Chapter Text
Howard Stark died in his bed at the age of 93.
He went in his sleep and Maria knew when she woke up to find him still there when she woke up. Even in his old age, he’d been up and about before her. Within half an hour, his body was being removed and his son was overseeing the formal arrangements, with help from his PA, Pepper Potts.
Now, Tony stood over the gravesite, next to his mother and surrounded by their British cousins and listened as the obituary was delivered. His father had lived a long life. He’d accomplished a hell of a lot. From being born in the lower east end of New York City to making his fortune and eventually moving into his Long Island mansion where Tony had spent the vast majority of his childhood.
He’d taken down HYDRA, for the most part and almost single-handedly, and he’d created a giant of industry that dabbled in all fields of technology and innovation, and then, when he’d become too old to continue running it, he’d passed it on to his son, who’d just expanded it. He’d re-established contact with his family across the Atlantic and created quite an impressive network between the two countries, both in intelligence and law enforcement.
He was a staple of American society.
So the entire funeral, the procession, and the graveyard was heavily guarded as Howard Stark’s friends and family paid their final respects. Tony stood there, not bothering to hide his tears, with one arm wrapped around his mother’s shoulders. Maria Stark had always been a lady and did her more dramatic emotional displays in private, so she simply stood there wearing a black veil and with a handkerchief, dabbing at her eyes.
It was times like this Tony really hated the spotlight the Starks stood under. Any other widow would be able to weep openly over her husband’s grave. Any other son would be allowed to cry over his father’s grave. However, when they left the cemetery, Maria could not allow a trace of make-up to be seen as out of place. Tony would need to put on a pair of sunglasses to hide his red-rimmed eyes.
Because when you were in the spotlight, your pain was a spectacle to the media.
It was something to point and gawk at, something to point out to the masses. Then, of course, Tony would be expected to give his father a flashy and public send-off. A part of Tony rebelled against it, but common sense won out in the end. But Pepper was right – she always was. PR-wise, it was better to just do it. It was the only form of grieving the American public would recognise as legitimate from him.
Speaking of which, he looked over on his other side as he felt the slight squeeze on his other hand. Pepper gave him a slight smile and rubbed his arm. Tony sighed. It felt better with her here. Ever since that eventful business trip, he’d realised something vastly important about Pepper and he never wanted her to go now.
He’d heard that both his father, and his father before him, had enjoyed the playboy lifestyle in much the same way Tony had been since he was a teenager. But then they grew old enough to be bored by it. He wondered if the same thing was happening to him as well. His dad had certainly seemed to think so. Strangely, the idea didn’t scare him all that much.
‘May he rest in peace.’
***
Merton Holmes sat back on the couch, a glass of scotch in his hand as he watched people pass Tony and Auntie Maria and pay their respects. Quite a few people were business partners and associates with a lot of empty words. Merton was more amused at the wide-eyed expressions of them when they realised just how big the family was.
As of this moment, they stood at over 30 members, including spouses and children, and not including Maria’s family.
Finally, at the tail end of the wake, after most people had drifted out the door, Tony walked over and plopped down next to Merton. He affected much the same posture Merton had: feet up on the table, slumped down, drink in hand. Merton looked over at his cousin as the other took a sip of something or other.
‘How’s the Reactor treating you?’ he asked.
‘Not so bad,’ Tony said. ‘About how you’d expect.’ He rubbed at his chest. The past two years, he’d had that thing imbedded in his chest. When he’d first come back with it, Uncle Howard had demanded a look at it. He’d then made the statement that it couldn’t stay as it was or it’d start poisoning Tony.
So he showed Tony the blueprints for the next element he’d started in the 70s, but never managed to finish.
They may have gutted one of their houses in construction of it, but they worked it out.
‘So how long are you staying?’ Tony asked with an undercurrent of hope in his voice.
‘I suppose we can stay for whatever fanfare you’re now expected to throw for Uncle Howard.’
***
Pepper keyed in the code to Tony’s workshop.
When she’d first come to work for Tony 12 years ago, as soon as Tony decided he liked her he took her to “a quick stopover”, which turned out to be code for “I’m taking you to meet the rest of my family so you understand me a bit better”. Although they had a variety of different last names, they were collectively referred to as the Holmeses. This, it turned out, was because they all stemmed from the Holmes family.
The Holmes staff had made the situation very clear. They had told her about the previous generations – about Siger Holmes, and Sherlock Holmes, about Tony’s father and grandfather. It was still strange to think that Tony’s playboy attitude was just a phase that all Stark men went through in their lifetime. But, truth, be told it had been tapering off in recent years. And it was about the right time for Tony to be getting bored with being a playboy.
