#samrhodeytony

“This is the part of the night where I apologize for Tony being, well, himself,” he sighed.

Sam frowned. “What do you mean?”

He gestured vaguely in his direction. “Don’t let him ignoring you initially get under your skin. Once he sees someone he genuinely wants to talk to, nothing can distract him until he says ‘hello’. My best guess is that he’s aiming for Colonel Rhodes at the moment.”

“I’m sure he’ll at least smile and nod at you, Steve,” Sam laughed. “He’s coming straight for us, maybe it’s you he’s happy to see.”

Steve knew better, but chose not to comment on it. He would have to pull Tony aside later to talk to him about potential developments about HYDRA, which was the basis of most of their conversations these days. It was unfortunate, but necessary, and moreover not a suitable topic amongst polite company. “Just… heed the warning I guess.”

Tony really was coming right for them though. In fact, if someone didn’t move, he was going to crash right into Sam.

“Sam-” Steve moved to push him out of the way, but Tony changed course at the last second, and the crash was inevitable. “Oh my god!” He moved to help the two of them up from where they fell in a tangle of limbs, but his hands were swatted away.

“Jeez Rogers, give a guy some space.” Tony brushed him off as he got to his feet and offered Sam a hand. He didn’t even let go of his wrist before he pulled him into a tight hug.

A muffled “-missed you” came from where Sam’s head was tucked into Tony’s shoulder, which struck him as odd. Maybe he had misheard.

“I apologize for him, Captain, I’m afraid Tony is a bit excitable at times like these,” a new voice said.

Steve snapped to attention. “Colonel Rhodes.”

“At ease, soldier. James is fine. Seriously, I told him not to be overdramatic, but you know Tony.”

“I do,” he confirmed. “This was a bit unexpected is all.”

Rhodes sighed. “Tony, unless you want to be responsible for Roger’s death via stroke, I suggest you let Sam go.”

“But Rhodey, it’s Sam,” Tony whined as he pulled away from the man in question. “We missed Sam.”

“I missed you too, dumbass,” Sam said as he ruffled Tony’s hair.

He squawked and moved back towards Rhodes. “You traitor. First it takes Steve Rogers and the Adventure of the International Super Assassin to get you to come visit me, then you mess up my hair? I’m hurt, angel, really.”

“You’ve been a little busy, Tones,” Rhodey mentioned futilely.

“Still!”

“If anything, I’m betrayed that it took someone below my rank to bring you back to me. After everything we went through?”

“You were also a little busy, Rhodey,” Sam pointed out with a smile that spoke of familiarity.

Rhodes rolled his eyes. “Well, we have you back now, and that’s what matters. C’mere.” He pulled Sam into a hug, which only confused Steve more. The only person Rhodes seemed to be affectionate with was Tony and occasionally Pepper.

He cleared his throat. “Not that this isn’t heartwarming, but what’s going on?”

Tony quirked an eyebrow at Steve. “We’ve met before,” he said, nodding towards Sam.

“Yep, I got that. How though?”

“I gave you my resume, Steve. Didn’t you read it?”

“Yes, your combat record was impressive, as is your ability to use the wings. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Did you look into the wings, like, at all?”

“I helped you break them out of a sealed government facility.”

“Oh my god, you really didn’t look at the details of the wings.”

“Greatest tactical mind of the 20th century,” Tony sighed. “Damn shame.”

“What?” Steve asked.

“I built those wings, Capsicle. Those are StarkTech from my military contract days. Seriously, did it not once occur to you to look at the manufacturer?” Tony asked.

“I mean, I didn’t really think-”

“Clearly. Who else other than your resident, stark raving mad genius- pun totally intended- would have had the idea for a whole pair of functional wings to be used in the field?” He shook his head. “Speaking of,” he turned back to Sam, “I know being on the ground is all well and good, but after I saw the footage of the soldier clipping your wings, I made some adjustments to the old design and built you a new set. How do you feel about drones?”

“Drones?”

“Well, a drone. Cameras, coms, short range stun feature, whatever else you want, all attached to your wing pack.”

