Work Text:
The silence overtakes your headphones. “Seriously, again!” Your phone has been automatically restarting approximately every 20 minutes since you woke up and it was driving you crazy now as you were trying to listen to your music while finishing up the prototype idea for Tony. Pulling your headphones off your ears to sit around your neck you sigh before grabbing your phone off the table and starting the trek to Tony’s lab.
Stepping out of the elevator FRIDAY turns the music down as you step inside, aware of how sensitive you are to sound. “FRIDAY, why did you- Hello squirt! What are you doing down in the labs? Did you already finish the prototype?” He slid out from under the car he was working on.
“No, sorry. I was trying to work on it, but you know how I always work with music like you. The only problem is that my phone keeps auto-restarting approximately every 20 minutes, and I can’t focus, do you mind trying to run a diagnostic on it?” You ask, hoping he could figure out what was wrong with it.
“Have you tried restarting it? Or turning it off completely and back on?” You stare back at Tony like he’s grown a second head.
“I’m an SI intern, do you seriously think I would have brought the phone down here if I didn’t do the basic tech fixes beforehand? I’m not Steve, come on Tony. Do you have so little faith in my abilities?” You ask crossing my arms, annoyance clear on your face.
“Okay, okay. Fair, I was just making sure. Any spills or damage you can think of? If I remember right your phone is like four years old, not sure why you won’t just let me upgrade it to StarkTech.” He mentioned, taking the phone from your hand and leading you over to his desk.
“Tony, you already accepted me as an intern, are paying me a salary, and are housing me. You’ve done more than enough, I can’t ask for a top-of-the-line phone on top of that. We've been over this, I only accepted the laptop since you’re right that if I’m working on projects for you and the Avergers I should have the proper connections and protections for the information.” He shook his head and plugged your phone into the computer before launching the diagnostic program.
“Well the problem seems to be the motherboard is failing. So this phone is fried. Now will you let me get you a new one?” He asked again.
“Nope, I’ve got insurance on this one. I have to call my phone company to set up a repair time and then they’ll send me a new one.
“Seriously?” You nodded at him, “Why bring it to a repair shop? They can’t fix it?”
“I need one of their techs to tell me it’s broken beyond repair before I can file a claim. You’re welcome to come with me if you’re curious.” He nods, still seemingly confused about the concept.
Later in the week, your appointment came up. You arrive at the repair store for your appointment and wait for your name to be called. Tony decided to wear his shop clothes and sunglasses to try and blend in but immediately moved over to the display of StarkTech phones on the side wall as you headed to the repair desk. You outline your problem to them quickly.
“Have you tried restarting it?” The tech asked. You restart it for them, and then not even five minutes after you do it auto restarts. “What about turning it off completely and back on?” You repeat the action and then wait for 20 minutes as it auto restarts again. “Okay, I’m going to bring it to the back and have them run a diagnostic on it. I’ll be right back, feel free to take a seat over there while you wait.” You walked to the seating area he pointed out. Tony came to join you.
“So what did they say? Same thing I told you?” He asked smugly.
“Well, first they made me restart the phone, and then turn it off completely and back on to see if that fixed it. Now he brought it back to run a diagnostic test on it.” You told him.
“Why didn’t you just tell him you already did that like you told me?”
“They have to follow a protocol and I’m a woman who walked in with a tech issue what should I know,” You responded somewhat annoyed already knowing what was coming up.
“What does your gender have to do with getting your phone fixed?”
“You’ll see.” You went back to reading your book as he went on his phone to pass the time.
“Okay, so it seems the heart of the phone has been damaged. We can’t repair it so you’ll have to go to your phone company and file a claim and they’ll send you a new phone with your insurance. Does that make sense Ma’am?” He asked, not even bothering to tell me what exactly was damaged or why. You stood up and followed him back to the desk.
“Yes, thank you. Can you get me something that says exactly what is broken though?” I asked nicely.
“Sorry, we don’t have a way to print that out, unfortunately.” He told me.
“Is there another way to get the notes? I know my phone company is going to ask what's wrong and I just don’t understand all this techy stuff enough to tell them what was wrong with my phone. Is there anything you can do?” You asked really playing up the ‘dumb girl’ card.
“Umm, I could take a phone of the notes on your phone so you had a copy?” He offered.
“That would be lovely thank you!” I told him, turning to walk back only to crash into Tony.
“Excuse me, could you let me know what’s going on with my daughter’s phone?” Tony asked the tech.
“Sure. The motherboard is fried due to firmware errors which are preventing the phone from updating and causing it to auto restart when trying to install the updates.” He told Tony, who just nodded and looked back at me confused again, but the change in information. I just shook my head, grabbing my phone back from the Tech when he handed it back.
Walking back to the car Tony seems to be holding back thoughts. “Whatever it is that you want to ask, do it,” I tell him getting in the passenger side door.
“Okay I have multiple, but I’ll start with the big two. Why did you act like an idiot in there? I know you know exactly what was wrong, maybe even more than that guy so what was that about? Second, why did he give you literally no information and then ask if you understood, but when I asked he told me straight forward what was wrong with the phone using the actual technical terms?” He asked as we pulled out of the lot and headed back to the compound.
“I need evidence to show the insurance company and usually they try to get you stuck in a back-and-forth loop until you quit since techs don't have the ability to print out the notes. So if I play dumb then he feels like a big strong man helping out a clueless girl. He feels like a hero, he feels better than me, so he'll help me out. You saw the way his speech changed when talking to you. The same thing happens in any male-dominated industry that deals with helping, like electronics, repair stores, car shops, mechanics, outdoor recreation, weapons, and more. My parents made sure I had a basic knowledge of a lot of these things so I don't get taken advantage of. Men in a lot of these areas treat me like a toddler or idiot. They made me go out and check the make and model of my car because I couldn't possibly know that information, while the man next to me told them his specs and they just accepted it when I went to double-check the filter I needed for my oil change. I went into the hunting shop to get my compound bow tuned and they asked if it was my boyfriend's bow because he wouldn't like me messing around with it even if I thought I was helping. So for things like this, I use it to my advantage. They want to underestimate me and treat me like I know nothing because I don’t have a dick, then I’m going to use that to get want I need.”
“Please remind me never to piss you off. I forgot how spiteful you can be when you want to, hiding behind the sunshine smiles is actually a gremlin.” You both laugh as you enjoy the ride back to the compound.