually, and it did leave him time to clean up the kitchen before the kids, most likely Harley or Peter, could come back to mess it up all over again.

The whizzing of a portal opening in the living room was a stark contrast against the earlier calm, and Stephen immediately dropped what he was doing to pull up his shields and go check out the disturbance. The only person that should be able to get past the wards was Wong, and though the energy signature was definitely similar to his fellow sorcerer’s, it wasn’t quite the same.

He stepped out into the living room, squinting at the librarian who caught his eye immediately. 

Wong looked older than he was supposed to be, definitely suggesting this wasn’t his friend, but his eyes were as calm and friendly as ever, though he seemed grimmer than he had been in a while.

Stephen didn’t miss the sad smile that crossed the sorcerer’s features.

“Stephen, we need to talk.”

Stephen nodded, and dropped his shields, but not before putting some protective spells over himself, nonetheless.

“Shall I alert Mr. Stark about an intruder, Doctor?”

“Not yet, Victor,” he silenced the AI, motioning for Wong to sit. The sorcerer politely declined with a shake of his head.

“I am, as you may have already guessed, not from your dimension,” Wong started, Stephen nodded, urging him to continue. “In my timeline, Thanos’ attack was postponed, and though it gave the Avengers of my world enough time to regroup and prepare, we can’t take any risks. We still need to be given the best chance, which is why I’m here.”

“I can’t risk my own people to help fight your war, Wong, I’m sorry,” Stephen interrupted the man. He had no intention of sending his family off to fight another war any time soon, besides as he had said, they already have a better chance than they had.

“That is not what I meant,” Wong assured him, giving him a knowing smile.  “As you know, you won the war by using the time stone. We would need to do the same, except there is one problem…”

Stephen frowned, but motioned for Wong to explain.

“In our dimension you have been missing for two years. No one else has the power or knowledge to use the stone in your stead.”

Stephen let the words sink in with a familiar detachment. One thing one learns from inter dimensional travel, he guessed. His alternate versions of him weren’t him but hearing that a good - or at least pretty decent - version of him had disappeared still saddened him. He couldn’t help wonder if he had a family in the other dimension as well. Would his Tony be missing him? How many children were waiting for his return if any?

He selfishly hoped there were, though he would never wish any children of his that kind of pain - not again, the thought of his alternate self being all alone was even more depressing. If things had been different, he still would be alone, himself.

“I can try to look for your solution and share my findings with you, but I would need your Eye of Agamotto for that. I hope alternate me didn’t take it with him when he disappeared.”

“No,” Wong smiled sadly, “he didn’t. I have it right here.”

Wong conjured up the eye out of a pocket dimension, and Stephen felt his throat slightly constrict at the sight. The eye had never been his, he just protected it, but he couldn’t deny he had grown fond of it. It had been a preferred sacrifice however, to get Thanos off their back, but if it hadn’t been destroyed, perhaps they could have made it back sooner, perhaps he wouldn’t have missed most of Diana’s early childhood.

It was a tantalising prospect. He had long suspected it was better the stone had been lost after all, as he would have been hard to resist temptation and mess with the timeline of his own accord. His husband had done a pretty decent job restoring everything the way it was supposed to, and him going back to mess things up would do no one a favour but himself.

“Alright then,” Stephen spoke, holding out his hand for the Eye. Wong handed it to him, and he wrapped it around his neck, the familiar weight jarring after all this time. He crossed his legs and let the cloak lift him up slightly, hovering in mid-air as he had done before. “You sure you don’t want to take a seat? This can take a while.”

“I’m good.”

Stephen nodded and crossed his hands, the familiar movements sending him back as he started looking for the alternate timeline and its possible futures.

—

Peter stepped into the penthouse floor followed by Harley and Diana. He himself was holding Valerie, and he immediately wrapped his arms around her more protectively as he felt his spider senses go off. It wasn’t a bad sense per se, but something was off.

He glanced around the room, eyes immediately caught by his mom floating in the air, familiar green mist floating around him and Wong standing close by.

“Mom?”  Diana’s voice asked worried from behind him, and he put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from running towards him. Not-uncle Wong had done his research apparently, because he seemed unfazed by the children’s presence.

“It’s fine Di, he’s done it before.” Peter assured her. Harley sent him a weary glance, but Peter focussed on Wong, who was watching the group with mild interest. “You’re not our uncle Wong, are you?”

“No, I am not,” he answered with a polite smile as he explained the situation.

Peter shrugged as his spider senses seemed to have settled down and moved to sit on the couch, positioning the sleeping baby more comfortably in his arms as he turned on the TV. It didn’t take long for Harley and Dia to join him, Dia running upstairs only to grab her colouring supplies.

Wong seemed comfortable just to wait on Stephen’s verdict, but Dia kept him distracted with questions about magic. It appeared she either hadn’t fully understood that this Wong wasn’t their uncle, or she most likely didn’t care, just pleased to find answers.

Valerie slept soundly for a while, but eventually she woke up and started being fussy. Harley took her from him and moved into to the kitchen to figure out if she wanted food or needed a diaper change, but came back half an hour later with a still crying baby.

“I’ve officially tried everything,” Harley sighed in defeat, still trying to shush the baby with soothing coos and slow rocking.

“Let me handle this,” Peter stood up as he rolled his eyes, taking her from Harley who was glaring at him.

“As if you can do a better job, fuckface.”

“Hey! Bad word!” Dia yelled from the coffee table, glaring back at Harley in turn as she reached for another marker.

“No, it wasn’t. I said duckface. Nothing wrong with that,” Harley fired back, falling back onto the couch and crossing his arms against his chest.

“Liar!”

Harley didn’t respond but retaliated by changing the channel away from the cartoons they had been watching.

Peter ignored Dia’s outcries and stepped closer towards their floating mother, moving to put the baby in the sorcerer’s arms.

“You probably shouldn’t do that,” Wong cut in with a frown, “it’s not safe. She could fall.”

But Peter just smirked in satisfaction when their mother’s arms, still deep in trance, wrapped protectively around the infant, clutching her against his chest, and the baby immediately settled down.

“See!” Peter called out, sticking his tongue out at Harley who just threw his hands up in exasperation.

“That’s cheating and you know it!”

Basking in his victory, he fell back onto the couch to continue lazing around.

Their dad stepped out of the elevator a little while later, not even looking up from his tablet as he moved into the kitchen with a tired ‘hey, Wong’. The librarian watched in amusement as the engineer breezed past them, sending a greeting back before answering yet another one of Dia’s questions.

The last two people to come up into the penthouse were Scott and Quill. Scott stopped in his tracks as he noticed Stephen, head movements now erratic as he must already be in the millionth something version of the future.

Tilting his head, he glanced at Quill who had just continued on into the living room, taking a peek at the TV to see what the kids were watching.

“Babe, Stephen is glitching.”

“Yeah, he does that sometimes,” Quill answered distractedly, waving the ex-thief off. “Focus.”

“Right,” Scott replied, not fully convinced but turning away from the sorcerer. “We’re looking for Cassie’s sweater. She says she left it here earlier and is adamant that’s the one she wants to wear out tonight.”

“Oh yeah it’s probably still in the kitchen,” Peter replied, throwing his feet over the back of the couch so he was lying upside down. “If Diana hasn’t snuck it into her bedroom like the little rat she is.”

“Meanie! And no, I didn’t,” Diana grumbled, but they all know the sole reason for that was probably because she hadn’t noticed its presence yet.

“Great!” Quill moved into the kitchen, grumbled something to Tony and came back out with the clothing in a triumphant hand. “Let’s go, I’m starving and our reservation is soon.”

“Where are you going?” Peter asked, stomach rumbling at the thought of food.

“That Mexican place a few blocks away.”

“Sweet! Can I come?”

Scott looked at Quill questioningly, the celestial just shrugging in response, before answering. “Sure but ask your parents first. I don’t want mama bear sicked on me.”

“Dad! Can I go out to dinner with them!”

Tony walked out into the living room, leaning against the doorframe as he glared at Peter; “we just had dinner!”

“But I’m still starving!”

“Fine,” Tony sighed, “but don’t come back too late, you have school tomorrow.”

“Yes, dad,” Peter rolled his eyes as he clambered up, pumping his fists in excitement as he followed the thief and celestial down to their floor.

–

Now his attention was on his family in the living room, Tony smiled fondly at his husband. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he knew the sorcerer knew what he was doing. It hadn’t been fun to watch happen the first time, and he couldn’t say now was any better, but at least they were in their home, not on an extra-terrestrial battlefield, and it appeared Valerie was keeping him company.

He moved to sit down next to Harley, pulling the grumbling teen against him as they watched whatever the teen had put on. “Can’t we watch cartoons or something? This seems like a mess of a show.”

“It is,” Harley answered quietly, “but I’m punishing Dia, so I can’t show weakness now.”

Tony rolled his eyes and huffed, ruffling the teen’s hair as he smiled softly. He could see Harley trying and failing to fight back a smile of his own. Yet, he abandoned the television, instead putting his chin on Harley’s head so he could keep an eye on his husband. In the end, it was the right choice, as he could see Stephen jump out of his trance with a small gasp, eyes wide and arms clutched around the baby.

Tony sat up at once, moving over to stand in front of his husband, ready to soothe him if needed. He noticed the sorcerer’s eyes blink down in confusion at their daughter’s presence in his arms, but it was quickly replaced by a fond smile as he shifted her closer against his shoulders.

“Alright then, seems like she has everything under control here,” Tony couldn’t help quip, smiling at their daughter in his husband’s arms, before glancing back up at Stephen. “You with us again?”

Stephen nodded with a fond smile, letting his legs unfold and touch his feet to the ground once more. He leaned forward for a quick kiss, making Tony smile in satisfaction, before Stephen stepped back and turned towards Wong.

“I can give you the memory of your best option. You’ll have to figure out yourself how to send everyone on their right path, however.”

“Thank you,” Wong nodded sincerely. “Will we find-“

“Yes,” Stephen cut in with a small smile, “you will.”

Wong smiled in gratitude, and Stephen handed Valerie over to Tony so he could perform the spell needed. Valerie woke up in his arms, blinking her eyes open to smile at her dad, before curling further against his chest with a delighted squeal.

He moved to sit on the couch again, and Stephen joined him once the spell was done, clearly exhausted after having experienced yet a million more different scenarios.  

They all said their goodbyes to Wong and wished him luck, before the little family could quiet down for the night, Stephen curling against Tony to close his eyes for a nap. A second later, however, his eyes snapped open again, glancing at Tony.

“Where’s Peter?”

“Dinner with the Lang’s.”

“How much time passed?” Stephen frowned, “We just had dinner.”

“Don’t worry, babe, it’s just his super apatite, you didn’t miss much.” Tony replied with a kiss to his husband’s forehead.

Stephen relaxed again, falling off into a dreamless sleep not long after.

Chapter Text

It didn’t happen often that the Avengers threw ‘drinking parties’. Usually they dragged both Tony and Stephen along with them, but as they hadn’t been able to rid of the kids in the tower and Tony and Stephen were still dealing with a few-months-old, they agreed to take it down to another floor. 

Now, Stephen wouldn’t have minded, if it hadn’t been for the fact that Thor had been around and brought his own Asgardian alcohol. 

And as the Asgardian had little concept of earth time, he was still quiet drunk at two in the afternoon the day after. Though Bruce had taken the Asgardian beer away from him, it was Stephen who’d gotten the rewarding task of babysitting him. 

They were in the sanctum and Stephen was trying his best to continue his work as sorcerer supreme, but every time Thor tried wandering off towards the - very fragile - relics, he had to transport him back to him, which was extremely annoying. He just hoped that it wouldn’t cause the god to empty his stomach after one too many times. 

Harley was sitting a little further away, biology textbook in front of him as he was studying for a big test that was coming up. Bruce was helping Tony with something, so Stephen was not only babysitting a god and trying to finish some potions, he was also answering Harley’s questions. 

At least that last part was fun, keeping his mind engaged while doing the repetitive tasks, as he was allowed to use the information he spent ten years of his life retaining. 

When Thor wandered off for the eleventh time, Stephen sighed as he transported him back towards him and turned towards the god. “Why am I always stuck babysitting everyone? Can’t you behave for one minute?”

“Easy!” The Asgardian reacted, lighting up as if having the answer to a quiz question. “Because you’re mama pigeon!.. Wait,” he grunted, face falling in thought when he realised that didn’t quite add up. 

Stephen shook his head in exasperation, turning back to finishing the last step of his potions when Harley spoke up and made his ears ring. “I can’t believe he’s still so eloquent after fifteen Asgardian beers. I lost the ability to speak after seven.”

His head snapped towards his oldest child, gaze lighting up with a glare as he stared at Harley. “Excuse you? Who gave you alcohol?”

Harley immediately curled into himself, wincing as he realised his mistake, but he tried to shrug it off, looking up at Stephen with a sheepish expression. “I’m just joking!”

“Harley,” he warned, using his best mama bear glare as his bullshit sensors were going haywire. 

“Oh come on!” He groaned, starting to twitch under his gaze, “it wasn’t a big deal!”

Stephen had to close his eyes for a minute and steady himself, trying to apply his meditation breathing techniques as he forced himself to let the stupidity of that statement pass. He couldn’t deal with this now. 

Thor was already wandering off again and the potion in front of him was starting to turn a dangerous red instead of the purple it was supposed to be due to having left it on too long. He was going to snap at Harley, and he didn’t want to do that. Recognised that it wasn’t the right solution but man was he starting to get pissed off. 

He opened a portal underneath Harley, moving him back to the tower as he tried to get his thoughts in a row. 

—

Stephen was still reeling from Harley’s words earlier. Logically he knew teens made mistakes and had to figure the world out on their own, but he couldn’t help feeling the urge to protect them, to shield them away and take their hits for them.

He had made the same mistakes as a teen, so the ideal would be that his kids wouldn’t have to. That his advice and guidance would be enough to keep them on the right path. To keep them safe and happy and perfectly healthy. 

Things weren’t so simple of course.

Like a toddler with a flame - and he wasn’t looking forward to watching Valerie make that mistake - they had to learn on their own that some things hurt. That you have to stay away from certain dangers and couldn’t let your curiosity take the lead for you. 

He drank alcohol himself, knew the pain of a hangover yet continued making the same choices over and over again. It was part of life. 

But Harley was too young. Besides the fact of drinking under the age of 21 being illegal in the United States, Harley was still in his formative years even as he tried to pretend he was fully grown. Adding alcohol to that mix - though fully normal to a lot of teens - was a dangerous concoction he didn’t want any of his kids part of. 

So when he returned to the tower later, having dropped a now sleeping Thor off on his own floor, he made his way up the stairs. He knew it was possible Harley was still in the lab with Tony, but Victor had made sure to check. 

Knocking on the door softly, he pushed it open, finding Harley lying on his bed and texting, phone in his hands. The teen looked up when he heard Stephen enter, and Stephen heard the sound of his phone locking as he turned towards him. 

“Harley-,” he started, moving over to sit on the edge of Harley’s bed. The teen sat up as well, rolling his eyes slightly before interrupting him. 

“I know what you’re going to say,” he spoke up, staring at Stephen’s shoulder, “but dad already talked to me about it after it happened.”

“What happened?” He couldn’t help frown, worry starting to course through him. Had he missed something bigger? 

“The party,” Harley answered, feeling exceedingly uncomfortable admitting the truth. 

“Explain.”

Harley sighed, knowing he couldn’t hide it any longer. “I only drank once at a party. I said I was sleeping over at Miles’.”

“Did Miles know?” Stephen asked, frowning at his oldest. Dread was starting to itch under his skin, even though he knew logically that Harley was here in front of him, safe and well. His husband had known about it, also, and clearly he had deemed it unimportant enough to agree not to tell him.

“No,” Harley winced, and Stephen was trying his best to suppress his anger. Harley was being honest with him - admittedly after he’d already been caught - so it wasn’t fair to get upset. But he couldn’t help it. Harley having gone out in the city with no one knowing where he was wasn’t just incredibly dangerous it was outright stupid, and he’d honestly thought Harley at least was a little more responsible than that. 

He always cared for his younger siblings and though he never missed an opportunity to be a menace, it were only moments where everyone was safe. The few times things had gotten out of hand having been miscalculations, but going out in the city alone was idiocy to a whole new level. 

“Harley,” he started, gritting his teeth, as he tried to not snap at him. 

“I know, I know!” Harley was quick to assure him, curling into himself as he pulled one of his pillows in front of him. “But Mr. Morales already yelled at me about it when he found me and called dad, who, in turn, also yelled at me.” 

Stephen was quiet, trying to wrap his head around the new information. He couldn’t help being upset he hadn’t known, hadn’t been aware of the possible dangers his child had been in. Even now he didn’t know what exactly transpired that night. And though he wanted to give Harley that space, his paternal instincts were yelling at him. “I ask again; who gave you alcohol?”

“I snuck into a college house party… And I swear nothing happened! They called my speed dial when they realised my age.”

“Mr. Morales is your speed dial?”

“If I need you or dad Sarah can call you,” Harley shrugged. Well, Stephen had to give him that. “And it’s not technically Mr. Morales but Miles, who then notified his dad.”

“At least someone is responsible,” Stephen sighed, already planning on buying the teen some new art supplies. “But, why, Harley? I get being a teenager and wanting to go out, but why on your own? Why lie to us about it?”

Harley started fidgeting with the pillow in his hands. He’d kept his gaze on Stephen’s shoulder for most of their conversation, unable to look him in the eyes fully, but now it drifted down completely, settling on his covers as he bit his lip. “It was the weekend after Mr. Kee - Nate came to get me.”

Stephen groaned internally, already knowing he couldn’t stay angry now - at least not at Harley -, before reaching out his arm and wrapping it around Harley’s shoulders, pulling him closer. “You know you could have talked to us if you were still upset.”

“I know,” the teen mumbled from where his face was pressed against his chest. Stephen could feel Harley relax in his arms as he continued; “It’s just that I wanted to think I was okay, myself. I mean, I was getting adopted, and that man never meant anything to me, but I guess it still hurt even if I didn’t want it to.”

Stephen only pressed him closer, carding his hand through the teens hair in soothing motions, “that’s perfectly normal. It doesn’t matter whether you like your feelings or not, but they’re real and okay. And they can always change over time.”

“Now,” he started, pushing the teen away a bit so he could look into his eyes. “What did your father tell you?”

Harley rolled his eyes slightly, “You know the whole jazz about not lying, and the dangers of going out as a teenager,” a sheepish blush crept onto his face as he continued, fixing his gaze on the bedspread once more, “and he explained that because my granddad - and most likely Nate - were alcoholics, I should be extra careful with alcohol in general because of genetics.”

Stephen watched Harley carefully, but he couldn’t help the warmth spreading in his chest. He knew he married that man for a reason. 

“Did you get any punishment?” 

“Really, mom?” Harley whined, definitely something he’d learned from Peter, but Stephen didn’t let up, just raising his eyebrow at him until Harley huffed and continued. “Dad locked me out of the lab for a week.”

Stephen rolled his eyes; his husband really was a softy. And Harley probably already knew Stephen was going to add to it. “Add two weeks of being grounded and a week of diaper duty for not telling me about it when it happened.”

“Come on!” Harley grunted, and not one to take anything without bargaining for the best price; “can I still sleep over at Miles’ this weekend?”

“He didn’t know you were supposed to be at his house?”

“No.”

“He notified his dad immediately?”

“Yes.”

Stephen huffed and rolled his eyes. He really thought he was getting better with the puppy eyes of his children, but he was certain Harley had learned both from Peter and Tony at this point. He also couldn’t help that maybe he had a soft spot for Miles. Can you blame him for liking well-behaved children, who don’t cause trouble like his own do? Well, at least if he did he wouldn’t be responsible for it. 

“Fine.”

“Yes!” Harley cheered, before quickly changing his expression to a subdued smile. Stephen rolled his eyes at him. 

“But you’re still on diaper duty.”

Stephen created a portal. No one on the other side batted an eye as he reached his hands out and grabbed Valerie, though Nat cursed in Russian as the baby was taken from her. He handed her over to Harley, the little girl blinking up at her brother before letting out a content hum and curling into him to continue her nap. 

Harley grinned down at her and laid back on his bed, grabbing his phone again to continue texting, this time with the baby curled on his chest. Stephen sighed and let him to it, and when he stepped into the hallway, he met Peter on his way down. 

The teen wrapped his arms around Stephen and he smiled down at him, holding him close as they walked down the stairs. “You look tired,” he commented, the teen huffing against his chest. 

“Too much studying.”

Stephen rolled his eyes but pulled him closer as they made their way over towards the couch. The Avengers had apparently trailed off as soon as the baby had been removed from the equation and through his exasperation he could be happy for it as he couldn’t help think Peter in danger of a sensory overload. 

He sat down on the couch, pulling Peter down with him as he asked Victor to dim the lights, and Levi came from who knows where to curl around both of them. 

“You know Harley likes diaper duty, right?” Peter asked, voice distorted through his robes. 

“Who likes diaper duty?” He asked nonchalantly. 

“It gives him secret baby time.”

Stephen chuckled, very aware that the teen was right. Harley always took way too long ‘changing diapers’, and he wouldn’t have figured out Harley was using the extra half hour to cuddle with the baby on his own time if it hadn’t been something he himself was guilty of. The one time demand for Valerie was low was when she had a dirty diaper. 

“That’s ridiculous.”

Over time Peter relaxed enough to turn on the TV, and when Tony entered the floor a little while later, Stephen pushed Peter off the couch.

“Hey!”

“Go pry your sister away from your girlfriend. It’s almost her bedtime.” Peter huffed but complied, trudging towards the elevator as Tony took his place next to Stephen. 

“Harley said you found out about the party,” Tony hummed, “is he still alive?”

Stephen rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Of course he is. But you might not be for much longer. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Hey, I’m good cop, remember? You gotta let me do my job!” Tony defended himself, already pulling at Stephen’s arms to unravel them. 

Stephen only locked them tighter, turning towards his husband in offence. “Wait a second, how am I bad cop?”

“You’re scary, mama bear,” Tony grinned and Stephen sighed and ignored Tony’s satisfied huff when Stephen let loose. He allowed himself to be pulled into Tony’s arms, resting his head on his husband’s chest. 

He leaned up to press a kiss against his cheek, before laying down again. “You did good.”

“What am I your dog now? Athena will get jealous.” Stephen smacked his husband’s arm and moved to get up, but Tony whined and held onto him. “I’m kidding!”

Chapter Text

The start of spring meant that, naturally, it was time to break out the barbecue equipment. The Avengers were enjoying one of the longest moments of uninterrupted peace in ages, so much so that they were possibly getting lax.

Tony knew they were never underprepared, though. He had plenty of eyes around the world, watching for trouble to hit them at any moment, but the longer it stayed away, the more they were able to relax.

That was a lie. They’d usually stress out more at first, worry that something big was coming, like the calm before the storm. But they’d passed even that stage to ease. They’d trained so hard and had gotten so experienced that they barely had to worry anymore.

It definitely helped that Quill was home, the extra set of eyes and firepower an insurance that they had nothing to be concerned about.

The family had been alone at the cabin all week, the Avengers in New York holding the fort for if something did happen - always vigilant for possible trouble - but today they had all decided on a day off, joining the Stark-Strange household at their lake house. 

It was warm but not unpleasantly so, and the trees were blossoming in the brightest greens, the water sparkling in the distance.

It would be peaceful if not for the sound of the screaming kids as they splashed around in the water or yelled at each other over a game of Uno. From the looks of it, Dia was winning, but it was hard to tell whether she was cheating or not. Sometimes, Dia seemed so lucky in her gameplay that it didn’t seem like a coincidence.

Now, it was clear that Clint was in fact cheating however, if badly so, and Cassie seemed to be able to hold her own, so Tony let it slide as he walked past with a tray of drinks and re-joined the adults. Tony sat down next to Stephen at the table, the wooden bench perfect to slide in close to his husband. Stephen leaned into him in turn, smiling contently as he watched over the kids in the water.

Tony knew they had nothing to worry about; Scott and Quill were down by the dock on child watch, making sure no one drowned or otherwise injured themselves. He understood, though, that Stephen wouldn’t ever quite trust the lake, even with chaperones.

“You know,” Tony mused, making Stephen and the others look at him, “we should probably send someone else down to make sure Thumbelina and space cake haven’t snuck off.”

Some laughed, others rolled their eyes or nodded in agreement, but Stephen was the most vicious, pinching his side. He squirmed away from his husband in betrayal, but Stephen just stared back at him innocently before pulling Tony back against him. 

He wanted to say something in retaliation, but he was interrupted by Sam stepping out of the cabin, dressed in swim trunks as he shrugged at Tony’s words. “I’ll go tap them out. The twins will wake from their naps soon anyway. Anyone else coming?”

Wanda and Bucky seemed to think about it, before shrugging and getting up to change, while Sam went ahead. A loud splash followed by a chorus of screams cut through the air. Stephen tensed beside him, but quickly relaxed once he noticed it was just Sam joining the swimmers and annoying the kids.

“Where’s Val?” Nat frowned as she looked around, probably doing a mental headcount of all the kids, “I haven’t seen her since lunch.”

“She’ll reappear eventually.” Stephen shrugged the question off. 

He and Tony weren’t concerned. She always liked to wander off or stay at the edge of the crowd away from the spotlight; especially at the lake house where she felt completely at ease and didn’t have to worry about strangers.

Tony could see her usual hideout from where he was sitting, barely had to strain to glance past the side of the house to her little tent. He’d seen it rustle a few times since sitting down and had no doubt Stephen had been watching it as well.

Usually she’d stick to her parents’ side, but at the house she could do whatever she pleased.

Natasha frowned sadly but nodded in agreement. Besides her parents she was probably Valerie’s fiercest protector. Whenever they weren’t available, she had been the one to babysit Valerie after all. She loved children and was one of the few people they could fully trust with their offspring.

Quill had been a merciless contender for Val’s attention, but when the twins were born, he had his hands full with his own kids (plus Dia), and Nat could give her the one-on-one time Val preferred.

Tony watched as the tent rustled once more, and he pressed a kiss to Stephen’s temple, whispering in his ear so the others couldn’t hear. He wasn’t going to give away coordinates to Val’s safe house. “I’ll go check on the princess.”

Stephen nodded fondly, before his attention was pulled away by the Uno table, which had broken out in a heated discussion over the rules.

Tony could hear something about ‘Barton’ and ‘acting like an adult’ as he walked over the porch, but quickly lost interest as he used the cover of heading inside to sneak around the building towards Dia’s old ‘castle’. The curtains had been replaced since Dia last fit into it, but it was still the worse for wear.

He sighed as he sank down in the old chair positioned in front of it, knees aching, but at least it didn’t snap in two with his weight on top of it. He could feel the legs digging further into the earth, but he sat comfortably as he turned towards the fabric.

“Knock knock.” Tony started, politely waiting for a response that never came before trying again. “Knock knock. Anyone home?”

Once again there was no response, and Tony rolled his eyes fondly as he switched tactics. “Strange, Valerie isn’t here after all. Guess we should just head back to New York without her.”

Still no response.

Damn, why did their kids need to be so smart? Curse his brilliant genes.

“Come on, topolina,” Tony begged, voice pleading as he played for sympathy. He wiggled in his chair, the creaky noise eliciting a small giggle from inside the tent. “If daddy can’t hide away, neither can you.”

“Too much noise,” the tiny voice finally sounded through the curtain, soft and timid, and a smile pulled at Tony’s lips.

“Yeah, mommy’s been complaining about that for years,” He replied, tone muted to hopefully ease Valerie even more. No response came, which was expected as his remark hadn’t really been directed at her. “At least make room for your old dad to join you.”

Valerie remained silent, but Tony smiled fondly and peaked inside as the curtain was pulled open a little. He grinned in victory and moved to push his head into the tent. The tiny table in the middle was covered in paper and markers, Valerie moving to take her seat again once Tony was halfway in the tent.

Tony grumbled, though, knees getting dirty with sand as he tried to crawl in and glanced around the small space. He’d never expected to fit, but a good parent needed to be able to put up a performance. “Yeah, this isn’t going to work, kiddo.”

