Stick It Back In

Rhodey/Beth

WarWaitress

For kamaete, my RhodeyFest assigned gift partner!

Theme song:

T'Pau – The Promise

Beth didn't even blink when the explosions started. Just another day working one block from Avengers Tower. She didn't look up, just started hurriedly ushering all the customers inside while the café's owner pulled down the blast shutters he'd long since installed to protect the glass windows.

It wasn't until all the customers were safely inside that Beth turned to look up. Doombots, she immediately concluded; really, she would have thought that Victor von Doom would have come up with a better idea by now, the man was supposed to be some sort of savant.

"Beth!" the café's owner shouted from inside, "stop fangirling and get on inside!"

He was grinning at her, though, when she turned to look at him. The battle was well away from them. Until… the expression on his face morphed to sudden horror.

Spinning around, Beth saw the falling, mangled metal, estimated it would land no more than twenty yards from her. It wouldn't hit her, but there was no point running, she wouldn't have time to get inside – she waved frantically to Jeff to shut the door, dived hastily behind the low wall that separated the café's sidewalk area from the street.

The crash was appallingly loud. And followed by a lot of very colourful cursing, which didn't sound like a Doombot, so Beth peered cautiously over the top of the wall.

It wasn't just a Doombot that had crashed. It was two Doombots, neither of them moving, and something smaller and shiny silver that had toppled between the two wrecks and now wasn't moving either. But it was cursing a blue streak.

"War Machine," Beth gasped, recognising the gleaming silver armour. But why wasn't he moving? Glancing up warily, she climbed quickly over the wall and scurried over to the fallen superhero.

"This is fucking bullshit!" Rhodey yelled at the sky. What a ridiculous fucking situation. Crashing the two Doombots should have been so easy. Only one of them had somehow hit right on his arc reactor just before hitting the ground and it had dislodged from its housing in the chest of his armour. Which was supposed to be impossible.

"Gonna fucking KILL Stark!" He couldn't move. The armour was so heavy, with the arc reactor not installed to work its servos and motors, Rhodey was trapped like a turtle on his back. He could see the damn arc reactor, popped half out of the casing… if he could just get a hand on it, he was pretty sure he could put it back in, but he couldn't even so much as lift a finger.

A face hove into view, leaning over him. A pretty face, wide blue eyes, masses of thick blonde hair tumbling around smooth pale cheeks. The young woman opened her mouth to speak, but Rhodey got there first.

"I need you to stick it back in!"

Those huge blue eyes widened even further, and pretty pink lips curved into a grin.

"My arc reactor, I can't move, quick…" Rhodey realised how that must have sounded. And wow, what a girl, finding humour even in a situation like this… slim, capable hands pressed down on the arc reactor, gave it a sharp twist and forced it back into the housing in his armour.

His armour came suddenly back to life, the heads-up displays inside his faceplate flashing back on, the battle chatter in his ear resuming. Tony shouting his name.

"I'm fine, Stark, just a minor problem," he said, and then saw the Doombots swooping down towards them. "Oh, shit!"

Leaping up, he grabbed the blonde around the waist and swooped her away fast, using his shoulder-gun to blast the 'bots out of the sky even as he flew.

Beth could hardly breathe with the tight grip he had on her waist, but she didn't scream and flail, just grasped firmly onto his armoured forearm and held on tight.

Once he'd dealt with the 'bots, Rhodey swooped down the block and around the corner to set Beth down at one of Grand Central's subway entrances. There was a small crowd of people huddling on the steps gaping at him and the fight still going on high above the street.

"Go on down into the tunnels, you'll be safe there," he said, before flipping up his faceplate and giving her a smile. "And thanks for your help."

Oh… he was quite devastatingly gorgeous behind that armour. Beth's knees weakened, but she kept a firm hold on his arm. She needed to speak before he flew off again.

"Hey, it's not all that often that the girl gets to save the hero," she quipped.

Rhodey, in the process of activating his thrusters to take off, froze and thumped back to earth. "What did you say?" he demanded.

Beth smiled up at him – in that armour he was nearly seven feet tall, she really hoped he wasn't quite so enormous out of it or she was going to have a very sore neck. "Your words, I hope. Because you said mine."

Rhodey stared at her wonderingly. He'd never even begun to dream that a woman as gorgeous as this one could be his soulmate. "I'm Rhodey. James, I mean. James Rhodes. Colonel." Stop gibbering…

"I know who you are. I'm Beth..."

There was another explosion high above them, and Tony started yelling in Rhodey's ear. He winced. "I have to go. Where can I find you?"

"Right where you picked me up! Now go!" she stepped back and he stared at her for a last second, committing her face to his memory, before snapping his faceplate shut and zooming up into the air.

"Is your soulmate War Machine?" one of the guys standing at the subway entry asked in amazement – and another one took a photo of her with his phone.

By the time the fight was over, a photo of Beth staring up at Rhodey with his faceplate open was trending all over the Internet.

"Rhooodeeeeey," Tony carolled as they came in to land on the quinjet landing pad. Hawkeye was already there, bow in hand, grinning broadly.

"Pretty girl, Rhodey. Trust you to get shot down in battle and come up with your soulmate."

There was no escape from the heckling, not within Stark's Tower. So he gave up and bore it with good-natured fortitude. Until Steve saw the picture.

"But that's Beth!" He turned an astounded look on Rhodey.

"You know her?" Rhodey asked, stunned – and suddenly feeling rather insecure.

"Sure, she's a sweetheart," Steve shrugged. "Lucky you, Rhodey!" he clapped a hand on Rhodey's shoulder, sending him staggering, since he was no longer in his armour. "But where is she now?"

"I… don't know, she told me I could find her right where I picked her up," Rhodey admitted, a little befuddled.

Steve grinned. "Then what are you still doing here looking at our ugly mugs? No, Tony, you can not go with him." He restrained Stark with a handful of the back of his shirt.

"Go," Thor was pushing Rhodey towards the elevator, Sam laughing and promising he'd keep the airspace clear. Rhodey was walking out the Tower's main doors before he realised he was still wearing the sweaty T-shirt and fatigue pants he'd been wearing under the War Machine suit.

"I can't go like this…" he turned back towards the doors, found them closed firmly in his face. Romanoff standing behind them with her arms folded, one eyebrow raised. "This is a conspiracy," he mouthed at her. She nodded.

"God damn it." Rhodey turned back to the street, squared his shoulders. "Well then." Everything was a mess, he saw. Not as bad as after the Battle of New York, but still, there were repairs that would have to be done. The two 'bots he'd crashed into the street were being examined by a wrecking crew. The café just beyond was already back up and running, serving coffee to the emergency services personnel who'd arrived but had no one to help right now. No casualties beyond a couple of people with cuts from flying glass and the like.

'Right where you found me.' Well, that's right here, Beth… he turned a slow circle. "Where are you, beautiful girl?" he murmured aloud.

"Lookin' for someone, soldier?"

She was nearly as tall as he was. Her blue eyes shining with amusement as he gazed at her.

"It's flyboy, technically, not soldier," he said, and then wanted to kick himself. "Oh God, I'm sorry, I have a very unfortunate habit of saying utterly stupid things when I look at you. You're so beautiful you make all the brains dribble right out of my head."

Beth started laughing, reached to take his hands. "Well, for saying that, you're entirely forgiven. Flyboy."

Rhodey smiled. Squeezed on her hands. "Will you promise me something, Beth?"

"What's that?"

"Will you promise never, ever to let Stark know what your soulmark says?"