Chapter Text
“Aliens are all about rules.”
- Mr. Cobra Bubbles, 'Lilo And Stitch'.
Nani is in some surreal alternate universe, she swears it. She’s staying at Stark Tower.
“You ok there Nani?” asks Tony. Tony STARK.
“Huuuuuuuuuuu…..” Nani’s brain has flatlined.
“Uh, Nani?” David asks politely.
Tony looks amused.
“Nani, Nani c’mon!” Lilo groans, ready to race inside. Of course this doesn’t phase her at all. Nani reaches out and grabs her shirt, holding her back on autopilot. Not even Tony Stark could make Nani forget Lilo’s sheer destructive potential.
“Robots!” Stitch says with glee, flexing his claws in eagerness.
David gently steers her inside – this building is huge - and Tony laughingly agrees to look after Lilo and Stitch while they get settled.
“David… He’s…” Nani begins.
“Tony Stark. I know,” David grins at her, and somehow she has the good luck to have a boyfriend who finds her fatigue-induced-stupidity endearing rather than tiring.
Also, Tony’s left a bottle of champagne in their room, which is nice enough to be a hotel room, and there’s a spa and…
“Nani?” David grins, pulling off his shirt. Nani allows a smile to spread over her face. Tony who?
* * *
“TONY STARK!” Nani shrieks, because who was stupid enough to give robots to Lilo and Stitch?!
“It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s totally safe!” Tony hastens, looking a bit sheepish.
Lilo meanwhile is attacking stitch from inside her robot frame. Her arms pull levers making the robot’s arms move, while her legs are pumping up and down to move the legs.
“Rule one!”, she shouts, “Anyone fighting us goes DOWN!”
In the resulting explanation about Stitch’s exploration with rules
he
likes, Tony begins to look a little more worried.
“YARRRRR DESTROYYYYYYYY” Stitch growls in delight, engaging inside of his own robot, and Tony’s smile gets a bit more sheepish.
* * *
Tony takes them everywhere - a whirlwind of famous sights, ice cream, and robots. Nani learns a lot about herself, about David, and about Tony Stark. She’s not sure how to feel about these small revelations.
She finally gets to see Times Square, lit up and bustling with so many people running every which way or gawking and snapping photos. She thought she’d be excited; she’s never been here before but it’s far too busy. It makes her feel small and lost. Times Square cares not for the gentle swell of the surf, the faint tang of smoke from lanterns and the winding paths she walks in Hanapepe. It makes her want to snatch Lilo and Stitch up and run back home. It’s like another world, and though she’s seen it on TV, she finds it’s not one she’s ready for, and she’s glad to be but a visitor.
Lilo of course appreciates nothing about it except for the extra cheesy pizza she convinces Tony to buy (cheese… everywhere. They’ll never get that mozzarella out of any of their shirts…) and blithely ignores one of the largest destinations in the world because “BORING! Let’s go home and battle robots Tony!” (Tony seems to be far too on board with this.) Tony has been some kind of paragon of patience. David is excited; unlike Nani he’s keen to be out with the camera, grinning, happy and bold and confident enough to make Nani forget her apprehension. Tony never for a moment shows how bored he must be, and in fact seems to be taking joy in David’s “Ooh!” and “Ah!”s.
Lilo and Stitch love the Statue of Liberty… buuuuut not for the reasons one might assume. Nani has awful visions of a new robot Statue of Liberty with Lilo fighting at the helm. The thing is it’s now a plausible fear…
“WOW Tony! Imagine her breathing FIRE! Tony, can we make our robots breathe fire?”
It’s only when he relaxes that Nani notes how tense Tony seems to be. Tony seems to unfurl a little, breathe easier, smile more genuinely when Lilo and Stitch are at their best… and sometimes also at their worst. It’s not that he’s anything but charming with Nani and David, but the kids’ frankness (and yes, Stitch is now her kid too), utter lack of duplicity as well as their boundless enthusiasm seems to cut straight to Tony’s heart and wake up his own enthusiasm for life… and robots. Nani soon learns basically everything would be cooler if it were able to shoot fire, in their opinions.
She sighs and gives up any attempt at arguing otherwise. At least they get a family photo. Tony tries to step back politely to take the photo, until Lilo yells “Tony, how can you be in the photo if you’re taking it?! You gotta get someone else, duh!” and Nani groans as they get stares but… they get their family photo and Tony’s grin lights up the picture just as much as Lilo’s does.