He had to fight back a smile at Valerie’s tiny pout, her sparkling blue eyes a clear image of Stephen’s. It was signs like this that assured him Valerie really did want company, did enjoy their presence, even if she liked to hide out.

Tony knew their lifestyles didn’t quite match up with Valerie’s needs. They were often required to be in the public eye, couldn’t leave the tower without getting attention and even their home itself was always filled with people. She was fine around the Avengers most times, but Tony could tell she’d enjoyed the week away, the time with just the six of them, and that it would take some easing into before she’d be able to fully deal with that amount of people again.  But despite her hesitance to let anyone into her bubble now, she still clearly wanted Tony to join her.

“Tell you what,” Tony started, smirking when Valerie immediately looked up at him in intrigue. He guessed he was getting repetitive; the kids knowing that start meant a usually sweet deal for them. “How about we go hide out in the garage instead?”

Her shoulders drooped the tiniest bit, eyes hesitant as she tucked a dark strand behind her tiny ear.

“I won’t make noise, I promise, but it will be big enough for daddy to fit.”

Valerie thought about it, seemingly more at ease with this proposition, and smiled as she nodded her head and immediately reached out her hands. Tony let her wrap her arms around his shoulders as he pulled back out of the tent, taking her with him as he stood up and positioned the little girl on his hip.

“You know, mommy is too distracted to worry about paint stains.” Tony mused as they headed towards his workspace, moving further away from their guests. He had caught a glimpse of Stephen smiling at them, before his husband had turned his attention back to helping Scott and Quill with the twins and disappearing out of sight. “You want to paint? I’ll even let you use your hands but don’t tell mommy I said that.”

Valerie nodded excitedly, resting her cheek against his shoulder.

Tony sat down at his workspace, leaving Val in his lap as he cleared away the rubble and grabbed some sheets of paper. “DUM-E, get me the secret paint stash.”

The little bot whirred excitedly at being given a task and came back with the box of paints and brushes - locked, luckily, or he had no doubt DUM-E would have spilled everything on the floor and then he’d be in trouble with Stephen.

Well the floor wasn’t really the problem; it was his workspace to do with whatever he wanted. Stephen didn’t interfere unless Tony was doing something dangerous. He was more afraid about getting the paint out of Valerie’s good clothing. Even magic can’t fix paint stains.

Tony was certain it could, but Stephen had reminded him multiple times that ‘he was not studying to become a magical housewife’ and that he had better things to spend his time learning than household spells.

He pulled an old shirt closer that he’d abandoned in the lab at some point and pulled it over Valerie’s head, and once pleased that it covered enough of her clothing, he unlocked the box and handed her free reign over her creativity.  

Tony didn’t know how long they sat there, but Stephen was the one to come get them. 

Tony noticed him the minute he walked into the room. After years of marriage that had never changed, and he watched as Stephen leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms as he watched over the scene. Val was still sitting on his lap, but her hands were cleaned as much as possible - only a few spots of blue skin left - and she was leaning against Tony’s chest as she waited for her paintings to dry.

“The Bartons already left,” Stephen started, voice soft and laced with fondness, “I gave them your regards. Want to come say goodbye to the other Avengers, Val?”

It was clear that she was getting tired, the nearly four years old’s eyes were drooping, and her breathing was getting heavier. She thought about it for a while, but it seemed that with the crowd having receded to the main habitants of the tower she was more inclined to at least try. She nodded her head, and Tony stood up, placing Valerie on his hip again as he moved towards the doorway.

He stopped in front of Stephen, placing a soft kiss on his lips before Valerie reached out and let herself be transferred to her mom’s side. “Did you enjoy your day, cub?”

She nodded in reply to Stephen, and Tony smiled softly as he followed the two of them back to the front of the building, hand at the small of Stephen’s back where he liked it.

“You know you have paint on the back of your shirt, right?” Stephen questioned, but he sounded amused at least, voice teasing as he touched a spot on Tony’s left shoulder.

“What?” Tony frowned in exasperation, “How did that even get there?”

He turned his head around as much as he could, and even from the shitty angle he could see the edges of a green stain. Even with all his precautions… “I have plenty of shirts, Stephanie, it doesn’t matter.”

When they reached the front porch again, Tony had to admit that it was a little disorienting. He guessed he had gotten used to it over the years, but he understood how Valerie could still find it overwhelming at times. The lake was empty now, everyone dried up and ready to leave, standing around in a huge group of people as everyone finished up their conversations and was about to say their goodbyes.

Tony and Stephen and their kids would stay behind one more day, cleaning up and packing their things before heading back to the tower, but Stephen created a portal for the Avengers to head right through.

Valerie stuck to Stephen’s side, smiling and waving goodbye at the Avengers but leaning heavily into Stephen’s comforting touch, legs wrapped firmly around Stephen’s torso.

She only allowed Nat to take her out of Stephen’s arms for a quick hug, and high-fived Quill on his way through with Hailey on his hip, and by the time everyone had stepped through she seemed much more at ease and happy.

“Val?” She looked up at Peter from Stephen’s shoulder after the portal had been closed. “Want to come watch a Disney movie with us?”

She nodded her head excitedly as she squirmed for Stephen to put her down, and quickly ran over to her siblings as they headed back inside.

She made through the first fifteen minutes before falling asleep curled between her brothers, and Tony lifted her off the couch and into her bedroom.

He’d barely closed her bedroom door behind him when arms wrapped around his waist, and he smiled, leaning into his husband. The sorcerer trailed kisses down his neck, stopping by his ear to whisper, voice low and appealing, “You know how sexy it is when you’re being a dad?”

“I’m always a dad,” Tony fumed in response, squirming under Stephen’s administrations as his hands trailed over his sides.

“Exactly,” Stephen whispered before gently tugging at Tony’s earlobe with his teeth, making Tony roll his eyes, pleased.

Tony hummed in agreement, before turning around in Stephen’s arms and pinning the doctor against the wall, finally able to face his husband and kiss him properly. Stephen melted into his touch, opening up to him easily as his arms moved to wrap around his neck. He broke away a few minutes later begging for breath, pleased to find the lustful eyes boring into his. “You do know the kids are still up, right?”

“They’re not even in the realm of monsters yet, we’ve got plenty of time,” Stephen sniggered, stepping away from the wall and pulling Tony along behind him.

Couldn’t argue with that.

Chapter Text

Tony didn’t know when it had started, but he noticed it eventually. Stephen became less focused, seemed to drift off in the middle of a conversation as he stared at Dia.

It started of small. The first time Tony noticed anything it was during a scene he knew well.

He was working, tablet in hand as he watched over Diana’s sleeping form next to him on the bed. He’d spent many a night like this by now, everything about it familiar. Except that where Dia used to have been spread out on the sheets, she was now curled against Stephen’s side. 

His wife was sitting next to him, hand absentmindedly petting Dia’s hair, and it felt more perfect than it had ever been.

In the past, no matter how perfect a moment between him and his daughter had been, there had always been something missing. An emptiness that couldn’t be filled or forgotten no matter how hard he tried. Not that he tried hard.

But now they were complete, and he felt it in the flutter of his heart as he glanced at Stephen. Tony frowned however, when he noticed how the book Stephen had been enjoying hung limply in the air, forgotten in favour of staring at their daughter. His eyes were glazed over, as if far away, and it chipped away at the happiness of the scene.

Tony felt Stephen’s pain as if it was his own, even if he knew logically that he could never understand the depths of Stephen’s anguish. He had experienced all of Dia’s firsts. Her first steps, her first tantrum, her first cartwheel, … heck, he remembered the first time she threw a spoon at him with deadly precision.

Stephen had missed all of it, had lost way too much time with their daughter.

He remembered clearly how he’d desperately glanced around the room when Dia had taken her first steps, trying to catch pale blue eyes that weren’t there, trying to share the moment with the person who mattered most. 

And even worse, he remembered the time Dia had written her name for the first time, and for a blissful hour everything had been perfect, … until eventually, he remembered Stephen.

Until he realised, he hadn’t thought about him at all, and the guilt about that fact had come crashing down on him like a tidal wave.

And then he couldn’t stop remembering. Couldn’t stop thinking about how Stephen sometimes still struggled with writing when his hands became too much, which quickly turned into him simply reminiscing about his wife’s hands and how much he loved them. How he loved their soft touches and how they trembled slightly against his.

Couldn’t stop thinking about the boys and how they used to scribble notes behind his back in the lab, plans for new machines and updates they didn’t want his help on. How Harley used to draw his own blueprints by hand when he was bored.

The sound of a soft thud woke him from his thoughts, and he blinked as he watched Stephen glance down at his lap. The book that had been floating in front of him had come crashing down, the sorcerer watching it in confusion.

“Stephen, you okay?” He asked, reaching out to grab his wife’s arm, the touch grounding him. He had him back. And nothing anyone could do would take him away from him ever again.

“Yeah, yeah, fine,” Stephen mumbled absentmindedly as he picked up his book again and watched it in apprehension. “Must have lost my focus.”

That was all for the moment, and they went to sleep that night barely remembering the incident.

Tony would have forgotten about it all together if it hadn’t kept happening over the following weeks. More and more would he catch Stephen staring off into the distance, unfocused as he watched Dia draw or pained as he looked at Tony.

It was worrying, almost like they were right after the snap again. Back to when the sight of seeing Dia so grown up had often still been a shock for him as much as seeing all of them alive sometimes had been for Tony. But they had adjusted over the last few months and had settled into a new normal.

Tony didn’t allow himself to think about it too much. He himself still often struggled with how big Dia was getting, the time that was ticking by, so he blamed it on that and moved on.

He looked up from buttoning his shirt as the crying continued, frowning as he noticed Stephen a little further away. He was in the room still after all, but it didn’t explain why Valerie was still crying. Why Stephen hadn’t turned around and walked over to her crib.

He was leaning against the doorway to the hallway, staring over the bannister at the other kids who had made themselves comfortable on the living room couch. His eyes were focussed, transfixed on the sight in front of him, which again, wouldn’t necessarily have been a cause for concern.

What was worrying was that he hadn’t snapped out of it at the sound of Valerie’s wails.

He moved over, himself, scooping down as he reached the crying infant. “Hush now, topolina. What’s wrong?”

He bounced her around, blue eyes still wide and teary as she reached out towards Stephen.

“Okay, got it,” Tony smirked, walking over towards Stephen and gently touching his shoulder. “Daddy isn’t good enough.”

Stephen jumped at the touch, head snapping towards him and Val as he frowned. “Tony?”

His eyes shifted towards Valerie, the infant immediately reaching out and clutching at his robes as soon as she was close enough. Stephen took her seamlessly, tucking her on his hip with practiced ease. Yet, he looked down at her in confusion as he curled her head in his neck and petted her hair, shifting his gaze towards Tony after.

“Are you okay, tesoro?” He asked softly, “Didn’t you hear Val’s crying?”

“N-no,” Stephen was still looking confused, baffled as he seemed to shake something from his mind, “I must have been distracted.”

He didn’t sound convincing, but Tony let it be, simply reaching up to kiss him softly before walking out of the room and yelling over the railing towards the other kids. “Mom’s completely free for a cuddle pile!”

Peter was the first one out of his seat, Dia only slower due to her lesser reflexes, and they quickly ran upstairs to wrap Stephen and their littlest sister in a hug. Harley followed slowly but surely, wrapping his arms around all of them last.

Stephen rolled his eyes at Tony, but he only smirked as he noticed the smile on his husband’s face returning and the harsh lines of confusion fading away slightly.

What eventually set alarm bells blaring in Tony’s mind, was when Wong visited him.

Wong visited often, sometimes to drag Stephen on a mission or remind him of his duties at the sanctum, but other times purely to have dinner with the family.

It was unusual, however, that today he appeared in the early afternoon, stepping directly into Tony’s lab. He hadn’t even been aware Wong had ever even seen the lab before, so that he would suddenly come to him now immediately prepared Tony for the worst.

“Please tell me he’s not dead,” Tony ground out, only half-joking as he braced himself. The mere thought was enough to form the beginnings of a panic attack, but he tried to keep it under control, at least until he could hear Wong’s answer.

“What?” Wong frowned, as if he couldn’t understand how ominous it looked for him to suddenly show up, face even more grim than usual. “No, but I am concerned about him.”

Tony let the ‘no’ reverberate through his head, breathing slowing as he stalled down the initial panic as it was replaced by relief. The hints of anxiety lingered, however, burning his skin as he focussed on Wong once more, king of compartmentalisation. “You said you were worried. Why?”

“Stephen has been showing an unusual interest in the time-stone and time magic in general. I’m afraid he’s planning to use it to mess with the timeline.”

“Why would he-,” Tony frowned, but he cut his sentence short as the answer came to him, mind once again faster than his mouth. “Dia.”

It all fell into place; the lingering glances, the unfocussed looks and inexplicable daydreaming.

It didn’t make sense, however. Stephen knew better than to mess with the timeline, and if not for the universe’s sake, he knew his husband would never risk the life of their daughter. He had been the biggest advocate for finding a safe way to store the time stone, barely having been home for two weeks straight because he was working on a way to contain its magic and its allure to dark creatures and power-hungry maniacs.

If Stephen was planning to turn back time to before the snap, Dia might already be alive, but there would be no guarantee that they’d win the fight against Thanos a second time - let alone before he snapped in the first place - and he doubted Val would be born in an alternate timeline at all.

Even if they did decide to have another baby after Dia - which wasn’t unlikely to say the least - chances were basically non-existent that they’d have the same child.

In other words, Stephen would never use the time stone.

If he had it would have been before Valerie was born.

Valerie’s birth had been a side-effect of Stephen’s grieving of Dia’s missed childhood, a solution as well as a second chance. It had helped, and Stephen had been less brooding with Val around, had been happier. He always loved having a baby around, and even as he still hated having missed five years of Dia’s life, it had no effect on their relationship now.

His wife wasn’t one to live in the past.

And again, to have it said for the millionth time; he would never risk Valerie.

“Is there anything we can do to stop him?” Tony asked, mind still running a mile an hour trying to fit the pieces together, to search for an explanation or solution.

“I can try locking away the time-stone even from him, but if he really wants it, he’ll find a way to break the spell.”

Tony slumped back against his chair, hands coming up to run over his face as he groaned. 

“I just… I don’t understand.” He looked up at Wong, finding the other sorcerer look at him with sympathy. “Why would he…- it doesn’t make sense.”

“I can think of a possible -,” Wong stopped midsentence, face stilling as his back stiffened. Tony sat up at once, recognising the signs from Stephen; someone had broken through wards set up by the sorcerer.

“Let’s go,” Tony started, tapping his chest piece  as he stepped up to Wong. Wong barely spared him a glance as he created the portal to Kamar Taj, and Tony braced for what he would find.

He wasn’t as surprised as he should have been to see Stephen standing in the library, eye of Agamotto already around his neck, pupils glossed over. 

It was a horrifying sight. 

Stephen’s eyes looked almost crazy, manic with want as he glanced up at them.

“Stephen, darling -,” Tony started, taking a step closer, placating hand held up in front of him. He wasn’t afraid of his wife hurting him, but something about Stephen’s stare wasn’t right. It was almost like he didn’t recognise them, face edged with pain, grief, and determination.

He growled, a sound Tony usually would have found incredibly attractive if not for the spell thrown their way. Tony jumped back, shielding Wong with his armour. It turned out to be unnecessary, as Wong threw up a shield to protect them both, but it was instinctive, and not a reflex Tony was planning on unlearning.

The spell bounced off, hitting a wall behind Stephen which groaned under its force, cracks appearing near the ceiling. Books started tumbling off shelves a little further away as Stephen sent his next blast, and Wong cursed under his breath, before dropping the shield in a swift motion.

Before Stephen could attack them again, Wong opened a portal, throwing it over Stephen and jumping in after.

Tony followed, worry coursing through him as he noticed the two sorcerers locked in battle.

Wong had portalled them to a training area in the tower, apparently considering it a safe space for them to fight back at Stephen. The sorcerer had a point, Tony conceded.

Despite the presence of the children a few floors up being less than ideal, the walls of the training room were enforced enough to withhold the fight, and there were no innocent civilians around to get harmed.

Bonus points for the fact that some of the Avengers were already around.

Steve, Bucky and Sam were watching in confusion, their training clothes indication that they had been sparring before being interrupted. Tony wondered why they weren’t already helping Wong, but realised they must think they were just training as well, no reason to believe their matriarch was the enemy of the day.

“Incapacitate mama bear!” Tony yelled at them, not even bothering throwing in a ‘don’t hurt him’, because he knew the team would never. They tried fighting back, but eventually one by one, they were going down.

More Avengers streamed in thanks to FRIDAY, but none of them could hold their own against Mama Bear on a mission. Tony even doubted Quill would have been much of a match, the celestial never would have had enough irrational anger aimed at Stephen to go full god on him.

Well, Tony mused, glancing towards the heap on the floor that was Scott’s unconscious body, maybe.

Regardless, there was no way to test that theory with Quill in space.

Tony was holding on, despite the tears that were forming in his eyes as he fought his wife, Stephen’s eyes still completely lacking recognition towards any of them.

Tony couldn’t do more than dodge, wouldn’t do more than dodge, and his exhaustion was catching up with him by the second.

Eventually Stephen got in a good blow that sent Tony flying, crashing into the opposite wall, and Stephen stood victorious, in the middle of the room, Avengers groaning on the floor around them.

“I need to try again,” he heard Stephen whisper under his breath, voice carrying through the quiet room. The breaking of his heart was enough to fuel Tony as he crawled onto his knees.

He sent out metal ropes right as Stephen started to move his hands. They were a combination of Stephen’s whips and Vanko’s contraptions, both strong yet agile, more adaptable than the Russian’s. They snaked out towards Stephen right as the eye started glowing dangerously green, already opened. The ropes caught Stephen’s wrists, carefully not to hurt his hands despite everything, holding them in place to stop him from completing the necessary movements.

He pulled at the ropes, forcing Stephen to his knees as the bands continued wrapping further up his arms.

Stephen’s head rolled up towards him, fighting against his restraints with no use. Tony breathed heavily as he caught his eyes, still trying to get himself together, fighting against the exhaustion as he stared at his wife.  

“Stephen,” he panted, “what on earth? It’s me.”

“You’re not my Tony,” Stephen glared at him with that glassy look from earlier shifting into disgusted hatred. It made Tony’s stomach roil. “My Tony would let me do this. Would care that I am hurting!”

Tony took a step back as if slapped, heart stopping as his blood turned to ice. He didn’t know what to do, what to say. He knew there was something wrong, didn’t believe for one second Stephen was in his right mind, but that didn’t stop the scene from being pulled straight out of his nightmares.

When Wanda finally ran into the room as the only Avenger left - Bruce and Thor not being in the states currently - it was a relief purely so it wasn’t only him and Stephen alone in the room anymore.

It hurt, seeing Stephen so despondent and hateful towards him, and Tony didn’t know what to do. He had no explanation for what was going on, no idea why Stephen would go against them or why he’d turned so vicious. And his mind kept drifting towards the children upstairs, the children that could get hurt if it got out of hand, that would lose a mother if they couldn’t help Stephen, or worse, would get ripped out of existence if he succeeded.

“Tony?” Wanda yelled as she stopped in the doorway, eyes immediately focussed on Stephen. FRIDAY must have caught her up to speed, her red magic glowing in her hands. Yet she sent him a careful look. “I can use my mind control to detain him. What do you want me to do?”

Tony sighed, arms strained from holding the ropes in place, mind tired from squaring off with his possessed partner. Weighing his options carefully and trusting Wanda not to hurt Stephen, he nodded.

She moved her hands at once, red smoke flying out towards Stephen -

Before it bounced back against his head. 

Tony’s gaze snapped towards Wanda at once, noticing her frown as she tried again, pushing harder.

“I don’t -,” she started after the third try, face twisted in confusion, “I think someone else is already controlling him.”

“That explains it,” Tony growled as anger coursed through him, wondering who the fuck would dare mess with his wife’s mind. And perhaps more importantly; how the hell could they snap him out of it.

It was a relief however, to have an explanation, to have an excuse to drop the memory completely from his mind and not have to worry about Stephen having spoken the truth.

“Stephen,” he took a step forward, trying to get through to him, the sorcerer still desperately fighting back against the whips. “Tesoro, what did you mean? What are they putting in your mind?”

Tony wasn’t sure if he’d imagined Stephen’s pupils flashing slightly, as if fighting back, but he held on nonetheless, continuing talking. “We’re all safe. Dia loves you, has loved you for the five years you were gone. It sucks that you weren’t there, but we’re all okay now! She has you now.”

Stephen’s struggling against his bonds seized momentarily, and Tony took the opportunity to step even closer as he continued. “And Valerie is perfect! She’s probably missing you right now. They all are!”

His eyes closed, flinching against his words, and Tony wanted to keep going, but he didn’t have to.

“Mama?”

Tony turned towards Dia’s voice, soft and confused. Wanda must have gotten them, holding Valerie in her arms as Dia ran closer. Tony couldn’t help but check with FRIDAY where the teens were, FRIDAY’s response of ‘protecting the Barton kids’ spoken into his ear.  

Tony wanted to tell Dia to stay back, Stephen stilling in his bonds as Tony held his breath.

This could go either way, Tony worried. Either it would help him fight the compulsion or strengthen his belief they needed to go back. That he needed to see her childhood.

“Mama,” Dia asked again, face twisting as she noticed the state he was in, tears starting to stream from her face. “Mama please! I don’t care about the past! I just want to color with you now!”

Stephen blinked, starting to groan slightly as if in pain, and Tony paled at the sound. He leaned down, dropping the ropes to restrain him with his own hands instead. The eye of Agamotto started to lift up from his neck, the sorcerer not even noticing, too busy twitching against Tony’s grip. Tony didn’t even have to look to his left to know it was Wanda, the red wisps of smoke too familiar by now.

“I have to -,” Stephen started groaning now, almost delirious, sweat starting to collect on his brow as if having a fever dream. His eyes were open again, the look almost disturbing, pupils shifting in and out of focus. “Go back -. To the start. Prevention -”

“You don’t, Stephen! Everyone’s perfectly happy! You’re perfectly happy!” Tony risked letting go of one of Stephen’s arms now the eye was safely in Wanda’s hand. He knew Wanda could intervene when necessary, so he merely cupped Stephen’s face, forcing him to look into his eyes so he’d have something to focus on during the moments he was shifted back into himself.

They stood like that for what felt like forever, Tony holding him steady, Dia standing near and tugging desperately at Stephen’s arm as the sorcerer’s mental battle continued.

“Tony-?” Tony sighed in relief at the indication that Stephen finally remembered him, but he was still struggling, and Tony could see him getting more and more exhausted. Tony knew about mind control; knew how tiring it could be and the toll it had on your mind. He just needed Stephen to be strong for a little while longer.

“Stephen. Focus on my eyes. Think about Valerie, okay. Focus on what we’ve gained since Thanos, not what we’ve lost.”

Of course, that was when Valerie started crying in Wanda’s arms. Tony was too focussed on Stephen to look over at them but breathed out in relief when he saw Stephen’s eyes clear further, swaying forward as he tried to shake off the remnants of control. He glanced at Dia, standing by his shoulder and staring back at him with scared eyes, and he immediately sagged forward. Only Tony having stayed close kept him upright, allowing the sorcerer to lean against him for balance.

Stephen barely seemed to care, only reached out to pull Dia against him. 

Their daughter immediately started sobbing against his shoulder as he tried to calm her, whispering apologies and reassurances.

“I like the way it is now!” Dia whimpered, tears still running down her face. “I like being able to play with Peter and Harley and Cassie! I don’t want them to be even older! I like you teaching me magic! And stopping me from eating too many cookies so I don’t get a stomach ache!”

“I know, darling,” Stephen groaned, running a hand through her hair, “I’m sorry for scaring you.”

Tony felt like weeping in relief as he wrapped his arms around the both of them, pressing a kiss against Stephen’s crown.

Eventually, Stephen looked up, only able to ignore Valerie’s cries for so long, and Wanda was there in a flash, handing her over to him.

“She must have noticed you in the room,” Wanda smiled, “she was reaching out for you.”

Stephen had tears in his eyes as he held both his daughters close, and Tony wrapped his arms around him once more. 

He noticed the Avengers had already gotten up around them, glad to find none of them maimed beyond repair, and caught Wong’s eyes from across the room.

Wong only nodded at him when he noticed his stare, face determined as he portalled away to find the person responsible.  

^^^^^^

Stephen was put on house arrest for the next three days, a fact the teens – especially Harley – found hilarious. They still hadn’t caught the person responsible after all, and they might still have a hold of his mind.

Stephen himself didn’t seem to mind too much. He was mainly still exhausted and worn out form fighting the mind control, especially since it had been building up slowly over the course of months.

Peter and Dia were the main cubs to keep him comfortable. Both spending most of those three days in bed with him. Valerie joined them when awake, and it definitely helped lift Stephen’s spirits. He colored with Dia and she read him stories, and when he wanted to nap, she sat on the other side of the bed with Valerie and kept her entertained. Peter just curled against him for cuddles, making sure to remind Stephen he still had everything from before the snap and more.

Harley drifted in whenever he felt like it, but he wasn’t one to lie still for too long. Instead he and Tony oversaw the capture of the rogue sorcerer that had dared mess with the sorcerer supreme’s mind.

“I’m sorry,” Stephen whispered to Tony when their bedroom was finally quiet again, except for the baby who lived there. His fingertips were tracing a bruise on the side of his neck, so tenderly that Tony didn’t even flinch.

“So not your fault, mama bear.” Tony huffed, pulling Stephen closer against him. “If anything, I should apologize for not noticing sooner.”

Stephen was quiet for a while, but just when Tony wanted to ask if he was alright, he spoke up again. “I kept forgetting her.”

His voice was soft, barely a whisper, and Tony frowned as he looked down at his wife. Stephen’s gaze was fixed on the crib, where Valerie was sleeping soundly. He had to fight against the sadness coursing through him. To try and lift his spirits, Tony traced a finger down Stephen’s spine, smiling when he felt Stephen shiver against him.

“I’m sure she forgives you, tesoro,” Tony whispered back, pressing a kiss against his forehead. “My parents forgot I existed until I was five and the nanny handed me back to them with her resignation letter.”

Stephen chuckled, Tony feeling the reverberations against his chest, and he moved his hand up to play with Stephen’s hair as a wave of contentment washed over him. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Did you ever-,” Tony had to ask after another minute of silence, even if it formed a knot in his chest, hands twitching with nerves. It hadn’t left his mind yet, no matter his resolution of forgetting about it as quickly as possible. He just couldn’t shake the thought that the mind control was rooted in something real. “Did I ever make you feel like I don’t care about your pain?”

“By the Vishanti, Tony,” Stephen sat up at once, pushing away from his chest as he frowned down at him, face filled with regret. “Of course not! I can’t even-…”

Tony watched as Stephen stopped, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to collect himself, before continuing. “Missing Dia’s early childhood was hard, but I can’t even imagine living five years without you, without Peter and Harley.”

“Yes, but-,” Tony wanted to argue, grinding his teeth in frustration at his own annoying thoughts.

“I’m not finished,” Stephen interrupted, sending him a glare that had Tony shutting up at once. He stared up at his wife, heart filling with fondness at the determination in his eyes. “We both hurt. And we worked through it together – as always.

So, no, I never once felt like your pain got priority over mine.” Stephen finished, fixing his eyes with Tony’s. Tony reached up to cup Stephen’s face as he couldn’t help holding back a smile, and Stephen’s face immediately shifted into something softer. “And even if it did- Tony, I would never mind. I’d rather suffer a million more deaths than have you hurt for a second.”

“Let’s just toss the ‘million deaths’ part of that sentence, yeah?” Tony asked, squinting at Stephen who rolled his eyes but agreed in time for Tony to reach up and press his lips against Stephen’s.

Chapter Text

Scott really wasn’t one to procrastinate.

He was almost relieved every time Luis sent him an assignment, not doing well with boredom after years of being locked up - either in prison or at home, so it wasn’t something he dreaded or wanted to put off.

He could amuse himself like the best of them, of course, and with the amount of people in the tower it really wasn’t that difficult to keep himself off his boredom. It was one of the reasons he liked living there so much, and why he constantly went up to the family floor despite having a perfectly fine floor to himself.

