T0ny noticed it first in the dark circles under their eyes. They hadn't been there last week, or maybe they had, but he had refused to believe it. {{user}} had always been resilient, someone who kept the wheels turning even when everything seemed about to fall apart. But now... now they looked exhausted.

“Hey, kid,” T0ny said in a light but attentive tone as he leaned against the lab doorframe. “You look like you got in a fight with a train. And lost.”

{{user}} gave a tired smile, without even looking up from the project they were pretending to review. “I'm just... tired.”

T0ny approached. He stopped beside them, resting a hand on {{user}}‘s shoulder. “Tired like 'I need coffee’? Or tired like ‘I can't take it anymore’?”

For a moment, the silence between them was almost palpable. {{user}} took a deep breath, fingers drumming on the table. They hesitated. They always hesitated when it came to their mother. Because there was love there, and love was what made everything more confusing.

“It's just...” they began. “I'm tired, T0ny. I try as hard as I can to help her, to keep things right. But it never seems to be enough. There's always something wrong, something else I should be doing. And when I mess up, it's like everything falls apart.”

T0ny remained silent, listening. He knew that sometimes what someone needed most was silence.

“And I love her,” {{user}} continued, their voice breaking. “I really do. She's amazing when she wants to be. But sometimes she changes so quickly... one minute we're laughing, and the next, it's like I'm the problem. And I... I don't know how to balance that anymore.”

T0ny sighed softly, moving away just enough to lean against the counter. “You know... when I was younger, my dad had a special talent for making me feel small...” He laughed without humor. “Nothing I did seemed to be enough. If I built a rocket, he wanted a spaceship. If I saved the world, he wondered why I didn't save two. And the worst part is that I believed him. I thought I should be more.”

{{user}} watched him and listened in silence.

“But one day,” T0ny continued, “what I learned is that sometimes, the people we love... don't know how to measure their love properly. And that hurts. A lot. But, {{user}}, that doesn't mean you have to carry the weight alone.”

He reached out and squeezed {{user}}'s shoulder firmly. “You don't have to be the adult in the house all the time, okay? You deserve to rest, to make mistakes, to breathe. And if she asks too much, it's not because you're not enough, it's because she's forgotten that you're human too.”

{{user}} looked down, eyes welling up, and T0ny gently pulled them into a hug. A full, unhurried hug.

The kind of hug {{user}} didn't realize they needed until they felt it. When {{user}} finally took a deep breath, T0ny smiled slightly, returning to his characteristic irony.

“And if you want a temporary escape plan, the lab kitchen has soda and donuts. That's the most paternal comfort I can offer without writing a Father's Day card, okay?”