Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

James Rhodes had been at MIT for at least a month when he met Tony Stark. It had started out as a normal day. He was on his way to the Library to work on some of his assignments when he found his path blocked by a large metal… thing.

A robot, his brain supplied helpfully.

It had one arm and a three pronged claw. In large block lettering on its strut was the word ‘Dum-E’, on it’s base was ‘Property of Tony Stark’.

James had heard about the Stark kid, but hadn’t met him as James had just started work on his Bachelors, and the kid was about to finish his Masters.

The bot chirped excitedly when it caught sight of James. It reached out for him. James took a step back.

“Dummy!”

James turned to see a teenager running toward them. The bot latched onto James’ backpack. The kid had fluffy brown hair and whiskey colored eyes. He looked a little too young to be at MIT.

“Excuse me?” James asked.

“What? No, not you. Him,” the kid replied, pointing at the bot.

“Dum-E,” James said, suddenly understanding that the bots name was Dum-E.

“Little brat left the lab, even though he knows he’s not allowed to,”

The bot- Dum-E- let go of James’ backpack and chirped indignantly at the teen.

“You know exactly what I meant!” he snapped.

“You’re getting the cone of shame when we get back,”

The bot seemed to droop in shame.

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” James protested, feeling sorry for the little bot.

“He left the lab!”

“He’s a robot!”

Both boy and bot made the same wounded noise, like James had insulted their entire ancestral line.

“Dum-E is not just a robot, honey bear! He’s a learning bot, a low-functioning AI who isn’t supposed to be out of the lab,” the kid said, casting a dark glare to the bot.

“He’s my thesis project. And severely fucking up my data right now,”

“Language,” James warned without thinking. It was the same response he gave to his sister when she cussed.

“Yea, alright, platypus,” the kid said with an eye roll.

“We’re supposed to be working on his grip strength, if you wanna watch?”

James looked at the bot for a moment and then looked back at the kid and shrugged.

“Why not?” he agreed, his schoolwork could wait till the next day.

“I’m Tony Stark,” the kid said.

“James Rhodes,”

Tony smiled up at him for a moment before turning his attention back to Dum-E.

“Alright, c’mon Dum-E, let’s get you back to the lab,”

James followed the two to the engineering lab. Tony had his own enclosed space in the back of the lab. The first thing Tony did when they got there was put a cone of shame on Dum-E. The bot chirped sadly in response.

“Next time I tell you to bother someone else, that doesn’t mean you can leave the lab,” Tony said to Dum-E. He patted the bots strut fondly and turned on a computer. It was an Apple IIc, there were a multitude of floppy disks surrounding the machine, each labeled in some kind of code.

James spent the day watching Dum-E struggle with turning on a stereo and adjusting the volume without breaking anything. The cassette in the stereo was AC/DC. Dum-E seemed to love the music.

After a while James cleared off a section of work table, careful to avoid anything that looked important, and started to work on his school work, his concentration intermittently broken up by loud bursts of screeching guitars and Tony’s quiet murmurs of encouragement.

“Hey!” James called over the music. He waited patiently for Dum-E to turn it off before he spoke again.

“You wanna grab something to eat?”

“Uh… yea, sure. Dum-E, go back to your charging station, I’ll look over the data later,”

James helped Tony save the data and shut everything off. Tony locked his section of the lab, his whiskey colored gaze locked on Dum-E.

“Why do you have your own section of lab?” James asked.

“It’s all Dum-E’s fault!” Tony blurted, eyes flashing up to James.

“You blame an awful lot on that poor bot,” James commented with a sly smile.

“He’s a menace!”

James shrugged.

“He seems pretty harmless to me,”

The kid spluttered for a moment, looking incredulous at James’ words.

“I’ve got some horror stories for you, platypus,” he said.

“Uh huh, sure,” James said as he started to walk toward his favorite off campus diner. Tony followed without hesitation.

Chapter Text

James hadn’t laughed so hard in a long time. Tony’s anecdotes about what Dum-E was like when he was first coded were hilarious. James was damn glad he wasn’t around for any of that, if he had been he wasn’t sure he would like Tony or Dum-E as much as he did.

James discovered a lot about Tony and Dum-E that day. Most importantly that Tony was very young and very brilliant and had the tendency to go off on tangents, and that James shouldn’t drink any smoothies that Dum-E made unless he knew for sure that there wasn’t any motor oil in it.

Tony learned that one from experience.

James tried to study in the library, but it was too quiet. He gathered his things up and with a small sigh he made his way to the engineering lab. He knew Tony was in without having to see the kid. He could hear the AC/Dc blaring through the exterior walls of the building.

James knocked as loudly as he dared and after a few moments the music shut off. He saw Tony peek out from behind a mass of scrap metal. A flash of confusion crossed the kids face before he stood and headed for the door.

“What’s up?” the kid asked.

“Did you forget something?” he asked before James could answer the first question.

“What? No! Library’s too quiet. Mind if I study here?” James asked.

An unidentifiable expression flickered across the kids face, it was gone before James could figure it out. Tony stepped aside to let James in. Dum-E chirped excitedly.

“Don’t!” Tony yelled, pointing his finger at the bot that had just started to roll toward James.

The bot drooped. James dropped his things near the workbench and walked to the sad little bot.

“Hey Dum-E,” James said fondly, his hand resting on Dum-E’s strut.

“No cone of shame?”

“Well… the night is still young,”

“It’s 1:15,”

Tony squinted at James for a moment, then at the watch on his wrist, and then at the windows.

“Don’t you mean 13:15 military boy?” the kid sassed with a wicked smile.

James rolled his eyes but laughed. He stayed in Tony’s lab for a few hours. He only stopped his work when his eyes started to feel gritty with exhaustion. He finally packed up his things and pushed them back in his backpack.

“I’ll see you tomor…” James fell silent as he caught sight of Tony. The kid was curled up on a pile of blankets. He appeared to be fast asleep. James smiled softly and as quietly as he could he walked out of the lab and shut the door behind him.

“You’re back,” he sounded surprised and confused at the same time.

“You gonna let me in? I got a killer midterm tomorrow,”

Tony stepped to the side and let James in. James settled in at his usual place at the workbench. Soon the usual sounds of chaos surrounded him and he found it much easier to study.

James had gone through three chapters worth of information by the time he needed a break. Tony, for some reason, was playing chess with Dum-E. James figured it wasn’t a real game, but a way from Dum-E to practice grip strength and precision.

“You feel like getting some ice cream?” James asked.

Tony slowly dragged his gaze from the chess board and to James.

“Uh… yea… I could use a break,”

It took them a while to save up all the data and lock up the lab (something James always made sure they did because he did not want Dum-E escaping again). James took Tony to his favorite ice cream parlor, it was a little mom and pop shop that he had discovered his first week at MIT.

Tony ordered a scoop of cheesecake and a scoop of strawberry with graham cracker crumbs and marshmallows while James ordered vanilla with caramel drizzled on top. They sat at a table that was tucked against a large window.

“What’s with the face?” James asked tiredly. Tony had been eyeing James’s ice cream like it had personally offended the kid.

“That’s something my old English butler would order,”

“Don’t diss the classic,” James shot back.

“It’s ok that you’re an old man,”

“I’m two years older than you,”

“Yea. Old,” Tony scoffed.

James noticed that Tony seemed a lot more relaxed around him when they weren’t in the workshop. When they were in the workshop Tony was very protective of his gear, he didn’t seem to like it when James asked too many questions. At first it didn’t bother James too much, but the more time he spent in Tony’s lab the less and less Tony’s behavior made sense.

James glanced up from his work to find that, once more, Tony was staring at him. He’d been doing that a lot lately.

“Dude,”

Tony blinked.

“What?”

“You’re staring,”

“Sorry,” the kid muttered, his gaze jumping down to the work bench.

James turned to fully face him, an eyebrow arched in interest.

“Tony,” he egged.

For a moment Tony stared at the workbench, his jaw working like he was going to say something, but didn’t know what.

“I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop… I guess,” he admitted slowly.

“What?” James asked.

“Whatever you want to get out of this friendship,”

James frowned.

“What I want out of this friendship… is your friendship, Tones,” he said slowly.

Tony just stared at him for a few moments. There was a crease on his forehead, like he was confused about what James had just said.

“That’s… unusual,”

“Unusual?” Rhodes asked incredulously.

“People usually wanna be my friend for the money or for the technology,” Tony said, crossing his arms over his chest.

James suddenly recalled the incident between Stark Industries and Baintronics that had occurred over the summer. Baintronics had suddenly started cranking out SI designs, it had been a huge scandal. Sunset Bain, daughter of the CEO, had gotten close to Tony and stolen blueprints right from under his nose.

“I’m not whoever used you, Tones,” James said quietly. They stared at each other for a moment before James leaned forward, elbows braced on his thighs.

“Besides, I got the fuckin’ Air Force paying for my education. I don’t need your damn money,” he said.

A small smile spread over Tony’s face. It made something in James’ chest ache. Tony sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest as the smile turned into a sly smirk.

“Well then sour patch-”

“I’m not sour,”

They stared at each other for a moment before both of them burst into laughter.

“Of all the nicknames to find problematic, sour patch is the one that gets you?”

“I’m not sour!” James insisted.

Chapter Text

“Ma, I just met the kid,” James said.

“You talk about him enough,” Roberta replied.

“I’m sure Tony wants to spend break with his family,”

“Hm,”

“Maybe over the summer,” James suggested to placate his mother.

“You better, Jim,” she warned.

James smiled softly.

“Listen, Ma, I gotta go to class. I’ll talk to you later alright? Tell everyone I said hi,”

“Love you honey,”

“Love you too,”

James hung up the phone and shook his head. Did he really talk about Tony that often? He grabbed his backpack and headed to class. He was counting down the hours till he could do his work in Tony’s lab.

“Tones!”

Tony was hunched over a computer, grumpily typing up data. He always put off data input until a few days before he needed to turn it into his advisor.
“I told you to start working on that earlier,” he said.

“I told you to start working on that earlier,” Tony mocked. James rolled his eyes.

“Calm down short stack,”

Tony pulled a face but didn’t look away from the computer screen. James sat down at the workbench and started doing his work. The next time James looked at the clock it was nearing eight. He stretched out and shut his textbook.

“Alright Tones, let’s go,” he said.

“Hm?”

“It’s ice cream time,”

“Is it date night already, sour patch?”

“I’m not sour,” James insisted, ignoring the way his heart stuttered at ‘date night’. He knew Tony was joking.

Tony grinned softly and saved his progress. He and James locked up the lab and headed to the ice cream parlor.

James ordered strawberry (with strawberry chunks) while Tony ordered bubble gum.

Once they were seated James pulled a few sheets of paper from his backpack.

“Extra points for strawberry chunks, right?”

Tony nodded. The two had created a rough ice cream judging scale with various categories. Categories such as the consistency of the scoop, the ratio of non-ice cream chunks (strawberries, marshmallows, chocolate chips, etc) to ice cream, the flavor, the brightness of color, the sweetness, and so on and so on. Their goal was to try every flavor of ice cream in the shop at least once to determine which flavor was superior. Tony wanted to run actual scientific tests on the ice cream, James thought that would be overkill.

Winter break was harder than either Tony or James had anticipated. After seeing each other for nearly every day for the past few months it was weird to not.

Tony had to leave Dum-E at MIT, something he was loathe to do. He spent most of his vacation with his mom, his Aunt Peggy (who Tony swore was the most badass person he’d ever met), and Edwin and Ana Jarvis. He called James almost every night- except for the nights he spent at the ballet with his mother. (James learned that Tony had a deep appreciated for the ballet). Tony returned to MIT jus after New Years, when the school reopened and he could get back into his lab.

James spent the holiday with his family. His sister didn’t leave him alone for the first few days, wanting to know everything about his new college life away from home. His mom asked about Tony a few times, a knowing look in her eyes. A look that James didn’t want to think about. He didn’t return to MIT till the Friday before the spring semester started.

“Tones!”

Dum-E let out an ecstatic string of beeps and zoomed toward James just as fast as his wheels could take him.

“You fucking menace!” Tony shouted. James didn’t know if that had been directed toward him or Dum-E. Tony caught sight of James and beamed.

“Rhodey!”

James stopped patting Dum-E to properly hug his best friend.

“Rhodey?” James questioned.

“If I’m Tones then you get to be Rhodey… just… swapping the ends of each others names,” Tony said in a rush.

“My name is James,”

“Yea, alright Jamesy,”

“You know what? Rhodey’s fine,” Rhodey said.

Tony beamed again.

“Ice cream?”

“Ice cream,”

Tony got Moose Track, Rhodey got pistachio (with little chunks of pistachio). Rhodes broke out their rating scale and the two got to work.

They spent the weekend in Tony’s lab, preparing for the upcoming semester, which thanks to Rhodey’s class schedule and ROTC stuff, was starting to look very busy.

Rhodey walked out of his first class of the semester and almost ran right into Tony, who had been waiting right outside of Rhodey’s class.

“Tones?”

The kid shoved an envelope into Rhodey’s face. It was from MIT- the response to Tony’s doctorate application.

