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MARIAN JONES TRIED TO IGNORE IT.
She didn't want her life to play out like a movie where the protagonist had powers and got cut open and experimented on "for science." She just wanted to go on leading a normal life with her powers just being the cherry on top.
That's why, when her roommate Agnes asked her if she wanted to go to Tony Stark's New Year party at his fancy Malibu mansion, she, of course, said yes. All she had done for the past week was delete weirdly threatening spam emails so a party was very exciting.
My dad loved throwing parties back in those days. From drunk dance parties to classy galas that turned into drunk dance parties, Tony Stark had thrown them all. His New Years parties though, were thought to be the best ones. He never told me why when he was telling me this story and I really don't want to look into it because I heard rumors of a party turned into an orgy once and you really don't want to hear that about your father.
This particular party, however, thankfully wasn't one of those. Happy said it was the best party a Stark has ever thrown but Happy also said that marinara sauce is the best sauce which means that Happy is a bitchass liar and we can't trust him.
Marian Jones entered the party with a smile on her face. She was determined to have fun with her best friend by her side and a wine glass in hand.
Parties weren't her usual scene, so she really didn't know what to do. Agnes had, unfortunately, wandered off after checking with Marian to see if she was okay with being alone. She had said yes. You know, like a liar. Besides, Agnes had actually known people there and Marian would be damned if she was holding her best friend back from enjoying her.
So, by about eight thirty when most people were just getting started, Marian Jones was seated by the bar, dejected and sipping from a huge glass of red wine. Her eyes were trained on the smooth marble floor. She was rethinking her decision to even leave the house when she felt a presence next to her. She raised up her head a little to see a suit-clad man and because she was surrounded by suit-clad men, she decided not to pay it much mind.
There were a few beats of silence until the man spoke up. "You know, I usually get a bit more of a reaction when I show up around the guests."
Marian cringed and lifted her head, expecting to see some stranger trying to chat her up. Instead, she met eyes with a familiar face.
The face wasn't familiar in the way, say, Agnes' face was. It wasn't a face she had seen everywhere, wearing every emotion possible and plastered with every strange makeup combination she could think of.
No, it wasn't that kind of familiar. But Marian Jones had grown up seeing that face plastered on every magazine and every celebrity gossip news site around and it was safe to say that the face of Tony Stark was very easy to recognize.
"Shit," she muttered on impulse before she truly comprehended what she was saying and who she was saying it to. "Shit," she blurted out again.
Tony Stark smirked. He was used to women awkwardly trying to flirt with him but this was something new. "I'm," she paused, most likely screaming "SHIT!" in her head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. Hi," she tried.
Tony wanted to burst out laughing. He didn't know why but it was just something about Marian Jones that made him want to laugh. It wasn't in a mean way, it was just her mannerisms and the way she talked that made her hilarious.
But, of course, he kept his chill and chuckled slightly. "Hi to you too," he said with a smile, signaling the bartender to make him a drink as well. "I'm Tony, but I'm guessing you already knew that." Marian smiled awkwardly. "Not because I'm cocky," he paused, "well I am cocky but since you addressed me by name," he trailed off.
Marian chuckled. "I do know you Mr. Stark. You're everywhere."
"Not everywhere I'd wanna be," he smirked, picking up the drink the bartender had handed to him.
I like to think that there's always a moment when two strangers stop being strangers. This was their moment.
Maybe it was the condensation or maybe his hands were just cold but Tony Stark dropped his glass of whiskey straight to the floor. The entire room stopped. A couple of people sent an awkward glance at their direction. A beat of silence.
And then everything went back to normal. The room suddenly grew as loud and joyful as it was a couple of seconds before. Tony Stark and Marian Jones glanced at the broken glass before meeting eyes.
And then they burst out laughing. It was the hysterical laughter that usually came from inside jokes shared with friends. A laughter that only comes when you're filled with so much joy that you just can't help but let it all out and laugh and laugh and laugh till your stomach starts to hurt and your head starts to spin.
And that's how it all began: with dropped whiskey and laughter. After someone had cleaned up the mess, Tony and Marian fell into an easy conversation which turned into something more.
And now, we approach the part I really, really don't want to describe. It's where I come in. It's where my parents fuck and create the masterpiece that is my existence.
It's where everything turns upside down for Tony Stark.
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- the ending to this chapter is literal trash but dom is getting better at writing this stuff down so it's less stuffy and more personal now!! Growth!!
-also, I just imagine him slipping from his normal, casual voice while talking in first person ("I" and "my") and switching to his deeper, slower narrator voice and it just brings me a lot of joy I love my son
- I've been doing pretty good with updating regularly but I don't think I'll be able to get chapter 4 up by next Saturday because a) it's not prewritten like the other chapters were and b) I have exams the entirety of next week so hang tight!
