Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

She comes and goes as she pleases

Her grace is immortal

Maria Stark moved through the corridor without flinching, gun clenched tightly in her right hand, left hand hanging limp by her side. There was blood on her beautiful face and irritation in her mind. As the Raven she never had to care for casualties, but working on the good side-which was debatable- meant least amount of deaths. She shrugged mentally. Just a lil bit more hard work and The Raven was always up for a challenge. The SHIELD comm. in her ear buzzed lightly as it did before there was an incoming message. Howard’s clear voice filtered through next.

“Raven, what is your situation?” Ah, she winced. Husband dearest was not going to like the answer.

“Target is dead.” Always good to give the good news first, right?

“Oka-

“Four casualties.”

There was a deep sigh on the other end of the comm.

“Peggy is not going to like it.” Peggy can go fuck herself. That was the first thought in her mind. She was not stupid enough to vocalize it.

“I’m sure Director Carter will understand that I did what I had to do under the circumstances.”

Howard made a slightly disbelieving noise.

She turned left still listening to him mutter about diplomacy and-there was a slight movement from one of the bodies she had thought dead. Shit.

The man had a gun positioned under his stomach, nozzle aimed right at her. His teeth were bloodstained as he grinned through them.

“Die, Bitch.”

Howard made a tut-tut sound as he checked her over for injuries.

“Did you really have to blow up his brain?” She glared at him. He glared right back.

“I did.” He threw up his hands in the air in frustration.

“Do you know how difficult the cleanup is going to be with grey matter spread on the floor?”

“Not as much as taking a shot in the stomach I am sure.” She said with a slight sniff.

He looked worried again.

It was a clean through and through and didn’t hit anything major. That was not luck. The Raven had been given extensive training on how to mould her body so as to protect the essential bits. With real bullets.

“I’m okay.” He nodded hesitantly and moved to the front of the van that was being driven by a SHIELD agent. There on a screen was the director herself and Tony in her lap. Now, Maria knew she wasn’t mother material –that was an understatement- and Tony had been nothing but a political move to show that the Stark family was not going to end with Howard, but her insides still stirred with jealousy to see her son in the lap of Carter. Tony giggled as he saw her. Her amazing , genius-

“Momma! Momma messy!” Well he was only two and half years old. Peggy glared at her.

“That is right Tony. Momma is very messy.” The extremely obvious dig didn’t escape her. Tony smiled again and Peggy seemed to melt a bit. Her son did that have the effect on everyone. Well everyone except Howard. Who as always seemed too busy to notice his only son , working on one of his calculations in the corner instead.

The Raven or now as she had come to call herself-Maria Stark’s heart lurched as she thought about his future. Little Tony was showing signs of higher than normal intelligence and some of the serum effects that had passed from her to him. There was going to be a special integrated training program just for him that he would start at four. She had tried everything even teamed up with Peggy and rimmed out Howard but the man had refused to listen.

They had come to a fragile compromise. That was – Just training till he was fifteen. No missions, field or technical until then.She had never hated Howard- her husband as much as the moment when he had decided Tony was going to be a spy just like her. But the logical part of The Raven understood. Tony Stark was the son of Howard Stark and a former KGB agent – her. He would also probably be a genius. He definitely needed to learn how to fight , being a spy wasn't necessary but Howard never let an opportunity go waste- for example: her.

His son was going to be a spy. Probably the best too.  She picked up her gun, the special one and unloaded it. The fifth bullet was made out of Vibranium that she had helped Howard steal from Wakanda.

There was an engraving on it.

Amor sempiterus

Everlasting love

It was going to be her graduation gift for Tony and one of the many reasons she fought to live. She was going to see her son grow up. No matter what. The Raven never made false promises.

Chapter Text

Her smile holds secrets

Her laugh – murders

Maria looked at all the socialites in the room before finally slyly glancing at her target. There in the corner. Richard Zen. 42 years old. Soviet Spy. Not the red room like her though. She picked up a glass of champagne murmuring while she did so.

“I see him.”

“Good. Don’t engage yet.” That was Peggy. Like always telling her things she already knew.

“Yes Director.” She swung about the room with a faked slight dizzy look in her eyes, pretending to be her most elaborate cover yet. The wife of Howard Stark.

Her target was talking to a redhead woman who wore a skintight black dress. The way the woman held herself, her body was taut. Waiting for action. Not overly though. Just a silent predator.

Shit.Shit.

“Director!” She whispered into the comms.

“What?”

“We’ve got a problem on our hands. A black widow is guarding him.” A black widow. The descendents of the Ravens in the red room. Now maybe Maria could take her. Probably. But not in a room full of people that thought she was a socialite.

“Abort Mission.” Peggy’s voice was full of tension. There was another buzz on the comms.

“What? No. He has got my designs for the 485-k. Those cannot go into the hands of the Soviets!” Fucking Howard.

“We can’t kill him when he has a widow protecting him.” She hissed.

“Don’t kill him then. Just get microchip that he has on him. He has not opened it yet, otherwise I would know.”

She calculated the possibilities of getting the microchip without the widow knowing. Taking in the open space and the – about 34%.

“Howard! I can’t. I need a solid distraction.” There was silence on the other end. She wondered what was going to happen now. 

“Momma!” Something grasped her leg from the behind. She turned around. A three year old Tony Stark beamed up a smile at her. Dressed to the nines in a tuxedo.

“I’m going to kill you.” She spoke in her comms while smiling down at her boy. Howard didn’t say a word.

Howard the fucking heart less idiot sitting outside in a catering van with Tony was supposed to be her getaway. For the press they were on a ‘family vacation in Spain.’ Unofficially, The Raven had a kill to make. She knew that she should have left Tony with Peggy. She knew. But she also didn’t count for the dickbaggery of Howard.

“Is that little Anthony?” A voice crooned from her back. She grimaced and turned around moving Tony in front of her. Mrs.Rathmond, wife of some Italian shoemaker company’s CEO.

“Yes Mrs.Rathmond.” She smiled and hoped it didn’t come across as a grimace.

“Tony dearest say hi.” She prompted.

“Ello Mrs.R’mond.” Tony said shyly.

“Hello dearest. Maria I must say your son is as handsome as his father.” The lady said bending down to Tony’s height.

“How old are you dear?” She asked him. Tony looked up at her his brows furrowed.

“Three years, four months, seven days-” he looked at her now- “Mama what time was I born at?”

“At about nine am darling.” Nine am. Forty five minutes. She remembered it perfectly.

“Three years, four months, seven days and two hours then.” He said holding up two fingers at the lady’s face.

She gasped. “My, My what a precocious young boy!”

“Tony is a delight.” She said putting up her best fake smile and agreeing. “Excuse us Mrs.Rathmond, Tony really wanted one of those punches earlier.”

“Yes yes of course.” She nodded at Maria before moving away. Maria quickly brought Tony in front of her.

“I have a job for you.” 

