Chapter Text
Tony was sitting in his class, Studies of Fiction, bored out of his mind. Don’t get him wrong; he loved to read, but sitting in a crowded lecture hall talking about “ The Great Gatsby” and what exactly Fitzgerald meant when he talked about the green light was not Tony’s idea of a great Saturday morning. It also doesn't help that he was hungover to all hell and if he moved his eyes from the back of the kid's sweater in front of him the room would seem like it was melting.
“So, the green light is what Gatsby was longing for. It was the one thing he wanted the most in life. Besides Daisy, what do you think it is Fitzgerald was talking about? Remember; Subtext is important! Read between the lines. Talk amongst yourselves for a few minutes and I’ll call on random people when we come back together.” Max, the professor who was adamant on being ‘cool’ and only got called by his first name, turned back towards his desk and the room erupted in conversation.
“Hell if I know...something like the unattainable dream or something, right T?” Natasha asks, nudging Tony with her elbow when he doesn’t answer. He groans in response, opening his eyes a little bit more when he feels another sharp jab into his ribs. “Tony, I do not care if you’re hungover - I am too. We need to talk about this.”
“Nat, relax. I have Max wrapped around my finger - he won't call on me.” Tony mutters, turning to face her slightly. Her bright red hair was thrown into a messy braid and he could see the dark circles under her makeup. The two of them had gone to Dumm E’s Bar last night for the two-for-one sale on tequila. It had been a very loooong night of shots, crying, and sitting in a bed that felt like the ocean.
“Alright everyone - let’s come back together. I assume you all talked it out, and I want to hear from a few of you. Remember, there are no wrong answers….there are stupid ones, though.” Max smiles as the group laughs awkwardly; no one really wanted to get called on. Max was a great professor, but he had a habit of calling on those who hadn’t participated in group discussion and grill them until they were about to burst. “James Rhodes, I’d love to hear your opinion on this.”
Tony rolls his eyes slightly as the kid in front of him shifts in his seat. James Rhodes was what you would call a teacher's pet - constantly raising his hand to answer questions, going into some long-winded tangent about the deeper meaning. Teachers loved him and his stupid bright eyes and his dumb colorful sweaters. Tony rests his head into the crook of his elbow on the table, waiting to hear about subtext for the next 20 minutes.
“Fitzgerald was talking about the how the American dream was practically unattainable for everyone besides rich people,” Nat whispers a ‘I told you so’ Tony’s way which he willfully ignored. He could feel himself drifting off; No matter how he felt about this guy, his voice was seriously soothing. “But Fitzgerald was an alcoholic narcissist who stole most of his wife’s writing and passed it off as his own. I don’t understand why that’s never taught when we learn about him and this book.”
The room was silent as everyone took this information in. Max’s face was turning pink, obviously caught off guard by James’ comment. He looked around the room desperately trying to meet someone’s eyes to call on them and get passed this, and he met Tony’s.
“You make a good point, Mr. Rhodes, but we don’t have time to talk about that this class. I promise we’ll talk about it next time for a bit, but now we’re gonna hear from Anthony Stark back there. Mr. Stark, what’s your opinion on what the green light represented?” Tony could feel Natasha’s smile burning into him from the side but he refused to look at her. Clearing his throat, he tried to figure out a believable thing to say considering he hadn’t even read the book.
“Well, uhm, obviously it can mean a few things but uhm...” Tony trails off and he watches in horror as James Rhodes turns around to face him. For half a moment, Tony is lost in his eyes but he’s snapped out of it by James clearing his throat quietly. Tony looks away but looks back and sees him mouthing words to him. He watches for a moment and then, once he is sure he understood him correctly, he looks back at Max who had a bored expression on his face and answered.
“It has to do with Gatsby’s hopes for his future and how he was hoping Daisy would be there with him. It never died down until towards the end of the book when you could tell his planned future was starting to go away. Or whatever.” Max smiles and nods, moving on to another unsuspecting student. James had long turned around now, but Tony couldn’t stop thinking about him the rest of the class. He had basically saved him from complete and utter embarrassment. At 11 am, Max dismissed the class, letting them know they’d be discussing more symbolism in the next class and, with a smile in James’s direction, introducing some of Zelda Fitzgerald’s work.
Tony ran past Natasha, grabbing his bag and practically running after James, who had been packed and ready to go since the last hour of class.
“Hey! James!” Tony yells, thanking God in his head as he saw James turn around. He skids to a halt in front of him, bending over, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. When he stood up he could see the faint smile on James’s face. “Thanks for stopping. I could feel the blood leaking into my lungs.” James laughs a little, shifting his bag higher up onto his shoulder.
“I’m guessing you needed me for something?”
“Oh, yeah! I just wanted to thank you for saving me back there; I hadn’t even opened up the book. And that stuff you said about Fitz - pretty screwed up if it’s true.”
“Oh, it’s true and you’re right; it's fucked. And you do know you didn’t have to run after me to thank me, right? You could have done it later today in class.” As soon as the words leave his mouth Tony slaps his head into his hand. They had their Economic Theory lecture together later that evening. Tony’s face began to heat up as James laughed, a sound Tony found quite cute. Not that he would ever say that, of course.
“I appreciate it, though. I’ve been there before, trust me, it sucks. So,” James tilts his head a little and, unless Tony was beginning to imagine things, glanced down at his lips before meeting his eyes again. “You really left your girlfriend to run and thank me?”
“Girlfriend? You’re talking about Natasha? Miss-I-Love-Women-And-Women-Only Natasha? No, she’s not my girlfriend. Neither of us swings the other’s way.” James lifts an eyebrow at the not-so-subtle hint of Tony being gay. Tony had been out for a long time and he dealt with his fair share of assholes, but he knew this guy wasn’t one of them.
“Oh? Is that so?”
“It sure is.”
The two of them stood there in front of one another, groups of students brushing past them, but Tony was only focused on James’s eyes. He could hear Natasha yell his name and he knew he had to act fast before she got there to embarrass him. He stuck his hand out, shaking James’ hand tightly.
“I’m Tony. Well, that’s what everyone calls me.”
“You can call me Rhodey. Say, if you’re not busy tonight after Economics...do you wanna grab a bite to eat?” Rhodey was the epitome of confidence while Tony was melting into a puddle as they spoke.
“Yeah, yeah, uhm, I’m not busy, no. We can get a bite. Is it gonna be fancy? Because I am about to go home and sleep until ten minutes before class starts, so we might have to reschedule.”
“No, I’ll take you to my favorite diner downtown. Dress however you want - it’ll be cute regardless. Much like right now.” With that, Rhodey winked and turned on his heel, walking away. Tony watched him until he disappeared behind a twist in the road, and he had the stupidest smile on his face. He felt someone grab his shoulder and he came face to face with a very confused Natasha.
“Why the hell did you leave so fast? Who were you talking to?”
“Apparently the love of my life. Oh, and I have a date tonight.”
“Really? You must not be as useless as I assumed. Wait, did you send him away before I got here? Asshole...now take me to my dorm so I can vomit and call Sharon.”