Chapter Text
“Tony. Hey, Tony, wake up.”
A warm hand on his shoulder is shaking him gently. Tony grumbles a bit at the interruption; the sun is hot but the breeze is cool, and he feels safe out on the boat with just Rhodey and Peter for company. His body is desperate to catch up on all the sleep he’s missed. He drags one eye open with considerable effort, staring fuzzily, and realizes that it’s Peter.
“What?” Tony mumbles.
“I think you’re getting sunburned. You never did put any sunscreen on,” Peter whispers, but regretfully, like he really hates ruining Tony’s nap.
Tony stares at him for a moment longer, the lethargy making it hard to think, before he realizes that Peter is correct. He declined to put on sunscreen earlier because they were sitting under the umbrella, and said he would put some on when they got on the boat... but he didn’t. He doesn’t like how sunscreen feels, so it completely slipped it his mind. Suddenly, the heat of the sun doesn’t feel so great.
He sits up slowly, swaying slightly, and Peter’s hand on his shoulder tightens to steady him. Tony looks around the boat, feeling like he’s still half-asleep. They’re still out on the water. Rhodey is sitting in one of the chairs underneath the canopy, snoring softly. He looks back at Peter, belatedly realizing that Peter’s hair and bathing suit are both wet. A damp towel is draped around his shoulders.
“You went for a swim?” Tony asks, clearing his throat. His mouth feels dry.
“Yeah. You were sleeping and then Jim fell asleep too, so I thought – ” Peter shrugs and smiles. “The water here is amazing. It’s so clear! I could see all the way to the bottom, I swear. I saw a bunch of fish and some coral and a bunch of seaweed and some shells. I don’t suppose you have a camera that can take pictures underwater handy, do you? Can the Starkphone do that?”
Tony blinks, brain taking a moment to absorb all that, before smiling a little. “We do have a version of the Starkphone that can do that, but yours can’t.” He makes a mental note to have FRIDAY order Peter a camera that can work in the water. No reason Peter shouldn’t be able to take all the pictures he wants.
“Oh, alright.” Peter holds his hands out. “Come on, you should sit under the canopy for a while.”
Tony takes Peter’s hands rather than argue, allowing Peter to carefully pull him to his feet. He still feels a little unsteady, and he’s thankful for Peter’s secure arm around his waist as they walk the handful of steps. He sinks down into the other seat under the canopy and then sticks an arm out, staring at it critically. He never used to sunburn; his skin would always tan beautifully in the sun, much to the fair-skinned Pepper’s envy.
But that was before he got de-aged, and who knows how much Hydra and that sorcerer fucked around with his body while that happened? Maybe sunburns are a thing that happens to him now. Tony scowls down at his arm. He’ll be really annoyed if that is the case. He looks amazing with a tan, but no one looks good with a sunburn. He narrows his eyes at his arm.
“Does it hurt?” Peter asks, eyebrows furrowing. “I don’t think we have any aloe – ” He looks around the boat like he’s willing a bottle to appear out of midair. Then he turns towards shore, and Tony gets the wild idea that Peter’s seriously considering jumping overboard and swimming to shore for a bottle of fucking aloe, and he grabs Peter’s arm.
“No, it’s fine!” he says. “It doesn’t hurt. You woke me up just in time, probably. Thanks. Rhodey would never let me hear the end of it.”
Peter relaxes a bit, smiling slightly. “No, he would not. He’d stand over you to make sure you put on sunscreen every day for as long as we’re here. And probably once we’re back in New York too.” He takes the towel off of his neck and scrubs it through his hair. The effect is a lazily tousled look that makes Tony’s heart skip a beat.
“You’re right about that,” Tony says, dropping his gaze quickly. He fumbles in his pocket for his phone and quickly types up a message to FRIDAY about the camera. Her response is immediate, as always, and within about five minutes the camera is on its way.
“You hungry?” Peter asks suddenly, and Tony looks up in surprise just in time to see Peter bending over to wrestle a basket out from beneath the chairs that Tony was sleeping on.
Unfortunately, that means that Tony’s eyes lock right onto Peter’s posterior, which is conveniently pointed in Tony’s direction. The still damp swimming trunks cling to Peter’s skin in a way that makes Tony’s throat go completely dry. He stares for a few seconds, unable to look away. Peter spends a lot of time web slinging around New York, but he also does a ton of parkour. The result is an exceptionally sculpted body from head to toe.
“Tony?”
Tony startles, dropping his phone. “Wh-what?” he stammers, mortified. As his face burns for a reason that has nothing to do with the sun, he shoots a quick glance at Rhodey. Thank god, Rhodey’s eyes are still shut and he’s still snoring softly.
“Are you hungry? It’s just about time for your meds too.” Peter finally gets the basket out and straightens up, turning to look at Tony.
“I – I – s-sure,” Tony mumbles, bending down to pick up his phone. A sharp pain darts up his side and he winces, hissing through his teeth and freezing. Sometimes he feels almost okay, but all it takes is moving in a certain way for him to realize that he’s definitely not okay.
“Here.” Peter’s hand appears, easily scooping up the phone and passing it back to Tony.
“Thanks,” Tony mutters, slowly straightening up and clutching his phone to his chest. It takes several dreadful seconds for the pain in his side to ease, and by that time Peter has opened up the top of the basket. Inside are several sandwiches, cans of soda and beer, bottles of water, fruit, and cookies.
