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When Rhodey was 17 he got into MIT. He had been one of the younger students in his grade, but he had been the smartest. The top of his class. He had deliberated on what to major in. Rhodey wanted to be a pilot, but not just any pilot. He wanted to be an Air force pilot. When he enrolled at MIT, Aerospace Engineering was a given. He wasn’t only going to fly a plane, he was going to understand them from the inside out. (Later, he and Tony would lie on the floor, side by side with their shoulders touching on the floor of their dorm, whispering about the things they would build together, airplanes, cars, jets - they could do anything together.)
Tony moved into Rhodey’s dorm during his second year of college. He had chosen to dorm for another year. The last thing he had expected to find was Howard Stark’s son, sitting on the rug on the floor, looking manic with a cup of coffee clutched in his hand, pulling apart the panels of an old computer.
“This is my computer, it’s not yours- I swear. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to experiment on yours too. But you’ve fixed it beyond what I would have even thought to do so-” He says a little breathlessly and Rhodey went over to his bed and sat down. Still having not said a word. Which seemed to make Tony even more anxious, his foot tapping against the carpeted floor.
“You don’t touch my stuff, got it?” He says but there’s no heat behind it, more amusement than anything, mixed in with a bit of curiosity.
They had clicked after that. Often Rhodey found himself struggling to find people who could keep up with him. Tony was smart and quick witted, he was charming and unbelievably intelligent. He wasn’t without his flaws of course. He had an annoying way of alternating between a massively inflated ego and crippling self deprecation. Tony had also lived in a strict home with high expectations and didn’t seem like he quite understood how to handle having so much freedom and more often than not the two of them got into trouble because of it. They stayed out too late, they snuck into areas of the school they weren’t supposed to, they drank too much, slept too little. They did these things together, but Tony had a way of taking it too far. Despite that however, their friendship had remained strong through college. Rhodey had always been comforting where he could and understanding, but he was not Tony’s caretaker and Tony had never asked him to be.
Once MIT was finished with the two of them went their separate ways again. Tony went back to New York to start working his way up into Stark Industries and Rhodey went to California to join the Air Force. Rhodey loved being a pilot. The training was fun and exciting and there was nothing compared to the feeling of being up in the air. He made his way up the ranks, he got promoted and made a name for himself. Every single night though, when he came back to his apartment, he’d call or wait for the call to come. If Tony didn’t call by 9 o clock he’d call him, and every night they'd talk for an hour or two. Every single night Rhodey’s heart rate would pick up at the sight of Tony's name on his phone.
When Howard and Maria Stark were killed Rhodey took the first flight out, calling his mom on the way to the airport. Roberta was not overly fond of the Starks, but she was charmed by Tony. He had more often than not spent holiday breaks at their house. It always rattled Rhodey, sitting at the table and watching Tony and his father argue over cars or sports. It was always fun and playful, his dad was more of a classics man, going starry eyed over old Chargers and Challengers, where as Tony, ever the futurist wanted something flashy and fast. Those nights were his favorite. Quiet and comfortable in his own home, surrounded by his family and sitting across from Tony, whose foot always wandered over his side of the table to nudge at his ankle, their eyes meeting over a bottle of wine. He wasn’t sure how to interpret the way Tony looked at him sometimes. Tony often looked at him like he was the center of the universe. Sometimes, the elation and joy that he saw when Tony looked at him overwhelmed him. He loved being looked at that way, but it was also terrifying.
After the Stark’s death Tony packed up his life and moved to California. The first month or two he spent with Rhodey and then he moved into a place up in Malibu. Rhodey spent more nights there than at his own house. Even when Tony was traveling he often let himself into the house, slipping in and walking up the winding staircase to Tony’s room where he’d fall face first into his bed, sleeping off an exhausting day of training. It was in this period of time that he became a liaison between the Military and Stark Industries. He didn’t always agree with his superiors and he didn’t always agree with Tony, so being the middleman gave him a certain amount of power and influence over both parties. He was trusted and respected. He loved the work that he did. It was also an added bonus that he got to work with Tony again in some capacity. Some days it felt like he was back at MIT.
