Obsessions ⇢ Tony Stark

34 | Yule Shoot Your Eye Out

November 1988

Eleanora and Tony hiked along the walking trail, pleasant sunlight shining down on them as they made the most of what was likely to be the last sunny day of spring before winter well and truly set in.

It was an arduous incline, and the overgrown plants they had to push through didn't exactly help. Particularly when Eleanora discovered the hard way that some of the plants are prickly.

"Ow!" she hissed, letting go of the bush and stopping suddenly in her tracks.

"What is it?" Tony frowned.

"I got some kind of prickle caught in my finger... shit," she muttered, examining the tiny foreign object buried deep in her index finger and trying unsuccessfully to pull it out.

"Here, let me try." Tony tried for some time to squeeze and pull the prickle out but to no avail. Letting out a frustrated grunt, he resorted to raising her finger to his mouth and trying to pull it out with his teeth.

"Be careful, will y- ow, you just bit me!"

"Sorry, sorry, just trying to-" he huffs impatiently and returns to trying to squeeze it out. "I thought you were into that, Miss Powerful Jaws."

Eleanora sniggered. "I thought you weren't."

"Ah, there we go, got the fucker," Tony smiled, flicking the prickle away. "Exercise is hazardous."

"Thanks... and you've got a point."

When they finally made it to outlook at the top, it was fair to say that the hike was worth it.

"Wow," Eleanora breathed, using her shirt to wipe the sweat from her face as she stared out at the stunning landscape. "That's amazing."

"Yeah... That's some view... You know what would make it even better?"

She grinned, reaching to her bag for the sandwiches they'd packed. "Lunch?"

He nodded happily. "Lunch."

They sat in a comfortable silence on the bench as they ate their lunch, gazing out at the view ahead of them. It was too hot to cuddle, but once they'd cooled down a little bit, Eleanora rested her head against his shoulder. "I love you, darling."

"I love you too, Tesoro."

17 December 1988

Rhodey came home for the holidays a week before Christmas.

Eleanora, Katie and Tony went with Mr and Mrs Rhodes to pick him up from the airport, arriving early so they could watch the plane touchdown through the gate window. When Rhodey finally walked out at the arrivals area, it was no surprise that Tony was the first to greet him, pulling him in for a tight hug before stepping aside so he could say hi to his parents. Eleanora and Katie hung back to allow the family to have their moment until Rhodey stepped towards them and drew Eleanora in for a hug.

"Hey, Nora. How have you been?" he asked in a tone that told Eleanora he wanted the real answer.

"I've... actually been really good."

He smiled, "that's good to hear."

He moved to Katie next, pulling her in for a hug too, and Eleanora stifled a grin at the awkward expression on the girl's face.

"So," Tony began, slinging an arm over his friend's shoulder as they made their way to collect his luggage, "how's air force academy?"

"It's great! I mean, we're mainly just learning the fundamentals of military life so far - courtesies and customs, ceremony, military knowledge and all that, but it's really interesting. Plus, they're busting our asses with the physical training."