"Come on, buddy." It was well past eight o'clock when he finally came home. He had gotten Snickers all the necessary products a puppy needed and the little canine had come to grown attached to Tony.
He walked up the stairs and got out the dog bowl set to put some water and food into it. Truth was he was getting tired of living in this house himself. He never realized how big and empty it was. He had always wanted a dog but his mother would tell him that he would never be responsible enough to own one. The difference between now and then was that he had grown up, matured a little, and he was sure a dog was no problem. He needed a friend and this certain companion was more than willing to fill the spot when they laid eyes on each other from across the pavement down over at Pinestone Mall.
"There you go." He got down on his knees and stroke between Snickers' droopy ears. "And people think I have no manners." He watched as the pup attacked its food with fever. It was calm for its age. It was the opposite of him, though he did have his moments. He had a small white patch on his forehead that slimmed down the length his nose and rounded at the bottom. His mahogany sable and white rough coat marked an eerily resemblance to a certain candy bar and Tony couldn't pass up the opportunity to name him that.
He learned that these kind of dogs were intensely loyal and gentle and could range from outgoing and sedate. Snickers seemed to be leaning towards the latter for now, but given how he acted at the vet he could tell the pooch could go both directions.
It was late and he wanted to get some sleep in before his flight to New York at eleven tonight. He went upstairs and for a second his dog didn't notice he had left, but when Snickers found out, the puppy ran up the stairs the best he could and tripped.
"You'll get it." He picked up the dog and smiled when it laid its head on his shoulder and barked. Snickers' head turned from left and right to take in its new surroundings and he wanted to be let down to explore. He closed the door to his room to make sure the puppy wouldn't leave and went into the bathroom to take a shower after making sure there was adequate food and water for the pup, should he choose to eat or get thirsty at night. Fifteen minutes later he emerged from the bathroom in a blue crew neck and pajamas.
"What the hell!" He looked around and the dog had taken apart his entire game console. The controllers were unhooked to the system and had chew marks on them. He picked up his GTA case and next to it was the CD broken in half. He didn't even know how that could be. The dog didn't weigh a thing. He sighed and found Snickers laying on his bed, his head on the sheets and looking at him warily. He could've sworn it was as if the dog knew he screwed up and was trying to cutesy his way out of getting in trouble for ruining his things. No wonder why they hit it off from the start. They were the same.
He stared at the small pup. "That's uncalled for." The dog whimpered and it wasn't until he went up to the bed that he noticed the clothes he had worn last night was chewed up in pieces. He sighed, not blaming anyone other than himself. "I shouldn't have left you alone." He grabbed the clothes and tossed them off to the side and got into bed himself. T-minus three hours until he had to board a plane.
Some time in the night, the front door opened, Tony none the wiser, as he was far off in dreamland. He was so far out that he didn't even hear his own bedroom door open. Snickers had and was on high alert. His ears were still perked up from earlier and he saw the figure heading towards the bed. A bark escaped and it did little good. Being six months had its downside - one being an immature voice; the second being too tiny to defend. But there was something soothing about the figure that calmed him down and he watched.
The figure sat down on the edge of the bed near his head and smiled. Words could not express how she felt at this moment so she let her tears explain. She hesitated briefly and her hands were shaking. She reached out and lightly sat her hand on her son's shoulder as she fought the urge to not wake him up. All she wanted was to check if he was okay, but now that she had, she couldn't leave. "Tony?"
The sound of her voice had shifted him slightly, but he went back to sleep. He had been sleeping on his stomach, arms laid across the bed and had now turned to his side where she could see his face. He was different. Looked different. She retracted her hand and combed it through his brown locks like she did when he had nightmares as a child. It would always soothe him right back to sleep in a minute.
He groaned at the touch and shook his head. His body was asleep but his mind wasn't. He heard a voice, a familiar one, call his name. His eyes slowly open and his bedroom was pitch black. He would had attacked or screamed, but this silhouette, he knew it. "Mom?" He thought this was a dream, but reality was catching up to him. The moon shined through the window at just the right angle and his eyes cleared as the fog of sleep left.