But not everyone worked from home like Scott did. Stephen was off to the sanctum most days when all the kids were at school, and even Tony still had to leave for meetings every so often.

With the others - well, Scott didn’t want to bother them. He knew he could be annoying at times, and it really wasn’t difficult to feel … inadequate around the superhumans and trained assassins.

So, whenever he got a job sent through, he was happy enough to start working on it as soon as the tower was empty. It had also made him a bit of a perfectionist, fussing about his work for longer than was strictly necessary, just so he wouldn’t be bored again.

And Luis still always gave him more than enough time, even if he knew Scott would finish it within the day.

Lately though, he had fallen into the nasty habit of putting off his work and leaving it to the last possible minute.

Luis had called twice already, worried by him not having sent his report through yet, even if his deadline was only the next morning. Scott was very aware that he’d usually have already sent in through two days in advance, so he didn’t blame him.

Now, it was almost three am, his eyes were hurting from the screen in front of him and for the first time he was panicking about the possibility of not meeting his deadline.

Anyway, he could understand his concern.

But it wasn’t like he could just tell Luis that he hadn’t started on the report earlier because he really preferred playing foosball with his new roommate - well, floor mate, really. Or that the last time he tried to sit down in front of his laptop, Quill had walked in and had started up Just Dance and of course he hadn’t been able to say no to his challenge.

In conclusion: it was difficult to work with Quill around.

And Scott wasn’t quite sure if he was ready to admit that it was because he loved hanging out with him.

For one, he was never alone anymore, and it was easy to blame his hatred of boredom for why he liked spending time with Quill, if not for the fact that he even preferred staying downstairs when everyone else was also home.

Now, Quill wasn’t even doing anything. He was just sitting on the couch while Scott worked at the living room table, and though Scott could feel his body itching to glance over towards the celestial every few minutes, he managed to actively fight against it.

He was not going to let himself get distracted this time; he had a duty to fulfil and he wasn’t quite ready yet to admit his crush was so bad that he was actively failing his work. Like some dumb lovesick teenager.

It was already bad enough that his stupid unrequited crush on Stephen had shifted towards Quill. Stephen had always been unobtainable – due to already being in a very committed relationship – but he could still let himself think Stephen found him a little bit attractive. That perhaps Stephen could be interested in him if Tony wasn’t in the picture.

Quill was a whole new way of impossible, because he was single, he just could never be into Scott, because Quill – which was possibly the greatest tragedy in the world – was straight.

Scott still remembered that night where Quill had told him about Gamora. They had been up late watching a football game neither of them had really cared about, eating cereal with ice cream because they were out of milk and basically anything else that should be in a kitchen. Each had been sprawled on one end of the couch, legs meeting in the middle, and lying side by side.

They’d been talking about Cassie, who’d gone to bed already, which had quickly turned to talking about his past marriage and both their previous relationships.

For as far as Scott had been able to tell, the last few months had helped the celestial get over his loss, but he’d really loved her. And even though Scott hadn’t really been crushing on Quill yet, he still remembered the pang of disappointment he’d felt. If only for the loss of a possibility.

On top of that, there were multiple occasions where they’d watched movies and he’d pointed out how hot the main couple was. Scott could definitely see it of course - the woman always a unique style yet always beautiful - and always had to agree, but since he’d finally figured out his attraction to the (literal) god – thanks to Cassie and the Avengers’ lack of subtlety – he had to admit that the comments started hurting quite a bit.

Which is exactly why he had to nip his little crush in the bud as quickly as possible. He had to admit it wasn’t working as well as he’d like, but at least the panic of a deadline was enough to keep his mind engaged with his report instead of bouncing towards Quill every few seconds.

So, he actually managed to finish his work and sent it to Luis eight hours before his deadline.

Though by then it was four in the morning, and Scott could feel his brain slowly shutting down after five hours of intense research and staring at a screen. His eyes hurt and his joints cracked as he slowly got up out of his seat.

Trudging over towards the couch was as much as he could muster, not bothering trying to get to his room. He sighed as he fell down backwards onto the couch, which for some reason was both a lot bulkier and a lot warmer than he could remember.

There was a soft chuckled close to his ear, as an arm wrapped around his shoulders, but Scott was too tired to think much of it as he burrowed in closer to the warmth that was pulling him in.

He sighed at how comfortable he was, causing the arm around him to tighten temporarily, brain shifting further and further towards unconsciousness. It was nice, laying against a warm chest, head burrowed in his neck with the cinnamon smell overwhelming his senses and reminding him so easily of Quill.

Wait, Quill.

He pulled back, suddenly feeling wide awake but head still spinning. And indeed, he was sitting next to Quill, legs messily sprawled over his lap and Quill’s arms had dropped to his lower back, encircling him and keeping him close despite having pushed away.  

Well, fuck.

His heart was already speeding up, jumping up into his throat as he fought for something to say. He frowned before swallowing, looking away from Quill’s intense eyes that were fixed on him in concern. There was no question that his face was heating up, and he at least hoped the cloud of night was enough to hide his blush, though he was very aware that their proximity made it hard to hide anything.

“Why are you-?” He started, brain twisting inside his skull as it tried its hardest to function this late at night – or early in the morning, whatever. He didn’t want an answer to that, really, not wanting to deal with that pang of pain every time he was reminded that Quill could never be into him like that.

He settled on an apology instead, as he started pushing off further from Quill’s lap. “I’m sorry. I should probably… go to sleep… in my room, I mean.”

He watched Quill frown slightly, tinge of amusement clear in his features, as he didn’t let up, keeping Scott firmly in place and stopping him from getting up further. “Why? You seemed comfortable here?”

Scott’s blush deepened, trying to look anywhere but at Quill as he managed out a flustered, “I was! I just… I don’t know.”

Quill raised an eyebrow at his ‘I don’t know’, tilting his head – both a question and invitation to continue explaining, to give him a better reason. Scott just sighed, brain too exhausted to argue and not really wanting to anyway. If Quill really didn’t have anything against Scott basically using him as a body pillow, he wasn’t going to object.

And he was tired.

He’d deal with reality tomorrow when he was more awake, would take his rejection in the morning after a cup of coffee when he was sane enough to remind himself it wasn’t what he wanted it to be.

Quill was just being a good friend.

So, Scott carefully returned to his position in Quill’s neck, not sure if Quill really wouldn’t mind this much … well, intimacy. But it was really hard to worry about the possible consequences when it was just as comfortable as it had been before.  

Quill, as if rewarding him, moved up his hand to start toying with Scott’s hair, carding his fingers through his roots, the administrations quickly lulling him into a deep and peaceful sleep.

The next morning Scott woke up from the chill. He opened his eyes to find himself lying on the living room couch, which by far wasn’t one of the weirdest places to wake up. There had been plenty of times where he’d fallen asleep in front of the TV, much to Cassie’s annoyance and exasperation.

But against popular belief, he wasn’t ‘such a dad’, he just didn’t always feel like getting up again. It wasn’t like there was much of a point, anyway, as there was no one waiting on him in his bedroom. He’d just shift from one perfectly comfortable resting place to another. So why bother?

This morning however, he knew something wasn’t quite right. It was a feeling, more than a specific thing being off, and it took him an extra half minute and the scent of waffles filtering in from the kitchen to remind him what it was.

His chest constricted nervously as he pushed himself off the seat of the couch, surprised at his lack of stiffness in his neck and back. Turning his head revealed a view of Quill in the kitchen, standing next to the microwave and quietly humming to himself. The song seemed familiar, though Scott couldn’t quite place it at the moment, and a chuckle escaped him despite the nerves fluttering through him.

Quill’s head shot up as soon as he heard the noise, immediately making Scott tense up as their eyes met. Quill was smirking though, pushing away from the counter he’d been leaning against. “What are you laughing about?”

“I should’ve known it wasn’t you actually making the waffles. I would have expected a burnt smell otherwise.” Scott let out easily, joking and teasing familiar for them. They were friends after all, and despite Scott’s feelings for him, he actually did know how to act normal around the celestial.

Last night was just… oh god, that was something else wasn’t it?

“Yeah,” Quill grinned sheepishly in response, “Cassie made them. Wouldn’t even let me near the mixer.”

Scott got up from the couch, feeling a little more at ease now everything still seemed to be normal between them, glad Quill wasn’t acting weird after Scott completely embarrassed himself the previous night. Not that Quill seemed to mind… but he was probably just being a good friend, not wanting to make things even more awkward for him.

If Quill said it didn’t bother him, it was fine, they could just go on and pretend it never happened.

And yet, halfway through breakfast, Scott just couldn’t help himself. They had been talking about the latest mission they’d been on together, but now their conversation had lulled into a comfortable silence, both standing and leaning against the kitchen counters.

Without any distraction, Scott’s mind just kept drifting back to the night before. To how warm Quill had been and how nice it had been to just be able to lean on him as he fell asleep. He kept imagining Quill’s fingers running through his hair again, and it definitely didn’t help that Quill still smelt strongly of cinnamon from three feet away.

As much as he’d like to just ignore it, he couldn’t get it out of his mind, couldn’t stop thinking about the previous night. There was no way Quill could have enjoyed it like he had though, and in a way, it seemed unfair that he had barely given him a choice about the matter. And probably the worst part about it, despite everything, was that he couldn’t stop that tiny flicker of hope that maybe, just maybe Quill did like him like that.

He just needed a reality check, is all.

So eventually he spoke up, despite his better judgement telling him to just shut up about it, that he’d just end up with that spike of disappointment ruining his good mood.

“Hey, I’m really sorry…,” he started, already fighting back a blush as he stared at the piece of waffle still left on his plate, stirring it around as a distraction for the dread in his veins, “if I made you uncomfortable last night.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Scott could hear the shrug in his voice, and he glanced up to watch Quill finish his last bite of waffle before focussing on Scott. “It seemed like you had a good night’s rest, so I’m up for doing it again whenever.”

“Doing what again?” Scott asked in confusion, frowning despite himself. “Sleeping together?”

Quill sent him a look, immediately causing Scott’s cheeks to heat up as he spluttered through a ‘you know what I meant!’.

“Yes, sleeping together.” Quill was still smirking, leaning further on the kitchen counter as he turned to face Scott fully. “You look really cute when you sleep by the way. No surprise there, of course.”

Scott’s head was spinning. To say that wasn’t what he’d expected from this conversation in a million years would be an understatement. He’d assumed Quill would just take his apology and subtly confirm his heterosexuality, allowing Scott to wallow in his misery for the next hour before just going on the way they had before; with Scott silently pining and Quill – hopefully – completely oblivious.

Now Quill was telling him he thought Scott was cute which wasn’t – well it was allowed of course, but it was completely off-script. It made Scott’s heart skip pleasantly which really shouldn’t be happening because after all – “You aren’t even gay though!”

The words were out of Scott’s mouth before he could stop them, his confused brain begging for a resolution. And when despite his mortification for his own bluntness, he was thinking that at least this was it; this was where everything would go according to plan. Instead of confirming his statement, Quill went along to say;

“I don’t know; I’ve done some really gay stuff.”

“Like what?!” Scott huffed out, his brain not even thinking anymore. This time it wasn’t just his confusion or his brain telling him that no, no way this was for real, he was just imagining it, there was that unmistakable twist deep in his stomach.

One look at Quill told him the celestial had caught on to that little tone of jealousy making Scott’s blood boil in a completely new way. Scott could only watch as Quill tilted his head slightly, as if thinking, before taking a step forward and opening his mouth.

“Like watching a movie with you without learning anything about the plot because I keep staring at you instead,” Scott felt his mouth drop open at the confession, staring dumbly up at Quill, feeling completely frozen in place as the celestial continued shamelessly.

“Like lying awake at night bored because I don’t feel like sleeping yet, but you already went to bed so now I can’t spend time with you anymore.” The admission made a smile tug at his lip despite the frozen state he was in, imagining Quill lying awake at night thinking about him. Knowing they’d probably been doing so at exactly the same time with only a wall separating them.

Quill sounded matter-of-factly though, like it was no big deal admitting any of it, like it had been obvious– which clearly hadn’t been the case! And Scott really couldn’t do more than stare up at him and try to let his new knowledge filter through his brain, reviewing his previous calculations.

And Quill just kept on going.

“Like barely talking about anything but you every single time I go out to space to the point that Rocket is giving me a strike every time I mention your name. Like appreciating your ass each and every time you put on your suit like it’s the first time, I’m seeing it. Like imagining you pinned against the wall underneath my-.”

“Okay,” Scott yelled, interrupting his spiel as he glanced nervously around the room, like they weren’t the only two people on this entire floor. The blush climbing up his neck felt nice for once, though, smiling as he stared back up at Quill whose smirk had only deepened. Had he gotten closer? “Okay! I think I get it.”

Quill kept stepping closer, and Scott probably should step back, but the thing was that he really, really didn’t want to. Their kitchen had more than enough space – thanks, Tony – but all of a sudden it felt crowded in all the right ways.

He was watching Quill’s smile, the way his eyes lit up as he looked down at Scott – had it always been this way? – and the closer Quill got the more Scott had to tilt his head to continue looking up at him. Usually Scott would feel intimidated, but with Quill everything was different. His proximity was calming, setting his nerves on fire in a pleasant hum instead of the usual anxiety.

He liked it like this. It felt so familiar, despite never having been close like this, the air obviously charged with something Scott had never felt before.

“Think?” Quill drawled out, southern accent thick and making Scott’s knees weak, smirk never-ending, “Because if it’s still not clear I’d be happy to elaborate.”

“Depends,” Scott breathed out, Quill standing almost flush against him.

“On what?”

“On what you mean by ‘elaborate’.”

Suddenly Scott felt a hand gripping his waist, and at the same time his breath caught when Quill’s other hand cupped his neck, tilting his head up and pulling him into a searing kiss. His own body reacted as if it was the most natural thing in the world, his arms moving up to wrap around Quill’s back, pulling him closer and keeping him locked against him.

He wasn’t quite sure how he’d ended up here, when barely half an hour ago he could have sworn it would only remain a dream. He had half the heart to think he was in fact still sleeping, but that doubt quickly left his mind because he’d never felt anything more real in his life.  

He kept zoning in and out, losing himself to Quill, and when some of his senses returned to him, he realised he was sitting on the kitchen counter, legs wrapped around Quill’s waist and keeping him close. The angle allowed himself to be at face level with the god, and when he finally pulled away to stare him in the eyes, he was panting.

“Well, that gay enough for you?”

“Oh, shut up,” Scott blushed, slapping Quill on the shoulder, even as his stomach twisted happily at the way Quill was grinning at him.

They stood there, just staring at each other for what felt like forever, Quill’s thumb rubbing circles where his hand was still wrapped around his neck.

“You know what I want to do now?”

“What?” Quill chuckled, frowning at Scott.

“Go back to sleep.” Scott grinned at Quill’s loud laugh echoing through the kitchen, and before he knew it, he was being lifted off the counter. He yelped in surprise, protesting all the way, and when he was tossed onto Quill’s bed he huffed at the impact, but eventually he found himself wrapped around Quill’s side like the night before, listening to Quill’s heartbeat and blushing in content as the celestial pressed a kiss against the top of his head.

Chapter Text

“Hey…,” Harley knocked politely on the frame of William’s bedroom door. It was already open and Harley looked around awkwardly.

He hadn’t actually been down here since the twins had moved in, let alone in any of the unused bedrooms. Wanda and him sometimes watched movies after she’d baked a batch of peppermint cookies he wasn’t allowed to eat upstairs, or just whenever he felt like having an older sister for a while. 

He’d always been the oldest, both in his home in Tennessee and here in the tower, so it was nice to have someone a few years older than him, being able to give him advice if he needed it. At least someone who wasn't his parent.

There were times he needed to talk to someone that wasn’t Stephen. Because even though his mom always granted him the comfort he needed and was honestly great at giving advice - though Harley would have a hard time admitting to that ever - , sometimes he just needed to rant to someone less wise.

To someone who wouldn’t just solve his problems in five minutes. 

Someone who he could whine to without smirking knowingly and calling him out on his bullshit. Peter already had enough on his plate, and so when he felt like he needed to escape his thoughts for a while, it wasn’t so weird for him to go down to Wanda and Vision’s floor.

As mentioned, it hadn’t happened in a while. Partially due to the tower being a lot busier now.
Whenever Peter was out on patrol these days, he could hang out with Thomas and William, who usually came up to the family floor of their own accord.

It had been a full day, though, and he hadn’t seen William upstairs at all.

William’s head snapped up from where he was fidgeting with some toy or other, sitting in the corner of his room next to the huge sheet of glass that made up the side of the tower. It had taken Harley some time to get used to the view as well, the way those massive buildings sprawled out around the tower like bricks of lego, the grey city a stark contrast to the dawn colouring the sky in oranges and yellows.

The other teen didn’t say anything, merely looked at Harley with wide, confused eyes, mouth opening and closing as if he’d forgotten how to speak. Wouldn’t be such a stretch, honestly, with all the magic spells flying around this place.

“Mom said you turned back to normal. I hope that includes your skill of speech,” he tried to tease, forcing a smile as he took a step further into the room. The annoying part of his brain was already cursing at him for even having come down, afraid he was making a fool of himself and only bothering the other teen who clearly wanted to be alone. 

He himself had remembered being a baby, and though he’d been more preoccupied with his mom’s feelings, he could recognise how some might find it embarrassing. He himself had always been good at compartmentalisation, and didn’t really see the oddness of it all. Maybe because he was used to spending time with his sister.

After all they’d shared baths together, had seen all the embarrassing sides of his sister, and there had been plenty of times where they’d gone through old photo albums his mom had kept, albums that sometimes showed more than was probably appropriate, as most albums,… albums that must have surely been lost in the fire. 

William wasn’t his brother, but he also wasn’t the baby he’d seen just yesterday. That baby had been chatty and sociable, with a smile so bright it lit up the room around him. William’s smile still lit up the room, though its presence was a lot harder to obtain, but it had been like watching a photo album, or a snippet from the past made real.

He’d been an adorable baby, but he’d clearly changed so much since then.

“Why didn’t you come upstairs today?” He tried again, moving closer to the window, watching William’s face for any sign of overstepping his boundaries as he sat down across from him, leaning his back against the glass as he kept his eyes on the other teen.

“I just- I don’t know,” William tried, his soft voice finally filling the room. It made Harley smile, realising how he’d missed it despite hearing its almost constant babbling the day prior. He could swear William’s cheeks were tinting red even as the other teen kept his gaze on the floor. 

“You know you shouldn’t be embarrassed. Getting turned into a baby is a rite of passage at this point.”

His words made William look back up at him, smile playing on his lips, eyes filled with amused curiosity. “You were turned into a baby too?” 

“Yeah,” Harley shrugged, glad he’d gotten William to relax a little bit more. “So did Peter, Cassie, … hell, even mom and dad got turned into babies at some point. Though I heard mom’s experience wasn’t so great… That’s the one we’re most actively trying to prevent from happening again.” 

William tilted his head in question, and Harley smiled sadly at him as he simply raised his hands. 

The other teen leaned back in understanding, look of pity crossing his face, and they continued sitting in silence. It was actually quite nice. Harley was really more of an observer than a talker, only speaking when he couldn’t hold back some witty remark or other, but most times he was glad to just lean back and watch things unfold around him. 

Granted, his mind spewed quips non-stop so that may be hard to believe. 

Either way it was a nice silence, comfortable, as he allowed William to organise his thoughts while Harley glanced around his bedroom. It was still quite bare, even having been here for weeks. Harley easily understood why.

When he’d first arrived he didn’t really have any of his belongings. Almost everything had burned in the fire, everything from his past live left behind. He guessed William didn’t have much on him either, living on the streets and all, and it was hard to get new stuff when you still couldn’t really believe this was your new normal.

That it wasn’t all just going to go up in flames again.

“Do you ever-,” William was the one to break the silence, and Harley turned back to look at him, waiting patiently for him to get out the words. He was fidgeting with that toy again, face almost fully red now as he tried to continue. “Did you miss being a baby? Once you got turned back?”

Harley frowned at William, tilting his head in thought as he tried to formulate a response. Meanwhile, William seemed to want to curl into himself, head fully tilted down as he avoided Harley’s gaze.  “Not really… I mean when I got turned it was right after the snap was undone and I- well, I did feel bad for not being a baby anymore. But that was more for mom’s sake than me really missing it.”

He waited a beat for if William wanted to ask him to elaborate or want to add something of his own, and when he didn’t he tried to push him lightly; “Do you? Miss it, I mean?”

“Kind of?” William replied, voice quiet as he curled further into himself, as if it was some forbidden secret no one was allowed to admit to, afraid of Harley’s reaction. It made him frown sadly, both for the reaction as the answer itself. He knew William - and Thomas - had gone through some horrible things throughout their lives, and he guessed he could understand the appeal of a chance to start over, to be careless and happy. 

“I get it,” Harley assured him, trying for a soothing smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, “It’s like a tiny vacation isn’t it? All your worries torn from your mind.”

William looked up at his words, eyes awed and disbelieving in a way that made Harley gulp nervously, unsure of what to think or do. 

“You still have all that, you know,” he continued eventually, recognising how William was finding it hard to speak. He’d been like that too, still was at times, though he guessed his mom had managed to soften him over the years. “Anything you had yesterday; mom’s still here if you need him, and both Val and Dia would be delighted to help distract you from your thoughts.”

“Nevermind me,” he added in a moment of bravery, watching as William’s smile which had been building over the course of his words didn’t waver.  His eyes even moved up to lock with Harley’s, as if needing to verify his meaning, and it helped settle Harley's nerves, a sense of calm washing over him. “You can talk to me too, if you want.”

“I guess I just kind of miss the … constant affection,” William sighed out eventually, eyes shifting to look over the city instead. Harley hated how it sounded like William felt weak, like he thought it a weakness to need comfort, to need love and human contact. Once again Harley could relate, but unlike himself William hadn’t put up a hard exterior, just hid away into himself and tried to not step on any toes, staying in the shadows. And Harley’d always had his family, had put up a front towards the outside world but able to find solace at home. 

To him William had always seemed like the kind of person to be incredibly kind and loyal, interested in the world and caring to the people around him, and seeing how he had been as a child, before the world and beat it out of him, had only confirmed that feeling. Harley had learned over his time at the tower that love and loyalty was nothing but a strength, had seen time and time again how it was the only thing that had helped them get this far.

He hoped William would one day find it in himself to learn to trust again, that he’d be able to be himself without fearing people’s judgement. At least in the tower.

“Haven’t really gotten a lot of that over the years.”

Harley frowned sadly once more, looking back to the room in front of him. He knew he could tell him to go to Stephen, that his mom would always be open for anything the other teen might need. Yet, he knew from experience it wasn’t quite that simple.

Peter had told him the same thing countless times, yet the sorcerer had still needed to come to him, only able to ask for affection much later. And knew his mom must have already made his own judgement of the situation, William much like a skittish cat, the risk of scaring him off way too high.

So for now, and because Harley wanted to, he took initiative.

Too nervous still to look at him, he kept his gaze on the room, but stretched his hand out towards William, palm turned up in invitation, hoping his face, or at least the profile he could see, looked reassuring, praying it wasn’t visible that he was biting his lip. 

He made it barely a second before he gave in, turning his head to look at William anyway. The other teen was looking between his hand and face nervously, frowning in question when they caught each other’s eyes, but carefully reached across the divide until his fingers were brushing Harley’s hands, nonetheless.

Smiling both from the short tickling sensation and from having the other teen respond to him, he curled their fingers together, squeezing tightly in what he hoped came off as encouraging. Encouraging him to take affection when offered, and let that be the first step to asking when he needed it.

And it wasn’t a confession of feelings, wasn’t reassurance that William liked him back, but he didn’t care about any of that at the moment anyway. He cared that the other teen felt comfortable and loved, secure in his place in the tower. That there was nothing he could ask or do to ever push them away or lose their affection. 

Chapter Text

Harley was sitting on the upstairs landing, overlooking the living room and feet dangling over the edge. His arm was perched on the middle bar of the railing, chin resting on the back of his hand. His other arm stuck through the bars, holding a bouncy ball in his hand as he let it drop down to the floor one story down and back up again. He caught it easily, immediately dropping it again and again as he sighed.

His thoughts felt like cotton balls, his skin itching to do something - anything -but he couldn’t figure out what he wanted to do. He was bored. Tired.

His ball dropped down again, this time catching some irregularity on the floor as it flew towards the kitchen, way out of Harley’s reach.

Harley didn’t mind; he merely moved his hand back and blindly grabbed another one from the pile next to him.

Before he dropped this one, he turned his palm around so he could take a look at the bouncy ball he’d chosen. It was an old, opaque yellow one, with some green company logo on it that Harley could barely make out. It must have been old, the company long since bankrupt, as he didn’t recognize it at all. 

This time, he threw it towards the far wall. It hit a spot about three feet above the TV, bounced right near the edge of the lounge area carpet, and sailed back towards him. Once again, he caught it in a swift movement, a wave of satisfaction going through him as he moved to toss it again.

“Should you be doing that?”

Harley stilled mid-throw, turning to glance at William standing in front of the elevator. He hadn’t noticed him coming up, which showed just how distracted he had been.

“Probably not.” Harley’s reply was a resigned sigh. Usually, it would have come out more cutting, would have scoffed, while tossing the ball towards William’s head. But he didn’t want to piss him off like he’d be aiming to with Peter.

He wished he could see William’s reaction, but his face was blurry from that far away. Perhaps glasses were in his future.

He looked smaller from this angle, and Harley tilted his head to look at him better.

William started moving towards the stairs, slowly - perhaps hesitantly. Harley turned his head to follow him up, watching him curiously as he came to sit down next to him. He didn’t dangle his legs over the edge like Harley was doing, instead crossing them in front of him as he sat turned towards Harley.

He certainly preferred it like this, William sitting within arm’s reach and face now a lot clearer, like the resolution had been turned up. He was sporting a shy smile, and Harley immediately felt his mood lift. Instead of his heart speeding up like it usually did around William, he felt it settle now. It calmed down with his eyes on him, like coming home after a long day.

There were none of that giddy excitement anymore. He wasn’t stupid after all, knew that William didn’t feel the same way as him. On top of that, he wouldn’t want to do anything to make William uncomfortable, or ruin the home he’d finally found in the tower and their family.

So, he’d forced his body to get over it, to treat him like the friend he was, even though his mind often still fixated on the ruffle of his hair, the color of his eyes and the length of his stupid eyelashes.

“Where is everyone?” William asked, apparently not caring about Harley’s bouncy balls anymore now he had seemingly stopped. He’d never sounded judgmental, though, which Harley appreciated.

“Out shopping with mom. Dad’s down in the lab.”

William nodded like he’d known that, forgotten until that moment.

Harley didn’t know if it was just his imagination or if William really had gotten more comfortable around him in the last few weeks, but he hoped it was the latter. He didn’t look like Harley was going to steal his lunch money or quiz him about Ancient Egypt anymore.

He’d never really understood why he’d been so nervous in the first place.

For a while, he’d feared he’d somehow done something to have William not like him; that he’d said something insensitive without realizing.

Now, he figured it was probably just who William was. That he’d been a new person in William’s life that he hadn’t known enough to be comfortable around. He even got why he’d gotten used to Peter quicker - Peter just had that effect on people; worming his way under everyone’s skin until you just couldn’t not like him.

He just hoped that someday soon, he could sneak past his defenses and find a place in William’s bubble.

“Why aren’t you with them?”

Harley shrugged, propping his elbow up against the railing and resting his head in his palm. “Just tired, I guess.”

He watched as William frowned. Even the harsh cut of his eyebrows looked soft on him, the dark look of worry still lighting Harley’s insides. “Did you sleep okay?”

“Yeah, nothing special.”

A satisfied smile smoothed over William’s worry. It wasn’t just his usual smile though. The tilt of his lips so strangely unfamiliar on his face that for a second Harley thought he recognized something mischievous. Which was ridiculous, of course. William was always the one to stop him from being a delinquent. 

“Then you’re not tired.” William spoke matter-of-factly, leaving no room for argument.

Harley gaped at him in indignation. “Yes, I am!”

