( tony spent that remaining time being useful: prepping a couple sandwiches and a shake, dragging out the first-aid kit from a supply cabinet, and giving friday a heads up, if james needed a body scan. rising from the stool he's been sitting sentinel on the past few minutes, he returns the teen's sheepish smile and enfolds him in a hug.
relief floods him at last, a feeling he's always keen to deny himself up until the moment james is actually, 100% home. this, really, has just gotta be karmic payback for every time he worried his own parents, or left pepper wondering if he would make it back from one crazy mission or another. just how he's gonna make it when both his kids go off to college is anyone's guess- and james is definitely his kid, bio-parentage aside. he felt guilty for it sometimes, like he was overstepping some kind of unspoken boundary, and somehow trampling on natasha and steve's memory by it too.
tony ruffles james' hair and leans back to have a look at him. )
You're home. That's what's important. Just- ( the creases between his brows deepen, ) -Remember to call next time, okay? Any time, no matter how late.
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relief floods him at last, a feeling he's always keen to deny himself up until the moment james is actually, 100% home. this, really, has just gotta be karmic payback for every time he worried his own parents, or left pepper wondering if he would make it back from one crazy mission or another. just how he's gonna make it when both his kids go off to college is anyone's guess- and james is definitely his kid, bio-parentage aside. he felt guilty for it sometimes, like he was overstepping some kind of unspoken boundary, and somehow trampling on natasha and steve's memory by it too.
tony ruffles james' hair and leans back to have a look at him. )
You're home. That's what's important. Just- ( the creases between his brows deepen, ) -Remember to call next time, okay? Any time, no matter how late.