Vernon sat in the grimy, run down, one room flat that he was renting. He stared into the brown liquid that filled the glass in his hand, frowning deeply at it.
The stupid boy had ruined everything. Sure, he had managed to talk his way into bail and parole while he awaited his trial, but everything was different now.
He wasn't allowed to live at home, because the his bail stated he wasn't allowed to live with any minors, even if they were family. Besides, Petunia was so upset with him right now about causing a scene in front of the entire neighborhood, he doubted she would let him stay there anyway.
His emergency funds were drained, all of the money built up having gone towards the bail.
He got fired from his job at Grunning's, despite the fact that he wasn't the only one there guilty of using the boy for his own pleasure. Almost everyone at the factory had been granted a turn with Harry in exchange for something Vernon had desired. But since he was the one that was arrested, he had been let go as not to 'taint the business image'.
Everything was gone.
And it was all the boy's fault.
He slammed the glass down on the table, trembling with rage. This was all Harry's fault!
Growling, he ripped his laptop from the duffle bag he had been allowed to take from his home, and pried open the lid. Furiously, he switched the browser to private, and began pounding the keyboard.
When he found what he needed, he smirked to himself, clicked out of the browser, and shut the computer with a satisfied chuckle. He'd pay with cash, so they couldn't track him. If he did it that way, it would be days until they found him.
Because in less than 24 hours, he'd be on a plane far away, heading far away from here.
Specifically, in New York City, to find the boy who had ruined it all.
Vernon smugly brought the glass to his lips, taking a sip of the liquor. He was going to make the boy pay for everything he had lost.
Everything.
*
Harry opened his eyes, squinting at the bright light streaming into the room. He sat up, glancing wildly around the room in confusion as he quickly realized that it wasn't his own.
"Whoa dude, chill. You just fell asleep on the couch. Mister Stark didn't want to wake you," a voice to his... wait, where did the voice come from?
Harry glanced up, shocked to see a new kid, about his age, hanging upside down from the tall ceiling by what looked to be a strand of... spider silk?
"Am I dreaming?" Harry rubbed his eyes, looking at the stranger again. Instinctively, he scooted away from the new person and more into the corner of the sectional sofa.
"Nah," the boy his age replied, gracefully flipping on to the couch from where he had been hovering above it a few feet. He plopped down on his butt and crossed his legs as he cocked his head at Harry, all too well resembling a puppy with his big brown eyes.
"I'm Peter," he introduced with a large smile. He stuck out his hand towards Harry, and his smile faltered as the unfamiliar person scurried away from him as best he could, cornering himself even more.
"Hey, it's okay. Sorry if I startled you," Peter said, his voice softer as he picked up on Harry's fear. "Mister Stark says that I'm a bit too direct sometimes, and that I need to 'calm down.'"
A smile flickered across Harry's face as Peter rambled. He decided then that Peter wasn't dangerous, and that he liked him. Besides, it would be nice to have someone around here that was his age.
"I'm Harry," he introduced, a small grin blooming across his face as Peter's face lit up.
"Hiya Harry! It's nice to meet you!" Peter exclaimed, bouncing in his seat. Harry couldn't help but wonder how he had so much energy. The kid was practically bouncing off the walls.
"So, um..." Harry cleared his throat. He didn't want to offend his new colleague, but curiosity was killing him. "How were you just hanging from the ceiling?"
"Oh! I was testing out my new web shooters that Mister Stark just gave me. I came by to pick them up and he invited me to stay for dinner!"
"Web shooters?" Harry asked, ignoring the slight pang of jealousy in his chest. Why was he jealous that Tony invited Peter to dinner?
"Yeah," Peter leaned in, lowering his voice a bit. "I'm Spider Man."
Harry's eyebrows furrowed at he watched the hyper boy in front of him, not knowing how to respond to that.
"But you can't tell anyone, it's a secret."
"So you have powers?" Harry asked finally. "Why would you call yourself Spider Man, though?"
"Because I got bitten by this radioactive spider, and all of a sudden I woke up and I was super strong and I could stick to stuff and crawl on walls, like a spider!"
Harry's confusion was only growing.
"So you have powers too?" He asked again, chest tightening at the slip of the word 'too'. Shit- he hadn't meant to say that. What if Peter told Tony that he had powers? What if they didn't like magic. It seemed like Peter came across his powers on accident, but how long did it take for Peter to find out that he was a freak?
