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It was finally the big day.
After a ridiculous number of years here, Anthony Edward Stark had finally graduated from MIT.
When asked by the press what it was like to graduate from such a prestigious university at just 17 years old, Tony replied with a shrug, a charismatic smile and said it was simply talent.
In reality, Tony was proud of himself. He knew he was smart, smarter than average. After all, he'd made his first circuit board at 4, built a V8 engine at 7 and hacked into the Pentagon at 15.
So yes, he knew he was smart, but that didn't mean he liked to brag about it. He did, but he didn't particularly like it. Why did he do it then? He wanted attention. From everyone, he told the media, but inwardly, he admitted to himself that he wanted to get his father's attention. Maybe it was childish, but Tony really wanted his father to be proud of him. And instead, Howard Stark spent his time belittling his son, reminding him that he could do better, and ignoring him most of the time.
His mother was no more present. Maria may not have belittled him, but she was absent most of the time, and when she was there and watched what her son was doing, she didn't understand much and just said it was good with an empty smile.
So Tony really hoped that by graduating from MIT at under 18, his parents would be proud of him and come to see him.
He should have avoided getting his hopes up, it would have saved him a disappointment.
Because here we were. The ceremony was about to start in a few minutes and Tony was alone, without any family to congratulate him.
One of the butlers hired by his father had driven him, as usual, but that didn't change anything. Since Edwin Jarvis had retired following the death of his wife, Ana Jarvis, two years ago, Tony had never felt close to a Stark employee again.
The Jarvises were the ones who had practically raised him, being far more present and attentive than his own parents. It was with them that Tony had grown up. With them and with his uncles, aunt and cousins.
And nobody was there today. He didn't blame Jarvis; he was old, retired and had no reason to be there, no longer working for the Starks. Nor did he resent his aunt and uncles, who were still working and very busy. His cousins also worked, and lived several hours away.
So Tony couldn't blame them for not being there. He could, however, blame his parents, who should have been there. No matter how busy they were, their only son was graduating from MIT at 17 years old.
But hey, they weren't there, and Tony was getting used to that. It didn't make things any more pleasant, though.
The ceremony was about to start in a few minutes, and Tony couldn't hide any longer, so he took a deep breath, plastered on his ceremonial smile and got in line with the other graduates of his year, all several years older than him.
Shortly afterwards, one of the teachers ushered them in, and Tony climbed onto the stage with his classmates. By reflex, even though he knew he wouldn't find anything, Tony scanned the crowd with his eyes. He saw some of the graduates waving to their families, but he remained motionless, his fake smile still plastered on his face.
When everyone had entered, the director of MIT stepped up to his podium. "Hello and welcome everyone to this MIT graduation. We are gathered here today to-"
The man didn't have time to go any further before the doors to the hall slammed open. Drawn by the noise, everyone looked in that direction, the attendants turning around and those on the stage raising their heads a little.
And there were 6 people, two around 35 and 4 more in the 65/75 age bracket.
"Congratulations Jack, smooth entrance successful." Rattled the older woman.
"If I'd let you, this door wouldn't exist anymore." The man she'd just accused argued.
"Why does it always have to end in violence with you two?" A second man sighed, leaning on a crutch.
"If I may say so, taking into account everything I'm aware of, that entrance was rather... discreet." Added the fourth man, dressed in a spotless three-piece suit.
"You know we're already late?" Asked the younger woman.
"We should go and sit down before everyone notices us." The youngest finished, looking a little uncomfortable.
"With your uncle's smashing entrance, I think it's a bit late to be worrying about that darling, but you're right, let's go and sit down."
All 6 of them moved forward to the front of the seating area, where there were still free places.
Throughout their little entrance, Tony had resisted the urge to clasp his face in his hands. But he couldn't deny that deep down, he was more than touched that they'd come today. And obviously, they must have been spotted.
He almost expected them to start greeting him loudly, but to his relief, they didn't and simply sat back, sending him big smiles.
After this interruption, the MIT director resumed his speech and the ceremony went off without a hitch, except that when it was Tony's turn to pick up his diploma, the front row exploded, and Tony didn't need to turn around to see who had just yelled, "It's my nephew!"
The young Stark tried not to die of embarrassment, but fortunately the rest of the ceremony went off without a hitch, and soon enough the graduates were released to rejoin their families. Tony did likewise and joined his small group of people, who had shifted to the side so as not to attract too much attention, even if it was a bit late for that.
"Congratulations, young Mr. Stark." Said the one who seemed to be the oldest, coming to warmly shake Tony's hand.
"Thank you, Jarvis. I didn't know you were coming today."
"Oh, well, when I heard Mrs. Carter and the others were coming, I asked to join the trip. I don't regret it." Assured the old man with a warm smile.
