[Jack Thompson] (The things they don't know about) Miss Tonya

[ 3 0 : M i s s - S p a r k ]

[☆]

Warnings: Flashbacks to World War 2 and malfunctioning aeroplanes

Spoilers: Agent Carter Season 1

[☆]

"Alright, so tell me," Dugan said, as he took a swig of the bourbon Peggy had brought for him as a thank you for agreeing to be the tactical team for the S.S.R.'s mission to Russia. "What's the story with Stark and these Leviathan jerks?"

It was only the two of them in the back of that particular jeep, and so Peggy was grateful for the opportunity to speak openly about the whole business for once. "The S.S.R. is convinced that Howard is trying to sell technology to enemies of the United States. They think Leviathan is a potential buyer."

Dugan nodded thoughtfully. "and you disagree?"

"Howard isn't selling weapons to adversaries of the United States, not to Leviathan, not to anybody," Peggy shook her head. Whatever she thought of Howard at the moment, deep down, she knew that was the truth. "He may be an utter w*nker, but he is one of us."

"So how's Miss Spark faring in all this?"

Peggy rolled her eyes at Dugan and his ridiculous nicknames – this particular one was borne of the first time he'd seen Tonya in person in a military workshop. She couldn't help but smile as well though; Dugan had always had a soft spot for Tonya, particularly after she'd helped him and his fellow troops out of a tight spot during the war. Peggy would stand by her belief that Howard was the best civilian pilot she'd ever seen, but after that particular rescue mission, no one could deny that Tonya came a very close second as also the youngest.

Two years before the war, the Starks experienced what it was like to have money to spare for the first time. It was also just over a year after their father died, which was unfortunate; he'd always wanted more for the pair of them, because he knew that was what their mother would have wanted. It was a shame he never got to see what they became, but neither of them ever spoke about that, because saying sad things out loud wasn't something they did.

By 1937, Howard had successfully established himself as an industrial businessman in order to pave the way for their later foundation of Stark Industries. It had taken a lot of convincing on her part, but Tonya had managed to get Howard to agree that he should appear as the sole owner of the company to begin with, so that their industry could at least be taken seriously. Tonya – though logical in enforcing this part of the plan – was also not patient enough to sit in the backseat until everything was set up for her to join in, and so she went about creating her own fame. An offhand comment from their family friend, Joseph Manfredi, made her audition for a show in their town while Howard was attending a conference as part of his University study and by the time he was back, Tonya had been snatched up by an ambitious talent agent after her first theatre production was a record-breaking sell-out.

With sudden fame comes sudden wealth, which was something very new to the two of them; Tonya was still technically a kid and Howard wasn't even of legal drinking age yet, and so of course Howard's gift to Tonya for her birthday that year was a literal plane. It was a beautiful thing and Tonya adored it, despite having no idea how to fly it. Initially, she assumed it had just been a lavish present: one of the many rash spending decisions they had made at the beginning of their wealth – though that habit never seemed to fade over the years. Little did she know that part of the present was Howard's intention to teach her how to fly it.

She was a fast learner, and it became her favourite gift, not just because of how remarkable she found the machine, but because Howard teaching her how to fly was reminiscent of him filling in the gaps when she was teaching herself University mathematics and science from textbooks.