Tony hated to be a reminiscer, but he couldn't stop thinking about how different everything was at last year's benefit for the Firefighter's Family Fund. Back then, he and Pepper couldn't even share a dance without things getting awkward between them, now they were going together, as a proud couple. People were beginning to accept that Tony Stark trusted her with his dad's company, and that was something that deserved respect, not stigma.

The only thing that had remained the same seemed to be Ana's distaste for social gatherings.

"It's not that hard, you know," he told her jokingly.

"What?"

"Enjoying a party, it's not that hard."

She chuckled. "It's not that… I'm nervous about something else. I, uhm… I got a date."

Happy almost lost control of the wheel when Ana dropped the bomb like that.

"Happy!" Pepper warned him.

"Sorry."

This was going to happen, sooner or later. Tony forced himself to be realistic. He should have been prepared. If he wanted Ana to have a family of her own one day, he had to let it happen. It didn't mean he liked the thought, though. No, he didn't like the thought at all.

He remembered the conversation he had with General Ross in that bar, while he was on a mission to piss him off. It hadn't taken Tony long to realize the Bruce Banner case was personal to him, and he had asked why.

"Daughters, Stark," Ross had said. "You have one, don't you? Wait until she falls for an idiot. Then you'll see why it's so personal."

Ross was just trying to play the empathy card, but it hadn't worked. Tony was so confident that Ana would never fall for an idiot back then. Now, he couldn't be so sure.

"Who's he?" Pepper asked. Tony was still recovering from the blow.

"His name is Vincent. He's 20, and he works at a startup in Silicon Valley," she replied anxiously.

"When did you guys meet?"

"Two weeks ago."

"So, you don't know him well?"

"No, but isn't this what dates are for? To get to know each other?"

"Fair enough."

Pepper's hand tightened around his. Tony gave her a "Help me" look. He might have been caught totally off-guard, but Pepper had taken it like a boss. She cocked an eyebrow at him. It was a "Play it nice" warning. He didn't know where he would be without this amazing woman.

"Dad? Was it too sudden? I should've told you guys before the—"

"No," he managed to say. "No, it's fine. Still counts as a heads-up."

"Are you sure? I can call him and tell him this is not a good time if you want."

"No, this is a perfect time."

"Please don't be mad. It's just a date. I want to know what you guys will think of him."

"I'm not angry. Just give me a minute to process it."

"Okay."

It was just a date, indeed. It still sounded better than "engagement," or "pregnancy."

When they arrived, Happy got out of the car, and rushed to their side to open the door. Flashes started exploding around them as usual.

"I'll be around if you need me, sir," he said insinuatingly. Pepper and Ana rolled their eyes, but Tony was glad to have a protective uncle figure as a sidekick. Speaking of sidekicks, if only Rhodey were here, too.

"Where's he?" Tony asked Ana as the three of them posed for the pictures. It would be a lie if he said he wasn't curious about this Vincent, who was bold enough to date Iron Man's daughter.

"Inside. Didn't want the paparazzi to see him."

"They will still know about him by the end of the night," Pepper reminded, and the queasy feeling in Tony's stomach only became worse.

Ana shrugged. "Probably."

They went inside. And a tall, blond, athletic young man with a shy smile approached them. Weren't girls supposed to find guys who looked like their fathers? It was a lie, then. Vincent didn't look anything like Tony. Except for the fact that he was quite handsome, which didn't help at all.

"Hello, Ana." He kissed her. On the cheek, thankfully. "You look lovely."

"Thanks. So do you."

He shook their hands. "Mr. Stark. Ms. Potts. Ana told me so much about you."

Tony would love to have a lengthy chat with him, but soon, they were surrounded by other people who wanted to shake their hands. Ana saved Vincent by taking him to the dance floor, much to Tony's displeasure. He barely saw anyone else while Pepper just dragged him around.

Finally, once there were no more hands to shake, he went to the bar and ordered a Scotch.

"Please don't get drunk," Pepper begged him. "And for God's sake, stop looking like you're choking."

"God, they're still dancing." He drained the glass in one gulp, and asked for a refill. "How did they even meet?"

"I don't know, Tony. You two can talk about it later. For now, just let them have fun. Speaking of, maybe we should have some fun, too. Want to dance?"

Tony smirked. "Oh, so, you want to dance now?"

"I didn't forget to wear deodorant this year."

"Just a sec." He drained the second glass, took out his phone, took a picture of Ana and Vincent dancing, and sent it to JARVIS.

Potential boyfriend. Full background check. Now.

He was being subtle, of course, but Pepper had seen it.

"Before you say anything, this is not toxic masculinity, okay? I'm just a dad who—"

"For what's worth, I have my fair share of concerns. I'm just trying not to ruin her night."