Thoughts and concerns raced through his mind, making his head spin.
"Whoa, are you okay man?" Peter asked, his smile slipping for the first time since meeting Harry. "Take a deep breath. Everything's okay."
"Yeah, I'm sorry," Harry breathed, gripping at a throw pillow and hugging it tight to his chest as he huddle in the crease of the couch cushions.
"To answer your questions, yeah I have powers too. I'm still learning how to control mine though, so I'm not as skilled as the rest of the team yet, but I'm working on it. Mister Stark told me maybe I could become an Avenger some day!"
Harry stopped, processing what Peter had just said. Everyone else in the Tower had powers too? He wasn't the only one?
"Um, should I call Mister Stark? You don't look very good," Peter frowned as Harry began to pull in quick and fast breaths. He knew what panic attacks were like, and he knew that they sucked. He felt guilty about possibly triggering Harry into having one, but he knew that Tony would be able to help.
"Hey Friday? Can you call Mister Stark down here please?" Peter asked, keeping his eyes trained on Harry.
"Sure thing Peter, he's on his way now," Friday replied.
"It's okay Harry, he's coming. Just try to breathe deep," Peter tried to soothe. He had never been good at helping people through panic attacks, except for occasionally Mister Stark. He had tried to help Clint with one once, but he had discovered that Clint didn't like being touched when he was panicking, and had yelled at him when he had tried to hug him like he did with Tony. This had scared Peter, and then he was crying, which lead to Clint having to comfort Peter during a panic attack.
Overall, Peter had just learned to let someone more experienced deal with others when they were panicking.
Peter couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as he heard quick footsteps getting closer and closer before the source of them finally appeared.
"Peter, what's going on?" Tony asked, slightly out of breath with panic, clutching his still healing midsection to relieve the forming side stitch.
His question was answered, though, as he saw Harry backed into the corner of the sofa, curled in on himself while clutching the throw pillow close to his chest.
"Peter, give him some space," Tony said, watching as the kid practically flew back to move away from Harry.
"Harry, everything's okay. You're safe," Tony soothed, slowly moving towards the quivering kid. "Shh, you're safe. Nobody's going to hurt you."
Peter frowned from behind his mentor, questions and thoughts running through his mind at a million miles a minute.
"Breathe in and out, deep breaths for me, okay? Can you do that son?" Tony soothed, taking a seat in front of Harry, his brown eyes trained on Harry's big green ones.
"That's it, there you go. Shh, everything's okay," Tony hushed as Harry's breathing began to return to normal.
Suddenly, Harry let out a pained whimper, and Peter leapt over the back of the couch to grab the small trash bin at the end of the island in the open kitchen. He thrust it to Tony, who caught it and shoved it under Harry's face right as Harry heaved, losing his lunch.
"Spidey sense," Peter shrugged as Tony shot him an incredulous look over his shoulder.
"I'm going to go say hi to the others and give you guys some space," Peter decided, and Tony nodded. "I'll see you at dinner."
"Thanks Peter," Tony replied, his eyes back on Harry. From behind him, he heard the elevator ding and Peter step in and disappear.
"You with me kid?" Tony asked, leaning his head down to look Harry in the eyes.
"I'm sorry," Harry whispered.
"There's nothing to be sorry for, bud," Tony soothed, his tone smooth and even.
"I'm sorry," Harry murmured again, scooting away from Tony. "You don't want me. I'm a freak. I'm sorry."
"Harry, you are not a freak!" Tony cried, his voice a little too hard, making the trembling child in front of him flinch.
"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. You're not a freak Harry, trust me. You're perfect," Tony reached out and cupped Harry's face with his hands.
"You don't want me. Everyone I love gets hurt. I'm a freak, and I can't let you get hurt too. I can't lose you too," Harry sobbed, his voice choking on the word love, as it felt foreign leaving his lips.
Something in Tony swelled at the word love, but he quickly brushed it aside as he continued to comfort his crying kid.
"Harry, I cannot put in to words how much we want you here. How much I want you. I'm not going anywhere. Nobody is going to lay a hand on you, and nobody's going to hurt me and take me away from you. I promise," Tony hushed, stroking his thumb along Harry's soft cheeks to brush away his tears.
Harry began to calm down, tears still flowing from his eyes as he cried. After a few moments, he spoke. His words were so soft that Tony almost couldn't hear them.
"Do you have powers too?"
