Stark had a passion. Sadly it was drink rather than his family. He cared about his work to a certain extent but his drive for power and glory faded to the background when he was first united with his only true love, alcohol.

He now stood in his too large conservatory, a peculiar place for him to be as there was no work or drink to occupy his mind in the room of glass. Instead he gazed at his heavily pregnant wife Maria with glassy eyes.

She sat on a marble bench that overlooked the blossoming garden below. Both halves of the twisted marriage knew that the child was their final chance to 'rekindle' their non-existing love for one another. In one of their few nights of passion the child had been conceived. It was silently decided between Howard and Maria that they weren't to have another child. As Howard's drinking worsened and Maria became more and more resentful towards her husband, it became clear why.

The pair's lives hadn't always looked so obsolete and barren. In his prime, Howard was a bachelor that ruled the world, or so he thought. He had recently been blessed with the success of his weapon manufacturing company Stark Industries, and with a strong head on his shoulders he went to work in the army to aid them further in the attempt to eradicate the Nazi forces from Europe.

It was there that he met Steven Grant Rogers, or Captain America as the world would know him. Here he met his first and last true friends in life, the howling commandos. Those men reached Stark on a level he had never felt before. Not one had similar backgrounds, all but Steve and Bucky who grew up together in Brooklyn.

Known as a skirt chaser among the ranks, Howard was often seen buying a pretty girl a drink despite the shortages - one of the perks of being rich when the many were poor. He'd shower women with gifts and attention, and boy did the not go unwanted.

Maria however was very much unlike her counterpart. Despite the fact that her reserved nature and sweet demeanor were meaningless to those around her, she found a way to forgive even the cruelest of men, or so she thought.

The evening they met was like any other night out in Brooklyn during war. Howard sat with a drink in his hand; a cheeky smirk splayed across his face in a drunken manner as he flirted his way through the evening after a day's work.

On this occasion however, Howard caught the eye of a young and impressionable woman. As lonely and tipsy he was, he found himself talking to her over a drink.

"So how does a pretty little lady like you end up here with no date?"

His initial pick up line, as over used as it was earned him the woman's attention for a while.

"Aah well..."

She tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. Truth be told he was the first man who had presented himself to her for around 6 months, and her solitude was not by choice.

"Here let me buy you a drink. I'm Howard by the way, but I'd prefer it if you called me Stark. I bet your name is something exotic... Isabella? No?"

"I'm Maria, just Maria."

She grinned broadly as rose tinted her cheeks. Howard lifted her delicate little fingers with his own and kissed her hand.

"A pleasure to make you acquaintance Miss. Maria."

He winked as the bartender slid their drinks across the counter.

Howard downed his drink in a record ten seconds as Maria sipped and tried not to stare in amusement. The warm liquid ignited a fire in her that made her brave; a little more daring. Chin jutted out and head held high she uttered:

"For that, Stark, I think I owe you a dance."

"That would be mighty kind of you Miss. Maria."

She hopped off the bar stool, winked at him and walked to the jukebox at the back of the bar. She slipped a dime in the machine and started swaying from side to side in time with the music. Her partner was not far behind and soon found himself holding her hand as she twirled around him.

The hour ticked by as if they had only been dancing for minutes, they were so absorbed in each other. Dime after dime they spent to make the jukebox play it's swing sound. Breathless and giddy, Howard and Maria looked at each other.

"How about we get out of here for a little while?"

"Sounds like a plan, Stark."