He dated here and there. A serious girlfriend for a couple of years, a boyfriend a few years after that. He had loved them in a way, but there was a thought tucked away at the back of his mind that he never allowed himself to visit. It might have been fear holding him back. That was the only explanation, because on a few occasions he was sure something was going to happen between them. Tony always backed down in the last second though. He’d lean in too close, he’d take a deep breath and press their foreheads together, but he never pushed. They’d wake up pressed together, tony draping himself across Rhodey’s back and he’d feel the firm press of him against his thigh, but he never pushed. There were times when he considered making the first move, but then Tony would fall off the wagon again, sink into some horrible pit that no one, not Rhodey, not Pepper, not Happy could get him out of and he would let it go again. There was only so long he could wait.
Then Afghanistan happened. They were out in the desert, riding in separate vehicles, things had been going smoothly and then there were explosions all around them. Tony was capable, he knew how to use his own weapons and Rhodey had hoped- He had seen all of the other commanding officers falling around them and then Tony was gone. 2 months had passed. Two months of searching, of finding nothing. And every night he’d bolt up in the middle of the night, hearing explosions, gunfire, flashes of lights dancing across his eyes until he had to shut them tight and breathe. It was supposed to be routine, just a weapons display and it had all gone south. It was unexpected. It was terrible and he couldn’t sleep. Despite the attempts to sway his searching he hadn’t stopped. No matter who came along for either of them, Rhodey was certain that they were soulmates. They were tied together by a bond that they had created and Rhodey had no doubts that if Tony was dead he’d feel it, that somehow he would know. Maybe it was survivors guilt, maybe it was wishful thinking, but he couldn’t stop. Not until Tony was back.
And then it happened. Rhodey was out in a chopper, looking across vast expanse of desert, not a single soul in sight and then there had been an explosion. His heart had lept in his chest. At first his entire body froze up in fear,thinking it was all happening again. He wasn't going to able to save them again. But fear was replaced with relief, because someone was walking across the sand, a jacket wrapped around his head and when they landed he started running. Tony dropped to his knees and Rhodey dropped right down with him.
“How was the funvee?” He had asked him and Tony had dropped his head forward and into his neck, burying it there, something he had done a thousand times before. But everything was different. “Next time you ride with me” He had both promised Tony and himself.
It was still a couple of years after that before Rhodey got the courage to tell Tony how he felt. He sat with the feeling for awhile. He was certain now, more than ever that what he was feeling was love. Head over heals, deep, aching love. He was in love with Tony, but it wasn’t as simple as that. For one they were both superheroes now. Tony operated on a team that Rhodey was in and out of as well. Then New York happened, then the Mandarin, then Ultron, then the accords. It never felt like the right time to tell him.
When Tony came back from Siberia however, he helped Rhodey adjust to his new legs. The ones he and Tony had constructed together, building together for the first time in what felt like decades and he knew that it was time to tell him. Tony was trying so hard to keep himself together, to cope with things in new and better ways. He wanted to be a good man and Rhodey loved him. It was as simple as that and he knew there was no question that Tony loved him too.
It was a Tuesday night when he finally got the courage. There wasn’t anything special about it. They were sitting on the couch upstate at the compound. They were watching a movie, he doesn’t remember what, because he wasn’t paying attention to it, lost in his head. But Tony had turned his head to say something, making a comment about the CGI or something. He had leaned in and kissed him, soft, slow and sweet, giving Tony the time to react to it. Tony’s goatee was scratchy against his skin, his lips unbelievably soft and they tasted like chocolate. He pulled back after just a moment and Tony was staring at him dumbstruck, his lips parted in surprise like he couldn’t quite wrap his head around what had just happened.
“Are you playing a prank on me?” He had asked hesitantly, his eyes crinkling a little bit in what must have been fear.
“Idiot” Rhodey said rolling his eyes and he leaned in and kissed him again, pressing Tony back against the couch until he was laying against the arm-rest. Tony had let out a sharp, quiet little gasp and Rhodey was never going to stop kissing him.