Chapter Text
“This is laundry detergent,” Jarvis said as he lifted a yellow plastic bottle out of the moving box and offered it to Tony.
Tony took it, blinking at the hefty weight he hadn’t expected. He knew about laundry detergent, but he’d never had to use it before. He skimmed the back for directions as Jarvis explained.
“You use the cap to measure how much to pour into each load. A full load requires a full cup, half of a load requires a half of a cup, or adjust as needed. These are dryer sheets.” A small, orange box came out of the moving box. “Use one per load, as it will help prevent static charge. Though I recommend most of your workout gear simply be hung to air dry.”
“That saves me money on the dryer at least,” Tony said.
“Indeed it does,” Jarvis replied dryly, though his lips twitched in amusement.
Tony smiled. His mom had offered to purchase a full moving service complete with an interior designer who would set up his college bedroom as closely as could be replicated to his bedroom in California. The difference in dimensions between the rooms certainly would’ve made for an interesting challenge for the designer. And it would’ve all been done for the convenience of Tony experiencing as little disruption as possible in his life so he could focus on the important things: his workouts, social media upkeep, and cheerleading routines
But Tony wanted the normal college experience, or at least as normal of a college experience as he could. Having the family butler explain how to do a load of laundry wasn’t exactly the typical college experience, but it was as best Tony was going to get.
He had even packed up his own stuff, with the help of Jarvis of course, though he had hired a moving company to load up the packed boxes, drive them across the country, and then unload them in his dorm room. But now it was back to him and Jarvis unpacking each box and finding a new home for its contents.
Tony had been flying all over the country for cheer since he was a kid, but this was his first time establishing a new home away from his parents. He wasn’t sure what to feel.
“Now, here’s the thing - the laundry basket.” Jarvis pulled out a mesh circle. After unclasping a few discrete clasps, the circle sprung into a tall circular container with mesh sides. “Use it or I’ll sense it even from California. Your roommate won’t appreciate your dirty laundry scattered all over the floor.”
Tony rolled his eyes but he didn’t complain as he took the basket and stuck it in a convenient corner of the closet.
His new roommate hadn’t arrived yet, and it was Tony’s stuff that currently overflowed everywhere. He had boxes and boxes of things, and he had no idea how it was all going to fit in his half the room.
Tony was biting his lip and considering the pile when he heard a knock at the door.
“Hey there. Long time no see.”
Tony turned and saw his best friend James Rhodes in the doorway, smiling and holding a box under one arm. Tony lunged for him, wrapping himself around Rhodey and knocking the box to the floor.
“Oof, okay, you don’t have to go destroying my stuff,” Rhodey said with a laugh as he hugged Tony back.
“Sorry,” Tony said, not very sorry. He’d replace it if he broke something. “Too exuberant a welcome for you?”
He hadn’t seen Rhodey in months, and only then from across the room at a competition. Tony hadn’t even been allowed to watch Rhodey perform because his own team had been warming up. He had only been able to watch the video later when fans uploaded it online.
It was a far cry from what their friendship used to be, but that had been when they were on the same All-Star club team. Then, they’d bantered back and forth as they learned the same stunts and same routines, competing and supporting in a way Tony hadn’t expected to find much in cheer anymore. Every cheerleader was supportive of the team, certainly, but in practice the only people to compete against were your teammates. Only half would make mat and be able to compete.
But the competition of teammates hadn’t managed to kill their friendship, and neither had Howard yanking Tony off Rhodey’s team and sticking him in a different All-Star group. After all that, Rhodey was forever going to be Tony’s best friend.
“Nah, guess it’s fine.” Rhodey pulled back and offered Jarvis a handshake. “Good to see you again, sir.”
“Good to see you as well,” Jarvis said as he shook Rhodey’s hand. “Is your dorm nearby?”
“Very,” Rhodey said, with a sneaky smile on his face that made alarm bells go off in Tony’s brain. “Like, I’m thinking that bed over there looks like it has my name on it.”
“No way,” Tony blurted out. “Unless you’ve been lying to me my whole life and your name is actually Sam Wilson.”
Rhodey laughed. “No, not quite. But I did manage to convince him to switch with me and even got it approved and everything. So, we’re roomies.”
Tony flung himself at Rhodey again. “You’re going to hate living with me and it’s going to completely ruin our friendship but I’m excited anyway. You’re the best.”
“Of course I am, and it’s going to be great. You want to build a fort with our beds? I think we should build a fort.”
“We should totally build a fort,” Tony said wholeheartedly.