Tony nodded, looking eager. Always eager to be of use, her son.

“You see that man in the corner.” She motioned with her eyes. Tony turned, glanced at her target and nodded again.

“I want you to spill some punch on him. Go running and collide. Say sorry before running away again and go outside to the van daddy is sitting in, okay?” It should work. She was 68% sure. Better than her previous chance.

“Will you buy me the tool kit I 'sked for?” He asked. She stared at him incredulously. Not so eager to please after all .

“I – I will.” He winked at her. “Then your 'ob'ill be done Mrs. Stark.” She gaped at him as he ran to the punch counter. Where did he learn-She didn’t even care right now. Tony had a glass full of red punch and was running across the room giggling. He abruptly turned around to poke his tongue at her and when he turned back he collided with her target.

Howard was giving him spy movies to watch. She decided. That was the only answer why her son was suddenly so adept at this. Her target scowled at Tony, the front of his pants soiled. He said something which she couldn’t read before Tony apologized looking very sorry and ran away. Phew! She took a deep breath. The Raven was free to hunt now. Both the widow and the man moved towards the toilets. She did too.

She stared at the body of the woman. Well it turns out that the red room didn’t grow a lot better or anything. Or maybe this widow was an exception. She was ridiculously easy to kill. She bent down and took out the dart from her neck. And wiped some blood that was on her knuckles on her jet black dress. She was dead now. Surely she didn’t need the dress.

She took out her tranquilizing gun, made by Howard and refilled her dart. One down, one more to go.

She slowly pushed open the door of the men’s loo . Some muttering reached her ears.

“Stupid kids. Fuck this shit...” She moved in. There he was . Her target, still trying to wipe down the front of his pants. How did this man steal something from Howard she would never know. Incompetent fools ,both of them. Her four year old, untrained son was a better spy than them. He turned around as he saw her in the mirror ,horror on his face.She shot.The Raven didn’t miss her mark.

When she came into the head quarters . Tony was running around Peggy’s chair giggling, arms held out like an airplane.

“It wa’ so cool Aunt Peg. I was running and running and bam it look’like the man wez his pants!” He was saying. Peggy was smiling indulgently at him. She cleared her throat. Both of them looked up. Tony ran to her.

“Momma you promised you promised!”

“I did, didn’t I?”
 

“Yes you did.” He wailed. “Where is it?”

“Right here.” She brought her hand forward, a wrapped box with it. And she sweared to God, Tony’s eyes positively sparkled. He leaped trying to reach the box.

“Na-uh.” She brought it up higher. “I will only give it to you if you promise me that you will use it in front of me or Jarvis.”  Tony looked up at her. Widened his eyes, thrust out his bottom lip. She stared right back. His eyes got wet. She didn’t waver. He threw up his hands in a way that reminded her of Howard.

“Okayy ‘I promise mama! Now gimme, gimme.” He hopped again on his feet again.

 She brought down the box to his height and he snatched it so fast that even she was amazed. He ran away giggling. The Raven had many formidable foes but the hardest one was probably her son’s puppy dog eyes.  She turned her attention to Peggy now.

“Director.”

“Maria.”

They both stared at each other in silence.

“I locked Howard out of his lab.” Peggy said breaking it. An evil glint in her eyes. The Raven conceded. Sometimes, but only sometimes she liked Peggy Carter.

“For three months and gave him all the bullshit paper work that makes no sense to anyone.”

Loved her even.

Howard sitting in his office sneezed. And looked down at the paperwork in front of him.

Form 382. Illegal possession of Lingerie.

He groaned.

And swore never to underestimate the evilness of Peggy Carter.

Chapter Text

He started with weapons (it all came down to them later anyway).He learned how to hold his gun, load it, disassemble it and assemble it all under a minute by the time most children his age learned how to speak properly. That was to say when he was four and a half. And that was the easy part. The mechanics of it. The way when he held a gun he automatically knew what went where. Peggy didn’t allow for him to be taught how to shoot till six though. Well shoot with guns anyway. He worked with knives until then and started with his first two forms of training - Aikido and Krav Maga. One to balance the other.

Howard put him in Krav Maga and Maria in Aikido. Aikido made him listen to his own body, his needs, made his flight or fight response so extremely honed that he always knew when to run and when to fight. It harmonized him with his spirit, gave his restless mind a peace he thought impossible. Krav Maga stopped him from being scared from the likes of people that had a body like Captain America, gave him the confidence that bulk strength didn’t matter as much as precision. Taught him how to aim at the most vulnerable parts of the body, taught him how to permanently injure someone (which he didn’t think he wanted to learn.)

He learned how to evade, how to change the momentum of his body to roll with the flow of hits, to learn how to fall, to learn how to not hurt his fighter but to subdue them, he also learned to neutralize (which everyone knows is killing or something close to it) threats in the fastest fucking way possible, to attack preemptively, to learn to study his environment and use it to his benefit. And he learnt it from the best SHIELD could get.

Peggy and Maria tried their level best to give him time for his “childhood” or whatever they meant by it. As if. The time he didn’t spend training, he spent building, learning and discovering. And well he never felt there was anything wrong with that. Playing with toys meant for his age didn’t hold much interest. (He still enjoyed the numerous movie and beach trips he had with Peggy, Maria and Jarvis though. Also the Cap and Bucky bear weren’t childish- Jarvis had said so)

Tony Stark had a lot of memorable events in his life. He liked to recall them most fondly or well at the best at least in good spirits.

He remembered the first time and many times he failed to shoot properly. His aim was always eschew from the target. His instructor just shouted and shouted. And he didn’t know what to do. He was six and a half and he was unbearably disappointed with himself. Disappointed and lost and the one thing Howard told him never to do-crying. Peggy had found him in the room behind the shooting range sniffling and sobbing.

“Tony! Dearest what happened?!” She had taken him in his arms as she sat down with him on the dirty floor and rocked him till he finally stopped hiccupping.

“Aunt...Aunt Peg.” He had sobbed out.

“Shh it’s okay, take your time.” She just held him there until he could start to elaborate.

“I can’t shoot. I can’t and the instructor keeps shouting and I am no good and Dad will be so disappointed and why am I so stupid?” He had clutched her immaculate white blouse and straight out sobbed in it.

She kept her hands on his cheek and whispered.

“Tony, love you are one of the most intelligent and kind people I’ve ever met. But that doesn’t mean you should get everything you try on your first attempt. Sometimes, sometimes it takes time to get it. Believe me. I almost shot off my teachers head on some of my early attempts.” He had done a weird mix of a chuckle and sniffle at that.

“Shh it’s okay. Get up now, I’ll teach you how to shoot.” He had panicked at that. He didn’t want to go there, the blasted shooting range. And Peggy had noticed it immediately. She opened her communicator device and gave off instructions to open some room.

“Come on, we are not going to the shooting range, we are going somewhere special alright?” She had coaxed him to stand slowly, collected his shooting gear and taken him down to a room in the pits of the building.

