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“Thanks, but no thanks, Tony.”
“But we’d be such a hot couple! They might even want to feature us in a TV ad.”
“No,” Jim said flatly. “I am not doing a spa day with you.”
“Aw, c’mon Rhodeybear. It’s already booked and paid for. It’s not my fault Pepper got called away on business. Just give it a try.”
Jim couldn’t tell Tony the real reason he didn’t want to go, so he played up the touchy-feely aspect. “I don’t want some stranger getting all up in my personal business.”
“Then you set boundaries. Keep those tighty-whities on.” Tony batted his eyelashes. “Pretty please?”
Jim never did have much luck saying ‘no’ to his oldest and dearest friend. “All right, Tones, just no fancy oils or aromatherapy crap, okay?”
Jim’s nerves were on edge from the minute they walked in. It didn’t help that Tony decided it would be funny to act like they were actually a couple. He held Jim’s hand as they reviewed the list of services that were available and threw out pet names left and right.
Jim was used to Tony being both an outrageous flirt and just this side of handsy, but it wasn’t making things any easier. Distracted by Tony’s antics, he was barely paying attention to the ridiculous assortment of treatments on offer.
“Ooh - how about these, honeybunch?”
“C’mon, Tones, a seaweed wrap? We aren’t sushi! And you know I’m not into facials.”
“That’s not what you said last night, sweet cheeks.” Tony waggled his eyebrows suggestively, grinning as the spa tech coughed in an effort to cover a laugh.
Jim’s cheeks grew hot; he knew Tony couldn’t resist the opportunity for the joke. He also knew that his long-standing fondness for Tony had somehow developed into something that he refused to describe as a crush. He was too damn old for that.
But whatever it was, it made their current situation feel just that little bit more awkward, at least to him. Tony, thankfully, seemed completely oblivious. After agreeing to a hot stone massage and a mineral bath soak, they were escorted to a treatment room and Tony started stripping down. “C’mon platypus - time’s a wasting!”
Jim slowly undressed; his time in the military had more or less cured him of any modesty, and he and Tony had been roommates back in college, but he wasn’t the fit young man he’d used to be. Tony on the other hand, was aging like wine and damn if his ass wasn’t still as fine as it had been three decades ago.
That said, there was way too much standing in Jim’s way to do more than carefully appreciate it from a distance. Even though ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ had finally been repealed, a certain amount of stigma remained for any non-heterosexual male in the military . And while Jim still couldn’t quite pin down his sexual identity, he was well aware that he wasn’t straight. And neither was Tony.
Not that it mattered: Tony was in a committed relationship with Pepper. Jim knew in his bones that she was the best thing ever to happen to his best friend and he wouldn’t dream of trying to get between them. Tony was happier and more settled in his skin than Jim had seen him in years, and that was more important than his own ridiculous feelings.
“I take back my tightly-whitey comment, Rhodey,” Tony’s words brought Jim back from his reverie. “Those blue boxer briefs definitely showcase your assets,” he added, snapping a towel in Jim’s direction.
“Oh, are we gonna start something in here?” Jim grabbed the end of the towel and yanked hard, pulling Tony off balance and — although not intentionally — into an awkward embrace.
“Unhand me, you brute!” Tony laughingly exclaimed, but made no move to get back on his feet. A sudden tension filled the air; while it certainly wasn’t the first time Tony had been in Jim’s arms — usually when he was drunk off his ass — it had never felt like this.
“Or ... maybe not?” Jim stilled at Tony’s unexpected, quiet words. They were so close that Jim could see flecks of green and gold in Tony’s lively brown eyes. The urge to lean down and kiss Tony was nearly overwhelming, but he couldn’t risk losing everything. So Jim let go and stepped back from his friend, stammering out an apology.
“Stop that, sunshine. It’s okay,” Tony interjected, his voice warm and kind. “More than okay, as a matter of fact. Turns out you’re on the top of the freebie list for both me and Pepper. Well, Gal Gadot may edge you out slightly for Pep, but she’s had a crush on Wonder Woman from way back.”
Jim’s head was spinning. “Wait, are you saying that ...” he trailed off, not quite able to say out loud what he was thinking.
“Neither of us would kick you out of bed for eating crackers? Pretty much.” Tony grinned and winked. “I’ve been wondering why you’ve been so squirrelly today. Is this whole thing,” and he waved a hand between the two of them, “new, or have I been oblivious all this time?”
“I don’t know,” Jim answered truthfully. “Mostly new, I guess. Still trying to figure things out.”
“Well, we are engineers, platypus. We ought to be used to coming up with clever solutions to difficult problems.” He took Jim’s hand and twined their fingers together. “I can’t help but think that a tripod is a pretty damn stable structure, all things considered. And I, for one, sure could use some stability in my life. What do you think?”
Jim shook his head and chuckled. “I’ve known you for over thirty years, Tones, and you still manage to surprise me.”
“I’ve got a few more tricks up my sleeve, hot stuff,” Tony’s grin turned devilish. “But I’ll save those til we get back to Malibu.”