𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘖𝘯𝘦 [𝘉𝘖𝘖𝘒 1] 𝘠/𝘕 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘬

The Beginning

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[Inside the Casino]

I followed behind Rhodey, my gaze glancing around in search of my dad. After a few minutes, I spotted him, as usual, surrounded by a group of women. "Work it! Come on! We should just stay till the morning," I overheard him say.

I approached him alongside Rhodey. One of the women reached out and placed her hand on my dad's chest. "You are unbelievable," she purred with a sexy voice. Sometimes, I couldn't help but feel a pang of envy toward all these women Dad brought home. They were stunning, their figures compared with the flawless beauty of dolls one might find in a toy store.

Dad turned to Rhodey. "Oh, no! Did they rope you into this?" he asked Rhodey. Jesus Christ, can we hurry up already? I just want to go home. "Nobody roped me into anything!" Rhodey replied. Dad patted Rhodey on the shoulders, saying, "I'm so sorry."

"Dad, can we go home already? I'm so tired of this shit.." I groaned in irritation, tilting my head back and giving him an exasperated look after rolling my eyes. "Bear with it Junior," Dad replied, chuckling. "But they told me that if I presented you with an award, you'd be deeply honoured." Rhodey started to speak again. "Of course, I'd be deeply honoured. And it's you, that's great. So, when do we do it?" My dad asked though it was clear he wasn't interested. Sometimes, this man got on my nerves with how distracted he could be. "It's right here. Here you go," Rhodey said as he handed the globe-looking award to him.

"Can we go now?" I asked, crossing my arms. He seemed to ignore my question, and I couldn't help but feel frustrated. "Ugh. Happy, can you give me the car keys? I want to go home," I asked Happy who was behind Rhodey. His response was a slight shake of the head, a clear denial. I couldn't help but silently plead. Please, just let me go home already.

"There it is. That was easy. I'm so sorry." my dad said to Rhodey as he took the award. "Wow! Would you look at that? That's something else. I don't have any of those floating around." He said as he passed it to the woman who had been affectionate with him earlier. It was clear he had no interest in the award, considering how many he had at home. "Yeah, it's okay," Rhode replied.

"Uh, we're gonna let it ride! Give me a hand, will you? Give me a little something-something," he said, picking up the dice and passing them to the woman. She blew on the dice, hoping to bring good luck to my dad. "Okay, you too," Dad said, holding the dice out to Rhodey. "I don't blow on a man's dice," Rhodey replied, attempting to back away but failing miserably. "Come on, honey bear," Dad sweet-talked, trying to pressure him into blowing on the dice. "Hey, Junior! Blow on it!" Dad said, shoving the dice into my face. "Absolutely not," I replied sharply. He shoved it back into Rhodes's face. "I don't blow on a man's dice," Rhodey said as he knocked Dad's hand away, causing the dice to roll.

"There it is. Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes rolls! And..." He said as he eagerly waited for the results. "Two craps. Line away." The dealer speaks out of nowhere. "That's what happens," Rhode said as he shrugged.  "Worse things have happened. I think we're gonna be fine. Color me up, will ya?"

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[Leaving the Casino]
Finally, we're leaving. I trailed behind Rhodey, Dad, and Happy, engaged in my phone. "This is where I exit," Rhodey mentioned, turning to my dad. "All right," my dad replied. "Tomorrow, don't be late," Rhodey highlighted as he and Dad shook hands.

"Yeah, you can count on it," my dad assured him. I walked up to his side. "I'm serious!" Rhodey insisted.

"I know, I know," he responded as we walked away. He then handed his award to some random person near the water fountain. "Render unto Caesar, that which is Caesar's. There you go," he joked. Could've given that award to me, but that's fine.

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[Outside the Casino]

"Dad, I swear if you pull me into shit like this again, I am going to lose it," I grumbled at my dad as I headed toward the car, arms crossed.  "Stop complaining Junior. You're coming with me whether you like it or not," he reassured, giving my back a friendly pat.

"And who knows, maybe you'll even find someone to get all lovey-dovey with," he suggested, wearing a smug smirk. "That's disgusting, Dad. Absolutely not. I'm still 17, and I've got a whole life ahead of me," I replied with a look of utter disgust on my face. "You're always surrounded by women every time I see you at these events," I pointed out to him. "No, I'm not... Well, I am, but not always," he replied, crossing his arms.

As we attempted to get into the car, a voice from behind called out to my dad. "Mr. Stark! Excuse me, Mr. Stark!" The voice, clearly of a woman, rang out.

"Not always, huh?" I whispered to my dad with a sly grin as I opened the back door of the car. "Christine Everhart, Vanity Fair magazine. Can I ask you a couple of questions?" she asked, her path blocked by the bodyguards.

"She's cute," Happy whispered to Dad. I just rolled my eyes and got inside the car. I decided to roll down the window to listen to the conversation."She's all right?" Dad said to Happy. He then turned to Christine. "Hi," my dad said as he walked towards her."Hi," she greeted him back. "Yeah.. okay, go," he said to her, moving a bit closer to hear her better.

"You've been called the da Vinci of our time. What do you say to that?" She asked, pointing the small microphone at him to record their conversation. That's ridiculous. He doesn't paint.

"Absolutely ridiculous, I don't paint," he replied, shaking his head slightly. "And what do you say to your other nickname? 'The Merchant of Death'? "

"That's not bad," he said with a slight nod. I sighed and put my headphones on, not bothering to listen to the rest of the conversation. I played some of my favourite songs as I leaned back in the seat, closing my eyes.

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