Vogue | Tony Stark

TWENTY THREE - THE BIRTHDAY GIRL

"Tony, son, would you go find Estélla please? Her mother wants to light the candles on the cake soon."

George Goldwyn grabbed a fourteen year old Tony Stark by the shoulders, smiling down at him with a sparkle in his blue eyes. It was Esté's birthday and the family had spared no expense in decorating their house in the Hamptons to celebrate their only child's special day, golden ribbons and streamers hanging from every wall and around every door while the pile of presents seemed to keep on growing.

Estélla loved parties and while she always insisted she hated being the centre of attention, she never shied away from receiving all the love people showered her in on August 18th.

There wasn't a particular theme that year since she'd outgrown princesses and cartoons, instead having her favourite music playing over speakers and a huge chocolate fountain with all the strawberries and marshmallows she could've ever wished for waiting to be dipped.

There were almost sixty people present that day with only twenty of them being children from Esté and Tony's class at school, the rest of the guests being family-friends of the Goldwyn's. Esté didn't mind though, not really caring at all about who was there so long as Tony was around.

At least, that's what she'd told him.

"Sure, I'll go find her now."

"Good kid, off you go." George said, patting Tony on the back and giving him a gentle push outside.

Adults were drinking champagne and children were running across the lawn barefoot, some down by the beach on the edge of the water and some sitting on the side of the pool with their feet dipped beneath the surface. Tony smiled and waved at his friends, saying hello to people that called his name as he wandered down the garden in search of Esté.

He hadn't seen her in a while after getting caught up talking to his mother in the kitchen and felt guilty about being gone for so long, only as he looked up at the treehouse, he frowned when he realised she wasn't where he'd left her.

"Your hand is so small compared to mine, it's adorable."

"Shut up, it's not that small."

An unmistakably recognisable laugh pulled Tony's eyes further down the garden, squinting in the glare of the summer sun when he saw Estélla and a boy from school sitting together beneath a cherry blossom tree.

The blond haired boy had his arm around Esté's shoulders and their faces were rather close together, so Tony thought, anyway. He watched from a safe distance as they continued to talk, wondering why Esté was laughing at things that definitely weren't funny and why her cheeks went so red whenever he looked at her.

"Can I give you another birthday present?"

Esté went quiet, tilting her head with a shy smile and a gentle nod instead of answering with her voice. The boy grinned and placed a hand on her cheek, leaning painfully close to her lips with his eyes falling closed at the last second.

Tony decided instantly he didn't want to see anything more. The proximity of Esté and the other boy had made his blood boil, a seething anger making him burn and a jealousy twisting his stomach with agonising strength. He knew what was happening as he turned his back, but Tony wasn't sure his heart would've been able to take seeing it with his own two eyes and so, he walked away.

"Did you find her, son?" George asked when Tony walked back into the house with his head down.

"No," Tony mumbled, "I didn't."