They say maybe it’s because he doesn’t have a heart, that means that he can’t have a soul, that he sold it for his suit and for superpowers, that the suit is his daemon or he is its, that he never had one at all and that’s why (why what depends on the person, the story, the angle, the dismissal).

 Tony has created a number of stories in his head and in private over the years, nice soundbites about the beat of wings and a hurricane, about knowing the value of strength by knowing vulnerability, about having thought a lot about armour and flight and exoskeletons over the years.

He’s never made the announcement because in the end if people are too stupid not to see the flutter of Skiana beside him, then they don’t deserve to know her, and Tony isn’t ashamed but he is protective, and he’s never been certain of any love apart from hers, so he smiles, and let’s them talk, and hears Skiana laugh, uncaring, in his ear.