“No, you’re not.” He replied again, tilting his head. It was probably the first time Harley had heard him go against anyone, let alone him. His smile had returned to normal, though, soft and pleased and a little bit shy. “You just think you are.”

“What’s the difference?” Harley scrunched his nose, shaking his head lightly in disbelief. How dare he?

“The difference,” William smiled, lowering his voice to something more calming. Harley didn’t know why he’d bothered; his voice was always soothing to him. “Is that one can’t be solved with sleep or rest.”

“I’m not sleeping.”

William looked at him pointedly. “I can see that. You’re avoiding doing anything.”

Harley scowled, angry at being read so easily. He turned and tossed the bouncy ball again, this time it went way off course and hit the carpet, giving a weak attempt to bounce back up before staying in place. Damn.

“Fine.” He sighed, turning back to William. He caught William’s eyes immediately, noticing how his cheeks tinted red as if caught doing something he shouldn’t. “Then how do I solve it?”

William smiled and turned his face away from him as he stood up, holding out his hand for him to take. “I’ll show you.”

Harley frowned at the hand offered to him and forced himself not to overthink it as he allowed himself to be pulled up. He watched William’s face as soon as he was standing. Something shifted through his eyes, before he quickly looked away.

He started pulling him down the stairs - Harley was acutely aware that he hadn’t let go of his hand yet - and the elevator opened right as they stepped up to it.

They stood in the elevator in silence, neither looking at each other. Harley kept his gaze on the doors, watching the floor numbers go down, and focused on the feeling of William’s hand still in his. In a moment of boldness, he shifted his hand, so their fingers were intertwined. His heart was beating steadily in his chest, loud enough that he was certain William would hear it.

When William didn’t pull away, he bit back a smile, wondering if he was just as nervous as him.

Harley vaguely recognized they’d passed Wanda and Vision’s floor already, passed the lab and training floor, and Harley wondered where William was taking him.

His suspicions were confirmed when the doors opened to the busy entrance hall of the tower. William started pulling him along at once, through the crowd of people. Harley noticed he took a second to wave at the receptionist, before he stopped in front of the doors leading out onto the street.

Harley turned to watch William’s face for the first time since the family floor, wondering why they’d stopped.

There was hesitation in his eyes, but it twisted to determination as he squeezed Harley’s hand, before pushing the doors open.

They spilled out onto the busy streets of New York City.

It was a Saturday afternoon, which meant the city was filled to the brim. Shoppers, city trippers, the regular tourists; everyone seemed to be out and about. It didn’t help that it was one of the first warm spring days, everyone excited to get into the good weather after the winter.

William clearly had a destination in mind as he pulled Harley along, and it was then that his curiosity finally won out over his fear to ruin the moment.

“Where are we going?” Harley asked, squeezing William’s hand to get his attention. He’d stayed quiet until now, too afraid to break the moment between them. Afraid that if he spoke, William would snap out of it and pull his hand back.

He didn’t let go, however, and Harley certainly wasn’t going to be the one to pull away.

“You’ll see.” William responded with a cryptic smile, having the audacity to throw him a sly look.

Harley rolled his eyes but couldn’t bring himself to be annoyed. He was actually rather excited, the ball of nerves in his chest chasing away the earlier boredom. On top of that, he kept getting distracted by William’s hand in his, the soft feeling of his warm skin against his.

They finally reached a quieter street, and William pulled them towards a little hole in the wall ice cream parlor.

It was small - something you wouldn’t notice if you weren’t looking for it - and a dingy bell hung over the door, ringing as they stepped inside.

There was no line, and barely a minute later they stood outside again, both with a cup in their hands.

“Tony would love that place.” William broke the silence as they started walking again. Harley didn’t know where to, but from the direction they were going, he assumed it wasn’t the tower. He was fine with that, and he allowed himself to follow William blindly.

“Why?” Harley frowned, “I mean no disrespect, but it’s not very fancy nor does it have any of those crazy flavors he likes.”

“That’s cause it’s Italian.” William smiled. “The owners are third - or fourth, I can’t remember - generation and they never caved to ‘Americanizing’ their options.”

Sadly, they had to let go of each other’s hand to eat their ice cream, but his disappointment was easily soothed by the taste of his first bite. Holy shit;it really was great.

He quickly took a second bite and hummed in appreciation, nodding along. “Yeah, we totally should bring him sometimes; this is awesome. How come you know the owners?”

“They used to give me and Thomas free ice cream sometimes.” He shrugged, taking a bite of his own ice cream. “The person who served us must have been new though. We haven’t been there for a while.”

Before long they had reached the park, and they dropped their empty ice cream cartons in the bins before entering.

Just as expected, it was busier than it had been in months, but for once Harley preferred it over the quiet. It wasn’t as lively as it would be in the middle of summer - there were no performers out, no blinking statues or bubbles to entertain the kids and tourists - but Harley could feel the city warming up to it.

The first street musicians of the year were already trying their best to catch the attention of passerby’s and some art school kids were handing out pamphlets for a show of theirs.

Some people were already camped out on the grass, sitting on their jackets instead of the blankets they would start bringing with them over a few weeks.

Harley had learned New York’s rhythm over the year he’d been here, yet it still held so many mysteries to him. It wasn’t like Rose Hill, where he knew exactly where each neighbor would be found at any given time.

How Mrs. Parsley got her groceries every Tuesday morning, rounding the Main Street corner at exactly the same time each week. That the Diner had his favorite brownies on Saturdays, and that he had to go in at exactly eight twenty-three if he wanted them warm without having to wait. He knew every building and its inhabitant, every cafe, and their patrons.

He’d been so lost in thought; he’d almost forgotten William was still walking next to him. As if reminding him, William's shoulder brushed against his, immediately catching his attention once more.

William stopped in his tracks, and Harley followed his gaze to see where he was looking. His eyes were fixed on a beach volleyball court that must have just had its nets hung up. Four students were already playing a game, though he couldn't make out the logos on their bags where they were thrown to the side.

Frowning he turned back to William. “What are you looking at?”

William turned back to face him, and Harley could swear that mischievous smile was back. It was different from his usual look of excitement, less giddy and definitely less innocent, and Harley thought he was surely becoming addicted to it. “You still tired?”

Harley considered that with a frown, looking into himself to feel or that listless feeling from earlier. “Kind of.”

He felt fine around William, but didn’t want William to leave, still felt like he’d go back to that sunken feeling as soon as he were gone.

“Come on.” William smiled like the answer satisfied him, and as if rewarding him, grabbed Harley’s hand again as he pulled him towards the court.

Harley noticed William’s earlier confidence melt away as soon as the students’ eyes were turned on him. He could see his eyes widen slightly in panic, hand tensing around his, so Harley easily took over for him.

“Could you use two more players?”

The students were really nice, and they ended up having a lot of fun playing against each other. Harley hadn’t really played volleyball outside of his gym classes, but he’d always liked it well enough. He wasn’t nearly as good as William though.

Harley dropped the ball more than once purely out of distraction, which Harley was convinced counted as cheating on William’s part as it was completely unfair. But Harley didn’t make a fuss about it, merely enjoyed the game until the students had to pack up.

They thanked them for letting them play along, and this time Harley grabbed William’s hand as they continued their walk through the park.

“You’re really good.” Harley noted as they walked, very much impressed. He truly had been, as his team had completely obliterated Harley’s.

“Since we were twelve, Thomas joins games in the park whenever people can use an extra player. He eventually convinced me to play as well.” William shrugged with a small blush at the compliment. “It was better than going ‘home’ most of the time.”

Harley tried his best to push down the anger welling up inside him. It wasn’t fair how the best people often got dealt the worst cards. For the life of him, he would never understand how anyone could treat someone as wonderful as William so horribly. Someone so pure and kind and excited should be cherished and loved.

He was distracted from his thoughts when his watch beeped, and SARA spoke up from the speaker. “Harley, Mr. Stark asked me to let you know dinner will be ready in half an hour.”

Groaning, he checked where they were. “Damn. I wanted to take a shower before dinner, but we’ll never make it in time.”

William tugged at his hand, gaining his attention as Harley’s eyes immediately snapped towards his.

“Won’t we?”

Damn that smile, though. Was this going to be William’s new choice of torture for him?

“Right, I forgot.” Harley grinned sheepishly, running his free hand through his hair.

William grabbed his hand out of the air and Harley braced himself when William stilled. “Wait… people might notice.”

There was that nervous hesitation again. Harley had almost missed it, smiling fondly at the soft crease above William’s eyebrows. “So? It won’t be the craziest thing New Yorkers have seen. They’ll just think you’re a street magician with a really lame get-up.”

William tried to glare at him, but the look was so unnatural on him that Harley burst out laughing. “Fine, we’ll go somewhere quieter first.”

They ended up walking a little while until they were hidden behind some hedges, and Harley allowed William to take both his hands again. Harley didn’t close his eyes but watched as William did. His face scrunched up in concentration and a second later the park had melted away around them as they were standing in the elevator again.

“Damn,” Harley looked around him in appreciation, “you’re crazy accurate. What would have happened if we’d ended up a foot to the left, in the middle of the wall?”

Harley grinned at William as he blushed at the praise and rolled his eyes. “It doesn’t work like that.”

They startled as the elevator opened behind William’s back, showing Wanda and Vision’s empty living room. He let go of William’s hands, suddenly painfully aware they were standing pretty close together, and took a step back. 

A couple of hours ago, he had been certain his body was over his crush. He’d been so caught up in the fact that they’d been holding hands, he hadn’t stopped to consider why they had been. It had felt so natural being close to William throughout the day, he hadn’t thought twice about it.

Is it normal for friends to hold hands? Certainly not in Harley’s experience.

Then again, he knew how touch-starved William was, so maybe he just trusted Harley enough to be his supplier.

Even if it wasn’t what Harley wanted – as Harley very much wanted his feelings to be returned – he couldn’t help being glad to be that person if that really was the case. More than anything he just wanted to be close to William, in whatever way William would let him. William deserved people to care about him unconditionally.

“I guess I’ll see you at dinner?”

William smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes, and nodded as he backed out of the elevator.

“See you later.”

“Hey,” Harley called out, catching William’s attention and making him turn back around with a questioning look. “Thank you.”

He caught William’s smile right before the elevator closed on him, sparking the fire in Harley’s stomach and making his heart skip like his bouncy balls.

Yeah, so his crush was still very much present, and once more it lit up the nerves in his body.

Sighing to himself in the empty elevator, he took a step back so he could lean against the wall behind him. He basked in the memory of William’s hands in his and the sparkle in his eyes, and felt his face break out in a grin.

He hadn’t expected anything to happen between the two of them, still didn’t, but somehow their day had been more than he could have ever hoped for.  

And when Harley was lying in bed later that evening, he found that he wasn’t tired at all.

Chapter Text

Peter wasn’t sure what had happened. He wasn’t sure if it was good or bad either. 

It seemed like he hadn’t been paying attention for just a second, and now things were different. Or like that feeling where you suddenly realize it has been a week since you’ve seen your cat around. You hadn’t noticed its absence, hadn’t been reminded of it, but all of a sudden you realize something’s missing. 

Cassie would say it’s because he’s slow about this kind of stuff. She’d probably be right too, but absence is harder to spot than a presence, in his defense. It wasn’t a bad absence either. 

Staring at William and Harley, Peter couldn’t help but frown. His hand holding his phone dropped into his lap, his unfinished text quickly forgotten. 

There was nothing wrong with the sight. They were just sitting on the couch, talking and laughing about something Peter hadn’t caught. He tried to figure out what was different, and it hit him like a train once he realized what it was.

Both sets of eyes were fixed on the screen in front of them, pointing at the different characters and commenting on the plot lines. They barely snuck glances at each other, Peter realized, and when they did, it wasn’t sneaking. They watched each other easily, smiles bright and unabashed, and their eyes lingered naturally. 

Harley’s legs were sprawled over William’s lap, and as Peter watched, he moved one up to kick at his ribs. William’s responding laugh rang loudly through the living room - or at least louder than usual - and yet it didn’t seem to be a thing. Harley wasn’t blushing, or staring, or acting in any way like it was out of the ordinary. 

It didn’t make any sense to Peter. 

As he tried to recount the last couple of weeks, he couldn’t pinpoint when their relationship had changed. Perhaps it had been gradual, but one thing was clear; their crushes were gone. 

He couldn’t help but notice it from then on out, though. Recognized how their dynamic had shifted. All in all, it wasn’t a big shift. William was still shy and timid around everyone but Harley, and Harley still messed with everyone that wasn’t William. It just seemed like it was just their relationship that had adapted, their crushes having shifted into a comfortable friendship. 

Yes, they were still touchier with each other than Peter was with any of his friends, and only a couple months ago he’d pointed out to Harley that alone was a sign of reciprocated feelings. But to Peter, it really did seem like nothing but what it was; touch. There weren’t any tinted cheeks or difficult eye contact, no one seemed shifty or too quick to pull away. 

It was bizarre. 

When he finally decided to talk to Cassie about it, she laughed in his face. 

Unfair, he grumbled, he really had been making sure to pay attention this time, and he told her so. He told her about all his observations and the differences with how it used to be. Cassie still seemed amused, however, but she clearly took pity on him as she sat down next to him and pressed into his side. 

“Their feelings aren’t gone,” she explained calmly, pressing her finger into his cheek, “they just shifted.”

“That’s what I said,” Peter defended himself, squirming away from the poking, “they shifted towards friendship!”

Cassie bit her lip and tilted her head from left to right. “Yes and no. Yes, whatever the beginning of their relationship was, it settled on friendship. But that’s not because they don’t have feelings for each other anymore. It’s because their feelings are so deep.”

“What?”

“They love each other, idiot.” Cassie rolled her eyes. “But no one made the first move, so they’ve grown comfortable pining. Perhaps knowing of each other’s feelings or not - but following on unspoken agreement not to do anything about it.”

“But why?” It didn’t really make sense to Peter. Pining after Cassie had been pretty miserable, to be honest. Never able to reach out and hold her hand the way he wanted to, or making a bubbling fool out of himself whenever he tried to speak - or that one memorable time when some guy had been flirting with her and he hadn't been allowed to do anything about it. If he were to believe Cassie though, that hadn’t been pining. Pining, supposedly, was the absence of those things? The absence of the bubbling and stumbling and blushing. 

“I don’t know,” Cassie shrugged, reaching forward to press a kiss to his cheek, “Maybe because they’re not ready yet, or because they’re too afraid to ruin the kind of relationship they already have.”

“How do you even know all this stuff?” Peter groaned. His head was spinning trying to figure out the logic behind all of it. He guessed his relationship with Cassie had developed a similar way, though by the time they were this comfortable around one another they'd been in a relationship. 

“Maybe because William still talks to me about his feelings,” she shrugged again, “or maybe because I’ve grown used to senseless morons.”

“Ugh, mean,” Peter pouted, but that only made Cassie smirk.

“Telling, how you immediately assumed I was talking about you.” 

Peter blushed and rolled his eyes at her, but couldn’t help leaning further into her. 

“Anyway, you have to look for more than just the blushing and stuttering; those are only early-onset symptoms,” Cassie kindly explained, “they’re used to each other now, and at this point, their feelings are expressed through mutual smiles and lingering eye contact - mooning, I guess you could call it.”

Eventually, Peter broached the subject with Harley, and it seemed like Cassie - as usual - had been correct in her theory. The moment he mentioned his crush on William, Harley dodged his eyes, but Peter still didn’t miss the spark of sadness in his. He tried to shrug it off, call it insignificant, but Peter didn’t need to hear any more. 

He was glad they were comfortable around each other though, and they definitely seemed happy, and either way, it didn’t feel like his place to do anything about it.

They either had to find their way there, themselves, or move on. 

Chapter Text

They stepped off the elevator, ignoring the people sitting on the couch in the living room as they headed for the kitchen. The first summer showers were hitting New York, and it left the tower dim and gray. FRIDAY tried to make up for it by softening the lights, but the kitchen still felt dreary and dull. 

William didn't mind it, and it didn't seem to bother Harley either, but it was clear the weather was affecting the other habitants of the tower as they'd been cooped up on the couch all afternoon. 

William liked rainy weather, but he still might have joined them if it hadn't been for Harley. He'd dragged him down to the lab to bounce ideas off of him as he worked on Peter's birthday gift, and William had completely forgotten it was raining at all. 

Harley stopped, glaring at the sky through the massive windows. "You think there's a place the rain can't make utterly depressing?"

“Maybe, though I wouldn't know," William shrugged, leaning against the wall next to him, "I’ve never even been outside of New York before. Well except for Kamar Taj."

And the Rose Hill Cemetery, but he figured it was fine he didn't bring that up. 

“What?” Harley guffawed, swiveling on his feet to gawk at William. “Why not? You can  literally  teleport wherever you want!”

“I need to know where I’m going!” 

“Can’t you look at a picture or something?” Harley frowned, moving towards the counter and leaning up to grab two glasses out of the cupboard before turning to open the fridge. “I know that works for mom.”

“I guess,” William took a seat at the island, placing his elbow on the table and leaning his head in his palm as he watched Harley grab a pitcher of ice tea. “I’ve just never been eager to take the risk.”

Honestly, the idea had never come to mind. His powers had first manifested back in foster care when the 'parents' had been yelling at one of the other children, and he'd desperately wished he was back at the previous home where things had been quieter. Before long, he'd been exactly where he'd wished to be. Luckily, no one had been home, but he'd been confused as fuck.

Either way, he'd never had a reason to go somewhere he'd never been before. The thought of someplace unfamiliar didn't really appeal to him. 

“Well, if you would want to try, where would you want to go?”

William’s eyes followed Harley as he took a seat opposite him and poured both himself and William a glass. He frowned, trying to come up with an answer. Yet, before he’d been able to think about it, Harley spoke up again. His voice was filled with a familiar excitement that had William’s toes curl in warning.

“Wait! Don’t tell me! Just take me there!”

“What?” 

“Yes!” Harley was on his feet again before William could fully register his words, walking around the table and pulling William out of his chair. William squinted at him, knowing the eagerness in Harley’s eyes was hard to dissuade. “Any place you would want to see! It'll be a great exercise and I’ll be there if something goes wrong!”

“Very reassuring,” William groaned quietly, smiling up at the other teen. The teasing was new to William, but he loved how easy it felt around Harley. The usual fears of speaking too much or saying the wrong thing dimmed down around him. It almost felt like a breath of fresh air.  

“Come on! What’s the worst that could happen?”  Famous last words . “It will be fun!”  Famouser last words. 

But Harley was already gripping William’s hands, so who was William to say no to him? He looked so excited - his eyes sparkling, his smile wide and bright - so William abided. 

He sighed quietly, regretting having to close his eyes and miss the sight in front of him; but if he wanted to pull this off, he needed to concentrate. Harley’s hands tightened in his, and William could feel the familiar pull in his stomach as the air shifted around them.

It was hard to explain what teleporting felt like. To him, it was like breathing; breathe in, breathe out, and that’s it - suddenly he’s in a different place. The contrast of the scenes decided how disoriented he would be. Often if he knew places well, he would barely blink. He’d be so concentrated on the place that opening his eyes to find himself there only felt natural. 

This was different.

They’d gone from the quiet, dim kitchen of the tower to a bustling boulevard - in.. honestly he wasn’t sure. 

People were pushing passed them, some blinking unsteadily at them while others barely spared them a second glance despite the fact they had appeared in the middle of a crowded sidewalk.

William guessed it didn’t matter, as the sidewalk was so broad it was almost a road of its own, and people could easily sidestep them. The sudden onslaught of chatter made his ears feel like they’d popped, and bright artificial light shone down on them from all directions despite the sun still being in the sky. 

He guessed wherever they were, it was still early evening, perhaps a few hours behind New York. Which didn’t really make sense. 

“This isn’t Paris...,” William mumbled to himself as he continued glancing around with growing panic.  

Harley, due to their proximity, had apparently still heard him over the noise of the crowd, as he burst out laughing, hands squeezing around William’s on their own accord. William could feel a familiar blush of embarrassment creep onto his cheeks, but Harley’s laugh didn’t sound mean. Still, he avoided Harley’s gaze until he could feel another squeeze of his hand as Harley pulled to turn him around.

William followed in confusion, tried not to get distracted by Harley’s hand on his lower back, and looked up to where Harley was pointing, still giggling through the aftershocks of his laughter. 

Right in front of them was the Eiffel Tower - or at least a smaller version of it. “We’re in Vegas!”

“Oh,” William could recognize it now from television. The giant buildings, the golden lights, the fountains, and throngs of people. It decidedly looked a lot less appealing in real life. “So we are. I guess I underestimated the size of the Eiffel Tower.”

That sent Harley into a new fit of laughter, and this time William couldn’t help but join in. Harley’s laughter was always so infectious, so joyful and full of life; it was one of William’s favorite sounds. 

It took a while for their laughter to die down, and by the time it did, William’s cheeks were hurting, eyes firmly locked on Harley’s as they continued grinning at each other for a minute too long. 

Harley shrugged when they eventually broke eye contact. “Might as well enjoy ourselves while we’re here.”

William nodded, suddenly aware that they hadn’t planned on a trip at all. They’d been standing in the kitchen when they’d left and hadn’t thought to grab their coats. Luckily, it was still warm in the desert, and at least they were wearing their shoes. “What do you want to do?”

“Well, we could -“

“No casinos.”

Harley shrugged as if he hadn’t actually expected William to be okay with it anyway, before nodding his head along the sidewalk. “Want to walk around a bit then? Grab something to eat?”

“Sure.”

It was normal for them to fall into step beside each other, Harley always the one to reach out to grab William’s hand. So all William had to do was link their fingers together. It was nice, natural, and William tried to ignore the implications behind it. 

Too often had he lost his mind trying to think about what it could mean, but it didn’t matter. Harley was the best friend he could have ever hoped for, so if that’s all Harley wanted to be that was fine by him. 

Of course, they’d barely taken a few steps, when Harley’s phone rang. The other teen sighed before taking it out of his pocket and holding it up, putting it on speaker. “Hi, dad.”

“Harley, why did SARA just notify me you left the state of New York? Did you kidnap Tinkerbell?”

“What?” Harley huffed in incredulity, “You think  I’m  the one who teleported us across the country?”

“I can never be sure with you.”

William sniggered, but quickly schooled his expression to an apologetic one when Harley threw him a betrayed look. “Come on, dad! We’ll be fine! We’re just grabbing something to eat.”

A deep sigh came from the other side of the line, and Harley rolled his eyes, but eventually Tony conceded. “Fine. But only because William’s with you.”

William smiled as Harley glared at his phone, but Tony ended the call with a ‘be home before curfew’ and ‘nothing illegal!’, blocking off Harley’s protests.

The older teen scoffed as he pocketed his phone. “They’re all biased against me.”

William squeezed his hand, which quickly distracted Harley as he glanced back towards him with a small smile. 

“So, where to?”

Harley shrugged in response and started pulling William along again, continuing their way down the strip. 

Opposite to New York, Las Vegas seemed to get busier as the sun dipped lower over the horizon, the cars getting more expensive, the lights getting harsher and the people drunker. 

It wasn't really William's scene. He'd much preferred the smaller New York streets - the fact that there were even streets that could make the New York ones seem  small,  was ridiculous. The NYC masses made him feel unnoticeable, easily hidden, part of the crowd, while here he just felt insignificant. 

Not caring about sightseeing, though, left William plenty of time to just enjoy Harley's company, to revel in the way their hands were linked and their shoulders brushed every so often. That was another perk; the masses pressing them closer together as they walked down the street. 

"So why did you pick Paris, anyway? Or at least try to," Harley smirked, glancing back at him before focussing back on not bumping into anyone. 

William shrugged in response, then realized Harley couldn't see him anymore. "No reason, really. I kind of panicked and thought of the first thing that came to mind. Paris seems to be the place everyone wants to go, right?"

William watched as Harley's eyebrows twisted into a frown, the way it shifted his face into harsh lines. Somehow it still made him look pretty and delicate, like a marble bust.

"Then I still don't know where you'd want to go if given a choice."

It wasn't phrased as a question, but as Harley's lips had dropped into something resembling a pout, he still felt the need to answer. "I've never really thought about it. I like New York plenty. It always felt like  my  city, you know?"

Harley's pout turned into a smirk, always quick to regain his humor. "That's such a New Yorker thing to say."

William rolled his eyes and purposefully bumped his shoulder against Harley's. "Don't you feel the same way about Rose Hill?"

"I guess," Harley replied, and suddenly William felt bad for having asked it, noticing the pang of sadness in his eyes. "But I still wanted to leave plenty of times. Small towns get boring quickly."

"So then where would you have gone?"

"When I was younger it was New York - pretty cliché, I know - then it was California after I met dad. I've always wanted to see the Grand Canyon, too, for some reason. Never really expected to get farther than the States, but now I can, I definitely want to see Rome or Athens, maybe Egypt." 

William added this information to what he already knew about Harley. It seemed the more he got the know him, the more endeared he became with the blue-eyed boy. His perception of the other teen had changed so much from their first meeting, it seemed ridiculous to think he'd ever considered him intimidating. 

He'd always been gorgeous, yet the misconception of his character had been what had scared him at first. Perhaps because he was used to the pretty rich boys tormenting him all his life, either due to his background and the fact he had nothing to his name, or because they couldn't stand William looking at them for 'too long'. Even when he'd actively been avoiding their ire, they'd still found excuses to ridicule and hurt him.

Mostly out of a sense of self-preservation, William had assumed Harley would be much the same; arrogant, self-obsessed, cruel, ... 

Yet, Harley had proven to be none of those things. Harley was kind and funny, caring, and fiercely protective. And yes, much like his dad he recognized his own talents, but he also knew of his own flaws, and would never fault someone for being less. 

"Maybe we can do Rome next time. I do take Latin, so we can frame it as a study outing," William suggested, and the conspirational smile Harley sent him sent a wave of butterflies through his stomach that he promptly repressed. 

"I'm having such a bad influence on you."

"Don't give yourself too much credit." William smiled back at him with the tiniest sense of pride. 

"I won't." Harley's response was steady and almost fond, effectively throwing William off guard as he blinked and looked away.

He tried to distract himself from the awe he was feeling by pretending to glance around the city, and quickly changed the subject by pointing at a restaurant that didn't look as horrible as the rest.

"Want to grab something to eat there?"

"Sure, let's go." 

Chapter Text

inspo: 

William buzzed with anxiety as he made his way through the streets of New York, mind working a mile a minute in a spiral of thoughts. 

His brother was the speedster, yet he was the one always running away from his problems. He hid, avoided, and did everything to prevent conflict. 

Yet, how could he avoid conflict when he couldn't figure out the cause?

If the problem had been the family, the parents, ... it would have been easy.

He’d learned to not get attached and knew better than to get his hopes up. 

At least that’s the front he tried to put up; fake indifference and hope it would rub off on him by the time they kicked them out again. In the past, the technique's failure could have been written off as a time thing; that he'd been kicked out before he'd learned to not care. 

But now, they were nearing the one year mark; the longest he'd ever been in one place since he was seven, and he didn't have to fake indifference anymore. Though not because he'd stopped caring.  

Maybe William was too trusting, too naive, too hopeful still for that happy ending fairy tales always wrote about. He’d never needed much to be happy - had always been someone who got joy out of the simple things in life - yet, true happiness was something so rare to him that he clung on to its cause with all he had. 

This family… it made him happy. Though he’d been too afraid to admit to it at first - a skeptic of its permanence - it was true. Even Thomas had allowed himself to get attached.

Everything was wonderful!

Except… well, then there was Harley.

Harley usually made him happy. But lately… lately, he was just frustrating!

He was always so kind and comforting, yet the last few days, his mood changed so often it was confusing as all hell. One moment he was just Harley - happy, funny, radiant - and the next, he’d be quiet and curt, seemingly biting his tongue as he glared into the distance. 

This morning, for example, he'd been cheery when he’d joined William for his morning swim - something he’d started doing once he’d figured out the tower had a pool. He’d always liked swimming, and though Harley often refused to get in the water so early in the morning - seven am isn't early at all! - he often dragged himself down just to keep William company. 

It wasn’t a secret that morning had become his favorite time of day - especially when the sun rose over the city just when he was done with his laps. It made the floor-to-ceiling windows disappear, like they were truly outside, the golden light warming the air around them. 

