Oh wow. Tony was being real with her, and Cassie felt like a huge asshole all of a sudden for stuff she didn't think she needed to feel bad about in the first place. Like okay, maybe she should've felt bad for the way she left but she'd meant to come back pretty quickly, it was just that whole zombie thing. And then when she did come back with the Tower destroyed there wasn't really a home to go back to and it just worked out with Kate so she didn't have to ask Tony (and he had a lot on his plate anyway, so not having to provide for her must have been a relief, right?) The job thing was really just on her, and she'd already explained that to him, wanting to earn something, so she'd started working here and she was making her own way. This was all circumstantial, none of it had anything to do with Tony. Cassie thought he knew that, or really she hadn't thought about it all until now.
"Don't be stupid," she said as she suddenly flung her arms around him, pushing him back against the dish sink and burying her face against his neck. "Just because I don't want to take stuff doesn't mean, you know, that I don't need you." Her voice cracked and she had to clear her throat before she admitted, "I do need you, you know. You're like- you're basically my Dad, here, okay? You're my family." Cassie kept her face against his shoulder and sniffled. She wasn't like, getting watery eyed or anything, nope. "So don't be all sad and weird just because I'm doing my own thing. Don't worry, you can never get rid of me." When she drew away she gave him a crooked smile and blinked rapidly at totally weren't tears in her eyes.