Au-gust Day 5: Apocalypse
Requested by @justsomeoneunordinary for an Ironwarfalcon AU! I have no idea if that’s the ship name for tony/sam/rhodey but it should be because that’s badass
Also on ao3 here
~
They touch down on an abandoned interstate outside of Cambridge and hike into the city from there. “So what are we doing here?” Sam asks, warily eyeing a group of survivors picking through an old car. Rhodey’s refused to tell him so far why it was so important they make a stop by MIT but he figures it has to be important or else they wouldn’t be here.
“We’re meeting someone,” Rhodey says absently, peering up at the apartment buildings around them like he’s trying to figure out which one he’s looking for.
“You don’t think they would have left?” Sam asks doubtfully. He kicks at an alien gun lying on the street. Dead, go figure. He doubts he could have used it even if it was working. There’s something fishy about the guns that make it so only the aliens can use them.
Rhodey shakes his head. “Not Tony. He would’ve made a stand here.”
Sam doesn’t reply but he thinks to himself, So he’s dead then. But, hey, if Rhodey wants to have hope that his friend is still alive, then Sam isn’t going to stop him. There’s been little enough of that since in the last two weeks; you gotta grab it where you can.
“This is it,” Rhodey suddenly says and darts to the side, into a building that looks like one of those nice, expensive apartments that Sam would never be able to afford in a million years, not on his paycheck.
He follows Rhodey inside, up two flights of stairs, and down a hallway that closely resembles a minefield. They step carefully, trying to avoid anything that might set off one of the traps and Sam whispers, “So this Tony…”
“He’s a Stark.”
“No shit, seriously?”
No one knows if the aliens had hit Howard and Maria Stark first because they knew that they produced weapons or if it had been unlucky coincidence that they’d been taken out in the first wave. Either way, without them and left to poor designers like Hammer, Earth had been sitting ducks for the rest of the invasion. Tony Stark disappeared from the public eye years ago. There’s been a lot of speculation about where he might be but it was kind of figured that he was dead too.
Rhodey nods and opens his mouth—
“One more step and I’ll shoot.”
They both froze. The voice was coming from behind them, disguised through a modulator, but still undeniably male.
“Hands in the air, turn around slowly.”
They turn to face the guy—short, face covered with a bandanna, holding a fully functional alien gun—who abruptly drops the weapon and cries out, “Rhodey?”
“Tones,” Rhodey breathes out and then he’s stepping forward, through the minefield to the young man, who rips off his bandanna and practically throws himself into Rhodey’s arms.
“You weren’t answering your phone,” Tony sobs, holding onto Rhodey like there’s no tomorrow.
“Lost it in the attack,” Rhodey says sheepishly.
“I was worried!”
Rhodey pets his hair soothingly. “I’m back now. Not gonna leave you behind.”
Tony pulls away and cups his cheek, searching his eyes for something. Whatever it is, he must find it because he leans up on his toes and kisses Rhodey softly. Sam looks away, giving the two of them some privacy, or at least as much as he can manage in the cramped hallway.
He hears them murmuring to each other and figures it’s just the usual lover nonsense right up until Rhodey says, “That’s Sam. He helped me here.”
Sam looks back and smiles, giving Tony a brief wave. “I saved his life a couple times.”
“And I saved yours,” Rhodey shoots back.
Tony apparently doesn’t notice the comeback because his eyes get big and wet. “You did? You saved my Honeybear?”
“Oh no,” Rhodey mutters.
The next thing Sam knows, he’s got an armful of Tony Stark kissing his cheeks.
“Thank you,” Tony whispers. “I don’t know what I’d do without him.”
“Sure,” Sam says, embarrassed by the easy affection.
Rhodey is looking out one of the windows in the hallway, watching the sun go down. “Looks like we’re stuck here tonight,” he comments. “Got a plane a couple miles away but we won’t make it before dark.”
Tony shivers and Sam can’t help but wonder if he’s run into the packs of scavengers that roam the cities at night.
“You think the plane will be okay with us leaving it there?” Sam asks.
“Should be,” Tony replies. “Cambridge isn’t as bad as Boston proper. Guess we’ll see though. Come on, I’ve got food and water in the apartment and a couple beds.”
He takes Rhodey by one hand and Sam by the other, much to his surprise, and leads them through the minefield.