“Jarvis brought it down himself,”

“Well, open it! We can celebrate tonight with your trashy sci-fi movies,”

“You wound me, platypus,” Tony muttered as he tore open the envelope. He pulled out the letter and completely lit up.

“I got in!”

That night they holed up in Tony’s apartment, specifically on his couch, watching terrible sci-fi movies. Tony was practically vibrating with happiness. Rhodey stretched out on the couch, Tony’s fingers drumming against his shin as he spouted off some obscure knowledge about the crazy, archaic technology in the movie.

I could get used to this, Rhodey thought with a smile.

Chapter Text

“I could build you pretty mechanical legs,” Tony offered.

Rhodes glared at him. His Air Force ROTC regime was slowly killing him.

“That would be cheating, and I like my legs,” Rhodes said.

Tony made a point of looking at Rhodey’s legs, an eyebrow raised in an incredibly unimpressed fashion.

“Could be better,”

Rhodey threw a crumpled up paper at his friend. From his corner of shame, Dum-e beeped in distress at not being able to get the paper.

“I’m fine, Dum-e,” Tony answered.

“Making my poor bot panic,” he muttered.

“He panics when you sneeze too loud,” Rhodes shot back.

“Which is more than I can say for you,”

Rhodes rolled his eyes. His gaze inadvertently landed on a massive stack of papers on the workbench. Rhodes pulled himself toward the workbench, the wheels of his chair squeaked with the movement.

There was a sticky-note on top of the stack of papers.

‘How the hell does this thing work?’

Rhodes started leafing through the papers. It was lines of code. While Rhodes had limited knowledge of code, even he recognized that the code he was looking at was a fucking mess.

“What the hell is this?”

Tony wheeled around to Rhodes to see what he was looking at.

“Oh, that’s Dum-E’s code,”

“H-how?”

Tony glanced at the code for a moment and shrugged.

“I was… I was pretty hammered,”

“No shit,”

“Yea my advisor says I’m either lucky as hell that Dum-E works, or some kind of mad genius,”

Rhodes smiled softly.

“Dumb luck,” he said.

Tony nodded in agreement.

“Hey Tones!” Rhodey called when he walked into the lab.

Tony jerked back from the work table, his hair was sticking up and there were bags under his eyes. Data input.

“Hey honey-pot,”

Rhodes placed a cup of coffee in front of the kid.

“I love you,”

Rhodes rolled his eyes, ignoring the fluttering in his stomach.

“What are your plans for spring break?”

“Avoiding Howard, drinking, bothering Jarvis,” Tony said.

“So, no plans?”

“Ha,” the kid said sarcastically.

“Mama wants to meet you,”

Tony froze, the coffee cup halfway to his lips.

“Mama?”

“She wanted to meet you over winter break but I convinced her to wait till summer and now she doesn’t want to wait that long,” Rhodey said.

Tony took a long sip of his coffee. Rhodes leaned back in his chair, waiting for an answer. He knew Tony had a thing about families, probably because his home life wasn’t all that great (thanks to Howard).

“Sure, honey-pot. I’d hate to keep Mama waiting,” he said at last.

Rhodes beamed. Tony ducked his head to hide the blush that crept over his cheeks. He’d do anything to make Rhodes smile like that again.

“I should get her a gift, right?”

“No, Tony,”

“Diamond earrings?”

“Tony,”

“An island?”

“No?!”

“Wait… you can afford an island?”

“So she wants one?”

“No!”

“A yacht?”

“Jesus Christ,”

“Don’t blaspheme in my good Christian ice cream parlor,”

“I hate you,”

“Flowers?”

“No- wait. Flowers? I think Mama would like that,”

“I have good ideas sometimes,” Tony said smugly.

“Ana gave you the idea, didn’t she?”

“Fuck off,”

Rhodes cackled.

Before leaving for spring break, Tony made sure that he had saved his data properly, locked it up properly, and then made sure that the computer and been shut down and that Dum-E was in sleep-mode and wouldn’t get into any trouble. Tony could think of nothing worse than Dum-E unsupervised for a whole week. MIT would be in ruins.

“This is ridiculous,” Rhodes muttered.

“You said I could buy her flowers,” Tony shot back.

“Yes, as in a bouquet. Not an entire fucking bush!”

Tony peered at him from over the oversized bouquet of flowers in his grasp, they were all blue, yellow, and white. Rhodes knew Mama would love them. The bouquet just happened to be the size of a bush because Tony couldn’t do anything in moderation.

“Don’t worry platypus, I can buy you flowers too,”

“Jesus Christ,”

“Don’t!” he said before Tony could say something ridiculous about Rhodes being blasphemous.

Rhodes pulled to a stop in front of Mama’s house and couldn’t help but smile. While he loved living away from home, it was still incredibly comforting to be home.

“Ready Tones?”

“Nope,”

“That’s the spirit,”

The two got out of the car and headed for the front door.

Chapter Text

“Mama?” Rhodes called as they walked into the house.

“Jim?” Mama called back , her voice a little more girly and high pitched than Tony would have imagined.

“Jim?” Tony teased quietly.

Rhodey elbowed him.

Roberta Rhodes walked into the room. Her dark, greying hair was pulled into a tight bun. Her gaze was familiarly sharp- she and her son shared the same gaze. She wore a blue dress with a white trim.

“Jim!”

She pulled Rhodey into an obviously tight and loving hug. After a few moments she released her son and turned to Tony and his massive bouquet of flowers.

“Mama this is Tony. Tony, Mama. I’ll go put these in a vase,” Rhodey said as he plucked the flowers from Tony’s grasp.

“They’re lovely,” Mama murmured as Rhodey slid past her and disappeared into the next room over.

Tony absently wiped the palm of his hand on his jeans.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Rhodes,” Tony said, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

Mama pursed her lips and placed her hand on Tony’s shoulder.

“You can call me Mama, young man,” she said.

“Yes Mama,”

She beamed and hugged Tony just as tightly as she hugged her son. She was softer than Tony would have thought. The only other people that Tony got hugs from- Rhodey and Jarvis- were bony as hell and not nearly as comfortable as Mama.

“Alright Mama, you’re gonna crush him,” Rhodey said.

Mama released Tony and he staggered back a little.

“I’ll give Tony the tour,” Rhodey said.

“Alright honey,”

The Rhodes home was well lived in, and it felt like a home. Not to say that Stark Manor didn’t, but the Rhodes home was different. The things that filled it all had some kind of history to the family, they were personal. The Manor just had… stuff. Expensive things to fill the emptiness, but none of it really meant anything.

“And this is where we’ll be staying,” Rhodey said as they walked into his room.

Tony felt infinitely more comfortable in Rhodey’s room. There were model planes all over the place, photos of him with his friends and family, all sorts of books, and glow stars on his ceiling.

“Honey pot,” Tony said lowly, his gaze caught on a small figurine on Rhodey’s dresser. Rhodes followed his gaze and made a distressed noise.

“Mothman?”

“H-he’s out there,” Rhodey muttered.

Tony cackled until Rhodes threw a pillow at his head.

“It’s Jeanette’s fault,”

“Uh huh,” Tony said as he tossed the pillow back on Rhodey’s bed.

“Platypus?”

“What now?”

“You have a small bed- are we going to cuddle?” Tony asked with a grin.

“Trundle,” Rhodes said dryly.

“Unfortunate. I would’ve cuddled you if you asked,”

Rhodes rolled his eyes.

“Alright, c’mon, Mama’s gonna want to hear about school,” Rhodey said.

“I gotta call Jarvis first,”

Rhodes took Tony to the landline and promptly vanished, more than likely going to find Mama to tell her about school. Tony picked up the phone and dialed up the number to the Manor.

“Edwin Jarvis,” Jarvis greeted when he answered.

“Hey J,”

“Hello Master Anthony,”

“Just wanted to let you know that Rhodes and I got to his house safe and sound,” Tony said.

“Glad to hear,” Jarvis said, his voice going soft and fond.

“You an emotional wreck without me?”

“Hardly. The Manor has never been more peaceful. I may ask the Rhodes to keep you,” Jarvis teased.

Tony could hear Ana laugh in the background.

“You wouldn’t know what to do without me,” Tony shot back, a small smile on his face.

“How’s mom?”

“Ms. Carter is keeping her preoccupied,”

“Aunt Peggy is there?” Tony asked, unable to keep the whine out of his voice.

“They are both under the impression that the Manor is better with you in it,” Jarvis said dryly.

“Aunt Peggy is always right, you should know this, J,”

“Hm,”

“Alright, I’ll call later this week,” Tony said quietly.

“Very well,” Jarvis said in a tone that Tony took to mean: see that you do.

“Later J,”

“Later Master Anthony,”

Tony set the phone on its cradle and headed for the kitchen. Rhodes and Mama were sitting at the kitchen table, talking about MIT. Tony sat down next to Rhodey and listened to Mama refer to him as ‘Jim’. Ridiculous.

“Here you are honey,” Mama said as she pushed a mug of cocoa toward Tony.

“Thank you, Mama,”

Mama smiled at him before turning her attention back to her son.

Jeanette Rhodes came home next. She was a bundle of excitement and asked Tony a million questions about anything embarrassing that Rhodey did while he was away.

Terrence Rhodes was the last to come home. He was bald and had a very nice mustache. He was kind and invested in his children’s lives, something Tony was not used to.

“So how did you meet Jim here?” Terrence asked curiously.

Tony had to physically restrain himself from making a comment about calling Rhodey ‘Jim’. Then Terrence’s question hit him. Tony and Rhodey shared a look.

“My… my thesis project is a low functioning AI robot called Dum-E. He’s supposed to stay in the lab, but he got out one day in September and latched onto R- Jim,” Tony said, someone managing to not flinch at the name.

“An AI?”

“Artificial Intelligence,” Tony said.

“It’s brilliant,” Rhodes said.

“He’s pretty limited, but he understands basic commands,” Tony said a little bashfully.

“Show ‘em the pic,” Rhodes suggested around a mouthful of food.

“Don’t speak with your mouth full,” Mama said.

“You have a picture?” she asked to Tony.

“Um… yea,”

Tony fished out his wallet and pulled out a small polaroid of him and Dum-E. Jeanette promptly took it from him and lit up. She handed it to Mama who smiled, soft and fond. Mama handed it to Terrence who peered at it from over his glasses.

“Dum-E,” he said quietly.

“That’s quite impressive, son,” Terrence said as he handed the polaroid back.

“Thank you,”

Tony tucked the photo back in his wallet, and tucked his wallet back into his pocket.

“What kind of basic commands?” Mama asked.

Tony glanced at her, surprised that she wanted to hear more about Dum-E.

“Uh… he loves turning the radio on. He’ll do that even when I don’t ask him to,” Tony said with a small smile.

“No shit,” Terrence said quietly.

“Language,” Mama warned in the same tone Rhodey had used way back when he first met Tony.

“He’s learned how to use the fire extinguisher, and he really seems to enjoy making me smoothies with too much protein powder, sometimes with motor oil,”

Rhodey shuddered.

“Had to put him in he cone of shame for that one,”

“He gets really bummed out about the cone of shame,” Rhodey said.

“Amazing,” Terrence said.

Tony flushed.

Tony had a good break. He liked the Rhodes family. He liked that Mama made him help her cook or bake. He liked looking at Terrence’s model train display that he kept in his office. He liked playing stupid video games with Rhodey. He even liked hunting for Mothman with Jeanette and an embarrassed Rhodes.

The last day of break found them all in the Rhodes’ back yard so they could take a quick family photo.

“It’s tradition,” Jeanette explained. (Later Rhodes would explain that they always took a family photo before he went back to school).

Tony just nodded and stepped to the side so he wouldn’t be in the shot.

“Tones what are you doing? Come here,” Rhode said.

“Oh- I don’t want to-”

“You’re family too, honey,” Mama said as she reached out and grabbed Tony’s arm. She pulled him toward her and he all but slammed into her.

Mama wrapped her arm around Tony and after a stunned moment he wrapped his arms around her, a painfully large smile clawing its way onto his face.

“1… 2… 3… say cheese!”

Chapter Text

“Why did I wait so long to do this?” Tony whined as he squinted at the computer screen in front of him.

“Because you procrastinated like I told you not to,” Rhodey replied.

Tony flipped him off. Rhodes smiled softly and returned his attention to his math homework.

The next time Rhodes looked at the clock he found that nearly five hours had passed. He glanced over at Tony to find the kid still typing things into the computer.

“I think I’m gonna head out,” Rhodey called.

Tony grunted in response.

“When I get back here in the morning you better have slept for at least… four hours,” Rhodes warned.

“Anything for you, honeybear,” Tony replied absently.

When Rhodey returned to the lab the following morning he was shocked to find that Tony wasn’t there.

There was a sticky note on the door with a key taped next to it.

‘Slept for three and a half hours- don’t make that face- went out for coffee. Make sure to say hi to Dum-E’

Rhodes plucked the sticky note and key from the door, unlocked it, and stepped inside. It was weird to be in the lab without Tony, felt wrong somehow. Though it was a clear indicator of how much Tony trusted him. Six months ago Tony would have never let Rhodes inside the lab while Tony wasn’t there. Rhodes felt a smile creep up onto his face at the realization.