Tony sighed. He knew that as soon as Harry met Peter, there would be no more shielding him from the team's secret. He hadn't intended to hide Harry from it, but the kid had been so skittish and frightened already, there was just no way that he would have trusted them if he had feared them and their abilities, no matter how many times they assured him they wouldn't hurt him.
"Yes," Tony revealed, taking a deep breath. "Everyone does. Peter, Bruce, Steve. Clint and Natasha are trained agents, but they can hold their own pretty well. For me, it's my suit."
The next several minutes were spent, Tony explaining to Harry the abilities of everyone on the team, and their jobs.
Harry was silent when Tony finished. There was a lot of information to absorb, but the main thought running through his mind was 'I'm safe'. He had never felt more protected from the evils of the world than he did in this moment.
"I understand if you don't want to live here anymore," Tony sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I know it's a lot to take in, and you know now how dangerous our life can be and-"
"No," Harry choked, rushing to correct him. "I want to stay here. I'm safe here."
"Really?" Tony breathed.
"Really," Harry nodded. His cheeks were still wet and red with tear streaks, but he had stopped crying and a look of hope was gleaming in his eyes.
"Well, in that case..." Tony began, hesitating at the chance. He and Pepper had been discussing this for a long time, since Harry woke up after they saved him from his horrid relatives.
"It would take a lot of time, and I understand if you want to wait or don't want to do this at all, because I mean, you'll be a legal adult in three years, and I understand if you're not ready, but..."
Harry looked up at Tony with unblinking, wide eyes. Tony took a deep breath, and reached for Harry's hand. He smiled when Harry willingly took his rough hand in his own it and gave it a squeeze.
"Pepper and I would like to adopt you," Tony said finally. The words were out, lingering in the air between them. Tony held his breath as he heard Harry let out an audible gasp, but he couldn't tell if it was out of shock, happiness or fear.
"Tony..." tears pooled in Harry's eyes once more, and he looked up at the man who had quickly become his hero.
"I... I would love that," he spoke softly, his voice barely audible. But it was enough for Tony. He threw open his arms and leaned towards Harry who leaned into his chest, wrapping his arms around his midsection gently, knowing that Tony was still sore.
They sat like that for several minutes- exactly how many, Tony wasn't sure- wrapped in each other's embrace, a seemingly permanent smile plastered on both of their faces.
It was so quiet Tony almost missed it. But he was glad he didn't.
From where Harry's face was buried into the shoulder of his faded Metallica shirt, memorizing his scent, he felt his lips move.
Forming his new favorite word:
"Dad."
*
-M E A N W H I L E-
"Come on Dursley! Open up!" The parole officer pounded on the man's door. "Don't make me bust the door down!"
Vernon had missed his check-in yesterday with his parole officer, so Officer Beckham had been sent to check on the man.
"Can I help you, sir?" A neighbor peeked her head out into the hallway to find the source of the ruckus.
"I'm looking for Mr. Vernon Dursley? This is where he lives, and he was supposed to report to us yesterday at the station, but we haven't seen him. Do you have any idea where he may be?"
"Well, I saw him leaving yesterday morning around 7, but I never saw him come back. Granted, I wasn't watching all day either. I do have key to that apartment, though. My old neighbor gave it to me so I could cat sit when they were away. I never had the chance to give it back."
"Do you mind letting me use that key?" Beckham asked with a frown, and the woman nodded, disappearing inside momentarily. She reappeared, holding a small silver key.
"I don't think he's had the locks changed," she said, and the officer nodded.
"I'm coming in Dursley!" He declared, jamming the key in the hole and turning the knob.
When he shoved open the door, he couldn't help but gasp. Every item in the apartment had been cleaned out, and there was a note on the table.
Beckham hurried over to pick up the sheet of paper, face paling as he read the scribbled words.
When you find me, it'll be too late.
Beckham fumbled in his pocket, grabbing his com and pressing the side.
"This is Beckham. Dursley's gone, issue a search warrant immediately. I think he's gone for the boy."
*
(A/N: A little cliffy never hurt anyone, right? Hehe, I'm sorry. I just wanted to put it out there that I have, ya know, never been arrested, and I don't know anyone that has, especially not in the UK. So like, I have no idea if Vernon would even be granted bail or anything, but we're going to pretend like he can and was. I also don't know what they would do in this situation, because technically, he is not supposed to leave the town and normally they have trackers, but idk so we're just pretending haha. Anyway, I hope you're enjoying and thanks for reading!!!)