Chapter Text
Chapter 1-Flight Planes
Time was 4:21 AM of a Saturday morning, in an early fall. It been a crazy year so far. Renovations were going well, the unfortunate pardons passed through and paperwork for signatures was sent to the Rogues. Here is Pepper Potts with her luggage bag and backpack for a week's stay in Sicily. Early as always and waiting for one Tony Stark and Rhodes.
Don’t get her wrong, she loves those two assholes, they work hard and long hours. Rhodey gets a full night of sleep, but Tony is such a gremlin he sleeps when sleep jumps him in the alley a night. That was a terrible analogy, but she is tired. She rushed here because Tony said they would be leaving from the airport at 5 AM sharp. As to avoid any bushy eyed weirdos. Heathens. Though this man is up (should be up) at 3 in the morning texting them random jokes and questions that should be equivalent to shower thoughts. Then again, Tony may have skipped sleeping (she knows he suffers from insomnia and nightmares) and been awake till now.
Looking up from her phone adjusting the neck pillow, she saw the two men she been waiting for. Rhodes rolling himself up to her while a half-awake and squirrely Tony leaned against the wheelchair carrying the luggage. She can tell he is tired because one eye was a reactor blue, and the other was a sleepy brown.
“You guys were almost late.” She spoke to them with a teasing tone.
Tony flapped at his tired arm resting his chin on his friend’s head. Rhodey patted his cheek, the Colonel for what it is worth looked awake. Though the three thermoses of coffee he between his thighs, one looking suspiciously drank of. Rhodey looked at the coffee before handing her one closest to his knees.
“Yeah sorry, Tony insisted to carry the bags if I hold the coffee.”
“Cofea.” Tony grunted through daze vocal noise.
Pepper laughed sipping the coffee and tea blend. She was sold on this; it was the right kick and she could add honey and sugar to it without it being so weird. It was really the only coffee Tony drank now; he said his mom ruined his taste buds forever. She almost told him his mom could market this blend but then Tony got huffy about having to share with assholes. She giggled more behind her Thermo of coffee at how bratty Tony can get about sharing things. It wasn’t even the classic only-child syndrome thing but more on the fact, if he had something he liked, he usually kept it for himself if possible. Sharing with a few select people. Right now, allowing Pepper to see more of his life. The inside Jokes, meeting Mecili and Nesreen in person.
She would never say that him seeing and meeting his family was a miracle cure. He admitted to her, that he isn’t completely over his fear of the dark, water, the New York Skyline, his father, Rogers, and a load of other things. Sometimes she wonders how he managed to keep going but seeing him reaching over Rhodes's shoulder to get his Cofea, making fake moaning sounds when sipping. Rhodey cackling smacking playfully at him. Listening to Tony snort choking laughter, she knows it was love and friendship that kept this man going. Though Tony will never really admit that to them or others.
“Alright, boys before you two make a mess all over the floor wasting good cofea, let get on the plane before people start to crowd us.” She suggested getting her things.
Rhodey agreed to take a loud slurp along with Tony. At that moment she saw the strong resemblance between the two. Then a sudden urge to smack both of them upside their heads. Yet, she took her own copying their own loud slurp noise.
Tony stopped, swallowed cackling excitedly about how she did it. Rhodey laughing and hooting about how Potts finally crossed over to the dark side. This led as the three walked to the private jet with Tony doing heavy breathing noises and quoting movie lines. Pepper listened to Rhodes doing the same noises then making a type of chittering noise in the back of his throat letting Pepper hear a new sound of a wheezing cackle from her former boss. Then in a twisted surprise, they somehow got into a rapid-fire conversation about why Alien 1 wanted to get Alien 2, about the Romeo and Juliet thing behind Human female 1 and Alien 1 (Scar? What the hell?). That topic then went into deeper things about why serial killers and killers in horror movies do what they do.
