Author's note:
I've recently cross-posted this fic in AO3 under my other pseudoname: autumnmemoire.
Scion: a descendant of a notable family.
Bern, Switzerland. 2001.
Under dimmed lights, pulsating music, and swirling multicoloured disco lights, Tony savoured another sip of scotch. The New Year's Eve party was in full swing, transforming the lobby of the luxurious hotel into a wild wonder where everyone was out, mingling and enjoying the celebration.
He sported a grin, noticing a bunch of ladies casting seductive glances from every corner. Engaging in this party is just what he needs after a boring and gruelling conference he had spoken to earlier about Integrated Circuits.
He met a lot of interesting people from it including a bright and beautiful botanist named Maya Hansen who got his attention. She presented her research, the "Extremist", which can hack into an area of the brain causing repair and chemically recoding it. He found it fascinating and with great potential, but unfortunately, it also posed a great risk on human application so he had no choice but to turn it down.
"Half an hour till the ball drops, Boss." Happy whispered against the loud music, cautiously eyeing anyone who got close in contact.
"Good. We have a lot of time to—"
"Mary Fitzpatrick." uttered by a beautiful face directly before him, interrupting him mid-sentence. She's wearing a sexily fitting outfit, holding out her hand for a handshake.
He found himself staring at a deep set of hazel-brown eyes close enough to enchant him.
"Tony Stark," He gladly accepted the handshake. Boy, who is he to back out of this one. Undoubtedly, this woman is confident in approaching him when most of the other girls are already satisfied eyeing him from a distance.
"You look rather exquisite, Ms. Fitzpatrick. What are you up to later?" It seemed like the few rounds of alcohol in his system's already kicking in, behaving as though she might be thinking along the same idea.
"Call me, Mary, Mr. Stark. I want to show you my research." Turning down his offer ever so subtly with a smile.
"Tony. Call me Tony. So what is this research?" He started to walk with her, his hands enveloping around her waist.
"Can we talk privately? Somewhere much more quiet, perhaps." She said with hopeful eyes displaying desperation for an audience.
"Like the bedroom?" Tony suggested, a playful smile on his face, "Or how or where you'd like to—"
"Mr. Stark! Great speech, man!" A boy appeared before them, disrupting their conversation. Happy managed to get the boy to back off quickly.
Tony glanced back to the boy. "I gave a speech. Yeah, how was it?"
"Edifying." The boy called out proudly giving a thumbs up while being dragged by Happy.
"Unintelligible." Mary sarcastically pointed out which perked up his curiosity.
"Really? That's my favourite kind. A winning combo."
As they walked, a few people came to introduce themselves including a known surgeon, Yin Hansen who introduced a colleague, Dr. Wu. He somehow entertained them for a few minutes before excusing himself. Pretty sure he won't remember all of these names in the morning anyway.
They're about to go up the elevator when a guy rushes to present another business agenda, but he's already so eager to talk to Mary, that he has no time for more business talks. Surprisingly, the guy somehow managed to get past Happy anyway and introduced himself as Aldrich Killian. Slowly losing patience, Tony managed to trick the guy into waiting for him on the rooftop so they wouldn't be disturbed anymore.
Soon enough, Tony found himself smitten.
He couldn't tear his gaze away from her as she explained the intricacies of her research while they lay on his bed.
"You're the most brilliant woman I've ever met." He said as she finished explaining, marvelling at how a woman so beautiful could also be exceptionally bright and intelligent.
Her research by far is undeniably impressive and genuinely groundbreaking. Concentrating on genetics, she demonstrated the incorporation of Animal DNA into various applications for societal improvement, also exploring the potential of merging Animal DNA with Human DNA, presenting the prospect of miraculous healing for the human body. The research also poses a great risk to human application but with the right math, this can turn into an extraordinary feat.
Mary laughed, her face flushing. "Oh, Wow. How many times have you used that line?"
"Well in Switzerland, you are the only one." Tony let out a laugh, gliding his fingers through her long, natural brown locks.
He continued to clarify what he understood, "So basically, you are genetically hacking into the Operating System of the animal making it completely more stable and strong, healing in advance, something like that?"
"Yes, unfortunately, I can't get the formula right. There's so many small glitches."
"Have you checked the decay rate algo—"
Out of nowhere, a loud booming explosion came from the living room of his suite, stopping him mid-sentence, and startling both of them. Happy came soon afterwards from the door launching onto him on the bed, trying to protect him from the blast a little too late when they were all just indeed safe.
"It's fine Hap. I'm alive. I'm okay." holding his arms out, patting Happy on the back. Happy got up and checked the living room while Mary chuckled at the sight.
"It's the plant boss. The gift of Maya Hansen earlier, I just tore the leaf off. I didn't know it would explode."
Tony's brows furrowed. "Well, that was the glitch Hansen's talking about earlier."
Right then, the cheers and fireworks from outside confirmed that the New Year had arrived. They greeted each other and Happy already got out to give them their privacy.
With a gentle touch, she pulled off Tony's red sunglasses as they kept their gaze fixed on each other, both gradually falling under the spell of the tension between them.
They eventually shared a kiss and indulged themselves in a night of celebration with lots of booze. The conversation they had just minutes before the blast slipped away, and they spent the night sleeping blissfully naked in each other's arms, oblivious to the fateful night they just experienced.
The morning after, as per usual, Tony, subconsciously grappling with his fear of commitment, made the choice to leave first. Having cracked the glitch's formula, he wrote it out on a piece of paper, leaving it behind for Mary to decipher as a parting gift— a gesture meant more of an apology than a farewell.
