Words: 748
Pairing: Tony Stark x Reader (platonic)
Warnings: hating own name, crying
Requested by @therejectedalien
Summary: You hate your name and only go by a nickname. One day, Tony gets curious and decides to ask you about it.
Author's Note: You have the power of telepathy where your nickname comes from. I've gotten a few comments about the nickname being worse, but it's what the request asked for so I apologize! I think it's cute :)
*Edited*
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You had been avoiding Tony almost all day. When he told you he had to talk to you, you hid. You didn't really want to know what he wanted to talk to you about; whether it was about the team or what food you wanted, you didn't want to know.
You always knew where he was, thanks to your mutation. When you were younger, you didn't know how you always knew what was said when you weren't paying attention, but when HYDRA had found you and explained, you went to the Avengers.
You tuned in to Tony's thoughts whenever you could feel him near and went the opposite direction of his mind's intentions.
But, when you ignored your mind signaling that Tony was near, he caught up to you. It had been all day, and he finally found you, catching you off guard.
"Tele!" He yelled, running after you. That was the nickname you assigned yourself when you found out about your mutation, Tele- short for telepathy. It was easier this way.
You turned around after swearing under your breath with a fake smile. "Hey, Tony." You sighed when you saw him.
"I've been looking for you all day!" Tony told you. "Where have you been? You said you'd meet with me." He sighed.
"Sorry, Stark, I've been a bit busy."
"What, running away from me?" He groaned.
You rolled your eyes. "No."
"You do realize that sometimes when you think too much about one person, they can hear it- just like you can hear me?" Tony smirked. "Please, come talk to me."
"What do you need?" You asked, scared if you would regret the question.
"Let's walk," Tony said, and you followed.
"So, what can I do for you?" You asked, a small smile on your face.
"A few things." Tony nodded. "I might need your help with a project I'm working on later this week and wanted to make sure you'd be okay with that."
"Always." You replied. "What's the bad question?"
Tony laughed a bit; you could always tell when he put the good questions first. "It's about your name."
"My name?" You asked, confused.
"Yeah, I've been wondering; I don't know your real name. We all just know you by Tele, and I was curious what it was?" Tony asked, talking a bit faster than what was probably intended.
"Uh, why?" You timidly asked him, hoping to get him off the subject.
Tony shrugged. "I just, wanted to know. My curiosity is going to eat me alive."
"It's nothing special." You shrugged, looking down. "I prefer to go by my nickname."
"Why?"
You didn't look at him. "I just like it more." You said.
"Pleaseeeeee tell me your name!" Tony began to beg you.
"I don't want to." You told him.
"Please!" He continued. "It's not like anything bad will come from it."
"Yes, it will!" You yelled and ran off to your room. Tony didn't know what just happened, but he slowly followed.
All of a sudden, memories from your past started to come up. Kids from school making fun of your name and adding all the things they did, it made you feel so bad. Especially when you found out that you could hear others' thoughts, it was even worse. Hearing all those things being said about your name, it really hurt.
Tony ran to your room when he heard your door slam shut, and he walked in carefully. "Hey, Tele..."
"Go away, Tony." You commanded, covering your eyes.
Tony didn't listen to you and sat next to you on your bed. He put his hand on your back, and began to apologize. "I'm sorry for asking...I can now see it's a sensitive topic. Do you, maybe, want to talk about it?" He asked calmly. Tony never seemed to act like this towards people, but behind the playboy billionaire, was a caring person. He didn't come out too often, but when you needed him, there he was.
You ended up telling him about what happened and revealed your name. "Just so you know...I love your name. I don't know why anyone would want to make fun of it; I mean, you're amazing in so many different ways, the name is just an added bonus." Tony smiled at you and hugged you.
"Thank you, Tony." You whispered.
"I'll always be here for you, (Y/N)." He told you, and for the first time in a while, it felt good to hear your name.