This conversation carried on till they reached cruising altitude. To say Pepper never been enthralled by two nerdy brainiacs, well that would be a lie. It was like hearing poetry in motion, about movies. All that was about movies they watched over the years. She already told them she doesn’t mind spoilers when they got into heated debates about Star Trek, Star Wars, and Battle Star Galactica a while back. The merits of each one, what they brought differently, and why the relationships on those teams were detrimental and integral to the team.
Safe to say, Pepper knows more than she thought she would about why Michael Myers should be watched over more and treated like humans but Jason had the sadder back story and just fuck Freddy Rapist Kruger. Pepper has to agree with all three of those points.
She was almost asleep, till she saw Tony bring out his three toys and the sweater. He already was wrapped in his blanket. He has two, one was from the Rhodey’s family, little sister Jennie and the other is from Tony’s long-dead grandmother, Momma’s side. When one blanket needed to be washed, he brings out the other. The strawberry blonde woman watches her friend tug on the sweater till he was swamped in it. She saw the twitches in his fingers, the tugging at the sleeves, the tired look in his eyes.
Seeing Rhodey watching over their friend, she patted Tony’s knee gently giving him a cheerful smile. He gave a meek one back. Tony letting down his walls and guard usually meant he felt safe, safe as he could be.
Rhodey watched Pepper curl up, after giving Tony a cheery smile before taking the time to get comfortable and sleep for the flight over to Rome Italy, before making the 10-hour drive down to Reggio. He watched his little brother curl up more caress his bear ears. A quick smile at the bear but the tightness in his jaw never loosen.
Tony called him, before the trip came up, someone came into his Tower and stole the file. Stole his life before, during, and post-Howard. The fake notes, the medical records with redacted or false claims how he had been hurt. The cover-up about his life. That file was stolen. It pissed Rhodey off because he can only say it was the Rogues or a really smart reporter. Who knew when Tony would be out of the Tower and FRIDAY would be down? Tony wasn’t scared for himself but for his family.
They were superheroes, whoever has that isn’t going to destroy his best friend, no they were putting innocent people at risk. Hell, all of Sicily could come under fire because of someone who had a bone to pick with Tony for no reason! Rhodey understood, he kept it a secret all these years. He understood because Tony let him read the letters, the notes, the fake paperwork, the lies, and the abuse. Jarvis, the butler, and Ana his wife kept a record of everything. They hoped one day they could wreck Howard’s Stark reputation when they retired. Howard Stark died before that, they felt prudent not to. Something about Stane being just as slimy as Stark. The pictures, the details. Even without those records (also in the file, way back) the proof was on the back, the thighs, the nightmares, and the way Tony seems to… not love himself.
Rhodey sees it in Tony, the days it gets too much. The time of night when his head screams. The moments when he wakes up to no light. The way every closet he has is spacious, huge, with a vent entryway and a backway. Exits. Outs. Not locked in a closet. The Colonel felt his teeth grinding, not caring if Tony picked up on the grinding. It pissed him off because some asshole (looking at you Rogues) had his file. Information. They could scoff and call it fake. They could burn it. They could share it. The best of a worst-case scenario is that, if it is the Rogues, then they may just ask stupid questions. See the birth certificates, the pictures, and Tony can hopefully not get cold feet long enough to flip them off and leave with his file.
Another thing the Colonel was pissed about. The times he has nightmares about Rogers, Tony called him in a panic, breathing labored as he rushed through about not feeling his chest, HowardSteve (Howard and Steve) loomed over him, shield high up, the continuous banging, the lashings that reopened, and the self-degrading, self-hate, insults that fell from the mouth of his nightmare and the wind that was his voice.
The black male shook his head, the description of that dream sent bile rising up. His name was almost on the tip of the pilot of Iron Man lips, but it was cut off with a whimper. That was the night Rhodey set up homestead in two places. Compound and tower. It was the night also they binged watched musicals and operas.