“I tried to make sure he didn’t go overboard,” Rhodey said.

Sam patted his shoulder sympathetically. “I know, it’s okay. I’m not opposed, and I do miss my wings, so not all of it was in vain.”

Tony’s mood brightened. “Yes! You should come around in the next few days and we can refit you for them.”

“Can do,” Sam assured him.

“Back up,” Steve said. “You built the original wings?”

He rolled his eyes. “We covered this already, yes. I got bored, wanted to see if I could, so I did. Any questions?”

“I didn’t think you got to be involved with your tech after it was in the military’s hands.”

Rhodey nodded. “Sure, that’s where I usually took over, but after Tony threatened to zip himself into my suitcase when I was going to meet Sam and Riley to train them and go over the mechanics plus all the bells and whistles, Obadiah didn’t fight him on coming along to work with them.”

“I wanted to see my baby in action, Steve. I’m a bit of a narcissist, don’t you know,” Tony clucked. “Sam and Riley were just icing on the cake.”

Sam shook his head. “I thought he was a nut job, which he is, but at least now I know he typically has good intentions.”

“So we kept in contact,” Tony said, ignoring Sam’s jabbing. “Whenever I got time away from SI, I’d come help with maintenance and repairs. Then Riley-” he looked at Sam guiltily.

“It wasn’t your fault Tones,” Sam said softly. “You know that.”

“I could have done better,” Tony insisted. “Anyways, after the funeral, I threw myself into my work, invented Jericho on another whim, but instead of being happy-go-lucky and optimistic about inventing, I was angry at things I couldn’t control and things got out of hand.”

“You shut everyone out, Tony,” Sam scolded. “I thought you went off the deep end.”

Rhodey nodded. “That’s not too far off. It was ugly for a while, then Iron Man happened, and well, you know the rest.”

“We’re here now aren’t we? Jesus, we’re supposed to be celebrating. You can fill us in on all your escapades related to Robocop later, Spangles.” He clapped Sam and Rhodey on the back and started to lead them away to somewhere else. “There’s an open bar and plenty of old timers like you here. We’ve got some catching up to do, so please feel free to leave us alone.”

As they walked away, Sam let out a full bellied laugh at something Tony said. Thankfully, Steve spotted Nat and Banner over by the bar, so he wouldn’t be completely without company.

~~~

Tony did find him again later, but Steve wasn’t so sure it was on purpose. He slid into the place Natasha had been standing moments before and started mixing a few drinks, before lightly breaking the tense atmosphere between them.

“Sorry I kinda stole your friend back there. It’s just-”

Steve waved him off. “No need to apologize, I’m more shocked that he didn’t say anything about knowing you.”

“Discretion was key with that project,” Tony shrugged. “I wasn’t even supposed to be there.”

“Those for them?” he asked, motioning to the drinks in an attempt to redirect the conversation.

He chanced a look at the two men, a glimmer of something Steve thought he recognized in his eyes. “Yeah, I wanted to give them a minute.”

They lapsed into a comfortable silence with the only sounds coming from the clinking of the ice in the glasses.

“So,” Steve started carefully, “Air Force pilots?”

Tony stirred the last of the drinks before finding a tray under the counter to carry them on. He hummed the affirmative. “Less dangerous than your Russian assassins. How’s Natasha by the way? Make any headway with Barnes?”

“On second thought, I think I’m gonna go find Thor,” Steve said.

“That’s fair,” Tony conceded as he got up to leave. “Oh, and Steve?”

“Yeah?”

“She likes hydrangeas, green tea, and those weird dumplings from that place over on 13th. Don’t give me an excuse to test my repulsors on your suit while you’re wearing it.”

Steve laughed. “Thanks Tony, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Not a problem, Cap. Stick around after the party, alright? And I promise to have Sammy home by midnight.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Stark.”

He rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine, you’ll be allowed to have him back eventually. See if Thor can’t get you drunk or something and we’ll talk later.”

“Alright. Don’t cause too much trouble.”