There were six glass bottles kept on six different crates.

“So you know how to stand in the position, right?” He had nodded and went into the position the angry instructor taught him. His arm coming up with the gun. She made a derisive noise at his posture.

“That works well in the training room but if you take that much time in the field, there will so many holes in your body that you’ll be like rotten cheese.” He had gaped at her before she had smirked in the playful way and tapped his body to adjust. Slowly his posture became more relaxed. At ease. From that of a prey that was trying to save itself to that of a graceful predator.

She had bent down to his level and whispered.

“Think about the thing you hate the most.”

“People who refuse to believe in the theory of evolution.” An unexpected laugh escaped Peggy.

“That’s not going to work darling, that’s objective hate not emotional hate.” She looked at him with a thoughtful expression on her face.

“What do you love the most?”

Tony with all his seven year old sincerity had replied.

“Mama, you, Jav’s , Daddy and Maths and Physics and-” Peggy held out her hand in a ‘stop’ motion.

“What would be the force required to hit the bullet, its trajectory angle and momentum factoring in your height, air resistance and gravity?” Tony had stared at her for a minute and started mumbling.

“Well I am three feet two inch and the bullet weighs 0.6 grams and the momentum required to shatter the bottle along with the proper trajectory angles…” His voice faded to numbers and equations that Peggy felt only slightly ashamed at not understanding. She sniffed, the kid was a genius -she was not stupid and then Tony nodded.

“I got them Aunt Peg.”

“Okay then shoot.” She said simply.

“You what I- oh -no what?” Tony gaped at her.

“Shoot dearest.”  He hesitantly went back into the position she taught him and looked at her for reassurance one last time, she smiled and he steeled himself and shot.

His shots never missed.

That was a happy one, Tony would later recall before remembering the kind-of-painful one.

Howard.

Tony was nine.

It was a long day at training. Two new language classes (he had just become fluent in Russian and German so they were starting with Spanish and Mandarin), one shooting lesson, three fighting ones (Apparently the nerve pinches well-if not fully true-still existed!) his regular classes in Maths and Physics and finally at the end another firewall test for him to crack (why did people think coding was just being nice to a computer, he’d never understand .It was tough, gritty, extremely frustrating and tiring. The most tiring class actually.)

“Jarvis! Guess who’s bac-Dad.” Tony froze in his footsteps and stared at the sweaty, obviously-coming-from-the-gym man.

Howard had a towel thrown around his neck.

“Tony, Boy! Well I was done but come on, let’s have a match.” Howard gestured towards the gym.

“Uh-I am kind of tired, dad-

“Bah!” Howard waved his arm.

“No son of mine will grow up to be such a weakling. Meet me in the gym.” He said and turned back around. Tony sighed and dropped his bag and followed him to what promised to be a grueling session. Howard knew how to fight and he knew how to fight good and dirty learnt from one dead Captain America and Sergeant Barnes.

Maria mumbled and huffed and puffed-no she didn’t suddenly become a wolf-she was just annoyed.

Peggy sighed. “Come on Maria!”

“No you don’t get to come-on me.” She hissed acidly.

“It was for the mission, would you have had us blow our one week stakeout?”

She hissed again feeling more like a snake than a Raven. The problem wasn’t that, the problem was her.

She decided firmly after looking at Peggy again. Yes, all her.

“Oh come on! It wasn’t such a big deal and the mission was successful and we get to see Tony again!” Peggy waved her hands around in ‘I’m British, Listen to Me’ voice.

Maria conceded. There was that. Then looked at Peggy again –ugh-

They were inside the Stark Mansion and with above average hearing Maria heard the noises from the gym. She gestured at Peggy to follow.

In the gym, Howard and Tony were sparring.

Howard was stronger, taller.

Tony was agile and fast.

It was a screwed up kind of dance. Howard tried to hit, Tony ducked and weaved and bent.

Howard couldn’t hit but neither could Tony escape.

That all changed when they both came in. Both males noticed them from the corner of their eyes. Only difference was that Tony turned towards them excited and happy.

“Mom! Aunt Pe-” and was knocked out by a blow to his temple.

There were two horrified and pained screeches from the women. Howard looked down at the slumped boy.

“Well he should have-

“Peggy!” Maria called out while running to the ring. “Take him to the hospital.” Peggy dialed a number on her phone.

Maria bent down near Tony and turned the boy over, he was out. Few minutes later and Jarvis was there, cradling Tony into his arms, glaring at Howard icily and moving out. Peggy was going too but looked at Maria.

“You are co-

“No.” Her answer was short.

Peggy frowned but didn’t say anything and left.

Howard sighed. “Well that was dramatic but I have got work-

“No, no, no Howard.” Maria laughed darkly.

“I’m sure you can find some time to spare with me.” Howard froze.

“I’ve-

“I thought Stark men were made of Iron.” She gave him a mocking smile.

Turns out Stark men were only made of skin, that bruised spectacularly and pained –well she only heard the groans but she had an idea as after all she put them there – spectacularly too.

Howard Stark, Maria thought smugly, is a Stark. However Tony was a Stark and her son.

No one messes with her don and gets away with it.

He was thirteen and in that awkward phase of puberty where your skin didn’t feel right. He was muscular (He was in on his second Dan in both aikido and Krav Maga and his first one in Judo, after all) but not in the buffed up way, instead a wiry form that almost seemed scrawny hid under his clothes. And his height, he snorted, was not at all impressive. Instead of looming, he did glooming. Peggy’s words not his.

“What was my mission again?” He spoke into his coffee as he sat on a chair in one of those outdoor cafes.

Peggy hissed from the other side. Not from the comms. She was sitting opposite him.

“Tony if you don’t stop pretending this is a mission, I will confiscate your porn stash so fast-

He spit his coffee.

“You ..what?!” He strangled out somehow, his mouth forming the words but his brain frozen.

“Well.” Peggy looked sheepish and sighed.

“I thought I could put this off for a little while but we need to have the talk, Tony.” She leaned forward on her elbows. There was a grin in her voice but it was not mocking.

The Talk? The Talk..?  The Talk! His brain shouted at him in a moment of clarity and horror rushed through him. He didn’t need the talk! He was thirteen for god’s sake. And had a remarkable collection to boot.

“Aunt Peg! I-I..” Gah! Were people put in this kind of situation or was it just a Peggy Carter Trade Mark kind of thing?

“It is okay Tony.” She patted his hand as if they were talking about the weather of all topics! Why yes its very sunny today would you like to know how your dick works. He though hysterically.

“I just want you to know that this is perfectly alright. What you’re feeling is not shameful, okay? They are the needs of your body and masturbating is absolutely alright. Sex now though, I would advise you to wait till at least seventeen and only do it with a person you genuinely like and trust. Safety is most important. Now some people think that wearing condoms...” Tony slammed his head on the table. Peggy stopped.

“What?”

He held up his index finger.

