She always knew Tony was a good person, or she wouldn’t be working for him. She knew what there was underneath, and she became fast friends with Rhodey and heard all about that person that Tony has been trying to hide, the one who he really is. The one that had a security blanket all through college. The one who still drinks a glass of milk in the morning before his coffee. The one who likes to sing in the shower. The one who presses reverent fingers to a photo of his mother every day before he leaves his apartment.
Tony is a mess of contradictions, of thinly veiled worries and fear. Tony puts on a mask and expects everyone to accept it, and most people do. Well, people who don’t know any better. She’s felt strangely like she’s known his heart since the beginning, since the interview, since his eyes went downcast and he cleared his throat and ran his hand through his hair—but she hates the way that sounds. She’s better than that.
