I own nothing
Tony stood in the penthouse of the Stark Tower. He sighed and walked over to the sofa. Pepper was long since asleep. It had been month past the attack on New York. He took a drink of Scotch; he ran his hands up his face and through his hair. His thought traveled from one thing to the next. He could not sleep; he already made many Iron man suits. His mind came to the issue that tomorrow would be staring him the face; his half-sister Mia. He remembered the first day he found out about her.
A fourteen year old Tony came home from college for the Fourth of July holiday; as he walked into the living room of the manor. There was older woman he barely recognized from his early childhood in the room; she was holding a small baby with chocolate curls. He noted that his father was nowhere to found which was normal; but where was his mother? Normally she was busy but would always come to greet him. What was the nanny's name?
"Where is my mother?" Tony yelled.
The small baby started to cry being waked from its sleep. The nanny instant went to trying to sooth the baby. Her eyes traveled to Tony's eyes.
"In her room, sir"
Tony stormed to his mother room and started to pound on the door. No answered he did again and again until his mother opened door. She looked like she had been crying for a while. The room was dark; minus a lamp by a chair by the large window that had the blinds closed. Maria let Tony into the room; she walked back over to the chair. Tony walked into the room and sat on the bed.
"Mother, what wrong? Who the baby in the living room? What's going on?"
Maria bowed her head and then shook it before raising her eyes to meet her son's eyes; taking a shaky breath before starting.
"The baby is your sister, Antony"
Those four words changed everything. Tony shook his head in denial. There were so many feelings; jealousy, hate, sadness, shock, coursing through his body. A long time ago he want sibling but he was always told no. Now that he had one he was not sure how to feel about. They were fourteen years apart how did that work.
"A sister? How?"
"Antony, we both know you smart enough to figure that out."
True enough, it was easy to see his father had some fling with some whore. His mother walked over to him and sat down him; she placed her hand on his back. He turned looking at her.
"Tony I know what you are feeling right now. But her mother is dead, and she has no one else. She's your sister; you can't blame her. She is innocent in all of this."
"How can you say that, she is proof of father betrayal?"
"All I'm asking Tony is that you give her fair chance."
Later that night, Tony went to the nursery to look at his new-found sister. He looked down at her when she opened her doe-like brown eyes. He touched the mobile that was had little stars on it. They shined in the moonlight. She stared at shiny stars. Tony laughed at her as was fascinated with them. His mother told him her name was Margaret.
"You are like a Magpie aren't you? Hey, that's what I'll you; Magpie."
When Mia was seven that was when Tony and her world got turned on their heads, with death of Howard and Maria. The image of Mia at that time would never leave his head.
A twenty-one year old Tony came home after the news of the death of his parents. He walked into the house. Only to be greeted by the seven-year old Mia. Her hair was wild mess of curls, her coco color eyed looked up at him with tears in her eyes. Tony was not ready to be father and that what he would be required to be for the sister that he could not understand half the time. She may look like Stark but she did have the mind to back the name up. Mia ran over to him and hugged his legs. Tony looked down at her; she barely came up to his knee.
"I want my mommy. Where's mommy?" Mia said in scared sad child voice.
Tony was at a loss as to what to say. There were no right words to make this right. Even though his father and he were never close lost of both of his parents was blow. He now was in charge of Stark industries. He did not have time to be a parent to Mia.
Mia looked up at him with scared look and tears hangs on her eyelashes. A woman walked over to siblings. It was his Aunt Teresa, the sister one his mother mentioned in passing. Teresa placed her hand on Mia's back and led her away from her brother. Teresa was an answer to his prayers for she stepped in to take care of the young girl, while Tony would fight to become and act like an adult.
Tony took another large drink. He raised his head to look at the ceiling think of all the mistakes that he made along the way. He placed the now empty glass on the table; rubbing his face, wondering if any of it would have been different if realized the mistakes back then. Mia was long since grown by time he realized she need him at that time.
"Tony" Pepper voice said
Tony shook his head and looked around the penthouse. That was when he noticed that Pepper had walked into the room. She was dressed in one of his shirts. He smiled at her and motioned her to come closer.
"Are you alright?" Pepper asked
"Yeah, I'm fine"
"What are you doing up?"
"Can't sleep"
"Thinking about Mia coming tomorrow"
"Partly"
Pepper sat down on the sofa next to him. She started to cuddle up to him; looking up at him. Tony leaned down and kissed her softly.
"You know you can tell me what on your mind, right?"
Tony looked down at her and nodded. They relaxed on sofa for a while before head off to the bedroom.