Disclaimer: I do not own Iron Man/Tony Stark, or any Marvel characters.

Summary: He could never wrap his head around why Captain America was so important to his father. Tony knew what he's done and everything he did to help other people during World War II, but he was dead, the war was over and done with. Not important.

Rating: T

Warnings: Howard hate, kinda Maria hate, sad Tony, Civil War trailer spoilers.

Pairings: None, might had hints of Stucky later on.

Prologue

It seemed that the day he was born, Tony Stark was either alone, or unlucky. The two made a perfect match at ruining his life. Howard Stark would never bother wrenching his attention away from his search for the missing Captain America, to pay attention to his only son. His mother was just like his father, devoting all of her attention to shopping and travelling away from her son and distant husband. Why should she be with them? Maria was not obligated to stay in the lonely mansion. Tony could understand why she would leave every other week. If he wasn't ten years old, he would be out the door and on a one way trip to paradise island, far away from his parents.

There was no love in the house that Tony was raised in, no comfort or warmth. There was no welcoming hugs and kisses, no Hallmark moments. The youngest Stark could remember the fights over holidays, his father's drinking, his mother's shrill screams as she shouted at Howard. The only reason they put up a grand Christmas tree was because of the holiday parties they would throw to try and brighten the public's image of them.

He could never wrap his head around why Captain America was so important to his father. Tony knew what he's done and everything he did to help other people during World War II, but he was dead, the war was over and done with. Not important.

It took a few years for the brown haired boy to fully realize that the stupid, perfect teeth, blonde, was Howard Stark's best creation and always would be.

While Tony skimmed his eyes over the rack of books on the elegantly crafted bookshelf, his attention focused on all of the black and white pictures, the golden plaques, and the American themed posters. He huffed out a breath of air, frustrated that the only thing that has been plaguing his mind was Captain America. He had the sudden urge to knock all of the memorabilia down, to watch it shatter and break, so he wouldn't have to see it again. This is the first time Tony has ever spent the time to actually look at the items decorating the wall of the office no one ever used, and he could tell why he never wanted to look at it.

He didn't like Captain America one bit, but who really cared about what Tony thought.