Chapter 8
Tony finds a way to give himself super powers and she is not surprised that he has found a way to fly.
(Why?)
The way he works with maddening quick flashes of genius, jumping from one idea to the other, is comforting.
(She doesn’t know why.)
He sits down and understands casually what others take years and years to know. He laughs and listens to loud music and wears his genius like an armor (until he literally builds his own with it), his quick wit and quicker tongue keeping him ahead of anyone who would try to corner him with words or make him feel like less than he is.
It makes her smile without thinking about it, small and private.
(She doesn’t--)
He built AI’s at 17 so he wouldn’t have to be lonely.
He talks to You and Butterfingers and Dum-E like they’re people, because sentience transcends flesh, and he grins in the privacy of his workshop (because they will never hurt him, judge him, or take away their love like it’s a privilege given to him only when he obeys).
(She knows.)