Morgan: *dressed in a red frilly gown* we’re playing princesses! Peter is taking his carriage very slowly by his rivals home, so that he can see his latest hat.
Peter: *driving a toy car, wearing a sequined blue dress with a matching blue hat* Eat you’re heart out Harley, you toad-eating hag.
Harley: *sipping tea from a plastic tea cup, dressed in an abysmal yellow gown* Peter, you must surely be aware that I am unable to view the roads from my castle due to the vastness of my estate.
Peter: oh, please do forgive my mistake, Harley, I had only assumed you could see from that ostentatiously high pedestal atop of which you have placed yourself.
Yay, thank you for the tag! I haven’t done one of these in a long time!
7) Favorite AO3 tag:
That is a good question… I have recently been reading a bit more again instead of writing. For some reason my mind is incapable of doing both at the same time
I’d say reading, it’s the good old Bio!Son tag (Peter Parker is Tony Stark’s Biological Child). I love those stories, it’s why I started writing If The Knew in the first place, cause I was craving more of that at a time when there wasn’t an abundance of it
8) How do you come up with fic titles? What’s the one you’re most proud of?
Usually a mix of either song titles or an important line of the story. Not sure I’m particularily good at it (especially since I keep asking @spagbol99&@tufteatsunglasses for help on those)
I do love alliterations in my titles, which is why Out Of Options is one that I like most. I alsk use a lot of alliterations in my chapter titles!
Stark Tower has literally got the best wifi in the whole of New York and Tony makes it free as well so sometimes he’ll walk out of the ground floor and just see like a dozen or so people, usually kids, just sat on the doorstep on their phones or laptops and like it’s such a little thing to do but yknow. He’s Ironman. Give the kids some damn fast wifi.
okay BUT
the day after actual tony stark saw them hanging out in frony of the Tower, some of the kids were reluctant to go back there but God they had to finish their homework and the tower was on their way from school so they go back there and
theres a separate room that surely mustve been some important part of the lobby yesterday but now had a “Free WiFi Zone” plate on the door. Inside were huge sofas and armchairs and beanbags, fridges stocked with various drinks, a coffee maker and 20ish iron man mugs, a couple of laptops on the desk near the wall and a note for them to read:
“This is your part of the Tower now. Use whatever you need, no time limit, and stay in school kids :) - T. S.”
So I uh… went to write a short, cute drabble for this and… I ended up writing a nearly 3k long fic? Whoops? This got away from me. I regret nothing.
It started with Wi-fi. Wi-fi of all things. Tony found out by accident.
“What’s going on out here?” Tony asked, sliding his sunglasses down a bit to look at the group of teenagers sitting in front of the Tower.
All the teens looked up at once, eyes wide like deer caught in headlights. They looked at each other, then back at Tony.
“Um, well…” A brunet spoke up, closing his laptop. “The Avengers Tower has great Wi-fi, sir. And it’s free. We all… some of us don’t have access to Wi-fi at home, and we need it for school projects.”
Tony blinked. “Oh. Okay. Study hard, then.” He adjusted his sunglasses again and walked into the Tower without a second thought.
But later that day, Tony keeps thinking about it. Can’t get it out of his head, until he goes so far to have FRIDAY pull up security camera footage from in front of the Tower over the past few weeks.
There are kids there, always, Tony finds. Anywhere from ten to nearly fifty, all crowded around the Tower, sitting on the grass. Even at night or in shitty weather, there were at least a few.
And sure, Tony was fine with it. More than fine with it, even. If kids wanted to use Tony’s Wi-fi, he on board with it. Tony was completely with the idea of accessible technology.
So it hung out in the back of Tony’s mind, and he smiled at the group of the teens he saw every time he walked in and it the Tower. He made sure security didn’t bother them, and left them to their devices.
But the thoughts of it wouldn’t leave Tony’s brain. A part of him ached a little at the idea of the kids who were so needing of a damned Wi-fi connection they would sit in the rain for it. It got to the point that Tony was lying awake in bed, thinking about it.
“FRIDAY, are there any vacant floors in the Tower?” Tony asked, staring at the ceiling.