Of course, knowing that his family was just ten steps ahead of everyone else; that he was a man of tomorrow living in an archaic world made Pepper look at Tony through that lens. With those descriptors to work from she could actually see it. Tony could anticipate problems, trends, and all sorts of other things before anyone else ever considered them. He could make connections that other people wouldn’t for years, like his great-great grandfather Siger Holmes had with schloss green.
Hell, most of Tony’s work in bringing SI to be an international giant of industry was due to his ability to think ten steps ahead of everyone else. He knew most people outside of his own family were, compared to him, slow. Even highly intelligent people were slow compared to him. Tony had graduated High School at the age of 14 and then gone on to earn multiple PhDs while simultaneously learning how to run Stark Industries under his father’s tutelage.
Apparently, Rhodey had also been introduced to the family for much the same reason Pepper had been.
‘Tony?’ Pepper called.
‘Back here!’ Tony’s voice came from the very back of his lab.
Pepper walked back to where his voice had come from. Because he was in private, the Arc Reactor in his chest could be seen glowing brightly. Both Pepper and Maria had been horrified at the thought of what he must’ve gone through in Afghanistan to get that put in. It was made even worse that Howard and Tony had decided to tinker further with it.
But...ten steps ahead of everybody else. It turned out to be a good thing.
The space Tony was moving around had the layout of the Howard Stark Memorial Expo that Tony was planning. The Stark Expo generally happened annually, to showcase the new patents that SI had developed in the past year. This one was a little bit different. Because of where his father had originally come from, Tony had decided to invite schoolkids from the city’s underprivileged neighbourhoods to display their own inventions. Particularly gifted kids would then be interned at Stark Industries. In the instance that they were too young, the internship would be set aside for them.
It was basically going to be a massive science fair.
‘We’ve got all the formalities out of the way,’ Pepper said. ‘The schools accepted the proposal enthusiastically – a little too enthusiastically in some cases.’ But that might have had something to do with the reputable consequences of having one of their students end up interning at Stark Industries. ‘How are things on your end?’
‘Real good,’ Tony said, stepping away from his 3-D model. ‘I based the layout on the Stark Expo map where dad hid the blueprints for Starkanium. We should be ready to start setting up the arena soon. Have you got the list of participants?’ He knew she did and his hand was already out for them. Pepper immediately handed him the iPad which had the list of students each school was sending.
‘I still don’t understand why you went for both elementary and high schools,’ Pepper said.
‘Because I might find some sparks in the younger age group,’ Tony said. ‘Kids are more open to going into that stuff early. Dad used to tell me stories about people giving up on their dreams when they were still kids when he was growing up because of their socio-economic status.’
Pepper nodded in acquiescence. But there was still one issue. ‘Well, the fact is, Tony, these kids are from disadvantaged neighbourhoods. How do we know they’ll be able to get there in time to set up before the expo starts?’
Tony started answering her question before she even finished it. ‘Put in a shuttle bus option for the kids’ parents.’
‘Who’s going to drive the shuttle bus?’
‘Pep, our company employs over five thousand people in the city alone. I’m sure we can find someone willing to do it.’
‘Yes, but that someone will have to be cleared for working with children.’
‘No big deal. About half of our guys in admin have gotten the checks done. And, if worse comes to worse, we’ll just push them through.’
As this conversation was going on, Tony was rushing through the lab with Pepper following. If she hadn’t been part of it, she would have been amazed at it. They could speak over the top of each other and they still heard every word the other said. Then again, she had when she’d first met the Starks. Howard and Maria Stark had spoken like that. Pepper had since come to the conclusion that one could learn to do it once one learned to keep up with a Stark. Regardless, Tony had a point. There were several of her work colleagues that already had passed police checks for their suitability for working with children. Any one of those could drive a shuttle bus around New York for these children.
Pepper sighed. ‘All right, then, Mr. Stark, would you like me to begin the selection process?’
‘Good idea,’ Tony said. ‘This should be a great night.’
Elsewhere
An unkempt man stood before a wall that was plastered with years and years of articles detailing Tony Stark: from the day he built his first circuit board right up to the recent announcement of this very special Stark Expo. That even included the press’s scepticism on his reveal as Iron Man.
The man glared at the articles as if they had personally offended him.
He then turned and looked down at a set of blueprints bearing a single name.
Howard Stark.