Dum-E lit up when Rhodes walked in, letting out a string of excited beeps. Rhodey smiled fondly and walked over to the bot and patted his strut.

“Morning Dum-E,” he greeted.

Dum-E’s claw extended toward the blender, no doubt to make Rhodey a smoothie that had way too much protein powder in it.

“No thank you,”

Dum-E chirped and withdrew his claw.

It wasn’t long before Tony returned to the lab with two large coffees. He didn’t look too sleep deprived so Rhodes figured he wasn’t lying about getting some sleep.

“Platypus!”

“Hey Tones,”

“Three and a half hours, huh?” Rhodes teased.

“At least I slept!”

“Yea that really shouldn’t be a valid counter-argument,”

Tony scoffed and rolled his eyes.

The weeks leading up to finals week found the two friends pulling odd hours and drinking their weight in coffee. Dum-E seemed very concerned about their welfare.

Tony’s birthday found them in Tony’s apartment, drinking and watching stupid sci-fi movies while Tony drunkenly stated he could make better technology in his sleep.

“Mr. Rhodes!”

Rhodey turned to see an elderly Englishman. On each of his arms were women. The one of the left had blonde hair in a bun and had an aura of sophistication, the one on the right had greying brown hair and red lipstick and gave off an aura of ‘don’t-fuck-with-me’.

“Yea?”

“Edwin Jarvis,”

“Holy shit,”

The woman on Jarvis’s left smirked, clearly amused.

“Right. Sorry! Hi, James Rhodes,” he said and offered out his hand. Jarvis shook it, a small smile on his face.

“Maria Stark,” said the blonde. Rhodes could see a lot of Tony in her. Her handshake was gentle.

“Peggy Carter,” her grip was more firm.

“Shall we sit?” Jarvis asked.

“I’m actually sitting with my mom, thank you though,” Rhodes said.

Jarvis nodded.

“We’ll have to meet up at the end then,” Peggy said.

She offered Rhodes a kind smile as she and Jarvis headed for the seats. Maria, however, stayed where she was. She took Rhodey’s hands in hers.

“Thank you for looking after him,” she said.

“He’s my best friend, ma’am,”

Maria beamed. She placed a brief kiss on Rhodey’s cheek before she followed in the direction of Jarvis and Ms. Carter. Rhodes watched her go for a moment before he smacked the palm of his hand against his forehead. He just cussed in front of the three most important people in Tony’s life. Great first impression.

Rhodes returned to his mom and sat down next to her.

“Who was that?” Mama asked.

“Mrs. Stark,”

Rhodes, Mama, Jarvis, Mrs. Stark, and Ms. Carter all cheered for Tony when his name called.

After the ceremony was over, Rhodes introduced Mama to Mrs. Stark, Jarvis, and Ms. Carter. It didn’t take long for Tony to find them.

There was a chorus of congratulations and a mess of hugs.

“Mama! I didn’t know you were coming!” Tony said, a wide smile on his face.

“I wasn’t going to miss your graduation,” Mama said.

Tony beamed.

“We’re taking Antonio to dinner to celebrate his accomplishment, the two are you are more than welcome to join us,” Maria offered.

“Madre,” Tony muttered, a flush covering his cheeks.

“That would be lovely, thank you,” Mama said.

Which is how Rhodes found himself in a hole-in-the-wall burger joint with his best friend, Mama, Mrs. Stark, Jarvis, and Ms. Carter.

“You can come visit anytime you want, Tones,” Rhodey said quietly.

“I know,”

For a moment they stood still. They were in front of one of the Stark cars that would be taking Tony back to New York. Dum-E was on a trailer hitched to the back of the car, securely tied up and in sleep mode so he wouldn’t get too scared during the drive.

“I’ll see you soon,”

“I know,” Tony said again.

“Don’t forget to call and tell me all the shit Dum-E gets up to,”

Tony cracked a smile. He tucked his hands into his pockets and aimed a kick at a small rock in front of him.

“I’ll miss you platypus,”

Rhodes grabbed Tony by his shoulder and yanked him in for a tight hug. Tony hugged back just as tight.

“I’ll miss you too, Tones,”

The summer was distinctly boring. Rhodey knew why, no Tony. No Tony and no Dum-E. Rhodey spent time with his friends from high school, followed his sister around whenever she went cryptid hunting, and spent a lot of time on the phone with Tony.

Rhodes sat on the porch with Mama. She was drinking ice tea, Rhodes had been lucky enough to score a beer (something he was only allowed to drink at home).

A taxi pulled to a stop in front of their house. Mama set her glass down, a small frown on her face.

Tony stepped out from the cab, a suitcase in his grasp. He seemed paler and shakier than normal, and he had a still healing black-eye.

“Tones?”

Chapter Text

“Tones?” Rhodes asked again.

Tony adjusted his grip on his suitcase, his mouth working like he was going to say something, but didn’t know what.

“Would you believe me if I said I missed you?” Tony asked, his voice brittle.

Mama made a soft noise of disbelief and stood up.

“I’ll make up the trundle,” she said before she disappeared into the house. Rhodes set his beer on the small table next to his chair and stood up. Tony hadn’t moved yet.

“Don’t lie to me Tones,”

“I… I panicked,”

“Aunt Peggy is in London and I couldn’t stay home and I didn’t know what to do so I panicked, and I panicked and I came here cause you’re here and it’s saf-”

In two seconds Rhodes had walked off the porch and pulled Tony into a tight hug. The suitcase in Tony’s hand dropped to the ground with a heavy thud, then he was hugging Rhodey back just as tight.

“Told you you could come visit anytime,” Rhodes said quietly.

Tony let out a shuddering laugh and slowly pulled back.

“I’ll take your bag to my room, you call Jarvis, or your mom,” Rhodey said.

“Yea,”

While Rhodey headed up to his room, Tony headed for the phone to call up Jarvis.

“Edwin Jarvis,”

“Hey, J,” Tony said quietly.

There was a moment of silence on Jarvis’s end.

“Master Anthony?”

“Yea I… I uh packed a bag and headed to Rhodey’s,” Tony admitted, trying to speak around the lump in his throat.

“I would have driven you,”

Tony blinked his eyes a few times, to dispel the tears.

“I panicked,”

“Didn’t stop to think,” he muttered.

“Just as long as your safe, Master Anthony,” Jarvis said, his voice soft and fond.

“I’m with Rhodey,” because really that was the same thing.

“I’ll see you for Christmastime then?”

“Yea,”

“Very well,”

“H- hey J?”

“Yes, Master Anthony?”

“Just… thanks, y’know? For everything,”

“You’re most welcome, Sir,”

Tony smiled softly as he hung the phone back on the cradle. He ran his hand over his hair and sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves.

“Tony?” Mama called as she walked down the stairs.

“Yes, Mama?”

“C’mon honey, let’s get some ice for that eye,” she said.

“Oh it’s not-”

“Hush,”

Tony obediently followed her into the kitchen. She had him sit at the table chair while she got the ice ready.

“You wanna tell me how I got that shiner?” she asked as she handed him a hand towel wrapped around a ziplock bag full of ice.

“Thanks,” he said quietly as he pressed it against his eye.

“You just gon’ ignore my question then?”

“Yes, Mama,” he admitted with a smile that looked far more like a grimace.

She tutted quietly.

“Hey Tones?” Rhodes called as he thundered down the stairs.

“What’d you do with Dum-E?”

Rhodes rounded into the kitchen with an incredibly concerned expression on his face. Tony smiled softly.

“Sleep mode. I’ll see if Jarvis will bring him down for the new year,” Tony said.

Rhodes leaned against the fridge and looked at Mama for a moment.

“That’s a pretty shiner you got there,”

“Maybe he’ll talk to you,” Mama said before she left the kitchen.

Tony refused to look at Rhodes.

“Tones?”

“It was my fault,” Tony said quietly.

Out of the corner of his eye, Tony saw Rhodey shift slightly.

“Pissed him off-“

“Hey,” Rhodes said quietly, his voice thick with emotion. Tony still didn’t look at him. Rhodey approached him and knelt down in front of him, forcing Tony to meet his gaze.

“Not your fault,” he said.

“But-”

“No,” Rhodey said forcefully.

He gently tilted Tony’s head to the side, moving it from the bag of ice so he could see the damage. Rhodey reached out to brush his fingertips against the edge of the bruise.

“Nothing you have ever done, or will ever do will warrant something like this,” Rhodey said quietly. Rhodey held his gaze for a few moments before he pushed himself to his feet and headed back toward the fridge.

“You want some leftovers?” Rhodey asked.

“Sounds good, honey pot,”

Later that night Tony was lying on the trundle bed, covered in a old quilt. He heard Rhodey jostle from his bed above Tony’s and suddenly part of his arm was dangling over the edge. Tony reached up to swat at Rhodey’s fingers, Rhodey swatted back. Tony smiled softly and dropped his arm, resting it over his stomach. He hadn’t felt so at peace in a long time. Because Rhodes was safety. He was safety and warmth and everything Tony needed.

Chapter Text

“Hey Tones! Where’d you get the cookies?” Rhodey asked.

Tony froze, one hand hovering over a cookie, the other was busy shoving a cookie into his mouth. That was really all Rhodey needed to know.

“Ana sent cookies?”

Tony nodded, cheeks bulging.

“Were you going to at least leave me one?”

Tony stared at him for a moment before nodding slowly. Rhodes sighed softly and walked over to the workbench and snagged a cookie off of the plate in front of Tony.

“I can’t believe you were going to betray me like that,” Rhodes lamented before he shoved the cookie into his mouth.

Tony flipped him off.

Tony was startled out of his work by the sound of a car horn. He craned his neck to try and see over the mass of electronics, trying to figure out if there was anyone in the other part of the lab. When he didn’t see anyone he frowned.

The car honked again. Tony pushed himself away from his workbench and looked back at Dum-E, the bot was still in sleep mode. Tony made his way out of his lab, through the other lab, and out the door.

Idling at the curb was one of his father’s cars. Tony took half a step back, ready to head back to his lab and ignore his father.

The driver stepped out of the car, the frown on Tony’s face deepened, it wasn’t Jarvis. The driver opened the back door and Maria Stark stepped out.

“Mamma?” Tony asked quietly.

Something had to be terribly wrong for Maria to look so drawn and tired. She looked immaculate, except for her red tinged eyes and the bags under her eyes.

“Bambino,”

“What’s wrong? What’s happened?” Tony asked.

“It’s Ana. She had a massive stroke,”

Tony felt like he had been doused in cold water.

“She ok?”

His mother’s silence gave the answer. Tony nodded slowly.

“Come on Bambino,”

“Yea. Just let me lock up,”

Maria nodded. Tony headed back to his lab. Dum-E was still in sleep mode. Tony turned off his computers and locked up the lab. He left a note for Rhodes on the door and taped his key next to it. Tony stared at the note for a moment, tears obscuring his vision.

Ana‘s dead. Dum-E’s in sleep mode. Be back as soon as I can

Tony turned away from the door and headed back out to the curb where his mom was waiting. Tony slid into the car and sat in the middle seat so he could be closer to Maria.

“She loved you very much,” Maria said quietly.

It took four hours to get back to the Manor. Tony spent three of those hours with his head on his mom’s shoulder, ruining her blouse with tears. Maria held his hand the whole time.

Tony closed the door to his room and leaned against it for a moment. His face felt oddly stretched and puffy. He pushed himself away from the door and picked up the phone he kept next to his bed. First he dialed the number to his lab. There wasn’t a response. Then he tried Rhodey’s dorm. Rhodes answered after the third ring.

“Hello?” Rhodey asked when he answered.

“Hey Platypus,” Tony said, his voice thick.

“Tones,”

“How you doing?”

“Fine,”

“You don’t gotta lie to me, Tones,”

Tony smiled softly, tears gathering in his eyes again.

“It’s weird that she’s not here. Keep expecting to see her,” Tony admitted.

“I’m sorry Tones,” Rhodey whispered.

Tony sniffed and rubbed his nose.

“How’s Jarvis?”

“He’s uh… he’s been at the funeral home all day, making arrangements. Mom offered to take care of everything but he insisted,” Tony said.

“Did you check on Dum-E?” Tony asked before Rhodey could say anything else.

“Yea. He’s still in sleep mode, don’t worry,” Rhodey assured.

“Good. Don’t want him to worry,”

“I talked to your advisor, and he talked to your professor’s. You’ve been excused for the week,” Rhodes said.

“Thanks honey pot,”

“I know it doesn’t seem like it now, but things are going to be ok,” Rhodey assured him.

“Yea?”

“Yea,”

“So how’s MIT without me? Boring?”

“Ha! It’s peaceful,”

“Yea, boring,”

Tony felt himself start to relax as Rhodey’s voice washed over him.

Tony waited on the veranda for Jarvis to return. He didn’t want to be inside the Manor. It didn’t feel the same. Tony scrubbed his hand down his face, a vain attempt to dry the tears on his cheeks, and sighed quietly.

