[Steve Rogers (Combo Prince Who Wants to Dance With Her): @Tony Stark, it's not taking advantage exactly. Given my relationship with Howard, I'd count as your uncle. By the way, how is Howard now? I may be dead, but if possible, say hello to him for me. Honestly, I kind of miss him.]
[Stephen Strange (I'm Here to Negotiate): ....]
[Natasha (Stop Arguing, I'll Jump Off a Cliff): ....]
[Clint Barton (If I Fight, We Win): ....]
[Steve Rogers (Combo Prince Who Wants to Dance With Her): What happened? @Natasha, @Strange, @Barton]
[Nick Fury (Would Love a Vacation on the Moon): Ahem. @Steve Rogers, Captain, I'm sorry to tell you that the Howards died in a car crash on December 24, 1991. Tony Stark was only twenty-one.]
[Steve Rogers (Combo Prince Who Wants to Dance With Her): ... @Tony Stark, I'm sorry. I didn't know Howard had passed.]
[Tony Stark (She Says She Loves Me Three Thousand Times): It's fine. It's been a long time. But @Steve Rogers, I don't recognize you as my uncle.]
Inside Tony Stark's villa.
After sending that message, Tony leaned back on the sofa, face tight. He had said he didn't care, but whenever he thought about that cursed "accident" that took his parents, a heavy restlessness settled in his chest.
To others he was a genius, a carefree playboy, a billionaire who inherited Stark Industries at twenty-one. But on that cold night, after he got the news, no one knew how hard he broke.
If not for Obadiah Stane, the man he had always treated like an uncle, staying with him through the worst, helping him face the board that wanted to carve up Stark Industries after his parents' deaths, grief and regret might have swallowed him whole.
If only he hadn't stormed out that night. If only he had said a proper goodbye. Maybe the ache wouldn't have burrowed so deep.
"Hah..."
He drew a long breath, lifted his glass, and drained it. The anger stirred by memories of his parents would not dissipate.
"What's wrong?"
Pepper walked in, saw him gulping red wine with a grim look, and set down her bag. She sat beside him. "Who made you mad? Don't tell me it was last night's cover model."
"A dead guy who suddenly popped up and poked at something I thought I'd forgotten but never really did."
It was a mouthful, but Pepper knew him better than anyone and seemed to get it.
"Some things are hard to forget. But the past is the past. No matter how hard it is to accept, we can only accept it. We don't get to change what already happened."
Tony glanced at her, curious. "You know what I'm talking about?"
"No. I'm comforting you based on what you said. Is there anyone who understands you better than I do?"
"A man who looks arrogant and careless, a playboy who pretends nothing matters, but is actually thoughtful and warm. A lovable jerk."
Pepper smiled at him.
He shrugged and set the glass down. If he would snap at anyone, it would never be Pepper.
Don't ask why. Finding an assistant who truly gets you is rare. Maybe friend is the better word.
"All right. I don't know what happened, but the standard pep talk is over." She stood and gave him her professional smile. "I have to clean up the 'trash' you left last night."
"Good thing the cover model is already gone. Otherwise I'd be taking her out with the rest."
She turned on her heel.
"Come on."
Tony spread his hands at her brisk exit. "Don't be like that, Pepper."
"You earned it. If you didn't bring that 'trash' home for the night, I wouldn't be dealing with this first thing in the morning."
She did not spare his feelings as she walked away.