“One I know!” He absolutely didn’t screech.

Then two fingers.

“Two could we not?!!” Okay, so maybe he screeched. Only a little though.

Peggy started opening her mouth but there was a commotion in the street in front of them.

A girl with coppery red hair was shouting at two men, one of whom had a grip on her bag and was possibly trying to snatch it away from her.

Tony got up.

“You brainless maggots!” The girl shouted. She released her grip on the bag and the man stumbled a little. She turned around and delivered a round house kick to the man who stumbled and he fell down. Ouch, Tony winced as he saw that she was wearing pencil heels. The other man with his back to Tony moved to lunge at her. Tony tapped him from behind. He turned around wildly.

Tony channelized his inner Peggy and knocked him out with a single punch. (His knuckled did hurt, he thought later but he wasn’t about to tell that to anyone.) The girl turned around and squealed.

“That was awesome!”

He blinked.

“Oh my god! You are so cute.” She moved closer.

He leaned back.

“I just wanna cuddle you up. How old are you kid?” She brought her hands suspiciously closer to his cheeks.

He scowled.

“Not a kid-

“Totally a kid-

“How old are you anyway-

“Older than you for su-

“Doesn’t matter, I’m not a-

“You are the squishies-

Peggy was there the next second.

“Both of you get off the street.” She sounded severe. “And continue your fight there.” She grinned.

The girl with the coppery hair grinned slyly.

“I like you.”

Peggy smiled back.

Tony really didn’t like this.

“You’ve got spunk kid.” Peggy said looking at her

“I’m not a kid.” Tony stared at her incredulously.

“I’m not a kid, you are totally a kid.” She told him solemnly.

Peggy’s laughter sounded like bell chimes.

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Virginia Potts and I am fifteen years old.” She looked at Tony on the ‘fifteen’ part.

“I am Peggy Carter.”

There was a gasp.

Tony muttered sulking. “I’m Tony Stark, but who gives a fuck right?”

“Peggy Carter?!” Potts said, suddenly looking like she worshipped the ground Peggy walked on.

“Peggy Carter, Director of SHIELD?”

Turns out Virginia ‘pepper’ Potts had a cop dad.

Whose account she hacked.

“I didn’t hack it, the laptop was just open-

She then read a SHIELD assist report.

“I didn’t read it; I just looked at it-

She then raided the internet about SHIELD. Upon finding nothing concrete she hacked her father’s account again.

“Okay so maybe this time I hacked it but I was-

She got all the information about SHIELD that was available on the cop server. And then stalked Peggy.

“I didn’t stalk her! I just looked her up. Three medals of valor and-

Peggy sighed as Tony and Pepper sat on chairs on the same coffee table as before.

“Are you going to send me to jail? I don’t want to go to jail, it would look really bad on my college application-

“You should send her to jail, it would be the right thing to do-

“Why do you know about this stuff anyway, you should be in jail too-

“NO ONE IS GOING TO JAIL.” Peggy shouted. Everyone looked at them.

“No one is going to jail.” She whispered.

Both kids pouted.

“We could recruit her then?” Tony asked like he was talking about the weather oh it’s slightly cloudy today we should tell a complete stranger that we have kid agents. She thought hysterically.

“You-you..” Pepper connected the dots very fast. Too fast. The girl would go places.

“I am an agent.” Tony said smugly.

Peggy thumped her head on the table.

“What?”

She held up her index finger.

“One, you are not an agent.” Yet anyway, she thought in her mind and she didn’t screech because Peggy Carter was a calm, collected woman.

She held up two fingers.

“Two, what is wrong with you? Have you forgotten the whole secret thing?” Okay so she screeched, only a little though.

Pepper looked curiously between both of them.

“So am I becoming an agent or what?”

Pepper Potts did become an agent. She registered in one of their summer programs that whoever found about could register. 

“Hey Tony?”

“Yeah Aunt Peg?” Tony muttered absently from where he was working on well something in her office and on her desk while she sat on the couch.

“Why does your porn stash mainly consist of buff guys with blond hair and blue eyes?” She flipped a page in her magazine.

There was a scream as Tony fell down the chair.

Peggy smiled.

Chapter Text

 James Rhodes looked at his test sheet and smirked. 76 out of 80, not bad at all. He was a genius, he decided. Well not a genius-genius in the way Stephen Hawking, Howard Stark, Hank Pym, Reed Richard seem to be but you know? A genius like- Someone kicked his chair while he was contemplating his genius and he turned back to give them a scowl before seeing it was Carol- his best friend (the girl he had a crush on for the past hundred years of his 18 year old life).
“What?”
“Whatd’ya score?” She asked casually but both of them knew the game they were playing.
He smirked. “76.”
“Really?” She drawled “What happened to the four marks James? This test was ridiculously easy.” And she flashed her test sheet at him with a beam. An 80 out 80 stamped on it.
He gritted his teeth.
“Next time.”
“You have been saying that for the past four years.” She grinned unabashedly.
“Next time I will score higher than you.” He swore and finally ask you out on a date.
When Carol had first come to their school, in freshman year, many guys and girls had started thinking from their copulatory organs instead of the one stored in the cranium. To say the least-she was a goddess. And in the third week of said year, after countless (79) confessions and infinite (46) enquires about her relationship status, she had grown tired and told some guy that she would only consider dating someone who got higher marks than her. Not equal (because Rhodey had achieved that twice) but higher.
And so four years had gone by and she had single handedly made their school the one with the highest average marks per student in the district of seventy something schools without anyone getting higher marks than her.
Senior year had just begin and this year James was determined to do the impossible. But he wasn’t disappointed today, no sir. Today, after two bloody weeks, his father Jim Rhodes was coming home and he had the rest of the year to score higher than her, today was going to be an awesome, amazing and completely fabulous day. The bell brought him out of his reverie and he quickly packed up his stuff. It was last period after all. Carol and he walked down the corridors together.
“So your dad’s back huh?” Carol looked at his grinning face with a fond look.
“Hell yes and that means pizza night in the Rhodes household.” He grinned back at her.
“Seriously though one of these days you have to tell me what his job is. Not that usual ‘if I’ll tell you I will have to kill you’ schmuck , James.”
He smirked at her.
“I could also erase your memory using an amnesiac device?”
She shoved him

“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No-
“I will tell Jarvis it was you who broke the Marie Antoneitte vase.”
Tony stared at Peggy. Peggy stared back.
“You wouldn’t?”
“I would.”
“You would.” Tony also nodded decisively. “You totally would.”
Peggy smirked.
“It will not be so bad.”
“I have been homeschooled throughout my life and passed high school when I was 12. I am in the second year of electrical engineering and I am sixteen. It will be worse than bad.” He made a ka-boom action with his right hand. “It will be a disaster on the levels of the eighty’s clothing trends.” His voice displayed exactly how up for the idea he was, which to say would be as up as height of the universe in minus.
“Well.” Peggy started, her voice thoughtful. “It would be annoying for you, but not a bad experience overall. You should really hangout with people your age.”
“While I am on a mission?”
“Well the mission wouldn’t be too stressful because you will have an inside guy. A son of a colleague to say. So you will have ample opportunity to make friends.” She wriggled her eyebrows at ‘friends’. Tony blanched.
“I just have to find a man-woman-or student selling our secrets to Russia in a school full of at least five hundred people. No biggie.” His expression definitely conveyed that it was infact, a biggie.
“A very easy mission indeed compared to what’s in store for you if I tell Jarvis..” Peggy had a sweet smile on her face.
“Ugh.” Tony groaned. “I’ll do it.”
“Of course you will. There never was any choice.”

