Tony's Girls
By: InitialA
Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Marvel Universe.
"This is weird. I look weird. Cleo, why did I let you talk me into this?" Tonia moaned in dismay.
"You look lovely, hon, just relax. We're going to get you all fixed up," her sister said, waving over another hairstylist.
"If I look "lovely, hon", then why didn't you do it too?" Tonia snapped, flinching away from the scissors.
Cleo raised her eyebrows at her through the mirror. "Because we're in our twenties, sister dear, and we're allowed to have different hairstyles. I like mine short like this. You were moaning and groaning about your hair anyway."
"It's even longer now!"
"We'll trim it up a bit, miss," the stylist said. "You just need to sit still for a few minutes. It's only temporary."
Tonia tucked her long legs up to her chin, looking at herself in the mirror miserably. She still wasn't sure how Cleo had talked her into straightening her hair—oh right: her chemist boyfriend, what's-his-name, and his new product needing a rich-and-famous seal of approval. 'How she deals with not only a chemistry nut, but one who focuses in something as frivolous as hair care products, I'll never understand… She's been living in California too long,' she thought.
As much as she claimed to not care about how she looked, she still wasn't sure she liked this look. Her head looked too small now with all that limp, wet hair. The stylist worked at it, and Tonia's frown deepened as she watched several inches fall to the ground. At the end of it, she was dragged through a blowout and styling her bright red hair into an elegant twist at the back of her head, and then flinched through having make-up put on. Cleo smiled at the stylists when they were done and leaving. She picked up two diamond-studded combs and fit them into her sister's hair, saying, "Was that so bad?"
"Yes," Tonia said mulishly; a strand of hair slipped from its moussed-and-sprayed position. She tucked it behind her ear. "I hope what's-his-name is happy…"
"It's Kyle, and he'll be very pleased that you not only went through with it, but you didn't even maim his styling team."
"Why wasn't he here?"
"He had a few things to wrap up before he could fly out here for Mom and Dad's party. He should be arriving about now, actually, I sent Happy out a while ago to pick him up."
Tonia looked at her sister through the mirror. The litany she'd prepared all through the torment of beautification was at the tip of her tongue, but she pulled the reins on her temper. Instead, she merely said, "A hair care specialist, Cleo, honestly."
Her sister smirked. "Come on, let's go get dressed. And you're not wearing that suit you always wear for these sorts of things. Mom helped me pick out a few dresses for you."
Tonia's shoulders slumped. "Aww, Cleo, come on!" She whined.
"I feel naked," Tonia muttered.
"Stand up straight. You're beautiful," Cleo murmured.
The two sisters wove their way through their parents' friends, and their adoptive aunts and uncles. Tonia wore a bright blue, backless dress that hugged her slim form and winked with jewels in the low lighting. Cleo was in a strapless vermillion number with little decoration but for her silver jewelry. Tonia envied the easy way her sister moved through the room, chatting amicably with many of the guests. She felt awkward, like a spotlight was on her, and hunched over more to hide her height. Cleo had always bemoaned the fact that Tonia was the one who took after their mother more, but she would have gladly traded places if it meant people didn't stare at her. She was perfectly happy to spend her days sitting, or under a machine, and working. This sort of public event was more Cleo's thing anyway, but she knew that her parents would be unhappy if she had ducked out. Sighing, Tonia grabbed at the first passing glass of champagne she found, hoping the alcohol would dilute her nerves. "It's unladylike to gulp champagne," a male voice said near her ear.
She jumped and whirled. "Uncle Steve!"
Steve grinned. "And here we thought we'd have to drag you out of the workshop kicking and screaming."
"No, Cleo took care of that…" she muttered darkly. "Where's Tyotia Natasha?"
Steve pointed across the room; Natasha, dramatic in black and gold, was seated with three burly men, a bottle of vodka between them, having what looked like a spirited discussion about subjects that many guests here would frown upon. "Friends from Mossad," he explained.
"And Mom and Pop know they're here?"
"They're acting bodyguards for the Israeli ambassador, who I last saw flirting with the son of someone from the Moroccan delegation."
"An international scandal…" Tonia murmured over the rim of her flute. "Sounds about right for one of Dad's parties."
"What sounds right?" Tony asked, coming up to them.
"Nothing," Steve said, while Tonia chimed in with, "Potential worldwide conflict caused by too much alcohol and wandering hands."
"Ah. The usual Saturday, then."
Tonia smiled. Tony offered his hand, and she excused herself from Steve while placing her empty flute on a passing server tray. He led her out to the dancing floor and they picked up easily into the waltz the chamber orchestra was playing. "Is Mom middle managing everything?" She asked, half-focused on not tripping over her own feet.
"Actually, no, your uncle Rhodey stole her away a bit ago. They had the look of nasty plotters. You look very nice. I see by your focus and lack of bandages that Cleo didn't have to resort to underhanded techniques to get you under the styling brush," Tony said.
Tonia's eyebrow twitched in amusement, a habit long-ago picked up from her aunt Natasha. "It was a near thing."
"I appreciate the effort."
They managed three dances before she pleaded sore feet—how anyone walked in heels regularly, she was mystified—and went to sit for a while. She had a small plate of food brought to her, and a glass of wine; when she finished, she was content to watch the party continue around her. She was halfway through designing a new set of blueprints on a stack of napkins when her father got up on stage with a microphone. Pepper wasn't far behind him. Quiet rippled through the crowd until Tony could be heard, "That's better. Evening, everyone. On behalf of my lovely partner and I, I'd like to thank you all for coming out here for our anniversary party."