Tony smiled at him and turned to his aunt. "It was your idea?"
Peggy smiles at her nephew. "It was a team effort. But we couldn't miss it. It's not every day that our favorite nephew graduates from MIT at only 17." She said, putting her hands on his shoulders.
"I don't know. Seems some people think missing their 17-year-old son's MIT graduation isn't such a big deal." Tony muttered.
Peggy didn't respond to this, but came over and hugged Tony. The latter didn't resist and laid his head on his aunt's shoulder. Over his aunt's shoulder, he saw Daniel and Jack exchange a look that he didn't have time to interpret before Daniel saw him looking at him and smiled broadly.
"We're all extremely proud of you, Tony." He assured.
Peggy finally let go of him and it was Jack's turn to put an arm around her shoulders. "Just so you know, your hair is only safe because of the hat."
"Why do you think I kept it?" Tony replied, leaning a little on his uncle.
Jack smiled at him and then let him go, Tony being snatched up by his cousins.
"Congratulations cousin, I knew you could do it." Elisabeth, Peggy and Daniel's eldest daughter, said sincerely.
"We had no doubts." George added, her little brother.
Tony smiled sincerely at his cousins. If they'd been younger, or if Tony had been older, he'd probably have thought of them more as siblings given how close they were, but George and Elizabeth were almost 20 years older than him, so they were his cool cousins. And that suited Tony just fine.
"Well, why don't we go and have a nice dinner to celebrate?" Jack suggested. "I'd suggest a drink at the bar, but my dear nephew, who's the king of the party, isn't even of age."
"You could have stopped at the first sentence, Jack. That would have been enough and you'd have sounded like a responsible adult." Peggy sighed.
"Come on Peggy, when was Jack ever a responsible adult?" Daniel asked with a smirk.
"Hey, if I was that irresponsible, I wouldn't be your daughter's godfather and you wouldn't have stuck me with your two brats when you needed a free babysitter." Jack retorted, starting to walk towards the exit, Peggy and Daniel at his side.
"And we thank you for your services, but be honest with yourself Jack, are you a responsible adult?" Peggy insisted.
"Oh hell no, that's too boring. You two are the responsible adults and strict parents, I'm the cool uncle."
Daniel started to retort, saying he wasn't that strict, but Tony honestly didn't hear the end of his sentence, the three friends having left the room chatting amongst themselves.
He then turned to his cousins and Mr. Jarvis, who were still with him, also watching the three friends walk away.
"Do they know we're here or not?" He asked with a small smile because it wasn't the first time something like this had happened.
"Honestly, not sure. They almost forgot me at the park once. I was 5." Elizabeth confessed.
"And they'd gone off to forget me in the forest, and if Lizzie hadn't been there, I'm pretty sure I'd still be there. I was 6." George added.
"Given that you're their children, I don't know if that should reassure me or not." Tony sighed.
"If it's any comfort, Mrs. Carter and Mr. Sousa once made me wait in the parking lot for several hours because Mrs. Carter had forgotten she'd asked me to pick them up, so they went home with Mr. Thompson."
"After how long did they remember?" Elisabeth asked.
"They did not. Miss Roberts, on leaving the agency, saw me and came to inform me that they had already left, apologizing on their behalf for keeping me waiting."
Tony laughed a little at that and all 4 of them got moving, following the other 3.
"I think Dad, Mom and Uncle Jack have been through so much horrible stuff together that sometimes they just... forget, that there's something else going on outside of the three of them." George said.
Jarvis made a funny face at this point and stifled a small cough.
"Do you know something, Jarvis?" Tony asked.
"I'm sorry, but Mrs. Carter has formally forbidden me to tell you anything. But let's just say that young Mr. Carter-Sousa's analysis is very pertinent."
George winced at being called that, and it rekindled a conversation the younger three had had more times than was reasonable with the older one: getting him to call them by their first names.
So far, they hadn't had any success, and Edwin Jarvis absolutely refused.
Tony took a moment to observe the scene around him, with his cousins arguing with his former butler and a little further on, his aunt and two uncles so engrossed in their conversation that they hadn't realized they'd forgotten half the group behind them.
And the young Stark was more than grateful.
Maybe his parents hadn't come, but in the end, it didn't matter. Those 6 people were far more important to him. Them showing up on this day was all he could ask.
"Guys, did I ever tell you about the time Marge fell off a bicycle chasing a Russian spy?" Jack quipped, turning to face them.
"Jack, don't you dare." Peggy mocked, making Jack explode with laughter as he took a few quick steps away from her, still fearing her fists. Because even at nearly 65, Peggy Carter could still throw a punch.
Tony just laughed at that. His family was strange, but at least they were here for him, and that's all he could ask for.