Bright Young Things: Tony And Natasha

Arguments: before the party

Natasha had answered her mother's knock begrudgingly.

"Mother."

"Natasha. I've found the perfect dress for you!" She turned around smiling and pulled out the ugliest dress she could have found.

"Here! It'll look amazing on you don't you think?!"

"She's too into this. What's she doing?" Natasha was thinking. Something about this is too weird.

"I love it!" She said through gritted teeth.

She was left to try it on.

"What the actual hell?!" Her mother overheard and smiled. That should do it.

Okay now onto Tony...

"Anthony?" She knocked twice before entering.

"Mom! You can't keep just coming in!"

"Actually I'm your mother so I can and I will. Anyway, we need to find you something nice to wear for tomorrow."

"I don't even want to go. Neither does Nat! Why must we find people to marry already? I want to go to college and Nat is only 16."

"I understand but your father thinks this will be good. You know Nat and you need people to keep you in line."'

"That's right." Howard's voice sounded, "you're too outspoken and you need to settle down and get a wife. We need heirs and you need to learn how to be the company head someday. And that girl, she's too headstrong. Too smart. I didn't even want her going to school because I already saw it in her. She'll scare men away like that. No man wants a woman smarter than him. She also talks too much. We don't want that either. You both need to stop and pay attention- you're the heirs and certain things are expected of you both. I will be speaking to your sister afterwards too." He turned, ignoring his sons protests and went towards his daughter room.

"Mom he can't just do that. Why do you even let him talk to us like that?"
Maria sighed. He was right and she knew it. She had let Howard go on for far too long like some dictator and it was time to end his reign.

"Please just out the suit on Tony. Okay? I'll talk to him again."
"What good will it even do?!"
*********************************
He just barged in and she was on her bed reading magazines.

"Jesus dad! Can't you knock. At least mom knocks."

"Yeah well your mother thinks you two have choices. You don't."

"Let me guess. You're here to tell me I need a husband to rein me in? No woman should have to depend on a man. What kind of backwards thinking it that?!"

"See if stuff like that right there. You talk too much, you think you actually have a choice in anything that happens. You don't. You will be at that party and you will impress every single suitor. If you do one thing that even sends one away, just remember, I control all of you and I can control who you can and can't see. So if you want to see your friends again I suggest you think hard about what I've said. Act like the lady you were raised to be. Not this new age wannabe. If either of you mess this up, you will be disowned!." His voice was raised with the last sentence making sure Tony heard.

"Dad... You can't do that." Her voice broke. She had nowhere else, no one else except her friends he'd allowed her to keep.

"You're not truly our child Natasha. You know that which means you will get nothing if we decide we've had enough. I know your mother has tried to get you to believe that we care. We had to take you in. And I've just about had it." He finished and then walked out the door slamming it behind him.

She sat there and hugged herself, crying. She hated it here but she didn't want to leave. She remembered what it was like when people didn't care about you and she couldn't do it again.

Another knock sounded and she braced herself for more yelling and accusations.

"Please dad. I'm sorry."

"It's not him."

Tony.
She got up and ran to him hugging him tight. Her tears soaked through his shirt but he didn't care.

"I'm sorry Nattie. I heard it all. You matter to us. Mom and I and we won't let him send you away. You're my sister." It only made her cry harder.

"Come on. Let's visit some friends."

"Edwin and Ana?" They always made them ice cream after one of Howard's episodes.
"Course. Who else?" He grabbed her hand and coat and stopped by his room to grab his coat and they left for the Jarvis home. They were stopped by Maria who looked and grabbed her coat and led them to the car.

"We can stay there for the night." They nodded and drove away.