Legacy of Iron

Iron Man, Ch.1

36 hours earlier in Las Vegas...

Young Y/n Stark sat next to his father's partner at the company, Obadiah, as a crowd of wealthy philanthropists sat quietly while a video played of his father for the Apogee Award Ceremony.

"Visionary. Genius. American patriot. Even from an early age, the son of legendary weapons developer Howard Stark quickly stile the spotlight with his brilliant and unique mind. At age four, he built his first circuit board. At age six, his first engine. And at seventeen, he graduated summa cum laude from MIT. Then, the passing of a Titan..." Among the many images of the video, an image of a newspaper appeared with the deaths of Howard and Maria Stark as the front page. Y/n sighed as the video continued. "Howard Stark's lifelong friend and ally, Obadiah Stane, steps in to help fill the gap left by the legendary founder, until at age 21, the prodigal son returns and is anointed the new CEO of Stark Industries. With the keys to the kingdom, Tony ushers in a new Era for his father's legacy, creating smarter weapons, advanced robotics, satellite targeting. Today, Tony Stark has changed the face of the weapons industry by ensuring freedom and protecting America and her interests around the globe." The video ends and James Rhodes takes the stand, his daughter Ava sits next to Y/n to watch. Ava and Y/n smile at each other as her father speaks.

"As liason to Stark Industries, I've had the unique privilege of serving with a real patriot. He is my friend and he is my great mentor. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present this year's Apogee Award to Mr. Tony Stark." Rhodes announces while holding the award. The crowd applauds and waits for Tony to take the stage, but he never does.

"Not again.." Y/n sighs, disappointed. "He promised."

"You better get up there, quick." Ava says, rubbing Y/n's shoulder. He nods and rises from his seat, making for the stage. Everyone applauds again as Y/n takes the Apogee award from Rhodes.

"Thanks for the save, kid." Rhodes says quietly, before standing off to the side. Y/n nods and turns to the crowd. He smiles and waves before he speaks.

"Wow! Look at this!" Y/n says, pretending to be honored and amazed by the award. "Thank you, everyone. Thank you!" The crowd quiets down. "Well, I'm not my dad." Y/n chuckles and the crowd chuckles with him. "But, I would have to say, if I was my dad, I'd be pretty honored right now. My dad is a great and very intelligent man, but his worst quality is also his best, he never stops working."

~~~

We jump to Tony, at the casino at the craps table, rolling dice with a crowd of onlookers. Tony himself having an amazing time as Rhodes, Ava, and Y/n approach with his award.

"Yoh are unbelievable, you know that?" Rhodes says.

"Oh, no! Did they rope you into this?" Tony asks, not noticing the disappointed glare from his son.

"Nobody roped me into anything, but you should be ashamed." Rhodes says.

"I am ashamed, I'm ashamed you were dragged along." Tony responds.

"Your son had to embarras himself and accept an award meant for you." Rhodes says, gesturing to Y/n, who was holding the award.

"What?" Tony looks at his son and then at his watch. "They already gave the award?" Tony asked, looking almost genuine in his worry.

"Yeah, they did." Y/n said, shoving the award at his father, the young man looking as though he was on the verge of tears. "And you promised that you would take tonight seriously. No gambling or drinking and that we both.. could be standing up there and you would announce-"

"I would announce the start of the Young Genius Coalition Fund for young.. gifted geniuses..." Tony continued his son's sentence and trailed off, looking ashamed as he held his award. Tony took of his sunglasses and looked up at his son. Ava was holding his arm and glaring at Tony. Y/n and Ava walk off towards the exit, leaving Rhodes and Tony at the craps table.

"Wait, Y/n!" Tony yelled, quickly grabbing his jacket and chasing after them, his bodyguards and Rhodes right behind him. "Son! Wait wait wait!" Tony pulls in front of him and grabs him by his shoulders. Rhodes pulls Ava away.

"Come on, baby, let's get home. Tony, I'll see you tomorrow." Rhodes and Ava walk away, leaving Tony and his son.

"Ok, yes, tomorrow! See you then!" Tony yells out to his friend before turning back to his son. "Y/n, look... I.. I can announce the fund at the next event - In fact! I'll put together a conference for the fund after we get back from the weapons demonstration." Tony rubs his son's shoulders with a smile. Y/n wiped away a tear and pushed passed his father. Looking very done with his father. "Y/n! Wait... damn it." Tony mutters as he follows his son outside to their car, Happy waiting to drive them home.

"Mr. Stark! Excuse me, Mr. Stark!" A young blonde reporter shouts as she tries to reach Tony, his bodyguards stopping her. "Christine Everheart, Vanity Fair magazine. Can I ask you a couple questions?"

Tony looks at her and then back to his son in the back seat of their car. He can see Y/n trying to look anywhere that wasn't in his general direction. Tony sighs and turns to the reporter.

"Look, I don't have time for an interview. I have.. a family emergency that needs my attention." Tony says, adjusting a button on his jacket.

"Then maybe your son-"

"Absolutely, not." Tony interrupts, almost defensively. "My son, doesn't want to give an interview right now. Happy?" Tony addresses his driver and gets in the car. They drive away towards their home in Malibu in silence. Y/n has his window down, the cool night air blowing his hair around. "Son-"

"We shouldn't leave Uncle Rhodey waiting tomorrow."

"No.. we shouldn't.." Tony sighs, struggling to find the right words to say. "How's Ava doing? She looked good."

"She's doing fine, dad." Y/n said, almost monotonous, still not looking at his father. Tony nods and looks out his own window before immediately turning back.

"Look... I messed up. I know that, but I'll get it right. I promise."

"You make a lot of promises you never keep. The only thing you're good at doing is making weapons, you should stick to what you know." Y/n said coldly.

Tony sighs and they rode to the airport in silence. They board their private jet and fly back to Malibu that night. Happy starts the  car that was waiting for them when they landed and drove them home. Happy parks the car in the driveway, letting Tony and Y/n out before driving away. They go inside and are greeted by Jarvis, the personal intelligence of the house.

"Welcome home, sirs. How was your trip?"

"Its was great.." Y/n said lowly and made a modest pace for his room. As he went up the stairs to the second floor, Tony called out to him.

"Hey, Y/n.." Y/n turned and looked back at his father. Tony opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to change his mind. "Goodnight."

"You too." Y/n mumbled and went to his room. The bedroom was fairly large with one of the walls being a digital window looking out over the ocean. Y/n undressed from his suit, that most likely cost too much money, and crawled into bed. As he rested his head on his pillow, his phone went off with a text from Ava.

'I'm sorry about tonight. I hope you have a good trip tomorrow, I'll see you when you get back. ♡X♡'

Y/n smiled and sent her a thanks back before closing his eyes and going to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a big day.