Tony wasn't excited about getting a sister.

His parents tried to get him to feel better about it, but he wasn't having it. His father started acting like a completely different person when the news hit. He doted over his mother, gushed over his unborn daughter, and lectured Tony about 'responsibilities.' At least the last one was more like the Howard Stark Tony had always known.

So no. Tony didn't want a sister.

He prided himself in being more mature than a usual ten year old, but he couldn't get past the childish jealousy he was feeling towards the newest Stark. His parents spent more time discussing her instead of paying attention to him and it wasn't fair!

So when this little girl was born and his parents had tears in their eyes, an ugly feeling sifted through him. They don't look at him like that, they didn't talk about him like that, and they definitely didn't seem to care for him like that, either. Tony decided then and there that he wasn't going to be a good big brother no matter the costs.

His sister, however, disagreed with all of his goals.

Little Eleanor followed him around when she was old enough to crawl and walk. She babbled at him and reached for him, but he refused to acknowledge her. It didn't matter that they shared the same name, the same hair, or even the same eyes. He didn't care at all.

It wasn't until he realized just how similar they were that he finally did.

The older Eleanor got, the more their father quit taking as much interest in. He still babied his only daughter and spoiled her, but it was few and far between. Their mother, bless Maria Stark, tried hard to care for the two Stark kids, but her own work made it very difficult. Out of the family, Tony was the only constant in Eleanor's life, and she in his.

She was still a child, yet he could see that she was as lonely as he was.

He changed his mindset after that. He wasn't lucky enough to have any older siblings to look after him and teach him the ways of the world. He had to learn it all by himself with only the love from his mother and the toughness from his father. He knew all about what it meant to come home from school to an empty house, to be lectured incessantly, to feel lonely. His sister was going through all of it, only adding an estranged brother into the mix. Well, he at least wanted to change the last part.

When Tony thought about it, it wasn't until he saw Eleanor crying her little heart out that his newfound goal was cemented.

He was walking towards his room. He was about fifteen at the time, visiting from school for the time-being. Eleanor's room was on the way, and in its rarity, the door was cracked open. The young girl typically holed herself in her room when Tony wasn't around, according to Jarvis, their butler, but even during this visit, Eleanor had refused to step out unless it was dinnertime or she was forced out.

At first, he didn't think anything of it. His sister decided to stop pestering him when he came home, no big deal. Hell, it was almost a relief. He learned from an early age that blood doesn't mean anything, and his younger sister was just a reminder to him of what he didn't have.

It wasn't until he got closer that he could hear the muffled cries coming from the little girl, and he decided to investigate because nobody was allowed to make his sister cry except for him. Despite his feelings towards her, he would not allow anyone to break her because if she's anything, she's a Stark.

Tony pushed the door open and knocked on the frame. "Eleanor?"

The little girl stopped for a moment. She didn't lift her face from her pillow or turn towards him. "What?" her voice cracked out. Her attempts of stopping her tears was futile as Tony could still see her body heaving. He leaned against the door awkwardly.

"Uh, is - is everything okay...?" the question even sounded bad to him. Of course she isn't okay! Eleanor let out a wet snort and sneered back, "Don't pretend like you care, Tony! Leave me alone!"

He almost did as she said because did he really care? He couldn't remember a time that he actually cared for her wellbeing. Eleanor Stark was a brat that he couldn't get rid of before, and now she was giving him an out. Maybe it was the idea that his mother would be disappointed in him ("It's your job, Tony!") or it was the fact she was five years old sobbing like someone had died that he ignored her demands.

The teen sighed and sat on the edge of her bed. His hand hovered over her back to rub it, but he halted (doesn't his mother do that to comfort him?) and settled on patting her shoulder once. "What's wrong, kid? Something's obviously made you upset."

Eleanor gave a muffled response and Tony rolled his eyes. "I can't understand you. Come on," he coaxed. "Look at me."

After some deliberation, the girl decided on sitting up and facing him. Her eyes was puffy, tear tracks on her red cheeks and some of her hair was stuck to her face. She looked a mess as she wiped the snot away and glared at him.

"You're what's wrong," she glared even harder. "You, Daddy, even Mommy." Her eyes filled with tears again, and Tony just stared at her, taken back. "The kids at school say that I was just a mistake and that you guys don't want me around because I'm not as smart as you and Daddy. That I don't deserve to be a Stark," she blubbered, rubbing her hands on her eyes to try and stop the tears. "And they're right! Daddy isn't around and all he does is yell at you or send me away, Mommy doesn't have time, and you don't even want me to be your sister!"

Eleanor was wailing by now, her body shaking as the cries came out of her mouth. Tony just gaped at her, his own hard heart cracking slightly at the little girl in front of him.

"I-I couldn't even say hi to y-you when you came back," she continued, difficult to understand by now, but Tony focused on her words. "I k-knew that you'd just get m-mad and say s-something mean."

Is that what I do? he thought dumbly. Say something mean and make her cry?

"Come on, kid," Tony stumbled over his words, thinking back to all the times she had tried to talk to him. "I don't say mean things. Maybe you just... think they're mean."

He cringed at his own words, and even Eleanor rolled her eyes at his excuse, hiccuping slightly. "Oh yeah? I'm not so stupid that saying things like 'Why do you think I'd want to talk to you?' or 'Leave me alone' aren't mean. You even add bad words."

Tony struggled to wrap his head around it, definitely realizing that what she said was true. He treated her like shit when he was home, and despite everything that Tony Stark was, he couldn't help but feel guilty at the thought of treating a five-year old like she was nothing.

He sighed and ran a hand down his face, looking at the little girl in front of him. She really did look a lot like him: same dark brown, wavy hair that looked as unkempt as ever, same light brown eyes, same tan skin, and the exact same scowl. She looked little like their mother except for her facial structure, and it was jarring to really look at her. Their parents weren't around, and if he thought he had a hard time with it, he could only imagine what she was feeling. He couldn't remember a time when he came home crying so hard or a time when the kids at school bullied him.

"You know what," he tried to crack a smile. "I'm sorry. It's not your fault, kid, and I shouldn't have said those things. Can you forgive me, Eleanor?"

Eleanor frowned at him, arms crossed, looking every bit of the brat she was - don't call her a brat, don't call her a brat - and Tony was sure that she would brush him off in a typical Stark fashion. He was pleasantly surprised when she grinned at him, childish joy in her once sad eyes.

"As long as you hang out with me when you're home," she bargained, startling him when she flung herself into his arms. "I usually just talk to Jarvis, but I wanna talk to you because I miss you when you're gone!"

Maybe she is an idiot, Tony thought, some fondness creeping in, as he carefully wrapped his arms around her. He laughed.

"Well, it's your lucky day, Eleanor. You're gonna have as the best big brother."