You turn to the news, if only because you hear your name mentioned, and set down the tools you'd been using. It's one of the news stations that isn't fond of you, especially after the fiasco at the Stark Expo, and they pull up some old footage of you – drunk and making a fool of yourself. They complain about trusting you with the responsibility of the armor but you just laugh, turn the volume down, and go back to your work.
The comments and clips never used to bother you, because you were young and stupid and didn't care what anyone thought of you as long as they noticed you, and they still don't, if for an entirely different reason.
It's a bitter laugh though, as you think about how little these newscasters know about responsibility. You've been responsible for the death of a friend, and you'll never forget that cave or the time he gave you. You've been responsible for the lives of others and you'll never forget the town of Gulmira. You've been responsible for the death of your mentor, someone you thought was your friend but had been betraying you for a long time. You've finally taken responsibility for your company and the things you've helped create. You may not be particularly responsible for your own health and wellness – concern for yourself doesn't come naturally to you – but you stopped being irresponsible sometime in that cave, at least in the respect of holding another's life in your hands.
They want to talk about responsibility? That doesn't bother you one bit – they don't know the meaning of the word.
Sometimes people talk about you giving up the suit. They don't trust you with it, saying that anyone could put it on and do what you do and that there are people out there who could do it much better.
That used to bother you but experience and all the long hours you've spent in the suit have done more than enough to prove otherwise to you. Iron Man is not just a man in a suit – Iron Man is the man in the suit. You are Iron Man and no one else can use the suit in the same manner you can. You made the suit, you designed it, and you built it, all with yourself in mind. No one else has the knowledge or the resources that you have.
Stane proved that when he tried to make a suit and Hammer and Vanko proved that when they tried to attack you with over thirty drones. Admittedly you had Rhodey's help in that situation but even he doesn't know the suit like you do. People who say you should give up the suit don't seem to realize that the suit is nothing without the man inside and that, as arrogant as it sounds, you don't trust anyone else to wear it.
You're brought out of your musings and your absentminded tinkering when Pepper interrupts you, reminding you of the event that's tonight and the obligation you have to attend. You acknowledge her request and say you'll be there, hanging up the phone before she has a chance to ask when you'll be there.
You finish up the task at hand first, taking your time because you don't care how late you are, but now your ever busy mind can't help but think of Pepper and how lucky you are to have her.
The news channels had erupted with gossip when you made her your CEO. They had speculated wildly on your reasons behind it, mentioning Pepper's inability to do the job due to her lack of qualifications, but all those statements never bothered you and the comments about her qualifications only ever made you laugh. Pepper under qualified? They had clearly never met her. Anyone who said Pepper couldn't handle the job was either blind or a fool, and definitely not worth your time.
Eventually you show up at the event, not even bothering to remember what it's for as you make your entrance, drawing all eyes toward you. It's something you've become very good at and it's only recently you've begun to think that that might not be what you want anymore. It's too difficult to change though, habit is habit, and you make your way through the crowd, subtly searching for Pepper as you greet people with half remembered names.
You pass by someone just in time to hear them unleash scathing remarks about you and your company, citing the decision you made quite some time ago to stop all weapons manufacturing. You can tell he's trying to speak technically to impress his date but what he's saying shows that he doesn't know that much about the market and he's just making a fool of himself.
It doesn't bother you that he's bad mouthing you or your company because you've long since adjusted to that, but you're not about to let him get away with it while you're standing right there. You descend upon him, startling both him and his date.
"Did I hear my name?" you ask confidently, your tone leaving no doubt in their minds that you heard what they said.
They both look slightly uncomfortable, clearly neither expected to actually meet you tonight, and you sling your arm over the man's shoulder, your grin widening. You could pretend to be upset over what they said – startle them even more – but you're a billionaire, playboy, genius, philanthropist. You don't do upset. Instead you feign ignorance, asking what they were talking about.
You remain with them for quite some time, engaged in conversation – even if you are doing most of the talking. You are your usual charming self in public and the two grow steadily more uncomfortable. They're both young enough to feel bad for insulting you, especially after you don't even mention it, and they are both immensely relieved when Pepper finds you and pulls you away, apologizing automatically for whatever you said. You spend the rest of the night being dragged around by Pepper as she introduces you to all the important people. That doesn't bother you either.
When you start your work on the arc reactor, moving the company's interests to clean energy, the media starts hounding you again. More people are on your side than before though, and you can tell Iron Man is making an impact on the people.
The board of the company doesn't agree with your choices though, not nearly as supportive as some people, but you're startled to find that that doesn't bother you either. What does it matter what they think?
You don't mean to be so condescending or narcissistic, though that is what is expected of you, but really. You know you're doing the right thing. You know that you'd rather shut down Stark Industries than return to weapons manufacturing.
Clean energy is a worthwhile topic to pursue, even if it doesn't earn as much money, and you know the arc reactor with work. You're living proof. Who cares what anyone else says?
You try your hardest to act as people expect of you, knowing that you don't exactly fit the parameters of what's defined as normal, but there are some things you just can't change. As your years as a superhero pass people notice things about Tony Stark. They notice that he only ever jokingly complains about the news stations that belittle him. They notice that comments about his friends abilities only make him laugh, as though he knows something they don't (but they don't dare actually insult them - then they'll pay). They notice that insults seem to just roll off him. People can't help but notice that not much seems to bother Tony Stark.
You try your hardest but it's hard to be something you're not. You've got so much to worry about anyway that you don't have time to keep up the facade of being bothered by newscasters or worried about your public appearance.
You've got to worry about your life, dropping into war zones and diffusing possible battles, not to mention the lives of all the people you protect. You've got to worry about your dependence on alcohol and the fact that you can't seem to stop. You know it's bad but it's something that's hard to shake. You've got to worry about your friends and your love life and all the people you care about. You've got to worry about people trying to steal your technology, about making weapons from what you've built. You've got to worry about your company, because as capable as Pepper is, you've still got a large say in what your company is researching and supporting (and you can't forget Obadiah, right at the head of your company, who was selling weapons to both sides).
So, it's hard to pretend to be bothered, whether of ignorant people or nosy newscasters. It's hard to feel upset by cheap insults when there are people whose main goal in their life is to end yours. Some days you almost think it's harder to be Tony Stark than Iron Man because Iron Man doesn't have to pretend.
AN: So, it's been a long time since I published my first Not Bothered one-shot (for Spider-Man, if your wondering), but I thought I'd give it a shot again. Rather shot I know, but this was surprisingly difficult to write. This takes place before Avengers.
Let me know what you think!