There was the sound of car tires on gravel and Tony’s head shot up in time to see Jarvis’ car slow to a stop. The engine spluttered to a stop and the headlights cut out. It took Tony’s eyes a few moments to adjust to the darkness.

Jarvis stayed in the driver’s seat for a moment, hands on the steering wheel. His shoulders hunched and he leaned forward to place his forehead on the steering wheel. His shoulders started to shake and a new wave of tears slipped down Tony’s cheeks. Jarvis didn’t move for a few moments, then he sat up, dragged his hands over his face, and got out of the car.

Tony pushed himself to his feet, the movement caught Jarvis’s attention.

“Master Anthony?”

“Hey J,”

“When did you return?”

“Few hours ago, madre came to get me. She… she told me,”

Jarvis nodded stiffly and climbed the stairs of the veranda.

“I’m sorry J,” Tony said.

“Thank you,”

Tony stood next to Jarvis at the gravesite. The other mourners had long since gone home, leaving just the two of them.

It had been a sunny day, which was complete bullshit in Tony’s opinion. It had been a quick ceremony with a small crowd.

“You didn’t have to stay, Master Anthony,” Jarvis said at last, his voice raspy.

“I wanted to,” Tony replied.

Ana had been a second mother to him. He regretted not saying goodbye to her before he left that summer. She’d treated his black eye the best she could and Tony had repaid her by leaving. He wasn’t going to leave this time, not till he had to.

“Tones!”

Tony was sitting at the workbench, he looked up at the sound of his name and smiled softly.

“Hey Platypus,”

“How you doing?”

Tony shrugged. Rhodes walked over to him and gently placed his hand on his shoulder.

“I miss her,” he admitted.

Rhodes pulled him in for a tight hug.

“I know, Tones,” he murmured as Tony’s shoulders started to shake.

“I know,” he said again as he bent down to press a kiss to the top of Tony’s head.

Chapter Text

“You’ve had that flavor before,” Rhodes said.

“I think I would remember if I had this flavor before,” Tony replied.

“Tones,”

“So what if I had? There’s no way I’ve had the same toppings,”

Rhodes shot him a skeptical look before he pulled out the binder they used to keep track of which ice cream was superior. Tony watched as Rhodey dragged his finger down a few different pages of paper before tapping it victoriously.

“Ha!”

He turned the binder and pushed it across the small table so Tony could look.

“Three months ago you had the exact same combination. You said the gummy-bears were too hard,” Rhodey said.

Tony squinted at the writing in the binder before looking back up at Rhodey.

“Fine,”

“Gotta be better than that, Tones,” Rhodes mused. He shut the binder and pushed it back into his backpack. Tony watched him for a moment, a stupid smile on his face. He loved spending time with Rhodes. He loved their weekly Friday night ice cream dates. He just loved Rho- oh shit.

Tony hastily shoved another spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. He wasn’t in love with Rhodes. That would be ridiculous. It was a heat of the moment thing.

Tony glanced at Rhodes again, a stupid smile on his face. Shit.

“So what is this?” Rhodey asked. He was sitting just behind Tony, squinting at the computer and the many, many lines of code on it.

“It’s an AI,”

“You already made an AI,” Rhodes pointed out.

Both of them turned to look at Dum-E. The bot was dutifully sorting Tony’s tools by alphabetical order.

“A real one, platypus,” Tony said.

“Don’t say that! He’ll hear you!” Rhodes hissed.

“I threaten to send him to McDonalds at least every other day and you never say anything,”

“As his godfather-”

“I never named you godfather,”

Rhodes shot him a look.

“So?”

Something lit up in Tony’s eyes and he pushed himself away from the computer. Rhodes watched him walk to a filing cabinet and start to rifle through the drawers before he finally pulled out a single piece of paper. He walked back to Rhodes and offered out the paper. Rhodes took it.

“Is this a birth certificate?”

“Obviously,”

“How’d you weigh him?”

“You think I don’t know how much my first born weighs?”

Tony snatched the paper back and quickly wrote something on it before he handed it back to Rhodes, this time, with a pen. Rhodes looked at the paper again. Tony had crossed out the word ‘mother’ and replaced it with ‘godfather’.

“Tones,”

“Let’s make it official gumdrop,”

Some unnamed emotion welled up in Rhodey’s chest as he signed the paper. He handed it back to Tony who beamed at him.

“There. It’s official. You’re Dum-E’s godfather,” he said as he pretended to wipe a tear from under his eye.

Rhodes rolled his eyes.

Tony went back to the Manor for Thanksgiving. Rhodes invited him to his place for vacation, but Tony wanted to be with Jarvis for the Holiday.

After Thanksgiving came finals, then it was winter break.

“Call me when you get that letter,” Tony said.

“Who else am I gonna call?” Rhodes asked quietly.

“See you next semester honey pot,”

“Tones please, we both know you’ll show up on my doorstep like lost puppy before break is even over,” Rhodes replied.

Tony cracked a smile at that.

“Love you platypus,”

Rhodes’ heart stuttered. Tony didn’t mean that they way Rhodes wanted it to.

“Love you too, Tones,”

It was hardly a week after the New Years when Rhodes got the response from MIT regarding his acceptance to the Masters Program he wanted.

“You get the response?” Tony asked when he answered the phone.

“Yep!”

“What’d they say? C’mon sugar buns don’t leave me in the dark!”

“I haven’t opened it yet,”

“Then open it!”

Tony listened to the sound of tearing paper and waited a little impatiently for Rhodes to tell him that he’d gotten accepted, because of course Rhodes would get accepted into the program. The Board of Engineers would be complete imbeciles to turn him down- not that they weren’t imbeciles.

“I got in!”

“I knew you could do it sour patch,”

“I’m not sour,”

“When we get back to MIT we can celebrate,”

“Looking forward to it Tones,”

There was a moment when they were both silent.

“Hey, Tones?”

“Is that Tony?” Mama called.

Rhodes closed his eyes.

“Yea, Mama!”

Mama gently pushed Rhodes to the side and snatched the phone from him.

“Tony!”

“You boys have been on break for nearly two and a half weeks! When were you plannin’ on visitin’ us?” she asked.

Rhodes pinched the bridge of his nose. Whatever Tony said seemed to appease Mama.

“Alright honey. See you soon,” she said.

She handed the phone back to Rhodes and he handed her his acceptance letter.

“You coming to visit us?”

“Can’t disappoint Mama,” Tony said.

“Right,”

“J’s dropping me off on Friday. So get ready platypus. We can start going on cryptid hunts again,” Tony teased.

“There’s snow on the ground Tones, too cold for that,” Rhodes said.

“But there could be tracks!”

“Mothman can fly,” Rhodes deadpanned.

“This is why I call you sour patch,”

“I’m not sour!”

Tony laughed. Something warm unfurled in Rhodey’s chest.

“Alright, I’ll see you soon, Tones,”

“See you soon honey bear,”

Chapter Text

“You gonna keep starin’ out my window?” Mama asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” Rhodey responded.

“You boys are so sweet,”

Before Rhodes could protest, a car pulled to a stop outside the Rhodes house. Tony was the first to step out of the car, followed closely by Jarvis.

“Tones!”

“Platypus!”

Tony almost slipped on the ice in his excitement to get to Rhodes. Rhodes managed to steady him before he could fall.

“Thank you, Mister Rhodes,” Jarvis said as he carefully rounded the car to the trunk.

“Can’t have him messing up his pretty face, can we?” Rhodes teased.

“Oh! Platypus you think I’m pretty?”

“Only on certain days,”

Tony look borderline offended.

“What days?” he demanded.

“Where shall I take these?” Jarvis asked.

“Just set them down, J, I can take them,” Rhodes responded.

“Honey bear! What days?”

“Very well,” Jarvis agreed.

“Will I be picking you up for Spring Break?” Jarvis asked Tony.

“Yea, that sounds fine- but really, Sour Patch- I’ll see you in April alright, J?”

Jarvis nodded and climbed back into the car and drove off. Rhodey watch Tony, who watched the car drive off.

“Tones?”

“No but really Platypus, what days?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,”

Jeanette managed to convince Tony to convince Rhodey to hunt for Mothman even though it was freezing cold and Rhodey was 90% sure the Mothman was hibernating.

“I don’t think he hibernates,” Jeanette said.

“And how would you know?” Rhodes asked.

“Cryptids can’t hibernate, Jim. They have to around all the time to be spooky,”

“Jim,” Tony mouthed.

Rhodes flipped him off.

“Platypus, I was thinking-”

“That’s not good,”

“Please stop roasting me for one day,”

“No,”

“Have you turned in your housing application yet?” Tony asked, staring at the meatloaf Mama made like it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

“Not yet,”

“Don’t,”

“Yea sure Tones, I’d love to be homeless,”

“This is why I call you sour patch,”

“I’m not sour!” Rhodes insisted.

“You should live with me,” Tony said quickly.

Rhodes felt the air leave his lungs. Tony continued to stare at the meatloaf. Rhodey could absolutely not breathe. Tony wasn’t asking him what he thought he was asking him, was he?

“Was that a bad idea? I just thought since we’ve been friends for so long that it’d be fine but I’ve never had a friend this long so I’m probably wrong. Plus dorm life can’t be all that great and I have an extra room in my apartment, and I think Dum-E misses you- and you don’t have to worry about rent or anything-”

“Tony,” Rhodey interrupted. Of course Tony didn’t mean it the way Rhodey wanted him to mean it.

Tony glanced at him for just a moment before returning his attention back to the meatloaf.

“Is Mama’s food really that interesting?”

“Yep,”

“Can you promise me that Dum-E won’t destroy all my stuff?” Rhodes asked with a soft smile.

“Please honey bear you know I can’t control him,”

“I guess I’ll just have to move in to help you,” Rhodes replied.

“R-really?”

“You’re my best friend, Tones,”

Tony beamed.

The semester rolled by. Tony working on his AI code, Rhodes finishing up his Baccalaureate degree. They had their weekly ice cream dates, continued to try and get Dum-E to cut down on the protein powder and motor oil in the smoothies, and Tony continued to give his Professor’s migraines with his inability to shut up.

Rhodes loved MIT.

Tony attended Rhodey’s graduation, he had a sign, an air horn, and confetti. Jeanette was just as loud and extravagant on her own.

Summer found them at the Rhodes house, once more hunting for Mothman and generally being little shits when Mama wasn’t paying too close attention to them.

“I really don’t think you should go back,”

“Howard is going to be in Europe for most of break, so I don’t have to worry about him,” Tony replied.

“Tones,”

“I want to see Jarvis, Ana’s death was hard on him and I-”

Rhodes pulled him into a tight hug.

“I get it,”

“Just worried about you, Tones,” he said quietly, his words slightly muffled by Tony’s fluffy hair.

“I know,”

“Don’t do anything stupid without me,” Rhodes added.

“I’ve never done anything stupid ever, you’re a lying liar who lies,”

Rhodes laughed and released Tony.

Rhodey really shouldn’t have been surprised when he woke up to his sister throwing a newspaper in his face.

The headline read: ANTHONY STARK SEEN AT NEW YORK PRIDE.

Beneath the blaring headline was a picture of Tony holding a sign that read: Bisexual and Proud! (fuck off ******). There was a flag wrapped around him, pink, purple, and blue.

Chapter Text

“So I thought you weren’t going to do anything stupid,” Rhodes called when Tony rolled up to his house in an old taxi.

Tony beamed at him.

“‘Fuck you, Howard’, really?”

“It’s not like he doesn’t deserve it,”

Rhodes laughed.

“Besides, no one can prove that it was supposed to be Howard,” Tony replied.

“What else is it supposed to be,”

Tony took a moment to count the letters in Howard on his fingers and frowned.

“Ass... hat. Yea! Asshat!”

Rhodes snorted.

“You gonna hover out there all day or are you going to give your best friend a hug?”

Tony beamed and flung himself at Rhodes.

“Oh honey pot I missed you! Let’s never part again,” Tony said dramatically, almost collapsing in Rhodey’s arms.

“Jesus Christ you’re dramatic,”

“That’s biphobic,”

Rhodey laughed so hard his knees almost buckled. Tony stepped away from him, still beaming.

“No J this time?” Rhodes asked as he and Tony headed back for the taxi.

“Nah. He’s staying home with Aunt Peggy to make sure Howard doesn’t do anything stupid,”

“How’d Maria react?”

Tony didn’t say anything. He closed the trunk and stepped back from the taxi. Rhodes glanced at him.

“Tones,”

“Uh. I skipped town immediately after Pride,”

“You didn’t even talk to your mom?

“No,”

“God damn it,”
“I got… scared,” Tony murmured. Rhodes placed his hand on Tony’s shoulder.

“Tony Stark is that you?”

Tony turned to Mama and beamed.

“Hi Mama,”

Rhodes back away from Tony so Mama could hug him.

“Did you know?” Mama asked curiously.

“No,”

“Did anyone know?”

“I don’t think we would’ve found out unless he wanted us to,”

Mama sighed softly and stood up.