Chapter Text

Except from the first headline some sixteen years ago-Stark Industries heir born, on May 29th, 2000, in Apollo Hospitals, healthy blah blah, named Anthony Edward Stark blah blah- Tony had never been mentioned in press again.
He could have been, just for being Howard’s son, if not for being the genius he got in his genes. (Because nothing he ever did was his .The genius was Howard, the strength Maria.)
He could have been mentioned for a number of things-being a socialite, being a genius, but Howard had wanted complete anonymity so he got it. No one knew of Anthony Stark, not really. So the circuit board that he made when he was 4 (Not the- attach two wires and blink a bulb kind, the integrated mother board of a Stark Computer kind) or the dumb, stupid, infuriating, absolutely amazing AI robot he built at 7 went famous. He was not sad at that, not really. Because he had Maria, Peggy and Jarvis staring at him like he was Hephaestus incarnate when he showed them.
In his line of work-He snorted at the cliché saying internally-In his line of work, the anonymity was always a very, very nice thing.

“Tony.”
“Huh?” Tony says from where he is hammering a piece of quatropolyplastic in a body armor he is working on.
“No, your identity there would be Tony-
“Isn’t that too dangerous?” He interrupted before Peggy could finish her statement. Maria took over.
“Anthony doesn’t really short down to Tony, you know. Especially when you have an H in there instead of just Antony. Also the mission is going to be fairly long and in those cases you always need to respond to your name which becomes quite hard if it is fake.” Maria provides from where she was perched on top of Peggy’s table.
They had a squabble when Peggy told her to act like a lady and Maria told Peggy that her prim British lady ways were no use since she had seen the woman bash in noses and bath in blood, pictures which Tony could easily imagine, his two most important women in. This said something. Something awesome.
“So as I was saying, the mission’s imperative is for you to…” Tony half listens to Peggy at this point of time because he already read his case file. But he is still mentally noting down pointers both Maria and Peggy are giving him-pointers and some not really subtle advice for spies. He noticed horrified.
“-the mission length easily allows you to form bonds-”
“-the family you are staying with has a son somewhat around your age-”
“-sadly, he appears to be heterosexual-”
“-yeah apparently he is chasing some girl-”
Tony’s head swirls around from Maria to Peggy, from Peggy to Maria. This wasn’t happening. This-
“-But anyway you could still attempt friendship-”
“-and they’re other gay guys in that-”
This was happening.
“This is a part of the mission details?!” He shrieked.
Both Maria and Peggy looked at him in a scrutinizing manner.
“Well I think you are ready for your mission then.” Maria says with a weirdly amused smile that says she knows something funny is going to happen.
Peggy nodes solemnly.
“All the best for your mission, Tony Buchanan Rogers.”
His ultra-genius, ultra-spyish brain takes two seconds to process that before he apparently drops the hammer right down on his foot.
“OUCH! FUCK SHIT what SHIT HURTS...”
Maria grins at Peggy who grins back at her. Together they sing song an old joke between them. Something Captain America used to say to Bucky on the reels of old videos they all sometimes watched together because while they could make fun of his crushes all they wanted, Peggy and Maria admired Captain America and James Barnes too.
“Language!”

Rhodey skips steps into his house and sees the jeep parked right outside before going in. His face must be splitting with how wide his grin is, but he doesn’t care, no sir, not one bit because his dad is home fucking finally.
He climbs the stairs two at a time, curves dangerously fast on the lined wooden floors, avoids breaking his jaw as usual, opens his bedroom door, throws down his bag on the couch somewhere, says a brief hi to the teenage guy and then skips back outside to find his da-
What the fuck.
Teenage guy? He questions his mind warily.
Teenage guy. His mind answers back decisively.
His jaw tightens and he bangs open the door again. The guy has bent down and is unholstering or whatever it is called a gun from his ankle. He stares impassively at him. The guy frozen with a hand on the gun stares back. Rhodey grits his teeth. The guy remains frozen.
“Taco-bear?” His dad’s voice says from behind him, the story behind the nickname that a six year old Rhodey tried to combine his two loves- tacos and teddy bears together in a messy result.
“When other parents go out to jobs-” His voice tightly held together because he doesn’t want to...
“-They bring back toys, not boys!”
And now he is screaming, great.
His dad grins at him.
“Rhodey this is Tony, Tony this is my son James Rhodes.Tony is a spy and has a mission in your school and I’m like 70% sure that you are not supposed to know about that. But since he has gun on him and I don’t have a possibly reasonable explanation for it, the truths gotta work. Now come down for lunch you both, I have made some delightful and tasty spaghetti.” His dad beams cheerfully and goes downstairs whistling.
Rhodey stands there. The guy- Tony sighs.
“Well that unraveled faster than I expected it to.” He comes forward and offers his hand-the one which doesn’t have a gun in it- to him.
“Tony Buchanan Rogers.” His grin is slightly crooked.
Rhodey feels a laugh bubbling up in his throat.
“Super fan parents?”
Tony’s grin gets slightly embarrassed. “Crazy pair of mothers.” Because it is true. Peggy is more of a mother than an aunt and Howard is not worth acknowledging.
Tony carefully notes that Rhodey has no tic in his facial expression that shows homophobia and internally sighs in relief.
“Hah! Cap and Bucky are worthy of every fan they have.”
The guy isn’t all that bad Tony decides.

Next morning, as they both wake up, Rhodey decides to ask the important question that had been bugging him all day yesterday.
“Eh...Tony..what exactly is your mission?” The guy in the question answers from inside the bathroom.
“Can’t tell you.”
“But I already know you are a spy, what will happen if you tell me the mission?” Rhodey shouts back.
Tony pokes in his head from the door.
“Other than committing a crime by having the aid of a minor in an ongoing international investigation?” He asks.
Rhodey splutters. You are younger than me he wants to say but decides not to because they are getting late and Carol must be waiting for them.
“Hurry up then! Carol hates waiting.” He hollers. Tony comes out wearing a black skinny jeans and red T-shirt maybe a size too big on him. He is wearing hipster glasses and his hair is still a mess. Rhodey grins because the kid looks adorable.
“Um so…how does this school thing works exactly? I mean, I have watched movies of course and I already have my curriculum and stuff but what do you recommend I should act like to get in everyone’s good graces?”
Rhodey frowns because he wants to say: be yourself. But Tony is a spy and he needs to get close to people to know stuff right?
“Do you know how to play football or basketball?”
Tony raises an eyebrow before answering.
“Not really, but I guess I can learn. I am a fast learner.”
“Well the tryouts for both are in 15 days; with your height I recommend you football.”
Tony’s cheeks grow red as he shakes his fist at him.
“I am not small heighted!” then “Is it really necessary to be a jock to get close to people?”

