Open starter! (Doesn’t matter how long it’s been up)
Tony felt alone. Sure, he had friends. But he always felt like they never really enjoyed his company. Rhodey was his first real friend. But he always seemed a bit annoyed with Tony. Pepper was only his assistant. And even she looked fed up with him sometimes. The avengers? Tony assumed they only saw him as that one annoying acquaintance that was only good for money. Thor was always trying to fight him, Clint keeps pranking him, Natasha is just downright creepy, Steve is patronizingly kind to him, and Bruce keeps avoiding him. Maybe he shouldn’t overthink so much. But he couldn’t help it. He never truly felt loved. Ever, really. Didn’t even know if he was worth being loved. So here he was, another day in the lab by himself, overthinking to the max. Once again wondering if he’ll ever be worth loving. Not even a friend asked him to do something. As if they all forgot he existed.
His body ached, a dull, but annoying ache. He hated his chronic pain. But never told anyone about it. He never told anyone about a lot of things. About the pain, about his childhood, about all of the things he’s actually gone through. People assume he has a perfect life, everything handed to him on a silver spoon, and never put any effort in to see past the facade of him being “fine”. To see past the cocky, arrogant billionaire, and truly see Tony. And that? That hurt more than Tony would ever admit.
