The Invention Left By A Little Stark | Book 2

7) Nightmares At The Blue Hour

Tony stared long and hard at himself in the mirror.

Most would think he was attempting to fix the tie around his neck or perhaps adjust the suit jacket to perfection, but the man was merely admiring his own face. A pile of work documents were set behind him on a cluttered table but he was young and not bothered by the mess. All he knew was that in five minutes he had to be ready to leave for a business meeting in Malibu with Obadiah.

Once Tony was done fawning over his reflection, he gathered up the documents he needed and stuffed them into a bag. With that over his shoulder he went to leave but ended up stopping dead in his tracks.

"Da-da?" A child's voice spoke up.

Standing in his doorway was you.

You were barely three years old, clinging to the frame as it held you up. You were in Scooby Doo pajamas with a stuffed bear trapped under your arm.

Tony sighed. "What do you want?"

You didn't seem to understand and merely stood there expectantly, gazing up at him with tired but bright eyes. He stood there in an awkward silence, not at all sure what he was supposed to do.

"B-Big day." You stuttered.

Tony frowned. "What?"

"Big day!" You repeated with a nervous edge, looking down. "It a big day."

"Big day." He was not impressed, merely raising a brow. "The hell does that mean?"

As you repeated it once more, it then made sense to him.

Birthday. It was your birthday.

"You want a card or something?" He questioned, feeling even more uncomfortable than before. "A pat on the back?"

"Da-da." You mumbled. "I want da-da."

"Yeah, I, uh... I got a thing."

You whined, doing your best to walk into the room. "I want big day with you."

He honestly didn't know what to do.

It wasn't that he didn't want to spend time with you, it was that he didn't know how. Was he a bad dad for wanting to escape the conversation already?

"Da-da?" You asked again.

"Look, kid, I-"

"Tony!" A new voice called. "Come on!"

He looked up as Obadiah appeared in the doorway right behind you. He was dressed impeccably as always and seemed more than ready to leave.

"What are you doing, Tony?" He questioned. "We've got two minutes."

Tony didn't reply and looked down at you. Obadiah did the same, only he looked far more displeased.

"What's she doing here?"

"I-I ask da-" You stumbled over your words, feeling scared of the man towering over you. "I want da-da to play."