Necessary Discussions
“Hey.”
Tony looked up and saw Sage slipping through the door of the workshop. “Hey, kiddo.” He set what he was working on aside and wiped the grease off his hands before standing to greet her with a hug. “How was school?”
“School was fine. Addy’s great too.”
Tony huffed a laugh and glared at her halfheartedly. “Okay, I get it. I’m fine with this, you know.”
“Oh really? Because that’s not what the TID call that Bruce sent halfway through eighth period told me.”
“TID?”
“Tony in Distress.”
“Wow, okay rude. In my own lab. Damn.’
Sage grinned and followed him as he returned to the workbench. “You know we love you.”
“Some days more than others, huh?”
“Oh shut up. No.” Sage noticed the ever so slight tremor in Tony’s hand as he went back to work, but refused to comment on it. “You know this isn’t going to, like, change anything, right? It’s just a girlfriend.”
“Mhmm. A girlfriend who might totally freak out when she realises that pretty much your entire family is made up of Avengers? Who I can’t even meet properly without her and everyone within a twenty yard radius signing fifteen hundred airtight NDAs because I’m Tony Stark and god forbid I put even one toe out of line because I was an idiot and an asshole when I was younger, and now it’s expected but still somehow a shock to all the tabloids.” He turned to make eye contact with her. “I know that this has got to suck for you, having had me foster you. Once we tell the public, you’re barely going to be able to go to Sam’s without twelve members of a security detail and sixteen layers of clothing to hide your face from the paps and that sucks. That’s part of why I’ve been holding off for so long. I don’t want to have to put you through that. And now that you’re dating, once it’s out that you’re Tony Stark’s daughter, you and Adeline won’t be able to go on a normal date without everyone and their second cousin bothering you, and I don’t want that. I’m in a position here, because I want the whole world to know that you’re my daughter. I love you, sweetheart, and I want everyone to know, but I want you to be able to grow up normally, because I couldn’t.”
Sage sighed and leaned her head onto his shoulder. “And you couldn’t just tell me that before? Now I feel bad for being mad at you before.”
“Oh, no, I definitely deserved that. Don’t feel bad for that. But I was just trying to make sure that the people that you were potentially interested in were good people. Not just because whoever’s dating you had better be the absolute best because you don’t deserve anything less. Also because I need to make sure that you are safe with whoever you’re dating, and that they won’t immediately turn to the media if the two of you break up. This probably seems ridiculous, but-”
“You’re just thinking twelve steps ahead of everyone else.” She pulled back slightly and grinned at him. “And no one else got why you were freaking out because not only can you not think at the pace of a normal human, but you’ve got issues with expressing your feelings like a normal human too.”
Tony couldn’t help but return the smile. “First of all, it’s rude to call out someone’s emotional constipation like that, but you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right. I’m always right, haven’t you met me?” Her grin grew wider as Tony laughed, and she took his hand and stood, tugging him out of his chair. “Come on. I want to have a game night, and I want the team to not question me about my girlfriend, so you are going to come run interference.”
“You just want me there so that they’re more worried about me than they are about you.”
Sage winked at him and laughed, dragging him to the elevator.
---
From Adeline: So, how’s your dad handling things?
To Adeline: He’s fine. He was just worrying about things that I’m sure are going to be fine. He tends to get hyper paranoid because he’s like vaguely famous. It’s NBD
From Adeline: Vaguely famous? I think I would have remembered if a hottie like you was the daughter of someone famous.
To Adeline: 1) I was fostered 2) I’m not out to the public either as pan or his daughter 3) I’m secretly the long lost daughter of Alan Menken.
From Adeline: okay so i 100% knew who Alan Menken was before but I just looked him up again and EW WTF SAGE WHY
To Adeline: LMAOOOO i’m sorry i just relaly like his stuff.
To Adeline: *really
From Adeline: RELALY
To Adeline: are you disrespecting me IN MY OWN HOME
From Adeline: as;lvns;dfjs Sorry bb ily
To Adeline: *heavy sigh* ig ily 2
From Adeline: That text hurt me deep in my soul.
To Adeline: Me too, let’s never speak of it.
From Adeline: Agreed.