Trying to explain to a teenager that her parents weren't monstrous, zombie fascists was about as frustrating as square-peg-round-hole, so Tony wasn't going to go there. What he knew of Peggy, she was perfectly fine. A bit on the irritating side and didn't seem particularly supportive of Tony's entire existence, but certainly a functional enough parent. It would have been easy to think Cassie was being selfish, even cruel. To Tony, it was just omission.
"I'm not telling you to do anything," he clarified. Finally, he turned to face her, straddling the ledge of the roof but more careful than Cassie about scuffing his shoe. "I'm just-- I know it's hard," he tried, and had to roll his eyes at himself. Still looking up at the sky, he started again, "I can't be there for you all the time." God, he really did sound like a dad. 'I'm sorry I missed your birthday' probably would have been much easier.