AN: Hello there, beloved readers, when I started this account I meant to only do one story at a time, but then I watched Iron Man on Monday and well...this happened. Hope that you enjoy :)
A point of interest: I know that Ezekiel 'Zeke' Stane is a character from the comics, but in this I have labelled him as OC. That is because the only resemblance he'll have to his comic counterpart is; name, and the fact that he's Obadiah's son. Call it very very loosely based.
Chapter 1: Graduation
"I am not nervous, I am not nervous."
That had been Tamra Stark's little mantra throughout the duration of the entire graduation ceremony, and she'd just about gotten herself to believe it. Or at least, she'd gotten herself to believe that she nearly believed it. In all honesty, she was rarely nervous in life, one of the traits she'd happy accepted from her father, but she was only human, and nerves struck out at everyone at some point or other. Of course, hers just had to pick today of all days. There were still several names to go through before the 'S's' were reached, and she continued to gaze blankly ahead, and clap with all of her year-mates whenever another red-robed figure accepted their scroll.
She'd been attending Dartmoor Boarding Academy since the age of 10, when her father has insisted on sending her to the prestigious New York school, but she hadn't quite realised till now just how big her year-group was. Before coming to this school, Tamra had lived with her mother in the place of her birth, San Francisco. During that time of her life, she'd almost never seen her father. Her parents didn't exactly get along, and she could hardly blame them. The only reason that Tamra was even recognised as her father's, was because she'd been conceived during his short lived Vegas marriage to her mother.
Yeah, that's right, 'Tamra Stark; Tony's Vegas Marriage Love-Child'. Her mother had shown her the headline when she'd been a little kid, it hadn't done wonders for her self confidence. Still, while Tony hadn't had much to do with her when she was a kid, she'd spent more time with him now in the past few years than she had with her mother. The main reason for that had been her shift to boarding school, which had freed her mother from the responsibilities of being a constant presence, and she'd promptly left the country to travel the world. So after that, she spent nearly all of her school holidays with her father, or sometimes he paid for her to visit her mum in whatever country she was in, that was certainly a more common occurrence than Ingrid making the trip back to the states.
She was really quite grateful for that now. Tamra wasn't sure if it was because she'd spent her personality developing years with him, or because it was just genetics, but she and her father shared more similarities than she shared with her mother. For one thing, at home the pair of them nearly always spoke in fluent sarcasm to one another, much to the annoyance of Pepper and Rhodey. She had also inherited her dad's technological abilities and intelligence, something that she blessed since a young age, and was also the reason that she was graduating a year ahead of others her age. Her mother was nothing like that, Ingrid was far more of an artistic kind of mind, though she and Tony did share a lack of responsible thinking ability that had miraculously skipped Tamra. The biggest thing she shared with her mother was appearance. Aside from her dark hair, which she wore cut just below the level of her chin, everything else came from Ingrid. The light blue eyes, heart-shaped face, and annoying tendency to develop freckles.
Tamra might not have had the most common kind of childhoods, or the most likely of parents, but she was content with how things had turned out. She would be glad to see the end of high school though. She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts about the past, that she nearly rose to her feet on automatic when she heard the first 'S' last name. But it wasn't her, just a guy named Carl Salvador, she didn't know him. Her best friend, seated a couple of rows before her and already holding her graduation scroll, turned slightly in her seat to poke her tongue out at Tamra. Ellie Hathaway, it was a miracle that she hadn't made some kind of a disturbance to the proceedings yet, Tamra hoped that Ellie would keep it up, and wasn't just waiting for her to get on the stage.
"Tamra Stark."
"Crap, that's me," she murmured to herself; and slowly rose from her seat.
After doing the awkward half-clamber over her friend's legs, Tamra began the very short, and yet excruciatingly long, walk to the stage. She resisted the urge to turn around and scan the faces in the crowd, despite the ever looming temptation, and mounted the stairs with her heart literally feeling like it was about to jump out of her mouth. Now wouldn't that cause a scene. She didn't understand what she was so nervous about, high school graduation, big deal, it wasn't like she'd waited for this for the past 7 years of her life or anything. Logic did absolutely nothing to stop her blood racing, so she just tried to ignore the tumultuous feelings within her, and focus on smiling genuinely as she accepted the tightly rolled piece of paper that granted her long awaited freedom.