“I gotta get ready for bed, make sure he’s ok, alright Jim?”

“You don’t gotta tell me, Mama,”

She kissed the top of his head and walked out of the kitchen. Rhodes sat there until he heard the telltale sound of the phone being hung up. He pushed himself to his feet and walked out of the kitchen. He found Tony in the living room, sitting on the couch with tears sliding down his cheeks.

“Tones?”

Tony scrubbed at his face.

“I love my mom,”

Rhodes sat next to him and wrapped his arm around Tony’s shoulders. Tony leaned against him. Rhodes turned on the tv and they lapsed into silence. Rhodes wasn’t sure how long he stared absently at the tv, thinking about Tony being bi.

Rhodes blinked a few times and glanced down at his friend. Tony was asleep, there were still tear tracks on his cheeks from whatever Maria had said to him. Rhodes sighed softly and rubbed his hand over head.

Was it possible he actually had a chance? The life he wanted- the life with Tony- was it possible? Could me make it happen?

“Tony!” Mama called.

“Yea?”

“Phone for you,”

Tony handed the game controller to Jeanette who immediately took over for him and started to taunt her brother.

It was a few rounds later when Rhodey noticed that Tony never returned.

“Where is he?”

“Tired of getting your ass beat?” Jeanette teased.

Rhodey rolled his eyes.

“Shut up,” he said.

He stood and walked out of the living room.

“Tones?” he called.

Tony was sitting at the desk in the office, staring absently at the phone.

“Tones?”

“It’s fine,” he said hollowly.

Rhodes sat down on the desk. Tony didn’t move.

“Are you ok?”

“He… he called,”

“Howard?”

Tony didn’t say anything.

“Shit. What’d he say?”

Tony shrugged.

“I’m gonna sit here. You don’t have to speak till you’re ready,” Rhodes said quietly.

“I’m going to sit outside,”

“Tones-”

“I’ll be quiet when I come back in, so I don’t wake you,” Tony said.

“Whatever he said is shit. Ok?”

Tony didn’t respond. Rhodes squeezed his hand gently and watched him walk out of the office.

“Hey honey,”

Tony glanced up to see Mama, she was holding something in her hand.

“Hey Mama,”

“What are you doing up?” he asked.

“I know that whatever Howard said must’ve messed you up,” she said, beating around the bush like she always did.

“No- it. It wasn’t anything I wasn’t expecting. I think he’s more mad that it came out of nowhere and the press went wild,” Tony muttered.

Mama sat down next to him. Tony glanced back out across the yard.

“I know you’re not telling me the whole truth,”

Tony smiled softly.

“Well just in case honey, I made this. In case you had any doubts,”

Mama set something on the table between them. Tony turned to look at it. It was a chocolate cupcake with blue, purple, and pink frosting.

“I’m proud of you,”

Tony swiped at his eyes. Mama was kind enough not to comment.

“Thanks Mama,” he whispered.

“Honey bear! Are you ready to be roommates?!” Tony asked excitedly.

“Tones, we’ve been roommates for half the summer,”

“But actual grown up roommates!”

“I hope you two don’t get into too much trouble,” Mama warned.

“Mama! We’re absolute angels!” Tony protested.

“You’re an absolute bullshitter is what you are,”

“Mama! Language!”

Mama laughed and swatted at him.

“Alright, good luck with packing Jim,”

“Jim,” Tony muttered after she left.

“Are you going to help me pack or distract me?”

“Honey bear you know the answer to that question,”

“If I get this done faster we might have time to go cryptid hunting,” Rhodes said.

Tony shot off the bed.

“Hurry up then platypus!”

He pecked Rhodey’s cheek on his way out of the room.

Rhodey’s fingers brushed over his ROTC uniform. A bitter reminder that no, Rhodes did not have a chance with Tony. If the Air Force found out, Rhodes entire life was over. No matter how much he loved Tony, no matter how badly he wanted to be with Tony, it couldn’t happen. He’d have to swallow his feelings. No matter how much it killed him… he couldn’t have Tony.

His shoulders knit together, drawing himself to his full height, trying to convince himself that it would be fine. Eventually he’d get over Tony. He had to.

Chapter Text

“So what exactly is this?”

“I told you honey bear, a fully functioning AI,”

“What’s it going to do?”

“Hopefully? Help me run SI when I take over for Howard,”

Rhodes watched Tony squint at his computer.

“I thought you didn’t want to-”

“I don’t, but I got to thinking,”

“Dear god,”

Tony flipped him off and sat back in his chair.

“I can still do so much more than weapons. I can do medical, technology, any-fucking-thing I want when SI is mine, doesn’t just have to be weapons,” Tony said, his eyes lighting up in excitement.

“I can take SI into the future,”

Rhodes was struck by the intense urge to kiss Tony. It would be so easy to just say fuck it and kiss him. But Rhodes didn’t do that. Instead he shifted in his seat and ran his hand over his hair.

“So what are you going to call this one?” Rhodes asked.

“Asshole?” he joked.

Tony seemed to fight against the smile growing on his face.

“No,”

“I don’t know yet. And I hate all the voice modulations I’ve been trying out,” he whined.

“Voice modulations?”

“I want this AI to think for itself. I want to talk to it and have it respond back,”

“Jesus Christ,”

“Wanna be this one’s godfather too?” Tony asked with a smirk.

“Sure,”

There was a knock at the door. Rhodes looked down at himself and then at Tony in confusion. They were both in the apartment.

“Who the hell?” Tony asked, looking just as confused as Rhodey felt.

“Platypus, did you order food?”

“No,” Rhodes responded as he approached the door. He pulled it open to find Edwin Jarvis at their doorstep.

“J? What are you doing here?”

Jarvis looked tired and pale.

“Master Anthony-”

“Come on in J, Rhodey-”

“I can make some tea if you’d like? Then I’ll get out of your hair,”

“I won’t say no to the tea, but you needn’t leave. You both should hear this,” Jarvis said. Rhodey and Tony looked at each other for a moment before Rhodes turned into the kitchen.

“This can’t be good,” Tony said quietly.

“Tones,”

“J never shows up out of the blue,”

Rhodey squeezed Tony’s hand gently before letting go.

“Do you think Howard finally snapped and disowned me?”

“I’m sure if that was the case your mom might be here instead,”

Tony nodded slowly, his expression a little vacant.

“Maybe it’s nothing bad,”

“Honey pot please. I’m not usually good with people but I know Jarvis. He raised me. He’s more of a father to me than Howard ever was. There’s something wrong,”

Rhodey rubbed Tony’s shoulder. Tony drummed his fingers against the counter, his expression tight.

The kettle started to sing and Rhodes fixed up the tea.

“C’mon Tones,”

Tony still looked terrified. Rhodes sat down next to Tony. Jarvis took a few sips of his tea before he set it down. He proceeded to tell them that he had cancer, pancreatic cancer, it was late stage and there was nothing that could be done. Rhodey held Tony’s wrist, his friends face was ashen, eyes red.

“J?”

“I am sorry,”

“There has to be something!” Tony’s voice cracked.

Jarvis shook his head.

“I’m afraid not,”

“J,”

“Thank you Mr. Rhodes for the tea, I think I should be going,”

“No J, just stay here for the night. You can use my room. Honey pot made me wash the sheets yesterday,”

Jarvis looked impressed.

“Yes I did,” Rhodes said proudly.

“We’ll order Chinese food and watch all the terrible movies you want to watch,”

“Tones, I don’t think-”

“I think I would like that very much, Master Anthony,”

The smile on Tony’s face looked painful.

“I’ll call momma and tell her you’re here- does she know?”

“No,”

“No?”

“I thought it best that you heard it first,”

“Rhodes,” Tony whispered.

Rhodey just hugged him.

“Tony I’m sorry,”

“He can’t be dying. There has to be something-”

Rhodey just hugged him a little tighter.

“Tones,” he whispered. Tony let out a shudder. He pulled away from Rhodes and swiped at his face.

“I gotta call momma. Can you get his bags?”

“Course Tones,”

Rhodes took a moment for himself when he reached Jarvis’ car. Jarvis was dying. It was wrong. A sentence that didn’t make sense, words that didn’t belong with each other. Rhodes shut the trunk and wiped at his face.

“Shit,”

He grabbed Jarvis’ bag and headed back up to the apartment.

“Thank you Mr. Rhodes,”

“Sure J. Need anything else?”

“No thank you. I think I’ll just retire for the evening. Goodnight Mr. Rhodes,”

“Night,”

Rhodes stepped into the office, Tony wasn’t there which meant he was more than likely in Rhodey’s bed. There was something bright yellow on the stack of code for Tony’s new AI. An acronym written in Tony’s messy scrawl.

J.A.R.V.I.S.

Chapter Text

Jarvis left the next day. Tony and Rhodey watched him go, their hands intertwined. Tony was all pale and wide eyes with dark bags under his eyes. Rhodes knew he hadn’t gotten much sleep the previous night.

“Tones,”

“I… I have class,”

Rhodes let him go, not bothering to mention the fact that it was the weekend and there would be no classes in session.

It was evening when Tony returned. He still looked shaken to his core.

“I picked up some pho. It’s in the fridge,” Rhodes said.

Tony nodded slowly, tears flooding his eyes. Pho was Tony’s favorite comfort food- outside of Ana and Mama’s cooking. But Rhodes couldn’t cook like Ana, and he definitely couldn’t cook like his Mama, so he went with Pho which seemed to be the correct choice.

Tony disappeared into the kitchen and Rhodes heard him puttering around, getting his dinner ready.

“Where’d you go?” Rhodes asked as Tony sat next to him on the couch.

“Lab,”

Rhodes looked at him.

“Spent some time with Dum-E,”

“How’s he doing?”

“Unruly as ever,”

Rhodes smiled softly, scratching his nails across Tony’s scalp and taking an odd sense of pride as the lines of tension started to leak out of his friend.

They were silent for a while, watching stupid sci-fi shows while Tony slowly ate his pho. The broth was almost read on account of the amount of chili oil Tony put in it.

“I don’t want him to die,” Tony whispered, absently stirring at his pho. Rhodes rubbed his back gently.

“I know,”

Tony rubbed at his nose with the tattered sleeve of his sweater. He set his bowl on the small table next to the couch and leaned his head against Rhodey’s shoulder, a heavy sigh escaping him.

Rhodes was at a loss on how to make him feel better.

Time started moving all too fast. Before Rhodes knew it, it was Thanksgiving, then it was Christmas, then Rhodes got a call from Tony in the middle of the night.

“Tones?” Rhodey asked, instantly fearing the worst about Jarvis.

“Howard got drunk,” Tony’s voice was small.

Rhodes sat up, ready to get in his car and drive up to the Stark Mansion if it meant keeping Tony away from his father.

“Tones, what happened?”

“He was drunk and ranting and raving about how if I was a better…” Tony stifled a sob.

“J wouldn’t- he wouldn’t have gotten sick,”

Jesus Christ.

“I don’t-” Rhodes exhaled heavily through his nose, trying to dissipate the rage welling within him.

“I don’t even know how to begin to explain how fucked up that is,”

“What’s happening to Jarvis isn’t your fault, and it’s never going to be your fault. Everything that comes out of Howard’s mouth is shit,”

On the other line, Tony sniffed.

“Tones, you’re the best person I’ve ever known,”

“Rhodey-”

“Please listen,”

“Howard is fucked up beyond belief. It’s not your fault Tones. I promise you. It’s a fucking cruel twist of fate, but never your fault,”

Tony was quiet for a few long moments.

“Thanks Rhodey,”

Rhodes closed his eyes, his heart twisting painfully. Tony wasn’t ok. If he was he would have used a ridiculous nickname instead of ‘Rhodey’.

“I want to hear you say it,” Rhodes said quietly.

“What?”

“‘Jarvis getting sick is not my fault’,” Rhodes said.

“Jarvis getting sick is not my fault,” his voice broke at the end.

Rhodes stayed on the phone with Tony as he cried. He wished there was something other than talk to Tony that he could do, but Tony was too far away.

“I’m sorry,” Tony said at last.

“Don’t apologize Tones, not to me. And especially not for expressing your emotions,” Rhodes said.

“Thanks platypus,”

Rhodey wanted to collapse in relief.

“Why don’t you come stay with us for the rest of break? I know Mama wants to see you,”

“I don’t wanna leave Jarvis,” Tony said apologetically.

Rhodes nodded slowly even though he knew Tony couldn’t see him.

“And I don’t wanna leave because of Howard. Last time I did that… I didn’t… I don’t get to say goodbye to Ana, and I don’t want that to happen with J,”

“I’m actually… I think I’m gonna go to bed. Experiencing emotions really took a lot out of me,” Tony said. Rhodes huffed out a small laugh.

“‘Course Tones. I’ll see you at the apartment then?”

“Yea. I should get home on the 20th,”

Rhodes tried to ignore the way his heart stopped and restarted at the word. Home.

“See you soon, Tones,”

“Bye honey bear, love you,”

“Love you too,”

Rhodes sat on his bed for a while, thinking about how much he wished to see Tony in person, if only to hug him and make sure he really was feeling at least a little bit better.

