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IRON AND FIRE: PART I

02. the disaster at ceaser's palace

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Even if dressing up and getting free champagne was fun, Abby would much rather wear a garbage bag and drink cheap lemonade than to listen to any of this bullshit.

'Tony Stark. Visionary. Genius. American patriot.'

A big screen above the stage proudly showed footage of her brother and his big achievements. She watched the crowd applauding for him, the one and only Tony Stark, and quickly took another sip of her champagne. Now that she was sitting here, surrounded by crowded tables, she really started to regret her decision to attend the award ceremony. She hadn't even seen Tony yet and could only hope that she would get to. That was after all the reason she came, to see him and talk to him, to accept the apology she was probably going to have to force out of him.

'Even from an early age the son of legendary weapons developer Howard Stark, quickly stole 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.'

She scoffed, ignoring the glares from the people at her table, and swallowed her drink in one go. She couldn't be bothered to even pretend she was interested in any of this. Her brother being praised like some sort of god instead of the war-profiteering idiot he was. And she just wished these people would realize that instead of feeding his ego.

'Then, the passing of a titan. Howard Stark's lifelong friend and ally, Obadiah Stane steps in to help fill the gap left by the legendary founder.'

A picture of her father appeared on the screen and suddenly time was standing still. She felt incredibly small, as though she was twenty years old again. His eyes were staring right into her soul. Even from a simple picture she could feel his disappointment. She could hear his voice when telling her he would cut her off if she walked away from the company. But then his picture was replaced with another and the moment vanished.

With a shake of her head she reached for another glass. Which earned her a pointed look from one of the elderly ladies at the table, probably meaning something along the lines of: "haven't you had enough already?".

Abby smiled at her with the sweetest smile she could muster and raised her glass before swallowing it one go. Then she put it back on the table with just enough noise to make the woman flinch and quickly look away.

'Until, at age 21, the prodigal son returns and is anointed the new CEO of Starks 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 crowd applauded and cheered but Abby was unable to move and stared at the screen without really seeing anything. Then the spotlight was turned towards James Rhodes, Tony's friend and Air Force Officer and Abby blinked, forcing herself to turn her attention towards him.

James, or Rhodey as her brother liked to call him, cleared his throat and the crowd fell silent. 'As liaison to Stark Industries I've had the unique privilege of serving with a real patriot. 'He's 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.'

The crowd applauded loudly but the stage remained empty.

She felt something twist in her gut, not exactly sure what to do at that moment. She could hardly say she was disappointed. In fact, this was exactly what she feared would happen. And she hated to admit she'd been right.

He wasn't here, hadn't bothered to show up. So much for talking things out.

'Tony?' James asked with an awkward chuckle.

When nobody moved and the crowd started muttering restlessly, Obadiah Stane stood up. The crowd cheered as he walked towards the stage, trying to appear humble by waving away their cheers with a smile.

Abby, however, didn't feel like waiting for a speech from a man she despised. She stood up from her chair, making sure to make just enough noise to make the elderly woman flinch once again. Then she put on her coat and walked away. She tried her hardest to ignore the way people were staring at her as she maneuvered on her heels through the maze of tables. Finally she reached the door and the doorman opened it for her. The fresh evening air greeted her as she stepped outside and a shaky breath of relief escaped her lips. She absolutely despised rich people awarding rich people for making them all even richer. It was a world she had tried so hard to escape and now she'd been foolish enough to think that world could change.

She pulled her coat closer around her shoulders and started walking towards the street to get a taxi. There was no reason to stay if Tony wasn't planning on showing up either.

'Abby!'

With an annoyed huff she turned around and watched as Rhodey came walking up towards her. 'What?' She asked once he reached her.

There was a worried frown on his face. 'Please don't leave.'

She scoffed. 'Come on Rhodey, I came here for Tony and if he isn't here...Well then I see no reason to stay.' She turned around, ready to leave but Rhodey placed a hand on her shoulder and gently pulled her back.

'What about the envelope?' he asked. 'That's gotta mean something, right?'

She narrowed her eyes at him and suddenly he looked very uncomfortable. 'How do you know about that?'

He opened his mouth, only to close it again. He shifted on his feet as he desperately tried to avoid her gaze. But she wasn't going to let him get away that easily.

'James,' she snapped, using his first name to get his attention. 'Did you send me the invitation?'

Finally he looked up at her and then he nodded.