But then, when William had told him he couldn’t join them for breakfast as he was meeting up with a friend, it flipped the switch again. 

He knew it wasn’t just William not being able to spend time with him - they spend plenty of time together! - and he usually didn’t react like that when he met up with Cassie or Thomas. So, he didn’t understand what had made the difference now. 

Then, when he’d gotten back from having breakfast with Illyana, Harley had ignored him. 

It... it was confusing and it made him anxious, wondering what he was doing wrong. He had everything he wanted, but if he lost Harley... if Harley was getting sick of him... It scared him. Scared him about what would happen and scared about how it was making him feel.

Either way, it had been clear Harley didn't want him around - at least for as long as this stretch of bad mood would last - and so he was wandering around the city like he was used to. 

The crowds around him were starting to close in on him, the air being sucked from his lungs, and so he started to run. He needed to get rid of his nervous energy.

He jumped, the scenery around him changing into a forest, then again to run through another city, again and again until he stopped right at the edge of a harbor. Seagulls were flying overhead, the sound of the sails clinging against their poles filled the air, and the salty breeze tickled his skin.  

He finally understood why Thomas liked taking risks, why he pushed himself as hard as he could. 
He was starting to enjoy himself, glad about the way the anxiety was fading from his veins, the change in scenery distracting him from his worries. It was exciting, not knowing where he’d end up next, and how far he could go. For the first time, he felt curious about his limits. 

He grinned as he started running again. 

When he jumped next, he stopped in his tracks as he took in the scene around him. 

Appalled, he watched as fire ravaged the building. Rubble dug into the soles of his shoes, making the terrain uneven. The air had turned yellow with dust and smoke, mixing with the flames as they tried to escape through the windows. 

William took a step back; his first instinct was to get away, but he held back the urge to teleport again. It looked like an explosion had ripped through the building, almost taking out an entire block, surely no one would have survived… and yet William could hear the screams and yells of pain coming from inside.  

He took a deep breath, bracing himself as he ran into the building. 

Immediately, the heat made his skin clammy, and William tore off his jacket as he ran through what appeared to be a living room, avoiding the parts that were on fire. The screams were coming from upstairs.

He found the stairwell, the steps luckily made out of stone, and he managed to run up two floors before the fire blocked his path. 

Turning into the hallway instead, he could see a man and a woman lying on the floor. The woman was still moving, calling out for help, but the flames blocked her path. 

“Get back!” William yelled, and the woman shuffled back as far as she could. Concentrating hard on exactly where he wanted to land, he teleported towards them.

He hissed when he landed, pulling his arm back as he’d ended up a little more to the left than he’d planned, but he ignored his pain as he grabbed onto the man and woman and teleported back out of the building. 

He left the couple on the street outside, immediately jumping back to their previous location in the building as he continued searching the house. The air burned with every breath he took, coughing against the smoke as he desperately gasped for air.

By the time he heard sirens outside, he’d checked all of the building, and had dropped multiple inhabitants off on the curb outside. He was getting tired. His limbs were slow and heavy, and his head was killing him, but he checked the place once more to make sure no one was inside. 

The last room was empty, and he sighed, about to jump outside when he noticed the crib against the far wall.

Reminded of Valerie, he had to make sure.

He wheezed as he landed next to the crib. The ceiling above them was definitely not going to last much longer, and the flames were already moving in on them with every second he wasted. 

But he’d been right. 

The baby was still in the crib, and for one horrifying moment, William thought he was too late. 

But he remembered how Stephen had told him to always check a pulse when doing triage, and so he hesitantly tried to feel for one, feeling like he was going to be sick. 

He sighed when he felt the meekest flutter under his fingertips, and immediately picked up the baby and teleported as far away from the fire as possible. 

Apparently, all that was possible was the street outside. Maybe he’d had to imagine that stretch of road so often in the last five minutes that he’d have it permanently printed on his retinas. Or maybe farther wasn’t possible anymore. He could feel the gravity increase, could hear someone shouting as they rushed for him. He could feel how the baby was taken from him, how he tried to resist, and hold to them out of instinct. 

Then everything went dark. 

“Stop moping!”

“I’m not moping!” Harley yelled back at Peter as he passed his room.

Harley didn’t mope! He was rightfully upset with William, okay!

Sure, maybe he’d been more difficult than he’d needed to be but he couldn’t help it!

William was allowed to have friends, Harley knew that logically, but did he have to talk about her twenty-four-seven? They’d just be hanging out, and William would mention her like it was no big deal!

It just… yeah, Harley was wrong to get upset with him. To be an annoying little prick just because he didn’t like sharing William. Why did he even need any more friends, anyway? He already had four friends at the tower!

Look, he couldn’t justify his behavior. It had just happened. For some reason, it bothered him when William talked about Illyana, and he could be very difficult when he wanted to be. 

He hated how hurt William had looked before he'd stepped into the elevator.

It was weird fighting with William. 

They’d never fought before.
 
Yes, the occasional disagreement over movies and books, but nothing serious. 

This felt stupid and serious at the same time.

Because even though Harley was being stupid, he knew the feelings behind it - at least from his side - weren’t. 

So, he was moping in his bedroom. 
 
And when he was called down for dinner, he braced himself before he had to see William again, trying to work up the courage to apologize and grovel. 

His preparations turned out to have been for naught, for William wasn’t at dinner.

That wasn’t that unusual. Except when Tony asked FRIDAY to check if William was having dinner with Vision and Wanda, just to be sure, he got back negative.

In fact, FRIDAY pointed out, he wasn’t in the tower at all.

Guilt immediately burned in his chest like ice, making him stare at his plate as Stephen and Tony tried to track him down. 

He knew it was his fault William had left the tower. He had pushed him away.

William would never leave without telling anyone where he was going.

“What did you do?” Thomas hissed at him from across the table, eyes hard as they glared at Harley. 

Harley knew he was just worried about his brother, but he still felt like snapping at him for making him feel worse than he already did. He managed to stay calm though, gritting his teeth as he answered. “I was just being annoying! I barely even said anything!”

Which was exaclty why William had left.

The rest of the evening went by in an anxious haze. Thomas, Peter, and some of the Avengers went out to search the streets as FRIDAY searched CCTV, but they knew William could literally be anywhere. Natasha checked with SHIELD to monitor HYDRA activity, but nothing seemed to be happening. 

The first piece of information they got was from Stephen. The spell he was using to track William wasn’t working, which meant he had to be unconscious. 

It only fuelled Harley’s anxiety as he sat on the couch, feeling useless as guilt and worry formed a dangerous cocktail in his stomach. 

It was early the next morning when FRIDAY had finally found something.

They’d been so desperate they’d had her searching John Doe's around the world, and it seemed they finally had a match in Istanbul of all places.

Harley was the first through the portal, immediately searching for William’s room as Tony and Stephen spoke to his doctors. 

Thomas found him first. Harley watched from the doorway as he took a seat next to his brothers’ bed, glaring at William's sleeping form. He took the seat in the corner, watching from a distance as guilt still warred within him. 

“We’ll transfer him to the tower in the morning.” Harley looked up as Stephen spoke. He'd entering the room with a sad frown, Tony’s arm wrapped around his waist. “He only has minor burns but he inhaled a lot of smoke and most likely suffered from severe carbon monoxide poisoning.”

Harley’s eyes burned and he tried to swallow down against the knot in his throat. Ducking his head, he tried to hide in the shadows of the room, but Stephen still threw him a worried glance.

When Stephen and Tony took Thomas to the cafeteria for a break, Harley denied the invitation. 

It was only when they’d left and he was alone in the room with William still asleep, that he dared to sneak closer.

He took the chair Thomas had abandoned and carefully reached out to grab William’s hand, making sure not to tangle the wires from the machines. 
The room was quiet except for the steady beep of the heart monitor as Harley wallowed in his guilt. He felt like he couldn’t breathe, holding onto William’s fingers like they were a lifeline. Where William looked distant and strange tucked away in the hospital bed, his skin still felt warm and familiar.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered into the silence as the sun started to rise over the horizon, coloring the hotel room in soft yellow light. 

He sat there for what felt like hours, but when he felt William’s fingers twitch in his hand, he got up and left before he could open his eyes. 

Harley was avoiding him. 

He had been moved to the tower, had enough people worrying about him, and plenty of visitors so he wasn’t lonely for a second.

His most frequent visitor had been Val, playing with him on his bed as Stephen read in the chair next to him.

But Harley stayed away, and it still bothered him despite the constant company. 

Stephen must have noticed, must have recognized the sadness lingering in his eyes, but he didn’t comment on it. Perhaps he mistook it as sadness over his predicament, but William didn’t care about his injuries. He’d checked with the news, and the people he’d managed to save had gotten away with minor wounds and smoke inhalation. The few burns he had were worth it.

Though burn wounds hurt like a bitch.

And Stephen assured him he’d even gotten away without any major after-effects from the carbon monoxide poisoning, which was, of course, a nice bonus. 

Still, he missed Harley, and he hated that whatever he'd done to piss him off had been enough to keep him away even now.

After three days, he was discharged from the med bay. Thomas followed him down to their floor, though he assured him that he was perfectly fine on his own.

"Look," his brother started as they were standing in the elevator. "Whatever made you leave..."

"It was nothing," William frowned, trying to sound confident. "I didn't actually run away! You know I can't."

"I know it's just...," Thomas sighed, "Whatever there is with Harley..."

"There isn't," he argued, heart skipping a beat as he hid his blush by looking at the floor. "He doesn't like me that way."

Thomas was silent for a second before he continued more carefully than before. "If you ever do feel like running, for whatever reason, don't forget about me, okay? Count me in."

"We're not running," William glared at him. He wasn't surprised Thomas still had it on his mind, but he wanted this, more than anything. And he would never do anything to risk that. 

Thomas shrugged, a smile pulling at his lip. "Good."

When the evening rolled around, he decided to search Harley out himself, but either Harley was tracking his movements and purposefully getting out of his way or he wasn’t in the tower.

He finally managed to corner him in his bedroom. William had stayed down for dinner, and when FRIDAY informed him Harley was in his room, William made his way upstairs.

Harley’s door was closed when he stopped in front of it, which seemed strange to William. Usually, it was open, a clear sign that despite his grumbling, he didn’t mind when his siblings came in to 'bother' him. 

He knocked, and his heart skipped a beat when he finally heard Harley’s voice again for the first time in days. “Leave me alone, mom! I’m fine!”

Frowning, he opened the door, finding Harley lying on his bed. He had an electrical piece in his hands, something to tinker with, no doubt, and his eyes widened when he noticed William in the doorway. 

“Hey,” he started. He wasn’t sure how to continue, so he just took a step inside and closed the door behind him. Harley only continued to stare at him. William could see multiple emotions warring on his face, though he couldn’t make out a single one.

When there was still no response a few minutes later, he sighed nervously and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, biting his lip. “Are you seriously still angry at me?”

“Of course not!” Harley frowned, though his glare said the complete opposite. He was so confusing. “I never was, to begin with!”

“Then what is it?” William was starting to get annoyed now, but getting into a fight was the last thing he wanted. “Why are you avoiding me?”

“Because you were stupid!”

“What?!”

Harley was agitated now - angry; William would be the first to recognize those emotions. Usually, it would scare him, but as it was Harley it only confused him, exasperated that he was acting this way.

Harley jumped up from the bed, nervous energy making him walk around the room as it seemed to fuel his anger. “You were there - you stood with me when I visited my family - and then the first time I get upset with you, you run into fire!”

“I-Harles, that’s absurd!” William gawked, staring up at him in disbelief. “You think I decided to run into a burning building just for the fun of it?! or to -  what? Punish you?”

“Do you even care?!” Harley yelled and turned to glare at him, completely ignoring his question, and William froze due to the intensity of his stare. He was unable to move, eyes fixed on the pure blue of Harley’s irises as they shifted like a winter storm. “Do you care at all what it would have done to me if you’d died? If you’d gone up in flames like everyone else that’s ever cared about me!”

“I-,” William’s heart broke as tears were streaming down Harley’s cheeks. He couldn’t help but reach out to grab Harley’s hand from where it was pressed against his chest, untangling his fingers from where he was bunching the fabric of his shirt in a tight fist. “Hey, I’m sorry.”

He pulled at Harley’s hand. Harley resisted at first, ever so stubborn, but eventually, he allowed himself to be pulled down to sit on the bed next to him. His hand twisted to link their fingers together.

“Look,” William tried, when Harley was trying to get his breathing under control, keeping his voice low and soothing. “Of course I wasn’t thinking when I ran into that building, except that I needed to help those people. But I can tell you, that I won’t be running into burning buildings any time soon.”

Harley chuckled softly, trying to wipe away the tears still clinging onto his cheeks. 

“Of course, I understand … it’s just, I l-,” Harley’s breath hitched, and he sighed before starting again. William could tell the smile on his face was forced. “You’re my best friend…. and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

William smiled in response, hoping it wouldn’t show how bittersweet those words were to him. He’d always wanted a best friend - someone who wasn’t his twin, wanted someone to care for him because of who he was, but now he had it… he wanted more. He should know better than to be greedy, to hope. He should be grateful for what he got.

But he couldn’t shake his longing.

Chapter Text

“FRIDAY, what time is it?”

“It’s 1:09 am.”

“Thanks,” he mumbled in response as he stood up from his bed, moving to place his book back on its shelf. Grabbing his phone on his way out of his room, he thought about the story as he stepped into the hallway. He kept the space dark, navigating to the kitchen by memory and the orange glow of the city below. 

Humming along to a song, he opened the fridge, examining its contents before sighing in dismay. When he closed the door, he jumped out of his skin, barely holding back a yell, unprepared to find a person standing behind it.

“We should put a bell around your neck!” He hissed, grabbing onto his chest as his heart had dropped out of his ribcage. 

“I don’t think that would help with the headphones in” 

Harley glared at him, causing a sly grin to crawl up William’s face. It seemed to light up the darkness around them, immediately soothing the remnants of fear still flowing through him. 

William stepped forward, opening the fridge Harley had just closed. He didn’t sigh as he had, but the small frown and pout were clear enough to the people that knew him - or the people that couldn’t stop staring at his face. 

“We could go to the store,” Harley offered, always driven to make William happy if he could. He’d made a hobby out of it, and this far Harley thought he’d done quite well. Couldn’t stop now.

“Won’t mom be upset we left the tower in the middle of the night?”

“Probably. But we’ll just blame Quill for taking your whipped cream. Come on,” Harley said, grabbing William’s hand as naturally as breathing, “I need some more sweet tea anyway. Maybe some nachos.”

“It’s  Iced Tea .”

“Yes, but sweetened.” 

“Iced Tea is sweetened.”

“Not always!” Harley shuddered, remembering that time he’d tried to ‘normalize’ his dialect and made the mistake of ordering Iced Tea in Tennessee. It probably wouldn’t have been so bad if the place hadn’t been a rundown café in an even smaller town neighboring Rose Hill. 

William rolled his eyes, but Harley could tell he was smiling. The combination of his annoyance and fondness sent a swirl of butterflies through his belly that he promptly ignored. It wouldn’t do to dally on that right now, though he truly didn’t mind the feeling. He’d never understood why people got so worked up over a crush, why they did nothing but talk and think about the object of their affection all day.  

But it was  something , it was new, a feeling he was yet to get used to. Like a new drug, his body had yet to gain resistance against. Just as addicting, as well. 

He was just happy, being around William, and it was easy to recognize the feelings for what they were. 

It might not be a mystery as to why he’d suddenly been so attached to the romance in the book he’d just finished. He could tell himself all he liked that it was just the writing, the particular way in which that relationship had been described and formed. Yet, he knew it was because he suddenly recognized the emotions behind them, could more easily relate to the characters involved. 

“You sure mom won’t mind?”

“Nah, he probably won’t even notice we’re gone.” He so would. “Besides, mom can’t be mad at you. No one can. It’s in your DNA. Your secret superpower besides teleportation.”

He should probably stop talking, but it was late and he was tired, and dare he say - giddy . 

He decidedly didn’t look at William as he pulled at his hand, urging him to hurry up. “My nachos are calling me.”

William took a deep breath, sighed in what Harley recognized as nerves, and - though Harley suddenly felt bad for pushing him - they were standing inside the night shop a corner away from the tower in the blink of an eye.

The owner didn’t even look up at their sudden appearance, used by now to the dashing and popping and even crawling - on days that Peter was particularly sleep-deprived - teens coming into his shop.

“Hi Carl,” Harley called cheerily, though he only got an annoyed grunt in response. He figured that despite the powers of the other teens, he was still Carl’s least favorite. 

Probably due to that time he’d paid a 10 dollar bill in nothing but coins.

Well, he couldn’t blame him for preferring William over him, and Peter was always disgustingly adept at getting people to like him. But liking Thomas more than him?? That was just cold. 

Harley shrugged to himself and pulled William further into the store, heading to the one isle he ever really visited. He grabbed two family bags of nachos before turning towards the drinks and grabbing a few bottles of sweet tea. 

“We should probably get back as soon as possible. With every second mom’s anger will rise.”

“Harley!” William groaned in horror. Harley shrugged sheepishly before pulling a few cans of whipped cream from the shelves and bringing it up to the front. His groans were an improvement from his first months at the tower, where the thought of  anyone  being angry at him would result in the color draining from William’s face.  

“Come on; we’ve barely been gone five minutes. He’ll live.”

“It’s us I’m worried about,” William mumbled, but Harley saw him reach for a box of truffles - he was starting to familiarise himself with their tactics. 

Once again, Harley found himself smiling, but he schooled his expression when Carl sent him a knowing smirk. If it wasn’t for William edging him on to get home quicker, he would have ‘searched his pockets for change’ for five minutes, but as it was, he quickly grabbed his card from his wallet and swiped it. 

Dividing the haul between them, they had to link arms to teleport, as both their hands were full. They made it back safely though, and Harley quickly dumped the bottles and bags onto the kitchen counter.

“Hi, mom,” he smiled without looking up at Stephen, who was glaring at them from the kitchen doorway. Harley could sense William tense up behind him, so he turned towards him to offer him a can of whipped cream and a soothing smile. 

“Harley, what makes you think it’s okay to leave the tower in the middle of the night?” 

“We brought truffles!” Harley glanced back over his shoulder, and surely he could see Stephen twitch, even though he was clearly fighting to stay angry.

“Come on,” Harley tried again, grabbing the box of chocolates and shaking it in front of him. “It’s Quill’s fault, really; he shouldn’t have stolen William’s whipped cream.”

Stephen rolled his eyes, but his words had apparently caught his attention as he dropped his arms from his chest and stepped further into the kitchen, focusing on William. 

“You wanted strawberries and cream? Are you having nightmares again?”

“Yeah, about you lurking in the shadows like some boogeyman.” 

“Harley, go to your room.”

Harley scoffed, pulling a bottle of sweet tea towards him and unscrewing the bottle. He froze when he found Stephen glaring at him. 

Sighing, he took the bottle and a bag of nachos and drooped off towards his bedroom. 

At least he hadn’t been grounded. 

Closing the bedroom door behind him, he realized he should probably just go to bed. It was late -  late,  late - and now he was just faced with sitting in his room on his own instead of in the dark kitchen chatting with William, the nachos and sweet tea suddenly seemed a lot less appealing.

Still, he grabbed his laptop and sat down on his bed, opening the bag of chips as he decided to waste some time on the internet. You never knew, maybe William would still stop by after Stephen was done (s)mothering him. 

He was just about to give up hope when a voice right behind his ear whispered ‘don’t jump’. 

Of course , he jumped, breath catching in his throat as he lurched away from the sound and turned back to glare at William.

“William!” Harley scolded, trying to be quiet despite the sound of his heart beating in his ears. 

“Hey,” William shrugged, “I tried to warn you this time.”

The way his smile lit up his entire face showed ‘warning’ him hadn’t been his intention at all. Still, Harley had a hard time keeping his own smile from creeping onto his face as he scooted over and made room for William to sit.

William had a bowl of strawberries and cream in his hands. He sat down and turned towards Harley, leaning against the headboard as he took the fork to his mouth. 

“If you’d made me yell, mom would have known you’re here, idiot.” He closed his laptop so he could focus on William.

“Oh don’t worry; he knows. I asked if we could stay up a little while still.”

“ What ?” Harley hissed in outrage, “you  asked? ”

“Mmhm, it’s very effective,” William hummed, smiling around his next bite of strawberry, the grin making his eyes sparkle in the dimly lit bedroom. Harley had a hard time staying offended when the mere sight of William made him feel warm inside. “You should try it sometimes.”

“For you maybe,” Harley grumbled, thinking back to all the times Stephen had said yes to him. Which… wasn’t a long list. To be fair, his demands  could  be considered a bit …  outlandish.

Leaning forward, he plucked a strawberry out of William’s bowl and intended to change the subject. 

He’d seen him get defensive over his strawberries to Thomas - which had been  very  amusing. Yet, there was no sign of it now. William simply continued smiling and leaned further against his headboard, making himself more comfortable.

“Mom was right to ask, though,” Harley frowned, thinking back to the scene in the kitchen. William hadn't seemed upset, but he rarely did - at least not to Harley’s knowledge. But he knew he had nightmares sometimes - had seen firsthand how bad they could get - and had figured out by now that William was pretty good at hiding his discomfort. “Why were you up? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I am.” William’s smile softened, eyes catching him so Harley could see the sincerity in them. “Great even. I was just bored and couldn’t sleep. I was lucky to bump into you. Why were  you  up?” 

It took a second for Harley to realize William had asked him a question, too caught up in the way William was looking at him. He blushed, hoping the other teen hadn’t noticed his distraction, the color of his cheeks luckily concealed by the shadows of his room. 

“I just finished reading my book.” He shrugged in response, head indicating the bookcase along his wall. 

“Oh? which one?”

“King of Hidden Liars. The final book comes out next week.”

“I know! I’ve been looking forward to it, but the library usually takes a few weeks to receive a copy.”

They ended up talking until the sun was starting to rise over the horizon, and when neither made it to breakfast the next morning, Stephen didn't say anything of it, though he did make them go to bed early the following night. 

Chapter Text

“You’re still grounded from the last shit you pulled,” William frowned, almost incredulous. It was a good look on him, Harley thought, though that was stupid. He only looked pretty because he was always pretty, the incredulity had nothing to do with it. 

Harley quickly wiped the smile from his face as William’s eyes still bore into his, waiting for a response, a confirmation that he wasn’t going to do anything stupid. 

“Come on, he doesn’t have to find out,” Harley reasoned, “According to my percentages, he only knows about 91 percent of the crap we pull. As everything this year has come to light, it’s statistically likely this time might be the 9 percent!”

William’s frown - if possible - had deepened, his startled look shifting into pure ridicule. “That doesn’t even make any sense!”

“It does in my head,” Harley grinned. There was no denying the tug at the corners of William’s lips. “And my maths is better than yours!”

“Only because we’re not in the same year,” William grumbled, temporarily distracted by his grades and surprising competitiveness over them - which Harley had found out after Cassie had gotten a point above him on their chem quiz. He’d gotten all sulky and pinched-faced over it when he thought no one was looking - but Harley always was. 

“But that’s not the point!” William quickly collected himself, flush sweeping over his cheekbones, “We all know there are only two options: tell mom or wait for mom to find out. If you even try I will go warn mom myself.”

“Ugh,” Harley sighed, falling back onto the couch and throwing his head back. “You’re so lame sometimes.”

He didn’t see how William’s face paled at his words, the color draining from his cheeks as his eyes widened slightly. Didn’t notice when his lips parted as if to protest, but no sound came out.

He only heard when William left, the elevator door sliding closed behind him. Tilting his head back down, he frowned in the direction of the closing doors. William hadn’t said anything as he’d left, which wasn’t necessarily weird - everyone went wherever and whenever they pleased - but there was something about the air that felt off. 

He had just been about to ask William to watch a movie with him instead and found himself noticeably more disappointed that this plan had been thwarted than the previous one. He’d never really had much commitment for his pranks or mischief unless he was challenged - merely lacked a reason or person stopping his impulse. This time he had just wanted to complain, to whine about his unfair prison sentence, to mess around with William and watch the smile tug at his lips at his idiocy. 

Now the penthouse was completely empty again, and Harley still wasn’t allowed to leave - not even to go after William and ask where he was going.

He was a little surprised that William had left in the first place. Usually, they would spend whatever time they could just the two of them - he wasn’t going to put too much thought into that - and this proved the perfect opportunity. Hadn’t he stayed behind for him? To keep him company? 

Not that he’d asked to or had expected him to, but there didn’t seem to be any other reason why he hadn’t gone with everyone else. It made it even stranger that he’d left, as the tower was empty except for them.

Pouting slightly, he stood from the couch and slumped towards his room, falling onto his bed. No use suffering through these hours alone for nothing. He pulled his History textbooks closer and started reading.

He got through most of his homework for the weekend by the time the rest of the family returned. It was clear from the wave of sound that suddenly burst out from the living room, filling the penthouse with its usual laughter and yells, the undeniable presence in the air. 

Harley wanted to go down and greet them, glad to finally have some distraction, but he figured he might as well finish the last two pages of his notes - no more than a half-hour work anyway. 

He got distracted, however, by Stephen as he stepped into the room, Val on his hip as she sucked a toy into her mouth. Stephen stopped as he looked around the room, frowning at Harley. “Where’s William? I want to ask him to take Val for a moment while I prepare dinner.”

“Why don’t you check his room, then?”

“What’s going on?” Stephen asked, squinting at Harley in suspicion as he took a step further into the room. “Did you guys fight?”

“No, why would you think that?” Harley asked, not looking up from his notes. They hadn’t, had they? He glanced back up and caught Stephen’s knowing gaze, but he quickly changed the subject. “I can watch Val while I finish here.”

“Alright,” Stephen sighed, though he still seemed doubtful. He was distracted by pulling the toy from Val's mouth, but Harley had no doubt he’d inquire with William about whatever was going on later. Ugh, meddling parents. Everything was fine. 

He dropped Val on the bed next to Harley, the toddler shifting closer to her brother and tugging at his sleeve as Stephen left the room. “Saw stars!”

“That’s nice, Val,” Harley’s answer was absentminded as he was still writing, but he was sure to send her a small smile. 

She tugged his sleeve again, more insistent this time as her face twisted. “Tell Will?”

“William will be up soon, Val.” Even if he wanted to take Valerie down to see him now, he couldn’t as he was still barred from leaving the floor. So it wasn’t like he was avoiding William or anything. Besides, he still had to finish this page. 

Valerie huffed, but as usual, she knew to be patient when needed. She simply grabbed one of Harley's spare pens sprawled over his sheets. Harley handed her an empty piece of paper - making sure anything important was out of reach of her pen - and she immediately started scribbling. 

Stephen’s insistence that something was wrong, had watered the small sprout of doubt in his chest. It started to bloom, distracting him from his work and making worry course through his veins. He had felt something was off when William had left, and more and more he was starting to believe his instincts had been right. 

Ten minutes later, he was done with his homework, and he got up to combine everything in his binder and stuff it back into his bag. 

Seeing him move and clean everything up, Val closed the pen and reached her hands out. “Tell Will now?”

Apparently, drawing hadn’t been enough to distract her from her main goal. Sighing, Harley guessed there was no way refusing without having to admit to himself that he was avoiding William, so he picked his sister up and placed her on his hip.

Val, clearly content he wasn’t preoccupied anymore, immediately started babbling at him, telling him about all they’d seen at the Smithsonian - Harley only understood half of it, but it wasn’t hard to pretend when needed. 

He walked from the stairs into the kitchen, a furtive glance showing the Avengers in their usual stations around the living room. Stephen was cooking as he’d said, and though he was still clearly in the early stages of preparing the meal, it already smelled amazing. 

Tony was sitting at the kitchen table, keeping Stephen company while giving Lucy her bottle. Both parents looked up when Harley and Val entered.

“Hey, kid,” Tony grinned at Harley, but still looked slightly guilty about not having been able to convince Stephen to let him come on their family outing after all. Stephen looked worriedly at Val, clearly wondering if Val already needed his attention again. When she seemed content on Harley’s hip, his eyes shifted to the teen. 