Chapter Text

Spring semester found Tony working on his doctorate degree working on his new AI, J.A.R.V.I.S, trying to teach Dum-E that motor oil does not belong in smoothies, and still somehow making sure he talked to Jarvis every week.

It found Rhodes working on his classes, his Air Force duties, also trying to teach Dum-E that he didn’t need to dump an entire container of protein powder into his smoothies, and keeping up with Jarvis as well.

Rhodey and Tony had to carve out time in their schedules for their ice cream dates, they needed a way to celebrate surviving another week of classes, and (in Rhodey’s opinion) Tony needed the pick-me-up after talking to Jarvis.

“I love you very much, Master Anthony,”

Tony felt his throat close up, his emotions choking him.

“I love you too J,”

“Might I ask to speak with Mr. Rhodes?”

“‘Course, J. I’ll see you on Friday, ok?”

“I look forward to it,” Jarvis said a little breathlessly, it was all Tony could do to keep from bursting into tears.

Tony gestured Rhodey over and handed him the phone. Tony sat on the couch as Rhodey talked to Jarvis. They didn’t talk for long, just a few minutes. Tony heard the tell tale click of the phone on its receiver and Rhodes sat next to him on the couch, his eyes red.

“What’d he say?” Tony asked quietly.

“He just thanked me for being your friend,”

“Hey Rhodes?” Tony asked in a soft voice.

“Yea?”

“We’re friends, right?”

“Yes, what are-”

“Like, just friends?”

“Tones what are you talking about? We’re best friends,” Rhodes said

“Is that all we are?”

“What?”

Tony grabbed Rhodey by his shirt and pulled him in for a kiss. It was desperate and a little messier than Rhodes would have liked but it was still the best goddamn thing Rhodes had ever experienced. His lips, his hands, his- Rhodes yanked away from Tony, instantly missing the closeness.

Tony’s eyes were wide and pleading and Rhodes wanted nothing more than to pull him back in and kiss him again.

“We can’t,” Rhodes said, doing his best to ignore the crack in his voice.

“I’m s-”

“Don’t,” Rhodes pleaded.

“It’s not that I don’t want to, Tones… I can’t. If the Air Force found out I could lose everything and I can’t let that happen,”

“Tones if it didn’t matter… I promise-”

Tony cupped his face gently, hands warm and calloused and everything Rhodes ever wished for but couldn’t have.

“One day it won’t,” Tony said with finality in his voice.

Rhodes gripped on to Tony’s wrist.

“One day,” he agreed.

Tony left the second he was out of class on Friday. He put Dum-E in sleep mode, said goodbye to Rhodes, and got into the car his mother had sent for him. He would be back home in less than four hours.

The first three hours were uneventful.

“Sir, Mrs. Stark wants you to call her,” the driver said, his eyes meeting Tony’s through the rearview mirror. Tony could feel the blood drain out of his face.

“Get me to a payphone,” Tony said.

He tried to convince himself that everything was fine. Maria was just calling him to make sure he was on his way home. That’s all it was.

The car pulled to a stop at a gas station. Tony shot out of the car to get to the payphone.

“Momma?” Tony asked the second the answered.

“Bambino,”

Tony gripped the phone tightly and nodded.

“I’m sorry. He… he just couldn’t hold on any longer,”

On the other end of the line he heard her sniff.

“How far away are you?”

“Little over half an hour,”

“Oh Bambino,” she whispered.

“I’ll… I’ll be there soon, momma. I just gotta call Rhodes,”

“Of course,”

Tony hung up and stared at the keypad for a few moments before he fished more change out of his pocket. He punched in the number to the Rhodes house and listened to the line ring.

“Rhodes residence,” Mama said when she answered.

“Hey Mama, it’s Tony,”

“Hey honey! You lookin’ for Jim?”

“Yes ma’am,”

“Jim!” he heard her call. It took a few moments for Rhodey to get to the phone.

“Hello?”

“He um…” Tony cleared his throat and scuffed at the ground with his shoe.

“Tones?”

“Jarvis died,” Tony said, his voice sounded oddly hollow, even to his own ears.

“Oh Jesus Christ Tones… Tones I’m so sorry,”

“Yea,”

“What’s gonna happen now?” Rhodes asked.

“I don’t know. I have to get to the hospital,”

There was a moment of silence.

“You weren’t there?” Rhodes asked quietly.

“No I’m… I’m half an hour out,”

“Oh my god,”

“Tony… I’m so sorry,” Rhodes said again.

“I wish there was something else I could say,”

“I wish I could have been there,” Tony admitted, tears obscuring his vision.

“Told him… told him how much he means to me, how much I appreciate him and how he was a better dad to me than Howard-” Tony choked over his own emotions.

“He knew that Tones. And he loved you, Tony. Don’t forget that, ok?”

“Thanks platypus,” Tony whispered.

“Anything for you, Tones. I’ll come up on Sunday, ok? Or earlier if the funeral-”

“You don’t have to-”

“I’m not letting you go through this on your own,” Rhodes interrupted.

Tony ran his hand over his hair and made an attempt to blink away the tears.

“Ok,”

“I’ll see you soon, Tones,”

“See you Platypus,”

Tony hung up. He slowly made his way back to the car and slid into the back seat.

“Everything good, Sir?”

“Fine,” Tony lied through his teeth.

Rhodes slid his hand into Tony’s and squeezed tightly. They were the only two left at the grave. The funeral had been small, not many people stayed to mourn the English butler.

Rhodes held Tony’s hand even as he fell to his knees and screamed.

Chapter Text

Tony ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.

“Tones?”

“Yea?”

“You almost done?”

“Yea, just making sure JARVIS is all packed away properly,” Tony said.

“Weird that I’m not going home,” he said a tad too casually.

“Tones, you’d be going home to an empty mansion. I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Rhodes said.

“I… I know,”

“I wish she wasn’t going with Howard,” he said a little petulantly.

“I know, Tones,” Rhodes said quietly.

He helped Tony finish packing his things.

Tony spent the summer with the Rhodes family. Rhodes tried his best to keep Tony in good spirits, but it was easy to tell that Tony was still pretty fucked up about Jarvis’ death.

So they hunted for Mothman, watched an obscene amount of movies, and when Mama and Mr. Rhodes were out for a date night they may have dipped into some of the alcohol.

They headed back to MIT in late August. They spent the first week getting the apartment set up and making sure that Dum-E was ok. Then it was time for them to buy their school books and get ready for the fall semester. It was Rhodey’s final fall semester at MIT.

“Rhodey! C’mere! I think I got him to work!” Tony shouted.

Rhodes abandoned his graduation paperwork and picked his way through the lab to get to Tony and his computer.

“You ready?”

“Always,” Rhodey replied.

“JARVIS, wake up,” Tony instructed.

The monitor flickered to life. Rhodes drew in a sharp breath.

“What is your name?” Tony asked, his hands clenched tightly.

“My name is JARVIS,”

Both Tony and Rhodey froze at the familiar voice.

“Jesus,” Rhodes whispered.

Tony looked like he was on the verge of tears.

“Jesus Christ, Tones, it sounds just like him,”

“Yea,” Tony said quietly, his voice thick.

Rhodes put his hand on Tony’s shoulder and squeezed tightly.

“Why don’t we go get some ice cream? It’s about time for our weekly date,”

Tony swiped at his nose and nodded.

“Yea, yea… let me save this and shut it down,”

Rhodes nodded. He headed to his room and shuffled around for his MIT sweater. When it didn’t turn up in his search he realized Tony must have taken it. Rhodes grinned and shook his head and grabbed a plain black sweater and tugged it on. He headed back out of his room in time to see Tony walk into his.

“Do you have my MIT sweater?” Rhodes called.

“What?” Tony demanded, faux outrage in his voice.

“That’s just ridiculous,” he added.

He stepped out of his room in Rhodey’s MIT sweater. Rhodes raised his eyebrows at the sight of it.

“Couldn’t tell you where it is honey bear,” he said.

“Ok, sure,” Rhodes agreed.

“Heavy on the sarcasm there sour patch!”

“I’m not sour!”

“Ok, sure,” Tony mocked.

It didn’t take them long to walk to their favorite ice cream parlor. They both ordered a ridiculous concoction, sat at their usual table, and started to rate their ice cream.

Fall semester spent with Tony working on JARVIS and whatever else school work he had. Rhodes spent his semester with Air Force duties and his classwork. He was always at Tony’s side when he made progress with JARVIS, it was haunting to hear Jarvis’ voice like that, at the same time it was nice to hear his voice again.

For Thanksgiving the two returned to the Rhodes house, it was a welcomed break from their classes and schoolwork.

“Tones! This came in the mail for you!” Rhodes called.

Tony peeked into the room, his gaze narrowing in on the envelope in Rhodey’s hand.

“What does MIT want with me now?” he whined as he shuffled toward Rhodey.

“Just open it, will you?”

Tony snatched up the letter and tore it open. Rhodey watched him read through it, his brow furrowing with each sentence he read.

“I don’t understand,”

“What?”

“It sounds… here honey pot. Read this and tell me what you think it means,”

Rhodes skimmed through the letter, a smiling growing on his face as he realized what MIT wanted Tony to do.

“They want you to teach,” he said.

Tony nodded slowly and scrubbed his hand over his face.

“They want me to do what?!” Tony demanded.

Rhodey attempted to smother a laugh.

“This is gold,”

“They can’t be serious,”

“I think all doctorate students have to,”

Tony looked up at him, eyes wide.

“Platypus…”

“I don’t have time to teach a class! I have JARVIS and classes of my own to not learn in!” Tony exclaimed.

“What class are you teaching?” Rhodes asked.

“Something about advanced calculus,” Tony muttered.

“At least it’s something you can handle,” Rhodes said.

“What?”

“They could have made you teach algebra,”

Tony balked.

“Don’t even say that honey pot,”

Rhodes cackled.

“When do you start?”

“Next semester,”

“Damn,”

Tony sighed softly and flopped back on the couch, arm draped over his eyes like the dramatic person he was.

“I don’t even know how to teach,” he lamented.

“Just don’t do that thing where you get really excited and go off on tangents that don’t make sense,”

Tony peeked at him from under his arm, a small smile forming on his lips. He was too damn beautiful for his own good.

“I guess,” he agreed.

“How does this always happen?” Rhodey demanded as he rubbed his hands together.

It was the middle of winter, snow blanketed the ground and the trees were barren. Rhodes was freezing.

“‘Tis the season, sour patch!”

“What do you- I’m not fucking sour!” Rhodes said.

Tony grinned at him.

“‘Tis the season for staying inside and relaxing, not hunting for a cryptid in the freezing cold,”

“I see why you call him sour patch,” Jeannette said.

Rhodes flipped her off.

Rhodes tapped his pencil anxiously on his desk. His professor was late on the first day of class which Rhodey found highly inconvenient.

It was his last first day at MIT. He wanted to get it over with.

The lecture hall doors burst open and in rushed the professor, his hair wild and a coffee in his hands.

“Hello class,”

The pencil clattered against the floor, Rhodes didn’t bother to pick it up.

“I’m Mr. Stark,”

Then, the absolute cocky bastard looked directly at Rhodes, and winked.

Oh god.

Chapter Text

Rhodey was pretty surprised to find that Tony was a pretty competent teacher once he got into the swing of things. He just had to find the right way to talk to the students. Unlike Tony, his students weren’t doctorate students who were earning more than one degree. They were Masters students, earning (just) one degree.

Once Tony figured that out the class went smoothly. Every once and a while he would go on a tangent about something much more advanced, and even one time he brought in Dum-E.

Dum-E loved it, and unsurprisingly, so did the class.

“How are these people getting their Masters? I can’t even read this!” Tony demanded.

He was sitting on their couch, a stack of papers on the coffee table. His hair was messy and he was actually wearing a pair of black rimmed glasses. He was so beautiful it hurt.

“Tones,” Rhodey sighed with a small shake of his head.

“Some of your classmates are idiots,”

Rhodes snorted.

“Tell me about it,”

Tony grinned wickedly, and did as Rhodes said.

Rhodes glanced down at his test, a small smirk on his face. He’d aced it, naturally. He’d gotten a 96% on it and a little happy face in the corner. The happy face was from Tony, but the score had not been written in Tony’s messy scrawl.

“Can’t believe your genius toy here didn’t give you a 100,” someone sneered.

Rhodey’s head shot up to the person sitting across from him.

“Excuse me?” Rhodes hissed.

“Oh, shocking, James Rhodes aced the hardest midterm we’ve ever had,” someone else snorted.

“Of course he aced the midterm! The teacher is his best fucking friend!”

Rhodes shot to his feet. While Tony was a hot mess there was no way he’d do anything like that.

“Actually,” the TA said nervously.

All eyes turned to the small brunette.

“Mr. Stark has me grade everything Mr. Rhodes turns in,” she said, pushing her glasses further up the bridge of her nose.

The blonde asshole still looked pissed but he sat down. Rhodes glared at him as he too took his seat.

