I sincerely apologize for the long delay in all of my stories. I live in Texas and when Hurricane Harvey hit, my town got a little backlash. For a while the stores were basically empty, the mail wasn't running, and gas prices shot up. (All is back to normal now) On top of that, university started up again. Classes were delayed for a week and then my schedule picked up really fast. October 8th my first niece, and my parents' first grandchild, was born. I just got past midterms and I have a lot of responsibilities I'm accountable for. I finally found a moment to write some more. Thank you for your continued patience and without further ado…

As always I don't own anything MARVEL related.

Same WARNINGS & TRIGGERS APPLY

Tony

Mutual affection was as cozy a phrase I could use that explained my parents' union. An heiress and an heir got married and had a kid who would inherit both fortunes. Same story different names.

Busy. Every one of us were busy. Mother had charities, banquets, and galas to organize and fund. Father had meetings, conferences, and negotiations to handle. Between studying 3 foreign languages, piano, advanced physics and applied mathematics I barely had time to sleep. Not that sleep was so important to me.

The only thing the elite can't buy is time.

I had unlimited access to exorbitant amounts of money, and so little time to do anything with it.

I had just got a break from boarding school. Howard thought it would toughen me up by sending me there. It hadn't changed me. Not really. I was still top dog. Everyone knew my name. The teachers were afraid to discipline me and the students hesitant to oppose me. I could skip class everyday, not turn in any work, and still pass with a C.

The only difference in my life was that my mom wasn't there.

She wasn't a constant buffer from Howard's criticisms. From the media's judgmental eyes. From my peers' mindless adulation.

It was me, myself, and I. Howard wanted it that way. I was out of mind and out of sight. He had more important things to focus on. Like finding Captain America. I never did completely understand it. He spent loads of money trying to find a dead man. If he weren't a proven genius, I would write him off as a fool.

He was a man possessed. I tried to understand the allure to it.

Robotics was my muse. I could work on the same part for three solid months with little to no improvement and not lose interest even once. But that was different. Numbers, bolts, and formulas were interesting. There's always something to learn. Finding a dead man's body was just that. A dead man's body. Case closed.

He had a real life son that he could talk to and work to have a stable relationship with, but instead he was off playing mummies.

It was frustrating on a good day.

It never took me long to unpack because I never took a lot with me in the first place. I didn't need to pack clothes for boarding school because we wore uniforms and I had no personal items.

I came home to a mostly empty house. Jarvis met me at the door and told me my parents wouldn't be able to make it today.

I just shrugged it off and ran up the stairs. I wasn't fast enough. I saw the pity in his eyes.

I hated being pitied. Mostly because there was nothing I could do or say to deceive people into believing I was okay. That my parents actually loved me. I gave up on making excuses for them a long time ago.

My mother tried her best, but even she lived easier with me gone. Her weekly calls turned into monthly emails.

My father paid my tuition, donated, and sponsored scholarships. I hadn't spoken to him since school started.

He told me not to embarrass him. To remember that I was a Stark first and foremost.

I threw my empty luggage across the carpet. It didn't go very far.

Bored and dreading my stay home already, I fell onto my bed.

I stayed like that until I fell asleep.

It was more intuition than actual awareness. I felt someone in my room. I thought it was Jarvis so I kept my eyes closed. He knew I would want to be left alone.

Instead of hearing footsteps shuffle out of the room, I heard them come closer to me. They were hesitant.

I knew then that it had to be one of the maids because Jarvis' steps are quick and uniform.

I opened my eyes and she was standing nearly over me.

"Well?"

I didn't even bother to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

She looked equally annoyed.

"You're a bit of a brat aren't you?"

We were both surprised at that. It was apparent that she hadn't meant to say that out loud. I didn't even care. I just wanted her out of my space so I could sulk some more.

"Yeah. The brat that could make you lose your job. Get lost."

As far as I was concerned, that was the end of it.

"I don't think I will."

I was angry now. I swung my feet over the bed and stood up. Embarrassingly enough, she was a few inches taller than me.

She smirked at my defiance.

"I said leave. What were you doing in here anyways?"

