Vogue | Tony Stark

TWENTY SIX - A LITTLE LATE

"Hello! Anyone around?"

"In the kitchen, sweetheart!"

Esté closed the front door to the Stark's house on the upper west side on a cloudy Saturday afternoon, carrying a box of freshly baked cupcakes steadily in her hands.

She wandered through the house, following the sound of Maria's voice coming from the kitchen and the scent of rose perfume that lingered in the air.

"Mom and I baked these this morning, thought you guys might like some. They're chocolate chip."

Esté placed down the cupcakes on the kitchen counter with a smile, opening her arms to welcome a warm hug from Maria. She squeezed her tightly and felt a kiss press against her forehead, the sound of the radio reporting on the baseball scores drowned out the traffic from the city through an open window.

"How thoughtful of you, you're such a kind soul, Estélla," Maria smiled and placed her hands on Esté's red cheeks, looking down at the fifteen year old with admiration in her eyes, "Howard is working across town but Tony's in the workshop. I couldn't get him to leave to come and eat lunch, probably because it was me asking and not you. You're the only one that can get him out of there."

Esté blushed and shook her head, "Let him stay down there for a little while longer. Did you get your hair done? It looks beautiful."

Maria's lips parted with a quiet gasp, "Y-yes, I did. Howard didn't even notice. You like it?"

"I love it," Esté grinned, tilting her head as she gazed at Maria in the dim afternoon light, "It really suits you. Are you heading out somewhere?"

Maria Stark always looked perfect, but that afternoon Esté thought she looked particularly pretty. Sporting a blue sundress and a pair of high heels, Esté wondered why she was so dressed up and drowning in the divine scent of roses if Howard was working across the city.

With a quiet sigh, Maria's smile faltered ever so slightly, "Howard and I were supposed to be going for afternoon tea in town but he got called into work."

"Oh," Esté frowned, chewing on her lip as she examined the hint of sadness that Maria was trying her best to mask, "Do you still have the reservation?"

"Yes, I should probably call and cancel now that you mention it."

"Wait," Esté jumped in, reaching out and touching Maria's arm before she picked up the phone, "I'd love to go with you, if you still want to go?"

Before having a child, Maria had always imagined herself as a mother to a little girl. She dreamt of the dresses and the flowers, the pretty pink bows and the sparkles and glitter, though her perspective changed completely once she became a mother to a son who loved everything that his father did, forgetting the flowers and princesses and accepting the science and the motor engines instead.

While Maria wouldn't have changed anything about Tony for the world, having Estélla in her life felt like a blessing, their relationship giving her the closest thing to a daughter she would ever have, and one of the most precious, cherished things in her life, too.

"Of course," Maria grinned, "That would be lovely, Esté, just lovely."

Tony peeled his heavy eyes open with a groan, sighing loudly and stretching his arms above his head. The first thing he saw was a cup of hot coffee swirling with steam on the bedside table and the curtains cracked open just a little, a stream of golden sunlight beaming through into the room.

The sound of a page turning pushed him up onto his elbows, glancing with sleepy eyes to his left. Esté was sat beside him resting against the headboard with a book in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail and her face fresh, eyes bright and skin glowing.