Polite applause broke out. Tonia felt her sister's presence slip into the chair behind her. Tony continued, "And, I'd also like to take this moment to make an important announcement."
Tonia looked over her shoulder at Cleo; she wore a similar look of confusion and apprehension. Their father's unusual brand of 'important announcement's never came with easy consequences. From the murmur coming from the crowd, they were thinking the same thing. "I think this is the right place to say, surrounded by friends and business partners, people who would understand. I'm not getting younger. And in the recent years of stability, I find that I can't make any more excuses—to myself, or to Pepper.
"I'm retiring the Iron Man."
Tonia sat up straight, stunned. Cleo gasped behind her. The crowd's volume rose slightly, and Tony had to shout into the microphone, "It's in my best interest, and the interest of others. In the interest of my family. I've been in talks with S.H.I.E.L.D. about this for some time now, and we've agreed it's for the best."
Pepper took the microphone from him. "For privacy's sake, we're asking everyone to keep this out of the press until we make an official announcement."
"I'm sure Mom has a stack of NDAs at every exit, and no one will be able to leave without signing…" Cleo muttered.
Tonia twisted in her seat as their parents left the stage. "You didn't know about this?"
"Not at all."
"Half of the world has stability because of the threat of the Iron Man suit. He can't just retire like that!"
Cleo swirled her wine lightly, focused on it instead of her sister. "He's in his sixties, Tonia… Even if he does run on a battery, his body won't be able to stand the pressure for much longer. It's going to have disastrous world security results, but if we want Dad around…"
The chair scraped against the floor as Tonia stood up abruptly. She stormed her way through the crowd, making her way to where she saw Tony and Pepper talking with a man on the United Nations Security Council. "Excuse me," she said, remembering her manners for the moment, "I need to discuss something in private."
She dragged them away, out a door, and into the hallway. She whirled on them and opened her mouth to start lecturing, but Tony began first. "We have a plan."
"Tonia, this isn't an easy decision for anyone, and your father knows there will be some security problems that will come out of the Iron Man suit being out of the picture."
"And there's other ways I can be involved in S.H.I.E.L.D. that doesn't involve me getting my ribs cracked open every other week."
She frowned. "Like what?"
He crossed his arms over his chest. "Maria's looking to step down as director. I'd say I have a few qualifications."
Tonia blinked at that. "The council would approve of you? I would hardly think… But what about Uncle Steve? Uncle Bruce? Did you let anyone know before this?"
"We discussed it, when Clint retired from field duty to training director. Steve and Bruce are different than most of us, with the serum and replicate serum running through them. Even Natasha was given a similar bottle. We're all getting decrepit, but some of us are more able to handle active field duty than others," Tony explained.
"Why did you leave Cleo and me out of this?"
"Because it wasn't your decision, Tonia. And you're so attached to the idea, both of you, and what can be done with it… You two are so like I was when I was younger. And that's my fault. I admitted that a long time ago. I didn't dissuade you when you both showed so much potential… and you focused on my passions. That was wrong of me."
Tonia's shoulders drooped with the slight scolding. Pepper gripped her arm lightly. "Honey, it's not the end of things. It's just something new."
"So… what happens now?" She asked.
"You do it," Tony said easily.
This time, it was Pepper's turn to blink. "What?"
"She and Cleo could do it. Cleo's already got her own suit. Tonia's been working on hers for a while. Cleo already lives in the Malibu house, Tonia mostly stays East Coast… it works out well. And S.H.I.E.L.D. has two replacements. Everyone's happy."
"Tony…"
"Dad, I don't…"
He slung an arm around both of them, leading them back in to the party. "Nothing has to be decided right now. But give it some thought."
Pepper chuckled. "Twenty-five years ago, this conversation would have played out so differently."
"You mean, I'd give them the keys to the armory, say "Sayonara" and take you to Italy with no further arguments? I mean, we could still do that, we haven't been to the Tuscany villa in a few years."
Tonia left them to their vacation plans, and sought out Cleo. She didn't bother with politeness this time, and merely snatched her sister away from a circle of admirers. "You have a boyfriend, you don't need to spread them out across the country," she said when Cleo protested.
"What is it, Tonia?"
"Dad wants us to take over the Iron Man business."
Cleo gaped. "You're joking."
"Not in the least."
"And what's he going to do? Sit around eating bon-bons?"
Tonia rolled her eyes. "Maria wants to retire as director, and Dad's looking to take her place. And he figured since we're living on either side of the continent, and you have a suit, and I'm working on mine…"
Cleo picked at her nail beds. "He's crazy…"
"I know, but… what if he isn't?"
The twins looked at each other. Cleo bit her lip. "As long as we don't go by anything lame, like the Iron Maidens, or the Twin Alloys…"
"The suits aren't made of alloys anyway. We'll think of something."
"I'm ruling out "Iron Lady" too. I'm no Margaret Thatcher."
Tonia snorted as they rejoined the party. "You haven't heard yourself in the mornings, then."
"You're one to talk."
She let Cleo thread an arm through her own, though, and they went to their parents, surrounded by the remaining active Avengers Initiative. She swallowed hard, but tried to hide her sudden panic. They'd be fine.
As long as they had each other.
((I think this is as far into the future as I want to take these two; I know I've gotten a few grumbles from people about not enjoying Tonia and Cleo as young women, but I wanted to develop their personalities before going back and doing more fun kid things. Tonia especially is harder to write, as I don't want to make her a Tony-clone, but still be more similar to her namesake than Cleo. I also wanted to see how far I could go before Tony said "No, I'm done, passing on the legacy now", and we've hit that point. Future chapters will probably take place any time between when the girls were born, and now, when they're about twenty-five))