Rhodey laid down on the loveseat airplane seat, as his fingers tapped a morse code, Fiji.
The quirk of a smile he saw on Tony’s face, gave him a small relief. He got a return message of, Okay.
Rhodey sat up against the pillow of his seat, watching the genius brush against his Bucky (Guard) Bear’s fur. “Hey, how much of a head gasket Roger would blow if he knew you had a Bucky Bear?”
“I hope he loses his whole head,” Tony replied with a bigger smile. “Honestly, I am glad… you know they never got close to me.”
“You figure?” Rhodes replied.
“Yeah. I now know where I stand. At first, after the Loki bullshit… I thought we could get along. Decently okay. Then Ultron, but I thought, shit we all make mistakes but… they looked at me like I was untrustworthy. Unworthy to be on their team. But I realized truly after Siberia… that I know where I stand.” Rhodey nodded in agreement to the younger male assessment.
“I mean when they come back… I don’t think I can trust them anyhow. If they did steal my file… well, that just makes them really fucking untrustworthy to me. A risk to my life, to our lives. I will work with them but far as letting them close outside of working hours and civil roommates, I can’t. Rhodey-bear. I can’t.”
“And you don’t have to Tones,” Rhodes reassured him about not having to be less than civil to them. No trust was needed outside of the field.
“What if… what if I started to try to trust them… I am scared if I let any of them in again… it’ll be like Stane.”
That was the real big break of trust. Howard destroyed him emotionally and mentally, Stane just added to the injury.
“Then never let them get that close. If you want closure to talk to them when you are ready, not when they demand.” Reaching over, Rhodes held the genius’s wrist, “You never have let them in further than you want them to. I am always near my phone.”
Tony let out a shaky breath turning his hand to grab the colonel’s wrist, “Thank you Honeybear.
“Welcome Tones.”
In the near silence of the flight, both the men know it was one of the Rogues (Natasha) who stole his file or a really determine bastard. Extremely determine reporter. They have to wait, play it by ear.
The thought of the Rogues brought the Siberian Incident, that situation was ugly and really unnecessary for the reason that Barnes was truly not at fault because of brainwashing. Yeah, Barnes would of went through a trial, but the proof will show he was in fact tortured and brainwashed. Making him a POW, leading him to get the help he needs.
Everyone else is at fault. Rhodey doesn’t give a damn. Tony may take most (never some) if not, all of the blame, mistakes, and blame like Atlas, but Rhodey would make sure they understood how bad they fucked up. Here and now, Rhodes was not going to be easy on them. Wasn’t going to be cordial or merry with them. Civil coldness. If Tony needed another person behind him, Rhodey was going to be the person, like he has been for years and will be. They will come to learn this when the Rogues came back on American Soil.
“No planning murder gumdrop.”
“Was not.”
Tony snorted smiling more, “You have your ‘Let start a riot’ look. Or ‘plan a murder’ look.”
Rhodes spluttered in the offense, “Now, excuse me, sir. It was my ‘I am about to square up’ look.”
Laughing quietly, the billionaire grinned into his bear, “Riot look and murder look then.”
“It was for the rogues,” Rhodey spoke truthfully.
Both men felt pillows tossed at them by a now awake Potts. She smiled at them like they were adorable, “No more talking about the Rogues. We are on vacation. The Rogues don’t belong on a family vacation.”
The two men grinned at her agreeing about it. To say the Rogues haven’t truly left their minds that would be true. It was the fear of them doing something to Tony if they had the chance. Cornering the man. Making him do something he doesn’t want to do.
Tony himself knew he would probably never be ready to face the ex-teammates. He will never be ready to withstand being in the same room with them for longer than his nightmares took (45 minutes tops for the nightmares, so like 10 for the team), he would never be ready to live in the manor again either, he would never be ready. He was not sure if faking it till he made it would work when facing all that.
Those thoughts as meddlesome as they were was put away for future Tony to unpack eventually