The next day, Tess was hanging out with Tony and Rhodey in the lab. Pepper was testing some repairs to the Rescue armor that Tony had made (because of course Tony was extra-cautious with her and her armor). Rhodey and Tess were sitting back, watching Tony obsess over nothing because he still wasn't quite used to her having a suit; teasing him while he wasn't paying attention.

"Is he always this much of a worry wart?" Tess asked with a smile on his face.

"Oh, only when it comes to Pepper. It's not even this bad when he worries about his dad…and that's saying something." Rhodey responded.

"Geez. He really cares about her. Isn't he annoyed by all his constant worrying?"

"Oh you know it. But he makes up for it with everything else he does for her. Besides, she knows it's only because he cares." Rhodey explained. The two were silent for a moment before Tess's curiosity got the best of her, and she spoke up.

"Why…why do you think they set us up alone at the airport the other day? J-just, you know, wondering." Tess asked shyly. Her question caused both of them to go quiet again, bright red blushes on each person's cheeks.

"I-I dunno, maybe it was just another one of their pranks. They have been pulling a few lately."

"But how funny is it to leave two people alone together? The last time anyone did that would be us with those two last year, and that was to get them together." Tess explained. Her statement caused the two to become severely silent, as well as their blushes darkening.

Tony, having heard the conversation going on behind him, smirked at the computer screen as he hatched another idea.

"Hang on Pep, I'm gonna suit up. I'll explain when I get over there." Tony said. Pepper sighed, thinking it was more of his overprotective behavior. Once Tony was armored up and flying her way, he connected with her comm. Systems.

"So why did you armor up?" She asked.

"Oh, Rhodey and Tess got awkward because they're being the way we used to be before we were dating." Tony explained. "So I decided to give them some more alone time."

"Aw, you're just so thoughtful aren't you?" Pepper teased with a smile. Tony found her and the two decided to mess around a little.

Back at the lab, Rhodey and Tess noticed Tony quickly armor up and leave, making their awkward encounter even more awkward. Neither knew what to do, or what to say.

"Do you think…" Tess began, instead pausing to re-gather the courage to ask such a simple yet complicated question.

"Do you think that maybe…I don't know, maybe…they're trying to set us up?" Tess asked. The two immediately became silent.

"Pfft, no way!" Rhodey scoffed, causing Tess to join in. Their fake disbelief in the theory seemed to relieve the tension Tess's question had created between them; although with Tony and Pepper scheming constantly, it wouldn't last long, and Rhodey and Tess both knew it.

The trick was admitting they knew.

~…~

Tony and Pepper, after having patrolled the city for a while, decided to take a seat on the roof of Stark Tower and relax while they deviously left their friends alone.

"So do you think they're actually doing anything right now?" Pepper asked curiously.

"Naw, probably not. By this point, Rhodey's probably just realizing he likes Tess but too nervous to do anything about it. He may have pushed at us getting together, but when it comes to his own relationships, he gets shy." Tony explained.

"Eh, Tess has never been in a real relationship before anyways." Pepper responded. "She's had one week flings with guys, but after the week was up she would realize she doesn't like him and move on. But I think she's really going to like Rhodey. Only one thing is bothering me, though…"

"What's that?" Tony asked.

"The long-distance thing. Tess lives in West Virginia. Even if they do start dating, how are they going to make a long-distance thing work?" Pepper asked worriedly.

"They'll find a way," Tony said. "There's always a way."

And with that, the two decided to stop torturing their friends and return to the lab so they could hang out for the rest of the night.

K so, I'm gonna level with you guys here. I don't really know what to do with this story so I'm basically making it up as I go along. So yeah, that means expect a lot of short chapters like these. There's not going to be any other plotline developing besides Rhodey and Tess's relationship…so yeeahh…review?