'That's just...' she shook her head. 'Great, fucking fantastic!'

'It was Pepper's idea!' he was quick to say. 'She knew you guys used to send each other those notes with the golden envelopes.'

Suddenly she remembered telling Pepper about it. They'd gone out for a drink after she had another fight with Tony. She told Pepper about how they actually used to be best buddies....Ironic how that came around to bite her in the ass.

'What the hell were you thinking?' she snapped. 'What if he had shown up after all? I would've looked like a fucking idiot!'

Rhodey crossed his arms over his chest, and frowned at her with that stern military look. 'He misses you, Abby. And you're both so stubborn we just thought you needed a little push.'

She really wasn't in the mood for a lecture and laughed humorlessly. 'Oh yeah sure, between all the parties and heaps of money coming in he must be very busy missing me.'

Rhodey shook his head. 'Don't think so lowly of him, Abby.'

She blinked rapidly and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. Whenever she got angry she always cried and she hated it. With a trembling voice, she forced herself to speak. 'I don't think low of him. He's the one thinking low of himself. The minute he's done, I'll be ready to talk.' Then she walked away.

This time, Rhodey made no effort to stop her.

Her heels ticked loudly against the pavement as she hurried away. Deep down she understood why they'd done it but her anger burned much brighter. This was between her and Tony. They had no right to meddle with that. Especially not if it ended with her getting hurt and Tony suffering no consequences at all. As it always did.

'He didn't show up, did he?'

'Fuck!' She came to a sudden halt and turned to look at her right. 'Tyler you asshole! You scared me.'

'The look on your face was worth it.' Tyler Morgan was leaning against his car, his hands buried in his pockets. Her best friend since elementary was the only person she wouldn't hold a grudge against for this.

'How'd you know he wouldn't show up?' she asked with a sigh.

Tyler shrugged. 'Past experience.' Then he opened the car door for her. 'Come on.'

She shook her head at him before getting inside, throwing her bag on the backseat. 'Did Nat tell you I'd be here?'

The three of them went out for drinks once when Tyler was in Washington. The two of them actually hit it off pretty well considering how picky Natasha was with her friends. Or maybe it was simply because Abby had a hard time liking other people as well. She wasn't very good at making lasting friendships. Usually pride and work got in the way. So if Tyler managed to stick around, it wasn't surprising Natasha liked him.

Too bad Tyler had been forced to move to Los Angeles because of his medical condition. The hospital here specialized in his type of injury was considered the best in the country. He was still trying to get back on track, working small jobs in stores and restaurants but he was often in pain. He barely ever talked about it but when you had been friends for almost your entire life it wasn't hard to spot.

Abby always hated the idea of Tyler joining the army and when he almost died on a mission gone wrong...Well, let's just say it didn't exactly help her think any kinder towards Stark Industries for profiting off the very thing that almost killed her friend.

'Yeah, she told me,' Tyler mumbled, an apologetic look written all over his features. 'She told me to make sure you'd be cared for.'

Abby scoffed. Despite Natasha encouraging her to go, she clearly hadn't trusted her brother to actually show up.

'It's not too late for a drink and a dance,' Tyler offered, smiling at her, though the pity was still hidden in his eyes.

She gave a small shake of her head. 'No, let's just go,' she mumbled and then gestured towards his face. 'And stop looking at me like that.'

He smirked and lifted an invisible hat. 'Yes ma'am.' But then his smirk slowly faded. 'He could still show up, you know?'

'Don't care,' she muttered. 'He had his chance.'

That wasn't at all fair, considering he hadn't even known about the invitation, but Abby hardly cared at that moment.

Tyler nodded and started the engine.

They left Ceasar's Palace behind and drove home through neon lit streets.

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Chapter 2 is here!

Listen, the image of Abby just not giving a shit and drinking and rolling her eyes openly is just golden to me. Especially if you add all the annoyed looks she's getting from everybody there. It's just hilarious to write.

Also, I decided to keep Tyler's medical condition vague on purpose. I considered getting specific but I don't have enough medical knowledge to get specific and have it be realistic. I considered a few options but realized that describing such illnesses might be triggering to some people. So all of that combined made me decide to just keep it a little vague instead. Normally I like to go into as much detail as possible in my stories. Which is why I felt the need to explain why I chose not to this time.

I hope you guys liked this chapter! Please leave some comments and votes. I really appreciate it :)

xx nelly