"REMY'S DATING SOMEONE I KNOW IT."

Jayne raised an eyebrow from where she and Tony were sitting across from Birdie, all of them in her office, the two sharing a look, not caring that the woman could clearly see their disbelief and slight disinterest.

"He's eleven, Birdie," Jayne pointed out, and Tony snorted behind his hand, "I really don't think he's dating anyone."

"Well, he's trying to," the woman tried, and that was something that the other two adults could agree on, though very tentatively, "There's something up and I would ask BUDDY, but he's starting to become like my college-age son than the AI I bought."

"But at least he cleans up the messes now," Tony said, shrugging, "I would say that Roomba's your dog, but that's not fair to her."

Jayne turned to look at him. "Should I be worried about you and the robots?"

Tony shrugged again, shifting in his seat. "The kid tried to give Roomba medicine and bandaids because she wasn't working right, tell me who you should be worried about."

Birdie smiled fondly, shaking her head. "When he was growing up, he'd play with the stethoscope I still had in the closet, and we'd play doctor, I think he just got tired of just messing with his stuffed toys."

"Well, we'll never know since you donated all of them," Jayne said, giving the woman a look that clearly meant they'd had this conversation before.

"He was cutting them open, I was concerned," Birdie argued, looking over to Tony for help, the man immediately hiding his face behind the magazine in his hands.

"Because he wanted to sew them back up again," Jayne exclaimed, "We've been over this. He wanted to actually help them, not just pretend help them."

"Well, I can't really get them back now, can I?" Birdie finished, but it was clear that she was still regretting her actions, even after three years.

Jayne glanced over to Tony who raised his hand slightly. "Do we wanna make a trip to the toy store? Build-A-Bear?"

She sighed. "Does he even want stuffed animals anymore? And I don't want to embarrass him, it's Valentine's Day."

"Oh, shit, that's right," Tony gasped, picking up his phone and starting to type, "I nearly forgot, uh, I made us reservations for dinner tonight. You and me. Ethan's old enough to watch over himself and Remy, right?"

"Wait," Birdie said, looking over to Jayne who smiled, standing from her chair and making her way out of the room, "What do you mean you made us reservations?"

He raised an eyebrow, looking up from his phone. "Do you have any other plans for Valentine's Day?"

She glanced away, shrugging. "I mean, not necessarily for the holiday, but I have a lot of work to do—"

"So that's a no," Tony sighed, rising to his feet, "So here's the plan. I'm gonna go to the toy store and get Remy some stuffed animals—of course, I will send you pictures to make sure I make the right choices—and I'll pick you up at eight."

She blinked, unable to do anything except watch him leave.

Before she could even try and process exactly what had just happened, Jayne was rushing back into the room, pointing towards her with the same look she had whenever she realized she was going to win a case.

"I have a plan, but you need to finish your work first," the blonde said, motioning towards the stack of files in front of Birdie, as well as her computer which had too many documents open to be necessarily healthy.

"That doesn't sound like something you'd normally say," Birdie commented, fighting back a grin, because this was just what they did, and it was nice to actually have plans on Valentine's Day for once; she and Mark were always working.

Jayne scoffed. "Like I'd let you compromise your career for some man. Albeit, a very rich, successful man, but like I always say, be successful in your own right, then marry someone else successful to double your gains. Anyways. Focus."

With that, she left, leaving Birdie to stare at the pile of work in front of her, realizing—possibly for the first time in a very long time—that maybe she paid too much attention to her work and not enough to the people in her life.

But that was a brief thought which vanished as soon as it appeared.

º º º

"Wear the red dress."

Birdie sighed as Jayne thrust a very expensive looking dress in her direction, the younger woman standing in front of the closet while the other sat on the bed, giving her an unamused look.

"I'm not thirty anymore," Birdie sighed, but she took the dress anyways, running a hand across the fabric, "You and Brad have plans?"

