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Author's Note: This was supposed to be these two watching a movie together. Instead it morphed into Rhodey and JARVIS bonding.

Submitting Info:
Stacked with: Hogwarts 2.0 (T04); RAVEN (2024); MC4A (Fa-Yr7)
Individual Challenges: Cinematic; Graphic; Binger; Bucket Listing (Y); Old Shoes
Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw
Assignment: Term 04 - Assignment 05
Subject [Task (Prompt): Toxicology [Task#1 (someone coming up w/ a good idea)]
Other Hogwarts Challenges: Library [Book](Prompt); Frenzy [DW#5](Grieving); Center [81 - Melman](sick character); Pokemon [Ogerpon](Turquoise); Nov Stardew [Demetrius](instill); In Memorium[19](grief); Bargain [Puzzle](Soulmate AU)
RAVEN Challenges: A [56](Organizing); Traits [46](Literal); Colors [60](Mulberry); Items [71](Quilt); Settings [98](Workshop)
Other MC4A Challenges: Ship (WaZu)[n/a]; Chim [Sheddy](Protection; "Isaac" - Bear's Den); Fire [Left Turn]; Garden [Tuchina (James Rhodey Rhodes]; Hang [Phrase#01](n/a);
Representation(s): James Rhodes/Tony Stark; JARVIS; Im2 Rewrite; Chim Song Prompt
Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: Uncivil Obedience; Under the Bridge; Where Angels Fear; Soul-Like; Second Verse (Persistence Still; Nontraditional; Sneeze Weasel; Middle Name; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice; Grease Monkey; Casper's House; Shiver & Shake); Chorus (Endless Wonder; Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Bee Haven; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Tomorrow's Shade; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Wind Beneath; Abandoned Ship; Fire & Fold; In the Trench; Turtle-Duck; Sitting Hummingbird)
Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges: T3 (Toad); SN (Rail; Negate); FR (Satisfaction); O3 (Olivine); HoSE (Schooner; Sanctuary); Once (Santa Fe); CM (Yogin); War (Sanctuary; Ennui); TY (n/a)
Space Address (Prompt): Ship 1E (Soulmates); AU 1C (Military); FaB 4B (Fog/Mist);
Word Count: 1175 words

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Power of Communication
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James Rhodes had many things he had never imagined himself having as a Black boy growing up on the South Side of Philly. He had a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, one of the best places to get that degree. He had a surprisingly long career as a combat pilot, with an excellent record to match it. He was a full bird colonel, too, and he managed to liaison with the major military contractors while heading up the Air Forces' Weapons Development Corps.

And no matter what anyone said, it had nothing to do with being Tony Stark's soulmate. Because they had taken great cares to keep that under wraps for as long as possible. Not only did the American military frown upon sending bonded soulmates into active combat, just being a Stark made any potential soulmate a target for kidnapping and assassination.

That was all before taking into consideration all of the social issues around their particular relationship. No matter how much anyone touted a belief that soulmates were destined to be together, there would still be people who would throw a fit about James and Tony being together.

The over a decade of age difference had seemed huge when they had first met at MIT, when Tony had just been fourteen and still wet behind the ears, but that mattered a lot less when you crossed over the threshold of forty. The disparity in their finances ended up mattering less than most would have thought, too. James might not be in Tony's league in intelligence, but he wasn't a slouch either. Tony had the resources and knowledge to make sure that James got to own a few of the patents he had come up with, instead of the military owning all of them.

What two things seemed like it would piss off people the most was their races and the fact that both of them were male. To those who cared about such things, they would never accept that something a nebulous as fate was responsible for such pairings and would do their best to instill other people with their own hateful interpretation of the world. These weirdos also acted as if Black men couldn't be gay at all or that bisexual men didn't exist. That was even before potentially getting into any other sexuality or romantic orientations.

They would simply look at how often James was away for months at a time and Tony's reputation for dating around, and think that there was no possible way that they could be true soulmates, in the romantic sense that most people meant by the term. Never mind that Tony had demonstrated on numerous occasions that he could (and would) find James anywhere in the world, including under blackout communication orders, even if Tony was careful about actually disrupting any ops. Never mind that most of Tony's womanizing reputation was either inherited from Howard or a careful set of arrangements to fuel the very reputation they were based upon.

But their relationship dynamic remained too solid to ever be broken by the opinions of others. They spent time together when they could between their schedules. Tony kept tabs on where the brass sent James. When Tony had been taken by the Ten Rings, James had clung to the bond between them like a child would a beloved blanket.

"You and me," James had promised in the middle of that first night after they had gotten Tony back. "No more hiding."

"No more hiding," Tony had agreed, exhausted from two days hiking through the desert and three months of captivity.

It had been difficult to navigate the first few weeks. Between the systematic audit of the Stark Industries Weapons Division to find if the leak was from their end and Tony's obvious case of PTSD, they had almost missed the beginning symptoms of heavy metal poisoning. Then it had taken another month for them to accept that there just wasn't any known element that fit what the reactor needed. As frazzled as Tony and James were over the discovery, it was JARVIS that was truly distraught.

James was fairly certain that if JARVIS had had a body, he would have broken down into tears.

"Let's break this down," James said one night just after New Years. Tony was crashed out on the workshop's couch. He was wrapped up in the turquoise and mulberry starburst quilt that Mama Rhodes had sent for Christmas. "The element needs to be stable but conductive. It needs to not break down when used in a high yield current, or break down into components compatible with organic housing."

"There are several elements that have similar features to what is required," JARVIS answered, "but not enough features to be a viable substitute. The only element that has all the required features is not available through legal channels." JARVIS let out a distressed buzz through a nearby speaker. "Sir has already denied me permission to seek out alternative avenues."

"What's the element?"

"Vibranium," JARVIS answered dutifully. "Sourced from the Wakanda Basin inside of Wakanda, Africa. Only available outside of Wakanda either within artifacts or on the black market."

"Yeah, Tones wouldn't go for that," James agreed. No matter how attractive it was, Tony really wouldn't approve of acquiring the metal through shady means, not after Stane's betrayal and SHIELD's continued harassment.

James tapped his fingers against his chin as he watched Tony sleeping. It reminded him of their MIT days, when Tony would be up for days at a time between studying and his work for SI. There had been a couple times during those years that James had almost lost Tony. This was just another brush with death; they would be fine.

"Perhaps Sir does not need to know," JARVIS suggested softly.

"JARVIS, are you suggesting that we lie to Tony?"

"I never said that."

James let out a low chuckle, despite the tightness in his chest. There were moments when JARVIS (or really any of the bots) reminded him so much of Tony, as if they were his actual biological kids. It was unfortunate that not many people recognized them as living beings, all because of their lack of organic components. In the end, the fact that they were made instead of simply born would always define them.

Wait a minute. Made.

"Is there any way to make what we need?" James asked. His mind was racing even as he spun on the lab stool to start tapping away at the computer keyboard. "We have models of the molecular structure of several kinds of vibranium. Can we synthesize which one we need?"

"Doing so would require a particle accelerator," JARVIS said after a moment, "but synthesis should be possible. However, all of the vibranium types in my database all have slight flaws for this purpose. If I were to focus on synthesizing the required element, I would like to correct these issues."

James took one more look at Tony sleeping on the couch.

"Do whatever you want, baby boy," James approved.