Rhodey sighs again. “Not really, but I cannot deny that being a jock is the fastest way to gain popularity.”
“Hmm, I’ll think about it then.” Tony says before picking up his bag and just at the right time as Carol honks her car’s horn.
“Ah Carol’s here!” Rhodey panics because he hasn’t packed his books yet and jumps around his room to do so.
Tony watches from the sides amused.
“Who is Carol by the way?”
“My best friend.” Rhodey answers stuffing a thick book of Physics into his bag.
“But you want her to be more, am I right?”
Rhodey looks at him in frustration because his chemistry book isn’t going in and his questions aren’t helping.
“Yeah I mean sure, she is pretty and smart and funny, who wouldn’t want her to be more?” The book still won’t go in so Rhodey decides fuck it who needs how to turn ethanol into esters and leaves the book on his desk.
“Come on, come on hurry.” He motions Tony to run along with him down the stairs. Tony looks at him and grins.
“You hurry.” He says and puts both his hands on the rail of the stair case, swings and jumps down. Rhodey’s heart must have stopped along with his brain because next he knows; he is shaking the kid by his shoulders.
“That was easily an eight feet drop, are you out of your bloody fucking mind?”
Tony looks up at him with those big brown, innocent looking but most probably not eyes and Carol honks yet again.
“Argh!” He takes a hold of Tony’s wrist, lest the kid attempt any more crazy stunts and drags him out.
Carol is sitting in her car, door to the passenger seat open, wearing her aviators. Rhodey feels his heart still palpitating, first because of the crazy kid and now because of his best friend being too pretty. Before any of them can say anything, Tony frees his hands from Rhodey’s wrist and keeps both his hands on the car door with awe on his face.
“It is a 4th generation Lincoln Continental, isn’t it?” His eyes are wide and sport a love sick look.
Carol looks at Rhodey and then at Tony and grins.
“Who is this adorable, awesome person you got here, Rhodey?” Rhodey groans.
“Hi, I am Tony Rogers, Rhodey’s step aunt’s son.” He recites excitedly before running a loving hand down the doors again.
“Ugh, admire it later. We are gonna get late so get in.” Rhodey says. Tony looks at him and- that brat gets in the passenger seat with a smug grin. Rhodey grits his teeth and opens the back door to get in.

“What’s your first period?” Tony asked Rhodey and Carol when they reached their school. It was a nice building, all archways and Greek columns and white walls.
“Well, we’ve got chemistry, you?” Carol asked hiking her bag over her shoulder and slamming the car door shut.
“Ah, study hall.” Most of his periods were free periods, to help in his investigation.
“Well, go to the library then.” Rhodey said pointing to the west side of the building.
Carol, Rhodey and Tony all three had second period as physics, so they decided to meet Tony after first period.
Tony sighed, now he could finally do what he came to do. His steps lead him to the library and one of the ancient computers in it. But it was plugged in the school network which made getting in the CCTV cameras easier, and thank the lord, they had an online storage not the cassettes which tony frankly hated to the point he hated that weird scratching sound cats made on doors.
“Uh-uh, let’s see. Oooh security.” He giggled, talking to himself. “How quaint, like this is going to stop me.” His fingers moved over the keyboard quickly, typing lines of code to disable it and then to no one’s surprise-he was in!
As he went through the camera recordings with the help of a program he had already made, that would report to him any missing footage, and he praised himself because no one else was there to do it. Him, Tony Stark, 16 year old, genius spy with the panty dropping kind of looks if he might say so. He was great, undefeated and could get into any system without-
Red Alarm started flashing on the piece of shit computer, fuck. He tried to figure what exactly had he triggered but a countdown started and if he got caught in the system, while it locked down, it would be really really bad. So he ditched the idea of more information, and quickly broke the connection.
He took out his phone to see the amount of information transferred, and sighed in relief. Not bad, he guessed. He packed up his bag and went out of the library and groaned because once bitten, twice shy. He was so not going back there if he valued this mission, which he did.
He sat on one of the benches outside and opened his custom made- hacking/tracing proof phone.
“Huh.” Every 25 days, there was footage of half an hour missing from the camera directly over the reception at 12:45 exactly. Amateurs, he sneered in his mind. Well now at least he knew what to do. Blend in for 25 days, catch whatever-the-fuck decided to be a Soviet Spy and then go home.

“Surprise quiz kids! Yeah yeah keep your moans and groans to yourself really, that is what the point of surprise, you know not knowing.” The teacher, something Harrison, liked to torture his students apparently or that’s what Rhodey and Carol said to him.
Rhodey groaned, this was test he was not prepared for obviously and chances of getting marks higher than Carol were slim to none and poor Tony, it was his first day in a school ever, he would hardly be prepared for an Advanced Physics test.
While Rhodey pitied him, Tony Stark looked down at his question paper and frowned-this was advanced physics? He could have done it when he was seven, without breaking a sweat. Now, it was just a mockery. He scowled again and moved to write the answers.
Carol grinned, she may have not been prepared for this test like anyone else but she was so betting that she was going to be the highest score-again. She winked at Rhodey who was sitting at her side and moved to start the paper-only a shout of ‘done’ interrupted her. She looked backwards to see it was Tony, shit the poor kid, she thought. He must have left his paper blank.
Mr. Harrison, came and swiped the paper without a glance at it, because he must have thought the same. Carol shook her head in sympathy and focused on her paper again.

