“Protocol” My Ass!!! (Tony Stark x Black!Reader)
Summary (this was requested but it’s also kind of based off a personal experience that recently happened): Tony realized silence in situations of injustice is acceptance of injustice. So he’s using his place in society to speak the hell up and stand up for what is right.
Warnings: racial profiling, slurs (but not the n word even though there’s like a inference to it), racial injustices.
A/N: I hope with every racist bigot y’all face they’re struck down by lightening.✊🏽
You were happily engaged to Tony and with being engaged to such a man came the opinions of society, the annoying, unruly, disgusting opinions of society.
Tony took no shit when it came to you though, especially when it came to racial profiling. He knew you could handle yourself but when he stood up for you, it wasn’t really just for you, it was for other people of color suffering the same situations.
Tony wasn’t trying to play the role of a white savior, he was simply doing the humanly right thing. He was doing what other people didn’t want to. He educated himself, he used his white male privilege to educate and shut down the ignorance of others. You being with him made him realize he couldn’t stand by and just watch the videos of senseless killings by police, reading the articles of women, men and children being killed because of their skin color and seeing other people justify it. Though he knows he should’ve been doing this, he’s glad he’s finally doing it now. You educated him to begin with and he took it upon himself to continue to learn, understand and empathize.
Today, you and Tony had visited the beach and were now walking the boardwalk and checking out the little shops.
“Oh they’re having a sale!,” you pointed and dragged Tony with you, “let’s check it out”
Tony shook his head at you with a smile on his face and let you drag him around the store. You were checking out the athletic leggings and spanx that were on sale. He had adjusted the backpack on his shoulders, said backpack carried all of the necessities that you guys needed for the beach.
You were taking your time browsing the racks when you and Tony felt like you were being watched. Tony looked and noticed a boardwalk patrol officer eyeing you guys… or more, eyeing you. Tony clenched his jaw and squeezed your hand to check if you were okay, you squeezed his hand back twice to confirm. He knew you knew you were being glared at and even though he knew you were used to it, doesn’t make it okay. No one should get used to the “stare”.
You two spent another ten minutes looking at racks before you pointed to a men’s rack.
“Look babe,” you picked up a pair of board shorts, “I think you’ll look good in these.” You held them up against his waist making sure they were the right size.
“Y/N, when do I ever wear board shorts?,” Tony smiled at you and placed his sunglasses on his head.
“Uhm like… now?” You chuckled at his dumbass, he can be such a ditz.
Tony looked down at his shorts and sucked his teeth and did his infamous eye roll
“Only because we’re at the beach!,” he defended, “and these make my ass look phenomenal” he curled his fingers into the okay sign and laughed at himself.
You rolled your eyes at him and placed them on your arm along with the other two pairs of leggings and a pair of spanx that you currently carried.
Tony felt the need to use the bathroom and he spotted one right across the way. He couldn’t hold it, this hit him hard. He knew he shouldn’t have had that much coffee today. He huffed and handed the backpack to you and did a little potty dance.
“Sweetheart, can you hold this while I pee? I’ll be quick,” He assured you, knowing you didn’t want to be alone too long with that patrol officer watching you.
You took the bag from him and nodded before flinging it over her shoulder.
“Yeah, I think I’m gonna put these back anyway. I thought I liked the color but I might’ve lied to myself about that,” you lightly laughed to yourself as you held up a pair of leggings you had been contemplating to buy before he rushes off to the men’s room.
You walked back to the rack where the leggings were. This was the perfect opportunity for the patrol officer to bug you. He could barely see your head above the rack and even though you felt him staring, you made sure not to look at him, you didn’t want to give him “probable cause” to do anything, so you did your best not to seem suspicious even though your skin color gave him reason (in his mind) to treat you like you were anyway.
Your phone began ringing, which was in the bag. You knew it was Sam because of his Eye of the Tiger ringtone.
You placed the leggings back on the rack and swung the backpack of your shoulder and placed it in the floor to fish your phone out of the small from pocket. Once it was out, you stood up and placed it back on your shoulder and answered the phone.
It had been a brief call, just him informing you that you were scheduled for a mission and you were paired with Clint and that Fury wouldn’t allow a partner change no matter how much Tony disagreed and whined.
You thanked him for the heads up and went about your business until the officer stepped in front of you.
“I need to check your bag, Miss” the officer stood tall and chews his gum like a damn cow.
You don’t NEED to do anything, you thought.
But your mother had this talk with you, when approached by an officer, be respectful. Do not provoke.
Though you had a right to deny this unlawful search, you stalled the situation until maybe Tony found you.
“May I ask why, officer?,” you raised an eyebrow and him. You kept your hands in a visible place that he could see so that this situation didn’t end in anything messy.
“Just protocol,” he gave a tight smile.
Oh protocol my BLACK ASS!
You deeply sighed and remembered a video that also told you what to do in situations like this.
“Am I being detained, sir?,” you questioned yet again. You knew that if he said no then you were LEGALLY allowed to walk away.