"I was told to come up here and help you unpack. I get here and you're sprawled all over the bed. I was just going to make sure you weren't dead or something."

The way she was twirling her hair told me she was lying, but about what I couldn't be sure.

It's perfectly logical that someone sent her up here to help me unpack. I don't know why she would lie about that. I called her on it anyways.

"I live with billionaires who are taught to deceive and persuade at birth. Try again."

She just looked me up and down.

"You know I can see it. Howard Stark's son. Aside from the height you do take after him. You're even kind of cute. Not that there's any such thing as an ugly billionaire."

My face turned red. I wasn't so confident that even a backhanded compliment from a beautiful woman didn't get to me.

And she was beautiful. She was all legs, shiny red hair, and breasts.

She laughed and walked up to me until we were chest to chest.

"See something you like?"

"Leave. Now."

"What's the problem? Not so sure of yourself anymore? I'll bet you've had plenty of women. What with being the heir to Stark Industries and all."

I broke eye contact and it was enough for her.

"Oh. I see. Still a virgin. I can't say I'm not surprised. I can help you with that you know."

I was used to older women flirting with me, but none so blatant as this.

"You should leave."

My voice cracked at the end. Her breasts were very distracting and she knew it.

"Want to touch them?"

"No."

I was lying.

"Sure you don't. Want me to touch you?"

I absently heard my own shocked gasp.

"Leave or I'll have you escorted out."

"Escorted out for what? This?"

She had grabbed my dick. Hard. It was uncomfortable and I wasn't sure what to do. If I called out for help I would be laughed at. I was 14. Surely I could fight off a 22 year old woman.

I didn't call for help.

"Stop that."

I tried to remove her hand, but before I could she grabbed my hands and put them on her breasts.

I was intrigued.

They felt even better than I could have imagined. Soft, firm, and squishy all in one. Her moaning snapped me out of it. I jerked my hands back.

"Why did you stop? This'll feel good for you."

"In case you haven't noticed I'm only 14. A minor."

She chuckled like she was laughing at a 4-year-old's joke.

"What does it matter? Guys lose their v-card at 14 all the time."

I could believe that. The guys at school always bragged about getting to 3rd base and shagging so-and-so. How much of it was true I couldn't be sure.

I took a step back.

She took one forward and pushed me to the bed.

With how quick she pulled down my pants I was sure she had done this before.

I was outraged.

"I just told you no!"

I was not used to not having people do what I told them.

"Look. You might be 14 but you're a certified genius. You're smart enough to know you're getting a good deal. Just relax and I'll make it good for you."

Before I could formulate a coherent response, she went down on me.

To this day it was the only blow job I never enjoyed.

I was frozen.

I could tell she was getting frustrated with my lack of an erection. She let me slide out of her mouth and just looked at me weird.

"Are you gay?"

I flushed all the way to my stomach.

"No. Just leave now. You got what you wanted."

She just huffed and walked out of my room.

If I cried when she left, I can't remember.

I was constantly angry about the whole situation. I don't know if it was my impotence, her actions, or my lack of action, but I was angry. More so than usual. I wanted to be left alone and started refusing meals. Even Jarvis couldn't get me to eat.

As humiliating as me not being able to become erect was, nothing made me more upset than the fact that she tried to convince me that that shit was okay.

That I was a "certified genius" and mature enough to say yes.

If she really thought I was mature enough to say yes, she would have accepted that I was also mature enough to say no. Which I did.

Instead of eating I snuck into my dad's study and stole sips from his "secret stash."

I didn't have a tolerance for alcohol then. A few sips were all it took.

3 days later that's how my parents found me. In old wrinkled clothes crumpled halfway underneath his desk.

"Get up!"

I winced.

"Not so loud Howard. He has a hangover."

"He's 14 he shouldn't have a hangover. What are you doing drinking anyways?"

I was too sloshed and too upset to curb my words.

"What do you care? As long as you can keep me out of sight and pretend to be a decent father to the public eye your job is as good as done right? You haven't spoken to me in over 5 months. I'm sure between wasting money looking for a ghost and ignoring your wife you couldn't fit in a phone call."

Before I knew it he had me pinned over his desk. My mother was trying to pull us apart.