Malibu, California. 2005.
Under the picturesque sunlight, overlooking the Pacific in Malibu, with the temperature just right for tinkering in his lab/garage, Tony embarked on the last day of programming his most advanced StarkTech Artificial Intelligence to date, a project he intended to name "JARVIS".
"Okay! Just a few more tests and we're on the road."
Tony's veins surged with energy and excitement as he danced a little while typing and sitting in his chair. The inspiration struck him a month ago, a tribute to Jarvis, their family butler. Despite his reluctance to admit it, he for sure missed his childhood companion and perhaps, friend, leading him to envision an AI that could bring a semblance of that warmth into his mansion.
Tony typed in the final set of codes and executed the program. Within minutes, the AI seamlessly integrated into his home and the entirety of Stark Industries, ensuring a heightened level of security. JARVIS is fully operational.
"Good Afternoon, Mr. Stark. It is a pleasure to be of service."
The British accented voice said as the lights flicked in a colour of blue.
A grin spread around his face, letting out a sigh of relief, "Alright!"
There's a certain solace in having someone around in the house rather than enduring silence alone on most days.
"It's indeed a nice afternoon, Jarvis. Good to have you back."
He swivelled his chair around, fixing his gaze on the vast blue ocean overlooking his home.
His peaceful moment was soon disrupted by the sudden ringing of the doorbell, the DING DONG sound echoing across the house, synchronizing with the live feed of the front door.
"Ugh. What is it this time? Who is that?"
"Sir, a woman is waiting outside named Mary Parker. Would you like me to let her come in?"
Before entering the house, every person undergoes security scans conducted by JARVIS, including general background checks sourced from public records.
Mary Parker? His forehead furrowed in concentration as he tried to remember a woman named Mary Parker, but only drew a blank. It's his first time to hear of the name.
He headed upstairs to his living room. The entrance glass door swung open just as he approached and the woman stepped in. As soon as he saw her, he immediately recognized who she was.
Who could ever forget that beautiful face, but what is she doing here?
With a pointed gesture, Tony signalled for her to stop, "Ah uh. Right there is fine." His eyes lingered on the woman, confusion evident.
"Oh, you don't remember." A wince of disbelief crossed her features.
"Am I supposed to?"
"Why am I not surprised?"
"Don't take it personally, I don't remember what I had for breakfast."
"Gluten-free chia breakfast bowl with blueberries and waffles, Sir," JARVIS answered the both of them, having scanned the cameras from the past.
Chuckling playfully, Tony wore a broad grin. "I'm just messing with you. Of course, who could forget that pretty face? Mary Fitzpatrick! but why is it Parker now?"
Holding out her hand, Mary showcased a diamond ring in it.
"Oh, that's why."
As he wondered about her presence, he observed she hadn't changed—the same attractive woman with brown eyes and hair that had once stirred his feelings. Despite feeling happy for her, he couldn't suppress the wondering of what might have developed between them in the past if he hadn't been so resistant to commitment.
"So what brings you here? What can I do for you? This visit doesn't really pertain to a secret love child does it?"
He let out a joking laugh, but Mary remained unfazed, fixing a serious stare on him. His heart thudded, and his chest tightened frantically. You've got to be kidding me.
"No…" He murmured and Mary apologetically pursed her lips mumbling, "I'm sorry."
"Really? It's just one night." He said, wincing, trying to convince her, or perhaps more so himself, that it was not true. Maybe this woman was just playing a prank on him.
"He's three years old, Tony."
Flinching in horror, Tony furrowed his eyebrows, and a short silence followed.
"You're seriously a hundred percent not kidding right now? Cause whew… This is— Wow." His voice grew tense. Being shocked is an understatement. His knees weakened as they sat on the couch, opposite each other.
Mary smiled, reassuring him. "Relax Tony. I'm not forcing you to take any responsibility. If you don't want to, it's fine. No pressure."
"Then why are you here?"
Tony was sure that he wasn't ready for fatherhood. The majority of his time was spent in parties, bars, and casinos, occasionally with a girl in tow and a scotch every other day, potentially earning him the label of an alcoholic. He felt nowhere near father material and lacked the knowledge on how to be one, especially considering his own father hadn't provided a good example or been a positive role model.
"I have a dangerous mission right now with my husband. It's not something we can easily dodge and let go of. Peter is safe right now, and no words can describe how I love him. I just have this feeling that I can't shake off for a while now and if something might happen to us... I want you to take care of him, Tony. I know you're thinking you're not ready, I understand that and most probably this is just a what-if. I just want to let you know so when that time comes, you'll be there for him."
A heavy silence ensued. Tony's now certain that his past actions were catching up to bite him in the ass.
Mary continued, "Richard, my husband, he knows you're the real father, but he still took responsibility 'cause he loves me so much and he's a man of his word. He loves Peter as much as his own."
"Peter." A name of profound significance, its gentle warmth and joy slowly embracing Tony, despite his efforts to push it away.
Mary's hands held Tony's, softly squeezing it as a smile formed on her face.
"I hope you'll get to meet him someday with an open heart."
"Yeah. It's just getting hard to absorb this big bomb you dropped on me."
A small, nervous smile formed on his lips. Hoping against hope that this is just a gimmick and there's someone who will shout and say that this is just one big fat joke.
"I'm sorry, Tony." With that, she stood, her eyes filled with hope, and let herself out.
Tony's gaze followed her, then returned to the ocean, his mind racing and perplexed.
"Oh, what have I gotten myself into?"
With closed eyes, Tony took his time to absorb and reflect on the bombshell of news dropped on him, wondering what he was going to do with it.