Maria nodded. Hearing her son call her that made her heart warm up.
Then it hit Tony. She was real.
"Hi, baby." Her voice cracked and her vision was overcome with tears.
Tony flung towards her and wrapped his arms around her middle, his head pressed against her chest, and as involuntary as it had been for her, his tears poured out just the same. He couldn't believe this.
She knew all the words he was trying to convey was in that hug alone and she was elated with joy. "I missed you so much," she said the best she could, her hand coming up to her eyes to wipe the tears before they drop to his head. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. Mom's never going to leave you again, alright? I promise. I'm so sorry."
"Breaking news: Howard and Maria Stark, who were tragically killed in a car accident over two months ago, are in fact alive and kicking. In a shocking joint statement released by the Starks just minutes after their arrival at the Los Angeles airport, they state no questions are to be asked, as everything will be addressed in a press conference set to be taken place on the 3rd of February. At this time, they ask for privacy, their son's, and allow their family to readjust. What you're witnessing is footage of the Starks heading towards an unmarked vehicle on the tarmac, that has been said to have been there since two last night. We see how heavily guarded the area is and sources confirm those are indeed government agents. We still have a lot of unanswered questions about that gruesome December night and it's safe to assume everyone is waiting hand and foot even more now than they were before for answers. This is Gloria Mendez signing off from Channel 4 News, where we bring you the stories first."
"Wow. I wouldn't had believe it if I hadn't heard it myself." Victoria stirred her coffee and turned to her husband.
"It's going to be the talk of the office."
"Sure will. Have a good time at work." She smiled when Richard leaned in for a kiss before heading out the door.
Pepper, on the other hand, had just woken up. It was a little early for the weekend but she had service down at the youth soccer league and was set to work the concessions at ten 'til two. She got out of bed and grabbed her phone in passing to the bathroom. She was still groggily and usually skipped her texts until after she showered, but the laundry list of texts from her best friends were hard to ignore.
"Holy shit." She set her phone down in total shock. Crap. Tony was such a bad influence. Before him, she rarely cursed. Did he know about this? She had no reason to believe he didn't. She wanted to call and was about to when she stopped herself. She shouldn't intrude. She could wait. This was not about her. This was about him and his parents. Her heart filled with happiness for Tony. This was amazing.
"...a lot of unanswered questions about that gruesome December night and it's safe to assume everyone is waiting hand and foot even more now than they were before for answers. This is Gloria Mendez signing off-"
Howard turned his head to Maria. "I was watching to that!"
"I don't understand why you want to," Maria told him, getting off the island stool in the kitchen.
"I don't understand why you're up my ass when your son is more deserving of it. Look at the living room! It's trashed! That is millions worth of stuff!"
"Which can all be replaced!"
She had a point. He was just trying to get her to stop nagging him. "Please? The stocks are up."
Maria smiled and turned on the appliance without another word. She had left Tony's room early this morning and went to her own bedroom. As much as she did not want to go, she had to, her back hurt. She made her way up the stairs and sighed. Her husband had been right about one thing. The living room was a mess, but it gave her an excuse to redo the room. Maybe the entire house. She smiled as soon as she saw the little dog upstairs. She couldn't believe her son had gotten a pet when she specifically told him not to. Though she couldn't argue much, the pup was all kinds of adorable. "Come on."
Howard brought his breakfast over to him and smiled. Maria was an amazing cook and she didn't do it enough, at least for him. She used to when they were dating and during their first years of marriage but it died down from there. He had more on his shoulders than ever, but she was right. As always. He was afraid. Afraid of what he would say, or rather fail to say. This was hard. Maria and their son had always had this unspoken bond and what he had with him defined what you would call a strained relationship. They've made tremendous progress, but what if this little stunt put them back to the start?
He heard footsteps coming down the stairs and he turned to glance behind his shoulder. Their eyes locked and tension filled the air. Neither wanted to be the first to break, first to speak.
But he was the father, he needed to step up. "Your mom made you pancakes."