"If you ever talk to me like that again I'll send you to a year round boarding school until you're 18 and then disinherit you. You'll have nothing! I'm not here to cater to you. It's just my job to provide for you. If you weren't so sensitive, you could see how much I'm helping you."

"Howard!"

My father let me up.

"You continue to disappoint me. Go get cleaned up."

That was the most honest he'd ever been with me. He apologized later and said he was just stressed and was speaking from anger, but we both knew it was a poor excuse.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"What?"

My mother peered into my room. Seeing that I wasn't going to invite her in she pushed the door fully open and walked in anyways.

"I spoke to Jarvis."

I couldn't contain the sigh that escaped my mouth.

"I'm-"

"You are not fine! You haven't been eating. What's wrong? Talk to me."

I turned on her.

"Talk to you? Now you want to talk to me? What was stopping you from talking to me before? I left you several messages. All I got back were prefabricated responses that I'm 100% sure your assistant wrote anyways."

She looked shamefaced and I felt guilty. Mother tried. Honestly she did. She's just raising me like her parents raised her. They paid for all of her expenses, covered up any scandals, and generally left her alone until it was almost time for her to inherit.

They implemented a very laissez-faire parenting style.

She sat next to me on the bed and ran her fingers through my hair like she used to when I was still small enough to sit in her lap.

"You're right. I should have written more. I know it's no consolation now. I just want you to know that I'm still learning. I do care. I want you to be happy."

And she meant that. She wanted me to be happy. She was just never really sure what that took on her part to ensure it. I vaguely remember my maternal grandparents. My grandmother died when I was 4 and my grandfather when I was 7. They were very indulging.

Howard couldn't stand them. Said they were making me weak.

It was no wonder mother thought dad was too harsh. Her parents were nothing like that. They gave her free reign and tried to support her. Their only real expectation of her was to take over the family business and marry well. Other than that, she was her own person.

"I know mom."

"You sure you don't want to tell me what's going on? Jarvis seems really worried. He said you weren't even working on your robots. I know your father doesn't want you to, but your credit card is on my account. You can order any pieces you need. If robotics is important to you, stick with it."

"Thanks mom. I just haven't been feeling very inspired lately."

She waited for me to finish. I was secretly grateful she took the time to come and talk to me.

Much to my chagrin I started to cry. The strangled deranged kind. She looked alarmed.

"Anthony what is it? Whatever it is we'll take care of it. But you have to tell me what it is."

This wasn't a problem money could fix. Sure it could make the maid go away, but I was still here. My parents weren't going to change who they were just because of this.

I steadied my breath.

"One of the maids. She-" I couldn't say blow job in front of my mind. No matter how accommodating she was.

"She put me in her mouth. I told her to stop. I asked her to leave several times. I couldn't…I didn't respond how she wanted and she left. I feel like an idiot. She's a chick and-"

She engulfed me into a hug.

"I'll take care of this Anthony. I need you to tell me which maid it was. You'll never have to see her again. I promise."

I pushed off of her.

"You can't say anything mom. If dad finds out how weak I really am. I don't know what I would do."

Her voice was fierce.

"You are not weak Anthony. She took advantage of you. She's the adult in the situation. She should have left as soon as you told her to. I'm so sorry I wasn't here. We have to contact the authorities darling."

"Mom you don't understand. I didn't even try to stop her. I just spaced out. I don't think I can tell the police that."

"You won't have to. They'll arrest her. We can keep this as quiet as you like. She's going to rot…Mother will take care of it. But your father will have to know."

I tried to reason with her, but she was adamant.

"I'll talk to him Anthony. You don't have to tell him anything if you don't want to. Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

I sat up straighter.

"Unless you want to hear about your son's incompetence, no."

We both winced.

"Antho-"

"Just stop mom. I didn't even mean it. It's stupid. Just can you make sure this doesn't get out. And dad…I really don't want him to know."

She hugged me again.

"I know, but this isn't something I can keep from him. If he doesn't hear it from us, he'll hear it from someone else. He has eyes and ears everywhere."

We talked for a few more minutes and she encouraged me to eat. I had a bowl of grapes. I knew she wanted me to eat more, but I had no appetite.

