Comfortember 2022 #16 - Shelter

Disclaimer: I am -not- a wilderness survival expert, and don't enjoy actual tent-camping. (Solidarity, Tony. My idea of "roughing it" is definitely my parents cabin with only one bathroom and no cell signal. And a generator.) I'm sure my dad and brothers could do all this stuff, but all I know I've only learned through osmosis.

Techless Wonder

"Let's review: whose idea was it to take a tech-free camping trip, Pepper? Who insisted on it, actually?"

Oh. Maybe that wasn't the right thing to say, based on his wife's murderous expression.

"Well, I didn't know there was going to be a freak thunderstorm rolling in the third night, now did I?" she growled at him, a frightening mix of angry and really stressed out. "The temperature has dropped at least 20º in the last hour, and that storm system is definitely full of at least rain, and maybe snow. I admit I was wrong; I admit defeat. Now would be a good time to use your tech, Tony. Call a suit or something. Get us out of here."

"Pep, honey. I did my very best to do exactly what you asked. I honestly don't have access to anything until Happy gets us at the pick up point tomorrow afternoon. No FRIDAY, no suit, no phone even. All we have is what's right here," he said, gesturing to their campsite.

Pepper's eyes widened as she realized how serious he was. She took a deep breath and visibly tried to relax. Because this trip was supposed to be all about relaxing. No tech, no communication, no being called back because there was an emergency with SI or with the Avengers. Her vice presidents could handle SI. Wilson and Barnes could handle the Avengers, with Rhodey as back-up. Peter and May had Morgan. This was just Pepper and Tony, being together, without any interruptions.

What a crap idea.

"Ugh." She dropped down in a camp chair, her head in her hands. "What are the chances our tent can handle a storm like that? Or the temperatures tonight?" Then more rhetorically, " Why did I think it was a good idea to hike a few hours away from civilization to set up camp?"

Tony wisely didn't answer that last question. But he'd better address the others. "Hon, our tent is for summer camping. It's really not made for it. Our sleeping bags are decent, especially zipped into one big bag, but they won't work if they're wet." He looked disgruntled. "Why didn't FRI see this storm as a possibility?"

"Did you specifically ask?"

"I thought I did. I'm sure I would have… Maybe I didn't."

"Tony, what should we do? Is it worth trying to make a run for it?" She knew that last one wasn't feasible. It would be dark in two hours, and they were unlikely to be able to outrun the storm. " Can we do anything to make this better?"

Apparently that was the right thing to say. Tony started thinking, then quickly started doing. Pepper did her best to follow his instructions and fill his requests as he relocated and remade their campsite in a flurry of activity. He asked her to disassemble the tent while he walked in a big radius around their current campsite, found a giant set of boulders that made a bit of a windfall, and re-pitched the tent with them as two of its walls. He had packed an extra tarp and some rope, so he rigged a third wall-slash-extra-overhead-rain-protection to supplement the light fly on their tent. He had Pepper gathering a bunch of dead pine boughs that he made most of a 4th "wall" with using dental floss to tie it all together. ("Who brings dental floss camping, Tony?") and he rigged a larger shovel-like hand tool (which was surprisingly effective) to dig a big trench around their tent to divert any running water.

As they stood back and looked at his creation as the first raindrops started to fall, Pepper was amazed. "Just… wow."

"You can tell me all about how amazing I am, but let's get in the tent while we're still dry, first," he said wryly.

As they squeezed past the boulder to enter their tiny haven, Pepper asked, "Tony, you don't even like camping. When did you ever learn any of that stuff?"

"Wilderness Survival Class my freshman year at MIT," he said. It sounded like an easy 'A.' It was not. But just because I don't enjoy something doesn't mean I don't know anything about it.

"What about things you do enjoy?" she said with a grin, snuggling closer and pulling him in for a kiss.

"Oh, I know much more about those. You might even call me an expert."

The surprising storm was one residents talked about for years. It dropped twice as many inches as they usually got that whole month, mixed with a little hail, even, and set a record low for July. But Tony and Pepper stayed warm and dry all night, courtesy of one random college course and a guy who was really good at problem-solving.