Tony's mug was half empty by the time they reached his workroom. Rhodey hadn't said a word since Martha left them alone in the kitchen and, in Tony's experience, the silence was always worse than the lectures. At least with his work in front of him, Tony could distract his mind. Tony set his coffee aside. "J.A.R.V.I.S."
"Yes sir?" the AI responded.
"Bring up the project I was working on last night."
"Right away, sir."
As the display sprang to life in a bright flash of light, Tony scanned his progress quickly, trying to decide what his next step should be. Turning to reach for his mug, he caught a glimpse of Rhodey from the corner of his eye.
Rhodey stood nearby with his back turned away from the door, arms crossed with one hand covering the lower half of his face. His eyes watched Tony intently. Tony caught his eye briefly and Rhodey lowered his hand to speak. 'Here we go,' Tony thought as he took another huge gulp of coffee and returned his eyes to his work.
"Are you going to tell me what you're doing?"
Tony lowered his mug and made a minor adjustment to his blueprints. "That depends. Are you asked as Rhodey or as Colonel Rhodes?"
"Who is she?" Rhodey asked, cutting right to the chase.
"I told you. She's my doctor."
Rhodey's expression was one of pure skepticism. "Your therapist?"
"In a manner of speaking," Tony repeated his answer from before as he returned his blueprint back to its original state and made a different adjustment. "It's not her area of expertise, but there's a new form of therapy we're trying. It's something experimental."
"You're sleeping with her." It wasn't a question and yet it wasn't an accusation either. It was a simple statement of fact. One that Tony saw no point in denying.
"Yes," he answered, turning to face Rhodey. "But only in the literal sense. There's a strict no sex clause in our agreement."
Rhodey's posture relaxed. "I know she's not having sex with you. The head scarf is dead giveaway."
Tony smirked, suddenly feeling more at ease. "Yea, I asked about that and she said it was complicated."
"Trust me. I grew up with a mom and sisters and I can't even make sense of it all," Rhodey confessed. The two of them shared a quick laugh, but as the silence took over, Rhodey's serious expression returned. "Real talk. Who is she, Tony? Where did she come from? How did you meet her?"
"Who is she? Dr. Martha Jones. Where did she come from? The accent would indicate England," Tony answered, earning an eye roll from Rhodey. "As for where we met…" He lifted his cup to take another sip of coffee. "I met her at church."
"You met her at church? You?"
Tony shrugged. "I hear that's where you go to meet nice girls, but I have to admit that sounds a bit exclusive. I should probably hit up a few mosques and synagogues to cover my bases. Maybe a temple or two."
Rhodey sighed in exasperation. It was a sound that was a familiar to Tony as Martha's amused huff was becoming. Tony called him his best friend but in truth their bond ran deeper than that. Rhodey was like his older brother. He was always looking out for him and coming to his rescue. More often than not, that meant saving Tony from himself.
Tony's thoughts drifted back to a moment during their MIT days. He had always been well known around campus. Besides the fact that he was Howard Stark's son and a child prodigy, Tony also had a tendency to write checks with his mouth that his ass couldn't cash. Rhodey had stopped him from getting his head bashed in on more than one occasion.
"You know, for a genius you never seem to use your head," Rhodey told him back then.
"It's a good thing I have you to watch my back then," Tony retorted. And he did have his back. Both then and now.
"Tony…talk to me," Rhodey pleaded. "I'm worried about you. Bruce is obviously worried about you. Pepper…"
"Pepper?" Tony cut him off. "You told Pepper?" He exhaled sharply. "What's next? Are you going to tell me that S.H.I.E.L.D. knows as well? Is Fury interested in who's sleeping in my bed?"
Rhodey folded his arms again. "I can't say that he'd be interested on a personal level, but you are still on his radar. And if Pepper ever lets it slip to Maria Hill, then it's only a matter of time before Fury finds out as well."
"What are you governing my life by committee now?"
"They say it takes a village to raise a child," Rhodey quipped.
Tony exhaled sharply. "Is there nothing sacred anymore? A man can't even have a breakdown in the privacy of his own tower?"
Rhodey latched onto that. "Is that's what happening? Are you having a breakdown?"