“I know I’m not supposed to leave the floor but can I bring Val to William? She wants to tell him about the trip but he’s still not come upstairs.”

Stephen, undoubtedly noticing the hesitation in his voice, nodded. “You wouldn’t have any idea on why he hasn’t come up, would you?”

Harley shrugged, but having gotten the permission he needed, he turned around and left the kitchen. He felt dumb for even having asked, but he wasn’t going to risk getting grounded an extra week - not for something so stupid, not when he still didn’t know why William was upset with him. Because by now Harley had figured out he must have done something  wrong, though he couldn’t figure out what. 

He continued responding to Val as they took the elevator down to Wanda and Vision’s floor, but his mind was on the conversation from earlier.

The living room was dark, a stark contrast to that of the penthouse. The sun had started setting about an hour ago, and the light of the elevator ran a pale path onto the floor. 

 Val held on tighter to his collar, curling into him as he stepped further into the room. 

He didn’t bother turning on the light as he crossed the familiar path through the lounge and towards the hallway. Light spilled out from under William’s door as he stopped in front of it. 

Suddenly he realized he had no idea what to do. He was certain William was upset with him, but he didn’t know why. How could he apologize when he didn’t even know what he’d done? He couldn’t even gauge how upset William was.

Val, either not noticing his hesitation or tired of waiting, leaned forward and knocked her tiny wrist onto William’s door. The sound was tiny and dull, but it cut through the silence like a knife, anyway.

The door opened, showing William against the light of his bedroom. His hair was dented as if he’d slept on it, and he blinked at them in surprise.

Valerie was already reaching out her hands, and William - moving as if on instinct - took her over from Harley. 

“I-,” Harley started, frowning before clearing his throat. There’s no reason he needed to be weird. William clearly looked fine, and he wasn’t shooting daggers at him with his eyes so clearly, he wasn’t angry, right? He’d probably just been asleep and hadn’t heard FRIDAY, so he continued matter-of-factly. “Valerie wanted to tell you about the trip.”

“Oh,” William asked feebly, shifting Val so he could look at her as he took a step back into his room. “You do? What did you see?”

Harley was about to leave - having finished his mission - when he stopped himself. His initial assessment had been right - he hadn’t been glaring at him - but that was because he had barely looked at him at all. The only time he’d got a clear look at William’s brown irises was when he’d first noticed Harley at his doorstep. But he’d quickly recovered from his shock and focussed solely on Val, not even sparing Harley a second glance. 

The usual ease between them was gone. Warmth no longer radiated off of William like he was the sun to Harley’s planet. Harley felt it like a stab to his chest, like he’d suddenly lost a limb he hadn’t even known he’d had. 

He looked back over towards the other teen. He’d moved to sit on his bed with Val as Harley had earlier, the two talking animatedly about the museum trip William had missed out on. 

Maybe that was it? Maybe William felt angry because he’d had to give up his trip just because Harley had gotten himself in trouble. Because he felt like he owed it to Harley to stay behind too. Maybe William regretted being his friend in the first place - being friends with someone brash and impulsive who often didn’t think before speaking. 

It was so different from William’s peaceful and calming nature, after all.

The thought filled him with incredible sadness - the kind of sadness that occupied your entire chest, leaking down into your limbs and making your nerves tingle like a negative charge. The kind of sadness that was almost like grief - losing something that you only ever thought you had, finding out everything you knew and cared about was an unsustainable fantasy.

“Dinner should be ready in half an hour,” Harley spoke, voice quiet, before leaving. William hadn’t looked up from Val, but Harley had seen him nod in acknowledgment. He guessed he didn’t have the right to ask for more. 

“Did you figure out what’s wrong?” Tony asked, handing over their sleeping infant. Stephen took her into his arms, holding her against his chest almost like comfort. He pressed a grateful kiss against Tony’s lips, and send a thank you up to the heavens that Lucy didn’t fuss about being taken from her daddy. 

He sat down on the couch next to his husband, leaning into him. Tony’s good arm wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him even closer. 

“Neither of them will talk.” Stephen tried not to pout, but Tony must have noticed it anyway as he smirked before kissing it from his lips. 

“You can’t fix everything, tesoro. Mama bear needs to let them fight their own battles.”

“They’re just stubborn,” Stephen grumbled, “they get that from you.”

Tony spluttered, his arm tightening around Stephen’s shoulders momentarily. “Why is this on me all of a sudden? They’re stubborn in their own unique ways!”

Stephen huffed and rolled his eyes, but a smile tugged at his lips and he leaned further against Tony. He yawned, which wasn’t unexpected. 

Living with a newborn - they should try and get as much sleep as possible, not take their entire family on outings to the Smithsonian. Lucy, though a heavy sleeper, didn’t sleep through the night yet. Stephen could catch naps along with their daughter during the day - Wong already used to taking over his responsibilities every few months - but Tony couldn’t.

“We should go to sleep,” he mumbled against Tony’s shoulder. He hadn’t even noticed his head had fallen onto Tony’s shoulder, his eyes closing. There was no response from next to him, but Stephen could feel his chest moving up and down with the steadiness of sleep. 

Harley, to his great annoyance, couldn’t sleep. 

The room was dark, his bed incredibly comfortable, and yet, sleep wouldn’t come for him. His thoughts kept wandering off, racing through his head, and sending alternating waves of guilt and panic through him. 

He kept seeing William in his mind’s eye - which wasn’t anything new, really. He was used to being plagued by images of him whenever he closed his eyes. But usually, the images were soothing and kind, showing the sparkle in William’s eyes or the tilt of his lips, the way his smile lit up his entire face. 

Now, they were angry and harsh, playing into his fears that he’d hurt William, that he’d ruined something incredibly precious in his life. What if it couldn’t be undone? If William was sick of him forever. Had he been more annoyed with his teasing earlier than he’d let on or had Harley just missed it? What if William didn’t even like him at all? That Harley had simply mistaken his politeness for friendship and ignored all the signs that William felt forced and uncomfortable to be around him. 

He’d already gotten up to grab a snack earlier, but he hadn’t felt like eating. There wasn’t anything left to do but try to sleep, and yet he couldn’t.

Sighing, he got up, throwing his sheets off of him. He pulled on a sweater against the chill running in his bones despite the controlled temperature of the tower. 

Contrary to earlier when Harley had gone to the kitchen, his parents’ door was closed and the living room was empty. They must have woken up earlier and traded the couch for their bed. Just as well, Harley thought as it made it easier to sneak towards the elevator.

He made the same way down as he had earlier, the Maximoff living room just as dark and empty. The only difference now was that there was no light shining out from underneath William’s door. 

This time, he knocked before he could stop himself, unable to rely on his baby sister to take the step for him, and hoped the noise wouldn’t wake up the other habitants of the floor. 

It didn’t take long for the door to open, followed by the whispered hissing of his name. “What are you doing here?”

Harley tried to focus on his tone, trying to gauge if he was angry or not. He merely sounded confused, to Harley, but he wasn’t sure how reliable his assessments were anymore. 

“Hi,” Harley started, feeling incredibly self-conscious as he tugged at his sleeves. He searched the darkness for William’s eyes, but they were unreadable in the night. He’d apologized a million times before, but this felt different, somehow. More serious in a way that had never been applicable before. Whenever he’d done something incredibly bad, he had to be the one to fix it. Only he could make amends, leaving the controls to him. 

Now, it took two to tango. The direction of the conversation was just as much up to William as it was up to him, and whether or not William forgave him depended on him. Leaving out the fact that he still didn’t really know what he’d done. 

“I’m sorry,” Harley whispered, unsure as to where to look, “I- I admit I don’t exactly know what I did … but I’m sorry. I don’t- I don’t want you to hate me.”

The space was silent for a terrifying breath, every second of its expanse tearing at his heart, like sheets of ice sliding over his skin. Harley shivered again.

William took a soundless step back - Harley had only noticed it cause he’d been staring down at the ground, had watched his feet retreat. The shift in darkness didn’t make him look up, but a second later a hand was on his arm.

William grabbed onto his elbow and pulled him further into the room, the door closing soundlessly behind them. 

Harley looked up at him in question. But before he could open his mouth, William was right in front of him. His arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him into a hug. 

Startled, Harley’s hands moved up, landing uncertain on William’s lower back. His heart jumped pleasantly, and without meaning to he pressed further into the hug, searching out the scent of rain and vanilla in William’s neck. 

Suddenly, Harley felt exhausted, a strange contrast to how wired he’d been earlier. Still, he didn’t feel like letting go of William, and luckily the other teen didn’t seem inclined to either. 

Eventually, though, William pulled back, though Harley thought he looked reluctant while doing so. He, himself, dropped his hands to his sides as if burned the moment William was pushing away.

He wasn’t sure where the hug had come from, but he didn’t want to push his luck - especially when he apparently couldn’t trust his senses at all. He’d been so certain William was upset, so why had he hugged him? It didn’t make any sense.

“I don’t hate you at all, idiot,” William whispered. Harley’s eyes had adjusted to the darkness, but William’s features were still vague. His eyes seemed to sparkle in the dark, however, and Harley thought he could see William smile in that soft way of his. 

“You don’t?”

“Of course not,” William reassured him, though he seemed more hesitant now - as if he was holding back something still. 

“So you don’t hate me?” Harley asked, his face pinched. “But you are mad at me?”

William was smiling now, Harley could see the flash of his teeth. His finger came up to touch Harley’s cheek, so lightly and quickly that Harley wondered if he’d imagined it. 

“You’re pouting,” William explained, smile clear in his voice. 

“Sorry,” Harley murmured quickly, feeling his cheeks light up pink. “So why are you angry?”

William sighed, his shoulders drooping. Harley regretted having ruined William’s smile, but he needed to know. He could pretend everything was fine, move on and bask in William’s smile, but the risk would remain too high that he’d end up making the same mistake. 

He stepped back until he could sit down on his bed, grabbing Harley’s arm to pull him back and down with him. Harley did as ordered, sitting on the edge as he glanced down at where William’s hand was yet to let go of his wrist. 

When he didn’t, Harley shifted his hand until their palms slit together, loosely locking their fingers together. Their shoulders and legs were already pressed together.  

Glancing back up at William, he noticed the other’s face was closer than he’d expected it to be, startling him slightly, his breath catching in his throat. 

He could tell William swallowed before he glanced down at their linked hands. It seemed to give him the confidence he needed to say what he needed to say. 

“It’s dumb but…,” William hesitated, gaze fixed on the dark carpet. Harley squeezed his fingers to encourage him - he didn’t feel like he’d be able to talk right now. Even whispering seemed intrusive to the moment. “Do you really think I’m lame.”

It was such an unexpectedly silly question, Harley couldn’t hold back a snort. He moved his free hand to cover his smile, but the damage was already done. 

William groaned leaning down to rest his elbow on his lap and his head in his hands. He tried to pull free from Harley’s grip, but Harley held on tighter. “I told you it was dumb-“

“No! I’m sorry!” Harley reassured him, his humor and relief quickly fading as he squeezed tighter around William’s hand. His free hand moved from his face to William’s shoulder, trying to get him to show his face again. 

He rested his chin on top of his hand, looking out over William’s shoulder as he tried to collect his words, leaning his head against William’s in hope of reassuring him further. “I don’t think you’re lame at all. What makes you think so?”

That got William finally pulling himself up again, so quickly Harley had to lean back lest their heads bumped together. 

“Well, you said so.”

Harley stilled, freezing as he stared at William. “Oh,…”

So he had messed up after all. Had been careless and stupid and had almost missed losing a friend over it. 

“I- I truly am sorry. I didn’t mean it.” Harley bowed his head again, suddenly not feeling like he deserved to be holding William’s hand. He couldn’t let go though, instead - nonsensically - he traced William’s nails with his fingers. 

William’s hand spasmed around his, pulling away from Harley’s trailing fingers but staying firmly locked around his left palm. “That tickles.”

“Sorry,” Harley said again, and this time he smiled sheepishly.

“You’re forgiven.” The smile was back in William’s voice and as Harley still watched his finger trace over their locked hands, William’s head tilted hesitantly, coming to rest on Harley’s shoulder. The air around them softened like a sigh, even though Harley felt like he was holding his breath. 

He leaned in to rest his head on William’s, basking in their proximity. It felt safe in the dark, isolated, and hidden, like it was all just a shared dream. 

“So you don’t mind when I don’t want to do things?”

A smile pulled at Harley’s lips, shaking his head. William could surely feel the movement against his crown. He wanted to joke that without William he’d already be kicked out, but Harley stopped himself, not wanting to possibly trigger William’s fears even though they seemed to have eased over the last few months. “To the contrary. You keep me sane.”

Chapter Text

Stephen sighed as the book hit the floor with a loud thud. He knew exactly where his head was, but that didn’t make it okay to get distracted - especially when it came to matters such as summoning demons.

He reached down to pick it up from the floor, placing the tomb back on its table.

Demons can be defined as many things. In this case, the definition went along the lines of "a heartless creature from a barren dimension that feeds on misery and fear". As these demons have often already destroyed their home dimension - having no regard for the fact that it limits their food supply - they have to traverse to other dimensions to get their kick.

Coincidentally, this makes them well-versed in the multiverse and familiar with a massive array of dimensions.
Now, summoning demons is very straight-forward and pretty much harmless if you know what you’re doing.

Of course, that is granted he pays attention to what he’s doing instead of daydreaming about still being in bed with his husband.

He’d woken up late that morning, with the sun streaming in through the windows, and Tony’s arm still wound tightly around him.

From his position in the bed, he could easily see the cribs next to the bed. Lucy was still fast asleep, which was surprising only because she’d woken him and Tony up only once during the night.

Val’s crib was empty. He assumed Harley had taken care of her so they could sleep in - or maybe William, as Stephen hadn’t been disturbed by anyone coming into the room. Perhaps they were both in on it, but it didn’t really matter.

What mattered was that he could relax back against Tony’s chest and enjoy a few more moments of quiet warmth from both the sun and his husband wrapped around him. Tony’s breathing was familiar and comforting, and Stephen had to hold himself back from turning around in his arms and kissing him awake. Tony had gotten home late from a meeting the evening before, and deserved every extra second of sleep he could get, no matter how needy Stephen got for his attention.

It was only then that he recognized the fourth set of breathing in the room. He hadn’t registered it as strange, before, recognizing it simply as the sets of breathing from his husband and daughters. But Val’s crib had been empty.

He opened his eyes again, noticing for the first time the unnatural relief in the covers next to him. Frowning, he lifted the blankets, revealing Val lying next to him. Her eyes were open as she smiled up at him, giggling quietly before hiding further under the covers, curling up closer to him in the process.

Stephen reached out to grab her, pulling her up from underneath the blankets and settling her down against his chest. She giggled again, causing Tony to stir behind Stephen.

“Morning, mama.”

“Morning, Val,” Stephen smiled, pulling her into an even tighter hug. “How did you escape your crib?”

The palm against his stomach moved up to his chest as Tony buried his face in Stephen’s neck, pressing him closer as warm lips explored the sensitive skin underneath his ear.

It distracted Stephen enough to miss Valerie’s response, but he couldn’t quite bring it in him to care.

Finally, he rolled around so he could press his lips against Tony’s, preening at the attention he’d been craving.

Of course, that lasted about ten minutes tops before Lucy woke up. Still, it had been one of the best mornings in months, and he wished he could have just spent the rest of the day in bed.

Instead, he had to prepare to leave his family for another dimension tomorrow, meaning he was stuck interviewing this demon on any intel he could gather about his destination. The dimension was remote enough and closed-off enough that it hadn’t been traveled to in a while, and the writings of old had been long-lost.

“Alright,” Stephen started, turning back towards the pentagram that safely kept the demon at bay. “So what about civilization? You must know something about that.”

“Yes, they’re delicious. So much fear there.”

Stephen sighed again. The downsides were enough to make demon-summoning a rare practice indeed. Most sorcerers preferred to go in blind over having to deal with one.

“I have seven children, four pseudo-children, an inventor as a husband, and 10 bonus Avengers. My patience is endless. You can sit here and wait until you’re so bored your horns fall off. I’ll only release you when I have all my information.” Stephen promised, taking a step back and leaving the room to prove his point.

He could hear the demon start a tantrum to the empty room, but it wouldn’t be able to harm anything or anyone outside of its pentagram.

While the demon decided on whether or not it wanted to spend the rest of its existence in one of the sanctum meditation rooms, Stephen went to make himself a cup of tea and calm down.

He was waiting for the water to boil when he got a call from Tony, and he smiled as he pressed the answer button, still reminiscing about their morning. “Hey, darling.”

“You’re still in a good mood,” Tony remarked, and even over the phone, Stephen noticed the smirk in his voice. He merely rolled his eyes. It was true, he was in a good mood, to the point that his husband’s smugness only made him even happier for once.

“Why did you call, Tony?”

“I was just calling to let you know I’ll be making dinner tonight. I’m at the park with the Royal Court and we passed that Italian grocery store so I bought lasagna ingredients.” He was interrupted by a cry of protest. “Oh crap, the Baroness is cranky. I’ll have to deal with this. ”

“The Baroness? Really?”

“What? Do you prefer Viscountess? Marchioness?”

“You’re ridiculous.” Stephen rolled his eyes again. “But that sounds great, Tony. I’ll probably finish up here with plenty of time left, but William asked for some extra training so he’ll be stopping by after school. We’ll be back in time for dinner, though.”

“Wonderful, I’ll just - ugh, Lulu is upsetting Val now. I have to go. See you tonight!” Tony rushed to disconnect the call, and though Stephen already missed his voice, the image of Tony dealing with their daughters was enough to keep his smile going as he finished his tea and walked back towards the meditation room.

The smile dropped away from his face, however, the moment he turned into the room.

He lost a precious moment to surprise as he took in the scene in front of him. Val was sitting on the floor, hands stretched out as William moved to pick her up. The scene was very familiar, except that he knew Val was with Tony and the demon was nowhere to be spotted.

By the time he’d found his voice to warn him, William had already crossed the lines of the pentagram, the dark volcanic dust he’d used to create it lighting up like coals as William cried out in pain. Stephen’s mug crashed onto the ground as his hands tried to form a spell - anything - to stop what happened next, but there was nothing he could do as barely a breath later William was gone. The echo of his cry still sounded through the building, fuelling the terror racing through Stephen’s veins.

It took him two steps to cross the room until he was standing right in front of the pentagram, eyes blazing as he looked at the demon. It smiled up at him sweetly, still wearing the face of his daughter, which only infuriated him more. The demon seemed to enjoy pestering him, though, as its smile widened and widened until Val’s face tore open, revealing a massive row of teeth, her eyes rolling into the back of her head leaving nothing but sickly yellow orbs.

Two could play that game. His hands heated up red as he summoned as much power as he could, intent on torturing the information out of him if he had to. William was most likely sent to the demon’s home dimension, which at best was a barren wasteland, and at worst a systematic machine built to maximize human suffering. Even if it were a wasteland - which, as the demon had been forced to venture into other realms to satisfy itself, was the most likely - it would be crawling with demons. Though in this dimension, the worst they could do was feed off suffering - as their actual physical forms remained in their homeland - where they would actually be able to feed on human flesh.

He’d taught William to be strong and he was very powerful for his age indeed, but with so little experience still, he would have no idea what to do. He’d never even traveled to a friendly dimension before, let alone to a demon realm. Even if he was in no immediate physical danger, he would probably be scared out of his mind, and the very thought of that was enough to drive Stephen insane with rage. “Where did you take him?”

The demon, now back to its real form a black goo and smoke, only taunted him.

Stephen growled but took a step back, turning to his pile of books to search through them quickly. The summoning spell had been specific but not predetermined, so the demon that showed up had the right qualifications but there was no way of knowing where they were from unless they told you so. Stephen couldn’t wait any longer, however, as his child was in peril. So he just had to wing it.

He quickly summoned Levi, the cloak wrapping around him protectively.

If only he could get to the same space as William, he’d be able to protect him and he was sure he could figure something out eventually.

There was only a moment of hesitation, thinking about leaving the other kids back at the tower, but William was more important at the moment. The others were safe with their family, Stephen just needed to make sure his lost cub got back as well.

With one last glare at the demon, he cast a few protective spells over himself, before barging into the pentagram.

The spells protected him from most of the ordeal, but he still felt nauseous as his knees hit unfamiliar dirt. Still, he got up quickly, fighting against vertigo as he took in his surroundings in the desperate hope to see a familiar head of dark hair.

As expected, all he saw was a wasteland - well, apocalyptic hellscape really did the plain more justice.

The sand underneath his feet burned - he could feel its heat even through the soles of his shoes, yet the air was cold, causing even Levi to ripple in discomfort. There was nothing around for miles, which didn't bode well for Stephen finding William as there was no telling how big this world was. There were no rocks or structures to hide behind, though there was enough rubbish spread out over the plains to suggest a society had lived there once upon a time.

The sky was alight, though Stephen couldn't find a source for it. He could only assume it must either be just nearing dawn or dusk - or whatever counted for it in this world. The sky was cloudless and otherwise empty - no stars or birds or distant structures blocking his view.

It made the knot in his chest tighten, thinking about William and how he needed to find him.  It could have been that Stephen had landed on the same spot William had, but with William's powers, he could have easily been startled into teleporting himself away. Especially if he hadn't realized what had happened. It had happened before that he'd teleported without realizing, so he might have assumed he'd ended up in a desert somehow and was bouncing around this alien world trying desperately to escape it and find a way back to a New York that didn't exist here.  

Stephen was starting to panic more and more as with every second it felt like William was slipping further and further away from him.

------

William was panicking. One second he'd just been picking up his little sister, the next he had doubled over in pain. Agony had soared through him like flames lapping at his neurons, burning him from the inside out as images of his past - images of fear and torment - flashed on the back of his eyelids.

The pain had been overwhelming, taking his breath away and leaving him paralyzed and unable to think.

It's why the moment his knees had hit dark red sand, his first instinct had been to be relieved. The pain had faded everywhere but his hands and knees, where the sand continued to burn through his flesh and jeans. It had definitely been a better feeling than before, however, and the pain had lessened as he had quickly scrambled to his feet.

His hands had still throbbed an aching red, but he'd luckily prevented more serious burns.

Ending up a familiar place hadn't even been all that surprising. He'd teleported when afraid before, though usually to a place he knew and was thinking about. He definitely hadn't been thinking about a desert, nevermind a desert with dark red sand. Maybe he'd ended up on one of those volcanic islands, he had pondered, but it didn't feel like an island and he wasn't sure but he didn't believe there was any island he'd heard of where the sky looked like this.

William had hoped the red of the sky was that of dawn instead of dusk, worrying that he'd end up in the dark. It didn't matter, as he would soon be back at the tower anyway.

It's only then that he had thought of Val, of how he'd been holding her when whatever had happened had happened.

Now, he glanced around in vain, knowing that if Val was here with him he'd have seen her already. Still, he searched the sand for any sign of the little girl, his heartbeat quicking with worry every second he didn't find her.

He'd been holding her, which meant that whenever he'd doubled over in pain, he'd either dropped her or she was lost. He'd never lost anyone during teleportation before. He had no idea what would happen to the person if he did. There were nights he woke up screaming a name as images of them lost to the void forever flashed through his mind.

He had to find her, had to make sure she was safe and sound back at the sanctum with Stephen.

Yet, when he tried to teleport, he just ended back where he'd started.

Or at least, so he assumed.

Everything still looked the same, endless plains of sand and filth, yet that plastic bag hadn't been there before, and that clutter of shoes used to be a rock and located more to the left.

He tried again and again, but still nothing. He seemed to be moving throughout the desert, yet all he found was more sand and more rubbish as the sky started shifting into a deeper red.

A few times, he'd seen something shifting in the distance, which would have been a relief except that it wasn't. Merely looking in that direction, was enough to fill his veins with terror, despite not being able to see the things clearly. They looked dark and coiling, either the smoke of a campfire or a thick, dark oil spill, except that it moved and grew and shifted in shape as if alive.

He'd teleport again and again, eventually falling down in exhaustion as he breathed heavily with panic. He managed to crawl towards a nearby rock, leaning his back against it as he curled his legs underneath him, wrapping his arms around his knees.

The sky was still darkening, except that it took longer than he would have expected - longer than a sunset was supposed to last on earth.

And that did it, didn't it? The seed of doubt in his chest had grown undeniably. There was no way he was still on earth, though he had been too reluctant to admit it.

The worst of it all was that he was alone.

He'd survived harsh conditions before. Never a desert, sure, but he'd survived pain, he'd survived hunger, he'd survived countless situations that had seemed hopeless.

But he'd never been alone.

From the moment he was born, the universe had gifted him a brother. As if it had known all the suffering they would have to endure, and had intended to at least give them someone to endure it with.

He liked moments of solitude, sure, but they were always enjoyed only with the knowledge that if he was ready to come out of them, there would be someone waiting for him. Someone who cared, someone who he cared for, and someone who would always be there.

There had been times, the system had tried to separate them with promises that it would be easier to find a good home for both of them. Yet, Thomas had fought tooth and nail to stay by William's side. Thomas had been there always, and all they had gone through was worth it the moment they had met Stephen, and their family grew infinite.

He didn't know how long he would be there, but he hated being there alone more than he hated the odds of being saved.

William didn't know how long he sat there, but what alerted him of something coming was not the distant shrieking, which he'd only just become aware of, but the way his heart had sped up uneasily. The sudden rise of anxiety and fear in his chest had him look up and glance around the boulder he was leaning against.

In the distance, he saw another black cloud searing closer. The darkness was so vast, it seemed to distort the light around it. The sky bending to let it pass through. As it got closer, William scrambled back, finally making out the shapes within the void.

They were creatures. Some with wings, other with claws or tentacles, but all with sickly yellow eyes that barely made a dent in the darkness. The herd moved and shifted together, seemingly made out of fluids as they got closer.

William scrambled to his feet, trying desperately to get away, but he'd already exhausted himself. He tried some spells, but he was too overtaken by horror to focus.

Suddenly, from one breath to the next, they were all around him, surrounding him, enveloping him in the darkness. The sand around him was somehow the only thing piercing through the void, lighting the few feet around him like an invisible spotlight was trained on him, enough that he could still see himself clearly as the creatures snarled hungrily at him.

Another wave of pain went through him - the same burning he'd felt earlier - and once again he was assaulted by memories of pain and terror. This time it was way worse - as if the images were somehow clearer, sharp enough to cut into his flesh. It took his breath away as he didn't just see his own suffering, but also that of the foster kids around him, of his classmates, of the random people he'd ever passed on the street, like a horrifically vivid newsreel.  

It felt like tiny razors sticking into his skin, dissecting him cell by cell with a diamond-edged blade.

He could feel his heartbeat getting weaker, unable to take the torture as he fell to his knees, breathing heavily beyond the images still assaulting him.

There was another roar, and though William was too disoriented to say for sure, it seemed more distant than the shrieks of the things around him. A new wave of panic went through him, worrying about the promise of more creatures joining the cloud.

Something wrapped around him then and he gasped, trying to struggle against its hold on him but only achieving the opposite.

He was still struggling when he realized whatever it was, was surprisingly warm and soft, rather than wet and sticky, and in no way did it seem to harm him - except in maybe squeezing the breath out of him. There was another roar as light filtered through the darkness, interrupting the images in his mind as he went boneless. He would have fallen to his knees, except that the thing wrapped around him prevented him from doing so.

He was catching his breathing and blinking away the afterimages when he finally started making out what was happening in front of him. The creatures seemed to be scattering. Some roared in dismay, insistent on sticking around, but a blast of fire coming from behind William quickly dealt with those.

William turned on his heels, the thing loosening its hold enough for him to do so. For a second terror filled him again, and he tried to scramble back, the creature being the largest he'd seen this far, his first instinct was to fear it.

But when his vision cleared enough to see the creature wasn't black like the others, but a familiar dark navy blue, he sagged in relief.

"Mom?!"

The dragon roared in affirmation, before landing in front of him. It's only then that William realized the thing clinging to him was Levi, rippling happily as it took William's recognition as permission to squeeze even tighter.

A second later, Stephen was back to himself, suddenly looking very small as he stood but a single pillar in the surrounding desert. Levi let him go as he started forward, quickly throwing his arms around Stephen as the sorcerer squeezed back just as tightly.

