Heyy, it's been a while! Like, a longer while than it usually is. Sorry, I've been a bit busy. I lost my iPod a few weeks ago and I still can't find it! It's pissing me off. And I've been playing the Sims 3 a wee bit too much, which is what I'd rather be doing right now because I'm getting a little obsessed! LOL. Not that you guys aren't awesome too, you are! I just tend to forget about certain things when obsessing over something else. Anyways, on with the story!
Back at the Stark residence, Rhodey had started some 'fun family bonding time!' It was Michael, Rhodey and Alana against Jess and Autumn in a raging game of charades. Rhodey checked his watch. Tony and Pepper would be coming home in at least an hour, minus Fae and a whole carload of her stuff. He looked back up to Michael and thought of what he could possibly be acting out for his teammates to guess. Then he knew.
"A photographer!" Rhodey shouted. Michael smiled and pointed.
"Uncle James, can we play a different game now?" Autumn asked. Michael took his seat and Rhodey nodded.
"Of course we can, what did you have in mind?" Rhodey asked.
"Tell us more about my dad's childhood." Autumn suggested.
"Alright, what did you want to know?" Rhodey said.
"What happened to dad and grandpa after grandma died?" Michael asked.
"Well, after grandma died, your dad got real close to your grandpa."
Overdone in this story, but I don't care. Flashback!
At the cemetery, a young Tony and his father still stood over the coffin that was slowly sinking into the ground with the help of the people in charge of burying it. The little boy still let silent tears fall down his cheeks. Howard didn't want his son to see him crying, because he knew now that he had to be strong for his son if Tony was to look up to him alone now. If he was going to be the one his son looked up to. Of course, he'd known that he needed to be a good role model when his son was first born, that's why he quit making weapons for people.
"Come on, son. We need to leave." Howard picked up his son and let Tony's head rest on his shoulder, and as they walked back to the car, Tony fell asleep.
Once they arrived at their house, Howard unbuckled the still sleeping Tony and set him on the couch so he could sleep. Howard went to his office, shut the door and began to let all the tears that he held in flow down his cheeks. He let everything out that he had held in for the whole day, just so he could show his son that he could be strong. That daddy doesn't cry, and daddy will stay strong. That because daddy can stay strong, Tony can too.
A half an hour later, Tony woke up and got off the couch. Seeing his father nowhere in sight, he walked over to his father's office door. He pressed his ear to the door and heard the muffled sound of crying. Tony innocently pushed the door open and stood in the doorway.
"Daddy?" Tony asked. Howard perked his head up to see his son in the doorway. Howard instantly tried to stop crying, but couldn't. Howard beckoned his son to sit on his lap so they could be together. Tony sat on his father's lap and Howard hugged him tightly.
"Son, sometimes you have to know that it's okay to cry. Sometimes no matter how strong you think you are you have to just let it out to be able to move on. So let it out." Howard said. Tony nodded and suddenly felt his father's advice sink in. He may be just a little boy, but he knew what his father's words meant. He was smart.
"Daddy, were you crying?" Tony asked. Howard was silent for a moment.
"Yes." He answered.
"Don't worry, daddy. We can let it out together. And then we can be strong together." Tony patted his father's cheek.
Flashback end! Wasn't that just so cute? And Keep Holding On was playing during that last part too (x
"So they learned to grow together? That must have made them so close." Autumn said. Rhodey nodded.
"That's why your dad was real devastated when the plane crashed." Rhodey said.
"Poor dad. His life just kept going straight down the flusher, didn't it?" Autumn said.
"Until he married your mom and had you three." Rhodey said.
"I think meeting mom started the whole chain of good fortune. Because dad knew that now that he was the dad in the situation he didn't have to worry about losing anyone else in his life." Autumn said.
"Hey, everyone! We're back!" Tony announced as he walked in the door. Rhodey stood, followed by everyone else sitting on the couch.
"So how was your weekend?" Rhodey asked.
"Pretty good. We dropped her off, unloaded her stuff and met her roommate. Then had dinner and we left this afternoon." Tony said.
"Yeah. And before we left for our hotel, it was Tony's own idea to have dinner together. Isn't it remarkable?" Pepper teased.
"Yeah, it is! Tony never shows for family meals." Rhodey teased back.
"Hey, I have lots of good ideas!" Tony defended himself.
"Yeah. Sure." Pepper joked.
"Hey, wanna hear one? Deciding to marry you. I have some pretty beneficial ideas." Tony said, more quietly so the kids wouldn't hear. Pepper smiled and giggled.
"Ok, so you have a point there." Pepper said quietly back.
"So, what did you guys do while we were gone? Wild party?" Tony asked.
"Not much. Just sat here and bonded." Rhodey answered.
"Wow, I'm sorry I missed that party." Tony said sarcastically. He smiled. Autumn and Michael didn't say anything about what they'd previously learned about their father's childhood.
"Well, we gotta get going. It's getting late." Rhodey said, patting Tony's back.
"Alright. You do that." Tony said tiredly. Rhodey gathered his two kids and said goodbye, then left.
"Well, I'm going to be downstairs for a little bit." Tony said. Pepper rolled her eyes and went off to their bedroom to unpack their bags. Autumn went to her room while Michael went downstairs to talk with his dad.
"Hey, dad." Michael greeted.
"Hey, Mic. Did you have fun with Uncle James this weekend?" Tony asked.
"Yeah. We had fun." Michael said.
"That's good." Tony said, not looking up from his work. He was under one of his cars, fixing it. It had been experiencing a few issues over the past few uses.
"Hey, dad? Can I ask you something?" Michael asked.
"Sure, sport. What's on your mind?" Tony asked, not coming out from underneath his car.
"Well, Uncle James told us a few stories, and I was curious…aren't you ever still afraid of losing more people in your life?" Michael asked. Tony stopped what he was doing and thought for a moment. Then he came out from underneath the car and walked over to Michael.
"Honestly, I am. But then I remember that now I make the rules, and I get to prevent that from happening." Tony said. Michael nodded.
"How much did Uncle James tell you, anyways?" Tony asked.
"Well, about when mom died and when dad died and what happened after mom died. But that's it." Michael explained.
"Oh." Tony recalled the three memories. He recalled himself telling his father that they could be strong together. He remembered losing everything in one fateful plane crash. Then a feeling of anger overwhelmed him for a moment as he recalled why the plane crashed in the first place.
"I'm going to get to bed now. Night dad." Michael said.
"Good. Tell your mother I'm going to take care of some unfinished business." Tony said. Michael nodded and left.
Bah bah baaah! Lol (x it was interesting, no? ok, probably not THAT interesting. Oh well, it was a filler. Needed to be done. So review, foo!
