Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise.
Challenges Listed at the Bottom
Word Count: 1789
Notes - Set in a world that is post Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, where dinosaurs are loose in America. Hints of TonyRhodey, and Tony&Clint broship.
Less Allosaurus, More Bulbasaur
"Remind me again why we're doing this?" Rhodey asked as he closed the back of the pick up truck.
Tony grinned at him. "Adventure!"
"There are literal dinosaurs out there waiting to eat us, and you don't even want to take the suits."
"Seems a bit of a cop out to take them," Tony replied, shrugging. "What chance have the dino's got if we're in metal suits and can just fly out of the way."
"What I'm hearing right now if that you're on a passive suicide trip and want to take me along for the ride."
Tony snorted. "Fine, you spoil sport, we can take the armours with us. The suitcase ones, they can just go in the back seat."
"Your memory worries me," Rhodey said, shaking his head. "My suit never—"
Tony produced two brand new suit suitcases, one in his standard red and gold, and a second in silver and—
"Why does my suit have periwinkle on it?"
Grinning, Tony put the cases in the back of the care. "I thought you could use a little colour in your life, and nothing says sparkle like periwinkle, right?"
Rhodey looked at the sky. "Why did I do this to myself?"
"Room for one more?"
Tony and Rhodey turned around to see Clint standing a little awkwardly by the back of the truck, a large travel bag slung over one shoulder.
Tony tilted his head, and Rhodey was already considering crying, because Tony and Clint together were the worst kind of partners in crime, and they were all going to die.
"You'll be stuck in the back," Tony pointed to the fairly cramped back seat, and Clint shrugged, so Tony nodded. "Hop in then. We're leaving in five."
"I regret everything," Rhodey muttered.
…
"Can we stop to stretch?" Clint asked.
They'd been on the road for about five hours, and Tony was more than ready for a break from driving, so he nodded and pulled over to the side of the road. They'd been on the same stretch for what felt like forever.
Rhodey got out first, checking the area. It was practically desert, but without the heat, but the lack of places for things to hide did make him feel a little better. At least if there were any loose dinosaurs roaming the area, they'd have plenty of warning to get the hell out of there.
Tony and Clint followed him out, and Rhodey watched Tony's luxurious stretch, the skin around his waist on show as his t-shirt lifted up.
God but the man was attractive.
Shaking the thought away—as he'd done for so many years—he watched with a frown as Clint searched through his bag for a moment, only to make a triumphant noise as he pulled something out.
Tony snorted when he saw what it was.
Rhodey just blinked in confusion. "Why are you carrying a floatie around in your bag?"
"Thought we could use it to play catch or something," Clint replied with a shrug.
"As opposed to bringing a ball. Right. Fully understandable."
Laughing, Tony hopped up onto the lowered back of the truck. Rhodey walked around to join him, while Clint stayed back, so they could throw the floatie back and forth.
It passed a little time, and gave Tony time to decompress from the driving, but as Rhodey set his sights on the setting sun, he knew he had to ruin the fun.
"We should get going, Tones. Need to hit the first town before nightfall. Want me to drive the last bit?"
"Sure Sour-Patch," Tony agreed, handing the keys over. He climbed into the passenger seat, while Clint got back into the back.
Rhodey put the key in the engine and turned, only for the car to stutter and die. He tried it again, and then a third time, only for it to die each time.
Tony climbed out and lifted the hood, checking around the engine and then he sighed. Rhodey leant out of the window to listen to him.
"I can probably bodge this up to the next town," Tony said slowly. "But it's going to take a while, and it's getting dark."
"Yay camp out!" Clint cheered, and Rhodey shook his head.
"We have the suits, one of us can carry Clint to the next town, and we'll come and deal with the car in the morning."
"Honeybear, we'll be okay. We have the tents with us, and if anything does show up, we have the suits."
Rhodey got out of the car and rounded to where Tony stood. "You know I just want to keep you safe, right?"
"Of course I do," Tony replied, patting his arm gently. "But we'll be fine out here. Adventure right?"
Tony's confidence bolstered Rhodey just a little and he sighed. "Alright. Come on you little pest, help me put the tent up. We can all stay in the same one, just to be sure, okay."
Tony nodded. "Sure."
…
As the night wore on and the sky darkened, Tony stole one of Rhodey's hoodies, and snuggled up beside him in the opening of the tent.
"We should take the suits for a spin," Clint suggested, a playful glint in his dark green eyes.
"You're not getting your hands on them suits," Tony said, wrinkling his nose. "I trust you as far as I can throw you, and I don't even think I can lift you."
"Rude," Clint complained. "I thought I was your amigo, Tones."
"You are. That doesn't mean I'm gonna let you anywhere near my suit."
They chatted for a while, shooting the breeze as they skipped from subject to subject. Rhodey always loved getting Tony away from the hustle and bustle of New York; he let his masks down when he wasn't there, and it was always a wonderful thing to be a part of.
