#rhodeybruce

They looked like your average rock band. Tony styled his hair in a fauxhawk, used a shiny black kohl, and contoured his face so that his cheekbones stuck out. He had no tattoos and once confided to Buzzfeed that he’s afraid of needles. Steve is a short, skinny man with shaggy blonde hair that falls over one eye. Like Tony, he doesn’t have tattoos, but he wears a lot of leather. Thor is a huge bulking man with long blonde hair, a big beard, and tattoos covering his chest and shoulders. Each one had a meaning, and he explained them all in a Rolling Stone article. Natasha was a pale woman with naturally bright red hair that is always in a tightly curled bob. Her makeup was always flawless, and she has a dainty red rose tattooed on her left bicep. There were rumors she had another one somewhere else, but she never answered when asked. Bucky was muscular, not as big as Thor, and often played shirtless. He had a full sleeve of tattoos on his left arm. When asked about them, he told them he wanted to piss off his parents. “It worked.” He grinned. Bruce was a short man with curly hair who looked like he should be anywhere but a rock stage. Rhodey was a black man with close cut hair. He often wore suits that fit his figure nicely. Clint? Clint was the resident dumpster fire. When Tony brought him on stage, he often had on a pair of cutoff sweatpants shorts and a purple tank. He never didn’t have a band aid somewhere on his body.

Every night, Tony would bring everyone out on stage and introduce them. There would be some witty banter back and forth, and anyone watching could tell that they were a family. After backstage and tour videos surfaced, fans were excited. They saw what they thought to be the true personalities of all the members. As it happens in every fandom, the shipping started. Fans would make edits, write fanfiction, and make art of either self-insert or member x member material.

 Fans speculated if any of them were actually dating. Some saw the camaraderie between Steve and Bucky and created a ship named “Stucky.” Some thought Steve was dating Thor. Natasha seemed the most closed off of them all. Fans speculated her sexuality and shipped her with anyone and everyone. As most fandoms go, things got a little out of hand.

 The one ship that seemed to be the biggest, due to the dynamic of the two, was called “Winteriron.” Tony and Bucky were often seen together, flirted heavily during interviews, and often had social media twitter wars. No one was surprised when, one night, after a song, Tony ran back to the drums and kissed Bucky. “That’s my Jamie,” he said and winked. The crowd goes wild. The next morning, they came out to the press.

 Everything was going great, the band was high in the charts, and things were looking up when suddenly, the band put out a statement that they were breaking up. They apologized to all fans, reimbursed tickets, and said not to hope for their return. Rumors as to why they split |surface everywhere. The only things the fans know are the following: 1.) Tony starts dating Tiberius Stone. They both post thirst traps of Tony everywhere, often boasting of threesomes they have with famous celebrities, both male and female.  2.) Steve is on record for calling Tony a “cheap whore with no regard for anyone else. 3.) Bucky basically disappeared from all social media. His publicist would add a few photos to his Instagram account, but everyone knew it was not him.  4.) Rhodey would not speak up about the split. The only thing he said was “they knew what they wanted”. The others would not answer any questions about the band. When asked, Tony had snorted and asked. “Oh honey, why would I care? It’s dead. Leave it there.” Stone had placed a hand on Tony’s forearm and led him away. The band died as quickly as it had arrived.

Bruce played rock. So did Rhodey.

Bruce played rock again. So did Rhodey.

'This is getting ridiculous,' Bruce muttered as they drew again. And again. Both of them refused to play anything other than rock, and after ten games they gave up.

'You stubborn bastard,' Rhodey laughed. 'I’ve always liked that about you. Fine. You know what? This is a stalemate.'

Bruce rolled his eyes. 'So neither of us use it?'

There was a glint in Rhodey's eye. 'No. We both use it.'

A moment passed between them. Rhodey's eyebrows raised in challenge, daring Bruce to call his bluff. If it even was a bluff.

'You're joking,' Bruce said cautiously.

'It's gonna get cold, and I'm not staying up all night arguing.' He crawled over to the sleeping bag and unrolled it. 'Come on. It'll be cosy.'

This was such a bad idea. But Bruce's resolve was weakened after hours spent by the campfire in Rhodey's company.

So when Rhodey climbed into the sleeping bag, Bruce took off his shoes and got in beside him. The bag was quite roomy, so it still zipped up all the way.

In hindsight, it would have made more sense for two platonic friends to sleep facing away from each other, back-to-back. But instead they ended up facing the same direction, with Bruce's back pressed against Rhodey's chest.

In the dark, Bruce felt himself blushing. 'Uh, is this okay?'

Rhodey cleared his throat. 'Yeah, this is fine.'

They lay awkwardly for a while, and the only sounds to be heard were their quiet breathing and the hooting of a distant owl.

Gradually, Bruce felt himself relaxing. It had been years since he'd fallen asleep next to someone, and the warm, reassuring presence at his back was remarkably calming.

Bruce had the Hulk, and he didn’t need protecting. But with Rhodey here, he felt… safe.

An arm wriggled free and draped loosely over his side, outside of the sleeping bag. 'This okay?' asked Rhodey, voice slurred with sleep. 'My arm's going numb in here.'

Bruce was almost asleep himself, so his only response was a happy sigh and to snuggle a little closer.

Rhodey chuckled. 'I'll take that as a yes.' His breath paused, as if he was about to say something. Instead, a hand gently patted Bruce's side. 'Night, Bruce.'