Rhodey And The Mystery Boy

Chapter 4: Cornering Tony - A bit of a New Normal

Author's Note:

Don't worry, dear shippers, this is still only Rhodey's assumptions and not the actual relationship between people. The real relationships will be explored soon enough... and they will be fun to see from Rhodey's point of view. But now, with chapter three and four, the story has a short stint of more seriousness with only little to no humour. But it is only a bit of that.

As breakfast ended, and Tony and May left for work, Rhodey stayed back and did some training exercises, hoping that he would someday be able to return to the strength he was before the accident. He tried to clear his mind and focus on his work, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Which seemed to be the new normal he was getting used to. It was remarkable how fast he adapted to this new way of living. It was simple: He was constantly thinking about Tony and his new family members... Or, well, they were not new family members, were they? Tony must have known them for months if he did not hide them from Rhodey for years. It was interesting, and scary, and unbelievable. Rhodey wondered what he could do to understand this or handle this. He would handle this, and he would take care of this. There is nothing he would not do for them. But it was hard to imagine that even a day before now, all he had was a simpler life without all of this. A life consisting of Tony, Pepper, Happy, Beck, the graves of his parents and brother, and him. It was weird. He hardly met them. Yet he would never want to go back. Rhodey did not think he ever could. Even if he woke up tomorrow and it turned out all of this was a dream and Tony had no son and no girlfriend, he would search the universe for them and make sure that Peter and May would be part of Tony's life, no matter the consequences. He did not care that FRIDAY refused to answer any of Rhodey's questions. He did not care that he had no chance to talk with Peter, Tony, or May yet. He did not care that Pepper ignored all texts Rhodey send her about the boy... He had a family he will not lose. Ever. He had lost too much in his life. TONY had lost too much in his life. Rhodey would not allow it. He would not loose another sibling, so May, Pepper and Tony would stay protected through it all. He would not loose his nephew.

Later that afternoon, Tony returned to the Compound looking tired and stressed out. He sat down at the table and started poring over some papers, muttering under his breath.

Rhodey noticed Tony's distress and asked, "Hey man, everything alright?"

Tony looked up and sighed, "It's just work stuff, Rhodey. It's always one thing after another."

Rhodey gave Tony a sympathetic look and said, "Well, if you need anything, let me know. I'm here for you."

Tony nodded, "Thanks, Rhodey. I appreciate it." Tony paused for a minute, checking the clock, before saying he needs a break and took his phone. "FRIDAY, where is Peter right now?"

"Mr Parker's location can currently be found in school. The phone tracker is fully active. Do you want me to relay a message?", FRIDAY answered efficiently and with what sounded like a hint of affection in her voice. Now, this was definitely playing along. Of course, FRIDAY would enjoy this and be fond: she cared about Tony as much as Rhodey did, and she would love Tony's son just as much, even though she still did not want to tell Rhodey that he is Tony's son. And the surname being after the boy's mother fit perfectly as well: Tony would keep the boy better hidden if there is no connection to the Stark's at all, and it seems that this tactic worked perfectly. Too perfectly, if you asked Rhodey, considering he never knew about either of them. But he had to learn to accept that. The boy was someone Tony – and Rhodey - loved very much. If not knowing about him protected him, he would deal with that. He would not allow the child to suffer or be in danger in any way. He decided that already. And he would make sure of this!

Rhodey watched as Tony texted a couple of minutes with what Rhodey knew was his son, a fond and loving expression on his face. The love was palpable, and Rhodey started to feel special to be in the same room while Tony had this expression on his face. Sure, there still was insecurity because Rhodey met the boy only now and not years earlier like he should have, but he loved that he now was able to see this: If Rhodey only now saw it, there mustn't have been a lot of people to see this look before. Pepper, Happy, May and the child only, probably.