“So which sport have you decided to play?” Rhodey asked Tony later when they were both at the house.
“Uh...well I really don’t need to or anything. I got what I came for. I just have to wait for twenty five days.” Tony said smiling at him.
“Hmm, you have never attended a school before, have you?” Rhodey asked frowning.
“Well, I never needed to, I got homeschooled.” Tony waved a hand around trying to show the show the worth of the American high school system.
“Huh? Then at least you should get some bona fide high school experience of playing a sport.”
“I don’t really need it.” I have all the experiences I need, Tony thought. Sword fighting( which completely bullshit because who needed how to use a sword, in this age?) ,shooting, knife throwing, dagger fighting(okay, this one he liked, sure he had never used it in a real life situation and would probably try to avoid using it because: blood, but come on, it was kind of cool), hand to hand fighting in about six different martial arts by now and continuously learning, also by the way did he tell you of the mental algorithm he had invented to calculate fight moves? It had 87% accuracy and even Peggy was impressed and she had seen Steve Rogers fight. He also had a few lessons of archery which bleh.
So sue him, he never really learned how to play basketball or football. He was doing far greater and cooler things which if Rhodey knew, he’d piss himself in excitement or frown really hard because Tony knew Rhodey had a hero-complex and he wanted to snicker at that.
“Uh-uh, sure you don’t but its fun, come on.” Rhodey opened his cupboard and took out a used looking basketball and grinned at him.
“Come on, I will teach you, I have been playing for six years now.”
Tony raised an eyebrow at him and pulled up his sleeves and quickly donned on the contact lenses he was supposed to be using, a bright blue.
“Show me what ya got, LeBron.”
They both walked together to the nearby street court together, Rhodey bounced, spun and played with the basketball the whole way showing off. He even took a bow when a few girls whistled at him. Tony was so amused, he couldn’t stop grinning and Rhodey oddly felt protective of his grin, and his happiness.
Beside both of them, the court was empty.
“So, the first is the tip off and the ball is thrown in the air and two players, from opposite teams, jump and whoever touches it...” Tony put up his hand.
“I’m not pleasing your ego by doing that.” He checked out Rhodey’s height to make a point and Rhodey grinned smugly at him. Bastard.
“Okay, so this is how you shoot, bend you’re…” Rhodey’s voice faded as Tony focused his gaze on Rhodey’s posture with a scary intensity. His elbow, his hip and his foot was in a straight line and hmm the trajectory involving the angle of the ball and huh, he twisted his wrist a little there. Tony catalogued every minute action, he saw Rhodey’s body doing down to the last detail in his brain.
The sound of a ball hitting the ground brought him out of his scary focus. Peggy always said that when Tony truly gave all his attention to something, even she got scared. Maria made a point of shuddering whenever he went into that-zone. 
“So, did you see?” Rhodey asked, picking up the ball.
“I saw alright.” He motioned Rhodey to pass him the ball.
Rhodey did. “If you make the hoop, I’ll treat you to an ice cream.”
“Coffee.”
“What?”
“I need coffee for playing this useless sport.”
“Three hoops continuously and you got yourselves a coffee.” Rhodey made a thumbs up sign. Tony nodded curtly. He felt the texture of the ball and stared at it closely.
“That’s one.” He said before even throwing the ball.
“Hey how can you be so-oh.” Rhodey stopped in between as the ball went in, his dark eyes huge. Tony retrieved the ball and looked Rhodey deep into the eyes. “Watch.” Rhodey watched as the ball again flew in a perfect arc and landed the hoop. The third time, Tony didn’t even look at the hoop, he just tossed the ball and Rhodey swore that the ball only fell through because Tony believed it would.
“Coffee, now?” Rhodey grumbled out a yes.
“This was just shooting you know, we’re coming back every day to teach you how to play.”
Tony looked up from his very expensive true Italian cup of coffee-and how the fuck did he even find that pretentious coffee shop-and grinned at him, sipping. Bastard.

Few days passed by like this, going to school to learn things he had learned long, long ago. Learning ball with Rhodey in the evenings. Well more like copying his maneuvers and executing them perfectly, while Rhodey grumbled and pouted because okay so you can copy but what if you need to do something new- He then reminded Rhodey that he wasn’t going to play basketball seriously, ever. And Rhodey grumbled again because good basketball talent wasted on spy shit.
They were all waiting for the test results of their surprise Physics test that day and as Mr. Harrison hadn’t come in yet.
“You know, Rhodey, what if senior year passes by just like the last three?” Carol teased. Tony was lost but Rhodey looked at Carol with determination.
“It won’t, you watch, I’ll score higher than you, but maybe..uh..not this time.” His voice dropped from determined to sheepish while Carol grinned at him.
“Well, I’ll be waiting for that date then.”
“Wait, what?” Tony squealed already having an idea of what was happening.
“Carol has promised anyone who gets a higher score than her, a date. She is seriously smart.” Rhodey kind of looked proud and grumblish at the same time while Tony looked like a deer caught in headlights.
“Um so hey, did I tell you guys that I am-
Mr. Harrison chose that moment to enter the class and everyone turned around to face him, mostly miserable at the fact that they would be getting their sheets back. Tony swore under his breath, as both Rhodey and Carol were already grinning at each other.
“Hmm...settle down. I know most of you are dreading this, but rip out the band aid fast and it hurts less right?” He put down a stack of papers on his desk. While students moaned in protest.
“Ha, if you are all this scared of bad marks maybe you should concentrate more in class huh? So any guesses who got the highest scores?” He grinned at all of them as every student without fail gestured at Carol who ducked her head and smiled. Tony sank lower in his seat.
“Ah yes of course Ms.Danver as always-” Mr. Harrison stopped as his eyes fell on the sheet he was holding. His expression changed as he seemed to remember something.
“Well.” He adjusted his glasses. “The person with the highest scores is-” He looked confused as he spoke.
“Tony Rogers.” Rhodey and Carol both swirled around to look at him.
“Thank you Mr. Rogers for the extra information on how to make tests more difficult because huh even a cow could do this.” He read it off his paper. Well, in Tony’s defense, that was the first day and he didn’t know anything about that stupid bet and he always had a problem with authority. He meekly stood up to get his paper as all eyes stared at him in awe. Carol scored the second highest scores, behind Tony by a seven marks lead and Rhodey third, behind him by a ten marks lead.
“So...” After class Carol began awkwardly. She looked weirdly violated at the thought of going on a date with him, because Tony gathered, she had always expected and hoped it to be Rhodey. The guy in question didn’t know if he was jealous or frustrated. To do or not to do? Tony thought and steeled himself as he saw Carol fidget.
“I uh...don’t really have an interest in um your gender.” Carol looked at him, her lips curving in an ‘oh’. Rhodey sighed and dropped down on his desk.
“Thank God, because a part of me is proud of you and now that the jealousy is out, you are so tutoring me.”
Tony looked at both of them and decided that possibly they were his first friends (except Pepper, but she was Pepper so she didn’t count.)

