Between chapters 7 and 8 of the world turned upside down

Word Count: 1,324

back in the narrative

Happy Hogan was a close confidant for Tony and had been for over a decade at this point. In fact it was just a few years shy of being two decades since that night Tony had stumbled across him.

Tony remembered that night. He remembered it vividly, even if he had been stupidly drunk back then. He had just gotten word that his parents had crashed their car and since Rhodey was currently in Afghanistan somewhere, he hadn't been there.

In all likelihood, he probably would have been there, he was always by his side, if not in body, than in spirit.

Not to forget that Rhodey was a fan of Sam Adams, always drinking at least two or three, even if they weren't out long.

(Which they never were, because despite everything Tony was still only fourteen, even if his mind was older.)

Harold Hogan, amateur wrestler, had seen a kid nearly passing out on the street and hadn't even thought twice before he offered to walk him home.

"Y're t' kind. S'r," Tony had replied, still amazingly put together when one considered the amount of alcohol he had consumed.

"Son," Harold had said and if his expression was anything to go by, he had shocked himself with the word to a degree.

"N't ya sooon," Tony had reminded him as he had been shifting most of his weight onto Harold. "M' parent left 'n' then they died." He had paused, blinking repeatedly. "Fe'ls oddly likea me… memmm'ry, too."

Harold had decided to just carry Tony home bridal style at that point and had decided to snuggle into that chest, occasionally muttering directions which were accompanied by vague pointing in various directions.

(Both Pepper and Rhodey had sized up Happy at that point when Tony had told them before declaring that it was what they would have done.)

And then Tony had woken up with not only were all of his belongings in place and his clothing mostly unmoved, but there had also been the smell of food being made.

When Tony had stumbled in the kitchen, he was greeted by Harold — who had somehow produced an apron from somewhere, Tony actually pretty sure that they didn't own any so that was weird — making breakfast.

"Hey, sorry for staying the night and snooping around in your kitchen, but I'd hate to wake up alone in a huge house like this, possibly with no memory of how I got here, without having the option to eat something after the shock. I can pay a bit, if you want."

And that was the precise moment that Happy ("You know what, imma call you Happy, because you make me happy!") was hired.

Tony hadn't regretted it a single time since then and Rhodey and Pepper both very much approved, even if he only got to know Pepper after the fact.

All that made the choice rather easy. They had to tell Happy. All of them knew it and all of them knew that all of them knew it, even if they none of them had actually spoken the words. He deserved a look in the cards they were holding so close to their chests.

Tony was and had always been a rather open person, to exactly no one's surprise. The Reynolds Pamphlet wasn't the only time he had overwhelmed someone with honesty.

What did surprise Pepper and Rhodey was his proposal to bring Agent Agent into the mix for it. It was more close to being sensible than either of them could remember this man being in either of his lives so far.

"Are you sure you're alright? Like, completely and absolutely certain?" Rhodey asked. "Because if you're possessed or something we can get help."
Tony rolled his eyes. "I know it's not very often, but I can make sensible choices."

"When connected to military or business decisions, yes. Otherwise, like for your health, safety, or certain other things," Pepper winced, "not so much."

Tony crossed his arms and pouted for all of ten seconds before he sighed. "You're right. You always are."

"Don't we all know that," Rhodey chuckled, engulfing both of them in a tight hug. "Now, JARVIS, if you would call the General and ask him to come here as soon as possible."

"Yes, Colonel. Agent Coulson wishes to remind you that he is no longer a General." There was no pause between these, there was no was that this was actually something Agent Agent had said. No, this was something Phil Coulson had anticipated and asked JARVIS to mention beforehand.

Rhodey shrugged. "It's either that or President."

Despite the fact that they did not currently have either a visual or an audible connection to the men, Pepper, Rhodey, and Tony could clearly see him rolling his eyes and sighing in deep frustration. The latter two began to chuckle at the image while Pepper at least pretended to stay professional.

Due to his experience as both Tony and Alexander, however, he was able to see it in her eyes that she was just as amused by the notion.

And so was Washington, once the connection was established a few moments later.

"How about we get onto the topic of why you actually contacted me," he proposed, his flat tone making him sound completely unsurprised, yet disappointed, which, quite frankly, was more than likely the exact thing the man was feeling, Tony was willing to bet a decent amount of money on it.

"That's probably a good idea," Rhodey agreed, still chuckling.

They them proceeded to explain their point of including Happy in their secret.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Agent questioned. Tony could tell that it wasn't because he trusted their judgement or anything, it was just is need to stay out of the spotlight for various reasons, not all of them due to the fact that he was a spy this time around.

"This man has been my bodyguard for nearly two decades," Tony deadpanned. "Imagine the stuff he's seen — some of which these two didn't," he gestured in the direction of his partners who grimaced slightly at the suggestion, "and then consider that none of it has reached the press yet. I can assure you that it's not just because I am paying him good either, because Hammer and Osborn, among others, have tried to woo him away multiple times and he didn't even look at it twice."

Agent Coulson sighed. "Alright, I will come over at my earliest convenience."

Which happened to be around five hours later.

"Here comes the General," Tony announced as he spotted him.

Rhodey greeted him with an enthusiastic "Hello, Mr. President."

"Why do you insist on that anyway? You were already dead when I became President."

He placed a hand over his heart. "Ouch, Mr. President, that really hurt."

Tony snorted and Pepper giggled a bit as Agent sighed once more.

"What is going on here? Is this some inside joke I'm not in on?" Happy had just entered the room by sheer coincidence, which was actually really convenient, all things considered.

"In a sense," Pepper replied slowly. "But we were planning to fill you in either way."

"That's actually why I'm here," Agent added.

"We were kind of planning to be less upfront about it, but here it goes. We're reincarnated," Tony announced.

"Reincarnated Founding Fathers and Mother to be precise," Rhodey specified as Pepper and Agent visibly got the urge to facepalm. "Tony was Alexander Hamilton, Pepper his wife Eliza, I was his boyfriend John. And this guy was George Washington."

"Alright," Happy shrugged. "Not the weirdest thing that has happened."

"What did this guy see?" Agent questioned incredulously. "No, wait, you know what, I think I really do not want to know."

"Wise decision, Mr. President."

"I can see why you people like him now." Washington groaned as the rest of the room dissolved in laughter.