Francesca Stark is the second child of Howard and Maria Stark. After her parents died in 1991, the 12 year old was sent away to boarding school (by Tony) until she was 18 and able to take care of herself. She has since then resented her brother for...
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7 months after the events of New York
Francesca was seated on the edge of the couch staring at the cellphone that sat on the table. Her fingers tapped together as she pondered whether or not to call him.
"Just do it" she muttered under her breath grabbing the phone and pressing Tony's contact. She placed the phone to her ear and immediately got nervous at the sound of the ringing. As she was about to hang up, he answered.
"Hello?" Tony said on the other line. She could hear in the background welding and banging noises which meant he, or should she say his artificial intelligence was building yet another Ironman suit.
"I have a question. Well more like a request" Francesca said biting her lip anxiously. She had a tendency to ramble on when she was nervous but quickly caught herself.
"Francesca I don't have time. What's up?"
"I want a few months to backpack around Europe. Take a break from this CEO position. I'm not giving it up just taking a brief hiatus" Francesca explained.
"No" Tony responded. His response was quick and stern.
"Tony please. I need this" Francesca begged as she circled the penthouse with her cellphone up to her ear. It had taken her all morning to muster up enough courage to call her brother.
"No, I need you more than ever as the CEO" Tony responded. Francesca rolled her eyes at the sound of him saying no. All she wanted was to take a step back for a few months and forget about everything that took place. Especially the whole alien takeover on the roof.
"Tony. Three or four months max. I'll come back and get right to work. I promise" she begged. She could hear Pepper trying to reason with him in the background.
"Two months"
"Four"
"Three"
"Deal!" Francesca exclaimed. She hung up the phone jumping up and down around the penthouse. Little did she know Tony was going through emotions and problems of his own. She looked at her packed bags that had been ready since this morning. She called Hogan who took her to the airport where she boarded a private plane to Europe. She landed in Bucharest, a small underrated country hoping to be able to find herself again...
———————
6 months later
Francesca picked up her cellphone to find Tony had called six times just that morning. She had been ignoring his calls. She had no intentions on coming back to New York. She was loving the small town, European life she was living. It brought comfort, and was familiar to her lifestyle before taking the position as CEO. She walked down the market shoving the phone back into her bag. As she looked up she collided into someone.
"Sorry" she exclaimed grabbing the man's arm with her left hand. She looked up to find a man with a baseball cap on, looking somewhat nervous. "I should have been paying attention" she continued hoping to break the silence.
"Ah avoiding something" he said. Francesca couldn't tell if it was a question or an observation.
"Yeah my brother and the crazy job I have back home" she laughed. He smiled. "I'm Francesca" she said sticking her hand out for a shake.
"James but my friends called me Bucky" he said shaking her hand.
"No longer your friends?" She asked referring to the past tense used. Bucky looked at her, the smile instantly dropping. "Sorry. I don't mean to invade on your privacy. I'm just naturally nosy which is a horrible trait to have. My dad always said I was stubborn and rambled on when it was un-necessary... like now. I'll just stop" Francesca said getting embarrassed. Bucky once again cracked a small smile at the girl. He liked how carefree she was around him.
"No it's okay" he said. She tucked the stray piece of hair out of her face.
"Can I buy you a coffee. It's the least I can do for bumping into you and distracting you from you day" she said pointing to the coffee shop across the street. Bucky shook his head and followed her inside.
"One black coffee and you?" She asked ordering at the stand.
"I'll have the same" Bucky said. Francesca turned back paying the guy. She then headed him the coffee.
"Sorry again" she said truly feeling bad.
"No, don't apologize. It was nice meeting you, Francesca" he said before tucking his free hand into his pocket and walking down the street. Francesca watched him for a second before turning the opposite way.
