Always Been You | Tony Stark

Captiolo (1) Uno ~ Bad Memories

I was two when my father died. Bad car crash, they say. Mom had to start taking pills to cope with the pain of losing her 'soulmate'. I don't think her so-called soulmate would be okay with her neglecting their kid cause she's so high on drugs and drunk on alcohol she can't remember her own name.

I was just about seven when I got my first cigarette bud put out on my skin, cause where else do you put them out? It was my fault, anyway. I was the one complaining about not eating since lunch.

The day before.

I was thirteen when my mom's then-boyfriend first came into my room while I was supposed to be sleeping. I don't like thinking about that night, or any night after, and now prefer to sleep with some kind of light source on.

And a knife under my pillow.

I was just shy of sixteen when I first decided that I couldn't take it anymore, and took as many pills as I could find that my mother had stashed around the house.

It didn't work. My mom's then newest boy toy came home a few minutes later, finding me in a heap on the bathroom floor looking sickly pale, and called 911. He was always one of the better ones.

Especially since he was closer in age to me than he was to my mother.

I was a week away from my eighteenth birthday I found out all of the college funds that my father left for me had been used for my mother's drug and alcohol money. It was around then I decided that I would join the military, the air force, to be specific, so I could get a free college education and actually do something with my life.

It's also what branch my dad joined when he was around twenty.

I was officially eighteen and a high school graduate when I left my small city, just outside of Columbus Ohio, and hopped on a bus to the airbase close by in Dayton.

I was still around eighteen when I got into my number one and number two choice schools, MIT and Berkeley. I chose MIT, but did most of my schooling online so that I could still do my regular duties with the Air Force.

I was twenty when I became a Second Lieutenant, and twenty-two when I went up to a First Lieutenant.

I was twenty-two when I graduated from MIT, getting my degree in engineering. No one showed up to support me. I hope my dad's at least proud.

I was still twenty-two when I lost my first partner, Alesia Burrows. She was an absolute badass who knew exactly where she wanted to go in life, and took risks to get there and get the job done. Taking that many risks and not having any repercussions for them seems to catch up to you after a while, though.

I was twenty-three when I first met James Rupert "Rhodey" Rhodes. We met at some award gathering, hit it off pretty well, and became fast friends. We escaped the party early together to get some burgers at the nearest Burger King, and later we would learn that we would be each other's new partners.

I had a panic attack that night, afraid I would lose him too.

I was twenty-four when I became a captain, Rhody was the first person to ever help me celebrate my going up in rank.

I was twenty-six when I first officially met the infamous genius, playboy, billionaire, and philanthropist. The one and only Anthony Edward "Tony" Stark. I made the mistake of making eye contact, and he took it as an invitation to come over and make small talk with me. His first words to me, after looking me up and down were, and I quote, "What is the military doing nowadays letting sexy chicks like you join their ranks?" with a cocky smirk on his face.