“Well, if there are no more interruptions,” Tony muttered, a smug smirk on his face.

“Tones, does she really grade my work?” Rhodey asked.

“Hm? Oh yea. I asked her the first day of the semester,” Tony told him.

“Really?”

“Honey pot,” Tony said as he sat back in his chair.

“I knew the second I saw you in that room I had to find someone else to grade your things. My whole doctorate is contingent on me doing a good job with this class, and this is your last semester. I wasn’t gonna fuck it up just because I think you deserve an A++,”

Rhodes beamed at his best friend.

“There’s no such thing as an A++,” he said.

“Sure,” Tony scoffed.

What little free time Tony had, he spent with Rhodes. Somehow they always managed to carve out enough time to go on their ice cream dates. Those few hours of peace they got in that ice cream parlor was the best part of their week.

Before either of them knew it, it was May. Tony had to draft up a final and study for his other finals, and Rhodey had to not only study for his own finals, but start packing up his belongings.

It was weird to think he wouldn’t be returning to the apartment in the fall, that he wouldn’t be rooming with Tony anymore. Everything was going to change.

Tony watched Rhodes walk across the stage and there was a pang in his chest. Rhodey was beautiful. And he was leaving. Tony kept trying not to think about it like that, Rhodey was graduating college and he was going to go do his dream job in the Air Force. Tony could be happy for him for that. But still Rhodey was his best friend, the love of his life, and he was going off to fight wars, and Tony really didn’t want him to go.

“It will be ok, bambino,” Maria said to him.

She knew how Tony felt about Rhodey, even when Tony didn’t exactly tell her about it. Tony looked at her and offered a small smile, Maria smiled back and squeezed his hand gently.

Tony stood there, wrapped up in Rhodey’s MIT sweater despite the heat. His eyes seemed bigger than normal.

“Tones,”’ he whispered.

Tony opened his mouth a few times like he wanted to say something, but nothing came out. They had been in that situation many times before, but this was different. In the fall, Tony would be returning to MIT for his final year, Rhodes, however, would not.

“I guess… this is it,” Tony said quietly.

“Yea,” Rhodes agreed.

He was off to basic training, and after he passed that he would get his assignment and he’d be off, not knowing when he would be stateside again.

“I’m going to miss you honey pot,”

“I’m gonna miss you too, Tones,”

Tony rubbed his eyes, a small pout on his lips.

“This… this isn’t forever, right? I’m mean… we’re gonna see each other again, right?” Tony asked, his voice trembling.

Rhodey pulled his best friend into a hug, Tony hugged back just as tight.

“Of course,” Rhodey said quietly.

“Whenever I’m stateside, Tones, I promise,”

When Rhodes was finished with his basic training he went right back home. He had one week till the gave him his assignment posting, and the only thing he knew for sure was that it was going to be overseas and he’d be gone for at least 3 years.

He called Tony up during his second day home and asked Tony to meet him in Greenwich village, at a place Rhodes knew no one would recognize them, and where no one would care what they did.

They were seated in a dark corner of the bar. Far enough from MIT so no one would recognize them, and somewhere safe enough that they wouldn’t get in trouble for lingering touches.

The Stonewall Inn was crowded. No one gave Tony or Rhodes a second glance.

“I wish we could have this,” Tony said quietly as he looked at the crowd. They were happy and free.

“Me too,” Rhodes said quietly as he laced his fingers with Tony’s.

“I’m just… not ready to be out,”

“I know platypus. I don’t blame you either,” Tony assured.

“Press has a fucking field day every time I remind them I’m not fucking straight,” he added.

Rhodes just squeezed his hand a little tighter.

“We’ll have this one day, honey bear, this… freedom, and you won’t lose your job over this,” Tony said.

“You gonna rewrite all the laws that say we can’t be together?” Rhodes asked with a small smile.

“I’ll rewrite the god damn stars if it means we can be together,” Tony promised.

And Rhodes believed him.

Chapter Text

Tony’s last year at MIT seemed to fly by. Without Rhodes at his side he didn’t see the point in taking very good care of himself. He let himself slip, started sleeping less, eating less, relying more on coffee and questionable smoothies from Dum-E. He went out partying more. So yea, he would say his final year seemed to fly by.

By the time graduation came around he had gotten JARVIS to work almost perfectly, but only on his personal computer. Tony was proud of his kid.

It was Tony’s first graduation without either of the Jarvis’. He didn’t expect anyone but his mother to show up. He knew she would, she was always one of his biggest supporters.

He crossed the stage at MIT for the last time. He shook the Deans’ hand, took the empty tube, posed for a photo, and walked off the stage. That was it. He’d done it. Tony was 19 years old and he had his doctorate degree.

He sat back down in his seat and stared blankly at the stage. He didn’t listen to the rest of the names get called, he didn’t listen to the closing remarks, he sat and stared and wished that Rhodes was sitting next to him.

When they were released Tony followed the crowd and exchanged the empty tube he’d received on stage for a certificate of completion. He’d get his Doctorate in the fall via the mail.

Tony pushed his way to the edge of the crowd to try and find his mother.

“Tones!”
His heart stuttered in his chest. James Rhodes stood about twenty feet ahead of him dressed in his military blues.

“Rhodes!”

Tony shot toward him and all but leapt on his best friend. They couldn’t seem to hug each other tight enough.

“Honey bear! You came!”

“Couldn’t miss your graduation Tones- or should I call you Dr. Stark now?” Rhodes teased with a grin. His grin widened as Tony laughed loudly.

“Bambino!”

Tony turned to see Maria Stark and Peggy Carter.

“Mom!”

Tony hugged his mother and aunt tightly. Even though he’d try to prepare himself for it, he couldn’t help but feel a little bit disappointed that the great Howard Stark didn’t even make it to his own son’s graduation.

“You ready for dinner, Bambino?” Maria asked gently.

Tony grinned at her and nodded.

“So Tones, what’s Dum-E been up to,”

“Personally honey pot, I think he’s jealous about JARVIS,”

“Dum-E? Jealous? I hope you haven’t been mean to my godson, Tones,”

“Platypus I would never!”

Rhodes laughed, and it was the most beautiful sound Tony had heard in a long time.

Tony was dead asleep when he got the call. His parents car had crashed and they didn’t make it. That’s all they told him.

Tony scrambled out of bed. He called Obie, then Peggy, then he got into a car and drove.

The mortician told him his father died instantly, his mother had clung on for a few minutes before eventually slipping away. Tony had been asked to identify the bodies, there were lacerations on Howard’s face, the only evidence of the wreck that Tony could see. His mother looked as if she was simply asleep.

“Can I go make a call?” Tony asked, his voice sounded dead even to his own ears.

“Of course Mr. Stark,”

Tony didn’t bother to correct the mortician. He walked out of the morgue and managed to find the nearest phone without having a complete breakdown.

The number Tony had for Rhodes got him to Rhodey’s CO. After a brief discussion Tony was allowed to speak to Rhodes in private.

“Tones?” Rhodey asked quietly.

“Hey,”

“What’s up? What happened? Is everything ok?”

“My parents are dead,” Tony said quietly.

There was a moment of silence between them.

“What?”

“Howard was drunk, crashed into a tree,”

“Jesus Christ,” Rhodey said quietly.

“Tones… I’m so sorry,”

Tony nodded slowly.

“Yea,”

“Listen, Tones, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Ok?” Rhodes asked.

“You- you don’t have to. I have Obie here and I called Peggy-”

“You’re not doing this alone, Tony. I’ll be there, I promise,”

Tony scuffed the ground with his shoe, tears obscuring his vision.

“Thanks platypus,”

“I love you, Tones,” Rhodey told him.

Tony scrubbed his hand down his face.

“Love you too,” and then he hung up.

Tony sat outside the morgue. Obie was inside talking with the mortician about something- burial things. Funeral things.

“Oh, my darling,”

Tony blinked up and looked up to see his aunt Peggy. Tony plastered a smile on his face as she sat down on the floor next to him.

“I’m so sorry,” she said quietly.

“Obie is inside if you want to talk with him,” Tony said flatly.

“I’m not here for Obadiah, Anthony, I’m here for you,”

Tony leaned his head against her shoulder.

“They say he was drunk,” Tony said after a long moment of quiet.

Peggy just took hold of his hand.

“He was drunk with her in the car,”

Peggy Carter held her godson as he burst into tears.

As promised, Rhodes showed up and helped Tony through burying his parents. But soon he had to go back to the Air Force and Tony was alone. But this time he didn’t even have his beloved mother to help him through the loneliness. She was six feet under because Howard Stark was the dumbest genius who had ever walked the earth. He had been drunk, he had driven, and he had let Maria into the car with him.

His mother was gone and Howard was to blame.

Tony buried himself in work. SI was his. A 19 year old orphan was in control of the entirety of SI, one of the largest weapons manufacturing company in the world.

His work distracted him for a little bit. But the more time he spent alone the more he started to think. Drinking didn’t help, drugs didn’t help, but they certainly took the edge off and that’s really all Tony wanted.

At first he didn’t know why he dodged Rhodey’s calls. Maybe it was because he didn’t want Rhodes to know how far he had fallen. He wanted to talk with Rhodes, his best friend, the love of his life, but every time he went to pick up the phone to try and get a hold of Rhodes, something held Tony back.

“What if it is me?” Tony asked to an empty workshop.

From the corner, Dum-E chirped but otherwise didn’t respond to his creators question. Tony ran his hand over his hair and tried to focus back on his work. There were a million things he had to do for SI, but he couldn’t seem to shut his brain up.

What if it is me? he couldn’t help but wonder.

What if Howard had been right. Ana, Edwin, and even his own mother had died less than five years apart. They had been some of Tony’s favorite people in the whole world and now there were dead. He was clearly the common denominator.

If that was the case, he wasn’t going to let it happen to Rhodes.

Inevitably JARVIS pulled a fast one on him, claiming he didn’t know where the call was originating from to get Tony to answer it.

Tony was not expecting to hear Rhodey’s voice on the other end of the call.

“Did I do something wrong?” Rhodes asked, his voice staticky over the satellite phone.

“No,” Tony said quietly, voice thick.

“Then what’s going on?”

“I just... I got busy,”

“Please don’t lie to me, Tones,” Rhodey pleaded.

There was a burst of static between the phones. Tony stared at the pictures of Ana and Edwin, his mom and Howard, tears obscuring his vision.

“What if it’s my fault they’re gone? What if Howard was ri-”

“Tony, no,”

“I’m sorry, Rhodes,”

“Tony. Please. Please don’t cut me out. I lo-”

There was another burst of static, drowning out Rhodey’s voice.

“... so much, Tones-”

Then the dial tone sounded. Tony didn’t bother trying to call back.

Chapter Text

“Sir,” JARVIS called.

“Hm?”

“There is someone at the front door,”

Tony blinked once, then twice, then a third time before looking up at JARVIS’ nearest camera.

“What?” his voice rasped.

When was the last time he’d spoken?

JARVIS dropped down a holographic screen of his front door. There, in all his military glory, stood James Rhodes. Tony’s heart skipped a beat or two… or ten at the sight of him.

“What are the chances of him leaving if he thinks I’m not home?” Tony asked.

“Oh dear, was I supposed to tell him you weren’t home?” JARVIS drawled.

Tony jerked at the sass, almost forgetting that he himself programmed the AI to be like that.

“I’ll… I have to answer that then,”

“I would say so,” JARVIS agreed.

Tony slunk up the stairs, hands twisting in the oversized MIT sweater he wore. How long had it been since that phone call with Rhodes? How long had it been since Tony ripped his own heart out his chest by trashing his friendship with Rhodes? What was he even doing at Tony’s house?

“J?” Tony whispered as he reached the top of his stairs.

All he had to do was turn the corner and Rhodes would be there, on the other side of his glass front door.

“Yes, Sir?”

“How long has it been since our phone call?”

“17 days 16 hours and 42 minutes,” JARVIS responded.

Seventeen days and still Rhodes had shown up at his front door.

“Why do you think he’s here?”

“Well Sir I can’t imagine he was happy about the content of that phone call,” JARVIS replied.

“You might as well greet him, Sir, he doesn’t seem to be showing signs of fatigue,” JARVIS said after it was clear Tony wasn’t going to move from the top of the stairs.

Tony stepped out around the corner, putting himself in full view of James Rhodes. Rhodes froze, his hand falling flat on the glass door, his mouth formed one word and one word only.

Tony.

But Tony was still rooted to the spot. His mouth felt dry. His heart was going to burst out of his chest. And he was suddenly aware that he hadn’t been taking the best care of himself.

Tony shuffled to the front door, hyper aware of Rhodey’s gaze on him. Tony placed his hand on the handle and glanced up. Rhodes was still looking at him. Tony swallowed thickly and looked down at the door handle again, it was a lot easier to breathe when he wasn’t looking at Rhodey.

Tony pulled the door open. That was it. There were no more barriers between them- well, no more physical barriers at least.

“Don’t,” Rhodes pleaded quietly.

Tony could only hold Rhodey’s gaze for so long before his heart constricted and it felt hard to breathe. Rhodes was just too damn beautiful.