“There are three vacant floors,” FRIDAY answered in a chipper voice.
Tony sat up. “FRIDAY, order a shit ton of junk food and furniture. We have work to do.”
And so it began. Within a week, Tony had a large room on its own floor completely dedicated to being an expansive lounge. It had all sorts of furniture, shelves stocked with every food Tony could think of, a fridge full of drinks, an espresso machine, and over a dozen outlets. It was close to the bottom floor, easily accessible by the elevator. Tony talked to Happy and reorganized his entire security so that anyone could walk into the Tower and go straight to the lounge.
The first day, there were already over twenty teens milling around, laptops plugged in and noses in books. It made Tony smile and feel warm in ways he couldn’t describe, seeing the tranquil environment of kids studying. The numbers grew over time, and Tony made sure it was kept accessible 24/7.
So it started with Wi-fi. But after that, things got more… complicated.
Tony was in the lounge, taking an inventory of what needed to be restocked. Sure, he had people for that, but it was nice to show his face every so often, remind the kids he existed.
Tony finished writing down how many bags of Doritos were on the shelf and spun around, crashing right into someone.
“Oh fuck,” Tony stumbled, catching the person by their elbows. A pair of startled green eyes stared up at him in horror. “Hey. Hi.” Tony smiled. “Sorry about that. Wasn’t looking where I was going. My fault.”
The girl stared at him, breathing hard. “I’m sorry I didn’t-”
“Hey, no. My fault, remember?” Tony soothed. “I’m responsible for at least fifty per cent of the accidents in this Tower.”
“Actually, you’re responsible for sixty-seven point nine per cent.” FRIDAY chirped.
Tony frowned. “Is that counting the incident on Thursday?”
“You did hold fifty per cent of the blame.” FRIDAY reminded him.
“Twelve per cent, at most,” Tony argued. He looked back at the girl. “Thor tried to put a raw egg in the toaster, it’s a long story.”
The girl gave a confused, shy smile. Tony counted that as some kind of victory.
Tony went to let go of the girl’s elbows when his gaze brushed over her forearm. “Hey.” Tony’s voice was softer. “Are you okay?”
The girl froze again, biting her lip. “No- it’s fine, I don’t-” Her face turned red. But not as red as the angry lines cut into her wrist.
“You wanna talk?” Tony asked, eyebrows knit together.
“You-you’re busy I shouldn’t-”
“FRIDAY, cancel the afternoon meeting. Or tell them I’m not coming,” Tony said without hesitation. “There, I’m free.”
The girl frowned. “You didn’t have to do that. It’s fine, really.”
Tony rolled his eyes. “Come on, kid. Let’s talk, okay?” He sighed at her hesitance. “Hey, what’s the worst I can do? I’m just some rich guy.”
With a begrudging smile, the girl took Tony’s hand and Tony lead them to an empty storage room, sitting on the floor with his back against the wall.
“What’s your name?” Tony asked.
“Cecilia,” The girl mumbled.
“Hi, I’m Tony.” Tony introduced with a bright smile. Cecilia laughed. “So you wanna talk about this?” He pointed to her wrist.
“I…” Cecilia cleared her throat. “It’s hard, you know? School is hard, and I’m not good enough to do anything right, and…” She swallowed. Cecilia covered her face, choking on a sob.
Tony scooted closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “You wanna know something, kid?”
Cecilia looked up.
“I am one of the richest men alive, have been named Sexiest Man Alive three times, have my last name attached to a fortune five hundred company, have been called one of the leading minds of the 21st century, am a member of the goddamned Avengers and…” Tony ran a hand through his hair. “And I feel the same way. All the time. I wake up worried that someday everyone’s gonna see through me, see the fraud I really am.” Tony cleared his throat. “I have anxiety attacks. I wake up screaming from nightmares. I avoid mirrors. And some days I don’t want to wake up at all.
“But I do. Because there are people who need me to. And maybe it’s more for me than you. But it’s not about numbers. Quantity holds no value the quality. As long as there’s one person who cares, you’ve got a reason to wake up in the morning.” Tony thought a moment. “And if you’ve got no one else, then I count, right?”
