Chapter Text
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Jarvis was startled by a very manly scream. The butler paused his music, taking out his earbuds and looked up to see Tony and Bruce climbing up their tower of tiny blocks, which was almost to the ceiling.
“Tony! Bruce! Get down from there!” Jarvis yelped. The butler was freaking out along with Rhodey as the children paid them no mind. Suddenly, the elevator opened, startling both of the young boys, causing them to hurry and hide behind Jarvis and Rhodey.
Thankfully, it was only Steve, Natasha, and Clint, whom were all chatting excitedly. Steve noticed the boys hiding and then their tower and gasped.
Clint ran toward the tower and started fanboying. The archer tapped it lightly and an avalanche of blocks rained upon him. “FUCK!”
“Language, Clint! There are children in the room!” Both boys burst into a fit of giggles.
“Dick.” Tony whispered under his breath, causing Bruce to giggle so much that he started snorting, making the other boy blush harshly. “You’re so cute!” Tony screamed, hugging his best friend.
“Not as much as you.” Bruce said blushing as well.
“That is so fucking cute!” Clint yelled, still buried under the blocks. Steve glared at the part of the sea of blocks where he assumed Clint was.
“Tony, Bruce, we have a surprise for you!” Steve said in a sugary sweet voice that was reserved specifically for kids. The two boys glared at him, both raising a single eyebrow. “Our very special friend, Howard Stark is coming over.”
“Yeah, he is a dick.” Bruce whispered to Tony. Tony was about to throw a fit, eyes watering and bottom lip trembling. Jarvis immediately tried to diffuse the situation, taking Tony and Bruce to the kitchen, telling the others he was getting them a snack.
“I can help hide you, dear Tony. I can’t imagine what that man would do to you if he found you!” Jarvis said quietly. “I can tell Steven that you’re not feeling well. He would leave you alone then.” Tony whimpered and started crying, shaking his head. One hand was grabbing a fistfull of hair and the other held Bruce’s own hand tightly.
Bruce tried to calm Tony down, gently kissing the other boy’s ear. Tony smiled a tiny bit. Bruce responded with kissing Tony’s cheek, making the other giggle quietly through the tears.
“I won’t let him hurt you, Tony. You’re mine so that means I have to protect you.” The black-haired boy growled. That statement made Tony blush harshly.
“He’ll be here soon so let’s hurry now.” Jarvis said quietly, pushing the boys towards their bedroom.
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Howard checked his watch, estimating how long he would have to spend with the Avengers’ new adopted kids before he had to leave. The twisted businessman never liked kids and was impatient to get his public appearance over with so he could move onto more important matters.
He was hoping he never had to see them again after this visit. Howard doubted he could trust his team’s judgemental skills when it came to picking the best options. He had told them one child and instead they brought back two. According to them, the two children had lots of problems as well, which he was not looking forward to dealing with.
He prefered easy, submissive children who obeyed his every whim without a word. Howard would say that it was safe to assume these children were wild and uncontrollable. The businessman smirked as he thought of all the ways he could fix that.
Howard thought of his only child, which was God knows where. He hadn’t wanted to lose the boy yet but he was only a little too careless. It was going to be hard to keep Jarvis quiet for much longer but he couldn’t fire the man. He would tell everyone what had really happened. The businessman couldn’t allow that.
Howard sighed, remembering a time when he was happy. Now he found he couldn’t go five minutes without lashing out at someone. It was their fault anyway. The only people that were satisfactory to him were gone. Jarvis had been competent at one point, but he had lost that privilege.
There was only one thing left that he found light in, and even that he knew wouldn’t last. No, he would make it last.
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Howard and Maria looked at Anna with a smile.
“You’ll be just fine, dear.” Maria said, holding Anna’s hand.
“Yes, and we’ll be here to support you.” Howard said encouragingly. Anna smiled at Maria, nodding her head.
“Of course you will.” Anna replied. Edwin held his wife’s hand.
“I am excited to see our new little one.” The butler said softly. Anna laughed.
“He’ll be here soon.”
The kind woman soon went into labor and hours passed while the three waited. When the doctor came out, he had a very grave look on his face.
“Are you Edwin Jarvis?” Edwin nodded.
“Is something wrong?” The butler asked, now worried.
“I’m sorry… Your wife died from complications and the baby didn’t make it…” The doctor left, leaving Edwin and Maria to weep. Howard sat there in shock, refusing to shed a single tear.
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Maria became pregnant soon after Anna’s death. There were no complications but after little Tony was born, Howard hid his wife and the baby from the public. As soon as Tony was a year old, Howard took the toddler away from Maria, making sure there was no documentation of the boy’s existence.
Maria fell into a deep depression afterwards, turning to a wide variety of drugs for comfort. Howard was disgusted, blaming the child for his wife’s behavior. Tony was confused as to why he and his mother were seperated, often asking Howard where Maria was. Howard never would answer the boy’s question.
Howard found Tony was disappointing no matter what the child’s performance was in, quite unlike the businessman’s proudest creation, Captain America. The great Steve Rogers was an icon that Tony could never measure up against.
That didn’t mean Howard didn’t actively try to make Tony live up to those impossible expectations. Harsh punishment would result from any failure, no matter how small or insignificant it seemed.
Sometimes the twisted businessman wouldn’t need a reason, enjoying blaming the child for any problems that arose. It was a way for Howard to release his pent up anger and frustration from the day.
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Howard remembered the day he found his beautiful wife on the bedroom floor, shaking violently and completely incoherent. The businessman called 911 immediately, only to find hours later that she was gone, taken away by an overdose. That day, Tony got the worst of his rage, and it was miraculous that the boy survived.
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After losing the closest person he knew, Howard began to think differently, more so than after Anna’s death. Nothing ever satisfied him. He felt as if all the light had left the world, so he endeavored to create his own twisted light in things.
Hurting Tony in the present wasn’t enough for him anymore, he needed to ruin Tony’s future too, and that’s what he did…
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The ding of the elevator pulled Howard out of his reminiscing, and he looked up as the door opened to the common room of the Tower.
“Okay. Let’s get this over with…”
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