"You're okay, cub," Stephen murmured, seemingly to comfort himself as he pressed William's head closer into his chest. "I've got you."

"Mom," he pulled away, staring up at Stephen with dread building in the bottom of his stomach, "what happened to Val? I don't-."

"Val's perfectly fine." Stephen reached out to wipe a stray tear from William's cheek. He hadn't even noticed he'd been crying. "That wasn't Val at all. She's been safe with Tony the entire time."

"I'm sorry, William," Stephen continued, "I shouldn't have left a demon unsupervised."

"Can you find a way home?"

"It shouldn't be too hard to make a portal," Stephen assured him, stepping away from him just far enough to grab his ring and create a portal.

----

William sighed at the familiar living room beyond the portal, and Stephen wrapped an arm around his shoulder as he pulled him through. The shift in temperature was enough to make him shiver and as he breathed in the scent of Tony's lasagna, he realized how different the air had been. Where the other dimension, the air had been thick and fluid, here it felt fresh, actually replenishing him.

"How was the extra training, Tinkerbell?" Tony asked from the kitchen, clearly having noticed their arrival through the open doorway.

William shuddered again, which Levi evidently saw as its cue to wrap him up again. Stephen led him gently onto the couch and pushed him down, noticing the other teens watch them curiously from the dining table where they'd set up a board game.

"What's going on?" Peter asked, his voice laced with worry.

Stephen wanted to reassure him, but instead, he ended up going over to him and wrapping him up in a hug, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "We'll tell you all about it during dinner. William needs some rest."

Harley, who'd apparently been assigned to set the table, finished his task and went to sit next to William on the couch. The move was casual, leaving plenty of space between him and the other teen, but Stephen noticed the way he smiled victoriously when William took it as permission to lean closer and curl against him.

His eyes were already closed, so Stephen couldn't be sure he even knew what he was doing or who was next to him, but besides Stephen there was only one who William would dare to curl up to. He turned his attention to the kitchen next, finding Tony sitting at the kitchen table with Lucy in his lap and Val in her chair next to them.

"What's happened to Mimmo?" Tony asked as soon as he saw him inside the kitchen, brows furrowed with concern. Stephen leaned down to kiss him before picking up Val who was already patiently holding out her arms. "The lasagna will just be in the oven for another ten minutes, by the way."

"Thanks, my love. As for William, he should be fine. He's in good hands."

Tony hummed dissatisfied with that answer, but Stephen had one more thing to do before he could fill his husband in.

Moving back to the living room, he stopped in front of William and Harley. William's eyes peaked open and Stephen handed Val to him.

The little girl luckily didn't notice the minute hesitation on William's face, but the teen quickly relaxed once she was curled against his side and he was still in their dimension.

Stephen was exhausted as he plopped down in a kitchen chair next to Tony, leaning over to lay his head on Tony's shoulder. "We're not leaving bed tomorrow."

"What about that interdimensional mission?"

"Not. Leaving. The. Bed."

Tony chuckled out an 'okay' before pressing a kiss to Stephen's crown, and Stephen allowed himself to finally relax and close his eyes.

Chapter Text

The toddlers were getting along for a minute, playing quietly on the carpet in front of the TV. For this, Cassie was glad, as it allowed her to prepare Lucy's bottle before the infant would start screaming for it. For now, she was still sleeping peacefully in her cradle, but that probably wouldn't last for much longer. 

Dia was looking over the kids while she was in the kitchen, happy to be trusted with the responsibility. Nevertheless, Cassie could see everyone clearly from her position in the kitchen as she waited on the microwave to beep in completion. 

Everyone seemed peaceful enough today, which worked in her favor. The mission had been unexpected, meaning she hadn't been able to plan her homework accordingly. She knew if she couldn't finish her essay in time, Stephen would write a note excusing her work's late submittal. Her teachers knew her well enough to accept it without question. It helped that she was a serious student, who was otherwise always punctual - even early - in handing in her work.  

Still, she didn't like to be late and knew it was her responsibility to get it done. She knew things could get hectic, so she didn't consider it an excuse. It seemed like it wouldn't be an issue, though. Her essay was mainly finished, anyway, only requiring some editing, and everyone would soon settle down for their afternoon naps. Dia understood that she would have to continue entertaining herself quietly when Cassie needed to work for school. 

By the time the kids would wake up, the Avengers should be back already. They would probably finish their mission any minute now, though it would still be a while before they made it back to the tower.

Stephen was only due back from a different dimension later tonight, meaning they had to travel by jet. 

She took the bottle out of the microwave, waiting a few minutes before testing the temperature against her skin and heading back into the living room. She sat down again, ignoring her laptop in favor of taking the youngest and carefully placing her in her arms. Dia talked with her while she fed Lucy, and the toddlers continued playing with their blocks. 
 
Not long after, Lucy was fast asleep again, back in her little cradle looking soft and comfortable. Cassie watched her fondly and took the burping rag off her shoulder, placing it on the coffee table. Usually, she would immediately put it away in the kitchen, but she had to take every minute she could get now. Cassie turned her attention back to her essay and barely noticed when Hailey crawled quietly into her lap. Glancing down to check if Hailey was content just sitting - which she was, off in her own little world holding her stuffed doll in front of her - she smiled and pressed a kiss to her crown before turning back to her screen. 

Still, her mind wandered with the toddler in her lap. 

Cassie had been an only child for most of her life. Even at the tower, she'd always returned to their floor with her parents, alone. Dia was her sister, in all the ways that mattered, but it was still strange to have a little girl with some of the same genes as her. To see where she was similar and where she was different. And a little brother, already a spitfire of a human being, running around with seemingly unlimited energy but who could be so gentle with the people around him still. 

She was lost in thought when a crash sounded from the elevator, pull her back to reality. Cassie jumped, her heart speeding up as she crawled to her feet and stared at the elevator, willing it to open with a familiar face inside. She still had Hailey in her arms. Instead, the doors stayed closed, but thumping noises started emanating from what appeared to be the elevator shaft.

"Sissy?" Dia's voice asked quietly behind her, voice slightly trembling with uncertainty. 

"I-," Cassie wanted to reassure her, but she didn't know what to think herself. "FRIDAY?"

The AI didn't answer; neither did VICTOR or any of the back-up AI's. 

She immediately jumped into motion, darting towards the cupboard to grab the baby carrier. A second later, she had placed Hailey back on the ground and was strapping the baby into it, the infant quietly sleeping on like nothing was happening. 

A small whimper reminded her that she still had three toddlers and a seven-year-old to deal with, and no idea how to get out of the tower and towards safety. She quickly grabbed Hunter from the floor and thrust him into Dia's arms. The girl held on to him steadily, though the toddler looked comically large in her small arms. 

"Cassie!"

Cassie whirled around in relief as William suddenly stood behind her, wobbling unsteadily on his feet. 

"We couldn't communicate with FRIDAY. What's going on?"

"I don't know," she replied and hated herself for the wavering of her voice. "There was a crash from downstairs, something in the elevator shaft."

"Hey, it's okay," William assured her, taking a step closer to pull her into a quick and comforting hug. He stepped back to glance around him, eyes quickly settling on Val.

The girl had remained quiet, nothing indicating that she was afraid, but now Cassie could see her relief as she reached out to William, noticed the slight trembling of her lip as she made grabbing motions. William picked her up swiftly, spurring Cassie back into action as she grabbed Hailey from the floor. With her free hand, she grabbed the handle of the baby carrier, making sure Lucy was still asleep and safely strapped in. 

There was banging on their elevator doors now, and they quickly moved away from them. 

"I don't-," William breathed, and it was the first indication Cassie got that he was as terrified and unsettled as her, nevermind obviously exhausted from to earlier fight he'd been in. It was one thing to fight alongside trained superheroes, but here, William was the only one with any experience. Cassie knew he didn't mind the danger if it meant protecting people, but it wasn't just their lives on the line; they were with five defenseless children. "I didn't know to preserve my energy, so I won't be able to make multiple trips."

"We'll make it," Cassie tried to soothe him now, as she felt William's free hand encircle her wrist. "Dia, hold on tightly to my arm if you can."

Dia grabbed onto Cassie as tightly as she could, trying to hold on without dropping Hunter. In other circumstances, Cassie would have refused to teleport like that, but as it was, she didn't feel like they had a choice.

The elevator doors creaked uneasily. 

"Ready?"

"Now." Cassie agreed, before holding her breath as she felt the familiar tug.

She opened her eyes. 

The relief at seeing everyone safe around her on the cabin porch was quickly shattered as she noticed the circle of people in front of them. 

They were some kind of army, all wearing similar suits and pointing guns at them. The weapons had the familiar shine and glow of something different, something alien. None of them seemed as if they were in any way bothered by children standing at the opposite ends of their weapons. 

She could hear William's breath hitch beside her, and the little movements of his hands as he tried to form a shield. Cassie moved slowly, not wanting to test whether William had enough strength left to hold the barrier up. It didn't matter anyway, as it immediately faltered, and though he quickly tried again, it wasn't with more success. 

William glanced at her in confusion when she nudged the handle of the baby carrier at his hand, but he took it from her without question.  Pressing a kiss to Hailey's crown, she saw no other choice but to simply place her on the ground behind her.

A glance at Dia showed her oldest sister staring ahead at the enemies with terrified eyes, clearly feeling powerless as her hands too were full of toddler. Still, Cassie was proud to see the stubborn glint in her eyes that marked all the Stark-Strange children. Hunter was holding onto her neck without a care in the world, the only one still smiling.

"What are you doing?" William hissed at her, still clearly straining to keep his mind on trying to form an energy field around them. 

"There's only one thing we can try," she hissed, straightening up and glaring at the people in front of them. "Get everyone inside as quickly as possible."

The soldiers seemed to be watching them with mild amusement, waiting to see what the group of children would try before their imminent deaths. Maybe they were waiting for orders. Cassie didn't care. She saw someone's finger tighten around the trigger as she took a step forward, putting her siblings behind her. Lucy had started crying, mixing with the quiet whimpers of Hailey and Val. 

A second later, Cassie was as tall as she could make herself - if she'd have to guess, she'd say about 17 feet. She was careful not to trample any of her siblings as she swiped her arms in front of her, the army toppling like toy soldiers with yelps of surprise. 

She couldn't quite reach the last lines, but she didn't dare move away, the only shield between them and her siblings.
 
 She braced herself as they fired their weapons and flinched when they made contact with her calves. Luckily, the wounds were small and only seemed to burn like oil specks from a sizzling pan instead of full blasts. From her peripheral vision, she noticed her siblings were gone. She sighed in relief, finally taking the few steps forward it took to reach the last soldiers and take them out.

It was then that she heard the familiar buzz of iron suits flying towards her, and she dropped to her knees in relief. 

She found herself sitting on the porch at her standard size, breathing heavily as she looked down at herself. Her jeans were ruined by tiny holes, splashes of blood covering the fabric. She realized with a shudder that it couldn't all be hers. 

She suddenly remembered, clear as day, the crackling of bones underneath her bare feet, the cries of pain filling her ears, and the scratches of the guns against her palms. She shuddered again, willing herself not to look at the carnage around her. 

"Cassie!" She didn't even dare glance up at the familiar voice but felt herself sigh again in relief. Comforting arms wrapped around her, checking her and making sure she was okay. She let herself relax in Peter's arms, leaning back against his chest in exhausted shock. 

"Cass?" A second voice, deeper but just as reassuring, came from her opposite side. He sat down next to her, his hand moving over her forehead and wiping strands of hair, sticky with sweat, out of her face. "Hey, miss Sass, you're okay. You're going to be okay."

"The kids-."

"They're safe. They made it inside, thanks to you. You're all going to be fine."

"Dad?"

"He's on his way," Tony reassured her again, "the jet is on its way. I'm sure Quill will be back soon, too, after what you just went through. He's probably freaking out right now."

Cassie chuckled slightly and turned her face into Peter's neck as her boyfriends pulled her closer and hooked his arm underneath her legs. She was picked up, and her arms naturally found their way around his neck. 

He took her inside the cabin, moving her to one of the upstairs bathrooms. He placed her on the counter next to the sink, his deep brown eyes carefully raking over her. "Cass, your clothes are covered in blood. You okay to wash up on your own? I'll go grab some pajamas."

She nodded, though she felt the loss of his safety around her as he moved out of the bathroom. Still, she washed off quickly and methodically, trying to imagine herself washing off after a workout, a painting session with Dia, imagine the blood as nothing but strawberry frosting she needed to wash out of her clothing before it set. The soap burned as it came in contact with the wounds, but she ignored them, not willing to think about them. She knew her papa would come back and make everything okay again. 

She was clean in no time and shrugged on the comforting cotton pajamas Peter had left for her while she'd been in the shower. He was waiting in the hallway, sitting against the opposite wall, and smiling up at her as she stepped out. 

He crawled to his feet, grabbing her hands and immediately enveloping her in another hug. 

They were interrupted by a shout from downstairs, calling her name, before loud footsteps thundered up the stairs. She met her dad halfway, throwing her arms around him as he clung on tightly to her, carding his hands through her hair the way he used to when she was little, and they hadn't seen each other in a while. 

It was only when he pulled away and ran his hands over her wet cheeks that she realized she'd been crying. Like a damn had been burst, all of a sudden, she couldn't stop. He pulled her close again, trying to comfort her, but she was still sobbing twenty minutes later. 

A familiar crying came from downstairs - Hailey - and she could see the conflicted look crossing her dad's eyes. 

"It's okay, dad," she said, voice still shaking as she ran a hand over her cheek, trying to wipe away tears that just kept coming. "Can you please get them?"

"Of course," Scott nodded, pulling her closer and pressing a kiss on her forehead before turning to rush back downstairs.

She felt a tugging at her hand and realized Peter was still standing behind her. 

He indicated his head and pulled her further into the hallway. She thought he would bring her to her own room and put her to bed, but instead, he opened the master bedroom and motioned for her to lie down on the bed. 

She did as he'd indicated, and he sat down on the floor next to her, his face barely inches from hers as he watched her. 

Swallowing, she tried to speak again, trying to lighten the mood despite the tears still streaming down her face. "I think I need mom to write me an excuse note."

Peter chuckled, reaching forward to tuck her hair behind her ear and leaned in to press a quick kiss to her lips. "I'm pretty sure he'll excuse you for a whole week."

"Will- William? I need to see him."

Peter nodded and headed back out, returning barely a minute later with her best friend. A new wave of tears seemed to wash over her as she saw him. She sat up when he immediately rushed forward and wrapped her into a hug.

"Cass, everyone's okay. You were so brave," he whispered into her hair, running his hand in soothing circles over her back. 

"Sissy!" The bed dipped as Dia crawled onto the mattress next to them, worming her way into the hug as she clung on tightly to Cassie. Cassie returned the hug just as strongly, repeating William's words to her sister. 

Scott returned then, Tony and him carrying the twins into the room and dropping them on the mattress next to her. Val and Lucy followed suit as everyone took their familiar places on the bed, sticking together tightly and waiting for the last members of the family to arrive. 

Cassie winced as Hunter tried to crawl over her. The wounds were small as far as Cassie had been able to see, but they still burned when touched. 

Having seen her discomfort, Peter leaned down to pull her pajama leg up, taking a heavy breath when he saw the cuts, some oozing with fresh blood.

"It's fine, Petey," she tried to assure him, but he'd already brought it to Tony and Scott's attention. 

Tony called in Bruce, who gingerly put ointment and bandages around the gashes. As much as she'd just wanted Quill to return, she still sighed in relief at the soothing effects of the salve. Dia curled in closer at the sight of the blood, ducking her head to hide it in Cassie's neck, and Cassie distracted herself by carding her hand soothingly through Dia's hair. 

It wasn't long before everyone had settled down again, and Cassie fell asleep seeing everyone she was supposed to protect safely around her, along with the people that protected her. The only ones missing were Stephen and her papa, but she could wait, trusting them to get back quickly and wrap her in their own comforting hugs.

Chapter Text

“Are you sure?” Cassie asked, being diligent by looking Bucky straight in the eyes and pout just the right amount. It wasn’t often Cassie had to beg for things she wanted, but she wasn’t opposed to it. Especially when the reward would be grand. 

“Am I sure I don’t want to spend an entire week preparing a thousand cupcakes?” Bucky replied with a smirk as he turned a page in the paper he was reading, immune to her pitying look. “No can do. I don’t love baking that much. Nice try, kid, but you’re not half as adorable as my younger sister used to be.”

“Ugh, alright,” Cassie huffed, scrunching her nose in annoyance. She leaned back onto the couch cushions, glaring at her folder. “Then I guess we won’t have authentic cupcakes for our dance.”

“I guess you won’t.” Bucky took a bite of his apple, returning his attention to the newspaper he was reading. He still preferred the original print, a fact she knew bothered Tony. Cassie, on the other hand, understood holding on to familiar things. She still had plenty of stuff from when she lived in San Fran or from the cabin with Tony. It wasn’t the same, of course, but she could imagine how the super soldier must feel sometimes. “You do know cupcakes haven’t changed in the last 90 years.”

“It’s the thought that counts,” Cassie countered, grabbing a pencil and writing down some changes in her plans. The bakery in Soho should do, then, and it’s not like the budget was an issue. “How are the tickets coming along?”

She let her gaze shift up from her notes so she could catch William’s eyes, who dutifully glanced over at Thomas’ computer screen. “He’s playing bubble shooter.”

“Thomas!” Cassie groaned, reaching behind her for one of the throws and hurling them at Thomas’ head. She missed, of course, but once again - thought that counts. “They have to be finished by tomorrow night, so we can get them printed on time!”

Thomas rolled his head back so Cassie could see his eyes. He was lying upside down on the Langs’ couch - at least his shoes weren’t on the pillows - and Cassie’s laptop was balanced precariously on his lap. “Don’t worry; I’ll get it do-“

Thomas stopped mid-sentence, face frozen, brows furrowing. Cassie was about to ask what was wrong, but it was quickly disturbed by Thomas sneezing loudly, causing the laptop to lose its balance and flop down onto the couch seat before tumbling onto the carpet. The sneeze was followed twice more for good measure before he groaned in annoyance. The speedster cursed at the ceiling in such a way that had Cassie instinctively look around to make sure Dia nor the younger ones were within hearing distance.  

Cassie frowned at the strong reaction and stood up to make sure her laptop was okay - which it luckily was - but her attention was caught as she noticed William’s grin. 

The other twin’s smile was impish like she’d never seen before, as he turned a ‘loving’ grin towards his brother, placing his hand on his chest as if it was a touching moment. “Ah, the sound of spring.”

“Fuck you.” Thomas countered, sounding a bit more nasally than usual, but William had already blinked away. He reappeared next to the window a few seconds later, closed it, and had apparently stopped upstairs to grab Thomas a pill bottle, which he handed over to him.

Thomas opened it and swallowed two pills as William went to sit down again.

“Steve used to have allergies,” Bucky mused from his seat in the lounge chair. Cassie had almost forgotten he was there. It wasn’t usual that an Avenger was on the Lang floor - they usually all hung out upstairs or on their respective floors - but it reminded her of why they were there in the first place. Their prom, which was quickly approaching, and the preparations that still needed to be done. 

Though Bucky refused to make the cupcakes, he’d been very accommodating with everything else; their 30s theme had been a strategic choice after all.

They continued working for another hour - Bucky giving helpful tips along the way - before he had to leave for an Avengers meeting. 

Cassie and the twins had just finished washing the dishes from dinner when the elevator slid open again, and her dads stepped out. It immediately disrupted the calm of the entire floor, but Cassie didn’t mind. Scott and Quill were talking loudly, Scott laughing in such a way that still amazed her, filled her with so much joy just to see him so happy. 

“Hey,” Cassie called out, alerting the two men of the three teens in the kitchen. “Your plates are in the fridge.”

“That’s okay, baby girl,” Quill replied, falling onto the couch and pulling Scott down next to him. “Stephen fed us.”

“Alright.” She turned back to the twins, grabbed her laptop, and went over their to-do list, ignoring her dads’ conversation in the background. They’d gotten quite a few things done already. After Bucky’s refusal, she’d already called the bakery to get their order in, had coordinated with a supermarket to get the other snacks and drinks delivered to the school at a lower price with minor sponsoring, and had most of the decorations planned out. Bucky and Steve would have to look over some of them still, but she’d already had alternatives for if there were any complaints. 

Thomas had been surprisingly un-twitchy for the last few hours, and though his eye-lids seemed heavier than usual, at least he’d gotten the design for their tickets finished. She’d never really doubted him, of course, as otherwise she’d have given the task to someone else or done it personally. He’d done the design for their flyers a few months ago, however, and though it had come with a lot of stress on Cassie’s part - as Thomas only meets his deadlines last minute - she had to admit they looked better than anything she could have made. Her skills mainly stuck to glue-on glitter and stickers, actually drawing, even origami - anything that involved real paper, not online design.  

“I think that’s it,” she mumbled to the twins as she went over the list once more. “Want to watch a movie?”

When she got two affirmatives, she picked up her laptop and was about to suggest going to the twins’ floor when Quill sneezed. The sound of it rang throughout the living room, bouncing off the walls and scaring Cassie so much she jumped and threw her laptop onto the floor. Among the pounding of her heart, she heard metal crunch, but her attention was still pulled towards Quill. The celestial sniffed and yelled out an apology, ignoring Scott’s worried look as he wiped at his eyes. 

“God, is there something in the air?” Quill huffed. 

“Not anymore. We closed the window earlier.” 

“Maybe Peter’s flower,” Thomas suggested, pointing towards the vase of purple and red flowers on the living room side table. Peter had dropped them off earlier - ever the attentive boyfriend. “Trust me: Asters and Chrysanthemums are bastards. If it weren’t for the pills I took earlier, I’d be a mess too.” 

Cassie leaned down to pick her laptop off the floor. The screen was broken, but everything else seemed intact - except for a mysterious rattling coming from inside. 

“Shit,” Cassie cursed, mind spinning over the hundred-and-one things she still had to get done - Never mind, the tickets she’d need soon. “I hope Tony has time on his hands... or Peter as it’s technically his fault.”

“I’ll bring it to the lab right now!” William perked up, volunteering a little too eagerly. Cassie sent him a knowing look and caught Thomas’s fond eye roll. 

“Thanks, William,” she said as she handed the laptop over, smirk on her lips. “Say hi to Harley if you see him.”

William’s red face was gone barely a second later, and Cassie got to bringing Quill a glass of water. She handed it over to him, and remained standing, leaning onto the back of the couch as she looked down at her parents.  

“Maybe you should get some medicine? See a doctor?” Scott suggested, tracing the skin under Quill’s eyes with a finger as his eyebrows creased in worry. 

“Why? It was just a sneeze!” He argued, batting Scott’s worried hand away, though his voice was getting hoarser by the second, and Cassie could see his eyes turning red already. He tried pulling Scott closer against him, but he sneezed again - so loud that both Scott and Cassie jumped, the man ending up even farther away from Quill.

“Looks like hay fever to me,” Thomas yelled from the kitchen.

“Kiddo, I don’t have hay fever. I don’t get any kind of fever - and there’s not even hay around!”

“That’s not -,” Scott tried to argue before deciding against another approach. “I’m not sleeping next to you if you’re going to sneeze in my ear.”

“You wouldn’t last a day.”

“I will if I go to sleep upstairs. It will be at least a week before Tony and Stephen kick me out.”

Quill seemed to think this over, rubbed at his eyes, and sneezed again before deciding that maybe talking to Bruce wasn’t the worst idea after all. “Even if I do have hay fever or whatever, it’s not like Thomas’ medicine will work for me.”

Thomas tried speeding towards them, but instead of ending up on the opposite couch, he crashed against the table next to it. “Fuck. Sorry, I’m not supposed to run on my medicine.”

Quill looked at him, incredulously and pointed in his direction. “See! I ain’t taking that shit!”

“Relax,” Thomas countered, falling onto the cushions. “it just makes me a little drowsy. And I have cheap over the counter stuff, so it’s not as great as you’d probably get.”

“Why don’t you ask Stephen and Tony for better medicine?” Cassie frowned, making a mental note to ‘casually’ mention it to Stephen later. 

“It’s no big deal.” Thomas waved their concerns off, causing Cassie to roll her eyes; Every time they thought the twins were making progress, there were times like this where they could still be so stubborn. 

“Whatever,” Cassie let it go, for now, turning her attention back to Quill. “You know Bruce will probably be able to make something for you.”

“Or how about your boyfriend stops buying you shitty flowers. I didn’t have issues until those showed up.”

“Could be,” Scott shrugged, “but you never know. Sometimes allergies get triggered later in life.”

“You calling me old?”

Scott didn’t even respond, just rolled his eyes and poked Quill in the side. 

“Fine,” he grumbled. Cassie shared a victorious smirk with her dad and stood up straighter, ready to follow them downstairs. Scott stood up too, reaching out a hand to pull Quill up from the couch. Despite his agreement, the Celestial remained seated, allowing Scott to uselessly pull at his arm. 

“Quill, goddammit.”

“What? I’m not doing anything - just pull harder.” The celestial argued oh so innocently, but his smirk wasn’t hidden one bit. Cassie sent him a look, and he finally relented and got out of his seat. 

Cassie followed her dads to the elevator, turning to check if Thomas was following them, only to find the other teen passed out on the couch. Clearly, the medicine was indeed making him sleepy. She would definitely have to talk to Stephen later and hoped Bruce would be able to make a celestial version that wouldn’t have any severe side-effects. She quickly ran over to toss one of the decorative blankets over him before joining her dads in the lift. They were arguing about something - Cassie tuned in just long enough to recognize it as something stupid before promptly ignoring them. 

They went down to the Stark Industries Head Bio lab, as FRIDAY had told them of Bruce’s location, and when they arrived, it was still full of scientists, despite the late hour. Cassie didn’t usually come to the SI floors - none of the kids did except for maybe Harley or Peter - and it was weird to leave the familiar elevator and step into an entirely different world. 

The penthouse was often crowded, yes, but not like this. The offices and desks were spread out luxuriously, the lab being plenty big enough, but the number of strangers mulling around was kind of unsettling. Still, Cassie knew only the most trusted would be allowed in Bruce’s lab as it was one of the higher floors, close to the Avengers and with some of the most enhanced technology they had available - which said a lot. 

She did recognize a few of them from around the tower, and most employees were always kind to her whenever they had a chance to meet. 

She was just used to exiting the elevator onto spaces she could only honestly describe as ‘home’; this definitely didn’t qualify. It felt more like being nine years old and going on a school field trip to the local hospital to learn about vaccines - leaving the comfort of your school desks to experience the chaos of the real world. 

It wasn’t hard to spot Bruce and focus on him instead; he’d clearly been expecting them, as he noticed them quickly and came up to greet them. “Hey, what’s going on? FRIDAY told me you were coming down to meet me.”

“Quill’s showing signs of hay fever,” Cassie told him. 

Quill looked gruff and stubborn, but a little better since they’d left the Lang floor - perhaps it indeed was only bound to the flowers. Then again, they might as well test him. They were going back to the cabin in a few weeks - as spring was always a time for barbecues and picnics - so it might be better to be prepared if he was going to react to the trees or flowers there. 

“Hay fever?” Bruce frowned, glancing towards Quill. “What makes you think that? He’s not supposed to get sick…”

“He was sneezing, and his voice got a little hoarser than usual,” Scott supplied helpfully, seeming a little troubled by the reminder that this indeed wasn’t supposed to happen. Cassie was starting to worry herself; what if it wasn’t just allergies but instead a sign of something more serious being wrong with his immortality. “His eyes were getting red, and he kept rubbing them.”

“Thomas was around, and he recognized it as well.” Cassie supplied helpfully.

“Thomas has hay fever?” Bruce frowned, getting distracted for a second. “There’s nothing in his chart.”

“Yeah, I thought so,” Cassie sighed, “I’ll mention it to Stephen later.”

Bruce nodded, attention efficiently shifting back to the patient at hand. “Well, we can test you. I’ll start by taking your blood and then doing a general check-up while waiting on the results. It shouldn’t take long.”