Only when she was presented to the crowd did she let her blue eyes seek out the faces she was ticking off against a mental list. Obadiah Stane was there, her father and grandfather's business partner. His son, Zeke, sat beside him, and Tamra struggled not to break out in a grin at the beaming pride on her boyfriend's face. Pepper Potts, her father's faithful PA and Tamra's own role-model, sat with her father's best friend, James Rhodes. Her mother was smiling happily and trying to control the enthusiastically clapping child seated next to her, but Tamra new from experience that her little half brother was a bundle of wildness that was uncontrollable. But next to Oliver gaped an empty seat, and the heart that had been rising in her throat suddenly plummeted to her stomach.
'Seriously?' she thought, as she moved to take her seat again, 'Today of all days, he picks today.'
She was used to her father being absent from such things as school plays and the like, he'd only attended one award ceremony of Tamra's, and that had been because he was the one presenting the Tony Stark Technological Excellence Award to his own daughter. But she'd thought that he'd at least come to her graduation. If memory served her right, her mother and Oliver had been in Australia for the past year, and even they had flown up to be here today. She wasn't going to lie, it stung a little.
The rest of the ceremony passed her by in a flash, even the long valedictorian's speech given by Julian King, and Tamra scarcely realised that all of her fellow students were getting up and moving until she was almost alone in her row. She had little more than two seconds to get up and start making her way for the crowd accumulating at the end of the hall, before a laughing face and bright green eyes darted into her vision, and she was suddenly having her ribs squeezed in a vice.
"We've done it! We've graduated!" Ellie crowed; right in Tamra's ear.
"Ahh!" she exclaimed, "Yes, yes we have, and I would like to have functioning eardrums in my adult life."
Ellie's sole response was to once more stick her tongue out at Tamra, accompanied this time with a hair flick, "Oh, lighten up, Tammy."
Sometimes, Tamra wasn't sure how her best friend was almost an entire year older than her, but then she clocked something. Ellie might be one of the most carefree people that Tamra knew, but her abundant cheerfulness had an edge to it that was only slightly false, and Tamra knew then that Ellie had seen what she'd noticed.
"He's not here," she stated; bluntly.
Ellie's expression fell a bit, and she bit her lip, nodding slowly, "I saw. I'm sorry, Tammy."
At least she hadn't bothered with the 'I'm sure there's a reason' thing that so many people tried, Ellie knew Tamra better than that to think that it'd be consoling, which is why they were such close friends. And Tamra didn't want to spoil Ellie's day, or her own, by moping at her absent father. She put a smile on her face, and summoned some genuine cheerfulness at having graduated.
"C'mon, let's go join the party," she said.
Ellie looked relieved that Tamra was going to try be positive, and brightened at once, "You don't have to tell me twice!"
Tamra soon lost her friend, as Ellie went off to find her own family amidst the hoard, and Tamra stood on tip-toe to cast around for her own scattering of friends/family figures. They should have been easy to find, considering the height of all the male members in the party, but she just could seem to see them anywhere among the others. She soon found out why, when a strong pair of arms grabbed her from behind and swung her in a circle, quickly clearing space as people ducked out of the way.
"And she's done it! Tamra Stark has been officially released from high school!"
After her initial indignant squawk, Tamra soon began laughing, "Zeke! Put me down!"
Her boyfriend complied, and Tamra turned to face him, having to crane her neck to look up at him due to his ridiculous height of 6"5. As always, his dark-blonde hair was styled into a artful mess, his dark blue eyes sparkled with laughter, and a grin was on open display.
"You could have tapped me on the shoulder," she tried to reprimand; a no doubt goofy expression ruining any attempt at seriousness.
"Congratulations," he replied simply; then leaned down to give her a kiss.
Tamra could have happily stayed like that, but the rest of the party soon found them.
"Oh, let us give her a hug at least before you two start," her mother said; but Tamra heard the happiness in her voice.
"Mum!" she exclaimed; breaking away from Zeke to throw herself in her mother's arms.
"I'm so proud," Ingrid breathed; holding her daughter close, "I'm so proud of you, sweetheart."
"Thank you, mum," Tamra replied; hugging her equally as tight.
Then she felt a little hand tugging on the hem of her graduation robe, and looked down to meet the eyes of her little brother. Oliver gazed up at her with a gap-toothed smile splitting his little face.
"Tammy!" he said; holding up his arms.
She swept the small child into her arms, and whirled him around in much the same way that Zeke had whirled her, "Hey, little guy, you proud of your big sis?"
He nodded heartily, and promptly proceeded to try and knock Tamra's graduation cap off, "Happy."
"Whoa, easy there," she said warningly; holding him a little back from the now teetering mortarboard.