Tony took a deep breath and let it out slowly. As he drained the last of his coffee from his mug, he wished he had some scotch to refill it with, but his promise to Martha was deterring him for the moment. He looked at Rhodey again, but didn't meet his eyes.
"I tried it your way," he began. "There was a meeting at a church in Hell's Kitchen for trauma survivors. I went. I sat. I listen, but I didn't share. It didn't feel right. So I started to leave, but before I could get out the door, I met Martha." He ran a hand through his hair. "She said she understood what I was going through and she thought we could help each other. So here we are," he finished with a shrug.
"Okay, but what do you actually know about her?"
"Not nearly enough, but I know I can trust her."
"How?" Rhodey demanded. "You just said yourself that you barely know her."
"Because I just do," Tony answered quickly. "Look…I'm not going into this blind. I've learned my lesson. The closer you let people get the easier it is for them to stab you in the back. I get it. I even did a background check on her."
"And?" Rhodey pressed.
"You ever hear of UNIT?"
The question drew Rhodey up short. "UNIT? She's military?"
"Chief medical officer," Tony replied. "She also knows a thing or two about alien invasions." He paused, trying to decide how much of Martha's story he should share. "She's been through a lot, Rhodey," he continued after a long pause. "I'm talking end of the world bad and she's got the scars to prove it. But despite all of that, she's…hopeful and she thinks that we can help each other."
Rhodey nodded slowly. "And what do you think?"
Tony exhaled through his nose. "I want to believe it," he confessed. "I mean the cuddling is nice and I do seem to sleep better when she's around."
Rhodey quirked a brow. "Are you into her?"
"What?" Tony scoffed. "No. I mean, yeah, she hot. And she's funny. She's smart. Her accent is one of the more bearable British ones. She smells nice…"
"I'm sorry," Rhodey interrupted. "Weren't you supposed to be convincing how much you're not into her?"
Tony exhaled sharply. "Martha and I are friends, alright? Nothing more and nothing less."
"A friend that you cuddle up with?"
"Only because you're always playing hard to get, honey bear." Tony moved towards him with open arms. "Come on. Bring it in. Give daddy some love."
Rhodey shook his head but allowed Tony to pull him into a tight embrace all the same. "Don't shut me out, okay?" he requested over Tony's shoulder. "You're not alone. I love you, brother. You don't have to suffer in silence."
Tony pulled back. "I'd prefer not to suffer at all."
"And I'd prefer to have a pretty doctor in my arms every night too, but we can't always get what we want."
"She's got a sister," Tony offered with a shrug. "Granted, I know even less about her than I know about Martha but she is pretty. J.A.R.V.I.S., can pull up a picture of Martha's sister from Facebook or Instagram or something?"
"Right away, sir," the AI responded.
"I can find my own dates," Rhodey retorted, moving to leave.
"Just putting it out there," Tony insisted as he returned his attention back to his blueprints.
Rhodey paused at the door. "Don't forget what I said."
Tony kept his eyes on the display but nodded slowly. "Thanks."
"You know I'd do anything for you, Tony. All you gotta do is ask."
Tony nodded again. He waited a little while until he was sure that Rhodey was gone before he hazarded a glance over his shoulder. Once he knew he was alone, he exhaled slowly and leaned against his workbench.
"Sir?" J.A.R.V.I.S. cut in breaking Tony from his thoughts. "Do you still want me to display the results of the image search for Letitia Jones?"
Tony briefly thought about spamming Rhodey's email with photos of Tish, but decided against it. "No. Just get Martha on the line."
"Calling Dr. Jones," J.A.R.V.I.S. announced. Tony made a handful of quick adjustments to his designs while he waited for the call to connect.
"I'm not even back to my flat and you're already ringing me up?" Martha asked with an amused huff once J.A.R.V.I.S. put her through. "Have you always been this clingy?"
"Only with the ones that matter," Tony answered absently while making more changes to the blueprints. "Are you free tonight?"
"Your place or mine?"
"Yours," Tony said quickly, thinking of Rhodey and Bruce's surprise appearances. "Oddly enough, you seem to have better security."
"Alright, but it's your turn to cook breakfast."
Tony smiled to himself. "I'll bring the strawberries."