“Jim said the chef made us a good lunch and he wasn’t kidding,” Peter says appreciatively. “Sandwich?”
Tony exhales slowly and nods, feeling really stupid. He takes the sandwich that Peter passes to him with a soft thanks, unwrapping it. He needs to be better about not being so obvious, he thinks to himself as he takes a little bite. If Peter had turned around and caught him, or if Rhodey had woken up at the wrong moment, there is zero way Tony could have explained that. And he’s pretty sure Rhodey would never let him live it down.
“Mm, good,” Peter says, taking a huge bite and sitting down right on the floor. He looks so young and silly that Tony can’t help a laugh, which just makes Peter grin.
“Hey Rhodey, wake up,” Tony says, leaning over to poke Rhodey in the side. “You’re missing lunch.”
“Huh? What?” Rhodey comes awake quickly, flailing a little, which is why Tony made sure to lean back as soon as he saw Rhodey waking up.
“Food,” Peter says, holding up his sandwich as proof, and Tony blinks for a few seconds, because goddamn that sandwich is already more than two-thirds gone. He forgot just how fast a teenaged boy could inhale food.
“Oh, right. Food.” Rhodey rubs his eyes and yawns. “How long was I out?”
“About an hour and a half or so,” Peter says, pushing the basket closer so Rhodey can get a sandwich. “Don’t worry, you’re not late for your date.” He winks at Tony, who hides his grin with his sandwich, and Rhodey rolls his eyes and groans.
“I have so many regrets,” he grumbles, but the smile on his face suggests he’s just joking, so Tony isn’t too bothered.
“It must be getting late. We should probably head back soon,” Tony remarks. He’s pretty sure this isn’t so much lunch as it is an early supper, and he decides to eat only the one sandwich. He’s not like Peter, who can eat like half a dozen sandwiches and then have a full supper an hour later.
“Yeah, you’ll need to get ready,” Peter says.
“I guess I will,” Rhodey says. He pauses, then sighs suddenly. “Oh man, what the hell am I gonna wear? I didn’t exactly think to bring fancy clothing along.”
Peter and Tony look at each other blankly, because this is a problem that neither of them anticipated either. Tony still doesn’t have much in the way of clothing. He needs to go shopping sooner rather than later. Besides, even if he did have clothes, nothing he owns will fit Rhodey. The same goes for Peter. Peter and Rhodey are of a similar height, but Peter is way skinnier thanks to that spider-given metabolism. Rhodey is by no means overweight, but he still won’t fit Peter’s clothes.
“Okay,” Tony says at last. “New plan. We head back right away. That gives you time to shower and get cleaned up. Then you can take my credit card and go find a new outfit. The store will probably let you get changed right there. Then you can just go pick your date up.”
“That works for me, except I don’t need your credit card to do it,” Rhodey says. “What are you two going to do tonight?”
Tony shrugs. “Dunno. Hang around the house, probably. I thought maybe tomorrow Peter and I could go shopping for some clothes.”
“Sure,” Peter says easily. “I promised Aunt May I would bring her back something, so that will give me the chance to find something for her.”
“Are you sure you feel up to that?” Rhodey asks Tony, and Tony makes a face at him in response.
“Rhooooodeeeeeey, I’m not an invalid,” he whines, to which Rhodey rolls his eyes.
“Peter, Tony’s medicine should be in that basket too. Dig it out and make sure he doesn’t toss it overboard, would you?” Rhodey says, cramming the rest of his sandwich into his mouth. Whatever else he’s saying comes out as an unintelligible mutter as a result. But given that he gets up and steps out from under the canopy to get to the boat’s controls, it’s not too hard to guess.
Tony makes another face as Peter digs out the meds, but takes them without too much fuss. He might dislike how the drugs make him feel, but at least for the time being, they’re better than the pain that steadily creeps up on him if he goes too long without a dose. He washes them down with a swig of soda, then settles back and finishes his sandwich as Rhodey drives them back to shore.
When they get to the dock, Rhodey jumps up. “Can you get everything back to the house?” he asks Peter.
Tony sticks a hand up. “Uh, I’m here too. I can also carry stuff.”
“Whatever. You’re good?” Rhodey says, looking a little stressed, and Peter nods.
“We’re fine. Have fun tonight!” he says with an easy smile.
“If I make it, I will,” Rhodey says, and literally jumps over the side of the boat into the water rather than climbing out onto the dock. Tony smiles to himself as he watches Rhodey race out of the water and across the sand. This date will be good for Rhodey, he thinks. No matter what Rhodey said, Tony knows it’s been a little while. He hopes Rhodey stays out all night.
“Alright, well, can you carry yours and Rhodey’s bags? I’ve got my bag and the basket and everything else,” Peter says.
“Yeah, sure.” Tony collects the two bags and stands, slowly making his way to the side. Peter jumps up onto the dock first, with an ease that Tony will never not envy, then reaches down and carefully helps Tony to climb out too. Tony makes sure the boat is all locked up and then drops the key in his pocket.
“How do you feel about supper out on the balcony tonight?” Peter asks as they start up towards the house, much slower than Rhodey of course; Tony holds Peter’s arm as always, struggling to find his way in the sand.
“Sounds good to me,” Tony says, and tries not to think about how romantic a dinner on the balcony while the sun sets could be.