There was a long stretch of awkward silence, but the shy smile Tony got made it all worth it.
After that, Tony invested in having free, confidential, no strings attached therapists at the Tower for the kids who came to study. He started with five, but by the end of the month, Tony had seven full time and three part-time working at the Tower. Tony did briefly see Cecilia’s face every now and then, and she seemed happier. That made it all worth it.
After that, everything was a downward spiral. Someone put a suggestion box on the door, and the teens who stayed wrote their ideas down. Tony read every single one. Even the stupid ones. And he listened.
First, there were showers installed in the bathrooms. Tony noticed there were certain faces that showed up more than others, so often it was almost concerning. So Tony figured they might as well freshen up while there. The showers were equipped with towels, soap, and all other necessities.
After the showers came the storage room filled with other living supplies. Blankets, food items, clothing, some basic tech, gift cards for local supermarkets, toiletries. Anything Tony could think of required for living. Like everything else, anyone could take anything, no questions asked.
Then came the library. There were suggestions for a supply of the review books and textbooks for the classes students were taking, and Tony decided to go in all or nothing. The library was filled wall to wall with every modern textbook and review book in the curriculum, as well as an expansive amount of leisure reads as well. Tony stocked it with comfortable seating, computers and tablets as well. There were no late fees, Tony refused to make any of the kids pay a damned dime for things they should have basic access to.
And then there were physical doctors as well. Ones who could give flu shots and prescribe at least the most basic of medications and advice.
After that, the gym just seemed to be common sense. As the recommendations in the box pointed out, public gyms were expensive. So Tony set up a gym. Granted it wasn’t Avengers level, but it was a damned nice gym.
Tutors came next. Private tutors, as well as ones that would teach entire groups. Tony managed to wrestle with the local schools to even get the kids credit for some of the tutorings.
After that, things finally seemed to mellow out. Tony drew up a list of rules, but most of the teens were pretty decent about keeping things civil. Tony was damned proud to average only one incident a month.
The Avengers found out about the Student’s Lounge as it’d be dubbed, and they frequented it more than Tony expected. He found Clint down there telling stories that were probably classified, Natasha showing a group of girls ballet moves, Thor showing off trinkets from Asgard, Steve drawing with a group of art kids, Sam giving serious talks on mental health, and so on. It was nice.
And it worked. Kids were happy and studying, but also had a place to relax and unwind. Tony did have to get an ungodly number of permits and licenses to do what he did, but it was all beyond worth it to see the kids smiling and being safe.
It was a year later when Tony was working in his workshop with jeans and a tank top and FRIDAY caught his attention.
“Mr Stark, your presence has been requested in the Student’s Lounge,” FRIDAY said, cutting into the silence.
Tony frowned. “Is it an emergency?”
There was a pause. “No, but the students are rather insistent.”
“Fine.” Tony stood up with a sigh. “Tell them I’ll be down there in a minute.”
Tony took the elevator down to the floor that was now entirely monopolized by the Student’s Lounge. As soon as the doors opened he found himself standing in front of a few dozen teens, all crowded around and waiting.
“Is this some club meeting or a cult initiation?” Tony asked, sliding his grease-covered hands into his pockets.
A teen stepped forward, a blond boy with bright eyes and a nervous smile. “Uh, hi. We… we had something we wanted to share with you.” He was holding note cards, absently tapping them.
Tony glanced around. “Well then, shoot.” He spread his hands.
The blond cleared his throat, looking down at the cards. “We hear the saying a lot,” He read, “that it’s impossible to shop for a man who has everything. And with you, that couldn’t be more true. A genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and an amazing person all around. You truly have everything, Mister Stark.
“And yet, you give. You give, and you give. You gave us a place to study that became so much more. Beyond the material items, this place has become a home for all of us. For those of us who don’t have food to eat at home, books to read, clothes to wear, a family to come home to. All because you wanted to give some kids a good Wi-fi connection. You created a family. This year alone, the graduation rate grew ten per cent from last year, and we don’t think it’s a coincidence. And we’re all confident with your help, that number will grow more and more.