He was relieved to hear that he and Pepper were on the same page. "Well, we're about to find out if we're right to be suspicious or not. Any second now..."

He waited for a few minutes for JARVIS' reply, but it didn't come. "I don't know why, but it looks like this is going to take a while. Let's enjoy the moment until then."

He took her hand and together, they went to take their place among the other dancing couples. Tony loved this, to hold Pepper in his arms. He shuddered every time he recalled how close he had come to losing her. It was pure luck that she had survived Obadiah and his suit. All it would have taken was one bullet, one single bullet that found its way into her body, and that would be it. He would have lost her for good. And then, the explosion at the Expo… Had Tony be one second late, there wouldn't even have been a cold, dead body on a metal table for him to identify afterwards. So, he was doing his best to enjoy the feeling of having her safe and happy in his arms. But a part of him was anxiously anticipating his phone to vibrate in his pocket.

Come on, buddy, what's taking you so long?

When it finally did, he excused himself and went to the men's room. It was empty. He leaned against the marble counter, and opened the file JARVIS had sent him. Well, there wasn't much to read, but what he found was enough to shock him. Damn it. He knew she was a smart girl, he didn't doubt she had a good explanation, but… What the hell was Ana up to?

After a few minutes of inner struggle, he decided to play along for the time being. He wouldn't reveal the charade before he talked to Ana in private. There was no need to make a scene and embarrass her.

When he returned, he found Pepper having a nice chat with Ana and Vincent. He joined them, asked questions any father would ask. Like where he was from, what his parents did, and where he worked. And of course, Vincent had a solid answer for each one. After all, this was what he was getting paid for.

…

Once they were home, Pepper said she was tired, and went upstairs. Maybe she was telling the truth, or maybe she had realized Tony wanted to be alone with Ana. Either way, he was glad that he wouldn't have to postpone this conversation.

"Goodnight, Dad," she said quickly, and headed for the stairs, but Tony gently grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back.

"Nope. We need to talk."

"About Vincent?"

"Yeah."

"Can't this wait until morning?"

"I don't think I can sleep before you tell me why you hired an actor to be your date, honey."

"Oh."

"Let's take a seat." Ana collapsed on the nearest chair, and waited like a murder suspect in an interrogation room while Tony shed his jacket and loosened his bow tie. Then he plopped himself down on the couch.

"Okay. I'm listening."

"How old am I, Dad?"

"18."

"I'll be 19 next month. And I've never had a boyfriend before. I had to do something about it before people started asking questions."

"Kid, don't be in such a hurry. One day you'll meet the right person. Someone who's good enough for you. I mean, no one will ever be good enough for you in my eyes, but you get the point…"

"No, Dad, I won't!" she snapped. "I will never meet 'the right person'! I will never have a boyfriend! You will never see me in a wedding dress, or walk me down the aisle! I will never give you grandkids. I'm a freak. So, can't you at least appreciate my efforts to maintain a good reputation? And don't worry, I made Vincent sign an NDA and everything. I'm not stupid."

Tony had suspected this. Kind of. Even as a little girl, she would never play house. She would never swoon over any Disney princes. As far as he knew, she hadn't had a crush on an actor, or a boyband member or anything. It was the subtle details adding up that had led him to think Ana was either a late bloomer, or she wasn't into boys. He sometimes made jokes about it to let her know that it was cool if the latter was the case, but maybe he should have taken a more direct approach. It broke his heart to see how hard it was for her to have been carrying this emotional baggage for who knew how long.

He went to crouch beside her. "Look at me, Ana. Wedding dresses, aisles, grandkids… I've never had such things in mind while raising you. You're not some sort of long-term investment. Or a project. All I expect from you is to be happy, whatever that means to you."

She gave him a small smile full of gratitude. "I think I always knew you wouldn't mind. I'm sorry I lied to you and Pepper earlier tonight, but that lie wasn't actually for you. It was for the rest of the world."

"This is the 21st century, kid. Homophobia is not cool anymore."

"What?"

This puzzled him. "What?"

"Dad, I'm not gay!"

"Oh. When I realized you weren't into boys, I thought—"

"I was into girls? No. I'm not into anybody. It's called asexuality. Vincent told me the other day. I'm the first celebrity he's worked with, but he's had a few closeted asexual clients before. It's very rare, but it's a thing."

"See? You're not a freak, then."

"It doesn't matter, Dad. People won't care if it's normal or not. I'll be a freak in their eyes."

"You really should stop caring so much about other people's opinions."

"I know. I took Pepper's advice and told JARVIS to filter out the stuff about me online. I can't even Google my name anymore. It helps."

