#i turned stark to shah because shah is a p regal name in india and also it was the first name i thought of okay

[ad1thi]

been thinking a lot about desi!tony (and am maybe venting personal experiences through fandom but who's to say?):

When Tony gets early admission into MIT, his mother immediately calls his mausi to check whether she's free for a pilgrimage

"Its very important to thank the gods for our good fortune beta," she says; cupping her hand around the flame and pressing it to the top of his head thrice in succession, "the gods have been fortunate to us and so we must show our gratitude"

He manages to finagle out of it, but he can't quite manage to convince his parents to let him go to MIT alone

"You're 15 puttar, you're not nearly old enough to go on your own," his ma fusses, "its bad enough that you're leaving home so early"

When they reach Cambridge, his Appa pulls him aside when his mom is busy settling things into the room

"You come from a family that once sat on the throne of Rajastan," Harish says solemnly; and Tony feels the weight of his father's fingers digging into his shoulder, "Don't forget your roots"

The thing that takes Tony by surprise, is money

Vaguely, he was aware that his family was rich and that he was well taken care of- but he never really truly understood what it meant until he met Rhodey

"The thing is Tones," Rhodey says in between bites of instant ramen, "you've never had to worry about money. So you've never learnt to budget. Now see me, I had to pay for everything myself once I got a job. Taught me a couple of life skills"

The next day Tony applies for a job at the college mess

It doesn't pay much, and Tony's social life takes a severe hit once his 'friends' figure out that he's no longer going to pave the way for them to drink (amongst other things) all night long

But the first time Tony pulls out a wrinkly $5 bill to pay for his burrito; he feels extremely accomplished

His parents, naturally, don't feel the same

His mother offers to send more money; his father threatens to cut him off since he seems to have "figured it all out for yourself anyway, what do you need me for?"

"Its not about the money Ma," he says in an even tone, squeezing Rhodey's hand everytime he feels like yelling, "Its about financial independence"

"Your father doesn't slave every single day in the office so that his son can sling food onto a white man's tray like a bloody slave," his mom yells furiously, "I thought I taught you better than you belittle yourself for money"

She cuts the call before he can say anything further, and he looks helplessly at Rhodey; burying his head against his shoulder

It takes 6 months and many, many phone-calls; but his parents reluctantly agree that the job at the college mess is good experience

"I still don't see why you can't get a job as a mechanic or something," his father says, "doesn't this take your focus away from your studies?"

"Never forget Tony," his parents emphasize, "Rajputs are lions, and a lion bows to nobody"

The words haunt him for the rest of his life

tbc

#my writing #desi!tony stark #curry!tony stark #indian!tony stark #rajput tony stark au #based on a true story #my story #lmao #what would his mom's name be in this au? #howard is harish because i hate the name harish #but I don't know what to call his mom #i would say madhavi but i think that's projecting wayyy too much to give him my mom's name as well #anyway let me know what you think his mom's name should be #why is tony north indian even though im south indian?? #nobody knows #actually i know #its cuz i know how to write hindi words with English alphabets but i don't know how to do that with my mother tongue #i turned stark to shah because shah is a p regal name in india and also it was the first name i thought of okay #give me a break its 1 in the morning #why is Rhodey in this?? #BECAUSE ITS AN MIT FIC OF COURSE RHODEY IS IN THIS #james rhodes & tony stark #mit era #do US universities have messes?? #a mess is like a food hall?? #idk we call it a mess what do yall call it?? #the most unrealistic thing about this fic isn't that tony is indian #its that his father let him study at MIT when IIT exists