And then the day arrives, Tony had called Peggy in the morning to already notify her, that he would be requiring cleanup and she had groaned.
“Try ...not to make a mess alright?”
“Uh-uh.”
He hadn’t promised anything because he didn’t know a lot of shit about what was going to happen and sometimes messes couldn’t be helped. He had told Rhodey too. Well, not tell him about the mission, just that it was going to be completed today.
“What is that?” Rhodey questioned, his voice high pitched.
“That’s a gun...its custom made, by me of course. It only works with either my biometric print or by a password, so don’t worry and this is a long distance taser, again made by me. I usually make all my weapons, except these throwing knives and huh this is a Kevlar and nano plastic reinforced body suit, I am rocking it, aren’t I?”
Rhodey’s face had gone from green to blue and he was looking like he was going to faint.
“You are a walking armory and you are going to a school?!”
“Uh-uh. Now I would take my leave at 12:45 that would be in the midst of our Physics class and probably never come back.”
“What.”
“Oh! Not in the I-will-be-buried-in-dirt kind of way, more like I would finish my mission and tada?”
Rhodey frowned and seemed to be thoughtful. “Okay…”

It was two minutes to 12:45 and Tony was just going to ask if he could take a leave, because he wasn’t feeling very well when Rhodey raised his hand in the classroom. What the fuck was he doing?
“Sir, Tony isn’t feeling very well, May I escort him to the infirmary?" what the fuck thinks Tony.
Mr. Harrison said something but Tony couldn’t hear it because he was staring at Rhodey and giving him the most incredulous look in the history of incredulous looks.
Somehow they reached the corridors without Tony comprehending it because…what.
“Are you out of your bloody fucking mind?” Tony started it as a whisper, but unwillingly the last part turned into a shout.
“Uh, well I watched three seasons of Supernatural with you, I’m pretty sure I’m out of my mind.”
“Ugh, you don’t-dean’s hot-that’s not the point-ugh! You...you are a civilian! I can’t be taking you to a mission which 100% is going to turn violent.”
“One. I know how to shoot; two you don’t have a choice.”
“You know how to shoot?” Tony sounds suspicious.
“Yeah, my dad is whatever-he-is, he taught me how to in you know any world-ending-apocalypse situation.”
“Well.”
“Tony, you’re only like 16.” Rhodey motions towards Tony’s body. “Ju-just 16!” He sounds frustrated, Tony notes.”I’m not letting you go alone.”
“You can come with, but if you don’t do what I tell you to, I’m going to taser you.”
“Uh wow, okay?”
“Good.” He then takes out his phone.
“Hm, the cameras above the reception are already blocked, we gotta go now.”

“Huh, there is no one here yet.” Rhodey says looking at the reception computer. Tony frowns.
“We wait then.” They huddle behind a big ass plant and the wall.
“This is so cliché! Everyone hides behind the plant pot.” Rhodey whines.
“Yes.” Tony says patiently. “Because it is convenient.”“But always-oh.”
“What?” It can’t be the one they’re looking out for because Tony is the one keeping check.
“Don’t move but there is a lizard on your shoulder.” Before there was thrum of movement in Tony’s body, like he was expecting something. Now it is completely frozen. His eyes are wide and he is breathing deeply through his nose to not make any sudden movements.
“Rhodey.” He says. Just one word.
Rhodey looks at him and thinks oh he’s really scared of a lizard but faces potential life or death situations everyday wow before he leans across, picks the lizard by its tail and shoos it. Tony’s still frozen but after a second a shudder goes through him and he drops on Rhodey, completely limp.
“There. There.” Rhodey pats his back awkwardly.
“Hey, I see something.” Tony’s body is alert once more and he shifts a bit to see better and as he sees, not one or two but four people, no boys make their way to the reception.
“You said there was going to be one person.” Rhodey whispers back horrified.
“I never said that.”
“But you thought it?”
“….do you want me to lie?”
Rhodey reels back and he panics.
“I need a diversion.” Tony says looking at him
“What do you want me to do?”
“Go to the parallel corridor and make some noise, at least one of them will be sent to check on you. Take them out. I am 99% sure they are unarmed.”
“If that one percent becomes my death, I will come back to haunt you.”
Tony smiles saccharinely.
“Who invited themselves on this job due to some twisted hero complex because of an age difference that makes no sense in this particular job?”
“Going.”

While Rhodey goes away, Tony prepares to move. He takes out his long distance custom made Taser because he gave the gun to Rhodey and keeps the knives close.
There is a sudden shout before a seemingly really panicked voice shouts.
“Help! Help she’s having a baby!” Tony snorts.
The guys have a quick heated discussion before one of them is sent out to check.
Tony moves out, his steps predatory. Tasers the first guy who was already halfway to jumping on him. And meets the second guy who lunges at him from the side by a quick fist to his jaw. The guy reels back while the third one attempts to jump on Tony’s back and strangle him. Tony cannot breathe and tries to hit the guy with his elbow and oh- there’s the phone. He picks up the phone and in true Peggy Carter fashion slams it on the guy’s head who slumps down.
The third one is doing a series of quick jabs which Tony barely avoids and then he is doing that famous move Maria taught him. He calls it a “Suck my dick” move when Peggy and Maria aren’t around...so basically in his mind. Tony puts his arms on the guy’s shoulder, swings his legs up, turns up midway and then his crotch is in the guy’s face and his thighs are definitely choking him. And a childish part of him wants to say-
“Suck my dick, bastard.” He says gleefully.
Rhodey’s voice echoes around the corridor.
“Man that was hard! That guy was like a wild beast or something man! Just wouldn’t go down. Took three darts I swear and I even had to punch him –oh never mind.” His voice goes squeaky as he sees the destruction.
There is one guy gracelessly sprawled on the floor, drooling. The second one is slumped near the reception area, a phone on his head….and it looks like the third one and Tony are...
“Nice.” Pant “Meeting.” Hit. “You." Hit again. “Here.” Tony says, his words stopping in between because he is punching that guy’s head again and again. Rhodey’s mouth hangs open uselessly.
And at last the guy slumps down while Tony jumps off and Rhodey couldn’t say whether it was because of the oxygen loss or the continuous skull punching.
“So um..that was something.” Tony tries to smile sheepishly.
“I am, never and I mean never seeing you as a helpless adorable guy again.”
“Well.” He grins even bigger.
“I mean. Wow.”
“That was noth-
“Uhuh.” Rhodey puts hands over his ears. “I don’t want to listen to the kind of things that I as a upstanding citizen should definitely not condone.”
“Okay, so you don’t wanna listen to the time, I used that move in the bedroom.” Tony wiggles his eyebrows teasingly.
“Absolutely not.” Rhodey deadpans.
“Are you sure?” Tony draws out his ‘e’.
“Yes.”

Later when there is a white van, and some people picking up those guys and putting them in back .Rhodey and Tony stand there awkwardly.
“So..” They both start not looking at each other.
“You go first-” They both speak up at the same time again and Tony groans internally because ugh can someone say cli-chė
“So I wondering do you wanna stay in touch or-
“I was hoping we could stay frien-
They both stop in between, look at each other and laugh.
“Sure.” Rhodey says. Tony takes his phone and programs his number in it and sends himself a text. He then moves towards the van too when Rhodey calls him out.
“You are an absolute virgin by the way.”
Tony stares at him for a second or two and then “….is it that obvious?”
They both grin and wave at each other dorkishly after that. A friendship to last a life time sealed.

At night when Rhodey is finally getting into bed, his phone beeps. He picks it up and opens to find a new message.
Lets meet up next Friday so I can tutor your failing ass-Tony Stark
He grins and is moving to reply but then stops and reads the message again. Tony…..Stark?!
WHAT?! He texts back.
Tony smiles unabashedly when he sees it. Five people in the world now know that Tony Stark is a spy.