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Tony landed on the tower's roof. His armour retracted almost immediately, and he ran to Clint and Steve who were waiting for him, tense.
"Where is he." He was gone for only a meeting, something Fury organized. Jarvis called him in panic —as much as an AI can panic— about Connor and an "emergency situation" in the middle of it, and Tony took off without thinking twice. He could navigate the night sky easily. Judging by the looks on the two men's faces, the situation was indeed dire.
Clint sighed. "I don't know, Connor broke something in the kitchen and now he's locked in your lab. Steve and me got worried he might hurt himself."
"He broke something ? That's it ?"
Steve cleared his throat. "There was a lot of blue blood on the floor. It's not there anymore, but it was scary."
"What in the world happened."
"I don't know, I wasn't there. I think he broke your mug ?"
The elevator doors slid open, and Tony stepped in the lab. The light were off, the blinds open, New York's lights were bathing the room in a dim glow. It didn't take him long to spot the android curled up on the couch, his back to him.
"Con ? Are you alright ?"
No answer. The red from his LED projected a faint circle on the ceiling. Tony sat next to him, slowly. He didn't want to spook the already upset android.
"Cap told me you got hurt. Can you show me ?"
Connor pushed himself to sit upright and showed his hand to the inventor. A deep gash ran across it, oozing thirium and exposing the glowing circuits under his skin. Tony took the hand and winced.
"That's a bad cut. The nanites did their job well, looks healed already." He looked up at the android. "What happened ?"
Connor shifted, his gaze never once meeting Tony's. He always tended to avoid people's eyes when nervous. "My arm jerked. And I panicked, I thought it was a dysfunction, and that there was something wrong with… This body."
"Your arm jerked ?"
"Smashed your mug against the counter. I like using your mug when you're not here, sorry."
"Don't apologize." He never liked that mug anyways. "Cap told me there was lots of thirium on the floor. Are you injured anywhere else ?"
Connor hesitated. The android had a tendency to hide his injuries at all times, surely to not bother anyone. He preferred suffering in silence than asking for help. Tony could recognize his influence in that, something he wasn't proud of.
"Kid, it's alright. I just want to check and repair what the nanites couldn't."
Connor lifted his trouser leg above his knee, and dear lord that was a deep gash. A broken piece of the mug was slotted between two of his leg plates, continuously dripping thirium. It soaked the trousers' fabric, noticed only now Tony.
"I fell on my knees, didn't notice the shard right away, and I was scared of taking it out myself."
"Jesus, and if I didn't ask, you would've kept it secret ?"
"I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize !"
The red LED blinked faster. Tony inhaled deeply and gently grabbed Connor's shoulders.
"Okay. I'll take this out, check for any permanent damage, and then we'll watch Star Wars. How does that sound ?"
"I'm sorry for causing a mess…"
"It's alright, kid. I've got the mess handled. Maybe shut your leg warnings off while I take care of this ?"
Connor nodded. Tony couldn't be sure he really did turn the warnings off, but he hoped so. It was the android's equivalent of pain, he integrated it following Connor's direct demand, but he also incorporated a switch to turn them off if needed. He wouldn't give an opportunity for anyone to torture his boy.
Tony lowered the leg flat on the couch and opened its plates. Luckily, the shard didn't hit anything important beside a thirium vein, the cause of the leak. It should clog quickly once the piece of mug is out of the way. The knee itself seemed okay, a bit jammed maybe, but nothing that wouldn't heal ; Connor might limp a few days.
Tony pulled the shard out, cleaned any dust and thirium that leaked inside the leg, and closed it up. He smiled up at Connor.
"You're alright. Maybe your knee will hurt for a week or so, but it'll all heal."
Connor nodded. He started hugging himself while Tony was inspecting his leg, and his LED was spinning quickly, changing between red and yellow.
"Kid ?"
"I'm sorry for your mug…"
"Con, that not important."
Connor bit his lip, softly rocking himself back and forth. He looked on the verge of tears.
"What if there's something wrong with me ? What if I'm dangerous to be around ? I could have- What if it hadn't been a mug, but someone's hand ? Someone's weapon, or- Or you ! What if I smack you like I did there ?"
"Kid."
"They were- You were right, I shouldn't be there with you at all, you had to bring me around because I have your reactor in me, and I only bring you troubles, I'm just, I'm sorry." He hugged his knees tightly and buried his face in them.
Tony's heart clenched painfully. "… Kid, you think I only value you because of the reactor ?"
The rapid red blinking was enough of an answer. The inventor sighed and ran his fingers through the android's hair.
"Connor, I… You matter more than- You're more than the reactor."
Tony was glad he didn't blush easily. He was never comfortable with sharing feelings, preferred acting like he didn't care about anything. But Connor, his kid, needed him, so he had to swallow down whatever pride held him back.
"And about your involuntary movements… There's been a lot going on lately, stress might have messed with your muscles. Happens to the best of us. I'll check them later if you're still worried."
Connor nodded and smiled faintly. The LED was still red, his eyes were still shining with unshed tears, but at least he wasn't having a full mental breakdown. Tony smiled back.
"Star Wars ?"
"Yes, please."
