Mistakes Were Made (Avengers/James Rhodes)

27. Work Day

I breathed in heavily as I woke up. Rhodey laid beside me and he kissed my forehead. I smiled and stretched.

"Goodmorning," I murmured. "How'd you sleep?"

"Morning," Rhodey greeted. "I slept pretty well. What about you?"

"Good," I answered. "I was thinking about my wedding dress. I need to get one and I kinda want to go to India to get it."

"Why?" Rhodey asked. "Why can't you get one here?"

"I haven't been back to India since I was adopted and I don't want the dress you're thinking of," I replied. "I want an Indian wedding dress."

"Right," Rhodey said. "What color is it going to be?"

"Red," I replied. "Most in India are."

"I think you'll beautiful," Rhodey complimented. "You are beautiful. I think I can take some time off work to go with you. I've never been to India."

I yawned. "It's pretty. I'll do all the speaking since you don't speak the language."

Rhodey started playing with my hair. "Thanks. You're smart."

I smiled, burying my nose into his chest, breathing in. "Thanks for that. I need to call Dad and see if he answers. I want him to know I'm going to India."

"How do you know if he'll answer? Or someone won't be listening?" Rhodey asked.

I sat up, shaking out my hair as it cascaded down my back. "I'll know. If he answers, I'll keep it short enough that he'll know what I'm doing."

Rhodey rubbed my side. "I'm sure you do, baby. I need help with my braces."

I grabbed them from the side of the bed. I helped Rhodey into them and started getting ready. I put on a black crop top, a flannel, and black pants. I put my hair into two French braids.

As I finished my hair, Rhodey kissed my cheek. I smiled as I started applying a dark shade of lipstick. As I finished my makeup, Rhodey was buttoning up his dress shirt. I bit my lip as I admired him. The top buttons on his shirt were unbuttoned. Rhodey saw me staring and stepped toward me.

Rhodey kissed my cheek. "You look beautiful, Charlie. The grunge look is a good one on you."

I grabbed his chin to kiss his cheek. "Thanks. I love grunge. I'm in love with that look. Do it more often, baby. It's hot."

Rhodey chuckled. "Thanks, babe. I'll be downstairs cooking breakfast."

I hummed and continued getting ready. I was done in about ten minutes and went downstairs to join Rhodey. Tony was there too, waiting for food. I kissed Rhodey and pecked Tony's cheek.

I hopped onto the counter. "What's for breakfast?"

"Hash browns, eggs, and bacon." Rhodey glanced back at me. "Don't worry, I'll make some crispy ones."

"Thank you, baby!" I exclaimed.

"Are you free today to help me?" Tony asked. "I have a lot to do and not enough hands."

"I have paperwork to do but after that, I can," I responded.

Rhodey handed me a plate. "Sit down and eat. You'll have time to talk about it later."

I leaned back on the counter. "Is this your way of telling me to shut up, baby?"

Rhodey kissed me as he gave me a fork. "Of course not, baby. Now eat."

Tony snickered and I kicked him. I ate with a smile on my face. Rhodey stood beside me, eating as he chatted with Tony. I rested my head against Rhodey's shoulder as I ate.

After breakfast, I kissed Rhodey's cheek before putting my dish away. I walked out of the kitchen and went to my office. I sat down and started doing some work. I finished before lunch and started doing some surveillance for Coulson. I sent what I could find and what I thought would be helpful through one of the only secure lines I knew of.

Once I was done with that, I went to the kitchen to get some food. I made myself some food and sat at the table. As I ate, I scrolled through my phone. I was interrupted when Tony came in to grab something.

"Are you free to come to help me?" Tony asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "I just need to eat first."

"Have you guys set a date?"

I shook my head. "We haven't talked about it. I kinda want spring or early summer but I don't know what Rhodey wants."

"You guys haven't done a lot of taking, have you?" Tony asked.

I shook my head. "Not really. We got our rings and we talked about getting myself a dress from India. That was pretty much it."

"Do you have any pictures of your dress?" Tony asked. "For reference, you know?"

I covered my mouth as I swallowed. "No, not yet. I was going to look some up."

Tony kissed my temple as he walked passed. "I'm sure you'll be beautiful, Charlie. I can hire someone to do your hair for you."

I watched him go. "As long as they know how to do it right."

Tony's laugh disappeared along with him. I finished eating and went to join Tony in his lab. I helped him in there for the rest of the afternoon but I was tired the entire time.

After finishing with Tony, I went up to my room and sat at my desk. I wrote some in a journal before changing and crawling in bed. I had been rolling around for fifteen minutes before Rhodey came in.

He leaned down and kissed my forehead. "Hey, sweetheart."

I hummed. "Hey. Are you going to join me?"

Rhodey sat on the edge of the bed. "I have some more work to do before I go to sleep." He brushed some hair off my face. "I'll be up here soon. Rest well."

I rested a hand on his leg. "I will. I have to plan our flight to India tomorrow. What do you think of going to Mumbai?"

Rhodey placed a hand on my hip. "I think that's a good idea. Where was your orphanage?"

"Mumbai," I replied, yawning. "It was in a poorer area. I remember sometimes we couldn't eat three meals a day."

Rhodey pulled up my blankets. "Go to sleep. It's late and you need to rest. I'll be back soon."

I hummed as I buried my face into the pillow. Rhodey kissed my forehead once more before getting up. He left the room, closing the door on his way out. I fell asleep within a few minutes of Rhodey leaving.