"He's had these reservations for months in advance, can you believe it?" the blonde swooned, pulling out a sleek black dress and setting it aside, "Do you know where Tony's taking you?"

Birdie shook her head, glancing towards her clock. "I don't understand why he's taking me out, I mean, there isn't a mandatory understanding that he has to go out for dinner on Valentine's Day, right?"

"Maybe this is less about him and more about you," Jayne tried, and she could see that Birdie already knew, already understood, but wasn't ready to fully admit it.

"You don't want to say anything out loud, huh," Jayne said, and Birdie pursed her lips, nodding, the blonde sighing, but not upset, "I'd tell you not to keep everything bottled inside, but this seems like one of the few times when it makes sense."

Birdie tried not to pay attention to the subtext of that statement, instead just happy to have someone who understood.

There were many reasons why she couldn't outright accept what was right in front of her.

She was observant and had been around the block enough times to read everything, but she could still deny things, so long as she didn't make them bigger than they were. Hence, she kept quiet.

As she got ready, engrossed in making sure her hair and makeup was as presentable as it could be for wherever Tony decided to take her, she couldn't help but wonder how Remy was doing.

Pulling out her phone, she put it on speaker, hoping he would answer.

"Hi, Mom," the boy greeted, his tone hushed, "I can't talk now, Ethan and I are gonna catch a cat."

She forced herself not to shriek as she demanded, "You're what?"

"Bye, Mom, have fun on your date!"

With that, Remy hung up, leaving Birdie to stare at her phone in disbelief while Jayne snickered behind her hand. Basically another mother to the boy, the blonde knew very well that his abrupt ending meant there was going to be trouble once Birdie returned.

"I guess he's doing well," the older woman said, making a face, "Should-should I be worried?"

Jayne made a face, shaking her head. "No, you're fine...are you ready, it's almost eight."

With a sigh, Birdie stood and inspected herself in the full length mirror Jayne had behind the bathroom door. She had to admit, she looked good, her hair pulled up, but not too tightly, much more intricately placed rather than her no-nonsense buns she wore in court; like the one she'd have to wear on the weekend.

"I really think I should be working," she said, turning to look at her friend, and the blonde tutted softly, shaking her head and handing over the necklace and earrings that she had, previously, only worn during her days in court for good luck.

"You need to relax," Jayne said, placing the necklace around her neck before pressing down on her shoulders, "You don't need to micromanage everything. It's going to be okay."

Birdie took a steadying breath. "You know why I can't believe you."

Jayne gave her a sad smile. "And you know why I can't stop reminding you."

Before either woman could say anything else, the loud shout of a car horn jolted them both into reality. If it hadn't been for Birdie's constant exposure to loud noises, she most likely would have broken into a cold sweat. Instead, she simply took a steady breath, then went to get her shoes and her clutch.

"Have fun," Jayne sang, walking out with her and locking the door, Brad having just pulled into the driveway as well, looking very self-conscious next to Tony's car.

"Hey, Brad," Tony called over, catching the man's eye, "Bring her home by ten." He winked and the other man laughed, relaxing as he gave his wife a kiss when she climbed into the car.

Birdie looked away from the scene, climbing into Tony's car and the man turned towards her. "Do I get a kiss too?"

She scoffed and put on her seatbelt, motioning for him to get along with it. With a grin, Tony pulled out of the driveway and started to drive. They headed towards the city and, after a few minutes of silence, Tony spoke.

"I need to get on solid footing because, normally, I can make the decision for us, but...feelings," he grumbled the last part, but managed to get it out, clearing his throat before continuing, "We can either go to a really fancy, high class restaurant where there will no doubt be paparazzi and you'll be shoved into the limelight and possibly put into some form of danger. Or we can go somewhere small where there won't be paparazzi and you'll be safe."

She turned towards him, slightly confused. "It seems like you've already made up your mind."

"Yeah, here's the thing, I haven't," he sighed, "Because even though the smaller place would be smarter, I don't want to take you there. I have enough money to buy out the first restaurant and I would if you wanted me to. I know you don't want me to, but I could."