“Don’t push me out, Tones, please,” Rhodey’s voice broke on the last word, that desperate please.

“Rhodes-”

Rhodes pulled him into a tight hug, cutting off whatever Tony was trying to say. Tony clung to Rhodes like he was a lifeline, which he was.

“You can’t- Tones-” Rhodey let out a shuddering gasp and his knees gave out, sending them both crashing to the floor.

“I’m sorry,” Tony whispered, clinging tighter to Rhodes.

“I’m sorry,”

Chapter Text

Rhodes held tight to the photo of Tony standing next to the Mothman statue in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Jeanette had taken it at the Mothmania Festival in 2004. He flipped the photo over to see Tony’s familiar, untidy scrawl.

Me and my new boyfriend

Rhodes held the picture to his chest, Tony to his heart, ad looked across the bleak expanse of Afghanistan.

“I’ll find you,” he promised.

Tony had been snatch right from under his nose, and by god he was going to make them all pay.

He spent what little free time he had rereading their old letters. They cut him right to his core, he loved Tony, so much.

Rhodes fingered the letter Tony had sent the day DADT had been set into law. It was the shortest letter Tony had ever sent. Seven words. Nine if the salutations were to be counted.

Platypus,
I will rewrite the god damn stars.
Yours

Rhodes refused to listen to anyone else. There was no convincing him that Tony wasn’t alive. Not his CO’s, not his men, not anyone. Tony was out there and Rhodes wasn’t going to stop looking for him. He didn’t care if it took the rest of his life, he was going to find Tony.

“Colonel?”

But Rhodes couldn’t stop staring at the explosion off to the west.

“That’s him,” Rhodes croaked.

“That’s Tony,”

It had been three months. Three long months and then finally there was a sign that Tony was alive and still fighting.

“Sir-”

“Get me in the air,” Rhodes commanded.

It seemed to take far too long to get the choppers in the air. It took far too long to get to the explosion sight, and then to the crash sight, and then finally, finally, to the man on his knees in the sand, hand thrown up in a peace sign.

“Tony,” he whispered.

Rhodes stumbled through the sand. It was Tony. Tony. Tony. Tony. Alive and with something blue and glowy in his chest. Rhodes fell to his knees and pulled Tony into his arms.

“How was the fun-vee?” Rhodes asked.

“You’re an ass,” Tony said with a raspy voice and a weak smile.

“Next time, you ride with me,”

Tony smiled up at him, soft and easy. He dropped his head in the crook of Rhodey’s neck. He was with Rhodey. He was safe.

He grabbed Rhodey’s hand and pressed it against the arc reactor, it was cool and hummed beneath Rhodey’s hand. Instead of keeping his hand there, Rhodes took Tony’s hand in his and let them rest there, against the cool metal.

“Let’s go home, alright Tones?” he said quietly.

Tony stared up at him, doe eyes warm and soft and full of tears.

“Yea,” he agreed, voice rasping.

Rhodes went home with him, there was nothing the Air Force could do to him that would have kept him from Tony. He stayed with Tony in his Malibu house and helped him try to figure out who had orchestrated his kidnapping and torture.

In the end it had been Obadiah Stane, Tony’s godfather. He had been selling SI weapons on the black market and had hired the Ten Rings to kill Tony while he was in Afghanistan.

Rhodes was glad that Obadiah was dead. Finding Tony on the floor of his lab, half dead with the arc reactor missing was one of the most horrifying things he’d ever seen. He hated how many times he’d gotten so close to losing Tony.

“You know there’s been rumors about DADT,” Rhodes said quietly.

Tony looked up from the red and gold suit, an unreadable expression on his face. He hadn’t said a word since earlier that night, since before Obadiah’s death.

“What kind of rumors?”

“That it might get repealed,”

Tony stared at him for a moment before turning his attention back to his suits. Rhodes could easily see he was building up the courage to say something.

“When it does get repealed we should celebrate,” he said at last.

“How?” Rhodes asked with a small smile.

“By getting married,”

The offer hung there for a moment.

“Well I hope your next proposal is more heartfelt,” Rhodes said.

“My next proposal will happen after DADT is repealed so I can be as dramatic and romantic as you deserve,” Tony replied.

Rhodes smiled at him and Tony smiled back.

Tony glanced down at the cards in his hand with a frown. He didn’t like his cover story.

“It’s for the best, Tones,” Rhodey told him, somehow reading his mind.

“We got pre-engaged last night,” Tony informed him.

“Engaged to be engaged,” Rhodes agreed.

“Finally,” Tony found himself saying.

Rhodes huffed out a soft laugh.

“You didn’t even have to rewrite the stars Tones,”

“We still have time,”

Rhodes shook his head and adjusted Tony’s tie. He tapped the cards a few times and Tony looked at him.

“Just read from these, alright?”

“Sure honeybear,”

The press conference was only a little bit of a disaster, Tony was incapable of following any kind of script.

“Just stick to the script,” Rhodes said quietly.

Tony looked at him for a second and nodded. He hadn’t been the same since Obadiah’s betrayal and death, Rhodes didn’t blame him.

“The truth is…”

Tony looked directly at Christine and Rhodes knew what was going happen, he knew that Tony wasn’t going to follow the script.

“I am Iron Man,”

Chapter Text

Rhodes was in a meeting when the Attack of New York started. He was helpless to do anything but watch the tv in horror. He barely listened to his superiors as they discussed what their best course of action was. Tony was there. Tony was in a tin can and he was fighting aliens.

“Jesus Christ,” Rhodey whispered.

“They launched a nuke,”

Rhodes couldn’t breathe.

“You- what?” he demanded.

“The WSC made an executive decision. It’s already been launched,”

Rhodes scrambled for his phone, he had to let Tony know.

“Tony Starks’ ‘Iron Man’-” the lady on the news said.

Rhodey’s phone lit up, a call from Tony.

“Tones!”

Rhodes turned to look at the tv only to see Tony flying toward the portal, nuke on his back.

“What are you doing?” Rhodes demanded.

“Not like I have much of a choice here,” Tony said.

“Tell me you’re not in there,” Rhodes pleaded.

Tony let out a breathless laugh.

“I told you I’d rewrite the Stars, honey bear,”

And all Rhodes could see was his other half flying up into a portal that led to deep space with a nuke on his back.

“Not like this,” he whispered to no one.

Rhodes stared at the tv for a second longer before he turned.

“Colonel?”

“I’m going to get him,” Rhodes said.

Let the Air Force ruin his career, let them Court Marshall his ass, they could do whatever they wanted and still there was nothing more important to him than Tony.

Rhodes stepped into the War Machine armor.

The grey armor touched down as the Hulk ripped the Iron Man faceplate off. Steve watched a dark skinned man in an Air Force uniform step out of the armor.

Steve had never met the War Machine pilot, he’d only ever heard stories.

“Col-”

“Tony,”

In an instant the Colonel was hovering over the Iron Man armor. Trembling fingers brushing against Tony’s face. This couldn’t be happening. Tony couldn’t be de- gone. Rhodes had pulled him out of too many god damn situations to have Tony fucking die on him.

“Hey. Hey Tony c’mon,” Rhodes pleaded.

“You can’t- you can’t do this to me Tones,”

But Tony didn’t wake up. Rhodes didn’t think twice about leaning forward to kiss Tony, his lips tasted like ash and Rhodey prayed to every god out there that it wouldn’t be the last time he got to kiss Tony Stark.

Rhodes jerked back as the Hulk roared. On the ground, Tony gasped.

“Oh what the hell,”

“Jesus Christ Tones,” Rhodey breathed, his fingers fumbled for the manual latch and all but tore the armor off of Tony.

“Honey pot!”

Rhodes yanked him out of the armor and into a crushing hug. Tony let out a shaky laugh before hugging him back just as tight.

“What uh… what happened?” he asked, looking at Steve.

“We won,” Steve told him.

“That’s nice,” Tony said.

Rhodes released him, hands instead opting to cup Tony’s face.

“How about we just don’t come in tomorrow? We could all go to shawarma- I don’t know what it is but I’ve always wanted to try it-”

Rhodes kissed him to shut him up, and Tony still tasted like ash but he was kissing back because he was alive.

“Tomorrow,” he said quietly.

“Tomorrow we’re going to be celebrating our marriage,” he said.

Tony jerked back, a small frown on his face.

“Platypus we’re not married,”

“Not yet, but in about 6 hours we will be,”

“There was just a massive attack on New York I don’t think the local courthouse is open,” Tony said.

“The one by Mama’s house should be,” Rhodes said.

Tony stared at him.

“Ok,” he said quietly.

Rhodey helped him out of the suit and checked him over for any obvious injuries.

“Not that this isn’t sweet, but we still have to deal with Loki,” Natasha said over the coms.

“You handle it. I’m getting married. What do you say big guy? Think Bruce is down for a wedding?” Tony asked, looking at the Hulk.

The Hulk grinned back.

The Hulk stayed long enough to make sure Loki wouldn’t give them any more trouble before letting Bruce take back control. Bruce was thrilled to be invited to the wedding.

“Don’t courthouse marriages sometimes take a few days?” Tony wondered aloud as he searched through his closet for an appropriate wedding suit.

“I have taken the liberty of taking care of that,” JARVIS said.

“J you spoil us,”

“If I may, Sir, it is high time you and Colonel Rhodes are getting married,”

Tony blushed. He couldn’t believe it either. He finally settled on a charcoal grey suit and a blue tie because blue always reminded him of Rhodey.

“Everyone else ready?”

“Ms. Potts and Mr. Hogan just arrived and are with Colonel Rhodes now. Dr. Banner is on his way to the penthouse,”

Tony didn’t bother to not picture Rhodey all dressed up in his dress blues.

“Tony!” Bruce called.

Tony stepped out from the closet and held his arms out, a grin on his face.

“What do you think Brucey-Bear?”

“You look very handsome, Tony. You ready to go?”

“Yea. I am,”

No matter what Pepper, Bruce, and Happy say, Tony absolutely did not burst into tears when he saw Rhodes.

“You ready boss? Dum-E is all packed up and ready to go,” Happy informed him.

“J, you’re sure you have all the documents?”

“Yes, Sir,”

Pepper held up a Manila envelope.

“We have everything Tony,”

“C’mon Boss, we don’t want to be late,”

Tony and Rhodey opted to take their own car, just to have some time to themselves.

“Jeannette’s gonna flip,” Rhodes said.

“I feel like I should have gotten Mama’s permission,” Tony admitted.

“She’s going to be ecstatic Tones,”

Tony beamed.

“Mama?” Jim called as he walked into the house.

“Jim? Honey have you heard from Tony? We’ve been watchin’ the news and-” Mama stopped dead as she caught sight of Tony and Rhodes dressed to the nines in suits. Tony looked a little worse for wear with a few bruises and cuts on his face.

“Mama, you want to put on your best clothes and accompany us to the courthouse?” Rhodes asked softly.

“Holy shit,” Jeannette whispered.

Mama was too stunned to warn her about her language.

“C’mon Mama. We gotta get dressed,” Jeanette said as she urged her mom out of the room.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Rhodes said.

“It’s a long time coming, isn’t it?” Tony asked.

“Thirty-one years,” Rhodes informed him.

“At least,” Tony agreed.

“I was in love with you long before I kissed you,”

Rhodes beamed at him.

Tony glanced out the window where the cars were waiting. Pepper, Bruce, and Happy occupied the first with Dum-E hitched to the back.

“We should have a real wedding too,” Tony said.

“Later,” Rhodes agreed.

“I’ve wanted to be your husband for 31 years,” he said, taking delight in the way Tony flushed.

“Platypus! You can’t just say something like that!”

Rhodes pulled him in close and kissed the side of his head.

There was a soft tap on the door and they both turned to see a mildly concerned looking Bruce.

“Hey there Brucey-bear!”

“Pepper wants to know if you absolutely have to have red and gold as your wedding colors,”

“What kind of absolute fool does she take me for? Those are my signature colors- wait what?” Tony asked.

“Sounds like Pep is already planning our wedding,” Rhodes said, unable to keep the smile off his face.

“Red and gold is fine, so long as Pep can include grey and silver too,”

Red and gold for Iron Man, silver and grey for War Machine.

“Alright, this is as best as I’ll get in such short notice,” Mama announced.

She wore a purple dress with a matching hat, Jeannette was in blue.

“We’ll have a real wedding, Mama,” Rhodes promised her.

The courthouse was small but it was filled with the people Tony and Rhodey loved most. The ceremony was quick, and while they didn’t need to have so many witnesses, they couldn’t imagine getting married without all of them present. Even if one of them was a very large robot that Tony and Rhodey considered their kid.

They sealed their marriage with a kiss and almost immediately Tony started to question how he could change his name to Anthony Edward Stark-Rhodes.

“We have plenty of time for that later, Tones,” Rhodes said affectionately.

“I think now it’s time to celebrate,”

“Well it’s Friday, isn’t it?” Tony asked suddenly.

“Yea,”

“Let’s get some ice cream,” he suggested.

Rhodes smiled at his husband.

“I know just the place,” he said.