A/N: Going to try and keep updates at a steady pace, but may not be able too. Also, some of you may really hate what's going to happen in later chapters...SORRY!
Chapter 2: Calling Dr. Honey Bear.
Monday morning found Tony grunting as he heaved a piece of machinery for the project that he and Rhodey were currently building, into place, "I really hate the heavy lifting part," Tony whined holding the metal sheet in place as Rhodey secured it with a few screws.
"I told you I'd lift but nope, you had to be the stubborn shit you are and do it yourself." Rhodey laughed, taking just a few extra seconds longer to screw in the last bolt. "I fucking hate you right now" Tony deadpanned as Rhodey grinned up at his friend cheekily.
Rhodey had shot up in height, standing just less than six feet, he filled out more, while Tony had grown from his measly 5,4 to what they knew was his final height of 5,10. He'd also cut his hair, though it still resembled something of a messy shag.
"So what's up man, you seem off today?" Rhodey commented, standing up and replacing the power tool on the work table watching Tony curiously as the other man stepped back from their project.
"Steve and I had a fight Friday night" Tony finally admitted after several long minutes of silence spent inspecting their work, "that bad?" Rhodey asked a sympathetic look on his face.
Tony sighed removing his work gloves and working out the kinks in his fingers from gripping small tools for too long, "he thinks I'm neglecting him in favor of school and other stuff."
"Are you?" Rhodey asked, following his friend's example and discarding the thick gloves encasing his own hands, "I personally don't feel that I am, sure I'm busy, and okay fine I haven't been able to have a proper conversation with him in a while, and as much as it sounds like I'm using it as an excuse, this chance to graduate early is perfect, it's exactly what I need, there's so much I can do and accomplish once I'm out of here, and the opportunity to get out a year early is too good to pass up!"
Rhodey eyed his friend wearily, "Tony I love you man, I always have and always will, you're like a brother to me, but dude, stop and think for a second; maybe Steve's justified in the way he feels, I mean if you can't pick up the phone to call him every other day or hell every few days, than that should be a sign you're putting too much effort into only one aspect of your life."
Rhodey held his breath, aware that Tony may not necessarily take that bit of wisdom well, "I'm just saying" Rhodey continued slowly, "you got to be able to balance man, there are some things more important than others, but you should be putting the same dedication into more than just one of them, you and Steve have a good thing going on, and let's be honest here; school work, not a challenge for you. You're a certified genius Tones, you can read an entire textbook and remember every important bit of information in under four hours. I'm just thinking, you know; graduation will still happen whether this year or next year, Steve… he may not be around next year."
Tony didn't respond, just stood leaning against the work table, staring off into space, the only indication that he was listening to Rhodey at all was the thoughtful expression on his face. "So you think he'll break up with me if I don't give him the time of day?" Tony asked softly.
Rhodey shook his head gently, "what I'm saying is; people, especially those in established relationships, want to know they're loved and even missed, and it kind of sounds like you can get along just fine without Steve and maybe he's picking up on that and it's making him feel insecure."
Tony snorted, "he did say I should throw him a bone every once in a while and let him know I remember that he exists."
Rhodey nodded, "exactly, you and Steve saw each other surprisingly often back when we were out in Cali, and you talked a lot when you didn't see each other, now that you guys are barely a few hours apart you don't see each other and you don't talk. See the problem here?"
Tony sighed rolling his shoulders and making a contented sound at the pop of his joints, "I see the problem; I should probably call him shouldn't I?"
Rhodey laughed, "Gee, you think?" Tony picked up one of his discarded gloves and threw it at Rhodey, "I hear that sarcasm jerk-wad." Rhodey laughed harder, "man I never thought the day would come where I'd be giving you relationship advice."
Tony rolled his eyes, "well you're good at it, I should start calling you Dr. Rhodes" Rhodey winced, "please don't man" Tony laughed moving to gather his stuff, they were out of time in the lab anyway.
Rhodey swiftly moved to help Tony put away their project, "so you're going to call him?" Tony nodded, putting away the last of the tools they'd used.
"Yes I am going to call him" he answered, Rhodey frowned, "right now" Tony blinked in mild suprise, "what?" Rhodey jerked his head to Tony's pocket where his phone was.
"Call him right now, don't wait, the longer you wait the worse it may be." Tony frowned, "okay fine" he relented digging his phone out of his pocket and dialling Steve's number.
The phone rang for a few beats, Tony idly aware of Rhodey slowly shifting to the other side of the room, an attempt to give Tony some privacy.
The phone continued to ring, making Tony frown, "he's not answering" he called out to Rhodey, and it was odd that Steve wasn't answering, Steve didn't have class Mondays, and he didn't work until the afternoon.
"Well hold up, he may have picked up an early shift, or taken an extra class" Rhodey called, "just wait a few minutes and try again, if he doesn't answer the second time, assume he's working and call him later tonight, but make sure you call him today!" He ordered, waving bye and leaving the lab.
Tony sighed rubbing his face tiredly with his hand, a few minutes later he called the number again, listening as the phone rang and rang until the answering machine picked up. "One more time" Tony muttered, waiting another five minutes before calling for a third time.
The answering machine was three rings away from picking up, don't snap don't snap, Tony thought vigorously, he couldn't help but feel like Steve wasn't answering his phone on purpose to make Tony see what it felt like to be ignored.
A beep and Steve's voice filtering through the line saying "you've reached Steve Rogers, sorry I missed your call, leave a message and I'll get back to you" Tony rolled his eyes affectionately at the polite answering message.
"Hey babe, it's me. So we should talk, I probably shouldn't have led with that-" Tony laughed a little nervously, "- not a bad talk, just talk. So yea, give me a call back when you can, I'm free all afternoon, my advanced robotics class got cancelled, so…just call me back, love you."
Tony hung up the phone and with a small sigh left the lab, pocketing his phone as he went, Rhodey still had another class to attend too, but Tony's schedule was free for the rest of the day.
With nothing better to do he headed home and began getting a head start on some of his other projects, bitterly ignoring the small part of him that viciously pointed out that Rhodey was right, school work wasn't really much of a challenge for him so why couldn't he give Steve a call every now and then?
It was nearing dinner time when his phone finally rang, he dropped his drafting pencil and dived for the small ringing device.
"Hello!" he answered a tad breathlessly, "Hey" Steve's voice answered, a sullen tone to the normally vibrant voice, Tony found himself smiling, he really didn't see how much he missed Steve until now. "Hey yourself" he teased, moving to settle on the couch as Steve's chuckles echoed in his ears.
A/N: Well it looks like our boys are going to have a mature talk, let's hope for the best!