Chapter Text
If Heather had her way she would've locked her son up in a room and kept him there. Only feed him when necessary and keep him out of her way. There were only two regrets she's ever had in her life. One was making Tony Stark aware of the boy. At the time she thought he'd throw her some money and just not care about the boy. Never once when she came up with scenarios, did she think Tony would suddenly get a heart. The man was a playboy- seeking out women every night. A man like that did not have a heart.
The second regret she had was allowing Tony to actually hold their son. It seemed that whatever broke Tony's iron heart was in the boy himself. She wasn't stupid, she saw the pure love in Tony's eyes when he looked down at Harley. The way his brown eyes lit up with pure joy. Tony Stark was never happy like that before. He always wore those cheesy TV smiles and sunglasses, but watching him hold their son, caused jealousy to curl around her heart. What had made that boy get all of Tony's love? Why didn't she ever get that ounce of love from the billionaire?
It was that day when she saw Tony hold Harley that she knew what she needed to do. The need to keep him away from his father stemmed from jealousy. That was purely obvious. Fighting tooth and nail to keep Tony away- but alas she could only convince the judge of so much. The battle of custody over Harley filled her with glee. She used his manic behavior in court to fight for full custody- but his lawyers were good and found a loophole.
Honestly, she didn't mind, as long as she got the money. Besides, who cared what happened behind closed doors. Plus,Tony gave her great influence over Harley when he greeted him to his new son Peter. For so long, she tried to convince Harley that Tony loved his brother more and that Tony replaced him. She blames Tony for her son's stubbornness; she can't count the number of times she, or her boyfriend, tried to beat the loyalty out of him. Still, he stood his ground and would talk back. Saying she was wrong.
Harley was right, but he didn't know that. She would never admit that.
So, she got crafty. When the boys got old enough to the point where Peter would want to be around Harley. Wanting to have holidays with him and with the custody battle- she found just how weak her son was. Logically, she knew she couldn't touch Peter. Not when she had to send him back after a week- but that didn't stop her from holding the threat over Harley's head. Despite what she told herself, she had gotten close to keeping her promise. Again though, Harley stopped her.
It had been at night, over Christmas break. Peter had wanted a glass of water and had sunk out of Harley's room. The stupid boy hadn't seen her walk in and she had a rule about leaving the room at night. When Peter saw her, his eyes widened and he scrambled backward. In anger at having her rule being broken she reached for a magazine, rolled up and raised it. Ready to strike him, Harley came out of nowhere, blue eyes blazing with an anger so deadly, she thought she'd die. It was the first time she was afraid of her son. He had ripped the magazine out of her hand and threw it to the side. It hit the floor with a " thunk!"
" Don't you dare ." Harley snarled.
There was so much anger in his voice that she stumbled backwards and tripped over herself. When she landed on the floor, her eyes caught sight of her son, she had to blink. Peter had the audacity to grip his hand and it actually seemed to ease Harley. The older boy had relaxed and turned around to his brother, leading him out of the kitchen. Not before he grabs a water bottle and throws his mom a look. When Peter is at the stairs, Harley turns back to her and snarls.
Like a shadow, Harley disappears and Heather wonders if she met a ghost.
Peter Stark's presence after that only intensifies. Though Peter never comes back. They are always texting, calling, and video calling. It got to the point where She moved Harley into the garage. Which, he didn't seem to mind and when he was inside- who was she to stop her recent boyfriend from stuffing him in a closet.
Nobody in town would believe Harley.
Then, Tony went missing and it was like Harley was somebody totally different. If he wasn't talking to Peter, he was keeping her and her boyfriend out of the garage. The only door he didn't barricade was the door to the driveway. She stayed out of the garage after one day he threw an empty pop can at her and when she threatened to call the cops for violent behavior, he laughed. He told her that he'd call his dad's lawyers and tell them everything. Her boyfriend on the other hand was more brave- until Harley punched him in the nose. It became a brawl and when she finally pulled her boyfriend away (she will never admit it, but he was losing,) they left the garage.
After that fight, she had a long discussion with Pepper that caused her to hate Tony more. That stupid personal assistant had the audacity to threaten her. Like Pepper knew exactly what she was doing. (Okay, so Pepper was right, but she wasn't going to admit it.) Pepper practically ordered Heather to allow Harley to come see Tony when the man came back. Despite the custody agreement.
Heather would never admit that she was afraid of a measly personal assistant. (There were a lot of things she would never admit.) When the news broke- she wasn't surprised to find Harley gone.
She didn't call the cops.
Honestly, she's surprised it took Harley that long to break. To call his father and tell him he had enough. She would have been ashamed of the decision, but really she knew it was coming. It was his fault. He was the idiot that forgot to lock the door. Plus, she had no control over her friends life choices. So, like the heartless woman that she was, she turned a blind eye.
What she was surprised about was how long the trial and custody battle took. She hissed at the way Harley practically melted into his dad's side, but she couldn't help the smile of achievement with the way he flinched with Pepper. Trust was broken for Harley.
When the verdict was read, it didn't stop her from smiling. She had won.
*** Fours Years Later***
Maybe she got 36 years of life in prison, she was okay with that. What surprised her, though was that she actually had a visitor. So surprised that she allowed the visitation and was held to the room. She was directed to the a window and sat down. Her brain short circuited when her eyes fell on the face across from hers. Steely, blue eyes looked back at her. A smirk ticking at his lips, like he was proud that he surprised her. Her eyes darted upwards and wasn't surprised to see Peter and Tony standing behind him. They were leaning against the wall, arms crossed.
It was scary how much they all looked like each other. Sure, Harley had her blonde hair and blue eyes, but Harley had Tony's everything else.
"Heather." He caught her attention, and when her eyes flickered back to him, they had a hard look to them. A shiver ran down her spine at the protective look in his eye.
"Harley."
He narrowed his eyes, "Just wanted to stop by and tell you something."
Heather raised an eyebrow and waited. Harley cocked his head to the side, scrunching up his nose for a moment. Amusement crossed his eyes and she shifted.
"Which is?"
Harley smiled, "You lose."
He slammed a paper on the plexiglass. Giving her time to read it, before he pulled it away. The smirk on his face matched his father's. She sent a glare at Tony, one that turned into a snarl- but Harley got her attention.
"You can't hurt me anymore." With that Harley placed the phone back and scooted away from the window. The paper was folded back up and she watched as he made his way back to his father and brother. Even behind the tinted glasses, she saw the look in his eyes.
Frozen in her seat, Heather finally felt like she had lost. After all, how could she compete with Pepper (Potts) Stark?