✓ | STARK! ↬ PETER PARKER. [under construction]

𝙋𝙍𝙊𝙇𝙊𝙂𝙐𝙀.

𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄
'𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑶𝑫𝑶𝑹𝑨 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑹𝑲'

𝑾𝑯𝑶 knew that Anthony Stark would be the fatherly type? The billionaire CEO who had women passing through his doors almost every night, any person with a brain would laugh in your face at the prospect of this man taking care of a child. Hell, he wouldn't even call himself a fatherly figure if you asked. Which is why his life had been flipped inside out back in 2001. Tony met a Shield agent, known as "The Mind" to the media and Shield alike. Normal country girl turned superhero when she discovered her powers at age fifteen- effectively destroying a town due to her outburst. Shield intervened, taking the teenager under and training her to become a powerful weapon. It started with a hookup- a regular ol' hookup, Tony Stark style. In and out, no skin off his back, right?

That was until the woman fell pregnant. Tony wasn't ready to be a father, unsurprisingly. He tried paying the woman to get rid of it, but it was to no avail. She bore the girl in August of 2001, naming her Theodora. The origin stemming from Greek, meaning 'God's gift'. It was a cordial arrangement, Tony would be as involved as he wanted and the sole custody would go to the mother. Tony thought that would be the end of it, until a mission gone sideways killed the mother of his child. Tony had to clean up his act and become a good father to this little girl. He had no idea what to do, most of the time just putting her on Pepper and going back to his eccentric lifestyle. He showed his care in his own way, keeping her hidden from the public and bringing her extravagant gifts. Pepper would then go on scolding him, saying she was only 5 and could not, in fact, drive the Mercedes he had bought Theodora. He soon grew fond of the girl, becoming a doting and loving dad very quickly.

At the tender age of five, Theodora began to exhibit extraordinary abilities—moving objects with her mind, shape-shifting, possessing superhuman hearing, becoming invisible, and even teleporting. As you can imagine, this came as a shock to Tony. Though he would never admit it, it terrified him—more so for his daughter's safety than anything else. He swore to himself that he would protect his daughter with his life, no matter the cost. 

Tony took matters into his own hands, homeschooling her, supplying her with every book she needed, and letting her work alongside him in his workshop. He kept her hidden from the press, fearing that she might be exploited to hurt him or used as leverage. His fear consumed him, yet it never stopped him from ensuring she had the life he knew she deserved. No one knew—nor had any inkling—that Tony Stark had a daughter. As Theo grew older, she began to mirror Tony Stark more and more. Her brown hair, her wide eyed excitable nature- she was unmistakably his daughter.

Though Theo could be a bit of a smartass at times, Tony never expected anything less. She was his daughter, after all—it was in her nature. But beneath that sharp wit, she was a sweetheart. She cared deeply for people, sometimes too much. "Your kindness will be the death of you!" Tony would joke, though deep down, the sentiment terrified him. He feared that one day, someone would take advantage of her generous heart. Despite that underlying fear, Tony adored her even more for it. When Theo was younger, she would sit beside him, handing him tools as he worked on his suits. She was his little helper, eager to be a part of his world.

When Tony was first kidnapped—the very event that led him to build the Iron Man suit—Theo was devastated. Only eight years old at the time, she couldn't eat, couldn't sleep. The weight of it all crushed her. In the darkest moments of his captivity, Tony's only thought was of her. He needed to get back to his little girl, because, in truth, his life depended on it.

Theo was Tony's sweet girl—his everything. Nothing, no one, could ever take her from him. He held her close, and in his heart, he believed she was safe. But there was always a lingering sense that, one day, she might want to leave.

And, as it turned out, that day eventually came.

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word count ➙ 753 words

author's note ➙ hi! currently revising this entire series so bare with me as i do so and enjoy!

-m.m ♡