“You created jobs for the community. We did the math and figured at least fifty new jobs were created through the Student’s Lounge. And you pay for all of it out of pocket. You don’t need to. You’ve already saved the world more than enough times, given millions of dollars to charity. And yet you did this for a group of kids sitting on your front lawn just to get a decent Wi-fi connection.
“There are no words to describe the kindness that takes. The amount of time you’ve put towards this proves it’s so much more than a publicity stunt. Not only do you personally oversee everything, but you stop by weekly, even if just to say hi. You listen to what we have to say. In a world that makes it so easy to ignore teenagers, you put every ounce of effort into doing the complete opposite. And your effort didn’t go unnoticed.” The blond stepped aside and let a redhead girl stand in the middle instead.
“My name is Miranda.” The girl spoke up. “A year ago, I was addicted to heroin and struggling in all of my classes. I was… I was ready to drop out of school altogether, even considered selling my own body just for drug money. But a friend dragged me here and… and I got therapy. A doctor. Food. All things my family struggled to afford. My recovery is still slow going, but thanks to you, I can say I’m in recovery, to begin with. Thank you.” Miranda stepped to the side and a black haired boy took her place.
“I’m Ian. My parents abused me, and I had nowhere to go. Even after coming here to spend my afternoons, I was hesitant to overstay my welcome. But I wasn’t ever judged, and always felt safe here. I was able to work up enough courage to run away and start spending nights here. Eventually, I met a friend here who let me stay with them, but not once did I have to know how it felt to be homeless. This place was my home, the entire time, even now that I sleep somewhere else. You gave me a home. Thank you.”
And so it went on, each kid telling their own version, and Tony wasn’t even ashamed to admit he was openly crying before they even got through ten. And he listened. To every single one. Tried to remember names and important details, make mental notes for future reference. Tony watched and listened, entranced by every story.
The first boy stepped back up. “And I’m Ben. I don’t really have a sob story, but I do know that this place is a home for every single person here. We’re a family of brothers and sisters, and you’re, for lack of better wording, the cool dad. So thank you. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. So much. We hope our family can grow, and this home will only get better with each day. So while we don’t have any gift, we hope this can stand as one. Our stories are something that you gave us, and we hope by sharing them you can understand how much you mean to all of us.” The boy, Ben, lowered his notecards and smiled. “Thank you.”
Tony stared at them, wiping tears away from his eyes. “You’re all assholes.” He decided. “I am supposed to be a suave billionaire, and here you’ve got me crying like a dumbass.”
The teens all laughed.
“You know what?” Tony clapped his hands together. “This deserves a pizza party. Domino’s is about to hate me. Does anyone have any dietary restrictions? Start writing up a list while I find a phone number.”
“Don’t you have stuff to do?” A brunette girl who Tony remembered to be Cassie asked.
Tony shrugged. “It’s fine, I’ll do it in the morning.”
“Miss Potts has asked for the schematics to be uploaded by midnight,” FRIDAY spoke up.
“Pepper has been working for me long enough to know ‘by midnight’ means by noon the next day. It’s fine.” Tony waved off. “Come on, start writing a list. If I don’t see at least one gluten-free pizza, I’m making you do it again.”
The teens all smiled and started writing and shouting at each other. Tony watched with a happy sigh. They were a family.
This story is so good! Makes me wish I had the power to do something like this or that something like this was real.
headcanons about Tony Stark’s science children (Peter, Harley, & Shuri)
they’re all bffs
Shuri is by far the most competitive of all of them, and her main rival is Tony (he can’t turn down a challenge one of his science children gives him)
they all come to the lab on Thursdays and weekends, even though Harley and Shuri don’t live in New York, which is why they invented portal technology
Shuri knew Peter was spider-man since her first week in the lab (she literally saw him jump out the window and web swing away when he thought no one was watching)
Harley took a while to get it, and Shuri tried everything to get him to find out, like asking him to get her a screwdriver that happened to be in the same drawer as Peter’s web fluid (Harley didn’t notice the web fluid) or pointing out how Peter had an piece of blue and red clothing sticking out of his bag (“he probably just likes spider-man and that’s his halloween costume” Harley said)
eventually Harley found out… when Peter trusted them enough to tell them he was spider-man. (Shuri: I’ve known for months.Harley: omg you’re spider-man????)