Really? That's all you have to say? Although what he got from his father was more than he expected, which was nothing because he expected him to be at Stark Industries putting out fires. He sat down at the kitchen table and watched the news as he ate. It wasn't surprising just how much their stocks rose in the last couple hours. "Where did mom-"
"She's getting her affairs in order. Your mother thinks her time could be better spent elsewhere."
"Her charities? She loves doing that."
"She doesn't love it as much as you."
That shut him up immediately. He was speechless. He didn't know what to say. He didn't want his mom to give up something she loved for him. He appreciated the sentiment but it wasn't necessary. "I'll go up and-"
"Sit your ass down," Howard interrupted. "Park it."
"You're gonna stop me from seeing her," he asked.
"Your mother made a decision and you're going to let her have it," his father said, looking directly into his son's eyes, his voice the same tone he used for business. Cold, monotonous. He dared his son to talk back or take a step and he didn't. He watched as he sat back down. "She feels awful about everything and she's trying to make it up to you. Stop being selfish. Your mom wants this. Let her have it."
"I'm not a child."
"Well, you sure cried like one last night."
"You know what? Fuck you." He stood on his feet, seething. "I hate you. I hate what you did and I will never forgive you for it." His dad was actually going to be dead for real if he didn't leave this second.
He tried to channel his frustrations out at soccer practice, but it wasn't enough. He drove down the PCH over to Pepper's house in record time and knocked urgently on the door until somebody answered.
"What the hell?!" Pepper had answered the door and she was a little more than ticked off. Though that was quickly forgotten when she gave him an once over and stared at him with concern.
"Are you by yourself?"
She nodded her head.
"Good." Tony took her hand and pulled her into the house and pushed her against the wall and she yelped at the difference in temperature.
Her words were muffled with a hard kiss and she could feel her heart beating increasingly faster from his sudden action, but she let out a deep moan and kindly responded by parting her lips as he teased her with his tongue. Passion overtook them and they were kissing at such an intense level that when they broke apart, both were panting.
Pepper pushed him back just as he leant in. "What is this about?"
"I just need to get away from him."
Her curiosity shot up. "Him? Who?"
"Who do you think?" He didn't give her time to respond. As soon as he had asked, his mouth moved to her neck and began kissing her roughly, his teeth scraping her skin before soothing it over with the warmth that was his tongue.
"Tony," she breathed against his ear.
"Please?" He pulled back and he stared at her with the hope that she would understand.
She felt him rest his forehead on hers, his fingers grasping her shirt. This wasn't some act. She could hear it in his voice how much he needed her even if he hadn't said the words. "Alright, hold on." She grabbed the hand that had traveled to the strings of her pants. "You're gonna tell me what this is about later, right?" That was the one condition that needed to be met before they proceeded any further.
She motioned for him to follow her upstairs to her bedroom when he wordlessly nodded.
He stood in place a second longer and closed his eyes in relief. Her consent meant everything to him. There was so much pent up anger inside of him that if he didn't get rid of it...well, knowing him, he'd do something he couldn't take back.
He ran up to catch up to Pepper and she screamed when his arms wrapped around her waist. "Tony, stop it! You know that tickles!" Her laughter filled the otherwise silent atmosphere and he bent to kiss her on her shoulder. It was his way of lightening the mood a bit. His hands slipped beneath the cotton material of her shirt and his fingers grazed her skin. Somewhere in the middle of her giggling fit, she found the opportunity to step on his foot. He let go and yelped in pain, giving her time to run into her room.
She tried to keep the door closed as Tony tried to open it, but since he was bigger and stronger, he won within seconds. "No, Tony! Don't!" She screamed when he tackled her onto the bed. Good thing for her he was more interested in something else this very moment.
Yay, I'm finally back! So are Tony's parents!
First off, loana, thanks for your review! It is always nice to hear from new people and confirm the fact this LONG story is still interesting to you readers! Not many of you responded last chapter, so I decided to hold it off until I came back and good news is that I have the next chapter almost done and it should be finished in a week's time! Do leave a comment! I'll definitely be more inclined to post sooner rather than later :)