“No ma’am, but this is protocol so I do need to check your bag,”
“I have been in this store for about twenty minutes and during my time shopping here you have seen my fiancé carry said bag you’re saying you need to check. If you needed to check it why did you not check when he was carrying it? Why is it that now that I’m alone you feel the need? Why is it that during my time shopping, you have been watching me and not projecting said protocol on the fellow white shoppers?,” you made sure to keep your time low and as respectful as you could.
“Your kind just don’t listen do ya? I said I need to check the bag so open the damn bag,” he placed his hands on his hips and you put your hands up to show him you were just going to place your items down and give him the bag.
“You’re kind?! Are you fucking kidding me?!” Tony’s voice rang in your ears.
You sighed and your shoulders relaxed. You weren’t out of the woods yet but at least you had Tony as a witness if anything happened.
“Sir, stand back. This doesn’t involve you,” the officer grew irritated, “I’m just doing my job and following protocol.”
Tony flung his hands up in the air with a loud sigh “Oh please, protocol my ASS!” Tony got the attention of a few fellow shoppers but he didn’t care.
The officer tried to grab the bag off your shoulder and yanked you forward but Tony separated you two and he was fuming. No one deserves to be treated like that by an officer when they’ve done nothing wrong. He wasn’t even a real officer for crying out loud!! He was boardwalk patrol to make sure people didn’t litter and smoke on the beach!
“Listen here you ‘Wild Thornberry’ looking piece of shit” Tony stepped toward the patrol officer, “Some of you assholes get a little badge and think too high and fucking mighty of yourselves! I’m really not understanding what you’re projecting onto my fiancée here but it’s not going to fly with me. So walk away or I will do everything in my power to have your face plastered on ever news article and have people know what a racist bigot you are!”
The officer scoffed and didn’t back down.
“You think someone of that kind can ruin my life? You think they’re gonna believe someone like that over me?” He chuckled and shook his head “you got another thing coming, boy.”
God this officer sickened you. Throwing his advantge of racial bias to cover his ass.
“They certainly won’t believe a monkey lover like y-“
The words weren’t even finished before Tony punched him and sent him flying into a display table. People in the store had stopped everything they were doing once the loud crash echoed in the store.
This was nothing new. Tony was usually called a monkey lover but in a more derogatory way. He hated that word. He definitely hated to hear it applied to a human being.
“I’ll have you know this whole encounter was recorded. I’ll be letting your supervisor know,” Tony growled at the man as he pointed to his sunglasses before grabbing your hand, “I hope somewhere in that disgusting, hateful heart, you can see that you’re not as ‘superior’ as you think.”
Tony took you to the front and you paid for your stuff and his shorts before walking to the parking lot to your car. Wanting a day on the beach had been tainted.
You got in the passenger seat and just shook your head. You hated having to live like this. You were a fucking human being treated like dog shit just because the amount of melanin in your skin. You were proud of who you are and you tried not to let the struggles bring you down but it’s moments like this that hurt.
Tony grabs your hands and you two just sit in the car for a little bit before you start tearing up.
“I hate this,” you bit your lip and looked Tony in his eyes. He looked distraught, he knew he could never PERSONALLY relate but he could empathize and Tony was always there no matter the situation.
He soothed you and encouraged you to let you know that you will always have people backing you up and not just him.
“You got through it, you’re strong and you need not let trash like that ever dim who you are as a person, as a fighting member of a community who is constantly hated on. For every shit person like that there’s an army of people who fight against it. And I may be doing the bare minimum but Y/N I’m with you, I’m a part of your army,” he reached into the glove box and got you a tissue to help get rid of those tears. “I will forever thank you for opening my eyes to horrible stuff like this to stand up and help you fight this.”
You two stayed in the car like that for a couple more minutes, leaning over the dash and hugging while he talked you through it. He never told you to calm down, because who could ever be calm about this type of stuff?
He was always there. He may not have always been educated, but now he was and he was more than willing to fight for someone he loved and a cause that not only you held close to you but something he now held close to him.
A week later, the incident had reached the department and the news and the guy was being taken care off, he wasn’t just getting a slap on the wrist. Though it was a small victory, it was a victory nonetheless.
“Thank you, so much, Tony,” you whispered to him as you sat on the couch, “and while I know this is supposed to be serious… he does look like one of the Wild Thornberry’s.” You snorted, being reminded of the insult Tony threw at the guy.
Tony did his best to scowl but laughed along with you “Ugly bastard.”
You sighed with content and kissed Tony on his nose before landing one on his lips.
“I love you so much” he smiled brightly at you and stared like you were a dream.
You knew it was a serious situation, but you were the type to use humor to get over it the best you could.
“Of course you do. It’s protocol”
Tony lightly slapped you thigh and glared at you. “Y/N!!”
“Okay okay! Sorry,” you cuddle into him and flicked through the channels before handing him the remote and start playing with the hem of his shirt.
This was for @forever-slaying , I hope you enjoyed it!
We all fight our own battles of injustice and I hope each and everyone of you have someone there to back you up!
Like, comment and reblog! Feedback is appreciated💛