now Shuri regularly makes fun of Harley for this. He gets back at her for making fun of her being a princess and bowing when she walks into the lab, even though she’s told him a million times not to
even though they make fun of each other, the three of them are very supportive and are always there for each other. If Peter has a rough day he knows he can trust Harley to comfort him and Shuri to cheer him up with meme references. If Harley has a rough day he knows he can trust Peter to listen and be there and Shuri to give him advice on what to do to feel better. If Shuri has a rough day she knows she can trust Harley to distract her with a cool invention and Peter to give her a hug and remind her he’s always here to talk
they have a group chat and its the most chaotic thing you can imagine, and no matter how many times Tony asks, they refuse to add him
they’ll all skip school (or Shuri will skip royal duties) without a second thought on Avengers Tower monthly prank day. the avengers know to fear them
Peter and Harley have a great time introducing Shuri to American things and Shuri loves introducing them to Wakandan things
Shuri and Harley drink tea but Peter likes coffee so Harley started a joke of replacing Peter’s morning coffee with tea without him noticing
they love to help with each other’s projects
usually they’re all working on technology that will improve the world in some way and since they’re apprentices of Tony Stark they get invited to do interviews a lot and they have so many inside jokes that like half the interview would get edited out because nothing they talked about made any sense
they all have favorite avengers of the og6 (besides Tony of course, he’ll always be their most favorite). Peter’s is Thor, Shuri’s is Natasha, and Harley’s is Bruce
And all the avengers have a favorite science child, but they pretend they don’t
overall they’re pretty much a very chaotic, sciency family
they became Vent Bros cause one day Peter was sleeping at the tower and he had a nightmare and he was super scared so he webbed himself into a vent
Clint found him and explained that the vents also made him feel safe and that’s why he started hanging out in them
from then on they called themselves vent bros
if Peter just needs space he can go up into the vent and Clint knows to let him be
but they also hang out up there and sometimes they play vent tag, where Peter has to try to find Clint, and Clint is very good at hiding and evading Peter cause he knows the vents so well
sometimes they also crawl around together spying on watching people down below
they’ve gotten some good blackmail material this way, but Peter is too nice to let Clint use it
if its prank day in Avengers Tower (they have a monthly prank day) its either Peter and Clint against the rest of the avengers or against each other, there’s no in between
something about the vents makes it easier to be honest, and Peter ends up telling Clint how his role as spider man weighs on him and its harder than he lets on
Clint tells Peter the same is true for him, being a superhero is more stressful than people realize and its ok to feel that way
Clint has a little nest up in the vents with pillows and blankets and books and puzzles that he goes in when he needs to relax, and Peter builds a similar one right next to his (but with webs instead of blankets)
if Tony is his Irondad and Natasha is his spider momma, then Clint is Peter’s hawk friend
Clint is just irresponsible enough for Peter to feel like he’s with someone his age
Peter takes his laptop up in the vents and the vent bros watch netflix together
sometimes you can find them curled up in their nests with a laptop between them, laughing at The Office
Tony: hey kiddos, you’re home late, how was the zoo field trip?
Peter: Sorry about that. The zoo wouldn’t let us leave because some stupid idiot tried to sneak a penguin onto the bus.
MJ: Our Chemistry teacher started crying when she told us that we’re permanently banned from the zoo.
Tony: sure they did kid, now what really happened?
Peter: I don’t think you understand Mr. Stark, our school is ACTUALLY banned from an ACTUAL zoo because someone decided to try and steal an ACTUAL real life penguin and take it home.
Mj: I’m surprised you didn’t get a call about this.
Tony: why would I have gotten-
Harley: [Bursts through the door crying] I WAS GONNA CALL HIM WADDLES!
Teacher: I called you both in here today because Harley punched another student.
Tony: I wonder where he got that from.
Teacher: When given mediation paperwork about the incident he decided to write an essay about how the other student could, and I quote, “go sit and spin”.
