ABIENCE \\ tony stark's daughter

09 // arc reactor

EDITED: 18 July, 2021.

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May 4, 2008. 7:04 A.M.

Her father had shown up for breakfast for the first time in years, his arm still in a sling. Even the chef had been surprised, quickly ordering the sous chef to set up a second set of tableware for their boss. He'd sat down beside her. Tony wasn't even wearing a suit.

Altaira had felt bewildered.

She'd been eating alone breakfast in the Malibu mansion for years. Though sometimes she'd convince a housekeeper or one of the chefs to sit down with her.

He'd asked for her opinion on something. Tony actually tried to hold a conversation with her.

Sure, she gotten frustrated with him when he had tried to embed his own ideas into what her future should be. But otherwise, he was... normal. He'd then asked her how she felt after all the harassment due to who her father was. Of course, she lied and said it didn't bother her. But it was all just so weird.

She'd left within fifteen minutes, not sure how to interact with him when she'd still been too tired to get angry at him.

Plus, they had bigger things to worry about.

Only a day had passed, and it felt like the entire world was watching them again. First, it had been the fact that Tony had went missing. Next, it was because everyone thought he was dead. Now, it was because he'd announced that Stark industries, a weapons company, would no longer be making weapons. The market was crashing and burning like the Peshtigo fire, or even like the Black Friday Bushfires.

It seemed she wasn't the only person who found it amusing.

"Stark Industries! I've got one recommendation!" The man on the television was surrounded by different red coloured items. His patterned tie was far too tight, with sleeves rolled up and thick moustache sitting on his upper lip. Every word was a spitted shout. He slammed a button and a cutesy animation of a bear appeared. "Sell, sell, sell!"

Beside her, Pepper sighed.

The man narrowed his eyes at the screen, "does the Hindenburg ring any bells?" He smashed a few buttons for sound effects. "Let me show you the new Stark Industries business plan!" The news persona grabbed a yellow bat and smashed the cup sitting on the table in front of him. "Look, that's a weapons company that doesn't make weapons!"

Altaira giggled, ignoring Pepper's disapproving glance. She was brushing out her thick hair, struggling slightly as she sighed in frustrating when she hit another chunk of tangled hair. Honestly, just cutting it all off was a great plan.

Suddenly Pepper's tablet displayed a call from Tony, his voice near inaudible over the sound effects coming from the news segment. "Pepper, how big are your hands?"

Pepper paused the show, ignoring Altaira's indignant squeak of protest, and asked. "What?"

"How big are your hands?"

"I don't understand why..."

"Get down here. I need you." He ended the call. Altaira empathised with confused look Pepper sent her but shrugged helplessly. Just because he was her dad, it didn't mean she'd understand what he was thinking. Rather, the fact that he was her father probably only aided to the miscommunication and resentment between them. Altaira had just been avoiding him, successful so far. But it had only been a day so that wasn't technically a fair judgement.

Pepper got up, leaving the tablet to Altaira to continue the show.

But as a curious child, despite being fifteen, Altaira followed a few steps behind.