Meeting Rhodey
By the time Tony gets back to the Tower with Aniyah, it’s nearly dinner time. So, naturally, Tony was thinking about whether he should try to make dinner or order in as they loaded all the bags into the elevator to take to the penthouse. However, he finds he doesn’t even need to worry about it.
By the time they get upstairs, they are greeted by Rhodey who’s busy scooping Chinese takeout onto plates.
“Hey, Tones, I hope you don’t mind. I brought dinner along,” Rhodey says, looking up as Tony stumbles in with armfuls of shopping bags. “Looks like you’ve been busy.”
“Yeah, I took her clothes and toy shopping,” Tony mutters, dumping the bags on the ground “And why would I mind if you brought food? Makes it easier on me.”
“You shouldn’t. Considering you don’t know how to cook anything besides toast and frozen food items.”
Tony’s response is cut short by a tug on his shirt. He looks down and finds Aniyah standing next to him -slightly hidden behind his leg- looking at Rhodey with a mixture of curiosity and nervousness.
“Oh,” Tony says, pulling Aniyah forward a bit. “Aniyah, this is Rhodey. He’s my best friend. Rhodey, this is Aniyah.” he pushes the girl forward a bit, maneuvering her around the bags strewn on the floor.
“Hi, Mr.Rhodey,” Aniyah mumbles, looking down at her feet. Rhodey pauses what he is doing to cross the room and crouch down in front of the girl.
“Hello Aniyah, it’s nice to meet you. You can just call me Rhodey. I hope you like Chinese food.”
Aniyah nods, still a bit shy, looking up a bit to meet Rhodey’s eyes.
“That’s fine, I always eat Chinese at home.”
Rhodey nods and stands up, holding out a hand to her. “You want to help me finish setting up while your dad takes the bags upstairs?” He fixes Tony with a look, glancing down at the bags and back up. “You can’t leave those there Tones. Anyways, the furniture is already here and set up, the guys that came left only a few minutes before you got here. You need to make sure everything’s okay.”
Tony sighs, but relents, picking up the bags and looking down at Aniyah. “Is that okay kiddo? You’ll be good with Rhodey here?” After Aniyah nods her consent, taking Rhodey’s hand, Tony takes the bags and heads upstairs, kicking open the spare bedroom door. As promised, the new furniture is there.
A smaller bed now is situated against the far wall, a nightstand directly next to it. There are a few shelves for books and toys and a dresser for clothing. Besides that, the rest of the room is empty, waiting to be filled with new toys and clothes.
Tony quickly unloads the bags and sets everything on its respective shelf or drawer. The pajamas and undergarments go in the dresser, and the new clothes are stacked on top to be hung later. The toys and blocks are placed on the shelf, while the new stuffed animals -along with the one Aniyah came with- are placed on the bed with the new set of sheets. By the time he’s done, Aniyah is peeking through the doorway.
“Hey kiddo,” Tony says upon noticing her, opening the door up fully. “I was just setting up your room for you.” Aniyah steps in, looking around at everything in awe.
“I get my own room?” she asks quietly, and Tony nods.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t you kiddo? I’m not going to make you sleep on the couch or the floor.” Tony replies, slightly confused by the question.
“I don’t know. Dinners ready,” she says, looking up at him.
For a moment, Tony considers trying to get more answers out of Aniyah but decides against it, instead nodding and leading the girl out of the room.
“Well let’s not keep Rhodey waiting.”