"But immediate danger, Tony," she pushed, "I have a son and a career I need to think about."

"You think I wouldn't try to protect you?" he asked, and it was so quick and so defensive that it was clear, he feared this part of the conversation, "I can and I will."

"Then why did you even ask me?" she laughed, because it was as if he was having the entire conversation with himself and she was just along for the ride.

"Because I want to know if you trust me," he said, the car pausing at a red light, and he took the opportunity to turn to face her, taking off his sunglasses, so he was really looking at her, "It's fine if you don't, but I need to know if you do."

She paused for a moment. She hated not being in control, no matter the situation. She hated the variables, the what if's, the feeling of helplessness. Relying solely on Tony, at least in terms of protection, that wasn't what she wanted. She could take care of herself, she had been doing just fine on her own.

But it wasn't as if she didn't trust him. She trusted him with Remy, she had entrusted him with her whole world. 

She sighed and leaned back in her seat. "I'm glad I decided to dress up."

She couldn't see it, since they were both facing the road, but Tony was smiling.

º º º

Birdie didn't want to think too much about dinner. It was at a place that was far fancier than she ever wanted to be, filled with people who all knew Tony, all greeted him, forcing her to make polite conversation and greet random strangers, trying not to stare at all the people hiding behind columns or sitting at tables trying to discreetly take photos. 

She was an attorney. She had been bombarded with cameras and microphones and reporters all the time. But this was different. Here, she was just a woman on a date, something she hadn't gone on in years. It didn't seem right to make it a spectacle.

But she made it through dinner with few difficulties, accidentally breaking a glass at one point and panicking over the level of silverware, but Tony helped her through it and as much as she hated letting him have some control, she was grateful for it. He never tried to help her right away, nor did he force her to ask him for help, both being infantilizing and the man knew better than to try and do that to her.

"I wish we had gone to the smaller place," she joked as they went to collect their jackets, "At least then I would have understood what was on the menu." She inwardly shuddered as she recalled the waiter saving her before she ended up ordering raw seafood, teetering ever so close to death in that very instance.

Tony laughed, because her tone made it clear she was grateful for him taking her there, and it didn't say anything about her regretting agreeing to trust him, so that was a win in his book.

He caught sight of some people waiting out front and he glanced towards her. "Do you want to go out the back way...?"

She steeled herself, raising her chin and shaking her head. "I've handled worse."

Tony watched as she surged forward, high heels clicking against the floor as she pushed her way through the doors and right down the mob of people, parting them like some higher power, Tony finding himself rushing after her, cursing himself for being short, recalling Remy pointing it out to him during one of their first meetings.

He found Birdie waiting by his car, raising an uninterested eyebrow towards one of the reporters who was asking her about her sex life and if she was involved with Tony Stark. Before the aforementioned man could try to butt in, Birdie leaned right into the microphone, looking the reporter dead in the eye.

"My name is Birdie Walsh. I'm a defense attorney at the Cahill & Reindell law firm in downtown Manhattan. My life is no business of anyone's, especially not a sorry excuse for a reporter. As someone who has to deal with a multitude of you on an unfortunately frequent basis, that is truly saying something."

With that, she climbed into Tony's car and buckled herself in, the man vaulting in and taking off, not bothering to put on a seat belt until they were far away from the restaurant.

"Are you okay?" he asked, because during their silence Birdie had started to cry.

"Fine," she spat, furiously wiping at the tears, "I just—I hate it when people are pushing at me, asking me all sorts of questions, it's none of their business, it was disgusting I—God, it was like I was getting divorced all over again, I felt so helpless, I can't—I'm not a little girl anymore, I'm not gonna just do whatever people tell me to—" she cut herself off, choking as she truly began to sob.

Tony could only listen helplessly, casting concerned glances over every so often. He had circled the same few blocks three times when Birdie finally spoke.

"I don't want to be alone right now," she whispered, and Tony wasn't sure if she knew he could hear her.

