Sunshine | Pietro Maximoff

CHAPTER 16

The lavish sitting room was filled with the beautiful pairing of dulcet piano tones and a woman's soft singing. The singer was the picture of elegance and wealth; without an inch of the arrogance that usually follows such qualities. On the couch lied a young man, deep in a peaceful sleep. Moments later, an older man walked into the room and pulled the blanket that covered his son.

"Wake up, dear, and say goodbye to your father." The woman at the piano said.

"Who's the homeless person on the couch?" The older man asked.

A young Tony Stark arose from the couch and stood in front of his father, a small chuckle escaping his mouth.

"This is why I love coming home for Christmas... right before you leave town." He said.

Howard Stark gave a sigh and placed both hands into the pockets of his clearly expensive suit.

"Be nice, dear, he's been studying abroad." Maria Stark told her husband.

"Really? Which broad?" Howard asked, staring blankly at his son. "What's her name?"

He reached forward and took the Santa hat off of Tony's head, throwing it onto the couch.

"Candice..." Tony replied.

"Do me a favour, try not to burn the house down before Monday."

"Okay, so it's Monday. That is good to know." As he spoke, Tony moved to stand beside his mother. "I will plan my toga party accordingly. Where you going?"

"Your father's flying us to the Bahamas for a little getaway." Maria answered, without looking up from the piano.

"We might have to make a quick stop-" Howard began, stepping forward to his son once more.

"At the Pentagon. Right?" Tony cut him off. "Don't worry, you're gonna love the holiday menu at the commissary." He let forward and told his mother.

"They say sarcasm is a metric for potential. If that's true, you'll be a great man someday."

As his father spoke, Tony moved away to the far side of the room. He leaned against a doorframe, arms crossed over his chest while he avoided all eye contact. Howard left to collect his baggage, leaving Maria alone with her son.

"He does miss you when you're not here." She told him. "And frankly, you're going to miss us."

Maria rose from the piano and made her way over to the young man.

"Because this is the last time we're all going to be together." She continued, coming face to face with Tony. "You know what's about to happen."

Tony looked up to meet his mother's eyes.

"Say something." She said, placing a hand lovingly on his arm. "If you don't, you'll regret it."

By this time, Howard had returned to the room with a bag slung over his shoulder. He stood silently for a moment, looking at his wife and son. Tony turned to face him.

"I love you, Dad." He said. "And I know you did the best you could."

An older Tony Stark watched on as his parents walked away from their son for the last time.

"That's how I wish it happened." He said.

Currently, Tony and I were visiting M.I.T where the former was presenting Stark Industries' newest technology; Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing. Or 'B.A.R.F', as he referred to it as. I stood at the side of the stage watching as Tony explained the holographic scene to the auditorium full of college students.

"As of this moment, every student has been made an equal recipient of the inaugural September Foundation Grant." Tony announced. "As in, all of your projects have just been approved and funded!"