People make memories on trips, but her memory of this day isn’t necessarily what you’d think. There’s a tiny moment, small, in the inexorable grind of the world, but worth so much more. She’s convinced she’ll remember it forever, this window into Lilo and Tony. They’ve stopped for ice cream, because Tony knows kids, and he’s actually bothered to plan out their trip according to what Lilo and Stitch would want, not himself. (Although, he may also really like ice cream. Sometimes Nani thinks Tony is just a big kid, grown old too fast, jaded by the cruel world.)
“Nup! Rule four: friendship goes both ways! Tony this time we’re going to buy YOU the ice cream! You can’t pay all the time. That’s not fair. Besides, me ‘n Stich’ve been saving!” Lilo declares, walking confidently up to an amused vendor. Tony throws his hands up, and laughs that he can tell when he’s beaten, and how Lilo is victorious. He grins that quick grin, but Nani can see Tony is genuinely moved. Even when he argues he has more money than her and thus it’s fair for him to shout, Lilo will have none of it. Nani can see he’s taken aback, startled and put a bit off centre. His eyes have a suspiciously glossy sheen to them, and Nani finds she has to wipe her own eyes a bit because… she’s done something
right
.
She’s been filling in for their mother for so long, and it’s been good, bad and very often ugly, but this- this is proof that she hasn’t messed it up too badly. Lilo is a good person. And Stitch. …most of the time. David looks at her with a soft smile, and she thinks maybe she’s more transparent than she realises. (It’s such a small gesture for Tony to react so strongly too, and buries that thought for later consideration.)
So, they get ice cream, and Lilo orders wayyy more sprinkles, cream, hot fudge and cherries than one would normally have (rule 11: if you can get it for free, add it for free). Truthfully, it’s so overly sweet Nani’s taste buds are dying inside a bit but Lilo and Stitch buy everyone an ice cream and everyone is too polite to say anything about how that extra amount of sprinkles is probably going to give them all diabetes. Nani gives Lilo a heartfelt thumbs up and takes another bite, even as she notes David wincing a little as he pushes through the sickly sweetness. Tony gets ice cream in his beard and jokes about starting new trends.
All in all, it’s a fun afternoon. Lilo giggles at Tony’s terrible disguise and Tony snickers at Stitch’s terrible disguise. It really is comically awful, with a drooping long gray beard and a bald wig… Tony’s, that is. Stitch was forbidden from wearing a beard.
They come back, and unfortunately the ice cream has given Lilo enough energy that Nani and David have their hands full just watching them swim in the giant pool. (Because of course there’s a giant pool. Tony even apologises that it’s not more interesting – Nani hopes if he remodels it, it’s because he actually wants to.)
He’s always doing things for other people; it’s time for him to value himself more.
***
On the fourth day, Pepper joins them, looking more laid back than Nani has previously seen her during the week. She’s out of the suit, and in flowing cotton pants, giant shades and a cheap t-shirt. She, Tony, and Lilo bicker over giant lollipops, while Stitch pretends he is too mature to argue about candy, sticking his nose up in the air and going to sit with Nani and David. Nani can tell how amused David is, but luckily he keeps it to himself and simply nods to Stitch. No one can say the man hasn’t learnt from his past mistakes.
At night, after the kids are in bed, Nani and David have a drink with Tony. Nani and David try not to drink in front of Lilo, but Lilo is (hopefully) asleep and they’re ready to relax. . At first, it was the finest champagne, and Pepper relaxing back to kick off expensive shoes. Then David admits bluntly “I can’t tell the difference between this wine and a $5 bottle so you might as well go cheap…” and they all laugh. From then on it’s just odd beers – which Nani by far prefers. Asahi, Becks, even Coronas.
“You guys do come cheap,” Tony jokes.
“We don’t want your money,” Nani laughs, but something in Tony seems to stiffen. Her eyes flick to David quickly, wondering if she’s somehow made a mistake, even as Pepper rests a hand on Tony’s thigh comfortingly.
“We want your babysitting…” David butts in laughingly, and Nani nods fervently, agreeing far too much to be distracted by her faux pas.
“Anything you can do to keep those two in line,” she says earnestly, then rolls her eyes skyward. Tony’s face melts into something softer, more amused. Somehow, she’s managed to recover the situation.
“Rule two: It’s not about money, it’s about love!” David announces.
“More robots?” Tony jokes, but the kind of joke one makes when they’re not
quite
joking.
Nani’s resulting reaction makes everyone burst into peals of laughter anew.