Deciding that, since he had put her through this mess, he had to fix it, Tony immediately headed upstate, giving Birdie enough time to cry and think, and she seemed grateful for the loud roar of the wind, he having pulled the roof down.

By the time they reached the facility, Birdie had only just finished crying. The minute she raised her head to see where they were, her heart stopped and she whirled over to look at him, utterly terrified.

"It's okay," he said, holding up his hands, "I'm not trying to do anything, I just—we have nicer beds here and you don't want to be alone and I figured bringing you home wasn't the smartest decision."

She sniffed, staring up at the building with clear worry. "You won't try anything?"

He shook his head, climbing out and offering his hand, not touching the car door, or her. "I promise. Now come on, it's cold, let's get you inside."

Sniffing, she nodded, climbing out of the car and taking his hand, gasping when she saw Happy move to take the car into the garage, but Tony shushed her softly, explaining that he's a driver. Whatever she was going through, he needed to be careful.

Deciding against the tour, Tony took her straight to the rooms, giving her one of the largest, telling her that his room was just a few doors down, explaining that there were spare clothes in the drawers and a large bathroom. He wasn't sure if it was smart to leave her alone in the room, but he was just a few doors down, so she wasn't entirely alone, right?

Figuring that he knew what he was doing, Tony headed to his own room, getting undressed and changing, too drained to do much else but the basics, though that didn't mean he didn't spend far too much time in the bathroom.

So much time that, when he exited, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he caught sight of Birdie who was hovering by his bed. She was wearing one of the looser sleep clothes, her arms wrapped around herself. Her face was makeup free, and he could easily see the redness in her puffy eyes.

"I'm not trying anything and I definitely would not be here if I thought I would be fine on my own, but I just can't be alone, but I hate asking you, because I don't even want to be in bed with someone right now, but I really don't want to be alone—" she rambled, voice picking up speed once she got started, and it was clear she definitely couldn't be left alone; with the way her mind was racing, it wasn't smart.

"I won't touch you, I promise," was all he said, and he climbed into the large bed first, making sure to stay very close to the edge.

Tentatively, after much deliberation, Birdie climbed onto the other side, switching between facing him and turning away, clearly worried even though their distance.

"I'm gonna turn away from you and you can face me to make sure I stay that way," he offered, turning so he was facing the wall, shuddering slightly when he felt her eyes on him.

He forced himself to calm down, however, not wanting to frighten her with his own panic, trying to relax and fall asleep, though that rarely ever did happen. He was nowhere near ready to sleep, no matter how exhausted he was, but he forced himself to stay in place and close his eyes; for Birdie's sake more than anything.

The last thing he remembered before somehow managing to drift into a light sleep was Birdie's voice, a hoarse whisper in the darkness of the room.

"Thank you, Tony."

º º º

Tony awoke to his arms wrapped around Birdie who was huddled right next to him, her face pressed against his chest, hands gripping his shirt which was still on, as was her own, so it wasn't as if he had done something he had just forgotten.

No, it seemed that she had just sought him out in the middle of the night, needing some kind of an anchor. She never would have done this consciously. He didn't know her as well as Jayne, but he could tell.

He glanced towards the clock, seeing that it was already well into the morning and, realistically, he should be getting both of them up and ready for the day.

But oh how he missed not being alone.

Because he was truly a selfish man, Tony just held her closer and closed his eyes, finding that he was able to drift back off into sleep within minutes, his face buried in her soft hair.

A miracle for all miracles. All because neither of them wanted to be alone.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I'd like to thank Not Another Teen Movie for screwing up my writing style, I apologize for the mess of this chapter, I had a plan, and it didn't quite stick the landing. The scenes were really odd and I didn't show much, the ending was alright, not perfect, the beginning was pretty bad...

I'm not proud, but I'm content.

As we saw, I'm building up to Birdie's backstory, which we'll see really really soon, so get ready. It's really rough.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!