"Hey, do we get hugs too?" Obadiah asked; jokingly.
"Sure do," Tamra passed Oliver into the arms of Zeke, then embraced her godfather in a tight hug, "Thanks, for being here."
"Wouldn't have missed it," he assured.
In no way did Tamra think of Obadiah as a father-figure in her life, he remained strictly in godfather role, but that didn't change the fact that he and Zeke had turned up to more functions in her life than her father had. She didn't compare the two parties, because she knew that that was just the way her father was, and it would take a miracle to change him. But she still wished that he might have made a bit more of an appearance.
"Well done," Rhodey said; after Obadiah passed Tamra on to him, "You done good, kid."
"Thanks, Rhodey," she replied, "No one missing you today?"
"The army will be fine if I take the odd day off," he laughed, "I think you overestimate my importance."
"Yeah, well you are too modest," she retorted; grinning at him.
He reached for his automatic gesture to ruffle up her hair, but the mortarboard got in the way, so he settled for tapping her on the head, and stepping out of the way to make room for Pepper. Tamra hugged the older woman warmly. Pepper had been around for... well, for a very long time, and Tamra looked up to her a lot. If she could one day be half as organised and capable as Pepper Potts, she'd be a very happy woman.
"See, not so hard, was it?" Pepper teased.
Tamra grinned ruefully, Pepper had been the only one to which she'd confided her nervousness prior to the ceremony, "No, not so hard."
Now that she'd suitably hugged and received thanks for everyone who'd come to see her, the little group made their way out to the main reception. Tamra was really feeling genuinely happy now, and had mostly gotten over her father's absence. She had her closest friends, her mother, and her boyfriend; she'd be fine. Said boyfriend currently had his arm around her shoulders, and looked down at her, meeting her gaze as she was looking up at him, and he seemed mildly concerned.
"You okay?" he inquired; pitching his voice low.
"I'm good," she nodded, "Why?"
He tapped her forehead gently, "You're frowning."
That comment of course, only made her previously slight frown increase, "Was I?"
"Yep, was it cause of your dad?" he asked gently.
"What makes you say that?" she snapped lightly, then regretted it, "Sorry, I... maybe it was about him."
"Well, I'm sure-"
"Hey, Junior, get your arm off my daughter, my turn for a hug," a loud voice interrupted Zeke's sentence.
"Speak of the devil," he murmured softly; but withdrew the arm.
Tamra turned slowly, and saw that the crowd had parted in order to make way for her father. Tony Stark, ever glamorous in a suit with his dark sunglasses peeking out of the top pocket, stood with his arms folded, and his gaze resting solely on his daughter. Everyone else was watching the pair of him, but silently so.
"Hey, kiddo," he greeted.
She walked slowly up to him, folding her arms in a mimic of his gesture, "You're late."
"It's called 'fashionably late', and I'm nothing if not fashionably," he replied; sounding completely calm and at ease.
"To your own daughter's gradation?" she demanded; her tone coming across rather angry.
He shrugged nonchalantly, "Tammy, what do you want me to do?"
She looked at him for several moments, his dark eyes equally serious on her blue ones. As always, she was the first to give out of them, sighing and relaxing her arms. Somehow, no matter what he did, she managed to forgive her dad in fairly short time. It was something that she had been forced to learn to do, if she hadn't, they probably wouldn't be on speaking terms by now. If you wanted to stay close to Tony Stark, you just had to accept that he was the way he was. That was probably how Pepper had remained with him this long too.
As soon as he saw the animosity go out of her, he pulled her close in a hug, "Congratulations, Kiddo, done your old man proud."
"Oh, you're an old man now?" she teased; that little joke making the last of the tension in the air dissipate.
"Easy," he said warningly.
"Glad you could make it, Tony," Obadiah was the first out of the group to step forward.
"Obi," her dad stepped forward to clasp hands with his business partner, "Rhodey, Pepper," he greeted in turn, and a small muscle twitched in his face when he came to her mother, "Ingrid."
"Tony," she greeted; equally frostily.
Honestly, Tamra shook her head, she would never believe that her parents had gone three months of legally binding Vegas-Marriage. Whenever they saw each other, hell itself seemed to freeze over. But today, hell could freeze over all it wanted. Now that all of the people she cared about were assembled here, she let herself fully relax. While Zeke remained a constant presence by her side, Tamra stuck close to her father the whole time. This would be the final 'high school moment' that she'd have with him, and it was also the second 'high school moment' that she'd ever had with him. She didn't want to waste a second of it.