A continuation of the previous oneshot where Tony and James' relationship grows stronger. I'd recommend reading that one before so this makes more sense. 

oOo

"St-Steve, I can explain!" James - no, Rhodey was better - exclaimed, jumping up. 

Tony only just woke up from his small doze off. And who was it by? None other than Steve Rogers. Scowling, the teenager picked himself up from the floor and stood next to Rhodey. 

Steve's forehead was creased and he looked conflicted but he said, "Fine, explain." 

Before Rhodey could speak, Tony did. "We were in detention and I fell asleep. End of story." Rhodey nodded, pointing at Tony as if to prove his point. "Why are you here anyway, Steve?" Rhodey asked. 

"As we are in the same class, Ms. Vanders asked me where you were so I told her I'd go find you. I just didn't expect you to be with him." The venom in Steve's voice made Tony flinch. He felt Rhodey put a hand on his shoulder. "We still have to do detention," he said. Tony frowned in confusion but didn't question. Rhodey continued, after taking a deep breath. "I'll see you later, Steve." 

The teenager huffed and left the room. Tony smirked and raised a hand for a high five, but Rhodey only sighed and got back to work. 

oOo

"Hey, sour patch!" Tony greeted the afternoon of the next day, beaming. 

Rhodey's lips upturned. "What do you want, Tones?" he asked tiredly, getting his bag out of his locker. 

Tones, Tony thought to himself, smile growing bigger. I could get used to that. 

"Well, my parents and Jarvis are out of town and I just finished doing something and I'd like you to come over and see!" Tony exclaimed, wringing his hands nervously, hoping Rhodey wouldn't notice. 

"Is is a woman?" Rhodey asked cautiously. "Cause if so I'm out." 

The two walked out of school and down the path. "Nah, obviously not. I know how much that would scare you," Tony teased, laughing as Rhodey shoved him playfully. "It's this thing I built."

"Can you tell me?" Rhodey asked. "Not yet," Tony said cheekily. "You'll see when we get there." 

It took approximately thirty minutes to walk to the Stark Mansion. Why did Tony know that, you ask? Because Rhodey timed it and grumbled about it all the way there. 

"Meet Dum-E!" Tony introduced a robot to Rhodey inside his room, grinning and looking like a proud father. It was messy, pieces of metal and screws scattered around the floor. 

The robot - Dum-E - whizzed forward, but promptly fell down after tripping over a wire which Tony yanked out of the way. "What an idiot," Rhodey mused, but sounding amused. "You made this?" 

"Yeah," Tony said. "Dum-E...he's-"

"'He's'?" Rhodey questioned. Tony nodded smirking. "I'm just being polite," he said, imitating a British accent. "Is that so?" Rhodey asked, trying to do the accent as well but failing. The two friends burst out laughing. 

"Have you showed your father?" Rhodey asked in a low voice, apparently not noticing the way Tony's grin slightly faded and the way he dipped his head. "Yeah," he said, voice matching Rhodey's noise. "He...he...well let's just say he wasn't that impressed." 

The last thing Tony wanted was a hug, but apparently Rhodey had other ideas because he pulled Tony into a hug, and surprisingly, he obliged, resting his chin on Rhodey's shoulder. 

"Love you Rhodey," he whispered, not even caring how Rhodey would react. 

"Love you too, Tones," Rhodey whispered back, and Tony let himself smile. 

oOo

The next day at school, Steve and his group (all of them, even Bucky and Sam) were avoiding the two friends. 

And it hurt. 

James tried to downplay how he was feeling, and no one could tell. Except Tony. 

He kept nagging James about what was wrong and when James finally spilled, Tony stayed silent. "I'm sorry for ruining your friendships," he said quietly during lunch after James had told him. "It's not your fault," James replied. 

Or was it?

It wasn't, he decided in the end. He made his bed, now he had to sleep in it. Or, with it, if you looked at it the way Tony would probably like to look at it. 

"My dad's back in town," Tony spoke, and James was just about ready to hurl a book at his head. If he had one, which, he didn't. Instead, he was polite, and asked, "Yeah?" 

Tony nodded. "He almost smashed Dum-E to pieces which sucked," he said. "But, I stopped him and got a black eye. Oh, sh*t!" 

James smiled thinly. "So you didn't fend off a big group of bullies?" 

Raising an eyebrow and barking a laugh, Tony looked at James in the eye. "You really think that I could've done something like that?" James shook his head. "Now that I think of it - no." Tony gasped in mock hurt and the two burst out laughing. 

He leaned forward and faced James. "I was-I was wondering...you know last night?" he asked. James nodded. "Of-of course," he said, frowning while trying to figure out what Tony was getting at. 

"Well." Tony pursed his lips. "I was wondering...did you really mean what you said last night? Or did you just say it to please me?"

James felt his jaw drop and he shook his head. "No! Of course not! Why would I-why would I do that?" Tony absentmindedly poked James with a twig. "Well, a bunch of people do that for my money. Because, if you want some, just ask." He dug into his pocket and pulled out a 100 dollar note. 

"No! Tony, I don't want your money. I want to be your friend and-"

"I'll take that," a familiar voice said, plucking the cash out of Tony's hand. James felt himself still while Tony looked blankly at Clint and Steve who were greedily eyeing the money. "You know I have more?" he asked, and got a fist to the face. 

James stood up as Tony's nose started to bleed and turned to Clint and Steve, eyes blazing. "Stand down," he warned. 

"You jerk," Steve sneered. Tony raised an eyebrow, hands covered over his bleeding nose, looking unimpressed. "You think you're amazing. But you're not. Just an egoistical, arrogant, a**hole." 

"Shut up, Steve," James snapped, balling his fists. "You know what? I've had it with you. Just leave us alone!" He punched both Clint and Steve in the nose, causing them to stare, wide eyed. Steve's jaw dropped and so did Clint's, and the hungry looks in their eyes faded to a look of melancholy as the two friends walked away. 

"You didn't have to do that, Rhodey," Tony mumbled. 

"I think I did," James said back. "Come on, let's get you some rest."