Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.
Challenges listed at the bottom.
Word Count: 952
Pairing: TonyRhodey
Waiting On You
The subject of Tony's soulmate had become something of a puzzle for the Avengers. Even Natasha didn't know who it was, and the others knew it was frustrating her to have to admit that.
When they'd all first moved into Stark Tower—now the Avengers Tower—they'd all been under the impression that they would spend many mornings dodging or entertaining Tony's one night stands.
Except… that didn't happen.
When Steve had finally got up the courage to ask Tony about it, he'd scoffed and told him that he shouldn't believe everything he read in the papers. Tony had slept with one person—and only one—for most of his life, and he was quite happy with that thank you very much.
Of course, the other Avengers had stared wide-eyed and shocked when Tony had said that, and Clint had asked the obvious question.
"Is it your soulmate?"
"I met my soulmate when I was fourteen," Tony had told them, smiling cheerfully. "And I've never regretted it since."
But then he hadn't told them who it was. He'd only smiled mysteriously and turned his attention back to his Stark Pad.
So… a puzzle.
…
"How much sugar have you had, Jesus Tony, take it down a notch," Nat said, shaking her head as she looked over at the hyperactive genius.
Tony ignored her, because he was allowed to be happy dammit. His honeybear was on his way and Tony hadn't seen him for almost three months. Of course he was excited!
The clock was ticking closer to midnight, but Tony knew Rhodey would make it before Christmas. He'd promised after all.
"It's almost Christmas, Nat," Clint said, completely misunderstanding the cause for Tony's happiness. "Give him a break."
Tony's phone dinged exactly as the clock hit eleven pm, and he yelped when he saw the text on it, quickly getting up to check his hair in the mirror.
Steve and Bruce exchanged a look, just as the elevator door slid open to reveal Colonel Rhodes. Tony squealed.
That was the only word for it, as he pounced on Rhodey, who swept him up with the ease of a man who was expecting such an exuberant greeting. In his excitement, Tony had knocked Rhodey's hat off onto the floor, but neither man paid it any notice.
"I thought you'd be waiting for me on your floor, you little pest," Rhodey said, holding Tony with ease as he made his way to the sofas where the team were all spread out, watching on with interest.
"It's Christmas Eve, Honeybear, you didn't really want me to be all on my lonesome, did you?"
Rhodey snorted, rolling his eyes as he sat down in the seat Tony had vacated, Tony arranging himself on Rhodey's lap. Rhodey cuddled him close and then greeted the team with smiles and nods.
"We weren't expecting you, Colonel," Steve said, smiling.
"This little pest was," Rhodey replied, rolling his eyes.
"Ohhh," Clint said. "That's why you've been bouncing like a kid on a sugar high?"
Tony grinned. "Little bit."
Rhodey shook his head but chuckled fondly, running his hand through Tony's hair. "You were excited, huh?"
"Are you telling me you weren't?" Tony asked, mock affronted.
"Of course I'm not. And you have me for a whole two weeks."
Tony blinked. "For real?"
"For real. Barring any world wide disasters, I'm on stand-down."
The smile on Tony's face wasn't one any of the Avengers had ever seen before, and Steve couldn't take his eyes away. Tony looked younger, and he just looked so happy.
Puzzle pieces seemed to arrange themselves in Steve's head, and suddenly he knew with certainty that, "Oh. You're soulmates."
Tony smiled over at Steve, and Rhodey nodded, though he bopped Tony on the nose. "So this is why you were down here. You wanted them to figure it out."
Tony nuzzled his face against Rhodey's neck and didn't reply, but it was obvious that Rhodey was correct. Tony had wanted to tell them, but he and Rhodes had kept themselves so private since they were still teenagers that he hadn't been able to bring himself to just… say it.
"So, have you been good while I've been away?" Rhodey asked quietly.
Tony snorted. "I've been very good. What about you, sour patch? Are you naughty or nice?"
"Always naughty, always nice, you know this," Rhodey said, chuckling when Tony wrinkled his nose.
He laughed harder when Tony turned to the others and said, "It's been great, but I haven't seen my boobear in three months so… we're going to bed. Night guys."
When it became obvious that Tony wasn't going to actually let go of Rhodey long enough to stand, Rhodey rolled his eyes and stood up with Tony clutching at him like a koala. It was practically muscle memory at this point to just walk with Tony clinging on, and Rhodey waved as the Avengers all called their goodnights.
Steve smirked as the elevator closed on the soulmates, taking them off to the privacy of Tony's floor, and turned to his teammates. "Puzzle solved, I guess."
"I can't believe it was that obvious," Natasha said, shaking her head, but there was a small smile on her face.
"Have you ever seen Tony that happy?" Clint asked, still looking at the elevator. "I mean, he laughs and jokes and smiles with us but that was…"
"Something else," Steve agreed. "It's a good look on him though. It's nice to see him so happy."
Bruce just straightened his glasses and said, "I'm just really glad he didn't skimp on the soundproofing."
The Avengers exchanged looks and then as one, they all burst out laughing.
It was going to be a good Christmas.
Written for:
Record Collection: 29. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town: "Are you naughty or nice?"
Elizabeth's Empire: 7. Cuddling
Bex's Basement: 12. Chinese Puzzle Maze: Write about someone solving a puzzle
Angel's Archive: 9. A Nightmare Before Christmas - (scenario) Character A wanting something different and doing something to achieve it
Film Festival: 14. Hat
Snow Globe Maker: 26. Pensieve: (word) Memory
Naughty Or Nice: Nice: 6. (setting) 11 PM on Christmas Eve
12 Days of Shipmas: Day 16: Part of your ship is waiting for the other(s) to show up on Christmas Eve. (or the eve equivalent to another practice/religion)
Pop Figures: Disney: 223. Rapunzel: (object) Mirror
Insane: 749: Soulmate!AU