Like no one does

December 16, 1991

Tony's POV age 21

Howard and Maria Stark had just left for whatever business they had to take care of at the Pentagon leaving Tony in charge of his baby sister Ronnie. Tony didn't mind. He loved his little mini me. Everyone commented on how similar Tony and Ronnie looked with their black hair, brown eyes, smarts and big personalities. They took after Howard in appearance, but Ronnie definitely took after their mother, Maria, in kindness. Veronica Maria Stark had come into this world as a surprise to everyone almost five years ago when Tony was almost seventeen. The moment she was born she had everyone wrapped around her little finger, especially Tony. 

There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for Veronica. Case in point; Tony looked over to where Ronnie had set up a makeshift pillow fort on the couch as she watched Beauty and the Beast for the hundredth time. She was wrapped up like a burrito in his blanket that she ‘borrowed’ from his room. Ronnie had looked up at him with her big brown eyes and claimed his was better than any other blanket in the whole house. He gave in like every other time. Tony was helpless against ‘The eyes’ as was their father. Their dad had paid Disney studios an insane amount of money for them to release the movie early on VHS for her after she had told him it was her, "Most favoritest movie ever!" 

He and Howard shockingly didn't have a great relationship. Their mom had once told Tony that it was because he saw too much of himself in him from when he was younger and didn't want him on the same path he had gone down. Tony was stubborn and reckless, just like dear old dad. So more often than not they butted heads. His mom had lamented that if they could just shut up they would see how well they could work together. Put those Stark brains to good use for the world. Problem was the damage had been done. Years of being lectured and ignored, unless he did something to gain his attention, usually for something bad, then that circled back around to the lecturing. 

To those around them who really saw behind the scenes saw that Howard Stark was as tough on his son as he was sweet on his daughter. And with their parents being older and settled down more or as much as Howard could be, they were able to devote more time and attention and love on the youngest Stark the way they hadn’t with him. You'd have thought that the attention they lavished on their daughter over their son would have made Tony jealous, but it really didn't. Tony loved Ronnie too much to harbor any bad feelings towards her. She was an innocent in the battle between the Stark men. Switzerland as it were.

Bedtime was soon and then he could have some time to himself. While Tony loved his little sister he was an adult who, up until Ronnie had been born, hadn’t ever really been around children very much. Shifting his eyes from his watch back to the movie, Tony sighed happily knowing that it was almost over. He did have to admit though that he didn’t mind this movie as much as some of the other kid movies she liked. Ronnie was all about princesses and magic so anything in relation to that she was all over.

For example: Ronnie loved Belle. She said Belle was her favorite princess of all time because she was smart and had fallen in love with Beast after becoming his friend. And that she cared for Beast because he was only scary when he had to be. That he was only mean because he had been hurt by the people of his court when they left him all alone. He was just lonely and wanted to be loved. Don't even get her started on her opinion on the townspeople. 

Shaking his head Tony glanced down at the top of her dark head peeking out from the blanket. Ronnie was one smart kid. She got it honestly from her Stark genes and her IQ was gaining everyday. She was already reading and doing math at a middle school level and she wasn't even five yet. Instead of sending her to public school, Howard and Maria hired private tutors for her like they did with him. They would eventually send her to school when she was a little older. But until then she would get her social interaction from the few friends she had made in their neighborhood.