p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"It had been years; no, more than years; it had been forever since Tony spoke to his father, Howard stark. And yet somehow he found himself now parked in front of a remote yet filled graveyard in Captain America's fourteen year old Toyota corolla. Where did he go wrong today? br /br /Reluctantly, Tony grabbed the small bouquet of multicolored daisies from the passenger's seat, barely processing the pollen that had smeared into the seat. Then, grabbing his navy blue baseball cap and sunglasses, he stepped out of the car, the musky smell of nature surrounding him. He turned and carefully closed the door, not wanting to accidentally break it because -emit's so old-/em/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The genius began his trek, passing hundreds upon hundreds of head stones, noticing how they were evenly spaced, giving the cemetery some sense of order. emHow ironic/em, he thought. emDeath is so unexpected and unorderly; maybe this was supposed to comfort people?/em He wasn't sure, but he quickly brushed the thought away./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He soon neared a barely familiar sight, a head stone under a tree at the top of a small hill, looking down on everyone quite like Howard once did. It made his heart ache in an all too familiar way. He read the words 'Howard stark, loving husband and father. 1917-1991' engraved forever into the stone that was supposed to have some semblance of his father. br /br /Tony laughed a bit to himself. emLoving my butt/em he bitterly thought, the quip causing himself more pain than he had expected. But despite his hate, he gently sat the flowers by the headstone, with the knowledge that they would only die or be blown away before the next day. br /br /The philanthropist sighed and scanned his surroundings, hoping no one would see him talking to a emstone/em. But moreover, he was worried someone might recognize him. The last thing he wanted was more "tony stark has a heart" headlines in the news.. He sighed again and turned back to his father's grave. br /br /"Hey pops." He said, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. What was he doing? Even Pepper was able to freely speak to his father. Coming to this spot often to inform the deceased man of his sons life. She loved the man more than his own son did. br /br /"I'm not sure what I'm doing, talking to a corps and a rock, but Evans, my psych, said it was a good idea. Then again, what does he know? He got his degree online and he's like twelve. But anyways, he said that the reason I'm still having nightmares and anxiety attacks is because I'm not at closure with you." He said, but more as an assurance to himself. That there was a reason he was doing this; emfor peaceful nights again!/em He thought with a mental fist pump into the /br /"But let's be honest here, you were a jerk. To mom, to me. And you were an alcoholic so I guess that didn't help." He wouldn't admit it, but this was becoming increasingly easier. He could tell Howard exactly how he felt, and he wouldn't get yelled at or hit for it./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Despite the hell you put mom and I through, I never, ever have treated my family like that. And I sure as hell won't make a video to tell them that I actually am proud of them and then hope one day they'll watch it after I'm dead. No I'll say it to they're faces because I'm not the coward you were!" Tony seethed angrily, feeling a lump forming in his throat. He didn't notice until now how much his eyes were burning. emI'm crying…/em He took a deep breathe, trying to calm himself down a bit, but it didn't work. He had never cried over his father; not even at his funeral. The man never deserved Tony's tears, and he still didn't. br /br /"You weren't there for me." Tony said, enunciating each word, a sad and empty smile gracing his features if only for a moment. "You left right before I needed you. Before I needed a dad the most. You were gone when the most important things happened in my life and I had to hear from my boss that you really did love me? What kind of twisted person does that?" Tony shook his head. br /br /"But for some reason, I still think you might be proud of me pops. You'd be proud of what I've started. What team I've helped create. You'd be proud of the man I've become. A better man then you ever were. Were you even capable of being good?" Tony thought out loud. "You'd be proud of my family now too. It's huge. They may get on my nerves, but they're still part of my family. More than you ever were." Tony stopped, scrubbing the unwelcome tears away from his eyes. br /br /"Twenty years and you still exhaust me to no ends. And you're not even alive." Tony said, with a head shake and furrowed eyebrows. He began to turn to leave, figuring he was done here./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"There wasn't anything else to say besides "I'll talk to you in another twenty years..."/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The genius began his trek, passing hundreds upon hundreds of head stones, noticing how they were evenly spaced, giving the cemetery some sense of order. emHow ironic/em, he thought. emDeath is so unexpected and unorderly; maybe this was supposed to comfort people?/em He wasn't sure, but he quickly brushed the thought away./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He soon neared a barely familiar sight, a head stone under a tree at the top of a small hill, looking down on everyone quite like Howard once did. It made his heart ache in an all too familiar way. He read the words 'Howard stark, loving husband and father. 1917-1991' engraved forever into the stone that was supposed to have some semblance of his father. br /br /Tony laughed a bit to himself. emLoving my butt/em he bitterly thought, the quip causing himself more pain than he had expected. But despite his hate, he gently sat the flowers by the headstone, with the knowledge that they would only die or be blown away before the next day. br /br /The philanthropist sighed and scanned his surroundings, hoping no one would see him talking to a emstone/em. But moreover, he was worried someone might recognize him. The last thing he wanted was more "tony stark has a heart" headlines in the news.. He sighed again and turned back to his father's grave. br /br /"Hey pops." He said, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. What was he doing? Even Pepper was able to freely speak to his father. Coming to this spot often to inform the deceased man of his sons life. She loved the man more than his own son did. br /br /"I'm not sure what I'm doing, talking to a corps and a rock, but Evans, my psych, said it was a good idea. Then again, what does he know? He got his degree online and he's like twelve. But anyways, he said that the reason I'm still having nightmares and anxiety attacks is because I'm not at closure with you." He said, but more as an assurance to himself. That there was a reason he was doing this; emfor peaceful nights again!/em He thought with a mental fist pump into the /br /"But let's be honest here, you were a jerk. To mom, to me. And you were an alcoholic so I guess that didn't help." He wouldn't admit it, but this was becoming increasingly easier. He could tell Howard exactly how he felt, and he wouldn't get yelled at or hit for it./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Despite the hell you put mom and I through, I never, ever have treated my family like that. And I sure as hell won't make a video to tell them that I actually am proud of them and then hope one day they'll watch it after I'm dead. No I'll say it to they're faces because I'm not the coward you were!" Tony seethed angrily, feeling a lump forming in his throat. He didn't notice until now how much his eyes were burning. emI'm crying…/em He took a deep breathe, trying to calm himself down a bit, but it didn't work. He had never cried over his father; not even at his funeral. The man never deserved Tony's tears, and he still didn't. br /br /"You weren't there for me." Tony said, enunciating each word, a sad and empty smile gracing his features if only for a moment. "You left right before I needed you. Before I needed a dad the most. You were gone when the most important things happened in my life and I had to hear from my boss that you really did love me? What kind of twisted person does that?" Tony shook his head. br /br /"But for some reason, I still think you might be proud of me pops. You'd be proud of what I've started. What team I've helped create. You'd be proud of the man I've become. A better man then you ever were. Were you even capable of being good?" Tony thought out loud. "You'd be proud of my family now too. It's huge. They may get on my nerves, but they're still part of my family. More than you ever were." Tony stopped, scrubbing the unwelcome tears away from his eyes. br /br /"Twenty years and you still exhaust me to no ends. And you're not even alive." Tony said, with a head shake and furrowed eyebrows. He began to turn to leave, figuring he was done here./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"There wasn't anything else to say besides "I'll talk to you in another twenty years..."/p