"Good." Seriously, he wanted to kiss Pepper right now. He should have thought of this a long time ago. JARVIS had been censoring the inappropriate stuff about Tony ever since Ana was old enough to use a computer on her own, for which both parties were grateful. Some more censorship to maintain her own self-esteem wouldn't hurt either.

"So, are you mad at me?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"No more fake dates. Maybe it shouldn't be my business, but I know how people are. I know the questions will never stop. You keep dating Vincent, they'll ask when you'll go steady. You go steady, they'll ask when you're tying the knot. You tie the knot, they'll ask when you're going to start making babies. I can't let you live a whole fake life, kid. That's too big a mistake to ignore."

"I couldn't take it that far even if I wanted to. Vincent has a real girlfriend. He's actually in the business because he's planning to propose to her."

"He sounds like a cool guy, but I'm sorry. This needs to stop."

"Oh, don't worry about him. After tonight, he can afford a penthouse in LA."

"So, you're going to end it, right?"

"I am. And you can tell Pepper. It's okay."

"Are you sure you don't want to tell her yourself?"

She shrugged. "I'm not looking forward to seeing the look on her face when she finds out Vincent wan an actor."

He got back to his feet, and kissed the top of her head. "Understood. I'll save you from the trouble."

"Thanks, Dad. You're the best. Seriously, you're the best."

"So, do you want to talk more about this?"

"Actually, there's one thing I want to ask you."

"Ask away."

"Do you and Pepper have to make any… compromises?"

"To make the relationship work? Of course. Every relationship involves some compromises. Why?"

"Vincent also said sexual and romantic attractions aren't always the same thing. That I might still be capable of romantic feelings, but I don't know."

For a moment, it didn't make any sense, but then, suddenly, it clicked for him. Pepper was different because she was the first woman he was both sexually and romantically attracted to. He, of all people, knew sex could happen without romance. So, why would romance not happen without sex? He also knew the concept wouldn't be easy to grasp for everybody, which brought him back to Ana's question.

"You don't want to make compromises for anyone…"

"And I don't want anyone to make compromises for me. That's not my idea of love."

"Maybe one day you'll meet someone just like yourself. Until then, I'm just glad I don't have to share you with anyone."

She laughed, and kissed him on the cheek before leaving. "Good night, Dad."

"Night-night."

Not the coming out of closet moment he had imagined—he hadn't even known there was a closet for this sort of thing, and neither had she, by the look of it—but it had gone smoothly.

When he entered the bedroom, Pepper was lying in the bed. The room was dimly lit, and her back was to him, so he couldn't see if she was asleep or not. And yet, he knew she was awake.

"How did it go?" she asked. Of course she did.

"That boy was an actor. Ana hired him to pretend to be her date."

She turned to face him. "An actor? Oh my God…"

"Yeah, Ana is asexual. She doesn't want the public to find out."

"Asexual? What does that mean?"

"She's not interested in boys, she's not interested in girls… She's not interested in anybody."

"Asexuality is a sexual orientation that describes people who do not experience sexual attraction," JARVIS explained.

Pepper grinned. "Lucky you, then."

"She was actually worried that I might want her to get married and have kids one day."

"But she won't? Like, ever?"

"She seemed pretty certain about what she wants… or, doesn't want."

She sighed. "Sounds lonely, though."

"From our perspective, maybe. But it's like feeling sorry for the fish because they will never get fresh air."

The metaphor made her chuckle. Tony put on a pair of sweatpants, and joined her in the bed. Only then, he realized her eyes were red. "Hey… What happened?"

"It's my mom."

"Is she okay?"

"Yeah. It's just… She saw us on TV tonight, and… Let's just say she's not your biggest fan."

Tony knew Pepper's dad had died when she was at junior high, and Mrs. Potts had raised her on her own after that. Pepper understood the pain of losing a parent at an early age.

"I thought she knew about the relationship?"

"She did, but she didn't want to accept how serious it was. Until now."

"If you introduce me to her, maybe I can change her mind."

"I doubt that," she mumbled, idly drawing patterns on his Arc Reactor with her finger. "She can be really stubborn."

"Still, I'd hate to come in between you two."

"You wouldn't. The thing is, I appreciate everything she did to send me to college, to make sure I had a career. For a long time, it was just the two of us against the world. You'd think that would bring us closer, right? But it was the opposite. I could never tell her about my problems at school, or my first job. She'd go hysterical when I did. She was so desperate to see me succeed in life that she wanted to hear only the good parts. So, we're not very close. We haven't been, for a long time."

"Oh." It surprised him to see how little he still knew about her past.

"Yeah," she said with a sad smile. "Anyway, we should get some sleep."

"Agreed."

JARVIS turned off the lights. Tony wrapped his arms around her, kissed her lips, and closed his eyes.