Stitches⚣Stony

Thirty

Trying to reach 5K votes by chapter 35 so tell yo friends, yo family, yo neighbours and strangers online to come and show this fic some love x

Yo sorry seasonal depression is a kick in the ass (:

Honestly, 'I know' should be this entire fics tagline cus it's said so fucking much

By request, and because Tony Stark is utterly terrified of Pepper Potts, Tony had indeed read the cards word by word and had only added a quip or two when he thought the dialogue was dry and the crowd was even dryer. He had smiled, he had waved, he had posed for photos and signed the sheets, shook hands and nodded his head, was patted on the shoulder, on the back, fingers lingered on his arm, hands squeezing his own as business men and women gushed and spoke energetically because you are so much like Howard, Tony, so much like your father, isn't that wonderful?

Tony is very good at preforming and maybe that's because his entire life has always been an act, a play, a stage show for the world to sit back, relax and enjoy as Tony stumbles over all the hurdles that life throws at him. He knows how to talk, to walk, smile and laugh in all the correct ways, he knows when to show dominance when shaking a hand and when to kiss the back of one and he definitely knows how to scan a room.

And there had been one figure that had unwillingly caught his eye as he stood ahead of a crowd of entrepreneurs and philanthropists as Tony spoke about the charity of the evening with so much enthusiasm that you would believe that Tony Stark himself would plant a tree for every dollar donated to the Burning of the Amazon foundation. Tony can't even remember pitching this idea but he's sure it was Obie's doing, jumping on the bandwagon of other philanthropists who did the same to feed the media frenzy.

Tiberius Stone has seemed to have grown more handsomer with age, more chiselled and mature, the boyish charm that hung about him in university long gone now from the man that keeps following Tony about like an unwanted, pestering fly. Tony may hate Tiberius Stone with all of his might, with every fibre of his body, but that does not mean he can't recognise beauty when he sees it, and Tiberius Stone still remains an annoyingly beautiful man.

Tony had spot him in the centre of the crowd, standing tall in his crisp suit and a crystal tumbler twirling in his hand, it's contents of liquid gold swirling against the glass. Tony would be lying if he said he wasn't distracted by him, more so for the fact that Tony's entire self has been knocked side wards after the eventful morning and the alcohol that still lingers in his system was not helping either. He hasn't seen Tiberius in so long and unlike Steve, who Tony had knew to be alive, he frankly thought Tiberius had been dead.

"You're looking good."Tiberius seems to purr, emerging from a crowd and blocking the path that people seem to relaxingly make at Galas and banquets, enough room for waiters and cocktail waitresses to shimmy with their tray of drinks and tiny foods and one that Tony was using as a quick escape to the bar. His shoulder is pressed against Tony's own but not for long.

"I know."He's swift with his actions, almost delicate on his feet as he swerves away from the sharp shoulder and around, eying up the bar that is so plainly in his sight before he's grabbed the attention of a Senator or a suitor that Obie still loves to dangle in front of his eyes every once in a while, hoping that Tony will settle down with a gorgeous Dutches or a wealthy arms manufacturer, for his sake and not for Tony's.

If it was up to Tony, and it is up to Tony, he will never marry because to marry it means to tolerate someone and furthermore, it means for them to tolerate one back. Tony likes his sense of freedom, even if freedom is far from the word of what he actually is, with Obie looming over his shoulder, managing all of his affairs and disposing of the ones that seem to cause trouble when Tony sticks his dick in the wrong princess to be or snorts cocaine off of a senator who doesn't want to be wangle with Tony Stark; Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.