To know that Tony trusted them enough to let his guard down was a precious thing, and Rhodey wondered if Clint realised as much.
Tony was getting heavier against Rhodey's side, and he glanced down to see that he was falling asleep, his head tucked against Rhodey's neck.
Glancing up at Clint, Rhodey saw him looking at Tony with a soft look in his eyes, and he thought that maybe the archer did know exactly how rare it was to get to know the real Tony.
…
They'd hunkered down for the night, and Rhodey was drifting in and out of a doze, never fully letting himself sleep.
There was a rustle outside of the tent that forced his eyes open, and he stayed still, listening.
There was definitely something out there.
He woke Tony gently, and then left him to wake Clint as he edged slowly towards the flap of the tent. Undoing it was the slowest process, and by the time Rhodey had done it, both Tony and Clint were crouched behind him, alert for whatever they were about to face.
Rhodey crawled out first, rounding the tent to the side closest to the car, and perhaps more importantly, closest to the suits that were still in the truck.
Tony followed him, but Clint stood up, looking to see what had been making the noise.
"Fuckadoodle doo," he said, whistling.
The dinosaur, an allosaurus, Rhodey thought, perked it's head up. Sneaking forgotten, Rhodey swore softly as the dinosaur sniffed the air and looked right at Clint.
Rhodey made it to the car and got the back door open, pulling out the silver case and dropping it to the floor, flipping it open.
The suit folded around him as Tony did the same thing. Clint, meanwhile, was running as far and as fast as he could with the allosaurus right on his tail.
Rhodey was up in the air and shooting towards him when he saw Clint fall over, tripping over what was presumably a rock embedded in the ground.
"Get Clint," he called to Tony, who was right behind him, and instead, Rhodey flew directly at the dinosaur, shooting at its tail with the repulsors in his hand.
The allosaurus let out a terrifying roar and turned its attention from Clint, who was sprawled on the ground, to Rhodey, who was taunting it away with the suit. He left Tony to rescue Clint and led the allosaurus away from them, using his repulsors every time the allosaurus seemed to turn it's attention back the way they were camped.
He didn't particularly want to hurt the dinosaur, but he'd also do anything to make sure Tony was safe, no matter what.
Eventually, he managed to get behind the dinosaur and shot the ground rapidly by its feet to chase it off properly.
When he turned back, it was to see Tony hovering behind him, the faceplate dropped as he watched Rhodey.
"Clint okay?" Rhodey asked, flying up to meet Tony.
The genius was pale and looked terrified, but he nodded woodenly.
"Come on, Tones, let's get back to the car."
…
"Thought that was going to be the end of me," Clint admitted later, only Tony had bodged the car using the light from Rhodey's suit, and they were on the road again.
Tony had been pretty silent, and Rhodey was a little worried he was in shock.
"You okay?" he asked, glancing at him.
Tony nodded and then looked at Tony. "I didn't know where you were. That was what… it was because I didn't know where you were."
Rhodey just nodded, nudging Tony's leg with his hand. "Didn't I tell you that I'll always come back to you, just the way you tell me?"
"Doesn't mean I like it when you test it," Tony muttered. "Suppose this is some sort of justice for the amount of times I scare you though, hmm?"
Rhodey just snorted.
…
They made it to the next town in good time, and after speaking to an unbelievably pompous man, who'd seemed quite offended by the idea of strangers travelling through his town, they found a hotel that had vacancies.
Tony booked a room for a few days, saying it would likely take that long to make sure the truck was safe, and they all flopped onto their beds. Tony and Rhodey were sharing a double, and Clint took the other bed.
"I know I said I wanted an adventure, but Jesus," Tony muttered, rolling over on the bed to tuck himself up against Rhodey's side. "You okay, Clint?"
"I'm good, Tones. Could do with less Allosauruses and more Bulbasaurs, though."
Tony snorted, and Rhodey laughed, because Clint was an idiot, but he was a good idiot who knew how to make Tony smile.
"Sleep, Tones. I got you."
Tony smiled. "You always do."
Written for:
Bromance to Romance: 1. Partners in crime
Written in the Stars: 5. Pompous
Showtime: 5. Humor
Film Festival: 29. Car or transport breaks down
Lizzy's Loft: 17. Set my sights on the setting sun
Elizabeth's Empire: 9. Confident
Angel's Archive: 14. Dark Green
Amber's Anime Adventure: 6. Periwinkle
They Said What?: 16. "I trust you as far as I can throw you, and I don't even think I can lift you."
Lyric Alley: 5. Thought it would be the end of me
Hobby Hole: 5. Floatie
Artist Appreciation: 10. Write about someone dropping their masks in safe company.
Resolution Evolution: 5. Adventure
Buttons: A2. Falling over
Auction: Day 15, Auction 4: Dinosaurs
365: 38. Justice