I wasn't supposed to hear them. They were in Howard's study so I know they chose this spot intentionally. I avoided Howard's study at all costs.

"It's not that big of a deal Maria. So the boy got a bad blow job."

"Stop it. Stop that right now! He's not the boy. His name is Anthony! You don't care about anything except Captain America. He's gone Howard. He's dead. But your son is not. He's only 14 years old. He looks up to you and he can't understand why you don't even bother to try with him."

"Maria, I've given the boy anything he could possibly ask for."

"That's not true and you know it! I won't let you drop this. That woman will not get away with what she did to our son. He's afraid right now. Of you and what you'll think. And unfortunately it looks like he was right. What is wrong with you?"

"If you want this woman locked away fine, but let's not let Tony get stuck in a victim mindset. He's a stark. He'll bounce back."

Slam!

Mother must have thrown a book. Probably a textbook dad financed.

"Shut up! Don't forget that I have resources too. I will see her punished for what she did. Would you care if it was a guy?"

It got quiet.

"Wow. So that's what it is. You really don't think anything bad happened because she's a woman?"

I left after that. I knew what dad would think. I tried to tell mother but she didn't want to believe me.

I took meals in my room for the next few days. Nobody tried to force me out of my room and I was left alone.

I was so angry all the time. I'm not sure if it was because the maid thought I was gay, that I didn't get hard, that I didn't fight her seriously, or that my father certainly knew what a failure I was now.

I went to the study off of my bedroom. It's were I conducted all of my experiments. I was most at home surrounded by rusted screws, dirty bolts, and random engines. I realized that I hadn't stepped foot into my fortress of solitude since I got home.

Everything was the exact same way I had left it.

Blueprints scattered across the desk, unused computer software in boxes on the floor, empty soda cans at the foot of the waste basket, and half-finished projects abandoned in the corner of the room.

I walked over to my desk. I figured tinkering would clear my mind. It didn't. It just gave me more time to my thoughts. Thoughts I had no real desire to confront.

I had no idea what to do with my time. I used to crash from exhaustion trying to cram everything I wanted to do in a week into one day. Now I had ample time and nothing to distract me.

"Oh, there you are!"

It was mother. Again.

"Yeah."

She wasn't really making eye contact with me. Instead finding confidence in some random point on the wall behind me.

It's the same thing I do when talking to Howard.

"I talked to your father. We've alerted the proper authorities and your name will be kept off of any files. As far as a trial goes, there's no need for one. It's been taken care of. She got life in prison for indecent conduct with a child."

I was beginning to grow nauseous.

"Is that all?"

She released a long slow breath then.

"Me and your father think it would be a good idea for you to talk to a professional. Just to make sure you're really alright."

"Dad's okay with this?"

Rubbing her hands up and down my arms she looked me in the eyes.

"Your father comes from a family where you keep everything locked away. Problems stay within the family. We can't rely on his judgement right now for something like this okay?"

I just nodded my head.

Only days after I had started counseling did Howard pull me aside and warn me not to have the doctor thinking I was a total nut job. Not to spill any Stark family secrets. Other than that, he never mentioned it again. It was a yet another sore spot between us.

It took weeks of counseling for me to get back to status quo. I can't help but think that I should have taken it all more seriously. Really bared my soul to Dr. Calvin when I was a teenager and gotten past some of my daddy issues instead of brushing him off and giving one word responses.

It wasn't a complete waste of time though. The doctor did give me a lot to think about. One of the things he said to me about knowing when to get help was that when you knew you were spiraling out of control, and yet not able to stop, it was time to reach out.

Rhodey and Pepper were my lifelines. I would've given up a long time ago if it weren't for them holding me up, checking in on me, and cleaning up my messes.

I'm not one to give advice. For obvious reasons. I mean most of my greatest inventions started off as morally ambiguous experimentations.

"J.A.R.V.I.S. upload new list…"

1. My movie collection is out of this world, so feel free to make use of it.

2. I have an agreement with the shawarma shop a few blocks away. They'll deliver here 24/7. I have a tab with them. Order what you want.

3. This is Stark Tower! We have state of the art facilities for everything from archery ranges to bowling alleys.