- a child prodigy

A four, nearly five, year old Arabella pointed at a circuit board on top of her father's desk.

Obadiah Stane thought that it would be a great idea to bring her to Stark Industries so that the media saw that she was interested in taking over her family's company when she got older. She was, indeed, willing to be the CEO of Stark Industries, even though she didn't fully understand how it worked. Still, the little girl got thrilled by just thinking of being the boss.

"Wow!" Obadiah exclaimed as he bent to take a look at the board with wide eyes. "You have one brilliant mind, kid." He straightened his posture and lightly ruffled the girl's hair.

Arabella glanced up at her uncle, pride clearly present on her face. "I made it all by myself. Daddy didn't help me."

Tony, who was sitting behind his desk, let out a dry chuckle, looking proudly at his daughter. He wasn't too pleased with Obadiah's idea. He didn't want her in the spotlight, he had tried to keep her out of it, but the spotlight always found her. And that annoyed him.

"I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Obadiah took a seat on the chair next to Bella's and in front of the large desk and flexed his arms forward with a grunt.

"Guess not." Tony agreed with a smirk plastered on his face. In his mind, however, he prayed she didn't turn out like him. He wanted her to be better.

strand of hair off her face as she did the final touches to her newest creation; a V8 engine. Her six-year-old hands grabbed and worked with tools twice their size, but she managed just fine. Her eyebrows were frowned in concentration and determination to finish the engine as fast as she could. She was supposed to be sleeping since it was almost midnight. And if Tony found out she was not asleep and she was in his workshop instead, Bella was going to get quite a scold.

"Say, JARVIS, if I put it on the car. . . would it blow up?" She titled her head and lifted a brow.

"No, Miss. It would work perfectly fine."

A grin made its way to her face and she let out a small excited shriek. She spun around on the black chair with her little arms up.

She stood up, grabbed the engine and walked up to her favorite car, a 1932 Ford Flathead Roadster, Hotrod as her dad called it. She knelt down before it and proceeded to remove its damaged engine and replacing it with the one she had made.

She was so caught up in work and humming an AC/DC song that she didn't notice her dad entering the shop. Tony squinted his eyes at the little girl and stared at her for a couple of moments before speaking.

"What are you doing, huh?" Bella jolted sharply, dropping a screwdriver in the process. He cocked his head to the side and accusingly narrowed his eyes at her. "Aren't you supposed to be sleeping, Little Miss?"

She innocently smiled at him and shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. So, I came here to work."

"You came here to work?" He lifted a brow quizzically and she nodded. "Hm. And what are you working on?"

Arabella motioned the car's engine and Tony bent down on one to get a better look at it. "Wow." He turned to his daughter. "You replaced the engine."

She nodded and said, "I made it." She turned her attention to the car again and her hands began roaming through the wires, connecting and disconnecting. "What?" She felt his stare and dipped her brows.

"Nothing." He advertised his gaze to the car. The car which red color and flames on the sides were chosen by her.

"What's on your mind, Daddio?"

What was on his mind? Probably the way her eyes looked exactly like Nina's ocean eyes. Or how her little nose resembled his. Or that her features matched his features, oh so well. Or the fact that he wouldn't admit it, but he would do anything for her. Just like he would have done anything for Nina.

A small voice broke Tony from his thoughts, "Was it ice cream?"

Tony let out a laugh, "Do you enjoy extorting me, Belles?" The girl just shrugged, laughing.

"It was a surprise for your birthday." She waved her hand at the vehicle's new engine, changing the subject completely.

He raised his chin, "Really?"

"Mhm," Arabella slowly nodded.

"Aw, Belles." He placed a hand over his heart and a warm smile lifted his lips.

The girl half scowled at him, "But I guess it isn't a surprise anymore." There was a hint of disappointment in her voice.

Tony glanced down and frowned. What could he do to make her feel better? And then looked back up with a small smirk and an idea already in his mind.

He cleared his throat to catch her attention as she cleaned her oil-covered hands with a towel. "I have an idea. You and me, up all night, two tubs of ice cream, Disney movies. How does that sound?"

She thought for a moment before speaking, "Can we watch Mulan twice?"

"Sure thing. As long as we get to watch The Lion King twice too." He outstretched his hand with a hard yet playful expression on his face. "Deal?"

She took his large hand in hers, copied his face gesture and shook it solemnly. "Deal."

First things first, thanks for reading!Never Ending Story ( stranger things reference *wink* *wink* )

I hope you stick around!

Love, Lili

tales of sacrifice; issue no. 1