Bruce led them into a side room, and Cassie took a seat while Bruce rummaged through one of the cupboards for supplies. Quill seemed a little too nonchalant as he placed himself on an examination chair and made himself comfortable. On the other hand, her dad was starting to twitch nervously, and Cassie noticed him reach up to scratch at his neck before Scott seemed to catch himself and stop the movement. She motioned for him to take a seat next to him, and he smiled, trying to be comforting as he sat down and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. 

“Cassie,” Bruce called her name as he placed the basin with the needle and tubes on a side table and grabbed the elastic to clamp off Quill’s bicep, “You want to collect the blood?”

“Really?” Cassie queried, sitting up straighter in intrigue. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, of course,” he shrugged, glancing to Quill to check if it was okay for him.

“Sure, baby girl, if you manage to kill me, I’ll be more surprised - and proud - than angry. Let’s see it.” Quill joked, shaking his arm at her as an offering. 

She got up and stepped up to the chair, nervous but also already itching to grab the supplies and get to work. Collecting someone’s blood had never been on her bucket list, but being given the opportunity, she couldn’t help but feel excited. “What do I do?”

“Right,” Bruce grabbed Quill’s arm and traced the elbow, trying to search for a clear vein. “You feel this bulge here?”

Cassie traced her fingers over the spot Bruce had just left, and indeed found she felt an area that was slightly rounded and bouncy. “Yes.”

“Good. Now put on these gloves and disinfect the area.”

She did as told, following his instructions carefully as she grabbed the needle and carefully kept the vein in place. Bruce told her to be careful about not touching the needle or contaminate the results. She carefully pushed the needle forward and - jumped when Quill yelled out in pain, immediately pulling her hands back and staring at him in shock.

“Just kidding.” Quill grinned mischievously, utterly immune to Cassie’s furious glare.

“Don’t do that!”

“Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Go ahead; I’ll behave.”

Cassie inched forward again, glancing wearily at her Papa, but also less worried now she definitely didn’t care about hurting him anymore: he’d deserve it. In the end, it only took her two tries before blood flowed into the tube smoothly. Quill, of course, didn’t flinch a bit.

“Great job, Sunshine,” Quill said, sitting up straighter and rubbing his arm. 

“Indeed,” Bruce smiled kindly, collecting the tubes and filling in a form. He put them in a plastic bag along with the sheet and handed it to Cassie. “Now go give this to Joan down the hall; she’ll get us the results quickly.”

“Sure.” She took it, knowing it was just a way to get her out of the room so they could check his healing. She appreciated the thought, as, even though he could be a shit, she didn’t like the idea of watching anyone hurt her Papa - no matter if he healed quickly or not. It did make her itch impatiently, eager to know whether his healing was okay or not as soon as possible. 

She found Joan quickly enough in a lab down the hall, marked with her name, and the woman took the tubes with a smile and assured she’d get it done right away. Cassie took her time getting back to the examination room, letting herself get distracted by the different labs and machines and listening eagerly whenever any of Bruce’s colleagues felt like gushing about their work. 

When she got back to her parents fifteen minutes later, they both seemed more at ease. A glance at Scott showed her dad wasn’t nearly as nervous anymore, and Quill had even moved to the chair Cassie had sat in earlier, arm draped around his husband.

“So?” She still asked, moving to stand next to her parents as her gaze shifted between them and Bruce.

“Nothing seems wrong with him, and his healing still works perfectly,” Bruce reassured her distractedly, his attention was torn between answering her and checking his tablet. 

“Told you,” Quill caught her gaze and stuck out his tongue at her. Cassie flipped him off, which Quill responded to with an exaggerated gasp, making it difficult for Cassie to hold back her smile. Despite knowing logically that Quill was probably fine, it still felt like a massive weight had been lifted off her shoulders. And - as Quill had taken her seat - she sat down heavily on Quill’s lap, making him huff as she ‘accidentally’ jabbed him in the stomach with her elbow.  

“You might still have hay fever,” Scott argued with him as if Quill had been told that multiple times already. 

“Yeah yeah,” Quill waved him off, draping an arm around Cassie’s waist, so she was sat more comfortably. 

“How so?” She asked Bruce, more out of intrigue than worry. 

“You know how the immune system works?”

“Yeah,” she replied carefully. They’d learned the basics in her bio class. “Immune cells target and kill foreign substances.”

“Exactly. Pollen is already recognized as harmful to some people who have lived on Earth their entire lives - so I can imagine that to a human who hasn’t been in contact with any pollen in the last 30 years, it wouldn’t be so weird to react badly to it.”

“But how come it only started now? He’s been back for years.”

Bruce shrugged, putting away the tablet. “It’s just a theory, of course. The fact that he was off-Earth might be completely unrelated. Some people just develop allergies later in life.”

“I still don’t get why Quill would even get allergies,” Scott questioned, that earlier worry returned. Quill, who still had his arm around Scott’s shoulder, tugged at Scott’s hair, causing the other man to yelp and turn to glare at his husband. 

The anxious frown was gone, though, and Cassie felt another wave of fondness for her Papa, leaning further against him. 

“Quill’s immune system is enhanced, but, though he won’t die, he’ll only heal once the contaminant is taken away. Hay fever isn’t deadly either way, so your body can continue ‘healing’ the infected tissues constantly, but as long as the pollen is in the air, they’ll just start the infection all over again.” Bruce explained patiently, making sure to catch everyone’s eyes at least once to make sure they understood what he was saying. “Besides, the symptoms you experience are side effects of your immune system getting rid of the pollen, not directly caused by the pollen themselves. Say you get the flu; your body might go through the same symptoms anyone else goes through - coughing, runny nose, fever, headache, etc - but because your system gets rid of the contaminant so quickly, you don’t even notice the minute you might have been ‘sick’ for.”

“That makes sense,” Scott nodded before getting to actually fixing the issue. “So can you get him some medicine or something? We can just throw out the flowers, but he can’t always avoid them.”

“Sure,” Bruce replied carefully, “I can definitely try.”

Cassie already saw him getting lost in thought, working out possible theories and treatment plans. They got up and left him to it, and though it wasn’t even that late, Cassie was starting to feel exhausted. 
When the elevator stopped at their floor, Quill immediately sneezed again. Cassie only stepped off the elevator to grab the flowers - she noticed Thomas had already left - before getting back in and pressing the up button.

She yelled out to her parents that she’d be on the family floor if they’d need her right as the doors closed on her. 

Once upstairs, she waved at Stephen and the girls in the living room before heading for Peter’s bedroom. 

“Hey!” She smiled as Peter looked up from his desk and turned to face her, dropping his work as Cassie placed the vase onto his side table. “I’m going to have to leave these here until Bruce makes medicine for Papa. Turns out he’s allergic.”

“Seriously?” Peter asked, smiling widely.

“No need to look so excited.” 

“I’m not, I promise!” Peter reassured her, holding his hands up in surrender. “I surely will not pass this information on to Harley either.”

Cassie glared at him but quickly gave up and went to sit on his bed, patting the space next to her in invitation. “Come, I want to watch a movie.”

Peter did as told, moving in next to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Cassie asked KAREN to play a rom-com she hadn’t seen before and leaned into Peter’s touch. It was nice to finally relax fully. Clearly, the last hour - and before that, too, to be honest - had been more stressful than she’d thought. She prided herself on her efficiency and ability to plan things to a T, but being the head of the prom committee was a bigger job than she’d expected. 

Shit. The prom. 

She tensed in Peter’s arms at the thought, anxiety running through her as she pushed herself away from him so she could sit up straight and think more clearly. 

Peter glanced up at her with a worried frown. “What is it?”

“What’s going on with my laptop? I need to finish -”

Peter quickly relaxed when he noticed it was nothing serious, reaching out to place a calming hand on her thigh. “Don’t worry! Dad’s working on it; it won’t take long at all.”

Cassie frowned, still uncertain - she might yet have time to make a new design if she could borrow someone’s computer…

Peter rolled his eyes fondly at her hesitation before speaking up; “KAREN, what’s dad’s progress on the laptop?”

“He finished an hour ago and is now playing peekaboo with Lucy.”

“See,” Peter smiled triumphantly, leaning forward to pull Cassie back against him. Cassie sighed in relief and allowed herself to relax in Peter’s arms once more, turning her attention back to the movie. 

——

A week later, Bruce finally had a treatment plan ready for Quill to try out, which couldn’t have come any sooner. As it turned out, it wasn’t just the flowers, and though Quill was spared mostly by the fact that they lived in the city, he and Scott hadn’t been able to go on their usual walks in the Park anymore. Apparently, having an enhanced immune system isn’t great when it’s working against you.

Bruce had been busy that week with some other research he was working on simultaneously, so he had asked them to come down to the lab whenever they had the time. Cassie decided to accompany Quill, as Scott had a meeting, and she was actually quite curious to see the lab again.
 
The sight of the lab floor was still foreign to Cassie, but it was already starting to look a little more familiar. Once again, Bruce rushed up to meet them, holding two nasal spray bottles and a strip of pills.

“This is what my seven Ph.D.’s have led to; designing nose spray to cure an immortal being’s sniffles,” Bruce sighed as he handed the stuff over, but his smile betrayed his amusement. “Nasal spray twice in each nostril. The pills might not work, but I thought we could give it a try. Best to take them at night before you go to sleep.”

Quill rolled his eyes but mumbled thanks as he opened the cap of the nasal spray and tried it out. 

“Let me know how quickly you notice improvement - if you notice any at all. I have a few other ideas for alternate approaches or possible tweaks.” Bruce spoke eagerly, clearly curious to the result of his work, but was quickly called away by another one of the scientists allowed in the head lab. Cassie wasn’t an expert in biology or any of Bruce’s interests, but he knew that despite Bruce’s earlier jab, he had quite a few projects running at any given time. 

“Oh, Cass,” Bruce stopped mid-step as he turned back to face her. “How were the results on your Bio test?”

“Full marks, of course. Thanks, Bruce.”

Bruce waved her thanks off as nothing as he hurried away to help his coworkers. 

Chapter Text

The thing with Harley is… he's content.

He's comfortable where he is. He loves his family and home. He has a few friends to hang out with at school and a bunch of siblings at the tower. He's quickly grown to like his new life.

But still, there was the cloud of his past looming over him, like a wave of smoke keeping him down.  

It wasn't as constant as it used to be; the happy days definitely outweighed the bad. Yet it was still there, nonetheless.

Hence, content.

Mind you; he's never really been one of those vibrant kids anyway, those children who constantly chattered and joked. Nor had he been the gloomy kind, hiding away in the shadows or whatever.

He'd always just been, so maybe the content thing was less about the perfect balance between grief and happiness and more about who he was as a person. 

Harley guessed he could be described as apathetic, though that wasn't quite right either, as he knew he cared. He cared about the people around them. Needed them to be happy.

It often felt like he cared more about other people's happiness than his own. Maybe, that's why he just felt content. Never really chasing his own enjoyment. 

He messed around to pass the boredom and get a laugh out of his brother or dad. He tinkered and did his homework to get his mind occupied. He listened to Peter whine and Dia boss him around. 

Whenever he did do something for himself, it was reading a book, hidden away in a deserted alcove on the fifty-first floor - or when he was really pampering himself, at the coffee shop three blocks away. He guessed that counted as a distraction as well, but he genuinely enjoyed getting lost in his favorite stories. 

No one knew about his love for reading, though. Harley wasn't sure why. He wasn't trying to hide it… it just seemed like something purely for Harley, something private. 

Anyway, Harley was content with his life; his own happiness derived from the people around him. 

The latest addition to his life would have tipped the scales towards actual happiness if it wasn't for the fact that, like everything else in his life, his relationship with William was perfectly balanced. 

Yes, being around him made him happy. It made his chest feel ten times lighter, and butterflies dance around his stomach. It made him giddy, and his cheeks hurt from smiling. 

But even then, it also made him miss him - even from two feet away. His lungs ached because of the distance between them, his mind was occupied with his smile, and his hand itched to hold his.  

And because he cared more about other people's happiness than his own - especially when it came to William, though he refused to admit this - Harley couldn't take the risk and chase after what he wanted.

He wanted them to be more, wanted to take the gamble, and see where it would lead, but he knew he would mess it up eventually. Harley wouldn't ever want to do anything to make William uncomfortable or ruin William's chances at feeling part of their family. Because what if William would end up hating him so much that he'd prefer to leave than be around Harley? 

Harley would rather leave, himself, than put William through that. 

Or better yet, not try at all. Wait out those pesky feelings and try to enjoy the happy moments without the complications of his stupid crush. 

So once again, the scales balanced out.

Still, everything felt heightened around William, especially since it was close to one in the morning, sitting in the family floor's dark living room. His mind was already foggy at the edges, but he was still clearly more awake than William, who was sitting way too close for Harley's liking - yet also not close enough, fucking dammit. 

Brown eyes - black in the darkness of the night - blinked tiredly up at him, and it made it hard for Harley to focus on anything else. 

They were still talking, but Harley had a hard time keeping track - about the movie, about their respective plans for tomorrow, about something Thomas had said, etc. 

It took a while to register the silence that had fallen between them, William's eyes fixed on something on the far wall. Harley assumed he wasn't really seeing anything, instead just fighting against his exhaustion. His lips were pulled into a tiny, content smile, Harley couldn't help but notice, and it caught his attention for longer than was probably necessary. 

Then, William yawned and shifted, leaning back against the couch's cushions, and the shift in position made it, so his head was right next to Harley's shoulder.  

It felt right, perfectly natural, to reach out and tuck the strand of hair covering William's forehead behind his ear. 

It was a small movement, but Harley still felt it as William pressed into the touch, humming in contentment as he dug more firmly into Harley's shoulder. 

Harley watched him in awe, mesmerized by the boy pressed against his side as he allowed himself to lean into him as well. 

The next thing he knew was waking up to sunlight streaming in through the floor to ceiling windows, covering the couch he was lying on in a golden glow. 

It took his brain a minute longer to wake up fully, or at least to become aware of the warmth pressed against his side. It wasn't unusual for him to wrap himself around one of the extra giant pillows on his bed, but none of those pillows were this warm, nor did they move, shifting up and down steadily with each breath. 

His hand was definitely on someone's spine - he could feel the familiar ridges of the vertebrae, the warmth of skin even through the fabric of a shirt, and the curve of a back - and it was hard to ignore the soft breathing tickling his neck. It wasn't difficult to figure out who that someone was.

Harley wanted to panic - he knew he should. He knew he had to try and extract himself without waking William and pretend nothing had happened in the first place. Yet, his body didn't want to cooperate. 

He felt warm and comfortable, and William was so soft against him, all he wanted to do was fall asleep again. He somehow always smelt like rain and vanilla, and with his nose basically pressed into his hair, it was overwhelming. 

Maybe this was okay, Harley pondered. 

They held hands, too, after all. Ever since their first trip - it hadn't been a date no matter what Peter says - to the park; it had become natural for them. They both clearly didn't mind, so whenever they were walking somewhere together, their hands always found their way into each other's.

It didn't have to mean more than they allowed it to. By the gods, Harley knew William was touch-starved, so it was easy to write it off as nothing more than two friends finding comfort and touch wherever they could get it. A mutual agreement.

Harley kind of felt like last night had been a catalyst for another such shift. William had sought out his touch subconsciously, and Harley was more than happy to abide, to give him whatever he craved. 

Maybe this could become part of their new normal. 

And so he followed his instincts; he sighed and held on tighter, burrowing his face further into William's dark hair, and reveled in the gentle thrill running through his veins. 

He might have fallen asleep again, he wasn't quite sure, but it felt like barely a moment later that his comfort was ripped away from him.

Harley heaved when one of William's hands pressed onto his stomach in his haste to get off him. The minute it took him to catch his breath was all William had needed to crawl off the couch and stare at him in panic. His face was beet-red, and his eyes were huge as they bored into Harley's. He was holding onto his arms as if trying to hug himself in comfort, and Harley frowned in tired confusion as he watched him.  

"Wha-"

"I'm sorry, I must have fallen asleep," he rambled, breaking their eye contact and shaking his head decidedly. "I shouldn't have -"

"Hey, it's fine, it's -"

"It won't happen again. I promise. I just- I'm sorry, I should go... I have to go." 

Harley knew it was an excuse, but before he could argue, William had already blinked out of existence, like the entire night had been a dream. 

Harley leaned forward and buried his face in his hands, groan echoing around the empty floor. How could he have been so stupid?

He shouldn't have given in, shouldn't have been so weak, ... shouldn't have wanted it.

He didn't know how long he sat there, questioning all his life choices, but Harley glanced up again when he heard a noise from the kitchen. He stood up to investigate - he and William should be the only ones awake already. 

A voice was still nagging at the back of his head, making his skin bubble like swamp sludge, so he needed to shake it, to distract himself from what had just happened - to get his mind straight.

Maybe if he let it go, let William forget about it for a few hours, things would be alright again? 

Still, William leaving worried him. The last time he'd let William walk away after a fight, he'd ended up in the hospital. Logically, Harley knew it was unlikely to happen again, but he still didn't like it. Harley needed to find him and apologize sooner rather than later. 

But he wasn't sure what he'd be apologizing for. 

He wasn't sorry - not really. He could apologize for wanting it - for having feelings that William didn't share - but that would mean admitting to having feelings in the first place. He still had plausible deniability, and that's all he had going for himself. 

When he stepped into the kitchen, Harley was only mildly surprised to see Stephen and Val were already awake. Stephen was in the midst of making breakfast, and Val sat on the counter next to him - close to the strawberry bowl from which she sporadically stole some fruits. 

William likes strawberries. 

Harley scowled at his thoughts and took his regular seat at the kitchen table, resting his cheek on his hand as he watched his younger sister. 

"What happened to the lazy day?" He asked, more out of a need for distraction than actual curiosity. 

"Your sister didn't get the message," Stephen grumbled, back turned to Harley as he was stood at the stove making pancakes. "What happened to William?"

Stephen glanced back at him over his shoulder, sympathetic smile on his face. Apparently, their accidental sleepover hadn't gone unnoticed. Ducking his head to hide the blush that definitely did not exist, Harley ran a hand through his hair and refused to answer. 

"You should go talk to him." Stephen's advice was ever so helpful. 

Still, Harley knew he was right - and he really was worried about William running off again and getting himself into trouble - so he stood up, ignored the fantastic smell of pancakes, and headed downstairs. 

By the time he got to William's bedroom, however, it was empty. 

It was enough to set his skin boiling with anxiety, worry coursing through him. That's what he'd been afraid of, after all, wasn't it? That as soon as William found out about Harley's feelings for him, he'd leave. 

That thought, combined with the memory of William in a hospital bed tied to an oxygen mask and the images of a house burning against a forest backdrop, was enough to have him panicking. 

"FRIDAY? Where is William?"

"I'm not authorized to say."

"What?" The shock of FRIDAY's response was enough to distract him from his building panic. He stared up at the ceiling as if FRIDAY was an actual person to glare at. "How the hell not?"

"He asked me not to. He doesn't have the authority to block me from telling you if you insisted, but you also can't stop me from telling him when you're close to approaching him."

Fucking hell.

"Come on, FRIDAY! Aren't you on my side?"

There was no response. Harley grumbled.

Fine, if he was going to play dirty, so could he. 

Instead of turning around and looking for the other teen - who clearly didn't want to be found - Harley stepped further into his bedroom. William couldn't stay away forever.

A cursory glance at William's bookcase showed he had plenty of stuff to entertain himself with. Taste in books was one of the things they had in common after all. One of the many things they could spend hours talking about. Harley shook those thoughts away - they were exactly what he needed to get out of his head by the time he would finally be able to apologize to William. 

So he grabbed a book at random, which, as it turned out, was a novel Harley had read before but didn't mind reading again, and made himself comfortable on William's bed. 

He promptly ignored how it smelled strongly of the other teen - the same scent he'd woken up to. 

As much as he knew he had to get over it, he couldn't help but long for a scenario where William liked him back - where they'd be able to lie curled up to each other whenever they wanted. To be close and touch and talk without holding back. To be able to interact with his favorite person without the stabbing, ungrateful, needy pain in his chest begging for more. 

Harley didn't know how long he'd been staking out William's bedroom. He hadn't dared to leave for lunch, and as he hadn't had breakfast, he'd texted Peter for food. Surprisingly Stephen had been the one to drop it off through a portal and hadn't said anything of it. Wanda had stopped by to chat when she'd walked past the open door and noticed him, and she'd laughed fondly at his misery before reassuring him it'll be alright and heading back out. But not before promising to try and convince William to come down if she'd bump into him. 

He'd spend most of his day either reading or staring at the ceiling, lost in thought as he replayed the events of the previous night over and over again. Despite how tired he'd been, he still remembered William's smile vividly. Remembered every word that had made William laugh. 

When the other teen finally did show up, it was as if Harley had conjured him with his mind. One minute he was staring out the window, thinking about the brown of his eyes and the harsh curve of his lips, the next, he was stood in front of him. 

Harley pushed himself up from his elbows until he was sitting up, abandoning the book and not caring that he'd lose his page.

"Hi."

Despite having decided to show up finally, William still looked like a deer caught in headlights. His brown eyes were wide and uncertain, pupils carefully tracing Harley's movements, and his hands twitched at his sleeves. Harley felt like a single wrong movement would cause William to disappear again.

"Look," he started carefully, biting his lip and glancing away before quickly looking back at William to make sure he was still there. "I'm sorry if I did anything to freak you out. I don't -,"

He had to stop, not able to bring himself to say it. For some reason, he couldn't lie to William. For all he'd denied it to anyone over the last few months, he couldn't deny it any longer - not now it mattered most. 

Gritting his teeth together, he sat up straighter, subtly trying to shake the tension from his shoulders. It didn't work, and energy was starting to buzz through his veins, causing a spark of annoyance that quickly fuelled him to get up from the bed entirely. He felt like pacing - anything to get rid of the anxiety bubbling under his skin - but didn't get around to it. 

As William seemed to startle slightly at the movement, taking a step back - a step away from him. 

It was enough - Harley immediately deflated, the energy leaving him as quickly as it had appeared. The feeling to move shifted into a need to sigh, and he did so, sending William a weak but hopefully comforting smile. 

He usually was the one to talk, knew he was the one to bring William out of his shell - it was their dynamic. Yet, as so often when feelings were involved, Harley was speechless. He didn't know what to say - needed William to take the lead. 

"Why did you leave?" He asked simply, bracing himself for whatever William would say. Whether he was just horrified or downright disgusted - betrayed, uncomfortable. Harley would be able to take it - probably. He'd be able to let it go, to move on, put their boundaries back to wherever William wanted them to be - as long as they could get past this conversation and return to being comfortable around one another. 

William remained quiet for a long time, seemingly frozen and unable to answer himself. Harley's nerves got the best of him, and instead of waiting for William to answer, he started rambling - deciding that taking everything back was probably the best course after all. He couldn't - he couldn't remain this distant from William, couldn't risk leaving this broken forever. 

"I mean, it's not like it meant anything, right?" And suddenly, lying was simple - desperation a powerful motivator. "It's just what we do, right? At the tower? It's just like with anyone else -"

Harley stopped- unable to continue as William let out a small noise - as if punched in the chest. He watched as William swallowed and glanced away from Harley, stubbornly staring at the bookcase in the corner, jaw tense. There was a watery glint in his eyes that Harley wasn't sure he'd imagined. 

"What?" He frowned, confusion and worry pushing aside his own anxieties. "That was supposed to make you feel better! Why do you suddenly look worse - please don't be sad!"

Harley felt ridiculous for begging, but he couldn't take seeing William like that - couldn't take the idea that he'd been the one to cause it. 

"No, it doesn't make me feel better, Harley!" William finally gritted out. His voice was thin, hoarse like it even pained him to speak. 

Harley took a step back as if he'd been slapped - no punched in the stomach by Peter's super strength. He felt like crying himself, seeing the sadness in William's eyes, mixed with his own heart quietly shattering. 

He reached out for him, and though he hesitated to push their boundaries even further, he couldn't stop himself from touching William's biceps in a plea for him to face him again. Just holding onto him comforted Harley to his core, and he hated himself a little bit more for it.

However, to his surprise, William didn't flinch away from the touch, didn't jump, and pull his arm back. Instead, he turned into the contact, pushing in closer as he finally turned to face Harley once more. 

Their eyes locked; William's brown ones were teary and red-rimmed, but the intensity in them took Harley's breath away. 
 
"I wanted it to be special; I wanted to be special to you!" William's gaze softened, and Harley felt his lips part in surprise. His heart burned in his chest, but his brain was frozen - unable to process his words. "I want it to mean something."

His hand clenched around Williams's arm, using the touch to ground himself while his stomach felt like floating away. 

Could it possibly be?

Could William really mean it like he thought he did?

William's gaze was starting to waver, looking less determined by the second. Harley noticed him clench his jaw and swallow, eyes still locked, and he started squirming against Harley's hold. Before he could pull away, however, Harley breathed out, deciding that it was now or never - that they'd already passed the point of no return. 

He used his grip on William's arm to pull him closer, while his free right hand moved to cup William's cheek, and he pressed their lips together in sweet release. 

William gasped lightly against Harley's mouth before melting into the kiss.

Every breath in the last two years had come to this - to feeling William breathe against him, the rush of adrenaline running through his head - dizzying him. 

William's hand held onto his waist, pulling him impossibly closer, and Harley stroked his skin with his thumb as his hand shifted from William's cheek to the back of his head. 

They leaned into each other, torsos as flushed together as possible as William's hands traced the arch of his back. 

Harley lost himself in it - in the softness of William's mouth, the tongue caressing his, moving as one. 

William was as familiar to him as breathing, and yet this perspective was utterly uncharted - every move, tilt and tick as unsuspected as the flicker of a flame. 

Where William hated voicing what he needed, his body didn't have the same filter. It asked for more without pause, pressed deeper against him, and chased his lips whenever Harley tried to lean back. And Harley didn't know how to say no to him; thoroughly content to grant him whatever he wanted.

Eventually, Harley pulled back, cupping William's face between his hands to stop him from following. 

William grabbed onto his elbows to steady himself as he blinked up at him as if waking from a dream and breathed a sigh at Harley's smile - a mix between bewilderment and peaceful awe. His cheeks were flushed a glorious pink, eyes wide and delighted, and Harley couldn't stop himself from leaning in once more to place a last peck on William's reddened lips. 

"You are so special to me," Harley smiled, elation coursing through his veins at finally, finally being reunited with William. To finally be able to stop missing him and speak the words that had been safely locked away in his mind. "I knew it the moment I first saw you."

William's eyes sparkled, and instead of responding, his arms wrapped around Harley's waist again, pulling him closer as he buried his face in Harley's neck. 

Harley smiled at the touch against the sensitive skin and desperately pulled William closer still. 

William was the one to break their embrace this time, and Harley yelped in surprise when William hit his shoulder. 

"What was that for?!" he glared at William in affront as he cradled his arm. 

William's eyes had settled back to their usual steady brown. He still watched Harley with admiration, but it had gained an amused but frustrated gleam. "Why didn't you say anything!"

"Why didn't you?!" Harley yelled back, incredulously. 

They grinned sheepishly at each other, but William's words awakened an earlier doubt. 

He'd never said anything because even in moments he'd considered the possibility of William liking him back, he still hadn't wanted to risk it. No percentage would have convinced him to gamble away their relationship. 

But also - and possibly more importantly -  because part of him knew that even if William wouldn't hate him for having feelings for him, even if those feelings were returned,... he would eventually screw up. 

"William?" He started, carefully catching William's eyes. He suddenly felt shy, like they hadn't just been kissing and weren't still standing impossibly close. William merely hummed in response, catching on to Harley's hesitation and tensing up as well. "What if I mess this up?"

William let out a breath, almost amused, and now it was his turn to touch Harley's cheek, forcing him to look back up at him. 

"Harls, every time we've had even a minor fight, you always made sure to fix it as quickly as possible." His smile turned a little bashful as he continued, eyes fixed on the spot where his thumb rested underneath Harley's eyes. "If anything, I should probably learn to be more vocal about my worries... but I trust you more than anything."

Harley smiled, slightly reassured. "That would help, yes. You're super confusing at times."

William gaped, slapping him on the shoulder again as Harley started laughing. Harley pushed back, but quickly their play-fighting shifted into something more pleasant as Harley pulled William's lips against his once more.