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It happens on a Saturday. They are all gathered in the kitchen, Steve busy making pancake after pancake. Thor eats a dozen just by himself, with a few poptarts as a starter, of course.
Tony is the last to arrive and, in true Tony Stark fashion, makes quite the entrance.
There is a moment where everyone is shocked into absolute stillness and silence, because Tony Stark – well known for his iconic goatee and devilish good looks – walks into the kitchen completely clean-shaven, face and head alike.
After the shock passes, Clint immediately bursts into loud guffaws.
“Yeah, yeah, Birdbrain, laugh it up,” Tony rolls his eyes and grabs a plate of pancakes.
“Did Pepper finally get sick of the beard burn, Stark?” Natasha taunts as she pats Tony’s bare face.
“No,” Tony smacks her hand away.
“Man of Iron, your new look proudly shows off your intelligence,” Thor says through a mouthful of pancakes.
“Is that your way of saying my head look especially bulbous?” Tony frowns as he runs a hand over the smooth skin atop his head.
Thor looks confused about how to answer and ends up just shrugging his shoulders before continuing to eat his breakfast.
“Tony, we already discussed this. Being bored is not a legitimate excuse for becoming an evil mastermind,” Bruce smirks at his science-bro, not able to resist poking fun.
“Wouldn’t shaving have been counter-productive to that plan, Brucie-bear? I’d need a moustache to twirl or something,” Tony purses his lips and tweaks an invisible moustache with his fingers.
“And you’d have to get a cat,” Clint grins, finally capable of speaking after his laughing fits calmed.
“Ugh, pass,” Tony shudders. “Cats always think the world revolves around them, which is just stupid, because clearly, the world already revolves around me.”
Steve slides the last pancake onto his own plate and then takes a seat at the counter. “Alright, Tony, what’s the real reason for the change?”
“A friend,” Tony shrugs. Everyone frowns in confusion but Tony’s phone pings with a text before they can ask. Tony pulls his phone out of his pocket and grins at whatever the text says. “A friend who just arrived downstairs.” Tony shoves one last bite of pancake into his mouth and then almost runs out of the kitchen.
Clint looks around at the rest of the team, eyebrows raised in surprise. “He has friends other than us?”
Everyone turns a disapproving look at the archer and Natasha smacks Clint over the head.
“I was joking,” Clint whines as he rubs his head. “But seriously…who’s the friend?”
No one knows the answer so Clint springs up from his chair. “I want to see this friend!”
Steve rolls his eyes, but since he’s curious himself, he gets up to follow after the archer. He hears the scrape of chairs across wood and knows that the rest of the team is following.
They pile into the elevator, Thor carrying his plate of pancakes with him. JARVIS directs them to the lobby of Stark Tower and just as they step out, they see Tony greeting a young boy.
“Harley!” The engineer grins brightly and waves.
“Oh my gosh,” the boy stops dead in his tracks and stares at Tony wide-eyed. He then starts laughing hysterically, body hunched over, arms crossed over his stomach. “You look horrible!”
The rest of the team grins when they see their engineer cross his arms over his chest and pout. They are just about to join Tony so he can introduced them when they see Tony go tense.
“Harley?” Tony asks, voice low and hesitant.
The team turns their attention back to the boy and sees he’s still hunched over, shoulders shaking. But then they hear the stitched breath and the broken sobs. The boy looks up, tears streaming down his face.
“You look horrible!” The boy yells hysterically.
Tony goes to the boy immediately and scoops him up into his strong arms. They can see the engineer whispering something to the crying boy but none of them can make out the words. Feeling as if they’re intruding on a very private moment, the team retreats back into the elevator.
++++
The pair had been sitting in the living room watching a movie – Harley sprawled across the couch, his head resting in Tony’s lap – when Harley finally speaks again.
“I don’t think I’m scared anymore,” Harley mumbles, cheeks blotchy and red from his earlier crying.
“Yeah?” Tony asks, his fingers brushing soft strands of hair off the boy’s forehead.
“Okay, that was a lie,” Harley scrunches his nose up. “But I’m not scared like before. Cause…I can totally beat this thing, right?” He looks up at Tony with the wide, trusting eyes that only a child can possess and Tony thinks this kid is the bravest person he has ever met.
“Of course,” Tony agrees without a moment of hesitation because he will do everything in his power – donate more money, find the best doctors, build them the best equipment – to make sure it’s not a lie.
Harley nods, taking Tony’s agreement as fact, simple as that. “Yeah,” Harley lifts one hand in the air, mimicking the signature Iron Man repulsor blast hand motion. “Cancer hasn’t got a chance against me.”