A/N: A One shot about Tony and his father, based off the prompt "Broken promises and lies built up so fast" formatting= *flashback* Page Break
Broken Promises
Our relationship fell apart so fast… I wonder what he would think of me now. The suit….Afghanistan ….Shutting down the weapons division…. Obadiah. We never trusted each other…our broken promises and lies built up so fast.
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I was three…..
*"Tony, Dad's on the phone, he wants to talk to you." Mom called.
Tony's eyes widened. He dashed down the stairs, taking the sleek black phone.
"Hi" Tony whispered.
"Hi Tony. I'll be coming home tomorrow; I'll see you at three. Sorry I can't talk to you longer, but I need to catch my plane."*
He never showed. But that was just the beginning.
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I was five…..
*"come on Tony, please take it." Howard sighed in exasperation. He was trying to get Tony to take a broken chemical vial.
"It's broken…"
"Come on, it won't hurt you."
Tony took it.*
I burned my hand on the chemicals. I still have the scars. That wasn't the only time it happened either.
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I was seven…..
*"I'll look at it later. I just have to finish this paperwork, I can look in a minute"*
I had built a robot. He never did look.
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I was eight…..
*"Tony! Get down here!"
Tony cringed at his father's angry shouts. He was probably drunk. Tony ran down the steps.
His father was standing over a robot Tony had spent the last month working on.
"Look at this!" Howard shouted, stumbling slightly "Is this what you call progress! Not worthy of a Stark! You're not worthy of being m son! Why can't you be more like the captain. He did things right."
Yeah. He was drunk, Tony thought bitterly. "But-"
SLAP!
Tony fell backwards, stunned, not expecting the blow.
"Shut up. I don't want your excuses. Get this out of my sight."*
He had promised to never hit me. That broke my trust in him.
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I was nine…
*"Tony. Did you ever look at the blueprints I gave you? Where there any flaws?"
"There wasn't"
First time I lied to him. He gave me blueprints to a new missile. There was a flaw, but I knew if I told him he would get drunk again.
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I was ten….
*He promised he would stop drinking after he knocked me down the stairs in a fit if rage. Of course it didn't last. Only a month later…..
"Maria! Tony!" Howard called, slurring drunkenly. "Anyone here?"
Tony sat in a corner, as quiet as possible. 'maybe he won't notice me'
He did.*
I needed the hospital for my broken wrist after he grabbed me and pulled my up weird. I wonder what he would do if he actually remembered his drunken episodes rather than just being told about them?
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I was eleven…..
*"Can you write out a blue print for a new weapons system?" Howard asked, clapping Tony on the shoulder.
"I will. I promise."*
I never wrote that blueprint.
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I was fourteen…..
*" I got accepted into MIT" Tony walked softly into the kitchen.
"That's great honey" Maria smiled.
"Good job son." Howard congratulated him. " Youngest person ever accepted, aren't you?"
"Yeah."
"Promise not to get in to much trouble, alright." Howard asked.
"I Promise."*
I never even got close to keeping that promise.
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It was almost a relief when he died…..But I regret all the broken promises and lies between us. They built up a wall so we could never trust. Hundreds of lies, dozens of shattered promises. I would have loved to have known what Dad would have thought about everything that has happened. Guess I'll never know.