A?N Hey guys... sorry it took me so long to update. I never intended to finish writing this story but after all the love it's been getting and how much fun I've been having with it I promise that I will. Anyway I'm sorry again about not updating, but please know that that isn't a reflection on you guys. You're all amazing and I love reading you're reviews. IN FACT they're what motivate me to write. Again sorry, but you did get three updates in one day last time I updated so,... I think that evens us out. Anyway enjoy and by all means please keep reviewing
"Tony." He could hear someone knocking on his door. It sounded a lot like Natasha. He'd ignored everyone for roughly five days, but he couldn't continue too. With a groan he rolls out of bed and pads over to the door.
"What?" He asks squinting as light floods his eyes.
"Fury wants to meet with you."
"I don't want to meet with him."
"He said it was nonnegotiable."
"I feel as if it is, or does Fury not remember our previous conversations."
"He does, and he still wants to meet with you. Ten minutes, conference room on the 10th floor." With that Natasha walks swiftly away, and Tony closes the door. Mumbling about how it's his tower. Groaning as he begins getting himself ready for the day.
If he had to trace it all back he'd say it started with Pepper. Sweet, beautiful Virginia Potts from accounting. Tony had just taken the reigns of Stark Industries when they met. Despite his insistence that he was ready to run the company, Tony had fallen into a slightly depressed funk. Obie had taken his CEO duties over and had advised him to focus on R&D, essentially Obie had locked him inside his own home until he developed what Obie deemed an acceptable attitude. Still since Tony was the acting CEO, certain documents required his signature, which was why Virginia had been sent to his home. Obie had picked her, despite her inexperience and age, because he knew Tony would find her attractive, and he honestly believed that might help the kid. What he didn't realized was Virginia Potts wasn't a young lady to be messed with. Tony had tried to flirt, Virginia had taken offense and sprayed Pepper spray in his eyes. Tony had been so shocked that through his tears, he'd just stared at her. She'd handed him a pen and he'd signed the documents. Then very boldly she'd stared him down and asked. "Will that be all Mr. Stark?" He'd nodded and she'd turned on her heel and walked out of the house. Tony had decided that he liked her from that moment on. For the remainder of his solitude he'd ordered Obie to only send Ms. Potts. Whenever he saw her, which was quiet often, he'd taken to teasing her and calling her Pepper. She only laughed at him, but never corrected him. When he returned as CEO, he offered her a promotion as his Personal Assistant, he went through a new one every few days, none were able to keep up with him. He almost expected Pepper not to accept, but she had looked him dead in the eyes much like the day she'd maced him and said. "As long as you promise not to try to seduce me. I promise I'll do whatever you need me to do." Tony had thought that was a pretty fair deal. And soon they were closer then he was to either Obie or Rhodey. Pepper was the first person he let see the real him, the good, the bad and the ugly. And that opened up the door for the others. Pepper was the first person he'd ever fully opened up too. She knew everything about him and still for reasons unknown to Tony stuck around. She was the person who convinced him that letting people in wasn't such as bad thing.
Obie was the person who taught him that Pepper might be wrong. Obie, the man who he'd known him since he was born. Tony still doesn't understand what he did to change Obie from loving him to ordering his death. Obie was the person who taught him that Pepper was wrong. But he pushed that knowledge down, he kept Rhodey and Pepper as close as ever. He even let more people in when Pepper encouraged it. He should have learned from Obie.
"Good Morning Tony." Fury greets Tony with a chipper attitude. The Avengers and his parents are also in the room.
"Director." Tony gives Fury a small nod of acknowledgment. He however doesn't acknowledge anyone else in the room. He as carelessly as possible, takes a seat in the only remaining chair. "I don't like being ordered around in my own buildings."
"The order for you to leave your room came from your mother, not me Tony. I just took advantage of the situation."
Tony barely glances at his parents. "I don't take orders from my parents anymore then I do you, which must have been why you sent Romanoff with a tazer.
"Must have been." Fury only shrugs. "Now, can we get this meeting underway."
"By all means." Tony motions indicating that Fury has the floor.
"I'd like to invite you once more to rejoin the Avengers."
Tony pretends to think about it for a minute before quickly dismissing the idea. "I'd like to tell you my answer is still no, now if that was the reason this meeting was called, I have places to be."
"I had JARVIS clear your schedule."
"Jarvis is still around?" Howard speaks for the first time. He looks at his son wanting conformation of this fact.
"JARVIS, is my AI and for all intents and purposes essentially my assistant and extension of my brain. He is not the man that was in your employment, that man died about two months after you supposedly did." Tony answers his fathers question but refuses to look at him. He addresses Fury once more. "And last time I checked, you didn't have the authorization to control him."
"JARVIS, informed me that he was concerned about your recent behavior, apparently while we all believe you were in your room here in the tower, you were elsewhere."
"Business waits for no one." Tony absentmindedly quotes his dad. Howard notices but says nothing.
"I'm still confused on how you gained authorization to control my AI."
"He didn't." Pepper says as she walks into the room, a stack of papers and a cup of coffee in her hand. She wordlessly hands the cup of coffee off to Tony, who accepts it out of habit only to immediately set it down. "I did."
"I removed your clearance."
"You forgot to take my tablet." As a peace offering Pepper slides the mentioned device across the table to Tony. "There are override codes on it regarding my previous job as your personal assistant."
"Thank you for informing me of that." As he speaks Tony begins wiping the tablet.
"So, as I said, Tony, you have no reason to leave."
"I've got one, R&D, the board has been on my ass lately. I've got a whole team waiting just a few floors down for my orders. I should really stop ignoring them." Tony stands up.
"Fine, leave. Howard, I'd like to address the recent removal of Stark Industries funding for SHIELD. I was hoping that you could reinstate it."
"Of course'" Howard says, not realizing that Tony is still in the room or that he will even protest his decision.
"He has no authorization to do so." Tony says stepping back into the room.
"I own controlling stock in the company, I think I do." Howard says puffing out his chest, surprised by Tony's defiance toward him.
"You mean I own controlling stock in the company." Tony says already silently bringing up Stark Industries accounts.
"Seems how I'm alive, I believe that as the founder and oldest Stark, I now resume control of the grandfathered stock that you previously owned."
"That's not how it works, while an argument could be made that you should own some stock in the company, the largest amount you could take claim to is roughly five percent, and even then I'd have to consent to giving that amount to you as I own roughly 85% with all other shares being divided into less then 1% shares." Tony shows his father the graphs to back up his words. "So that means you have no control in the company, which means my word Is still final in regards to the fact that SHIELD will receive no funding."
"What did we do to piss you off, Stark?" Clint finally asks what everyone has been wanting to know.
"It's not what you did. I just finally realized, I'm a volatile narcissistic, asshole and a genius, who doesn't play well with others. And I'm tired of trying to be anything else." With that Tony slams his chair back into the wall and stands up. Without another word he leaves the room like he has many times in the past month. Only this time, someone follows him.